Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 4, 1990

The Rams will try to complete one of the most difficult challenges in pro sports this week when they attempt to win a third consecutive game after a third consecutive cross-country plane trip. . . .

Why didn’t they stay in the East to prepare for the New York Giants after winning the wild-card game at Philadelphia? Bad weather might have limited or hindered their practice time. In fact, many Eastern teams over the years have shifted practices west or south during the playoffs. . . .

Those notorious Meadowlands winds could be a bigger problem than below-freezing temperatures or even snow for Ram quarterback Jim Everett on Sunday. . . .

The San Francisco-Minnesota game Saturday at Candlestick Park will match the two most talented teams in football. . . .

Three 49ers have been named NFL offensive player of the year by the Associated Press the last three seasons--Joe Montana in 1989, Roger Craig in ‘88, and Jerry Rice in ’87. . . .

Last add No. 1 controversy: This national championship was settled where it should have been--on the field. Nov. 25, 1989. Miami 27, Notre Dame 10. . . .

“All I can say is they outplayed us,” Notre Dame linebacker Chris Zorich said that night in the Orange Bowl. “Outplayed us in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter.” . . .

Jack Franzi, odds maker at the Barbary Coast in Las Vegas, says he would make Miami a two-point favorite over Notre Dame on a neutral field. . . .

What makes Miami’s three national championships in a decade so remarkable is that they were won by three coaches--Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. Perhaps more than any other sport, college football is a coaches’ game. . . .

Independents have won the national title the last four years. . . .

The Fiesta Bowl lost a good one when Bruce Skinner resigned as executive director. . . .

A movie on the life of Babe Ruth, starring John Goodman, is in the works. . . .

Angelo Dundee called from Miami to wish Southern California boxing fans a happy new year and report that, at 68, he’s still very active. . . .

The former trainer of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard is working with contenders and prospects such as junior welterweight Lupe Suarez, middleweight Michael Olajide and welterweight Tommy Ayres . . .

“I advise them, represent them, and spread the word about them,” Dundee said. . . . It is hoped that Angelo also works their corners because there never has been a better cut-and-whisper man. . . .

A heavyweight to watch is Tui Tola, a Samoan fighting out of Independence, Mo., who can whack. . . .

When is Mike Tyson ever going to box that exhibition at the Forum? . . .

A Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler fight is possible if Hagler’s divorce case is settled soon. Otherwise, you can look for Leonard-Thomas Hearns III. . . .

There may be more good hockey coaches in the broadcasting booth--Scotty Bowman, Don Cherry, Fred Shero, Herb Brooks--than behind the bench. . . .

The NHL should come up with a compromise between the goal posts that didn’t budge and caused injuries and the ones that are being dislodged and forcing play to be stopped way too often. . . .

Trainer Bobby Gordon has exceptional numbers at the Los Alamitos harness racing meeting, where 34% of his starters have won and 68% have been in the money. . . .

Anyone who breaks an indoor record in the meet at Stuttgart, West Germany, next month will be awarded a Mercedes-Benz. . . .

If Eamonn Coghlan is successful in his comeback at 37, track and field may join golf and boxing on the seniors’ tour. . . .

P.J. Carlesimo, the guy Seton Hall wanted to fire not long ago, is doing another outstanding coaching job in a rebuilding year. . . .

I’d rather watch little LSU guard Chris Jackson than any big man in college basketball. . . .

The Santa Barbara Islanders, a hit in their debut in the Continental Basketball Assn., will switch from Santa Barbara City College to a bigger facility at the Earl Warren Showgrounds next season. . . .

Fat chance that Mel Turpin would ever start another NBA game, but he did Tuesday for Washington and responded with 14 points against New Jersey. . . .

There are 40 seven-footers in the NBA. . . .

The most amazing thing about the Minnesota-Clipper game Tuesday at Minneapolis wasn’t that the Clippers won their first road game of the season, but that 23,980 witnessed it. . . .

The highlight of Fred Claire’s New Year’s Eve was talking to Kirk Gibson on the phone and getting an encouraging report about Gibson’s physical condition.