Notes on a Scorecard - March 19, 1990

Ready for an all-L.A. matchup in the NCAA finals--UCLA vs. Loyola Marymount? . . .

Hey, why not? March Madness has never been more maddening. Nine of the top 16 seeded teams were knocked out in the first two rounds. The Triple Terrors--Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri of the Big Eight--are gone. So are the Twin Towers--Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo of Georgetown. And the defending champion--Michigan--is nowhere to be found after allowing 149 points in 40 minutes. Representing the Hoosier state is not Indiana, Purdue or Notre Dame, but, instead, David Letterman’s alma mater, Ball State . . .

UCLA’s victory over Kansas eases the pain of a late-season slump and 1989-90 must now be considered a success for the Bruins no matter what happens from here on. . . .

Against a disciplined team that boasted the most accurate passing attack outside the San Francisco 49ers’, UCLA played some of its best defense in years. . . .

So much for the thinking that Roy Williams would out-coach Jim Harrick. . . .

Trevor Wilson’s stock in the NBA draft has soared. . . .

Shocking stat of the day: UCLA, winner of 10 NCAA championships, is in the round of 16 for the first time in 10 years. . . .

Loyola Marymount’s rout of Michigan was a case of mind over matter and a tribute to Paul Westhead’s full-speed ahead tactics. Some of the names change, but not the triple-figure scores. The funny thing is that Westhead was accused of coaching an offense that was too structured when a Laker player revolt forced him out Nov. 19, 1982. . . .

In 25 years on the L.A. sports beat, I’ve never seen a better-conditioned team than Loyola Marymount. . . .

Thumbs up to Westhead for keeping Bo Kimble in the game Friday against New Mexico State after he drew his fourth foul in the first half. Some coaches will lift even a star player after he commits his second foul in the first half. . . .

Maybe Kimble, who is 100%, should shoot all his free throws left-handed. . . .

In the last year of its contract to televise early-round games, ESPN clearly outdid CBS. The cable network shifted from game to game, and you hardly missed a thing. In contrast, CBS stayed with lopsided games Saturday and Sunday and didn’t even give the viewers frequent updates on upsets-in-the-making like Xavier over Georgetown. . . .

No referee works a fight better than Richard Steele, but he made a mistake Saturday night in Las Vegas when he stopped the Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor fight with only two seconds remaining. . . .

I believe it is the responsibility of the referee to know approximately how much time is left in a round, especially when the red lights signaling that fewer than 10 seconds remain are blinking. . . .

Even if Steele had allowed Taylor to continue, he wouldn’t have gotten hit with another punch. The bell would have rung before Chavez could have reached him. . . .

Clearly, here was a fight that exceeded its hype. Two well-conditioned warriors trading punches for nearly 12 full rounds. No clowning. No taunting. All business. . . .

I had Taylor ahead by four points going into the last round, but I can’t recall a fight that was tougher to score. Taylor was more flashy, quicker and landed more punches. Chavez’ blows were more punishing. . . .

Just about the only place heavyweight champion Buster Douglas hasn’t been seen lately is the gymnasium. . . .

Jack Franzi, oddsmaker at the Barbary Coast, says Nevada books wouldn’t have missed baseball. “Most sports books consider themselves fortunate if they make a small profit on baseball,” he said. . . .

All-American forward Larry Johnson says he will play his senior season at Nevada Las Vegas even if the school is placed on probation. Of course, Andre Ware insisted he was returning to the University of Houston after he won the Heisman Trophy. . . .

You know it’s a different ball game--rather, puck game--when Vincent Damphousse breaks Frank Mahovlich’s record for points in a season by a Toronto Maple Leaf left winger. . . .

After the weekend’s races, Mister Frisky remains the only 3-year-old who has distinguished himself. . . .

USC won’t get a head start on Penn State before their Sept. 15 game in the Coliseum, after all. After learning that the Trojans would play in the Kickoff Classic against Syracuse Aug. 31, the Nittany Lions shifted their game against Texas from Sept. 29 to Sept. 8. . . .

Conference countdown to Denver: ACC 4, Big Ten 2, Big East 2, Southwest 2, Pac-10 1, Southeast 1, Big West 1, WCC 1, Mid-American 1, Midwestern 1.