Thinking Expansion? County Could Use a Few Shots on Goal

R eading between the datelines . . .

Sprawled on the ice in double overtime, Mike Krushelnyski blindly bats the puck in the air, Calgary goaltender Mike Vernon collapses in a helpless heap as the puck flops over his head and the Kings upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Flames, four games to two.

Sudden death. Sudden life as a Calgary goal in the first overtime period is disallowed. Pucks careening off goal posts. Pucks careening off goalies. Every shot a gut-wrencher. And then, in the end, the unlikeliest shot of a very long night decides it all.

Never mind the NBA.

Orange County has to get a hockey team.

MONTREAL--Angel Trade Rumor I: Tim Raines for Kirk McCaskill and Dante Bichette.

Raines would seem to be just the ticket for the Angels--a leadoff hitter, a run scorer, a run producer, a base stealer and a capable outfielder. He’s also 30, which makes him as old as Chili Davis, but younger than recent additions Claudell Washington, Johnny Ray, Lance Parrish and Bert Blyleven.

In other words, a gain of Raines is what the Angels consider a youth movement.

But every time McCaskill pitches a game like the last one--six innings, three hits, one run--he becomes a tougher piece to part with. Of course, the Angels could have had Raines a few years back without losing any bodies--Raines was a free agent in 1987--but the idea lost a head-on collision with collusion.

BOSTON--Angel Trade Rumor II: Lee Smith for Mike Witt or minor league pitcher Mike Fetters.

The Angels reportedly offered Witt, the Red Sox reportedly held out for Fetters, but has anyone read the scouting report on Smith?

He can’t hit the curveball and he plays a terrible right field.

NEW YORK--Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly, entering the final year of a two-year, $6.7 million contract, renegotiates a new five-year, $19 million agreement that makes him the highest-paid player in the major leagues.

Wonder how Tony Gwynn feels about this.

SAN FRANCISCO--Rather than rest on their laurels, the San Francisco 49ers set about reupholstering theirs by dipping into the Plan B pool and shelling out $1.8 million for safety Dave Waymer, $1 million for cornerback Hanford Dixon, $750,000 for nose tackle Fred Smerlas and $330,000 for center Wayne Radloff.

To Eddie DeBartolo, Jr., owner of shopping malls and four Vince Lombardi Trophies, life in the NFL is nothing more than a board game with shiny pieces. Real or Monopoly money, it doesn’t matter. If the football team winds up millions in the red, but also in the NFL title game, DeBartolo calls it a push. He’s been to one Super Bowl party, he wants to go to them all.

At this point, the Rams have to be warming to the idea of a salary cap. It may be the only way left to keep up.

INGLEWOOD--Calgary tempers flame after referees disallow an apparent goal by Doug Gilmour that would have defeated the Kings in sudden death.

From Tate George against Clemson to Kenny Anderson against Michigan State to Gilmour against Kelly Hrudey, the cry for instant replay continues to spread. Was the puck under Hrudey’s leg or over the goal line or both? Amid the on-ice debate, Calgary Coach Terry Crisp could be seen pointing at a TV cameraman’s equipment, screeching in vain for a look at the videotape.

As the NFL has learned, instant replay is an imperfect science. It forces delays in the action, its angles are sometimes inconclusive, but it also results in righting some important wrongs. Basketball and hockey should experiment as well, at least during their playoffs, at least on critical decisions.

With instant replay, this year’s NCAA Final Four might have had an entirely different look. And Calgary still might be defending its Stanley Cup.

ANAHEIM--Mark Langston and Mike Witt combine to pitch the first Angel no-hitter in Anaheim Stadium since Nolan Ryan in 1975.

The mention of Ryan got Angel owner Gene Autry to reminisce the other day:

“I think this one was just as exciting as one of Nolan’s. But Nolan had four of them with us and after a while, you kept coming out, expecting him to throw a fifth.

“And he had the fifth one too. A little looping fly, back of second base, and we had three guys--the center fielder, the shortstop and the second baseman--just standing there. They let it drop in between them for a hit. Nobody touched it.

“If only one of them had hollered out, ‘I got it.’ . . . “

Autry, of course, is referring to Ryan’s infamous 1973 one-hitter against the New York Yankees, when Thurman Munson lofted a pop fly that landed untouched on the outfield grass behind second base. That’s always how it was with Ryan. On the memory scale, the near-misses always outweighed the successes.

SAN DIEGO--Chided by his agent after risking his right arm in a complete-game victory over San Diego on the second day of the season, Dodger pitcher Tim Belcher admits that the move “might not have been the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”

A short spring. A valuable arm. A long season ahead.

Yes, Doug Rader and Langston played it right.