Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 18, 1990

Don’t walk under a ladder. Don’t let a black cat cross your path. Don’t crack a mirror. And don’t play for the Los Angeles Clippers. . . .

Ron Harper is headed for surgery instead of the NBA All-Star game and it is time for General Manager Elgin Baylor to unload some of those four future first-round draft choices in a trade that still could salvage a playoff berth for the world’s unluckiest basketball team. . . .

A Jeff Malone or a Danny Ainge might be available. . . .

Now that the boys of winter have begun working out at Dodger Stadium, we’ll save Tom Lasorda the bother of making out his opening-day lineup card: Juan Samuel, cf; Willie Randolph, 2b; Kal Daniels, rf; Kirk Gibson, lf; Eddie Murray, 1b; Hubie Brooks, 3b; Mike Scioscia, c; Alfredo Griffin, ss; Orel Hershiser, p. . . Clearly, here is a team that will finish anywhere from first to fifth in the National League West. . . .

Daniels says he wants to bat third. We’ll grant him his wish because Gibson will make a fine cleanup man. Of course, all this is based on the complete cooperation of their knees. . . .

A record crowd for college basketball, 65,000, is expected at the Louisiana Superdome Saturday for the LSU-Notre Dame game. All proceeds will go to the homeless through Comic Relief. Coach Dale Brown sold two seats on the LSU bench for $5,000 apiece and even the promoter, Sonny Vaccaro of Pacific Palisades, paid for his dozen tickets. . . .

The key to beating Oklahoma is to get the Sooners into a half-court game. They didn’t know what to do against Lon Kruger’s well-coached Kansas State Wildcats the other night in the Little Apple of Manhattan. . . .

My favorite sports nickname of all-time remains that of former Temple basketball star Bill Mlkvy, the Owl Without a Vowel. . . .

They’re not twins, but Chuck Robinson, Terence Mullin and Eddie Bird are dead ringers for their famous older brothers, David, Chris and Larry. They also play basketball for their brothers’ old schools--Navy, St. John’s and Indiana State. . . .

Somehow, I don’t miss the old NFL Playoff Bowl, which used to match the losers of the Western and Eastern Conference championship games. . . .

Bill Shoemaker’s last ride may not be the only highlight of the Feb. 3 card at Santa Anita. Akinemod and Gorgeous, talented 4-year-old fillies, are expected to race in the 1 1/8-mile La Canada Stakes that afternoon. . . .

Good news for Jack Nicholson. The Academy Awards, March 26, don’t conflict with the NCAA basketball championship, April 2, this year. . . .

Vlade Divac is quickly making friends at the Forum. During the Martin Luther King Day matinee against Sacramento, the rookie Laker center scored a basket and then low-fived a young girl sitting in the front row. . . .

Look-alikes: Neil Lomax and Ted Danson. . . .

UCLA is interested in Kip Keino’s son Martin, who attends Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, and will run the prep mile in the Sunkist meet Friday at the Sports Arena. . . .

Comedy Night. Batting Helmet Day. Movie Day. Ice Cream Day. Wrist Band Day. Date Night. Baseball Cap Day. Beach Party Day. A list of Dodgers’ promotions? No. All these events are planned for Dedeaux Field on the USC campus, where the Trojans will try to uphold their preseason No. 1 baseball ranking by Baseball America. . . .

Three world record-holders--Janet Evans, David Wharton and Mike Barrowman--will compete in a double dual meet featuring the USC women against Stanford and the men against Michigan Friday at 1 p.m. at the McDonald’s Olympic swim stadium. . . .

USC safety Mark Carrier made a big hit in Oklahoma City when he accepted the Jim Thorpe Award wearing a tuxedo, black cowboy hat and snakeskin boots. . . .

It’s uncertain whether Carrier will opt for the NFL draft as a junior, but probable that teammate Junior Seau will leave early. . . .

Bob Halloran, the director of boxing at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, wants to make a Michael Nunn-Thomas Hearns match. . . .

Pete Rose, who was honored at Cappy Harada’s annual Hot Stove League Golf Tournament in Santa Maria last week, donated the $5,000 check he was awarded to Hancock College in Santa Maria. . . .

Two intermissions in hockey are one too many. . . .

What is important to know about the NHL All-Star telecast Sunday on NBC is that Wayne Gretzky will play for the Campbell Conference and Mario Lemieux for the Wales. . . .

John Robinson was spotted in an Orange County theater watching “Glory,” the day after his football team fell short of it in San Francisco. . . .

The next time you see a 19-year-old college kid sink two free throws with thousands screaming, think about the veteran pro golfers who step away from a putt if they hear the click of a camera.