Notes on a Scorecard - June 11, 1991

Los Angeles is losing interest in basketball. On the elevator at work Monday morning, I didn’t hear a word about the NBA finals. But someone mentioned that Orel Hershiser certainly is hitting the baseball well. . . .

Of course, there are two ways of looking at what has transpired between the Lakers and the Chicago Bulls. . . .

If Michael Jordan makes that shot near the end of Game 1, the series is over. . . .

If Jordan misses that shot near the end of regulation time in Game 3, the series is tied at 2-2. . . .

However, the Lakers appear to be physically and mentally drained, and this figures to be a short championship series that ends on the losers’ court for the third consecutive year. . . .

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who sat next to the Laker bench, should have been introduced to the Forum crowd before the game Sunday. . . .

Marc Dellins, UCLA sports information director, says he knows what’s wrong with the Lakers. For the first time in their past 15 championship series appearances, they don’t have a former Bruin on their roster. . . .

You are not alone if you were fooled by the result of Game 1. After their victory at Chicago Stadium, the Lakers went from prohibitive underdogs to slight favorites to win the series. . . .

The trouble with Byron Scott’s disappearance is that Mike Dunleavy can’t rely on any guard coming off the bench. . . .

So much for the theory that the 2-3-2 format works in favor of the team with the middle three home games. In the past three years, those teams have lost seven consecutive home games. . . .

Bill Walton, who knows something about toe injuries, picked the Lakers to win Game 4 and the series because he thought Jordan was hurting. . . .

Jerry Buss would like to own an NHL franchise in San Diego and Bruce McNall would like to own an NBA franchise there. . . .

News item: Larry Johnson, who was listed at 6 feet 7 at Nevada Las Vegas, is measured at 6-5 at predraft training camp in Chicago. Reaction: He’s still taller than Charles Barkley. . . .

I miss 15-round fights. . . .

Ty Detmer’s chances to repeat as Heisman Trophy winner will be determined early next fall. Brigham Young plays Florida State in August and UCLA and Penn State in September. . . .

Surprise of the weekend: Sergei Bubka broke the outdoor pole vault record only once. . . .

The red clay of Roland Garros looks orange on TV. . . .

Chuck Finley is the third-most famous left-hander in the Angel rotation, behind Fernando Valenzuela and Mark Langston, but is on a 29-victory pace. . . .

On Sunday, National and American League West teams won 10 of 11 games from the East. . . .

The Chicago White Sox are winning more often, now that Tim Raines is adapting to American League pitching. . . .

Cecil Fielder is proving to be no fluke. . . .

To keep the San Francisco Giants from giving up hope, General Manager Al Rosen is passing out copies of “The Home Run Heard Around the World,” the story about Bobby Thomson’s shot that capped the New York Giants’ comeback in the 1951 pennant race. . . .

Culture shock is switching from Harry Caray to Vin Scully while watching Dodger-Cub telecasts. . . .

Cal Ripken played in his 1,465th consecutive game Sunday. The man with the second-longest streak, Joe Carter, played in his 400th. . . .

More than 2,000 high school and junior high students will participate in “KidSports on Campus” at USC the next two weeks. Trojan coaches will conduct clinics as part of the program funded by a $1-million windfall from the 1984 Olympic Games and co-sponsored by the Amateur Athletic Foundation and L.A. Unified School District. . . .

The Wayne Gretzky Celebrity Sports Classic June 15 in Brantford, Ontario, is expected to raise $150,000 for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. . . .

I wonder if Mark Gastineau went into his sack dance after knocking out that tomato can in 12 seconds Saturday night in Virginia. . . .

A $15-million offer to fight Mike Tyson may change his mind, but George Foreman isn’t terribly eager to do business with Don King. . . .

As early as 1944, the late Howard Hobson, coach of the Oregon team that won the first NCAA basketball championship in 1939, proposed a three-point field goal and a shot clock. . . .

More will be known about Marion Jones’ chances to make the 1992 U.S. Olympic team when the sprinter from Rio Mesa High in Oxnard competes in the national track and field championships this week in New York. . . .

Phil Mickelson, who couldn’t win the NCAA golf championship, next tries the U.S. Open. . . .

The Belmont Stakes was the best race of the Triple Crown, but how many people really cared? . . .

In the Fifty Six In A Row Handicap at Hollywood Park Saturday, C. Sam Maggio finished seventh.