Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 3, 1990

Lou Holtz should shout, “We’re No. 2,” and leave it at that. . . .

No. 1? No way. No. 3? No way. The AP sportswriters’ poll got it right with Miami, Notre Dame and Florida State, in that order. . . .

Florida State might have played the best football the last part of the season, but the UPI coaches were being kind to the Seminoles by placing them ahead of Notre Dame and behind only Miami. Florida State lost two games. Miami and Notre Dame lost one apiece. . . .

And then there is Holtz complaining that his team should be No. 1. I guess he wasn’t in the Orange Bowl on Nov. 25 when Miami whipped Notre Dame, 27-10. . . .

The balloting was a little strange, but nothing compared to 1978 when USC finished 12-1 and Alabama 11-1. The Trojans beat the Crimson Tide, 24-14, that season. At historic Legion Field, no less. Yet Alabama somehow got the writers’ vote and USC the coaches’. . . .

The most neglected 11-1 team is Tennessee. . . .

I get the feeling that the same people who stuff All-Star ballot boxes make multiple calls in those TV polls even if it does cost them a few dollars. . . .

Notre Dame will have the kind of strong-armed quarterback to utilize the talents of Rocket Ismail fully next season. He’s 6-foot-3, 205-pound Rick Mirer, a freshman who was recognized as the best high school passer in the country. . . .

If the Coliseum is rebuilt and USC has to move out for a year, it will find the Rose Bowl booked by UCLA on two Trojan home dates. They are Sept. 15 (USC-Penn State, UCLA-Stanford) and Oct. 6 (USC-Washington State, UCLA-Arizona). Anybody for Anaheim Stadium?. . . .

New Year’s Day was a big one for Jackie Robinson’s alma mater, Muir High of Pasadena. Students Inger Miller and Kandace Watson rode in the Tournament of Roses parade as princesses, and alumnus Ricky Ervins was voted MVP of the Rose Bowl game. . . .

It didn’t work, but Alabama executed a high-percentage onside kick near the end of the Sugar Bowl. You bounce the ball high off the artificial turf and get the equivalent of a basketball jump ball. . . .

Bo Schembechler sounded like an NFL coach when he complained about NCAA officials: “They don’t have enough training. They’re not pros. They have other jobs.” . . .

Heisman ’90 update: Illinois is promising quarterback Jeff George a strong Heisman push if he plays his senior season instead of opting for the NFL draft. . . .

And now back to the Pacific 10 basketball race that began sometime late last year and then disappeared. . . .

USC, which travels to Westwood tonight, is tied with Oregon State for the second most wins by any UCLA rival in Pauley Pavilion. They’ve each won four, two fewer than Notre Dame. The Trojans also have lost 23 since the campus facility was opened in the 1965-66 season. . . .

Pauley, incidentally, looks as shiny and clean as the night it opened. And you can still stick to your diet by sitting in the lower level, where neither food nor drink is permitted. . . .

Providence, which is enjoying a banner recruiting year, could join the elite in the Big East soon. . . .

Look-alikes: Jerry Glanville and Rod Steiger. . . .

Why do people keep asking what’s wrong with the Lakers? They’re 21-6, compared to 17-10 last year. . . .

General Manager Elgin Baylor should deal at least one of the Clippers’ four first-round draft choices over the next two years for an experienced inside player. The team needs more strength and veteran leadership. . . .

At last glance, Jon Koncak, the Atlanta Hawks’ $13.2-million man, was averaging four points and four rebounds a game. . . .

Most entertaining year-end sports review was Fred Roggin’s on Channel 4. Funny stuff. . . . Track conditions have a lot more to do with record sprint performances by horses than humans, as Sunny Blossom’s time of 1:07 1/5 for six furlongs at Santa Anita Saturday showed. He had won only six of his previous 22 starts. . . .

The NHL-Soviet exhibition series has become a total waste of time and money. Only 6,187 saw the Toronto-Moscow Dynamo game in Maple Leaf Gardens on Sunday. And most of the NHL teams have been resting their aces. . . .

Sunkist track meet promoter Al Franken notices a big difference in his dealing with Soviet track stars lately. Svetlana Kitova, the runner-up in the Grand Prix 1,500 meters last year, had a British sports agent represent her in negotiations and is getting a $1,200 appearance fee. . . .

The AFC West will be the most improved division in the NFL next season. . . .

Only seven more months until the Kickoff Classic.