Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 14, 1992

Jim Mora’s offensive philosophy might be even more conservative than his old Occidental College roommate Jack Kemp’s politics, but the New Orleans Saints’ most noticeable flaw is that they play in the same division as the San Francisco 49ers. . . .

It looks as though the Saints, who crushed the Rams Sunday in Anaheim, are going to finish the regular season 13-3 and be rewarded with a wild-card playoff berth. . . .

As the Rams discovered, trying to play catch up against New Orleans is far more difficult than it is against, say, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. . . .

Saint football is forcing six turnovers, committing only one, and not being assessed a penalty until late in the third quarter. . . .

Morten Andersen picked the right game to miss an extra-point attempt. . . . The wisest of the 47,355 fans stayed until the end to avoid what little traffic there was. . . .

Not far from the Big A, the Anaheim Arena is under construction and I wonder how an expansion hockey team is going to be able to fill most of those seats. . . .

It took the arrival of Wayne Gretzky to make the NHL a hot ticket at the Forum, where crowds as small as 7,692 saw the Kings play as recently as the 1987-88 season. . . .

Considering the 19-69-6 record of the three most recent NHL expansion teams--Ottawa, Tampa Bay, and San Jose--perhaps the Disney-owned team should be nicknamed the Mickey Mouses. . . .

On CBS Saturday, Terry Bradshaw asked Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta how come quarterbacks always win the award. Of course, Bradshaw was wrong. Running backs also win the award a lot. . . .

With no clear-cut standout on offense, this was the year that the clear-cut standout on defense, Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones, should have won. . . .

However, those who downgraded Miami’s Torretta because he is not considered a good pro prospect were wrong. The Heisman is a college award, not an NFL scouts’ award. . . .

I also disagree with those who didn’t vote for San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk simply because he was a sophomore. Who knows what will happen to him the rest of his career? . . .

During their 19-0 loss to the Phoenix Cardinals Saturday, the New York Giants played as though the job of their coach, Ray Handley, was at stake. . . .

The crowd of 28,452 was the third below 30,000 at Sun Devil Stadium this season for the Cardinals, who ought to be thinking about moving to some place like St. Louis. . . .

The Denver Broncos might have beaten the Buffalo Bills if Dan Reeves had given Tommy Maddox the bulk of the playing time at quarterback instead of alternating him with Shawn Moore. . . .

There would be a little more scoring in the NFL if it adopted the college, one-foot-in-bounds rule for pass receptions. . . .

Olympic Games champion Oscar De La Hoya delivered some terrific punches Saturday night in Phoenix, but let’s wait at least until he gets hit on the jaw once before we crown him the next great professional champion. . . .

Off recent performances, Michael Carbajal rates the edge over Humberto Gonzalez in their light-flyweight unification title bout in March. . . .

Kent Desormeaux won’t be able to set the purse record for jockeys this year, but he is fortunate that he will get the chance next year after being kicked in the head by a horse Friday at Hollywood Park. . . .

Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Steve Avery and Greg Maddux give the Atlanta Braves a slight chance to become the first team since the 1971 Baltimore Orioles to boast four 20-game winners. Dave McNally was 21-5, Pat Dobson 20-8, Mike Cuellar 20-9 and Jim Palmer 20-9. . . .

The new Kansas City Royals’ double-play combination of shortstop Greg Gagne and second baseman Jose Lind could be the best in the American League next season. . . .

I would like to know exactly what the San Diego Padres’ plan is. . . .

Auto racing is going to miss one of its nicest people, Rick Mears, who shocked everyone in the sport by announcing his retirement at 41. . . .

Like Pat Riley in New York, Chuck Daly is proving in New Jersey that he is a coach who can get the most out of the talent available. . . .

I’m not sure the Dallas Mavericks would win the CBA championship. . . .

The Golden State Warriors are to the center position what the Raiders are to the quarterback position.