Honest, Hobert Got What He Deserved

Here's Leo Roth of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle and his ode to Billy Joe Hobert, the ex-Washington Husky quarterback jettisoned by the Buffalo Bills two days after Hobert admitted he had only glanced at diagrams of new passing plays and was unprepared for Sunday's 33-6 loss to the New England Patriots:

"Billy Joe Hobert, we hardly knew ye.

"Well, we knew you long enough to know you love golf more than football. That you shoot from the lip. That studying playbooks and game plans ain't your bag.

"That really, after five very checkered years in the NFL, you really need to move on.

"Hey, caddies can make great money. But remember, you've got to study the yardage book."

There's more:

"The release of the Bills' Honest Joe backup quarterback was as stunning as his candid comments Monday, admitting he wasn't prepared to replace an injured Todd Collins. Those comments incited rage among fans feeling cheated, escalating into a public-relations blast furnace when Hobert lashed back on a Buffalo radio call-in show, using profanity.

"But fired for all of this?

". . . The Bills are a team that fiercely defends its own, often to a fault. Players have thrown drinks on women in bars, flunked NFL drug tests, been picked up for drunken driving, arrested for stalking women, and had verbal and physical confrontations with fans in the Rich Stadium parking lots. Never did any of those transgressions get a player pink slipped. Why? Because like most NFL teams, the Bills ask only one question: Do we need him to win?

"The Bills didn't care that Hobert swore on the airwaves. They didn't even care that he played poorly in his first relief action, completing 17 of 30 passes with two interceptions.

"But when Hobert admitted that he barely studied for the Patriots, didn't know what receivers to look for on certain plays - the very job he is paid to perform - their question was answered: `We can't win with this flake as our No. 2 quarterback.'

"Strictly speaking football, Hobert's honesty was refreshing. But honesty doesn't exonerate guilt."

RRRREALLY?

Nickname selected for East Coast Hockey League team in Greenville, S.C.:

Grrreenville Grrrowl.

SHE SAID IT

Cecelia Thorner, Anselmo, Calif., after her husband, Jeff, 63, fulfilled a longtime dream of playing 50 golf courses in 50 states in 50 days: "This, I'm afraid, has started the beginning of many, many more harebrained schemes."

Compiled by Chuck Ashmun, Seattle Times