Ron Jaworski had a long and distinguished NFL career (1974-89), including four very good seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Steve Bartkowski, the former Cal star, was a two-time Pro Bowl selection for the Atlanta Falcons (1980, 1981).

Zeke Bratkowski’s 14-year career included a stint with the Vince Lombardi-coached Packers (1963-67) in which he was a reliable backup to Bart Starr and earned two Super Bowl rings.

The A’s have a particularly rich history of rookie-of-the-year winners. Bailey is the seventh in Oakland history, and the third in past six years, to go along with Bobby Crosby (2004) and Huston Street (05).

But the hottest run of top rookies the A’s ever had was the trifecta of Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Walt Weiss in three consecutive seasons, 1986 through 1988.

The Dodgers had a spectacular run of four consecutive rookies of the year, starting in 1979 with Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Sax.

For rookies of the year who became Hall of Famers, the Giants had a nice two-year run with Orlando Cepeda in 1958 and Willie McCovey in 1959.

He was only 36 years old when he was named Minnesota Twins manager for the final 25 games of the 1986 season. The next year, he took the Twins to a World Series championship. And four years later, he did it again. Both went seven games. Very dramatic. Exciting stuff.

Two World Series titles — there are managers of far greater repute who don’t have that on their resumes.

In 1980, I was a sportswriter in Visalia, and Kelly was manager of the Twins’ Class-A affiliate there, the Oaks. I found him a hard-working, straight-shooting and gracious man who generously allowed me to take in an entire game and make notes for a feature story while sitting on the Oaks bench. Sure, it was only A-ball. But it was a heck of a lot of fun. Marvelous grist for the feature story. I’m not sure whether Billy Martin or Whitey Herzog would have ever been so kind to a journalist in his first year of working on his first daily paper.

Tom Kelly, Hall of Famer? Probably not. Tom Kelly, true gentleman? You bet. And a gentleman with two World Series championships.

There is something special about watching big-time boxing with friends who really get into it

I hope Alex and Steve are watching tonight, and I hope they provide their unique analysis when it’s all over.

First, Sugar Ray Robinson. As a welterweight, Robinson was virtually unbeatable, with a perfect balance of power punching and ring generalship. As a middleweight, Robinson was superb, but less than perfect and, frankly, more interesting. In Robinson vs. Pacquiao in their primes as welterweights, I’ve got to think Sugar Ray would use his superior reach and foot speed to eke out a tactcial, hard-fought decision.

Now, what about Sugar Ray Leonard? If it’s the Leonard who decided to stand toe-to-toe in his first fight against Roberto Duran, then I see Pacman, more willing to adapt, moving and sticking and landing enough meaningful blows to win, maybe even stop Leonard in the later rounds. If it’s the Leonard who so frustrated Duran in their second fight that it elicited the infamous “No mas” from Duran, then Pacquiao might have a problem. Or not. As long as Manny didn’t succumb to the same sort of frustration that Duran did, it’s within reason to visualize his relentless pursuit of Leonard eventually wearing down Sugar Ray. My guess: Pacman by a late TKO.

I’ve got a lot of admiration for Pacquiao, but I have to point out that (through no fault of his own), his achievements are somewhat watered down.

There are so many weight classes, champions and sanctioning organizations, it’s hard to take the word “champion” seriously.

Even if Pacquiao wins on Saturday, he will be only one of five recognized welterweight champs.

Of course none of this is Pacman’s fault. He fights in this era and this era is watered down. As a fighter, Pacquiao is anything but watered down.

But pound-for-pound the best? That’s a tall order. I hate to sound like an old-school old fogie here, but when it comes to pound-for-pound greatness, Pacquiao — and anyone else — would be hard-pressed to match up with Sugar Ray Robinson.

In an era when there was only one champion for just eight divisions, Robinson won the welterweight and middleweight titles, and he was on his way to winning the light-heavyweight championship when he was overtaken in the 13th round by heat exhaustion.

Other multi-weight class fighters he reminds me of …

Roberto Duran. In the 1970s and ’80s, he won lightweight and welterweight titles.
Sugar Ray Leonard. In the 1980s, he won welterweight and lightweight titles.

Granted, the number of weight classes has more than doubled since I first started following boxing in the 1950s and ’60s, and the number of sanctioning bodies have quadrupled, thereby somewhat watering down Pacquiao’s achievements. Still, he has demonstrated his greatness at various weight classes — not an easy thing to do.

In that regard, Pacquiao reminds me of some multi-division champs of the past. Such as:

Henry Armstong. In the 1930s, he won world titles in the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions.

Sugar Ray Robinson. In the 1940s, he was welterweight champ. In the 1950s, he was middleweight champ. He also challenged for the light-heavyweight title, but lost.

Emile Griffith. In the 1960s, he won the welterweight and middleweight titles.

Carmen Basilio. In the 1960s, he also won the welterweight and middleweight titles.

Dick Tiger. In the 1960s (was this a golden age or what?) he won the middleweight and light heavyweight crowns.

Michael Spinks. In the 1980s, he won the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.

As far as I know, the only actor ever to portray Lombardi is Ernest Borgnine, in the 1973 TV movie: “Legend in Granite: The Vince Lombardi Story.” Since Borgnine is 92, the Lombardi role this time will have to go to another actor. Any suggestions? Here are mine:

Mickey Rourke. Perhaps a little too old for the role. Nevertheless, Rourke proved he’s capable of greatness last year, when he gave an indelible performance as Randy the Ram Robinson in “The Wrestler.”

Vincent D’Onofrio. Brilliant character actor, perhaps best-known for his long-running role as eccentric homicide detective Robert Goren on Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I think D’Onofrio has what it takes to deliver Lombardi on the stage.

Any other suggestions?

But that’s just it. You don’t have to be a soccer fan to like it. Because like all truly great sports films, it transcends a particular sport and speaks truths about bigger things. In this case, it speaks about ego and ambition.

“Damned United,” fictionalized but based on the true story of Brian Clouth’s 44 days of spectacular self-destructive failure as manager of Leeds United — in 1974 one of Britain’s premier clubs.

Clouth is played sort of like a British combination of Bobby Knight and Woody Hayes — full of iron will and bombast. The backstory of Clouth makes his failure at Leeds all the more interesting. He was successful before he got to Leeds, and went on to legendary accomplishments after he left Leeds. But the movie seems to be saying that even the most successful of men, especially in highly ambitious, highly competitive careers, are susceptible to demons.

“The Damned United” is a fine film, and an intriguing bit of British soccer history. I recommend at least seeing