Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 31, 1993 TAG: 9312310021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FORT LAUDERDALE LENGTH: Medium
All three will be at Joe Robbie Stadium on Saturday when the Eagles face Virginia in the Carquest Bowl.
Szabo, who played running back and defensive back at Navy from 1963-65, will match strategy against UVa offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien, a defensive end for the Middies from 1968-70.
At the start of his college career, Szabo's position coach was George Welsh, who played at Navy and later served as the Middies' head coach before coming to Virginia before the 1982 season.
"George coached me as a sophomore," Szabo said. "He worked with the running backs. He was very quiet as an assistant coach, but I understand that's changed."
In some unusually glib remarks Thursday at a Carquest Bowl luncheon, Welsh said, "I don't do that much coaching anymore. I just stand around and yell."
\ MORE WELSH QUIPS: Of the UVa Pep Band, snowbound in Virginia, Welsh said, "Some at Virginia would say that's good. For those of you haven't seen them, you haven't missed anything."
On his wife, Sandra, who spent part of the fall at their vacation home in Massachusetts: "She told me she spent three months cheering for Nantucket High, the New England Patriots and Boston College."
On his connection with Paul "Bear" Bryant as the two coaches who have the most coaching victories at two schools: "There's another connection. He wasn't winning many bowl games (0-7-1 between 1968-75)."
\ RUMORS QUIETED: Almost one year ago to the day, Boston College's preparations for the Hall of Fame Bowl were interrupted by the news that New York Giants coach Ray Handley had been fired.
The national media descended on Tampa, Fla., to see if Boston College coach Tom Coughlin was interested in returning to the Giants, whom he had served previously as an assistant.
"Dealing with it was not a difficult thing for me because I didn't pay much attention to it," Coughlin said. "I said I didn't believe in rumor control and would only deal with that at the appropriate time."
Coughlin was quick to squelch any talk of the Giants job this week, although it is common knowledge that he was offered the job but did not want to leave BC after only two seasons.
\ ANOTHER CHANCE: Virginia linebacker P.J. Killian, sidelined by a sprained ankle for Virginia's final regular-season game, is close to 100 percent for one of the few times this season.
"It would have been a tough way to go out if we hadn't gone to a bowl game," said Killian, who played in only six games. "I feel as good as I have since preseason."
Killian will not start Saturday, giving way to redshirt freshman Jamie Sharper at outside linebacker, but he has the satisfaction of breaking UVa's career record for unassisted tackles with 219.
"I pretty much got everything I wanted out of my career," said Killian, whose 316 total tackles rank third on UVa's all-time list. "But my senior year was pretty much shot."
A knee injury in UVa's final preseason practice kept Killian out of the first two games. He attempted to come back against Georgia Tech - too quickly, it turned out - and subsequently missed two more games.
Killian last was injured - a slow-healing, high-ankle sprain - against Wake Forest in the ninth game. He attempted to play the next week against Clemson but came out after 13 plays.
"Unbelievable," Killian said. "It's just been that kind of year. By then I was used to sitting on the sideline, but I was in a daze [for UVa's opening game] at Maryland."
\ MEDIA BRAWL: A scuffle broke out at a media dinner Wednesday night, when a reporter from a small Massachusetts paper decked a reporter from a Spanish-language Miami paper.
The Miami writer reportedly had become intoxicated and made an ethnic slur, although details were sketchy.
"It's a media dinner and they still can't get the facts straight," one observer said.
by CNB