Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 20, 1989

No wonder the Phoenix Cardinals played so poorly Sunday in Anaheim. It was too cold for them. . . .

Robert Delpino, who just turned 24, and Cleveland Gary, 23, should give John Robinson the kind of punishing inside rushing game he adores for many years to come. . . .

Timm Rosenbach, the quarterback from Washington State who was chosen on the first round of the supplemental draft by Phoenix, didn’t make his NFL debut until the fourth quarter against the Rams. Of course, why rush him when you’ve already got Gary Hogeboom and Tom Tupa?. . . .

The old Raiders used to intimidate the opposition with tactics that drew penalty flags. Sunday in Houston, most of the penalties they committed were simply stupid and costly. . . .

I never thought I’d live to see the day when the Tampa Bay Bucs swept the season series from the Chicago Bears. . . .

The USC-UCLA tie was like kissing your mother-in-law. . . .

This was the year when Missouri and Kansas put on a better show than UCLA and USC. . . .

I was surprised that USC didn’t call time out in the final minute. The Trojans’ only chance to win was to get the ball one more time, whether or not the Bruins kicked a field goal. The way it turned out, USC would have had pretty good field position on its 37-yard line. . . .

Todd Marinovich finally played like a redshirt freshman quarterback. But linebacker Junior Seau excelled in the second half despite a sore shoulder and deserves to be voted Pac-10 player of the year. The question now is whether Junior will attempt to enter the NFL draft early and skip his senior season. . . .

The best thing ABC does on Saturdays is give you that slow-motion replay of field goal attempts from a camera just behind the end zone. It captured Alfredo Velasco’s miss beautifully. . . .

UCLA would have scored more touchdowns this season if Charles Arbuckle, the tight end who caught five passes against USC, had been healthy every week. . . .

The most emotion I saw all afternoon was in the press box elevator on the way down after the game when Bruin assistant coaches Greg Robinson and Dave Currey and Trojan assistant Clarence Shelmon got into a verbal sparring match. Shelmon took exception to the opinion expressed in the back of the elevator that UCLA definitely should have won the game. . . .

Oh, for the good old days when the Coliseum crowd was split 50-50 in its allegiance. USC stuffs the UCLA fans into end zone seats and vice versa when the game is played in the Rose Bowl. . . .

After answering questions from reporters, Larry Smith went out into the hallway and addressed a group of high school stars he is trying to recruit. . . .

Dept. of Corrections: It was Toby Page, not Steve Sogge, who handed off to O.J. Simpson before the 64-yard run that gave USC a 21-20 victory over UCLA in 1967. . . .

Florida State, which lost its first two games, is playing as well as anyone in the nation. . . .

How about Michigan State’s come-from-behind 76-14 win over Northwestern? The Wildcats scored first. . . .

It may not truly be the Big Game anymore, but Stanford-Cal drew only 653 fewer fans in Palo Alto Saturday than UCLA-USC did in the Coliseum. . . .

George Foreman boxed an exhibition in New Jersey on ESPN last week. He didn’t weigh in, but looked to be about 280. Then he left for the Caribbean, presumably to train, not vacation. . . .

If the U.S. soccer team gets lucky in the World Cup draw, it might win a game in Italy next year. . . .

Thumbs up to Elgin Baylor for trading Reggie Williams and the rights to Danny Ferry to Cleveland for draft choices and Ron Harper, the shooting guard the Clippers needed so badly. It was the best of all the deals offered the Clippers, including those for Portland’s Clyde Drexler and Dallas’ Rolando Blackman.. . .

William Bralver, who bought the first season ticket sold by the Lakers in Los Angeles in 1960, died recently. He used to proudly identify himself at the Forum as “account No. 1.”. . . .

The Lakers lost the best publicity man in the NBA when Josh Rosenfeld resigned. . . .

Happy retirement to Loel Schrader, the distinguished old pro whose final sports column appeared in the Long Beach Press-Telegram Sunday. . . .