Cowboys’ Jones Has Poor Sense of Direction

Randy Galloway in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, commenting on the Dallas Cowboys: “Jerry Jones is the owner of a football team that has lost 28 games, and counting, in 2 1/2 seasons.

“There are those of us who think Jerry has a management problem. Actually, allow me to rephrase that. There are those of us who think Jerry is the management problem.

“ ‘I do take the blame,’ answered Mr. Jones last week at Valley Ranch. This was a manly response. Except ... Jerry, if you blame yourself, why don’t you do something about yourself? ...

“ ‘I like our direction,’ Jerry answered.

“God help us all.�

Trivia time: Who holds UCLA’s single-season record for touchdowns?

Bang, bang it hurts: Mike Kuykendall, Oregon State tackle, to the Corvallis Gazette after the Beavers -- favored to win in Seattle against Washington for the first time in more than three decades -- lost to the Huskies because of numerous penalties and interceptions:

“We ran out of feet to shoot. We shot ourselves in the toes.�

Returning the favor: Ron Cey was among a number of former Dodgers at the grand opening of a Big League Dreams sports complex in Chino Hills last week. So was Bill Sharman, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s while also playing for the Boston Celtics.

Cey told Sharman he was 8 years old when Sharman and some members of the NBA champion Celtics came through Tacoma, Wash., for an exhibition game.

“You’re the first person I ever asked for an autograph,� Cey said. Said Sharman: “Now it’s my turn. How about giving me your autograph?�

Bearing-up: Rick Morrissey in the Chicago Tribune: “The Bears’ season has gone from depressing to confusing. So yeah, we’re talking progress here.

“After Sunday’s loss [to the New England Patriots], the defensive coordinator said he didn’t need me second-guessing him. The Bears blew a three-touchdown lead for their seventh straight loss, and someone got a bad case of Brain-lache during crunch time, not that I’m naming names.�

No, of course not. The defensive coordinator is Greg Blache.

Looking back: On this day in 1932, USC defeated Oregon at the Coliseum, 33-0. The Trojans went on to win the national championship, beating Pittsburgh in the Rose Bowl game, 35-0.

Trivia answer: Skip Hicks, 26, in 1997.

And finally: Adrian Wojnarowski in the New Jersey Record: “Army lost, 49-30, to Air Force on Saturday, the Black Knights dropping to 0-9 on the season, No. 117 out of 117 Division I-A teams, solidifying their standing as the worst of the worst....

“Yes, this is West Point. These were the classrooms and training grounds for Douglas MacArthur and George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower. This is the football program that inspired General George Marshall to declare during World War II: ‘I want an officer for a secret and dangerous mission. I want a West Point football player.’

“He would want one of these kids today too for his mission, as long as it doesn’t include beating Holy Cross, because Army couldn’t even do that this year.�

-- Mal Florence