Maybe They Can Change Nickname to Punching Bags

Central Florida University might not win many football games, but school officials will laugh all the way to the bank.

In what is believed to be an NCAA record, the Orlando school will make about $1.4 million for being trounced in five road games against Nebraska, Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi and Mississippi State.

“We play these games for a lot of reasons,” Central Florida Athletic Director Steve Sloan said. “But the biggest reason is money.”

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Trivia time: When was the last professional football game played in Los Angeles?

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The real thing: How serious are the Chicago Bears about playing the NFL champion Green Bay Packers on Monday night?

According to linebacker Barry Minter: “The Good Book says you’re not supposed to hate anybody, but I guess we can really dislike them. You see them so much, you hear about them in the media. . . . It’s not like going to Tampa Bay or Kansas City or even Minnesota and Detroit.

“I won’t say hate, but it’s a very, very big dislike.”

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Still the worst: For the third year in a row, Nate Newton of the Dallas Cowboys was named Muscle and Fitness magazine’s “Worst Physique in the NFL.”

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound lineman was named over 6-6, 325-pound offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy of the Oakland Raiders and 6-5, 282-pound defensive end Chris Mims of the Washington Redskins.

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Can he be sure? The University of Memphis is sharing the Liberty Bowl this season with the NFL’s Tennessee Oilers. The pros immediately painted over the school’s colors on the handrails and trash cans with the Oilers’ Columbia blue.

Rip Scherer Jr., the Memphis coach, said his team’s slogan this year will be, “Still the home team.”

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Food for thought: What worries St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Todd Stottlemyre about being hit in the ear by a line drive is his response when asked how he felt.

“I feel normal,” he said. “That’s the scary part.”

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Man of steel: Scott Benson, who played in every game for Colorado State’s basketball team last year, says he’s dropping out of school because he wants to follow his father into the welding business and believes he’ll be better off at a technical school.

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Trivia answer: Dec. 24, 1994, when Kansas City defeated the Raiders in the Coliseum, 19-9.

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And finally: Mark McGwire, who switched from the American League’s Oakland Athletics to the National League’s Cardinals in midseason, compares the two:

“There is so much more standing around in the American League. Here, you always feel into the game. It’s just a better way to play the game.”