CFL or not, Damon Allen had quite the career

HEARD THIS ONE?

The other Allen put up quite the numbers

Now Marcus Allen’s brother begins his Hall of Fame wait north of the border.

Damon Allen, 44, announced his retirement Wednesday after 23 seasons in the Canadian Football League. He is the all-time leading passer in professional football with 72,831 yards, more than 11,000 ahead of Dan Marino. (We know: 110-yard field. Impressive nonetheless, though.)

After a star-studded career at Cal State Fullerton, Allen joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1985. He also played for Ottawa, Hamilton, Memphis, British Columbia and most recently Toronto. In all, he won four Grey Cups and one MVP award.

“The game of football has given me every emotion a person can feel,” Allen said. “It has been a dream ride. I have given football my mind, body and soul.”

• Don’t fret if you feel you don’t truly know Tiger Woods. Even Jack Nicklaus can’t get a line to him. A phone line, that is.

After Woods pulled out of The Memorial – Nicklaus’ tournament – a reporter asked if Woods called to give him the news.

“It’s a different day and age today, guys,” he said. “It’s all through agents.”

Nicklaus then talked about a suggestion he took from Arnold Palmer to send a thank-you note to the sponsor of every tournament he entered. Nicklaus said he rarely got a personal notice of any kind even when players withdrew. “Guys just don’t communicate anymore,” he said.

Someone suggested players prefer text-messaging.

“I think that’s a cop-out,” said The Bear.

RANDOM THOUGHT

Sweet Wrigley: The Cubs are threatening fans with ejection from the bleachers for profane or inappropriate comments directed at left fielder Alfonso Soriano. Nice to see they’ve moved from The Billy Goat Curse to The Scapegoat Curse.