Semper Fi: Raider Red Battles a Few Bad Men in Cotton Bowl

It was reported that “Raider Red,” the costumed mascot for Texas Tech, was escorted off the Cotton Bowl field Monday after an altercation with USC’s band.

Update from the Dallas Morning News: “Security officers confirmed that USC band members initiated the confrontation by elbowing and kicking Raider Red. Then another USC band member ripped the mustache off his costume and punched him in the face.”

Raider Red’s real name is Steve Hutto. He is a former Marine who fought in the Persian Gulf War.

Add Raider Red: It’s believed he put up a better fight than the Red Raiders, who were routed by the Trojans, 55-14.

Trivia time: Which four men played for NCAA and NBA championship teams in successive years?

Believe it or . . . Susan Osugi, a Hong Kong amateur golfer with a 24-stroke handicap, scored two holes in one during the same round.

She aced the 118-yard eighth hole with a six-iron Monday at the Arnold Palmer-designed Chung Shan Hot Springs Golf Club in southern China, then aced the 86-yard 17th hole, using an eight-iron, the South China Morning Post reported.

The odds against two holes in one in the same round? Astronomical.

Holdout: The debate continues about the No. 1 team in college football, Nebraska or Penn State. The polls selected the Cornhuskers, but the Nittany Lions are No. 1, at least in Pennsylvania.

“I will issue an official proclamation declaring the Associated Press and Cable News Network football polls to be null and void within the borders of Pennsylvania,” Governor-elect Tom Ridge told Penn State Coach Joe Paterno in a letter.

So Nebraska will be recognized in only 49 of the 50 states.

Now we know: John Salley, a former teammate of Dennis Rodman with the Detroit Pistons, trying to explain Rodman’s psyche in GQ magazine:

“He’s got the spirit of a biker. I think that’s what it is: Some biker died, and his spirit drifted and hit (Rodman) while he was walking through the Dallas airport.”

Bag bunker: Raymond Floyd is recognized as the only pro golfer to have hit a drive into his own golf bag.

It happened in the 1987 Tournament Players Championship at Ponte Vedra, Fla. Floyd hit a 250-yard drive on the 11th hole that landed in his bag, which had been left on the fairway by his caddie. The mishap cost Floyd two penalty strokes.

Source: Great Moments & Dubious Achievements in Golf History by Floyd Conner.

Trivia answer: Bill Russell, University of San Francisco and the Boston Celtics, 1956 and ‘57; Henry Bibby, UCLA and the New York Knicks, 1972 and ‘73; Magic Johnson, Michigan State and the Lakers, 1979 and ‘80, and Billy Thompson, Louisville and the Lakers, 1986 and ’87.

Quotebook: Derek Harper of the New York Knicks, on trash-talking Reggie Miller of the Indianapolis Pacers: “When it comes to getting under people’s skin, nobody can touch him.”