His seat was never this hot

He coached longer, won more games and had a higher winning percentage than any UCLA football coach except Red Sanders and Dick Vermeil, so Terry Donahue is an expert on the Bruins football gig.

That’s why Donahue knows what Karl Dorrell is going through.

Despite a 5-2 record and being unbeaten in four Pacific 10 Conference games, Dorrell has more than his share of critics.

Donahue, who recruited Dorrell to play wide receiver for the Bruins out of Helix High in San Diego, said getting blasted by critics is part of the college football coaching business -- only it’s harsher now than during his days.

“With the Internet, blogs, chat rooms, talk radio, all that stuff, as a coach you are just going to get it if you’re not near perfect,” Donahue said. “When I was coaching, the world wasn’t as complicated. Now, anybody could put up a website and there you go. Coaches are certainly susceptible to being hammered.”

Donahue, an analyst for the NFL Network on “College Football Now,” was 151-74-8 in 20 years at UCLA. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

Donahue left Dorrell a message on his cellphone Saturday after UCLA defeated California at the Rose Bowl, 30-21.

That was a good one for the Bruins, but there have been a couple of clinkers too. As for UCLA’s loss to Notre Dame, Donahue said that’s easy to explain.

“When you’re down to your third quarterback, not many teams are going to look good,” he said.

By the way, Dorrell is 3-2 against Cal. Donahue was 15-5 against Cal and won 14 straight from 1976 to 1989.

Trivia time

How much did it cost to build the Prudential Center, the new home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils?

Dennis the menace

Dorrell might not be the toast of his town, but the coach of the team the Bruins are tied with for the Pac-10 lead certainly is.

At 60, Dennis Erickson, the former Idaho-Wyoming-Washington State-Miami-Seattle Seahawks-Oregon State-San Francisco 49ers-Idaho-again coach, is enjoying life with 7-0 Arizona State, which is No. 4 in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

However, there’s this:

Fact: The Sun Devils haven’t played a ranked opponent and have had five home games.

Fact: Next for Erickson and Arizona State is a game against Cal at Sun Devil Stadium.

Maybe Erickson should call Donahue.

Money news

Boston is $3.9 million richer this morning after Game 1 of the World Series at Fenway Park.

According to the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, that’s the estimated local economic impact on the city per World Series home game.

It’s between $2 million and $5 million for home games at Denver’s Coors Field, according to Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates.

Money news II

They’re busy printing bank notes on the PGA Tour, where a record-tying 93 have made at least $1 million this year and Brian Gay is just $649 shy of becoming No. 94.

Rally Monkey update

One out of every five sports fans is superstitious about the teams they follow, or believe in jinxes, according to an Associated Press/Ipsos telephone survey conducted last week of 1,013 adults.

Apparently, the survey was not limited to Boston and Chicago.

Trivia answer

The price tag is $375 million, including luxury suites, restaurants and club lounges that overlook the ice.

And finally

At the Breeders’ Cup post-position draw at Monmouth Park, Indian Blessing and Indian Vale were installed as 3-1 favorites in their races Saturday. That inspired turf writer Steve Schuelein: “It appears the Indians will fare better here than they did in the American League Championship Series.”

thomas.bonk@latimes.com