Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 8, 1989

ABC should be doing everything possible to boost its Rose Bowl ratings. So what happens on the Saturday that the two leading contenders in both the Pac-10 and Big Ten are matched? We get only one game on the tube.

Channel 7 will show USC-Arizona at 12:30 p.m., the same time the eastern part of the nation will see Michigan-Illinois. If the network calls an audible, it’s a doubleheader and everyone is happy. . . .

The Gene Murphy-Mike Pringle saga has given the Cal State Fullerton football program something it has always lacked: attention. . . .

USC Coach Larry Smith says it isn’t fair to keep his players out on the field for more than three hours every Saturday and suggests not stopping the clock after incomplete passes in most instances. . . .

Joe Montana is a man on a mission, out to prove that he, not Bill Walsh, has been the key to the San Francisco 49ers’ offense. . . .

Lindy Infante is the best thing to happen to the Green Bay Packers since Vince Lombardi. . . .

Introducing the defensive team instead of the offensive unit to save the quarterback from a chorus of boos isn’t new for the Raiders. It happened in the early ‘70s in Oakland when Daryle Lamonica was the starter and Kenny Stabler and George Blanda were the people’s choices. . . .

Quietly enjoying a successful season is UCLA outside linebacker Marvcus Patton, who has thrown enemy passers and runners for losses 20 times. That’s the most by a Bruin since the statistic was first used in 1975. . . .

Pat Riley does OK with the Lakers, but can he teach slow, pot-bellied guys? Find out Saturday when he conducts a clinic at the Hoop-It-Up national three-on-three basketball tournament at the south end of Santa Monica beach. It begins at noon and is open to the public free of charge. . . .

For those who insist that you only need to see the last two minutes of any NBA game, Prime Ticket is showing replays of the fourth quarter of home Laker games at 11 p.m. . . .

Just what the NBA needs. Another illegal-defense violation. Now you can’t double-team a player who doesn’t have the ball. . . .

Already, there’s a book out on the long and glorious history of the Minnesota Timberwolves. . . .

The Dodgers would be wise to rehire Rick Dempsey and Mickey Hatcher, two rollicking old pros who are as valuable in the clubhouse as they are on the field. . . .

It has been confirmed that Ross Porter’s 22-inning, 6-hour 14-minute solo behind the microphone for the Dodger-Expo game Aug. 23 was the longest in the history of major league baseball. . . .

Jim Rice, the 36-year-old outfielder who was recently released by the Boston Red Sox, says he will talk to officials of the Winter Haven club next month about joining the Senior Professional Baseball Assn. in Florida. . . .

Cliff Ditto once managed the Walla-Walla baseball team. . . .

Prized upset Sunday Silence on the dirt in the Swaps Stakes last July at Hollywood Park, but Clover Racing Stable’s Jeff Siegel says he would agree to a rematch only on turf. Prized is one for one on the lawn, a $900,000 score in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. . . .

The same writers who are second-guessing Pat Day for his ride on Easy Goer in the Classic have voted him the Eclipse Award as best jockey three of the last five years. . . .

During a lull in the action Sunday at the Raider-Cincinnati Bengal game at the Coliseum, the fans in Tunnel 7 suddenly stood up and applauded. Magic Johnson, that connoisseur of all sports, was walking up the aisle. . . .

What a pity that many Los Angeles City prep football games are being played before crowds of fewer than 1,000. This L.A. High grad, class of ‘59, remembers when the old 7,000-seat stadium on Rimpau Boulevard was nearly filled for the games against Manual Arts and Dorsey. . . .

Joe Theismann, who has a lot to say, needs lessons in word economy. . . .

If Trinidad and Tobago (pop. 1.26 million) ties or defeats the United States (pop. 244.6 million) Nov. 19 at Port of Spain, it will become the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup soccer tournament. . . .

Dallas owner Jerry Jones to a TV interviewer after the Cowboys’ upset of the Washington Redskins: “At least now, maybe they won’t say we’re the worst team in the history of the NFL.”