He’d Tear It From Playbook

Joe Theismann, after undergoing surgery for a compound fracture of the right leg, said he had received get-well messages from Mike Ditka, Bill Walsh, Pete Rozelle, Caspar Weinberger and the Dallas Cowboys defensive backs.

Of the last one, he said: “It was basically, ‘We’re sorry you’ve left. We need more interceptions.’ ”

Theismann was injured Monday night when a Washington flea-flicker play broke down against the New York Giants.

Asked what he remembered about the play, he said, “I remember wishing we had never called it.”

Looking on the bright side, he said, “This probably is the best thing for my punting career.”

Against the Chicago Bears this season, he had a punt of one yard.

He said he fully expects to play next season, and when asked what his New Year’s resolution would be, he said, “Ask Joe Gibbs to take the flea-flicker out.”

Trivia Time: Michigan State’s Lorenzo White, who appears to have clinched the NCAA rushing title with 1,908 yards, would be the fourth player named White to win the title. Name the other three. (Answer below.)

Said defensive tackle Jim Skow of Nebraska last week when John Ed Bradley of the Washington Post asked him about No. 1 Penn State: “My high school team could beat ‘em.”

Well, at least it won’t make the Penn State bulletin board. Oklahoma took care of that.

Yes, Denver Coach Dan Reeves expects a physical game today against the Raiders.

“That’s the way they play,” Reeves said. “I told our players that if somebody says something wrong to them this week, to slap the guy around. That will get us in the right mood for this game.”

When they threw oranges on the field Saturday to celebrate Oklahoma’s clinching of an Orange Bowl bid, it recalled when the same thing happened during an Arkansas game.

Said Lou Holtz, then the Arkansas coach: “Thank God, we’re not going to the Gator Bowl.”

Note: After the game, Holtz was asked what he knew about Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Holtz: “Nebraska is a little north of us.”

The subject was losing streaks, and Michael Martinez of the New York Times asked Fred (Mad Dog) Carter about the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73, the worst in NBA history.

Said Carter, now an assistant coach for the Washington Bullets: “Every time you go 0-for-November or 0-for-December, it makes traveling that much harder and longer. We were known as the universal health spa of the NBA. We cured all your ills. If the home team had a losing streak when we came in, they had a winning streak when we left.”

Trivia Answer: Byron (Whizzer) White (Colorado), 1937; Wilford (Whizzer) White (Arizona State), 1950; Charles White (USC), 1979.

Quotebook

BYU football Coach LaVell Edwards, told that the Cougars will play Ohio State instead of Auburn in the Florida Citrus Bowl at Orlando: “As I said before, it’s like choosing between being hung or shot.”