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KOETTER, ARNOLD MEND FENCES AFTER CRUSHING
September 23, 2004
By Bob Young, The Arizona Republic
Seems as if everybody is happy and the Arizona State football helmet that comedian Tom Arnold crushed on The Best Damn Sports Show Period Tuesday might end up helping out the Pat Tillman Foundation.
That's assuming Arnold keeps his word this time.
Arnold agreed before ASU trounced Iowa 44-7 that he would display a Sun Devils helmet on the show if ASU won.
He was good on the bet for a day, displaying it during Monday's show.
However, during Tuesday's show, Arnold put it in a crusher and smashed it.
Wednesday, the show had Dirk Koetter on a phone hook-up and Arnold told him, "I'm going to make this helmet famous" and offered to auction the helmet with the funds going to the Thomas J. Pappas school for homeless children in the Valley, where his brother works.
Koetter countered, "How about this: Why don't you auction it off and donate it to the Pat Tillman Foundation."
Said Arnold: "We'll do that! Are we cool coach?"
Said Koetter: "We are always good Tom."
They weren't so good Tuesday night when Koetter learned from reporters after practice that the helmet had suffered an ignominious fate.
He told Arnold Wednesday, "You went against our bet, against your word and crushed our helmet."
And, "You knew the intent of the bet when you got into it."
Arnold replied: "Yeah, but I didn't know we were going to get our (butts) beat so bad by you guys."
Koetter asked what the helmet was doing and co-host John Salley answered "It's holding some papers down."
The show's other host, Chris Rose chipped in, "Coach, it's thinner than Calista Flockhart."
Rose also invited Koetter and some of his players to appear on the show in October when the Sun Devils visit top-ranked Southern California.