New Rallying Cry at Florida: We’re No. Whine!

Florida’s Steve Spurrier coached the Gators to a national championship and then got an award he would just as soon disown: He was named Whiner of the Year in a recent Internet poll.

Spurrier got 32% of the votes to edge track and field superstar Carl Lewis.

Before Florida routed Florida State, 52-20, in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl, Spurrier complained that quarterback Danny Wuerffel was a victim of late and illegal hits in an earlier 24-21 loss to the Seminoles.

Lewis received 31% of the votes. He was recognized for trying to finagle a spot on the 400-meter relay team at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, even though he hadn’t practiced with the team.

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Trivia time: Who holds the record for the longest field goal in an NFL playoff game?

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What’s a disco? Heavyweight boxer Andrew Golota, disqualified twice for hitting Riddick Bowe below the belt, pleaded guilty in Poland to beating up a man in a disco.

Said Jay Leno: “That’s really sad, isn’t it? Not that he beat up the guy. That Poland still has discos.”

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Changing times: When Arnold Palmer turned pro in 1955, he signed with Wilson for less than $15,000 for three years. Last year, Tiger Woods signed for $60 million in endorsements.

Said Palmer to Peter Kessler on the Golf Channel: “My contract was fine. They paid me $1,000 in expenses to get over the first six months. Now I think of today and I marvel at what has happened. I wonder if that would have made a difference with me. But at $60 million, they may never have seen me on the tour.”

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Proper manners: New Jersey’s Kerry Kittles, formerly of Villanova, is making points for himself as a possible NBA rookie of the year and also with his peers.

Said Michael Jordan, alluding to brash Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers: “I loved his [Kittles’] attitude toward the game. He didn’t talk trash at all.”

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Where is he? New England linebacker Ted Johnson on trying to contain Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell: “He can drive you nuts. You can do all the right things and he can still break containment and get a first down on his own. That’s really frustrating.”

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Over-achievers: Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post on Carolina and Jacksonville, second-year expansion teams: “This is incredible. In five or six years Jacksonville and Carolina will be rebuilding!”

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Trivia answer: Pete Stoyanovich of Miami, 58 yards against Kansas City in 1990.

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And finally: Broadcaster Ralph Kiner is known for his malapropisms, and so is San Diego Padre broadcaster Jerry Coleman, who once said at the end of a pregame show on fighting drug abuse:

“Our hats go off to drug abusers everywhere.”