He Was Able to Fly Like an Eagle

Holly Robinson Peete, the daughter of Matthew Robinson, who starred as Gordon on the original “Sesame Street,” is the wife of Carolina Panther backup quarterback Rodney Peete.

The Peetes have three children and another on the way.

Holly said just before their 6-year-old twins, son R.J. and daughter Ryan, were born, Rodney, then with the Eagles, was playing a game in Philadelphia.

“I was flat on my back at Cedars-Sinai [in Los Angeles], hoping Rodney would make it in time for the birth,” she said. “Then the game goes into overtime and I’m thinking, ‘Oh no!’

“But they had a police escort for Rodney leaving the stadium” for the airport, where he caught a commercial flight, “and he made it to the hospital just in time. And the twins each got game balls.”

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Trivia time: Besides the Panthers and Eagles, Peete has played for four other NFL teams in his 16-year-career. Those teams?

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Taking charge: Holly Peete, an actress when she has the time, also has been working on a book about football. She says she has found a publisher and it should be out next year.

The title? “Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m Watching the Game.”

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Name game: Author Jennifer Allen, the daughter of the late Ram and Washington Redskin coach George Allen, has three sons. They are named Roman, Deacon and Anton Lamar, after Roman Gabriel, Deacon Jones and Lamar Lundy. Anton is Allen’s husband’s grandfather’s name.

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Overpriced: Warren Moon and Bill Walsh moderated an “NFL 201” class, part of a seminar put on this week in Hollywood by the L.A. Sports and Entertainment Commission.

Calling Walsh the best coach of his era, Moon said, “I would have loved playing for Coach Walsh.”

Replied Walsh, “He wanted too much money.”

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A key point: Walsh said during the class that for a coach to gain the confidence of his players, he must show them he knows what he is doing.

As an example, he used Super Bowl XXIII in 1989, when his San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati, 20-16, on their last drive.

“I couldn’t just call the players over and say, ‘Come on guys, this is the Super Bowl and we have only one more drive,’ ” Walsh said. “You need a plan.”

Not torture: Quentin Richardson, a guest on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” on being a Clipper: “It wasn’t as bad as everyone thinks it is.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1994, Jeff Gordon won the Brickyard 400, the first stock car race ever run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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Trivia answer: Detroit, Dallas, Washington and Oakland.

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And finally: Tom Arnold of “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” directed this at Mike Tyson: “Hey, Mike, you’re a mentally unstable, washed-up athlete with a criminal record. You want a job on our show?”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.