Eight in the Box

1. ESPN's SportsCenter pulled off the rare -- if not once-in-a-lifetime double Rucker reference on Tuesday morning's broadcast. SC did a piece on hallowed Harlem playground Rucker Park and then later in the show mentioned Southern Cal defensive end Frostee Rucker -- one of the great names in college football this year. It belongs in the College Football Name Hall of Fame along with Yale Van Dyne (Michigan), Hart Lee Dykes (Oklahoma State), Hiawatha Francisco (Notre Dame), Wonderful Monds (Nebraska) and Kirby Dar Dar (Syracuse). Feel free to submit your candidate for this Hall. Hey, if they can have a Mascot Hall of Fame, why not this. Finally, FYI, Ohio State All-America linebacker A.J. Hawk's initials stand for "Aaron James," but in reality, say his parents, that was just an excuse to name him A.J. "After A.J. Foyt," reveals Hawk's father, Keith, whose own dad raced cars.

2. Ironic quote of the week, courtesy of New York Met first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, discussing his bruised tailbone: "There is still some numbness, which is nerve-wracking ..."

3. How about this quote from former Real World-er Mike Mizanin that appeared in the latest Entertainment Weekly? "MTV has given me this opportunity not to have to go to college -- and I'm not saying don't go to college," says Mizanin. "But I get to move to L.A. I've been to the Playboy mansion many times." Stay in school, kids. That is, unless you have the chance to room with six strangers, half of whom you'll likely have sex with. On TV!

4. The best part about Rece Davis' "Coors Six Pack" of questions with Terrell Owens (and puppet-master Drew Rosenhaus) last Thursday is the only revealing answer came on the seventh question. Did Coors have to pay extra for that? After asking the sixth question, Davis followed up with a query along the lines of "What will make you happy?" T.O., before ventriloquist Rosenhaus had a chance to stop him, answered, "I just wanna get paid I just wanna be a good teammate." Priceless stuff. Thanks, T.O.

5. A few readers (all of my readers?) wrote in to say that in my piece on the Orange Bowl, I neglected to mention that Maryland pulled off the greatest comeback in NCAA history in the Orange Bowl. The year was 1985 and the Terrapins trailed 31-0. They outscored the Hurricanes 42-9 in the second half to win, 42-40. Trivia buffs know the Terp quarterback that day was Frank Reich, who later engineered the greatest comeback in NFL history, Buffalo's 41-38 defeat of the Houston Oilers in the 1992 AFC Wildcard game. By the way, the Bills' greatest deficit that day came early in the 3rd quarter, when they fell behind 35-3 after Reich's pass was intercepted and returned 58 yards for a touchdown. The player who intercepted it? Former Miami Hurricane Bubba McDowell.

6. Ricky Gervais, the creator of The Office, killed on Letterman last Thursday. Dave complimented him on having been involved with last month's Live 8 show in London, and Gervais replied with a comment that only a foreigner (with a charming accent) could get away with these days. He said, roughly, "Yes, it was to forgive African debt ... though I don't know how they get into debt in the first place. They don't have any shops or credit cards."

7. Speaking of politically incorrect humor, catch one of the many re-runs of Comedy Central's roast of Pamela Anderson that originally aired Sunday. One gem among the many: Adam Corolla addressing Sarah Silverman, who dates Corolla's good friend and former Man Show co-host Jimmy Kimmel, said, "Sarah, it must be so hard for you. Faking both the orgasms and the laughter."

8. The Sporting News' NFL magazine has Chicago QB Rex Grossman listed as its 2005 Comeback Player of the Year -- and he'll likely be listed there again next year after injuring his ankle in the Bears' first preseason game.