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Sideline

By TIMES WIRES
Published November 9, 2006

Players death moves Bowden to call Coker

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, left, called Miami coach Larry Coker to express his condolences on the death of senior Bryan Pata, who was shot Tuesday. Bowden went through a similar tragedy. Pablo Lopez, a tackle, was shot and killed Sept. 13, 1986. "I have never seen a reaction like that in my life," Bowden said of the scene at the hospital. "Yelling and hollering and crying and screaming and kicking and beating the wall. I'd been around funerals before, but I had never been around anything like that. I learned a little bit more about the modern-day kids. It's awful." Pata's brother, Edwin Pierre-Pata, a sixth-year senior, is an FSU walk-on. He is in Miami with family and couldn't be reached.

Bucs really better than two teams

The Bucs are 30th in the rankings of Sports Illustrated's Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman. They are ahead of only Tennessee and Arizona.

Doc tells Paterno keep off sideline

Penn State's Joe Paterno, who sustained a broken shinbone and two torn knee ligaments in his left leg when bowled over Saturday, can't be on the sideline. Paterno, 79, who might coach from the press box, should return next season and maybe for a bowl game this season. Paterno has missed only one game in 41 years as coach, in 1977 after his son, David, was involved in a trampoline accident.

Nazi words played before big game

A school near Charlotte, N.C., apologized for playing a Nazi speech over its PA system before Saturday's playoff game. Forestview principal Robert Carpenter said neither he nor the coach knew about Joseph Goebbels' speech before the 90-second excerpt was played. He said the team's slogan was "On to victory," a German exchange student on the team taught others how to say it in German and "zealous" students put it on the PA. Worse, Charlotte Catholic accused Forestview of shouting racial epithets at two African-American players. Forestview, which won 1-0, denied it after interviewing players, coaches and officials.

"Tony Hawk wouldn't be Tony Hawk if he had a swoosh on head to toe."

Pat Hawk, COO of Tony Hawk Inc. in BusinessWeek on the skateboarder's selection of endorsements

[Last modified November 9, 2006, 01:33:11]