Who says athletes aren't as intelligent as rocket scientists?
1992 Pat Williams, Orlando Magic general manager, on his team's 7-27
record: "We can't win at home. We can't win on the road. As general
manager, I just can't figure out where else to play."
1987 Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what
he told a player who received four F's and one D: "Son, looks to me
like you're spending too much time on one subject."
1982 Chuck Nevitt , North Carolina State basketball player,
explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice:
"My sister's expecting a baby, and I don't know if I'm going to be an
uncle or an aunt."
1996 Lou Duva, Veteran boxing trainer, on the spartan training
regimen of heavyweight Andrew Golota: "He's a guy who gets up at six
o'clock in the morning regardless of what time it is."
1981 Tommy Lasorda , Dodger manager, asked what terms Mexican-born
pitching sensation Fernando Valenzuela might settle for in his
upcoming contract negotiations: "He wants Texas back."
1976 Alex Hawkins, recalling his playing days against Dick Butkus:
"Whenever they gave him the game ball, he ate it."
1966 Darrell Royal, Texas football coach, asked if the abnormal
number of Longhorn injuries this season resulted from poor physical
conditioning: "One player was lost because he broke his nose. How do
you go about getting a nose in condition for football?"
1981 Mike McCormack , coach of the hapless Baltimore Colts after the
team's co-captain, offensive guard Robert Pratt, pulled a hamstring
running onto the field for the coin toss against St. Louis: "I'm
going to send the injured reserve players out for the toss next
time."
1966 Red Auerbach, the Boston Celtics' general manager, asked if he
had any criticism of Bill Russell's coaching: "He has the players too
happy."
1971 Mike Lucci, Detroit Lion linebacker, on his three key
interceptions against the Chicago Bears: "Yeah, they gave me the game
ball. If they hadn't given it to me, I would have taken it anyway."
1991 Steve Spurrier, Florida football coach, telling Gator fans that
a fire at Auburn's football dorm had destroyed 20 books: "But the
real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet."
1986 Jim Finks, New Orleans Saints G.M., when asked after a loss what
he thought of the refs: "I'm not allowed to comment on lousy
officiating."
1991 Alan Kulwicki, stock car racer, on racing Saturday nights as
opposed to Sunday afternoons: "It's basically the same, just darker."
1976 Greg Buttle, New York Jet linebacker, explaining his contractual
obligations: "They pay me to practice. Sundays I play for free."
1996 Lincoln Kennedy, Oakland Raiders tackle, on his decision not to
vote: "I was going to write myself in, but I was afraid I'd get
shot."
1991 Jim Colletto, Purdue football coach and former assistant at
Arizona State and Ohio State, on his 11-year-old son's reaction after
he took the job with the Boilermakers: "He said: 'Gosh, Dad, that
mean's we're not going to any more bowl games.'"
1986 LaVell Edwards, BYU football coach and one of 14 children: "They
can't fire me because my family buys too many tickets."
1981 Dorothy Shula, on the career dedication of her husband, the
Miami Dolphins' coach: "I'm fairly confident that if I died tomorrow,
Don would find a way to preserve me until the season was over and he
had time for a nice funeral."
1976 Mike Newlin, Houston Rocket guard, after a game his team lost to
the New York Nets: "We were the quintessence of athletic atrocity."
1971 Tom Workman, former NBA-ABA basketball player: "They tell you to
join the NBA and see all the big cities: New York with all the
lights, San Francisco with its night life, San Diego's sunshine. They
also say join the ABA and see the U.S.A. Unfortunately, I found this
included Steubenville, Ohio; Amarillo, Texas; Elko, Nevada; Cedar
City, Utah; and Biloxi, Mississippi."
1966 Jim Camp, George Washington football coach, on why he doesn't
use a lonely end: "We train by a parkway, which runs beside a river.
If we had a lonely end, he either would be hit by a car or drown."
1976 Hugh Campbell, football coach at Whitworth College in Spokane,
Wash., after his team had defeated Whitman 70-30: "It wasn't as easy
as you think. It's hard to stay awake that long."
1991 Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player: "I told
him, 'Son, what is it with you. Is it ignorance or apathy?' He said,
'Coach, I don't know and I don't care.'"
1986 Jeff Kemp, 49ers quarterback, when asked about his rapport with
wide receiver Jerry Rice: "Rapport? You mean like, 'You run as fast
as you can, and I'll throw it as far as I can?'"
1966 Tom Nissalke, New coach of the NBA's Houston Rockets, when
asked, during a question-and-answer session with a group of fans, how
he pronounced his name: "Tom."
1991 Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John
Jenkins: "He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings."
1976 Abe Lemons, University of Texas basketball coach, when asked if
he felt his team should be ranked in the Top Twenty this season: "You
mean in the state?"
