‘Sick’ alumni once forced coach to quit

Urban Meyer will be taking a leave as Florida football coach, some 34 years after Jim Sweeney resigned at Washington State.

Both cited health reasons, but the underlying causes were as dissimilar as their records of 56-10 and 26-59-1.

Meyer suffers from persistent headaches, triggered by stress, rage and excitement.

Sweeney's health issue: "The alumni were sick of me."

• BLOCK PARTY FOR VICK -- Philadelphia Eagles players raised some eyebrows by voting little-used Michael Vick, fresh out of prison, as the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner.

"From what I understand," noted Dan Daly of the Washington Times, "he's the first player to win the Ed Block Award and the Cell Block Award in consecutive years."

• BOWLING FOR DOLLARS -- "I sat down at noon Saturday to watch the Little Caesars Bowl, and Mrs. Insider decided I should go get pizza for the family," wrote David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Then I sat down to watch the Meineke Car Care Bowl, and Mrs. Insider reminded me I promised to get her car's oil changed.

"After that, there was no way I was going to try to watch the Emerald Bowl."

• ENGRAVER'S NIGHTMARE -- The St. Petersburg Bowl Presented by Beef 'O' Brady's has nothing on this high school tournament: the Cheshire Tire/Ted's Shoe & Sport Boys' Holiday Hoops Festival in Keene, N.H.

• CARRYING A TORCH -- Sara Bergami was carrying the Olympic flame through Corunna, Ontario, when boyfriend Luca Bertacchi stepped out of the crowd, dropped to a knee and proposed.

Turns out she was carrying a torch for him, too. She said yes.

• PISTOL GIL -- Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is in a bit of trouble for storing unloaded firearms in his locker.

Guess he thought it was Washington Bullets Turn Back The Clock Night.

• QUOTEWORTHY -- From syndicated columnist Norman Chad, on the many moods of Jets coach Rex Ryan: "One day, Rex Ryan is walking around like General Patton at Normandy, and the next day. he's whimpering like Richard Simmons with a hangnail. Please. Be a man!"

--Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post, on quarterback Jay Cutler's chances behind the Bears' feeble offensive line: "Think Custer with shoulder pads."

--Fox color man Tim Ryan, on why the Lions aren't subjecting banged-up rookie QB Matthew Stafford to any more damage this season: "You want to have the Wells Fargo truck out there without a lock on the door?"

• COLOR-BLIND -- The NFL will encourage current and former NFL players to agree to donate their brains to the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. The league hopes the study will provide insight into the effects of concussions, and also why the aforementioned Cutler continually throws the ball to players wearing different colored uniforms.

• LINEBACKER SACKED -- Linebacker Andre Davis was kicked off the UNR football team, just days before the Hawaii Bowl, after Honolulu police arrested him on suspicion of shoplifting.

Guess you could say he lost that turnover battle.

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