Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 18, 1989

Leave it to the New York Piper Cubs to take the excitement even out of a Los Angeles Rams game. . . .

It shouldn’t be long before Cleveland Gary, the Rams’ powerful-running rookie, makes a successful transition from garbage time to crunch time. . . .

How good a year are the Rams having? If they beat the Patriots on Sunday in New England, they will equal John Robinson’s best NFL regular-season record of 11-5. . . .

After it was announced in the Anaheim Stadium press box that Cleveland had beaten Minnesota on a touchdown from field-goal formation, someone quipped, “Great call.”. . . .

The smartest fans in Anaheim Sunday stayed until the end of the game, thus avoiding the traffic jam. . . .

You’ll see this one on “Football Follies.” In the third quarter, Buford McGee caught a pass from Ram quarterback Jim Everett and fumbled. The ball was picked up by Jet cornerback James Hasty, who fumbled when hit by McGee. Aaron Cox recovered for the Rams. . . .

I guess it was too much to expect the Raiders to win in Seattle although the Seahawks were only 2-4 at home prior to Sunday night. . . .

The Raider substitution pattern and play selection were curious. No Marcus Allen in there to dive over the top from near the goal line in the first quarter. And Bo Jackson seemed to disappear after performing at peak efficiency early. . . .

Happiness is having to listen to sportscasters explain NFL playoff possibilities only one more week. . . .

If you watched the two Saturday games on the tube start to finish--the New York Giants’ shutout of Dallas and Denver’s shutout of Phoenix--you deserve a medal. . . .

It appears that Penn State is going to get a chance to avenge that 14-3 defeat to USC in the 1923 Rose Bowl after all. . . .

The odds favoring USC over Michigan dipped from 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 points at some Las Vegas sports books after Bo Schembechler announced that he was going to retire. . . .

Is it possible that Paul Hackett actually will be hired to replace Mike Gottfried at Pitt? The veteran assistant has been mentioned as a candidate to fill virtually every college or pro vacancy in the last decade. . . .

The Dodgers’ signing of Fernando Valenzuela will be significant only if they trade another starting pitcher for a center fielder. . . .

Losing those first two games of the road trip to Washington and Orlando may have been beneficial to the Lakers, who have taken nothing for granted since. . . .

Clipper guard Ron Harper--who hung, floated, glided and made great last-second decisions in a 39-point performance against Denver Saturday--has better body control than anybody in the NBA except Michael Jordan. . . .

At age 35, Nugget forward Walter Davis can still shoot the lights out. In fact, the lights did go out at the Sports Arena after pregame warmups. . . .

Chick Hearn after a questionable call: “You can tell the good players. They don’t complain.” Has he forgotten about Oscar Robertson? . . .

The Celtics look old. . . .

Now you can start comparing Patrick Ewing to the great centers. . . .

Ron Shelton, writer-director of “Blaze” and “Bull Durham,” is back on the disabled list after being put there three times during his minor league baseball career. He suffered a broken right wrist while playing basketball at the Hollywood YMCA. . . .

With his patient winning ride aboard Ten Keys in the Bay Meadows Handicap that was simulcast to Hollywood Park Saturday, Kent Desormeaux showed why he set the record for most victories by a jockey in a year. . . .

The Macho Camacho-Vinny Pazienza news conference last week was the only one I’ve ever attended where highlights of previous news conferences were shown. . . .

Women’s basketball has caught on at Stanford, where 5,425 saw the Cardinal defeat Tennessee Friday night in Maples Pavilion. The next night, only 4,225 watched the Stanford men beat San Francisco. . . .

Larry Robinson might be right about the Kings trying to play too much of an offensive game, but he hasn’t exactly been performing like an All-Star on defense lately, either. . . .

It will be a homecoming for former King center Ralph Backstrom when he coaches Denver University against Michigan State tonight in the Great Western Freeze Out at the Forum. . . . Clipper Coach Don Casey on the Sports Arena crowds: “They remind me of those at the Palestra in Philadelphia. They’re knowledgeable. They even coach pretty well from behind our bench.” . . .