Notes on a Scorecard - June 21, 1990

Rating the Cups: 1. Stanley Cup. 2. World Cup. 3. Davis Cup. 4. Hollywood Gold Cup. 5. Grey Cup. 6. Ryder Cup. 7. America’s Cup. . . .

I was tempted to put the rest of the universe’s favorite, the World Cup, on top. After all, there has been scoring in 29 of the 32 games. But then I saw tens of thousands of soccer fans doing the wave during the Italy-Czechoslovakia game in Rome. . . .

The Cup making the biggest comeback is the Gold Cup Sunday at Hollywood Park, which has doubled its purse to $1 million and features the best field of older horses in the country this year. . . .

The 1989 horse of the year, Sunday Silence, is the marquee attraction, but some acquaintances of mine whose favorite reading is the Daily Racing Form believe he will be upset. . . .

Criminal Type is the hot horse, having beaten Housebuster and Easy Goer in the Metropolitan Mile on May 28 at Belmont Park. In the latest weekly poll of national racing reporters conducted by Thoroughbred Racing Communications, Criminal Type was ranked first and Sunday Silence second. . . .

Ruhlmann, wire-to-wire winner of the Santa Anita Handicap, is the speed of the race. And, remember, a speedball named Native Diver is the only horse ever to have won the 1 1/4-mile event three times. . . .

Poor Chris McCarron. He has never won the Gold Cup, but has finished second or third nine of the past 10 years. This was going to be his year. He had the ride on Sunday Silence. That is, until, he broke two legs and a forearm on June 3. . . .

Longest shot ever to win the race was Cadiz, who paid $50.20 in 1963. In 1956, Swaps paid a whopping $2.30. . . .

Al Davis has given unsigned Marcus Allen a message by acquiring Greg Bell from the Rams. . . .

The initial salary report that had Bell getting $850,000 from the Raiders may be as much as $300,000 high. He was going to get $475,000 for 1990 with the Rams. . . .

Bell has wanted to be a Raider for quite some time. The Raiders knew this, and even tucked away a draft choice in hopes of making the trade. In fact, when his former Notre Dame teammate, Stacey Toran of the Raiders, died in an auto accident last year, Bell was among those delivering eulogies at a memorial service. . . .

USC will play only five football games at the Coliseum this season, but two are on the same days as UCLA games at the Rose Bowl. On Sept. 15, it’s USC vs. Penn State and UCLA vs. Stanford; on Oct. 6, it’s USC vs. Washington State and UCLA vs. Arizona. . . .

More than $700,000 was raised at the Cedars-Sinai Sports Spectacular dinner Saturday night at the Century Plaza Hotel, bringing the five-year total to $3.2 million. . . .

UCLA forward Don MacLean is one of 10 players who have been selected for Playboy magazine’s preseason college basketball All-American team. . . .

John Thompson didn’t feel well last season, and a move from the Georgetown bench to the Denver Nuggets’ front office will not surprise his friends. . . .

Of the top heavyweights, Evander Holyfield may be the fighter the much bigger and stronger George Foreman can beat. . . .

The U.S. World Cup soccer team has nothing to be ashamed about. The young, inexperienced Americans weren’t supposed to score a goal. They scored two. They were supposed to be wiped out in all three games of the first round. They lost twice by only a goal. . . .

There is more overacting in Italy these days than in Hollywood. What miraculous recoveries these athletes make after being tackled and writhing on the turf for minutes at a time. . . . The Minnesota North Stars would be better off if new Coach Bob Gainey and General Manager Bobby Clarke could still skate. . . .

The Sacramento Kings would like to draft Oregon State guard Gary Payton. But if he’s still available when it comes the Kings’ turn to pick seventh, some other scouts will have made a big mistake. . . .

Maybe the New York Mets did need a change in managers. . . .

I can’t get accustomed to the St. Louis Cardinals, under Whitey Herzog, not being a pennant contender. . . .

Was it really necessary for Oakland Athletic Manager Tony LaRussa to leave Dave Stewart in for seven innings Tuesday in Detroit? Stewart had allowed seven runs and 12 hits and was trailing, 7-6, before departing. . . .

Angelo Dundee still keeps a set of boxing equipment in a Miami gym for 48-year-old Muhammad Ali, who works out there when he is in town. . . .

If Deion Sanders played for a certain team in the World League of American Football, would he be known as the Frankfurt Hotdog?