McMahon and Ditka: It’s a Sybilized Battle

Jim McMahon, scheduled to start today for the Chicago Bears, admits he’s had his differences with Coach Mike Ditka but says they haven’t been serious.

“Mike’s been Sybilizing a lot lately with a lot of guys, not just me,” McMahon told Bob Verdi in The Sporting News.

Sybilizing?

“You know, going through all different personality stages--like Sybil, the girl in the movie,” McMahon said.

He said this has contributed to some turmoil, but he also said the Bears thrive on it.

“Remember the Oakland A’s in the ‘70s?” he said. “They argued and kicked and screamed their way to three World Series titles in a row. We could be just like them.

“I know we can argue right up there with anybody, and I’m confident we can win a few Super Bowls, too. That’s all that matters--winning. Then we can all Sybilize together and be happy again.

“Sybilization in Pasadena.”

It-had-to-happen Dept.: Said Brent Musburger of Greg McMurtry after the Michigan freshman caught a pass Saturday: “This is going to be one of the great receivers in college football. Remember the name.” On the next play, McMurtry dropped a perfect pass from Jim Harbaugh in the Ohio State end zone.

Add Harbaugh: Before last week’s Minnesota game, he and linebacker Andy Moeller collected money from teammates to buy a plaque for Bo Schembechler, to commemorate the coach’s 166th win at Michigan, surpassing Fielding Yost’s school record of 165.

“We collected about $200 and had it inscribed,” Harbaugh said. “We were going to present it to him after the game, but then we went and lost the game.

“So we had to go out and have the inscription changed to take out ‘Minnesota’ and put ‘Ohio State’ on the plaque. That cost us another $30. We had to really scrape to get it. We couldn’t afford to lose again this week.”

Add Michigan: Said tailback Jamie Morris, brother of New York Giants running back Joe Morris: “I called my mother Thursday night. She said Joe would be watching. That made me feel good. I told her we had to win. I said, ‘Mom, this is for the Rose Bowl. I don’t want to go to the Cotton Bowl. It gets cold in Dallas at New Year’s.’ ”

Trivia Time: After Jay Schroeder came off the bench to lead UCLA to a 20-17 win over USC in 1980, he was rewarded with his only start as a Bruin in what bowl game? (Answer below.)

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: With its defensive line wiped out by injuries, the New York Jets flew in free agent Fred Dean from San Diego last week and offered him $15,000 a game.

Dean demanded $50,000 a game. On a pro-rated basis, that’s more than Mark Gastineau makes.

End of negotiations.

“The only thing I can figure,” Jet defensive lineman Barry Bennett told Newsday, “is that he had a friend in New York but didn’t want to call long distance, so he flew across the country to make a local call.”

Trivia Answer: The Japan Bowl at Tokyo. UCLA defeated Oregon State, 34-3.

Quotebook

Philadelphia Eagles Coach Buddy Ryan, on the team’s 3-8 record: “We weren’t that good to start with. The only one who picked us to do anything was me.”