They Surely Also Heard Him Way Across Town

Not that UCLA needs any more incentive going into Saturday’s game against USC, but what ESPN’s Lee Corso said on the Sporting News radio network morning show heard on 1540 might provide some.

Co-host Mark Willard said to Corso: “There’s no doubt in your mind that Joe Paterno is coach of the year, right?”

Corso: “Not necessarily. Not so fast, my friend. The No. 1 guy on my list right now is UCLA’s Karl Dorrell. And if somehow he was able to beat USC, there’s no question in my mind Karl Dorrell would be coach of the year.”

Trivia time: Where did former UCLA coach Henry R. “Red” Sanders get his nickname?

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The old man and the kids: One couldn’t blame Kobe Bryant, 27, if he were feeling a little old these days.

“We’re a really, really young team,” he said. “Andrew Bynum was 3 years old when the Bulls won their first championship [in 1991], and he was 7 years old my rookie year [1996-97].”

Actually, Bynum was 9 years old in Bryant’s rookie season, but you get the picture.

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Well-suited: NBA players apparently aren’t having any trouble acquiring the proper clothing to abide by the league’s new dress code.

Utah Jazz center Jarron Collins, the former Harvard-Westlake High and Stanford star, told the Associated Press: “On a road trip, a clothing company called my room and said, ‘Do you need anything?’ They come to your room with fabric.”

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It’ll take your breath away: A new sports craze, according to the AP, is underwater hockey. Players carry sticks and wear snorkels, fins and diving masks.

A prerequisite is being able to hold one’s breath.

“It’s hard to convince people you’re serious,” said Paul Wittekind, a Cincinnati high school history teacher who coaches the sport.

“A lot of people are going to sit there and say, ‘You’re kidding!’ Or, ‘What’s next, underwater basket weaving?’ ”

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Assisting in career suicide: Attorney David Cornwell, who has worked with football players such as Ricky Williams and Randy Moss, told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen that agent Drew Rosenhaus is “the Dr. Kevorkian of sports agents.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1929, Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals ran for six touchdowns and kicked four PATs to score all the team’s points, an NFL record, in a 40-6 victory over the Chicago Bears.

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Trivia answer: According to a “Stadium Stories” book on the Bruins by UCLA broadcaster Chris Roberts, Sanders’ uncle called him “Red Bull” because he always wore a red sweater when he was a youngster. It was later shortened to “Red.”

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And finally: Fox’s Terry Bradshaw isn’t so sure that it would be a good thing for the Indianapolis Colts to lose a game.

“This idea that the Colts need to lose a game so they can concentrate on winning a Super Bowl,” he said Sunday, “is like me saying I think I’ll just go ahead and get another divorce so I can focus on my next marriage and really make it work.”

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