New England Patriots

•Josh Ashton, New England Patriot running back, on the ferocity of play in a game with the Colts: "One guy took my helmet and yanked it clear across my face. It wasn't accidental. It was Mike Curtis."

BOXING—Unbeaten RON LYLE knocked out Buster Mathis in the second round of their heavyweight bout in Denver, prompting Mathis to announce he may retire (page 88).

•Upton Bell, New England Patriots' general manager, whose roster includes graduates of Yale, Colgate, Dartmouth and Princeton: "When some guys come in to talk contract, I may be reading a paperback. When those guys...

From the start of his days at Suffolk, a pack of pols was off and running in pursuit, eager for a piece of the racetrack purse. And they were not the only rascals around

THREE FOR THE SHOWSirs:Thanks for a fine article on the best team of sportscasters the announcing profession has ever seen (What Are They Doing with the Sacred Game of Pro Football?, Oct. 25). The...