Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 21, 1989

The jury is still out on the Juan Samuel for Mike Marshall and Alejandro Pena trade. . . . However, the feeling here is that the Dodgers’ Fred Claire should have given up more--either Ramon Martinez or John Wetteland--and gotten a proven center fielder. . .

One good thing about the deal is that Dodger Stadium fans no longer will have to wait for “Slow” Pena. . . .

Make sure your remote control is in working order. Both the Ram-New England (Channel 2) and Raider-New York Giant (Channel 4) games will start at 10 a.m. Sunday. . . .

News item: Big Ten adds Penn State, says it will drop nobody, and insists it will not change its name. Reaction: I wonder who’s going to win the Pac-8 basketball race this season. . . .

The last Michigan coach to bow out against USC in the Rose Bowl was Fritz Crisler in 1948. Michigan won, 49-0. . . .

Former Hawthorne High School star quarterback Curtis Conway has passed his SAT test and is eligible to enroll at USC next semester. Now the question is whether Coach Larry Smith will ask him to sit and watch Todd Marinovich for three years or move him to wide receiver, running back or defensive back. . .

Remember the good old days when you could watch “Monday Night Football” to its conclusion and still catch the start of “M*A*S*H” at 9 p.m.?. . . .

The Hollywood Park fall-winter meeting may never be a success because it comes at the wrong time of the year--right at the start, middle and end of Christmas shopping. . . .

The California Horse Racing Board couldn’t have handled the thoroughbred drug-testing cases any worse if it had tried. . . .

From his front-row seat at the Sports Arena, General Manager Elgin Baylor must see a lot of himself in Ron Harper when the Clipper guard makes a dozen magical moves in search of two points. . . .

Seven NBA scouts will be in attendance Saturday at Pauley Pavilion, where two of the West Coast’s best forwards, UCLA’s Trevor Wilson and Cal State Fullerton’s Cedric Ceballos, will be matched. . . .

Two of the legendary women’s basketball coaches, Pat Summitt of Tennessee and Marianne Stanley of USC, will match wits Friday night at the Lyon Center on the Trojan campus. . . . What a week it will be for Loyola Marymount, which upset Oregon State in Corvallis without Hank Gathers, if the Lions beat Oklahoma Saturday.

Look-alikes: Webster Slaughter and Lionel Ritchie. . . .

Florida’s Emmitt Smith has rushed for 200 more yards than the entire Washington team the Gators will play in the Freedom Bowl Dec. 30 at Anaheim Stadium. . . .

The last time Colorado lost was in the Freedom Bowl last year, to BYU, 20-17. . . .

UCLA is not going bowling for the first time since 1980, but six Bruins will appear in all-star games. . . .

Rick Meyer, the Bruins’ offensive lineman who wants to become an orthopedic surgeon, has won an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. . . .

USC, formerly known as Tailback U., has contributed four of the six safetymen to the Pro Bowl on Feb. 4. Ronnie Lott, Joey Browner and Tim McDonald will represent the NFC and Dennis Smith the AFC. . . .

It’s usually more interesting to read the Pro Bowl selections than it is to watch the game. . . .

Barry Sanders of Detroit can become the first rookie to win the NFC rushing title since Eric Dickerson in 1983. Another rookie, Curt Warner, won the AFC title that year. . . .

Los Angeles sports fans don’t realize how lucky they are to be able to see Magic Johnson perform for the home team one night and Wayne Gretzky the next. . . .

The odds favoring George Foreman over Gerry Cooney may drop after their sparring sessions on ESPN the other night. Cooney at least looked to be in shape. . . .

It didn’t take Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino long to get invited to the Senior Skins Game. The two 50-year-olds will compete against Arnold Palmer and Gary Player next month in Hawaii. . . .

Versatile Al Michaels will substitute for the vacationing Charles Gibson as co-host of “Good Morning America,” on ABC next Wednesday through Friday. . . .

“This is going to be something different, and I’m very excited,” said Michaels, who drew rave notices for his work on the San Francisco earthquake. “I wouldn’t mind doing it on an occasional basis. But I can’t foresee the day when I’ll leave sportscasting. It provides me with too much enjoyment.”. . . .

The multi-talented Minnesota Vikings belong at or near the top of any list of NFL underachievers. . . .

In the past couple of days, I’ve read more about Cal State Long Beach football than I had in my entire life.