Who Wouldn’t Be Grumpy Sitting on Ice?

John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Examiner asked Green Bay Packer Coach Mike Holmgren if he had tried ice fishing, a popular pastime in the Upper Midwest.

“I really don’t see the fascination there,” Holmgren said. “But some of the guys on my staff have. Fritz [Shurmur, defensive coordinator] went out and built his own little [ice fishing] house.

“I don’t know if any of you saw the movie ‘Grumpy Old Men.’ That’s Fritz Shurmur. I picture him drinking beer in the hut out there.”

And successfully scheming to beat the 49ers.

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Trivia time: Which NFL team has the best record in NFC championship games?

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Midwest slicker: Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson has a pigeon on the West Coast named Pete Wilson.

Thompson won a bet from the California governor when Wisconsin defeated UCLA, 21-16, in the 1994 Rose Bowl game.

He won again Saturday when the Green Bay Packers upset the San Francisco 49ers, 27-17. He staked his state’s cheese against Wilson’s case of California wine.

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Bah, humbug: Darren McCarty of the Detroit Red Wings didn’t get into the spirit of the holiday season.

In his first four games back from the NHL’s Christmas break, he had four fights. Why the hostility at a time of year when good will is more normal?

“I wanted the Chia dog and I got the Chia rabbit and I was really sour,” McCarty told the Detroit Free Press. “Really sour, I guess.”

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Wildcat in Wonderland: Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett rejected a UCLA coaching offer, perhaps, to stay in a saner environment.

“You get on a ride at Disneyland and some guy in a UCLA shirt says: ‘Hey, come coach the Bruins,’ ” Barnett said.

“And I’m in the teacup. In California, that’s going to happen.”

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Try again: Glen Mason, who accepted a coaching offer at Georgia then rejected it to stay at Kansas, rationalized his actions by saying:

“Ye who has never changed his mind throw the first stone. Pretty good, huh?”

Sorry coach, pretty bad!

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Ouch! From the Good Doctor in Inside Sports: “Q: Doc, could you please tell me what is so special about this horse named Cigar?

“A: He kicks ash.”

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Trivia answer: Green Bay, with an 8-2 record.

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Quotebook: Tampa Bay Lightning Coach Terry Crisp after a recent 10-0 loss to the Calgary Flames: “If our goalies were in a divorce case, they could sue for lack of support and be millionaires tomorrow.”