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Sunday, November 18, 2001

Compiled by Ed Bouchette

Today will be only the second time Atlanta Coach Dan Reeves will visit Lambeau Field in Green Bay since he played for the Dallas Cowboys in the famous "Ice Bowl" NFL championship game of 1967.

Reeves, a halfback, threw an option pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of that game to put the Cowboys ahead, 17-14. However, Bart Starr won the game for the Packers on a quarterback sneak on the final play.

The temperature that day dropped to 17 below zero.

"They show it so much on ESPN Classic," Reeves said. "I have guys coming all the time, players, who tell me how slow I was.

"I remember Coach Landry sending two players out while we were in the dressing room. He asked them to run outside and see what the weather was like.

They were gone about 15 seconds. They said, 'Coach, it's really cold.' So we got a good weather report.

"I can remember at the opening play that the official blew the whistle and pulled it out, and he pulled the skin off because it froze to his lip. They had to do away with metal whistles and had to use a plastic whistle. They didn't have a halftime show because the instruments froze. Other than that, it was a great day to play."

Nickname thievery

Tampa Bay fullback Mike Alstott wants his nickname back. It seems rookie running back Anthony Thomas of the Bears has stolen it.

"There's only one A-train," Alstott fumed.

Well, now there's two because that's what they've begun calling Thomas.

"I've been in the league six years and I have the name established and somebody tries to come in and take the name?" he said.

In Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, train whistles blow when Alstott does well.

"They can say he got it in college, but I had it in college also," Alstott complained.

Neither does he see it as imitation being a form of flattery.

"No, it's insulting."

No escaping pain

The travails of the McGinnis family in their new desert home continues.

You'll recall that monkeys were loose in the new neighborhood where Arizona Coach Dave McGinnis and his family recently moved. Now they've encountered the dreaded scorpions.

The coach stepped on one in his bare feet Monday night and was stung. While the poison can be deadly, McGinnis was spared.

"It felt like somebody took a hot hypodermic needle and stuck it right up through the bottom of my foot," said McGinnis.

Some say the pain is not as bad as watching his Cardinals play on Sunday.

Not so special in Dallas

Joe Avezzano, a member of Johnny Majors' coaching staff at Pitt when the Panthers won the national championship, has ruled over one of the better special- teams units in Dallas since 1990.

But things have not worked so well for the Cowboys this season. They have had four kicks blocked, rank 30th in punt coverage, punter Micah Knorr is last in the NFl with a 29.9-yard average and kicker Tim Seder has missed six of his 17 field-goal tries.

Last week against Atlanta, Randy Chevrier snapped the ball over the head of holder Knorr on a field-goal try. Seder chased the ball down and had his ankle sprained when he was tackled.

They cut Chevrier and had to sign a new snapper and kicker.

"We need to get this corrected," said Dallas special-teamer Izell Reese.

Quick slants

Here are the results of the last two series of rookie QB Mike McMahon, a North Allegheny High School graduate, with the Detroit Lions: Two pass incompletions, one run for three yards, one lost fumble, two sacks and a handoff. The Lions plan to continue to work him in as their quarterback of the future. "If you're going to do it, you can't be concerned about that," said Coach Marty Mornhinweg.

Thirty-five of the Packers' 36 home games in December in the past 25 seasons have had a kickoff no later than noon. The other came at 1 p.m. Their Dec. 23 home game against Jacksonville was moved to 3:15.

George Seifert had the best won-lost percentage of any NFL coach in history when he joined Carolina in 1999. He's now fifth after going 16-25 with the Panthers.