Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 16, 1990

Now that the Rams have lost, let’s turn our attention to a winner--the Clippers. . . .

Well, they should become one any day. The way I have it figured, they will reach the .500 mark on Monday night after victories over Charlotte, Seattle, and Minnesota in the Sports Arena and the Kings at Sacramento. Clipper victories. Something you can count on after a 5-3 trip. . . .

In alphabetical order, here are the people most responsible for finally making Los Angeles a two-team NBA city. Call them the Eight Men In:

Elgin Baylor--The general manager made the best basketball deal in years when he sent Reggie Williams and the rights to Danny Ferry to Cleveland for Ron Harper, two first-round draft choices and a second. . . .

Benoit Benjamin--A classic underacheiver his first four seasons in the league, he has become a consistent rebounding and shot-blocking force. . . .

Don Casey--The coach is a household name only in his own house, but just watch how hard his team plays night after night. . . .

Gary Grant--He is still learning the most difficult position in the sport, point guard, but improving rapidly and bringing fans to their feet with his exciting style. . . .

Ron Harper--We knew he was good, but this good? The best body control of any athlete who doesn’t list Chicago Stadium as his address. . . .

Danny Manning--An exceptional all-round talent who is just beginning to show his value after missing most of his rookie season because of knee surgery. . . .

Ken Norman--He missed most of the trip because of injuries, but, with Manning and Charles Smith, gives the team a trio of young forwards unsurpassed in the NBA. . . .

Charles Smith--The product of another terrific Baylor trade. He can do so many more things than rebounding specialist Michael Cage, who was sent to Seattle in the deal that enabled the Clippers to draft Smith in 1988. . . .

Call George Foreman anything but dumb. He collected an easy $1.5 million by punching the heavy bag, Gerry Cooney, last night in Atlantic City and built up the gate for his eventual challenge to Mike Tyson. . . .

UCLA’s Tracy Murray showed uncommon poise Saturday at Pauley Pavilion after Arizona made a run in the second half. Few other freshmen could have inbounded the ball so well under pressure. . . .

USC could be playing all its home games in friendly Lyon Center if it had been built to seat 4,500 instead of 2,200. . . .

The Kickoff Classic is trying to lure the Trojans back to East Rutherford, N.J., in August. But USC, which opens its regular season against Penn State, is not interested in powerful Florida State as the opponent. . . .

Sailing authority Rich Roberts of The Times says the Super Bowl shapes up as a monohull vs. a catamaran. . . .

An overlooked factor in the 49ers’ success is the sheer strength of their defense. . . .

I felt sorry for Ozzie Newsome, a class act on and off the field, after the Browns’ latest AFC championship game setback. . . .

Owner of the year is Ed DeBartolo Jr., of San Francisco, who wasn’t afraid to spend a buck to improve a championship team. . . .

It’s one thing to lose, but quite another to show signs of life in only one of three periods as the Kings did the other night against the Hartford Whalers at the Forum. . . .

Is it a breakdown in the defensive system, or has goaltender Kelly Hrudey been something of a disappointment since being acquired from the New York Islanders last season?. . . .

Asked about conditions during the Romanian revolution, Olympic 1,500-meter champion Paula Ivan, here to compete in the Sunkist meet Friday night, said, “It’s hard to train when bullets are flying by.” . . .

A television mini-series about the life of Lionel Rose is being filmed in Australia. Rose, who has regained his health after suffering a heart attack last year, is the aborigine who won the bantamweight title from Fighting Harada in 1968 and fought several times at the Forum. . . .

With its twin towers of Alonzo Mourning and Dikembo Mutombo, Georgetown might have more pro prospects at center than the rest of the nation combined. . . .

George Gervin’s brother Derrick of the Santa Barbara Islanders is leading the Continental Basketball Assn. in scoring. . . .

Santa Anita shouldn’t be reluctant to give the George Woolf Award to the same jockey more than once. At this rate, every other jockey in America will own a Woolf before long. . . .

Has the Super Bowl pregame show started yet?