Not-So-Routine Stuff Found in a Routine Stop

Morning Briefing is pleased to report that Jerry Rice’s briefcase, which vanished at the Super Bowl, has been recovered.

We’re even more pleased to report what was in it:

--Two watches, one a Rolex.

--A billfold with $1,000 cash.

--Several credit cards.

--A checkbook.

--A key to a Mercedes-Benz.

The briefcase turned up Wednesday in a routine traffic stop in Weatherford, Texas. Officer Ken Dabbs found the locked briefcase in the trunk and picked the lock.

The driver professed ignorance as to who owned the briefcase, explaining he had found it at the Super Bowl, which the 49ers’ Rice attended. The finder said he had intended to take it home, open it to see whose it was and return it to its owner.

Dabbs sent word to Honolulu, where Rice is preparing for today’s Pro Bowl. Rice quickly called Dabbs.

“He said he was delighted we’d found it, that he figured he’d never see it again,” he said.

No charges were filed, Dabbs said, because Rice never reported the item stolen.

One disappointment: There was no word on the checkbook balance.

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Trivia time: Of the college football teams with losing records last season, which one was No. 1 in average attendance?

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Name game: The NBA’s Washington Bullets are conducting a contest to find a new nickname.

Sifting through 3,000 entries, team officials have picked five finalists: Dragons, Express, Sea Dogs, Stallions and Wizards.

The change is being made because critics say the team’s nickname brings to mind gun violence on Washington streets.

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Add name game: To the new nickname item on the Houston Oilers moving to Nashville, reader Bill Remy suggests the Tennessee Tuxedos.

“They could be very creative with the uniforms,” he explained.

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Whoa! UC Irvine basketball Coach Rod Baker said recently that two of his players, Brian Keefe and Raimonds Miglinieks, “are as good a connection as there is in sports.”

OK, then that would include Steve Young and Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin. . . .

He’s convinced: Magic Johnson’s college coach, Jud Heathcote, on Johnson’s comeback:

“He’s still better than 90-95% of the players that are playing professional basketball.”

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Cradle of Olympians: The Amateur Athletic Foundation points out that six of the first 15 players invited for Olympic baseball team tryouts are from Southland universities.

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No snickering: The British Sports Annual recently ranked the top 10 British sports money winners for 1995, topped by race driver Damon Hill, with $4.5 million.

No. 10, with $2.6 million, is Steve Hendry.

His sport?

Snooker.

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Trivia answer: Wisconsin (4-5-2), at 78,222 a game.

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Quotebook: The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 5-foot-11 Terrell Brandon, after registering eight rebounds and five blocks against Milwaukee: “Wow, man, that must be a misprint or something.”