The ‘Rifle’ Has Always Shot From the Lip

ESPN’s Ron Jaworski, who is also the president of the Philadelphia Soul, was a studio guest during NBC’s Arena Football League coverage Sunday.

Talking comes naturally to Jaworski, a fact that wasn’t lost on former Philadelphia 76er Doug Collins when the two were next-door neighbors after Jaworski was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977.

Jaworski was known as the “Polish Rifle” while a quarterback with Youngstown State and the Rams, but Collins began calling him “Jaws.” And the nickname stuck.

“He was always coming over because I had a pool and a basketball court in my backyard,” Collins said. “The movie ‘Jaws’ [had come out], but the main reason I called him Jaws was because his jaws were always flapping.”

Trivia time: Roberto De Vicenzo missed out on a playoff in the 1968 Masters because he signed an incorrect scorecard that had him taking one more stroke than he actually did in the final round. Who was the player keeping his scorecard?

True admiration: Said CBS’ David Feherty during Masters coverage on USA Friday: “I played with Arnold Palmer in the Canadian Open in 1981. I have the scorecard hanging in my office. It’s the first thing I’d go for in a fire -- after the wife and kids.”

Too much joy: Regarding K.J. Choi’s third-place finish at the Masters on Sunday, one of the Golf Channel announcers said: “It’s Choi to the world.”

The glove is off: May not want to invite Gary Payton and Tom Tolbert to the same party. Regarding Payton’s defensive play, Tolbert said on ABC Sunday: “He can still defend for a few possessions, but over the course of 35-40 minutes, he’s just not ‘the Glove’ anymore.”

Another shot: Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post, in his column for AOL.com, wrote this about Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Laker excuses: “Let me guess. Shaq said it was Kobe’s fault, Kobe said it was Shaq’s fault, and Gary Payton complained that Jack Nicholson is getting more touches than he is.”

An added plus: Regarding 14-year-old Freddy Adu of D.C. United, Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: “Teammates say that they hope he’s with the team for a long time, because his mom brings the coolest snacks.”

Looking back: On this day in 2000, Karl Malone passed the 2,000-point mark for the season in a Utah Jazz victory over the Clippers. It was the 12th time in 14 years that Malone reached the milestone -- more than any other NBA player.

Trivia answer: Tommy Aaron.

And finally: From Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “If Jon Kitna, the abruptly benched Cincinnati Bengal quarterback, was last year’s NFL comeback player of the year, what does that make jettisoned San Francisco 49er quarterback Jeff Garcia -- this year’s don’t come back player of the year?”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.