Cowboys Used Raiders to Warm Up for Bears

When the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Chicago Bears, 15-13, in an exhibition game in August, there were a number of flags for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Randy White didn’t even last a quarter. The Dallas defensive tackle was thrown out for swinging his helmet at Chicago offensive tackle Keith Van Horne.

Dallas Coach Tom Landry said he didn’t expect a repeat of such behavior when the teams meet Sunday at Texas Stadium.

“I don’t think that fighting is what this NFL game is all about,” he told Jim Dent of the Dallas Times Herald. “Therefore, I wouldn’t like it. As for the fights during the summer, our temperament was right for it. We had been scrimmaging the Raiders at training camp, and they had us riled up.”

Add Landry: Recalling when Chicago Coach Mike Ditka was on his Dallas staff, he said: “Mike’s temper sometimes got the best of him. It was interesting playing tennis with him. At least, as long as his racket lasted.”

Add Bears: Linebacker Mike Singletary, a product of Baylor, admits he grew up rooting for the Cowboys.

“They’ve got all the stars on their helmets and kids like to be Cowboys,” he said. “I was a big Cowboy fan. I was raised on them. You see these glasses I’ve got on. I got them from sitting 12 inches away from the television set.”

Trivia Time: Maryland basketball Coach Lefty Driesell has requested that his nickname be dropped and that henceforth he be called Charles Driesell. If Lefty Grove, Lefty Gomez and Lefty O’Doul made the same request, what would they be called? (Answer below.)

Add Driesell: On formal occasions, he would prefer to be called Charles G. Driesell, adding the middle initial, but don’t ask him what the initial stands for. Would you believe Grice?

Some people seem surprised that William (The Refrigerator) Perry, at 6-2, is able to dunk a basketball, but his dad says that’s nothing.

“Basketball was his game,” says Hollie Perry of Aiken, S.C. “He used to shoot hoops all day at the recreation center. He could make a 360-degree turn and stuff the ball with both hands, behind his back.”

Minnesota Coach Lou Holtz, asked about Michigan’s offense, said, “They brush block you.”

Brush block?

“Yes,” he said. “They try to brush your chest up against your spine.”

From Howard Balzer of The Sporting News: “Throughout the past year, USFL officials have often complained about the ‘negative’ media. Yet, several writers who authored articles for ‘Kickoff,’ the USFL’s official magazine, have yet to get paid.”

Trivia Answer: Robert Moses (Bob) Grove, Vernon L. Gomez, Francis J. (Frank) O’Doul.

Quotebook

Defensive tackle Randy White of the Dallas Cowboys, asked if he is worried over the possibility he’ll have to tackle William (The Refrigerator) Perry of the Chicago Bears: “I’m a helluva lot more worried about a guy named Walter Payton.”