Hale Didn’t Fare Well, but Then, Who Did?

Former USC defensive back Chris Hale, a seventh-round NFL draft pick in 1989, played four seasons for the Buffalo Bills.

Hale, who spoke at a Santa Clarita Trojan Club meeting Sunday night in Pasadena, said, “[ESPN’s] Mel Kiper said the knock on me was that I had trouble with big, fast wide receivers.

“Who doesn’t have trouble with big, fast wide receivers?”

Trivia time: Iowa offensive tackle Robert Gallery won the Outland Trophy, which goes to the nation’s outstanding interior lineman. Who was the last Hawkeye to win the award?

A present for Santa: As part of a Hockey Canada project, the Stanley Cup will be visiting nine communities in the Arctic Circle over a five-day period.

“Very few people get to bring the Stanley Cup to Santa,” project leader Marty Savoy said.

Rush to judgment: Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post, in a column he writes for America Online, said of Rush Limbaugh’s early-season rip of Donovan McNabb:

“While Rush’s legion of loonies lapped it up as fact, normal, levelheaded Americans couldn’t believe what they were hearing. I remember watching him that day, thinking he had to be on something. Little did I know.”

Anything for money: Regarding Rasheed Wallace, Armstrong wrote: “We all should be so exploited. For 17 mil, they can whip me, beat me, make me write bad checks and toss me in the nearest cesspool. I’d even consider listening to rap music for that kind of jack.”

Ultimate picks: For the NFL games of Dec. 7, Erik Kramer of Fox Sports Net’s “Ultimate Fantasy Football Show” made Denver’s Clinton Portis his pick of the week, and Portis had 218 yards and five touchdowns.

For Sunday’s games, Kramer picked Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, who passed for 290 yards and five touchdowns.

Kramer had saved those two picks, since he can’t make any player the pick of the week more than once.

“Erik is available to predict lottery numbers if anyone is interested,” said Benjie Kaze, the show’s executive producer.

Heisman longshots: David Letterman offered a top-10 list of “signs you won’t be winning the Heisman.” They included:

* “When someone asks what position you play, you answer, ‘Oh ... I’m out ‘n’ about.’ ”

* “You wear No. 14 because that’s the number of times you’ve seen ‘My Fair Lady.’ ”

* “You’re smaller than the dude on the trophy.”

Looking back: On this day in 1945, the Cleveland Rams defeated the Washington Redskins, 15-14, for the NFL championship. The deciding play turned out to be an automatic safety when a pass by Redskin quarterback Sammy Baugh, thrown in high wind from his own end zone, hit the goal post.

Trivia answer: Alex Karras in 1957. Karras also was second in the Heisman voting that season.

And finally: Michael Irvin, on ESPN radio, defending Joe Horn’s end-zone cellphone maneuver: “Don’t make me holler, it’s all about the dollar.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.