Totally Random
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Thirty years have passed and Joe Pisarcik still can’t catch a break.
On Nov. 19, 1978, Pisarcik was quarterbacking the New York Giants to an apparent victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, running out the clock, when he fumbled a handoff to Larry Csonka. Eagles defensive back Herman Edwards recovered and returned the ball 26 yards for a touchdown that gave Philadelphia an improbable victory — and Pisarcik headaches when he attends a sports autograph show.
He recalled signing autographs once with other retired NFL players when an older man walked up and exclaimed, ‘Hey, you were the ‘Miracle at the Meadowlands’ guy.’
‘He was a nice guy,’ Pisarcik told the Associated Press. ‘He probably didn’t mean any harm. I said, ‘Oh, I hadn’t heard that one all day today. Glad you brought that to my attention. Thank you for sharing.’ He looks at me like I’ve got four eyes.
‘Then there was the guy who just walked up to me and said, ‘You’re the guy who fumbled the ball! You’re the guy who fumbled the ball!’
‘I told him, ‘When I was your age I was the starting quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. What are you doing?’ ‘
Today, Pisarcik works on Wall Street, selling bonds in economically troubled times.
‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘there’s another fumble.’
Trivia time
Where did the Giants and Eagles finish the 1978 season?
In tunes
LeBron James’ street cred took a hit when he admitted to teammates that he listens to Barry Manilow.
The website for Cleveland radio station WTAM 1100 reported that in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room Thursday, it was mentioned that James’ longtime friend Carmelo Anthony admitted last year that he had some Manilow music on his iPod.
James said he probably had some Manilow too — though he caused teammates to laugh when he mistakenly referred to the singer as ‘Brian Manilow.’
James dug out his iPod and unveiled evidence — Manilow tunes ‘Copacabana,’ ‘Mandy’ and ‘I Am Your Child.’ But then James quickly switched back to listening to rap star Jay-Z.
No turkey here
Oscar De La Hoya, to the Associated Press, on maintaining his fighting weight of 145 pounds for his Dec. 6 bout against Manny Pacquiao: ‘No tamales, nothing like that. I even have to skip Thanksgiving. It’s a tough life.’
Trivia answer
The Eagles defeated the Giants in the regular-season finale to finish 9-7 and earned a wild-card playoff berth. The Giants wound up 6-10 and in last place in the NFC East.
Highs and lows
Jacksonville Jaguars running back and former UCLA star Maurice Jones-Drew, on KLAA 830’s ‘The Sports Lodge,’ talking about the difference between Los Angeles and Jacksonville: ‘In L.A. you have the high life and Hollywood. In Jacksonville, you have alligators.’
-- Mike Penner