Here's one coach who likes the quick-step drop-out

Talk about an ex-quarterback with happy feet.

Vagabond Dennis Erickson — whose staying power consisted of 4, 1, 2, 6, 4, 4 and 2 seasons in his first seven head-coaching stints — outdid even himself this time. He quit Idaho after just 10 months to bolt for Arizona State. "For those of you old enough to reference the Wyoming interlude between his first stay at Idaho [1982-85] and his drive-by at Washington State [1987-88] that lasted 13 months," noted John Blanchette of the Spokane Spokesman-Review, "Dennis wasn't at Idaho long enough this time to get a W-2 stub."

As for ASU, the Sun Devils have reportedly scheduled back-to-back news conferences — one to introduce Erickson as their new coach and the other to deny he has any interest in the Arizona Cardinals' job.

A real sob story

And then there's not-going-anywhere Bobby Bowden, whose 31st season at Florida State — 6-6 — has been by far his worst.

"They used to call him 'Sweet Ol' Bobby,' " son Terry Bowden said at the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame dinner last week.

"Now they just abbreviate and use the initials."

This tops all

Lake Blackshear in Georgia, it appears, has a secret fishing spot — as in Victoria's Secret.

"I guess there was a party the night before," bass pro Jim Murray told FishingWorld.com, recalling one memorable outing there, "because I reeled in a bra."

Lights, camera

Q: What's the difference between Nicolas Cage and a World Cup soccer player?

A: Cage plans to cut back on his acting.

Puttering around

Nextel Cup champ Jimmie Johnson fractured his left wrist when he got pitched out of a golf cart during a celebrity tournament in Lecanto, Fla., The Associated Press reported.

Golf historians immediately declared it the mother of all broken drivers.

Talko time

• Bob Molinaro of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, on Meineke Bowl teams Boston College and Navy featuring the highest graduation rates among Division I-A football teams: "Before the bowl, maybe the players should get together for a game of 'Jeopardy!' "

• Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, to the Indianapolis Star, on why his team is among the NBA leaders in turnovers: "Sometimes we're trying to throw the ball through a defender's nose and have it come out his rear end and go to a teammate."

• Angels owner Arte Moreno, to the Los Angeles Times, on the free-agent choices after the first wave of signings: "It's like shopping on Dec. 24; it's pretty picked over."

They win, hands up

The Yankees were this year's most-searched sports team, Yahoo.com reported, but the Cincinnati Bengals didn't even make the top 10.

Apparently, police pat-downs don't count.

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com