Notes on a Scorecard - June 4, 1990

CBS can’t be thrilled about a Detroit-Portland matchup in the NBA Finals and neither can Las Vegas, where the Pistons are a prohibitive favorite and little action is expected on the outcome of the series. . . .

If you like Detroit to win the best-of-seven series that opens Tuesday, you must lay $4 to win $1 at the Mirage Hotel Sports Book. If you like Portland, you lay $1 to win $3. . . .

How tough have the Pistons been at the Palace during the playoffs? They’ve won nine games by an average of 14 points and the closest anybody has come is the New York Knicks’ 104-97 defeat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. . . .

It used to be that you needed only to see the last two minutes of any NBA game. But Sunday, you could have settled for a few minutes in the second quarter. Detroit went on an 11-0 tear against the Chicago Bulls and never looked back. . . .

This time, Joe Dumars was not the heart and soul of the Pistons. Isiah Thomas was. . . .

If you still doubt the authenticity of the Cincinnati Reds, you weren’t paying attention over the weekend at Dodger Stadium. . . .

An unusually deep bullpen should keep the Reds away from any extended losing streaks. . . .

I would be more excited about Kirk Gibson’s return if he could pitch relief. . . .

The two-year extension of his contract will carry Tom Lasorda through 16 years as Dodger manager, but he’ll still need seven more to catch up with Walter Alston. . . .

Two of the three pitchers the Seattle Mariners received from the Montreal Expos in last May’s trade for Mark Langston have better won-loss records than Langston. Brian Holman is 6-3 and Randy Johnson 4-3. Langston is 3-5 for the Angels. The other player involved in the deal, Gene Harris, was sent by the Mariners to their Calgary farm club in the Pacific Coast League. . . .

Johnson, Holman and Langston have been involved in three of the best pitched games of the season. Johnson threw a no-hitter against Detroit Saturday, Holman came within one batter of a perfect game against Oakland, and Langston combined with Mike Witt for a no-hitter against Seattle. . . .

New York writers are advising Davey Johnson to stay away from the Bronx if George Steinbrenner comes calling. . . .

Baseball lost one of its truly nice people last week when former California and Los Angeles Angel publicist George Goodale passed away. . . .

Look-alikes: Dodgers Mike Morgan and Jim Gott. . . .

Tom Lasorda on Kal Daniels: “He’s got great body mechanics. He rarely over-strides, uppercuts the ball, or gets fooled.” . . .

I wish major leaguers would show the enthusiasm the kids playing in the College World Series do. . . .

The same goes for the big league umpires who are so slow calling balls and strikes. . . .

Lenny Dykstra must not have heard about the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. . . .

With a 2.73 earned-run average, Tim Leary of the Yankees is the best 3-6 pitcher in baseball. . . .

That barehanded stab of a ground ball by White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen Saturday night in Chicago will be a regular on highlight films the rest of the season. . . .

Reader Jack Tracy of Sherman Oaks wants to know why switch hitters who bat .320 one way and .120 the other way persist in being switch hitters. . . .

Diamond Vision still doesn’t give Dodger Stadium fans enough out-of-town scores. . . .

Bud Furillo, who used to work for the Raider newspaper, will edit the new bimonthly Rams Pages beginning next month. . . .

The Raiders reportedly are interested in Ram running back Gaston Green. . . .

New York radio announcer Jay Johnstone is giving out copies of “Some Of My Best Friends Are Crazy,” his third book in collaboration with Rick Talley, every time the Yankees don’t hit a home run in the sixth inning. . . .

The women are far more interesting than the men at the French Open this year. . . .

It’s time for the Boston Celtics to do something drastic, so why not hire Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as coach? . . .

Dennis Johnson’s brother Joey won the vertical dunk regional competition at Loyola Marymount Sunday and will compete for a $50,000 first prize on a pay-per-view TV show June 25 at the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City. . . .

Nice Work If You Can Get It: Evander Holyfield was paid $1.2 million for less than four rounds of light exercise against Seamus McDonagh Friday night in Atlantic City. . . .

I wonder if David Robinson is going to help navigate the ship during that cruise he’s taking with some other NBA stars this summer.