Text messages from press row . . .

Twenty years ago today, Eric Dickerson of the Rams uttered one of the most memorable quotes in L.A. sports history. . . .

Embroiled in a contract dispute with the Rams, Dickerson made reference to his signature play when he said of Rams coach John Robinson -- whose salary was estimated to be only slightly lower than Dickerson’s -- “Let him run 47 Gap.” . . .

Twelve days later, on Oct. 31, 1987, Dickerson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in a three-team deal that brought three first-round draft picks, three second-round picks, running back Greg Bell and fullback Owen Gill to the Rams. . . .

Unlike the Dallas Cowboys, who utilized the players and picks obtained in their 1989 blockbuster trade of Herschel Walker to fuel a run of three Super Bowl victories in the 1990s, the Rams squandered their opportunity, parlaying the Dickerson trade into a run of mediocrity that only led to their relocation to St. Louis. . . .

If they’d paid Dickerson what he was worth, they might still be here. . . .

UCLA is on pace to set a home attendance record, even if some fans probably are showing up only hoping to see Karl Dorrell fall flat on his face. . . .

The Bruins, 3-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference, have drawn an average of 74,551 through three games at the Rose Bowl, slightly more than the record average of 73,709 drawn by Cade McNown and his teammates in 1998. . . .

Saturday’s game against No. 12 California is sold out and UCLA’s other home games are against No. 8 Arizona State and No. 10 Oregon. . . .

USC, facing a first-time starting quarterback for the second time in three games, hopes to fare better against Evan Sharpley and Notre Dame on Saturday than it did against Tavita Pritchard and Stanford two weeks ago. . . .

The Trojans, 5-0 against Notre Dame since 2001, have never won six in a row over the Irish, who once won 11 in a row over USC. . . .

Just as South Florida’s ascension to No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series rankings was a mystery to some, so too was its name. . . .

South Florida’s campus is in Tampa, which is not in south Florida. . . .

Tampa is closer to Valdosta, Ga., than it is to Key West. . . .

Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs, whose 64th touchdown reception Sunday extended his NFL record for tight ends, was the Orange County player of the year in basketball at Huntington Beach High in 1994 and also was the county’s top high school athlete in the ‘93-94 school year -- though some favored a golfer. . . .

The golfer, from Anaheim Western High, was Tiger Woods. . . .

Gonzalez, a forward, averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds over three seasons at Cal, helping the Bears reach the NCAA tournament’s round of 16 in 1997. . . .

In response to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell telling reporters that the league was considering playing a Super Bowl in London, an e-mailer wrote USA Today to suggest, “Keep the Super Bowl, give back Beckham.” . . .

Speaking of London, Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress and the rest of the New York Giants are scheduled to play the winless Miami Dolphins on Oct. 28 at Wembley Stadium in the first regular-season NFL game outside North America. . . .

With Vinny Testaverde, soon to be 44, back playing in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, BetUS.com has posted odds on which retiree might be the next to return, with Ricky Williams at 7-2 and Tiki Barber at 6-1 the favorites. . . .

Roger Jongewaard, who drafted Darryl Strawberry for the New York Mets and Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez for the Seattle Mariners, heads a group of baseball talent evaluators scheduled to join a panel discussion Monday night at Cal State Los Angeles, part of a class examining the art and science of scouting. . . .

Maybe one of them can explain how Mike Piazza lasted until the 62nd round of the amateur draft in 1988, with a whopping 1,389 players taken ahead of him. . . .

Jongewaard, a former Long Beach Poly High catcher, says that A-Rod called him an hour before the 1993 draft and asked that the Mariners not take him, saying that he preferred to go to the Dodgers, who had the second pick. . . .

Jongewaard took him anyway. . . .

The Dodgers took Darren Dreifort. . . .

If USC soccer player Amy Massey has her way, bottles and cans discarded by John David Booty, O.J. Mayo and other Trojans athletes will help provide clean drinking water for men, women and children in Malawi. . . .

Massey, a junior from Manhattan Beach, is heading a recycling program within the athletic department that will donate proceeds to Water Wells for Africa, a nonprofit that has funded about 70 wells in the impoverished nation. . . .

Says Massey of the effort, “It was something in my heart.”

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jerome.crowe@latimes.com