Even as Kid, Namath Had Unitas’ Number

Dan Daly of the Washington Times, commenting on the late Johnny Unitas:

“Growing up in Beaver Falls, Pa., Joe Namath idolized Unitas--so much so that friends called him ‘Joey U.’ Namath wore Johnny’s No. 19 jersey for home games, but had to settle for No. 29 on the road because there was no 19.�

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More Unitas: Jamison Hemsley of the Baltimore Sun commenting on Tampa Bay’s rout of the Ravens, 25-0:

“On a day to remember a legend, the Ravens delivered a performance to forget.�

Unitas, the former great Baltimore Colt quarterback, was the legend honored at the game.

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Trivia time: Assuming that he doesn’t change his mind, Eric Crouch, who earlier this month said he was leaving the NFL, is the sixth Heisman Trophy winner since World War II who hasn’t had an NFL career. The others?

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Sneeze and bear it: Atlanta Falcon linebacker Matt Stewart on the perils of NFL drug testing: “I had a cold last week, and I was going to take Tylenol cold medicine, but we were warned that you can’t even take that now because it may have some sort of ephedrine for a runny nose.�

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Whew! Jay Greenberg writing in the New York Post: “They prevented the unpreventable yesterday, escaped the inescapable, walked screaming with joy out of a place that nobody gets out of alive.�

A mass prison break from Devil’s Island? No, just the New York Giants defeating the Rams, 26-21, Sunday in St. Louis.

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Hey, it’s only a game: Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle, commenting, somewhat ruefully, on the San Diego Chargers’ 24-3 victory over the Texans: “The Texans weren’t outhustled, outmaneuvered or outfoxed at the end. They were taken out behind the woodshed and beaten with a cane....

“It was the same brutal result as crossing Tony Soprano. Somebody breaks your thumbs. Or worse.�

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What’s his handicap? Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Somehow I don’t think this is what Martha Burk had in mind. One of the new members at Augusta National is Lou Holtz.�

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More Rapoport: Why did the NFL forbid Peyton Manning from paying tribute to Johnny Unitas by wearing black high-top shoes Sunday? Because it can.�

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Quit now: Mark Grace doesn’t have any illusions on what next season with the Arizona Diamondbacks will be like.

“I’m getting old and my body aches too much,� he said, explaining to the Arizona Republic why he doesn’t want to play every day. “If someone gets hurt, yes. I could play three or four straight weeks, but that’s about it.�

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Trivia answer: Doc Blanchard, Army, 1945; Dick Kazmaier, Princeton, 1951; Pete Dawkins, Army, 1958; Ernie Davis, Syracuse, 1961; and Charlie Ward, Florida State, 1993.

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And finally: Diamondback Manager Bob Brenly, when asked which of his two star pitchers, Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson, he would endorse for the Cy Young Award:

“It’s like having twin daughters and they’re both up for homecoming queen.�