The Good Guys I grew up with. (My Turn).(three brothers who are football players - Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey Selman)(Column)

I love the Good Guys issue of the SPORTING NEWS. What with partying coaches, players who achieve power through artificial means, and baseball bats popping corks like it's New Year's Eve, it's a refreshing change of pace to read about the Good Guys. The truth is there are more good guys in sports than is ever reported.

You're familiar with Leo Durocher's famous quote on nice guys. Business management guru Ken Blanchard recently put a twist on The Lip's position and said, "Nice guys may appear to finish last, but usually they are running a different race."

There are plenty of nice guys in the world who win their respective races. As I thought about this issue of the SPORTING NEWS and its theme, I didn't have to think long to decide whom I wanted to bring to your attention.

You've heard me talk with great reverence about growing up in Eufaula, Okla.

Until the early 1970s, Eufaula's main claim to fame was the large lake to our town's east. Lake Eufaula's 102,000 acres provide great fishing, water sports and camping.

But our fame took another turn when out of Eufaula came three young men as big as the lake: Lucious, Dewey and Lee Roy Salmon. Pride of the Eufaula Ironheads and the University of Oklahoma Sooners. These guys were the closest thing to heroes I knew growing up.

They brought fear to any offensive lineman--and especially any quarterback--who faced them. When he arrived at OU, Lucious stood just less than 6 feet tall and weighed 205 pounds. Dewey grew to 6-2, 250, and baby Lee Roy peaked at 6-3, 260.