Imagine it is Friday night rush hour on Interstate Highway 55. You’ve had a flat and need assistance. Trucks and cars whiz by, but no one pulls off to help. That’s what Chicagoan Mildred Elem, whose cousin was with her, faced last weekend. Finally, a pickup truck stopped, a sturdy young man popped out and told the stranded motorists to get in his truck to stay warm while he changed the tire. “His license plate said `Jack 5′ and I thought he might be some celebrity,” said Elem. “I asked him and he laughed. We didn’t believe him at first, but he showed us some of his identification.” Bo Jackson was on his way home, which is in the southwest suburbs. “With all the car-jackings and other stuff going on today,” said Elem, “you couldn’t blame him for not pulling over. He just told us he’s got two sisters and he’d want someone to do the same thing for them.”
Mapping it out: We may be moving closer to “east is east” and “west is west” in the NFL. The league will decide on a new city Tuesday in the Chicago meetings (put your money on St. Louis), but Commissioner Paul Tagliabue indicated before the confab attention will be quickly fixed on realigning cities within the conferences. He indicated this will involve the Cardinals, Colts, Falcons and Saints.
Mountain climbing: The only way West Virginia has a chance to claim No. 1 is to score a lot of points against its bowl opponent, which puts heat on Mountaineer QB coach Dan Simrell. Name sound familiar? He was the head coach at Toledo four years ago, when he was fired by new Rocket AD Al Bohl despite an excellent record. Bohl didn’t think his offense was imaginative enough and hired an offensive coordinator, prompting the dismissal of Simrell after the coach refused to use the new man in the prescribed role. Outraged Toledo fans gathered 22,500 signatures on petitions demanding the reinstatement of Simrell and firing of the AD, but that scenario didn’t materialize. West Virginia’s offense is averaging 38 points and almost 500 yards per game. “It does feel good to be part of what’s happening here,” said Simrell, who noted the West Virginia offense is similar to the one he had at Toledo.
Fathers and sons: Notre Dame offensive coach Skip Holtz, Lou Holtz’s son, is being mentioned as a possible candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Duke. Also linked to the job is Tommy Bowden, son of Bobby and brother of Terry, who did such a great job at Auburn this season. Tommy’s on the Auburn staff. . . . Texas Christian baseball coach Lance Brown shouldn’t have trouble getting Rangers’ tickets. He just signed high school stars Ben Grieve, son of Rangers GM Tom, and Reese Ryan, son of Nolan.
Green fields: Payne Stewart collected $280,000 for playing 18 holes in last weekend’s Skins Game. Now, think about this:
– Hall of Famer Sammy Snead, playing on the regular PGA Tour, never won more than $55,562 in a single season.
– Jack Nicklaus was the leading money winner on the tour in ’76-with $266,438.
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– No one on the LPGA Tour made more for an entire season until ’82, when JoAnne Carner collected $310,400.
This ‘n’ that: Dwight Gooden, confirming the other day he thought first baseman Eddie Murray was a negative influence with the Mets, had this particular gripe: Murray, unfriendly to his teammates most of the time in the clubhouse, would joke and chatter with opposing batters after they reached first base. . . . Reggie White gets all the ink with the Packers, but teammate Bryce Paup shares the team’s sack lead at 10 1/2. . . . If you don’t think there are too many bowl games, you might note that all three of Utah’s Division I football schools-Brigham Young, Utah and Utah State-are in one.
Book report: Michael Jordan’s new book, “Rare Air,” slipped from No. 13 to No. 15 in only its second week on the New York Times’ best-seller list. But that’s the hardback edition, which goes for a whopping $50-twice as much as any other book on the list. The softcover version, which goes for $25, is going strong. It’s No. 2 on the Times’ paperback list and in the fourth week of being ranked. FYI: Jordan made the suggestion to publishers that a cheaper, softcover edition be made available.
Memories: Digger Phelps will be color analyst for ESPN with Jim Durham for the De Paul game Saturday with Kansas in the Horizon. Phelps’ last game as Notre Dame coach was in the Horizon, where he lost to the Blue Demons.
Around town: Hawthorn Woods’ Linda Harvey-Wild was one of 14 pros to win at least two tournaments on the recently concluded Kraft tennis tour for women. Harvey-Wild won twice. Steffi Graf, with 10, doubled the total wins of her closest competitor. . . . Coach Will Rey can go 2-0 for the first time in his five years at Loyola with a win Wednesday at Morehead State, which went 6-21 last season. The Ramblers’ only other game with Morehead was the season after the ’63 championship, when they beat the Eagles by 42. . . . The White Sox will face the three other playoff clubs in spring-training games, according to the schedule just released. In their opener in Ed Smith Stadium, the Sox play Texas and Will Clark. . . . Michigan alumni in Chicago gather Tuesday evening in the Palmer House for the annual Sports-O-Rama. Former Wolverine player Jim Mandich is emcee.