They Said It

? Earl Strom, basketball referee, when Elvin Hayes broke the NBA record for career fouls: "I felt like stopping the game and giving him my whistle."

?Skip Caray, Atlanta Hawks broadcaster, with the Hawks 20 points behind the SuperSonics and only three minutes to play: "If you promise to patronize our sponsors, you have our permission to walk the dog."

? Hugh Durham, Georgia basketball coach, on the SEC's new 45-second clock: "That won't be a factor for us. We'll either shoot the ball or throw it away by then."

? Steve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens forward, after scoring two goals in a game in which he played only briefly, asked if he thought the Canadiens would continue to use him sparingly: "I don't know. I don't think. I'm a hockey player."

? Hal Needham, onetime movie stunt-man turned writer-director, after giving the Smithsonian Institution his Budweiser Rocket car, which set an unofficial land-speed record of 739.666 mph at Edwards Air Force base in 1977: "Ever since I was a kid, everyone's told me I belonged in an institution. I never thought it would be the Smithsonian."