This note’s for you, Jerry. Welcome to the asylum, my man. …
How old is Jerry Rice? As a rookie, he played in two stadiums that no longer exist (Fulton County Stadium and Mile High Stadium) and faced two teams (the Raiders and Rams) that have long since relocated to other cities. …
Go figure. Michael Jordan was cut by his high school team, and Rice started only four games as a rookie. His first start came at Mile High, where he caught four balls for 67 yards. …
Little-known Rice factoid: He was one of the slower wideouts at the 1985 Indy scouting combine. The fastest receiver in the group? Vance Johnson, drafted by the Broncos in the second round, 15 picks after Rice. …
Jake Plummer, when asked his reaction to Rice’s signing: “I’ll be in the parentheses for some records.” …
Their names, by the way, are Trevor Matich, Ben Thomas and Audrey McMillian. Those are the players the Patriots acquired 20 years ago in the deal that allowed the then-Super Bowl champion 49ers to move up from 28 to 16 to draft Rice. The three combined to play six seasons and make 12 starts for the Pats. …
What took Rice so long to get back to the Broncos? Not that his teeth aren’t as short as they once were, but for a minute there I was worried he had made his decision, but had forgotten what it was. …
This isn’t the first time the Broncos have acquired a future Hall of Famer in the twilight of his career. For the newcomers to the congregation, Dan Reeves traded for Tony Dorsett before the 1988 season. Dorsett ran for 703 yards that season, tore up his knee at training camp 1989 and was never heard from again. …
Did you know? Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie combined to average 16.8 yards per catch in 2004, the highest in the league for a wide receiver tandem. Now for the interesting part: The next two highest totals were turned in by Super Bowl teams New England (16.7) and Philadelphia (16.6). …
Not that the Suns are up against it, but only four teams have lost their first two home games in a conference final since the NBA established the Eastern and Western conferences for the 1970-71 season. All four lost, three via sweeps. …
Memo to NASCAR dude Jeff Gordon: Next time they ask you to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at Wrigley Field, have your brother Darryl or your other brother Darryl do it. …
People who have recently seen Ricky Williams claim he weighs 190 to 195 pounds. That means he would have to gain 40 pounds to reach his ideal playing weight. Or, to put it in terms Ricky can relate to, 18 kilos. …
From Bill Scheft of Sports Illustrated: “Doctors liken Shaq‘s thigh bruise to what might happen if he hit his leg twice with a sledgehammer, or once with one of his free throws.” …
You may have heard by now that Jon Garland and Dontrelle Willis are former Cubs farmhands. As if that weren’t enough, Matt Clement, acquired by the Cubs for Willis, is 5-0 with his new team, the Red Sox. …
Sammy Sosa, run out of Chicago by his former Cubs teammates, on life in the Orioles’ clubhouse: “I feel great here. This is my house. This is the way it should be. There’s a lot of respect here. Everybody respects me, and I respect everybody.” …
At least Lance Armstrong won’t have any distractions as he goes for another Tour de France. He and rocker Sheryl Crow reportedly are on the outs. …
And finally, Broncos tailback Tatum Bell, on one Maurice Clarett: “He’s going through what I was going through last year at this time. A lot of nervousness, trying to impress the coaches and teammates. I’ve got to tell him not to try to do too much. Be yourself, and do what you’ve been doing to get you here.”
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM, and on Fox Sports Net’s “Insider Edition.” He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
