Extra Points

Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski was talking retirement last week after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his right knee, which is almost devoid of cartilage because of previous operations. "I don't know where I am physically right now. I need some time alone," says Bartkowski, 32. "I've thought a lot about my boys [Phillip, 4, and Peter, 1]. I think about being able to play Wiffle Ball with them or throw a football. I think about being able to function like a normal human being when I'm out of the game, without having to use crutches, without being in somewhat of an invalid state. I don't want to put a burden on my family like that. I certainly want to enjoy my boys. They're a great gift from God, and if I weren't able to take them camping or wading in a stream, that would break my heart."

Get this. Donald Trump, the owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals, says he wants to negotiate an arms-control treaty with the Russians. "Some people have an ability to negotiate," Trump told The Washington Post. "It's an art you're basically born with. You either have it or you don't."

As for missiles, Trump says, "It would take an hour and a half to learn everything there is to learn about missiles...I think I know most of it anyway."

Some pro football experts predict that Trump would start by persuading the Russians to move May Day to the fall.

After calling 12 penalties on the Bengals and only three on the visiting Seahawks in a game at Riverfront Stadium Nov. 18, it was only natural that the officials would be the least popular folks in the place. A bit embarrassed, Bengal coach Sam Wyche went to the end zone and asked the fans to desist from pelting the beleaguered zebras with snowballs and nasty words.

The situation got even uglier as line judge Jack Fette was leaving the field after the game. Hearing the taunts of a fan, Fette screamed, "Come down here, you——." When the fan attempted to climb over the guardrail, he was restrained by stadium police. Referee Gordon McCarter, the crew chief, grabbed Fette and shoved him toward the officials' dressing room. How about 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct?

Over the years, some pro football people have complained that Cowboy president Tex Schramm gets too many things his way. One example critics have cited is Dallas's annual Thanksgiving turkey feast at home. After beating the Patriots 20-17 last week, the Cowboys were up to 13-3-1 in that one. Well, now it's Schramm who has found something to squawk about. It seems the Cowboys must play their last regular-season game, in Miami on a Monday night, only six days before a possible wild-card playoff game. "If we have to play the wildcard game, we get screwed," grumps Schramm, who knows some potential opponents could have a two- or three-day edge in preparation. Wonder how much sympathy Schramm will get?

"I know when my birthday is," says Viking kicker Jan Stenerud, the oldest player in the NFL—and the only player in the league older than his head coach ( Les Steckel is 38). "My birthday is definitely November 26."

But what year? A check of Kansas City media guides from 1967-74 shows Stenerud was born on that date in 1942. But in the '75 guide, Stenerud's clock gets turned back, and his birth date becomes 11/26/43. And there it has stayed.

Time to come clean, Jan. "I told the p.r. guy in Kansas City to do me a favor and lie," Stenerud says. "Jerrel Wilson told me that you're never under oath in the NFL to tell your age. So I subtracted a year. I never thought I'd be kicking when I was 41—er, ah—42. Hell, I just thought I could stay in my 30s for an extra year. What's so awful about that?"