They Said It

? Gertrude Ederle, who swam 21 miles through New York Bay in preparation for her 1926 conquest of the English Channel, asked at the age of 66 if she could make the same swim today: "Sure, I'd float across on the garbage."

? Jerry Tagge, Green Bay quarterback: "It took me a whole year to learn how to call a play convincingly. Even if you don't know what you're going to do, you have to act like you do."

? Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh Steeler coach, after ex-manager Bill Virdon of the Pirates challenged one of his players to a fight for calling him an obscene name, when asked what he would do if one of his 280-pound linemen called him something nasty: "I'd say sticks and stones may break my bones...."