DATE: Friday, November 28, 1997             TAG: 9711280207

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Bob Molinaro 

                                            LENGTH:   56 lines

MORE FODDER TO NOURISH THE FOLLY OF FOOTBALL POLLS

Poll-ish joke: Another indication that poll voters are dangerous. Why should Tennessee and Florida State change places in the AP Top 25 when both have lost to Florida? Are the Seminoles being punished because their defeat is more recent? So goes the logic of an illogical system.

Sensitivity report: ESPN's Mike Patrick has apologized for describing a certain play in the Giants-Redskins debacle as looking like a ``Chinese fire drill.'' If I were Chinese, I wouldn't want to be associated with that game, either.

Head on: Gus Frerotte's comical (unless you're a Redskins' fan) encounter with the wall helped divert attention from the grisliest aspect of the game - that those two teams were playing for first place. Frightening.

Net gain: America's best tennis town is Charlottesville. So says Tennis Magazine. In the December issue, it writes, ``More people per capita play tennis in Charlottesville than in any other city in the country.''

Out of touch: Mike Ditka was right the first time when he said the NFL has passed him by.

Add Iron Mike: If Ditka has lost anything as a coach, it didn't happen just this year. What he lost was Buddy Ryan, who left Ditka's Bears so many years ago to run the Eagles. It was Ryan's defense around which Ditka's best teams were built.

Idle thought: That 48-year-old George Foreman will be missed by boxing is all you need to know about of boxing.

Money matters: Does it surprise you as much as it did me to learn that former U.Va. basketball star and Olympian Dawn Staley is paid a reported $250,000 a year to play in the ABL?

Numbers game: When Michael Jordan left the Bulls for baseball, Scottie Pippen led Chicago to eight victories in its first 10 games. With Pippen missing from the lineup this season, Jordan's Bulls won only six of their first 10.

Big mouth: By creating such a fuss about never wanting to play for the Bulls again, Pippen only made it harder for Chicago management to put together a trade.

Bulls-eye: You may recall that, after the Bulls won the title last summer, Jordan argued persuasively that Chicago should resist the urge to trade Pippen. So if Scottie wants to blame anyone for his predicament, it should be Mike.

Hot stove stuff: Paul Molitor, the Orioles new DH? It would give the Birds a good bat and an even better presence in the clubhouse.

Futurewatch: Though he won't finish in the money in this year's Heisman vote, Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch has passed for 3,884 yards and 37 touchdowns, best in the nation in both categories. It should make him the front-runner for the 1998 Heisman.

The pain game: Lost track of former Virginia Tech basketball star Ace Custis? Last month, the Dallas Mavericks' rookie tore the ACL in his right knee, and will be out for the season. Custis has limped down this road before; he ripped up the left knee before his freshman year at Tech.

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