Quick Kicks

Good night, sweet stadium

The Baltimore Ravens’ finale at Memorial Stadium on Sunday gave fervent football fans the long-awaited opportunity to say good-bye to their beloved Colts.

They cheered each time a former Colt was introduced during timeouts, saving their loudest roar and a standing ovation for Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas.

They spelled out the name of the 43-year-old stadium’s former tenants as unofficial cheerleader Len Burrier contorted his body into the letters C-O-L-T-S.

And they stood respectfully following a 21-19 victory over the Tennessee Oilers as Unitas - and 21 other ex-Colts - ran one final play in street clothes covered by their familiar blue jerseys.

The Ravens finished their two years in Memorial Stadium 7-8-1.

Any berth in a storm

On a day they played the way they have for most of their 22 years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still made the playoffs.

Maybe it was fitting.

“The goal we set at the start of the season was to make the playoffs, so we’ll take it,” coach Tony Dungy said after the Bucs lost 31-0 to the New York Jets, but got in when Green Bay downed Carolina.

Never too small

The most telling sign of just how much pro football potential top NCAA Division II players can have came at a ceremony honoring the classification’s best players of the last 25 years.

About a dozen of the 34 team members were unable to attend the event preceding Saturday’s Division II title game in Florence, Ala., because they had Sunday NFL games to play in. Eighteen were in the midst of or had completed pro careers.

Brent Jones, who played at Santa Clara, is finishing out his 11-year NFL career with the 49ers. He’s on the list. So are household names such as Walter Payton, John Stallworth, Darrell Green, Andre Reed and Phil Hansen.

Oh, you Huskies

These items just in from the UW quarterback factory:

Atlanta’s Chris Chandler, a 10-year veteran, has thrown at least one TD pass in 11 straight games.

Mark Brunell threw for 317 yards and ran for a touchdown as Jacksonville defeated Buffalo.

Billy Joe Hobert passed for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the second half as New Orleans rallied to beat Arizona.

By the numbers

Detroit’s Barry Sanders had his 67th career 100-yard game, second to Walter Payton, who had 77, on the all-time list… . Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas gained 30 yards and moved into 7th place on the all-time rushing list with 11,377, just ahead of John Riggins (11,352)… . Morten Andersen’s 33-yard field goal for Atlanta as time expired was the 25th game-winning kick of his career… . Ex-Mead High and WSU star Jason Hanson saw his string of 24 consecutive field goals for Detroit end when he was wide right from 50 yards on the last play of the first half… . When John Hall’s kickoff to begin the game sailed deep into the end zone, the Jets rookie had his 28th touchback, an NFL record… . Tampa Bay’s Sean Landeta, who had a punt blocked in the first half, got off a 74-yarder in the third period that was the longest in team history.

The final thought

“We never got beat this bad even when I was at Tampa Bay.”

- Lamar Thomas, Miami wide receiver.

, DataTimes