Paul Newman, who died Friday at 83, a year after being diagnosed with cancer, was a Hollywood legend with an athletic background. He played Dunlop in one of the great sports movies, "Slap Shot."

As an actor, many of Newman's roles included sports. He played Rockey Graziano in the boxing movie "Somebody Up There Likes Me" and portrayed small-time pool shark Eddie Felson in "The Hustler." Newman also boxed with George Kennedy and tried competitive eating -- betting that he could eat 50 hardboiled eggs in an hour -- in the prison camp classic "Cool Hand Luke."

Off the screen, Newman was a respected race-car driver and owner. He raced in events from Daytona to Le Mans and co-founded Newman/Haas Racing.

In the 1940s, Newman entered Kenyon College in Ohio on an athletic scholarship and played football.

Newman -- as Dunlop -- had several memorable lines in "Slap Shot," including: "I am personally placing a hundred-dollar bounty on the head of Tim McCracken. He's the head coach and chief punk on that Syracuse team."

Newman once said the Dunlop role was one of his favorites.

From John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News: "In all seriousness, there should be a moment of silence at every NHL arena. That's how important that movie is."

• PAIR OF JOKERS -- Joe Theismann remains bitter about being bumped from "Monday Night Football" in favor of Tony Kornheiser.

An excerpt from a recent Theismann interview, courtesy of Thebiglead.com: "I still think Tony's out of place. Tony was hired to do a job in a football booth that, first of all, didn't suit him. And it didn't suit the venue, the venue being football, period. Tony doesn't belong in a booth. What he adds and what he brings has a place. But it doesn't have a place in the booth, and I think he's gonna retire after this year."

Theismann or Kornheiser: Who is more annoying?

• THE NEXT FAILED FRANCHISE -- Now that Lane Kiffin has been relieved of his job as coach of the Oakland Raiders, he will be seeking employment. Maybe he'll land in Las Vegas -- and not at UNLV. Another team is coming to town, apparently.

It barely made news when it was announced in late August, but plans were revealed for The New USFL, a direct revival of the original United States Football League, to start in 2010.

The league will introduce 12 franchises for the inaugural season. Nine franchises have been awarded to ownership groups, and Las Vegas and Los Angeles are in the league.

It sounds like a joke but, sadly, it's not. This, however, is worth a laugh -- the league's Web site (newusfl.com) has a registration page for anyone interested in being a coach.

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS REVIEW-JOURNAL