Keeping Score

From The Daily News of Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007 . . .

A few days back, Roger Goodell, the commissioner of all things NFL, mentioned that the Super Bowl may be played in London — as in London, England — one of these years. To which an e-mailer wrote USA Today: “Keep the Super Bowl, give back Beckham.” . . . The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins will play a regular-season game in London tomorrow. Considering the state of the Dolphins, perhaps the message should have been: “Keep the Super Bowl, give back Beckham, and throw in the Dolphins.” . . . “I couldn’t find London on a map if they didn’t have the names of the countries,” Miami linebacker Channing Crowder said earlier this week. “I swear to God. I don’t know what nothing is. I know Italy looks like a boot. I learned that. I know (Washington Redskins linebacker) London Fletcher. We did a football camp together. So I know him. That’s the closest thing I know to London. He’s black, so I’m sure he’s not from London. I’m sure that’s a coincidental name.” . . . Ahh, the U of Florida, Crowder’s alma mater, must be so proud.
Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “The Buffalo Bills hope to play one regular-season game per year in Toronto. Have you seen the Bills play, Canada? Might want to consider stopping them at the border and sending them back.” . . . When manager Joe Torre walked away from the New York Yankees and their contract offer, the New York Daily News headline read: SHOVE IT! . . . The New York Post reports that Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter had overnight company recently, in the form of two young women. As Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post noted: “Jeter’s the consummate professional, isn’t he? The guy’s season is over and he’s still playing both ends of a doubleheader.” . . . Football teams from Stanford and Oregon State meet today at Corvallis, Ore. At one time, Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh was a quarterback with the San Diego Chargers whose head coach was Mike Riley. Riley, the former CFL coach, now is Oregon State’s head coach.
Johnny Rodgers, the ordinary superstar when he played for the Montreal Alouettes, is wanting a pardon 37 years after he robbed a gas station. Noted Pete McEntegart of SI.com: “Rodgers is sick of going to Heisman reunions and getting needled by O.J. (Simpson) for having a conviction on his record.” . . . English rugby player Nick Easter hasn’t been at all pleased with the treatment his side has gotten from the media. As he told BBC Sport: “I’d like to thank the press from the heart of my bottom.” . . . After scientists announced that they have discovered Earth’s twin — named Gliese 581 C — and that it’s only 20 light years away, Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen noted: “Gary Bettman immediately announced plans to schedule next season’s NHL opener there.’’ . . . Jerry Greene, in the Orlando Sentinel: “Right now there are 93 PGA Tour players who have earned more than $1 million each this season. So pull that video game controller out of your kid’s hands and give him a 3-wood.”
Mark Kriegel of FoxSports.com, on the genius (?) of manager Tony La Russa: “Let’s go back to the Oakland A’s. How many points does his baseball IQ drop if there had been drug testing? Is he still a genius? Or just an out-of-work lawyer?” . . . How paranoid are football coaches? Consider the case of Oregon Ducks head coach Mike Bellotti. He closed a practice this week, according to the Portland Oregonian, citing “leakage of knowledge of injuries and specific plays during the week leading up to (last) Saturday’s game in Seattle.” . . . In the game in question the Ducks put up 55 points and 661 yards on the Washington Huskies, who obviously didn’t know what to do with the leakage, other than to let it run down their legs. . . . Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix notes: “The University of Toronto Blues lost their 49th consecutive college football game last weekend, so maybe the Leafs aren’t the worst team in Toronto after all.”
“I enjoyed watching (Eli) play on Monday night because I got a chance to see him play live on TV, and being able to watch the game in mute,” Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said after watching his brother and the New York Giants earlier this season. “Because it’s an easier way to watch the game than hear some of those broadcasters.” . . . All of which makes me even a bigger Peyton fan. . . . Syndicated columnist Norman Chad: “Nielsen no longer releases ratings for NHL games on Versus; it simply lists the names of all viewers on its website.”
Brent Barry, a guard with the NBA-champion San Antonio Spurs, tells ESPN.com that he already is tired of being asked if a repeat is possible. As he put it: “The whole subject of repeating is already getting repetitive.” . . . Wondering what’s so great about playing football at one of the big U.S. schools? Here’s Auburn defensive tackle Josh Thompson talking to The Associated Press about playing at LSU: “People are mooning you, people are throwing water at you, throwing bottles at you, beating on the buses. And then you get in the stadium, and they’re trying to spit at you and yell at you. It’s just a great place to go play.”
Max McGee, who died Saturday at 75 when he fell off the roof of his home in a Minneapolis suburb, had quite a reputation with the Green Bay Packers of the 1960s. Consider this from Greg Bedard and Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who wrote that head coach Vince Lombardi “got a quick introduction to the always colorful McGee early in Lombardi’s tenure. Upset over a loss, Lombardi decided to start with the fundamentals — by introducing a football. From the back of the room, McGee replied, ‘Uh, coach, could you slow down a little? You’re going too fast for us.’ ”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.