THIS COLUMN WAS WRITTEN IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE


QUICK QUIZ

Who hit the most home runs during the 1980's?

A. Mike Schmidt
B. Dale Murphy
C. Andre Dawson
D. Paul Barrera

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Mike Flanagan, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher, "I could never play in New York. The first time I ever came into a game there, I got into the bullpen car and they told me to lock the doors."

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Former President Gerald Ford, "I had pro offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, who were pretty hard up for linemen in those days. If I had gone into professional football, the name Jerry Ford might have been a household word today."

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Professional golfer Curtis Strange, "We all choke. You're not human if you haven't. We get just as nervous as the average guy playing for the club championship."


IDLE THOUGHTS

I suppose you're waiting patiently for me to agree with the Steve Mariucci firing. Well, believe it or not, I was kind of hoping Detroit Lion President/General Manager Matt Millen would fire himself. Sure, the Lions have been horrendous since Mariucci took over. Sure, he compiled a woeful 15-28 record since joining the Lions, but who has the ultimate say in choosing players? It's Millen. He's the one who desperately wanted Jeff Garcia, he's also the one who wanted to draft Joey Harrington. Three egotistical wide receivers drafted in the first round? Why not build the offensive line first, and then concentrate on the skill positions? After all, isn't your o-line the people opening holes for the running back, protecting the quarterback and giving him time to throw?

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Did you know Lloyds of London has an insurance policy on Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart? If Leinart, who passed up the National Football League draft for another shot at the national championship, falls from first to 15th overall in next year's draft, the insurance company will pay him the difference in cash. It's called loss of value insurance. Those insurance guys are no dummies.

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The fastest boxing match ever was 10.5 seconds (includes the 10 count) when welterweight Al Couture KO'd Ralph Walton on September 24, 1946. The longest? A heavyweight fight between Andy Bowen and Jack Burke on April 6, 1893 lasted 439 minutes. They battled to a draw.

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I recently read a magazine article about Darryl Dawkins. You remember "Chocolate Thunder" don't you? In 1975 he became the first high school player in the modern era to jump directly to the National Basketball Association (teenager Moses Malone was drafted into the ABA the year before). He was asked about his toughest match-up. He said it was Big Bob Lanier, the 7-foot left-hander with the lazy eye and size 22 shoes. Dawkins said Lanier, a former Detroit Piston, had a button on his side that he would push to make his ass bigger when he tried getting around him.

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If you're Mike Boyd, you're shaking your head. The Nouvel Catholic Central head football coach guided his team to a perfect regular season (8-0) and coasted through the Division 6 playoffs until they were upended by Reese, 26-19, in the regional final. Reese would go on to lost to Kingsley, 37-21. Kingsley wound up winning the Division 6 state championship with a 31-21 victory over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. Meanwhile, Traverse City St. Francis captured the Division 7 state title when they toppled Unionville-Sebewaing Area, 28-14. Nouvel beat both Monroe St. Mary and Traverse City St. Francis during the regular season.

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The Detroit Red Wings are wondering where their fans are. The Wings used to sell out Joe Louis Arena, but that was before their lockout. After shelving the sport for a year, a number of National Hockey League teams lowered ticket prices in a show of good faith. The Red Wings weren't one of those teams. Do you think it would have killed them to lower the price of a $76 lower bowl ticket to, let's say, $56?

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Whatever happened to Jim Plunkett?


QUICK QUIZ ANSWER

A. Mike Schmidt with 313.