Etc...

Hey, I saw your ad

Remember Pieter DeHond? He's the divorced father of two who planted corn on his Canandaigua, N.Y., farm earlier this year in the shape of a message appealing for a new wife. When last we looked in on him, Aug. 22, the words and symbols - one of them a heart , indicating that she must love the country life - had attracted several replies. Well, now the number is more than 700, and at least one appears to be particularly promising. A Californian who learned of his quest responded by having a pizza delivered to his home, along with her first name and phone number. DeHond was impressed, and called to say thank you. Since then, they've been in regular touch, and a face-to-face meeting may be next. In the meantime, he says he's keeping all the communications as well as the newspaper stories his situation has prompted, "so, 20 years from now" he can revisit them and think, "Look what I stirred up."

When the Penn State University football team takes the field Saturday against South Florida, Joe Paterno will begin his 40th season guiding the Nittany Lions. He thus will join the late Amos Alonzo Stagg as the only other coach of a major college program to enjoy such a long tenure. Stagg logged 41 years at the University of Chicago, a national power in the early 20th century. Overall, Eddie Robinson put in the most years at one institution, but at Grambling State, not a so-called "major." Coaches with 200 or more victories at one college, with their years of service, numbers of victories, and schools, as compiled by the National Collegiate Athletic Association:

Eddie Robinson
(55) Grambling State 408
*John Gagliardi
(52) St. John's (Minn. 397
*Joe Paterno
(39) Penn State 343
Ray Kidd
(39) Eastern Kentucky 315
Tubby Raymond
(36) Delaware 300
* still active