Random thoughts: Remember SI writer Zimmerman

Sunday, 4 a.m.

A story about Paul Zimmerman, the ex-Sports Illustrated writer who died this week. It was 1993, with Dallas playing at San Francisco.By the luck of draw, I was sitting next to Zim, who was there with his stopwatch (he timed the national anthem every week) and about 100 multi-colored pens. On the first play of the game, Troy Aikman took a three step drop and threw the ball into the turf. We all wrote down "Aikman pass incomplete." Suddenly, Zim had my arm in a vise. "Who was the nickel back on that play for the 49ers." Being a wise guy, I looked at him blankly and said "Which team is the 49ers?" I thought it was funny, but Zim went berserk. "How can we expect them to stay in the game if we don't," he bellowed while frantically summoning the p.r. guy to complain about me. God speed, Zim. And may all of  heaven's anthems all be quick.

-- Question: The next time USF wins, what year will it be?

-- I don't think the Bucs should simply bench Jameis Winston today. After last week, I think they should make him wear an ugly purple hat.

-- If Bobby Bowden talks to Steve Spurrier, what do you think they think about the state of college football in Florida?

-- For those of you who love math, and doesn't everyone, figure this. Sam Bradford made $13.5 million for losing three games for Arizona. Even compared to Jameis Winston, he's had a bad season.

-- If you're still trying to figure out just what the Rays were in 2018, consider this from Matt Snyder of CBSsports.com, who has Tampa Bay 10th in his early power rankings. Said Snyder: "I'm caught in the middle of not totally buying what we just saw and also not being able to dispute what we just saw." Exactly.

-- Robbed. Swindled. Bamboozled. The Tampa Bay Bucs ought to sue. Yahoosports.com named the worst five coaches of all time, and Leeman Bennett didn't even get a mention. No Raheem Morris. No Richard Williamson. No Greg Schiano. No Lovie Smith. Heck, the Bucs can go five-for-five against the Yahoo list.

-- After being fired from the Browns, does Hue Jackson get parole papers?

-- It was funny when James Carville, noted grumpy old man,  suggested that he'd rather trust the Saudi government than the SEC. Mainly because LSU has a better chance of winning there.

-- According to thesportster.com, Jameis Winston still hasn't caught Josh Freeman as the team's worst starting quarterback of the 2000s. But how about Byron Leftwich, who never won a game here? Some brief appearances were on the list.

-- After a while, Jerry Jones just looks petty for not including Jimmy Johnson in the team's Ring of Honor. The latest addition was Gil Brant, who couldn't carry Johnson's hair spray.

-- So Hue Jackson says his problem with the Browns was that he didn't handle the offense, too. Yeah, that would fix everything.

-- Jon Gruden says he gets a lot of calls from "people who are dying to play for the Raiders." Well, after they're dead, they'll need a place to go.

-- Now that Hulk Hogan is back at the age of 65, he has a new signature movie. It's called the "early bird special."

-- Just asking, but when did USF rehire Skip Holtz?

-- Congratulations to Dirk Koetter. He was one a seven-coach class of 2016, and four of  -- Jackson, Mike Mularkey, Chip Kelly and Ben McAdoo -- are gone. Koetter and Adam Gase are on the ropes.

-- CBSsports.com says the Bucs will draft quarterback Ryan Finley of N.C. State with the No. 6 draft pick. Anyone ready for a redo?

-- Lawrence Taylor says that Eli Manning plays without passion. And by "passion," Taylor means "a skull full of cocaine."

-- I thought it was amusing that Jackson said that, at one point, the Browns were playing with quarterbacks who had zero wins.  Duh. For a long time, Jackson had zero wins, too.

-- LaVar Ball, the Joe Isuzu of the NBA, says he could coach the Lakers to the NBA title with his eyes closed. Funny. Most Lakers coaches close their eyes because it's just too painful to watch.

-- Remember that speech that Willie Taggart gave about FSU players quitting? Can USF's Charlie Strong borrow it?