For the bean counters who keep track of these things, players from all four teams got $18,000 apiece for playing the conference championship games Sunday-and the Bills and Cowboys will add to that next week. Thirty years ago, the Bears won the NFL championship (there was no Super Bowl yet) and got $5,899 apiece as a bonus. That same season, San Diego won the AFL title and the players got checks for $2,498. More Super observations:
– While everyone was preoccupied with Jimmy Johnson’s “we will win” statement (and raise your hand if you were reminded of Joe Namath’s promise against the Colts), the Cowboys’ coach took a playoff swipe at Buddy Ryan that should’ve captured a few headlines, too. Noting that Ryan likes to brag he was 4-0 against Dallas as the Eagles’ head coach, Johnson countered with the fact Buddy was 0-3 in playoffs with Philadelphia. Johnson added, “As long as he stays an assistant coach, he might win a playoff game.”
– What did Bills coach Marv Levy think of Johnson’s statement? “Each guy has to do it his own way,” Levy said. “If that’s Jimmy’s style and he’s comfortable with that, good for him. It’s not my style. Dick Clausen was my coach at Coe College (Iowa), and my first college coaching job was under him. He told me, `Don’t try to be Bear Bryant or Bud Wilkinson because if you do you won’t be Bear Bryant or Bud Wilkinson or Marv Levy.’ “
– The last time both conference finals were so one-sided was the ’89 season, when San Francisco beat the Rams 30-3 and Denver topped Cleveland 37-21. It got worse, of course. The 49ers destroyed the Broncos 55-10 in the Super Bowl.
Cultural note: What’s the hottest signature for collectors? Ty Cobb? Michael Jordan? Honus Wagner? The Lake Forest Symphony Association may not be aware, but it’s sitting on a possible gusher when it holds a Feb. 5 fundraiser. Among items to be auctioned is a U.S. Figure Skating Association sweatshirt with Tonya Harding’s signature.
With friends like this: Geez. Al McGuire has always been a De Paul pal, but Blue Demon fans who watched Saturday’s huge victory on TV against Georgetown may be revising that opinion. Among Pal Al’s observations for CBS:
– After saying early in the game that Joey Meyer’s “on the bubble a bit with his job,” McGuire questioned later whether Joey didn’t pull his starters too soon in what turned out to be a 78-51 victory.
– When the Blue Demons’ margin first reached 25 points, McGuire noted: “De Paul’s good, but they’re not this good.”
– “Georgetown’s playing its worst game of the year and De Paul is playing its best.”
– McGuire thinks the Great Midwest Conference will be “fortunate” to get three schools in the NCAAs.
Extra? Extra? A Chicago tabloid made it sound like an exclusive last week, reporting Scottie Pippen has been stalked by a fan. Here’s some background: That revelation, according to those who were there, emanated from an off-the-record interview a few weeks ago in which Pippen told several Bulls beat reporters of his concern. He asked them-ahem-not to report it. He didn’t want to encourage anyone.
Millionaires club: The more you look at baseball’s arbitration scorecard, the more you realize Bill Veeck was correct: It isn’t the high cost of superstars that’s killing the sport. It’s the high cost of mediocrity. Check these figures:
– Kansas City’s Stan Belinda, a journeyman reliever, was paid $1.1 million in ’93 and he’s asking for $2 million this season. In ’93, he appeared in 23 games, was 1-1 with a 4.28 ERA and had no saves.
– Oakland’s Mike Bordick, a solid but unspectacular shortstop, is asking for a raise from $400,000 to $1.5 million. In ’93, he hit .249.
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– Minnesota outfielder Pedro Munoz, who hit. 233 in ’93 with 13 HRs and 38 RBIs, is asking for a salary hike from $253,000 to $900,000.
Hype alert: Spring-training ticket sales are off to a record start for the White Sox in Sarasota, but don’t be quick to assume it’s due to Michael Jordan. A check with a box office source revealed “about one in five callers” mention Jordan. “Don’t forget,” the source said, “the Sox won the division and have the MVP, Cy Young winner and manager of the year, too. They’d be more popular anyway.”
Local angle: Former Bulls coach Stan Albeck, a scout for the Spurs, checked out Oak Park’s Greg Guy, playing for Texas-Pan American, the other night. A guard, Guy was the nation’s leading scorer in Division I last year and Albeck’s advice was this: Think about the CBA or Europe, but make sure you go to NBA predraft camps in Chicago and Portsmouth. He’s sure to be invited.
Here today, gone tomorrow: Northern Illinois announced a multimillion-dollar face-lift for its football stadium last week, which begged the question: What ever happened to the new $20 million basketball arena that was proposed in 1989? The Huskies were supposed to be playing in it by now. According to those close to the project, the state’s sizable portion of the funding, pledged under then-Gov. Jim Thompson, disappeared after Jim Edgar took office.
And finally: There’s a Nellie Fox Society pledged to get the fomer White Sox second baseman into the Hall of Fame and Ron Santo has received plenty of local support, too. When does the parade form for Johnny “Red” Kerr’s basketball Hall of Fame candidacy? Kerr, like the other nominees, was told by hall officials in Springfield, Mass., to hang loose next month for an announcement. This is his second time around. You get three tries.