Masked Man in Uniform Can’t Hide

How controversial could it have been when Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman and four teammates showed up at a private Halloween benefit dressed in uniforms of the Irving (Tex.) police?

Irving mayor pro tem John Medaille said recently that police chief Benny Newman showed “incredibly poor judgment at best” for allowing Aikman, Babe Laufenberg, Rob Awalt, Mark Stepnoski and Daryl Johnston to do such a thing.

Enter council member George Susat, who said Newman was simply acting out of a “zeal to cooperate” with the benefit’s organizers.

So what’s the big deal? Private party. No injuries reported. Did one of the players not return his uniform, spill punch on it or something?

Besides, most folks figure Aikman at times has been masquerading as the Cowboys’ quarterback for the past year and a half--in public.

Trivia time: In terms of games played, which two NCAA Division I-A schools have college football’s longest rivalry?

Inseparable: Kansas City linebacker Derrick Thomas spent most of Sunday afternoon hammering Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg to the turf in Arrowhead Stadium, sacking him a record seven times. On the game’s final play, Krieg narrowly escaped another Thomas sack, straightened up and threw to wide receiver Paul Skansi for the game’s winning touchdown.

So it wasn’t surprising that on Tuesday, Krieg and Thomas were named the AFC’s offensive and defensive players of the week.

Premeditated prose: Clare Fallon of Reuters began her story from the World Championships of tennis in Frankfurt Tuesday: “Andre Agassi exacted harsh revenge on a sad and sorry Pete Sampras . . . battering his U.S. Open conqueror to defeat in two swift sets.

“Agassi showed no mercy. . . .”

Real life: After California’s 28-3 victory over Oregon Saturday, as the Bears were awaiting an official bid from the Copper Bowl in Tucson, a reporter from the Portland Oregonian asked Cal wide receiver Brian Treggs how he felt about playing a bowl game in Arizona, in the wake of voters’ rejection of a paid holiday honoring Martin Luther King.

Said Treggs: “Martin Luther King had a dream and I have a dream: to play in a bowl game.”

Runner’s high: Two deaths in Washington-area distance-running events within a week prompted William Gildea and Donna Niewaroski of the Washington Post to interview doctors and road racing mavens for the world’s 999th story on risk factors and marathon running.

But at the end of the article, Washington race organizer Jeff Darman made a point that rendered all the doctors’ observations moot.

Said Darman: “You can’t play football with the stars but running is unique because you can. You can be on the same road with the best in the world and you can say you did the same thing. That’s one of its fascinations--there’s a mutual respect among marathoners, we all played the same game.”

Add marathon: Gildea and Niewaroski wrote: “It is an irony of the sport that many of those in the rear approach the marathon with less trepidation than those who win. Many, like Darman, run their first marathon shortly after taking up jogging for health.”

Darman added: “So many elite athletes wait longer to do one than most first-timers. The elite athletes treat the marathon with much more respect than the average runner. The marathon isn’t bad, it just needs more respect.”

Trivia answer: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, 100 games.

Quotebook: Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim, when asked whether Penn State basketball teams ever would be successful in Big Ten competition: “I will give you my heart if they are.”