Notes on a Scorecard - March 14, 1990

If the Coliseum Commission plays its cards right, it might be able to land the Los Angeles Heat of the Western Soccer League. . . .

The Heat, which plays at North Torrance High School, would be a replacement for the Raiders--and the Rams, Bruins, Lakers and Kings, all of whom have left the Coliseum or Sports Arena since 1967. . . .

Part of a 99-Cent Only Stores advertisement in The Times Tuesday: “RAIDERS, GLAD YOU’RE LEAVING!”. . .

Among those unhappy about the Raiders’ move is USC Athletic Director Mike McGee. “We see this as unfortunate,” he said. “The Coliseum is in such need of repair. Now it only has one major source of income instead of two. Our relationship with the Raiders always has been good.” . . .

If you think L.A. never has been much of a pro football town, consider that the Rams drew an average of 83,681 fans for their six games in the Coliseum in 1958. That remains an NFL record. . . .

In the mail Tuesday was the 315-page Dodgers centennial media guide. . . .

The University of Colorado is interested in Loyola Marymount Coach Paul Westhead as the successor to Tom Miller. . . .

Lute Olson has indicated he won’t play his hated rival Jerry Tarkanian in the regular season again, but Arizona and Nevada Las Vegas are on a collision course to meet in the NCAA West Regional final. . . .

Two other sparring partners, Sam Wyche and Jerry Glanville, will meet twice next season, although they now coach NFL teams in different conferences. Wyche’s Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Atlanta to play Glanville’s Falcons in exhibition and regular-season games. . . .

The NCAA could eliminate a lot of the controversy from the basketball selection process by creating a Division I-A tournament, similar to football. Of course, the Coppin States and Texas Southerns would scream about losing a chance at the big TV bucks that go along with a Division-I appearance. . . .

Don’t be surprised if the Big West Conference, which got burned by playing on Sunday, switches its tournament championship game to Saturday next season. . . .

Forgetting all the other factors involved, Loyola Marymount-New Mexico State is one of the more appealing first-round matchups. . . .

Look-alikes: Al Davis and the “Ed Grimley” character created by Martin Short. . . .

The baseball lockout--and lack of televised major league exhibition games--helped USC and UCLA draw a record 6,383 fans for their three-game weekend series. . . .

Sullivan Award winner and Women’s Sports Foundation and USOC sportswoman of the year Janet Evans is picking up more hardware than in 1988, when she was a triple gold medalist in the Olympic Games. . . .

Reports of the demise of Wayne Gretzky, who has amassed 24 points in his last 11 games, were greatly exaggerated. . . .

Mick Luckhurst, the ex-Atlanta Falcon kicker and soccer player, will be a color commentator on TNT’s 24-game coverage of the World Cup this summer. All games involving the U.S. team will be telecast live from Italy. . . .

The NCAA rules manual states that a student-athlete may receive four complimentary tickets to a game, but three must go to either a relative or fellow student. . . .

The Charlotte Hornets, who fall apart in the fourth quarter every night, are a perfect example of a team that doesn’t know how to win. . . .

Steve Lewis, who won the Olympic Games’ 400-meter title as a freshman two years ago, will make his season debut for UCLA Saturday at Drake Stadium in a double-dual track and field meet against Texas and Fresno State. Bob Larsen’s Bruins have a 42-dual meet unbeaten streak. . . . Add streaks: The USC women’s tennis team, coached by Dave Borelli, won 88 in a row at home from 1977-83. . . .

Kent Desormeaux, quickly proving that he can ride with the best, has the third-highest winning percentage among jockeys at the Santa Anita meeting. . . .

Thumbs up to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue for helping to save the instant replay rule. . . .

The surest way to speed up NFL games would be to cut the number of TV timeouts, but the chances of that happening are less than slim and none. . . .

Headline the day after the city of Oakland approved a $600-million deal to bring the Raiders back: “U.S. Plans $300 Million in Nicaragua Aid.”