For Better or Worse, That’s Bengal Policy

Dr. Ruth Westheimer picked Cincinnati in the Super Bowl because the club allowed the wives of the players to stay with their husbands before the game, while the wives of the San Francisco players were stationed in a hotel across the street from their husbands.

It’s possible that Dr. Ruth was unaware that the Bengals followed the same policy before the 1982 Super Bowl and lost to the 49ers, 26-21.

The Cincinnati coach then was Forrest Gregg, and when they asked him why he allowed the wives to stay with their husbands, he had a simple explanation.

“Because they’re married to them,� he said.

When pitcher Mike Smithson arrived in Boston for the town’s annual baseball writers’ dinner, he was surprised to hear that Roger Clemens and Mike Greenwell have been feuding with Red Sox management.

Said Smithson, who hails from Centerville, Tenn. (pop. 2,824): “Where I live, we just heard that Dukakis got beat in the election.�

From the Pittsburgh Press: “50 Years Ago Today: ‘Pittsburgh Press sportswriter Regis Welsh called on state boxing Commissioner William D. McClelland to ban pro wrestling after a match at Motor City Garden that featured ‘cursing, spitting, groin punching . . . and ribald buffoonery by the likes of Strangler Bob Wagner and King Kong Cox.’ �

Trivia Time: When Baltimore’s Jim O’Brien beat Dallas, 16-13, with a field goal in Super Bowl V and when Miami’s Garo Yepremian turned a blocked field goal into a Washington touchdown with an ill-advised pass in Super Bowl VII, who was the holder both times? (Answer below.)

When Angel Manager Doug Rader was at Texas, he was asked by Skip Bayless of the Dallas Morning News if he was as good with his fists as his reputation.

Rader: “Oh, I’ve had the snot kicked out of me, but I’m getting crafty in my old age. No more Tex Cobb syndrome--take five, give one.�

Would-you-believe-it dept.: Of the 11 assistant coaches on Bill Walsh’s staff at San Francisco, only two played in the NFL. Walsh had three black assistants, the most of any team in the league.

One of them, Dennis Green, is the new coach at Stanford, and Walsh told the Boston Globe: “Dennis Green should have been the first black head coach in the NFL. He is more qualified than many of the men who have been considered for the open positions in the league. He has all the tools to be an outstanding head coach.�

Trivia Answer: Earl Morrall.

Quotebook

Announcer Harry Caray offers this poser: “Q. What does a mama bear on the pill have in common with the World Series? A. No cubs.�