They Said It

? John Candelaria, Pirate pitcher, to overweight 6'5" Pittsburgh Outfielder Dave Parker, on hearing that Parker was planning to become a vegetarian: "What are you going to eat? Redwoods?"

?Don Ott, of the evangelically oriented Athletes in Action basketball team, explaining his club's 29-point loss to UCLA after beating Oral Roberts by 29 in its previous game: "You might say they did unto us as we did unto others."

? Ralph Miller, Oregon State basketball coach, deploring the dunk shot: "It's an idiot's delight. The only thing it does for basketball is increase stress fractures. Now, if you raise the basket to 12 feet and somebody dunks, then I'll applaud."

?John Pinone, Villanova center, on his style of basketball: "I use intelligence to the best of my ability."

?Stan Blinka, New York Jets linebacker, noting that journalists and other visitors outnumbered players in the Jets' locker room during the NFL playoffs: "There are more nonpeople in here than there are people."