Notes on a Scorecard - May 28, 1991

Good riddance to the Detroit Pistons, and may their style go right out the door with them. . . .

Cheap shot artists Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman got what they deserved when the Pistons were humiliated by the Chicago Bulls Monday. . . .

This is the second time in three years that a team trying to three-peat has been eliminated in a four-game series. The Pistons swept the Lakers in the 1989 finals. . . .

At least, the Lakers didn’t head for the dressing room early that year. Nor did they laugh hysterically as Rodman and Isiah Thomas did in Game 4 when time was running out on their reign. . . .

In a recorded interview on the NBC pregame show, Michael Jordan told Pat Riley that he would rather play Portland than the Lakers in the finals because Los Angeles has been there so many times before. After the game, Jordan said he would rather play the Lakers because the Bulls would have the home-court advantage. . . .

One scenario has Laker assistant coach Randy Pfund joining Pat Riley in New York and Michael Cooper returning to Inglewood to replace Pfund. . . .

In the Bay Area, they’re asking why the Golden State Warriors didn’t draft Elden Campbell. . . .

Bruce McNall has a financial interest in the Forum’s promotion of the Virgil Hill-Thomas Hearns fight Monday at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. . . .

“This partnership is going to be known as Daddy Warbucks and Buss,” Jerry Buss said. . . .

McNall’s next important race horse could be Raj Waki, a 4-year-old miler from France who will make his Hollywood Park debut soon. . . .

Among those beaten by Renaldo Nehemiah in the 110-meter hurdles the other day in San Jose were Eugene Swift and Rod Jett. . . .

One of the all-time great college football teams, the 1951 University of San Francisco Dons, held its 40th reunion over the weekend. Hall of Famers Ollie Matson, Bob St. Clair and Gino Marchetti played for that team. Another who made the Hall of Fame was publicist Pete Rozelle. . . .

When A.J. Foyt’s feet start feeling good again, they will get the itch to race at Indianapolis at least one more time. . . .

The Arena Football League is about to begin its fifth season. . . .

How sporting of the International Amateur Athletic Federation to reveal the names of athletes who pass drug tests as well as those who fail. . . .

From Ron Francis of the Pittsburgh Penguins: “When I was little, I used to go to bed thinking about carrying the Stanley Cup over my head. Hey, it’s heavier than I dreamed.” . . .

George Foreman is talking about a return to the ring in September. . . .

Reader David Pflepsen of Ventura writes that Minnesota beat USC, 2-1, in 10 innings in the College World Series championship game in 1960, not the other way around. Pflepsen should know. He scored the winning run for the Gophers. . . .

USC proved to be too gracious a host for the NCAA regionals this year. The Trojans were eliminated by Hawaii late Sunday night, but the crusher was their come-from-ahead defeat to Creighton earlier in the day. . . .

A regular at Dedeaux Field was football Coach Larry Smith, who also attends most Trojan basketball games at the Sports Arena. . . .

Bud Black, the pitcher who never came to the plate in nine years in the American League, is eight for 25 for a .320 batting average for the San Francisco Giants. . . .

The A’s miss the offense and defense of Carney Lansford. . . .

Remember when they used to play doubleheaders on Memorial Day? Four American League teams, including the Angels, didn’t even play a single game Monday. . . .

Don’t look for recent Oakland addition Andy Hawkins to pitch in Fenway Park, where he compiled an ERA of 162.0 in three starts as a New York Yankee. . . .

Is there anything more infuriating to a batter who has struck out for the third out than to watch Pascual Perez sprint into the dugout? . . .

In the American League averages Sunday, the Detroit Tigers were last in batting, but second in runs scored. . . .

The Angel roster has 10 players originally signed by the organization, compared to only six for the Dodgers. . . .

A lucky team in 1992 will be the Philadelphia Phillies, who will catch the Houston Astros on the tail end of their 26-game trip necessitated by the Republican national convention at the Astrodome. . . .

California League matchup I would like to have seen: Orel Hershiser of Bakersfield vs. Fernando Valenzuela of Palm Springs.