Notes on a Scorecard - April 3, 1990

What the Denver Broncos are to the Super Bowl--winless in four tries and slipping--the Duke Blue Devils are to the NCAA basketball championship game. . . .

On a night when Nevada Las Vegas was brilliant, Duke couldn’t even execute the high-five properly. . . .

This time, the Final Four was an anticlimax to the rest of the tournament. . . .

The only reason to stay tuned to the bitter end was to hear how Brent Musburger would bow out of CBS. He did it gracefully. . . .

Question of the day: How did Ball State ever come within two points of the Runnin’ Rebels? . . .

Be sure to include this trade among Jerry West’s great moves as Laker general manager: Frank Brickowski, Petur Gudmundsson, two draft choices and cash to the San Antonio Spurs for Mychal Thompson Feb. 13, 1987. . . .

Vlade Divac might be the Lakers’ center of the future, but Thompson will do quite nicely for the present. There isn’t much that he doesn’t do with authority except shoot free throws. Count on him for a key rebound, a pick, a tip-in, a joke, or even some tough defense on Karl Malone. . . .

George Foreman knocked out Gerry Cooney in his last bout. So who is he going to fight next? Cooney’s sparring partner, Wesley Watson, April 17 at Caesars Tahoe. . . .

The long light: ABC’s taped telecast of Julio Cesar Chavez’s knockout of Meldrick Taylor showed that the red lights started blinking 18 seconds, instead of 10, before what would have been the end of the 12th round. . . .

It shouldn’t be a pay-per-view event, but the Michael Dokes-Razor Ruddock heavyweight bout Wednesday from Madison Square Garden at least figures to be competitive. The winner would like to fight Mike Tyson. Also being mentioned as an opponent for Tyson is Tony Tucker. . . .

John (the Beast) Mugabi has yet to go the distance in 40 professional fights. He has won 37 and lost three, among them a first-round knockout by Terry Norris that cost Mugabi his WBC super-welterweight championship Saturday in Tampa, Fla. . . .

Colorado made a wise move by hiring basketball Coach Joe Harrington from Cal State Long Beach. He is a charismatic guy who should be able to recruit well and eventually move the Buffaloes into the upper division of the Big Eight. . . .

Stanford senior Jennifer Azzi, the most valuable player of the women’s NCAA tournament, would seem to be a cinch to make the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team, but where does she play from now until the Barcelona Games in 1992? . . .

Oklahoma had no idea what a furor it would cause when it decided to drop women’s basketball. . . .

M Squad: UCLA could have a starting lineup of all M’s next basketball season--Tracy Murray, Don MacLean, Zan Mason, Gerald Madkins and Darrick Martin. . . .

May 13 is the deadline for undergraduates to declare themselves eligible for the NBA draft, which will be held June 27 in New York. . . .

Take a bow, Aaron Krickstein, tennis player and patriot. . . .

The Tradition was a nice tuneup for the Masters for Jack Nicklaus. . . .

UCLA football recruiting coordinator Bill Rees celebrated his 36th birthday Monday--and the birth of daughter Meghan. . . .

When the Bruins open spring practice Friday, they will experiment with a rover position on defense. Being converted from linebacker are Patrick Bates, Roman Phifer and Brian Lockwood. And Lance Zeno, a mainstay at guard the last two years, will play some center. . . .

USC’s young football team will have 63 freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on scholarship compared to only 26 juniors and seniors. . . .

Trojan senior Randy Powers, 7-0 with a 1.99 earned-run average and ranked among the country’s best pitching prospects, wasn’t drafted last year until the 53rd round by the Toronto Blue Jays. . . .

No matter how well Dante Bichette is swinging the bat in spring training again, the Angels still should be pursuing a trade for an outfielder. . . .

Franklin Stubbs can put away his first baseman’s mitt now that he has been traded from the Dodgers to Houston. I mean, he isn’t going to replace Glenn Davis. . . .

With all their young pitchers and the addition of Nick Esasky and Jim Presley at the corners, the Atlanta Braves are on their way back to respectability. . . .

You can catch both the Dodger and Angel home openers next Monday although you will run into some traffic. The Dodgers play San Diego at 1:30 p.m. at Dodger Stadium and the Angels play Seattle at 6 p.m. at Anaheim Stadium. . . .

Off his winning performance on a muddy track in the Jim Beam Stakes, Summer Squall could be the best-named Kentucky Derby contender.