Leader of This Pac Goes Where the Hype Is

Pacific 10 Commissioner Tom Hansen, speaking at the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club luncheon Friday, was talking up today’s big conference football showdown.

“ESPN’s ‘GameDay’ is here, the national media is here,” he said, “and Arizona and UCLA are quite surprised by all this.”

Incidentally, Hansen will be attending the game between top-ranked USC and No. 7 California at the Coliseum.

UCLA plays host to Arizona at the Rose Bowl.

Trivia time: Tom Lasorda replaced Walter Alston as manager of the Dodgers with four games left in the 1976 season. What rookie pitcher who later won a Cy Young Award was the Dodger starter in Lasorda’s first game at the helm?

Replay advocate: Hansen said he is pushing for the Pac-10 to use instant replay as an officiating tool, possibly as soon as next season. He said he would not favor coaches’ challenges, a la the NFL, but rather a system like the Big Ten began using this season in which an official in the press box is able to review calls.

“The bottom line is, get it right,” Hansen said.

The real problem area: Hansen, asked which sport has the most officiating controversies, said, “Basketball, by far. Every conference commissioner hates to see basketball season start.”

The almighty dollar: Regarding Ricky Williams’ desire to return to the Miami Dolphins, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, “Did Ricky just discover 8.6 million reasons why he loves football again?”

Ouch: Troy Aikman, on his Sporting News radio network show carried by KMPC (1540), said of Williams: “If I were the quarterback of that team, I would say, ‘Hey, I don’t care if we go 0-16, I don’t want him in the huddle with me.’ ”

Whatever works: Philadelphia Eagle receiver Terrell Owens, a guest on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” explained why he did sit-ups after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears last weekend.

“We got an early wake-up call and I didn’t get all my workouts in,” he said. “So I figured I’d do it during the course of the game.”

Baseball blues: The Dodgers are asking fans to wear blue to today’s playoff game against St. Louis. The way the first two games went, blue seems appropriate.

Looking back: On this day in 1916, the Boston Red Sox, with Babe Ruth pitching, defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-1, in a 14-inning World Series game. The Red Sox won their second consecutive Series that year and won it again in 1918. They haven’t won a Series since.

Trivia answer: Rick Sutcliffe, who won a Cy Young with the Chicago Cubs in 1984.

And finally: Sutcliffe, now an ESPN commentator, said he got a no-decision in that 1976 game, his first major league start.

“It was 0-0 in the fifth when Tommy pulled me for a pinch-hitter,” he said. “At least the pinch-hitter was Manny Mota.”

*

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