Washington Redskins Football Team

What happens now to Jack Kent Cooke's treasure trove? Cooke died Sunday at the age of 84, leaving behind a myriad of investments ranging from the Washington Redskins pro football team to the Chrysler building in New York, the Los Angeles Daily News, a Kentucky thoroughbred breeding farm, plus real estate stretching from Riverside County to Virginia.

Cynthia Lynn, in labor before the delivery of her third son, Alec, heard the far-off radio, and with startled husband Ron at her side, learned of his firing as the Chargers' defensive coordinator. Seven months later, and two weeks after moving to Cincinnati--her husband already off to work at training camp as defensive coordinator of the Bengals--Cynthia Lynn was knocking on a neighbor's door for help.

Sean Gilbert, the toughest, meanest, baddest guy in a Ram uniform, called a team meeting in Anaheim two years ago, and he was sobbing and babbling like a repentant Sunday preacher trying to make good with his flock. The linebackers looked at the defensive backs. The defensive backs at the offensive linemen.

At 6:30 on Sunday evening, in the top of the eighth inning at Camden Yards, with the score 6-1 in favor of the New York Yankees, there was considerable shuffling in the lower box seats, as hordes of Washington lawyers who have Orioles season tickets began scurrying up the aisles, toward the exits and I-95 South. Although the game would not end for almost an hour, that marked the official closing of the baseball season for Washingtonians-who can spot a loser when they see one.

Ram cornerback Todd Lyght has one major problem with watching game films of wide receiver Henry Ellard these days. Ellard is not wearing a Ram uniform. "It amazes me how guys who leave this team have so much success elsewhere," Lyght said. "It makes you wonder. . . ." It makes you wonder if the Rams could have used a veteran receiver such as Ellard, who has caught 69 passes for 1,316 yards and six touchdowns this season, his first since signing with the Washington Redskins in the off-season.

Washington Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke's quest to move his team to Maryland--and block Baltimore's attempts to attract the Rams--has continued, despite a zoning officer's recent decision to reject Cooke's application to build a 78,600-seat stadium in Laurel, Md. "The fact is, we have been offered a number of sites in Maryland within the Baltimore/Washington Corridor (to build a stadium)," Cooke said in a statement.

John Friesz, a free-agent quarterback who played with the San Diego Chargers last year, has agreed on a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Washington Redskins, the Daily Press of Newport News reported. The signing is scheduled for today, the newspaper said. "I'm looking forward to playing in Washington," Friesz said. "The opportunity to start is what I like."

He has played football for the last 11 years in Anaheim Stadium, but when Henry Ellard returns this season he will require directions to the locker room. "You know, I couldn't tell you where the visitors' dressing room is," Ellard said Wednesday after signing a two-year, $1.8-million contract with the Washington Redskins. Ellard leads the Rams in receptions (593) and receiving yards (9,761) in his 11 seasons. He will receive an $800,000 signing bonus from the Redskins and $500,000 each year.

He has played football for the last 11 years in Anaheim Stadium, but when Henry Ellard returns this season he will require directions to the locker room. "You know, I couldn't tell you where the visitors' dressing room is," said Ellard, who Wednesday became the newest member of the Washington Redskins. Ellard, the Rams' all-time leading receiver in receptions (593) and yards (9,761), signed a two-year, $1.8-million contract with Washington.

Defensive end Tony Woods, who expressed disappointment with the Rams' attempts to keep him, said Thursday night he has signed a two-year deal for $1.5 million to play for the Washington Redskins. The Rams said they offered Woods $1.7 million for two years, and were surprised to hear of his defection.