Cowherese Becomes Part of the Language

Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh Steeler coach, is not in the malaprop league yet with Ralph Kiner or Jerry Coleman, but he’s trying. A sampling:

--On a 14-10 victory Oct. 16 over the winless Cincinnati Bengals: “It wasn’t a Mozart.”

--”We’re not attempting to circumcise the rules.”

--”He takes a licking and keeps on ticking, like that Eveready bunny.”

Trivia time: What NCAA Division I-A school has the record for the longest football winning streak?

Natural born ham: David Casstevens of the Arizona Republic reports that Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns will appear in Billy Crystal’s new movie, “Forget Paris,” along with some of his teammates and Coach Paul Westphal.

“I’m a cross between Yul Brynner and Denzel Washington,” Casstevens quoted Barkley as saying, adding that Barkley “loves the camera second only to himself.”

Blackmail?Mike Ditka, trying to downplay--but not quite--his longtime feud with Buddy Ryan:

“I don’t care what he does, how he does it, when he does it or where he does it.

“I’m just trying to figure out what kind of pictures he had of that guy in Arizona (owner Bill Bidwill) to get that job.”

Boo hoo: Robert Horry of the Houston Rockets on the team’s lack of identity: “I don’t think anybody outside the Houston city limits realizes we won the (NBA) championship. We didn’t get the hype we deserved.

“I traveled to other cities and they don’t even know who the Rockets are.”

Omen for the season?Missing airplane flights isn’t unusual for athletes, or anybody else for that matter, but give Alton Lister of the Milwaukee Bucks credit for an original excuse.

After missing a team flight to San Antonio for an exhibition game, he said he got lost in the fog on the way to the airport.

Truly Dizzy: In the 1934 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers, Cardinal pitcher Dizzy Dean, performing as a pinch-runner, was hit on the head by a ball thrown by Tiger shortstop Billy Rogell, prompting a classic headline:

“X-RAYS OF DEAN’S HEAD SHOW NOTHING.”

Prime-time flops: Bill Benner of the Indianapolis Star writes that Purdue continues to be “Toob Boobs” after losing to Ohio State last Saturday, 48-14.

It was Purdue’s 26th national or regional television appearance since 1985--and it lost for the 25th time.

Looking back: On this day in 1973, Gail Goodrich scored 49 points and Elmore Smith set an NBA record with 17 blocked shots as the Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 111-98.

Trivia answer: Oklahoma, with 47 victories from 1953 to 1957.

Quotebook: Boston College Coach Dan Henning after a 7-7 tie with Rutgers:

“It makes you wish for doubleheaders, I guess, or twi-night doubleheaders.”