This Rule Change Is Definitely Marginal

During his 22 years of coaching football at Los Angeles Wilson High, Vic Cuccia was known for running up the score on weaker opponents.

In 1977, Cuccia’s team, led by senior quarterback Ron Cuccia, the coach’s son, led Lincoln, 63-0, at halftime. Lincoln Coach Dave Loera refused to send his team back out for the second half.

In recent years in Connecticut, Jack Cochran, the football coach at New London High, has been known for running up scores. His team last season won by more than 50 points four times.

Now the state has adopted what some are calling the “Jack Cochran rule.” Any coach whose team wins by more than 50 points will be disqualified from coaching the next game.

Cuccia would’ve missed more than a few games if there had been such a rule in California.

Trivia time: Elias Stats reports that there have been only two batting champions who hit under .250 the year before winning their batting titles. Can you name them?

Bite on! Florida angler Bucky Dennis, fishing near Fort Myers, this week reeled in a 1,280-pound hammerhead shark, which, if approved, will break the all-tackle record by nearly 300 pounds.

The shark dragged Dennis’ boat 12 miles offshore during the five hours it took to land it.

“It’s fun hooking them, but if you get too close, they will bite,” Dennis said. “And whatever they bite, they will bite off.”

Drop in the bucket: Regarding the City Council’s approving $25 million to upgrade the Coliseum, reader Bill Littlejohn asks, “$25 million? What are they going to do, paint the parking signs?”

A bad sign: Is the day coming when the Super Bowl will have a title sponsor? NFL Europe’s championship game, the Yello Strom World Bowl XIV, pitting the Frankfurt Galaxy against the Amsterdam Admirals, will be televised today at 9 a.m. by NFL Network.

Yello Strom? It’s a German energy company dealing in gas, electric and other energy forms.

Can’t be too careful: Tyler Snyder, the 19-year-old fan who caught Barry Bonds’ 714th home run ball, was a guest on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Friday night. The show hired a full-time security guard to be with Tyler from the moment he touched down at the Burbank airport until he flew back home to ensure the ball’s safety.

Looking back: On this day in 1981, Bill Shoemaker won his 8,000th race aboard War Allied in the first race at Hollywood Park.

Trivia answer: Carl Furillo (.247 in 1952, .344 in ’53 with the Brooklyn Dodgers) and Terry Pendleton (.230 in 1990 with St. Louis, .319 in ’91 with Atlanta).

And finally: Bob Todd, a sportscaster for Sierra Wave TV and radio in the Bishop-Mammoth Lakes area, is among those who are frustrated by not being able to get the cable network OLN, which has the rights to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Said Todd: “Way too many Mighty Ducks fans are finding out that OLN stands for Outside Looking iN.”

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