Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 3, 1990

Can a sophomore win the Heisman Trophy? USC quarterback Todd Marinovich got off to one of the best starts possible Friday night at Giants Stadium, where he had a big game in front of a press box full of Eastern voters. . . .

For openers, perhaps the Trojans’ most impressive statistic was that they committed only one turnover. . . .

Larry Smith didn’t unleash all his arsenal against Syracuse. Wait until you see freshman kick returner-wide receiver-tailback Curtis Conway, who only got to return one kickoff because the Orangemen kept booting them deep into the end zone. . . .

Linebacker Scott Ross reminds me of Rex Moore, only better. . . .

George Allen was right when he told Times columnist Melvin Durslag last week that Cal State Long Beach should have been a 58-point underdog to Clemson, instead of only 37 1/2. . . .

Earle Bruce--who never could convince Ohio State that he was a good coach--has turned around the program at Colorado State, which upset Air Force on the road. . . .

Culture shock is Cal State Fullerton playing Sonoma State in Santa Ana Bowl one week and Auburn in Auburn, Ala., the next. . . .

I’m starting to get the feeling that this may not be the Rams’ year, after all. . . .

The pass rush of Kevin Greene is vital, but do the Rams risk still another injury by playing him full-time Sunday at Green Bay after he missed the entire training camp?. . . .

If you believe the crowds that were announced, the Raiders-San Diego exhibition game Saturday afternoon in the Coliseum outdrew the New England-Atlanta game in Foxboro, Mass., Friday night. . . .

Raider fans may not be numerous in Los Angeles, but they are enthusiastic. On a warm day, half of them showed up wearing black. . . .

The first-string Raider offensive line didn’t allow a sack during the entire exhibition season. . . .

I wonder how the Charger coaches graded Junior Seau in his first game. . . .

In an interview on ESPN, Green Bay Packer wide receiver Sterling Sharpe wore a Denver Bronco cap. . . .

The New York Giants can’t get enough for Lawrence Taylor in a trade. . . .

When a veteran NFL player “retires” during training camp, you know he would have been cut. . . .

Tom Lasorda did the right thing by yanking Jim Neidlinger when he was one out away from going the necessary five innings for a victory with the Dodgers leading Montreal, 12-5. After all, this is a team that’s been known to blow 10-run leads. . . .

Chris Gwynn would hit .300 if he played regularly. . . .

Oakland’s biggest acquisitions this summer will be Willie McGee and Harold Baines, not the Raiders. . . .

The A’s could have both the National League--McGee, if Lenny Dykstra falters--and American League--Rickey Henderson--batting champions this season. . . .

Tommy Herr is the type of unspectacular, but steady veteran the Mets needed. . . .

Vince Coleman will be a nice free agent acquisition for somebody if the Cardinals decide not to re-sign him after obtaining Felix Jose in the McGee deal. . . .

Until Sunday, two pitchers in the state of Texas, the Rangers’ Bobby Witt and the Astros’ Danny Darwin, had won 20 consecutive decisions between them. . . .

Look-alikes: Robby Thompson and Ty Cobb. . . .

It was weird seeing the names “Griffey Sr. and Griffey Jr.” in a box score. . . .

The Florida-based Senior Professional Baseball Assn. will expand to San Bernardino and Sun City, Ariz., this fall. San Bernardino took Steve Kemp first in the senior draft, Angel announcer Ken Brett on the 2lst round, and active Dodger pitcher Don Aase on the 24th and final round. . . .

How would you like to spend an hour in the same room with Norm Hitzges and Lee Corso?. . . . Happy 80th birthday to Larry Rummans, who was Sugar Ray Robinson’s West Coast representative and once served as matchmaker for a show promoted by Frank Sinatra at old Gilmore Stadium. . . .

Are you getting enough tennis on CBS over the Labor Day weekend?. . . .

The little-known French team that broke the 400-meter relay record set by the United States at the 1984 Olympics must have passed the baton well. . . .

That 48-stitch cut that Mike Tyson suffered in training and set back his fight against Alex Stewart makes it all the more likely that George Foreman will get first shot at the Buster Douglas-Evander Holyfield winner. . . .

From Cleveland Browns’ offensive tackle Tony Jones: “I dreamed we played Iraq in a football game. We won, and they wouldn’t let us leave.”