Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 25, 1990

No longer is the Raiders’ Art Shell always identified as the first black head coach in the modern-day NFL. He’s a head coach, period. And he is becoming one of the better ones in the league. . . .

Few, if any, teams play harder for their coach than the Raiders do for Shell, who is 10-5 since taking the job Oct. 3. His predecessor, Mike Shanahan, was 6-9 in the previous 15 games. . . .

All things considered, the Rams can use a rest Sunday. . . .

Dept. of crazy scheduling: UCLA and USC are on the road for the second consecutive week. The following week, they play at home, UCLA against Arizona in the Rose Bowl at 12:30 p.m. and USC against Washington State in the Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. . . .

Remember when USC was Tailback U., and UCLA could run the ball with the best of them, too? In three games this season, the Trojans have rushed for 287 net yards and the Bruins for 217. . . .

It was so bad for USC in Seattle that second-string quarterback Shane Foley led the team in rushing. . . .

I imagine that Alabama appreciates Bill Curry a little more now. . . .

BYU Coach LaVell Edwards is a class act, but it wasn’t very nice of him to leave Ty Detmer in almost the entire time against San Diego State. The Cougars weren’t in any real danger late in a 62-34 game. Besides, a la Lawrence Taylor, why risk injury to your star player? . . .

The other quarterback Saturday in Provo, San Diego State senior Dan McGwire, showed that he is first-round NFL draft choice material. . . .

Steve Spurrier, who did an outstanding coaching job at Duke, is doing the same at Florida. . . .

The Cincinnati Bengals are leading the NFL in scoring partially because Sam Wyche is an innovative coach who puts in a gadget play every week. . . .

Buddy Ryan always seems to be sneering on the sidelines. . . .

The Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs might play to a 0-0 tie Nov. 4 at Kansas City. . . .

Now that the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins have played for the first time since Dec. 10, 1972, isn’t it about time for the Philadelphia Eagles and Chiefs to get together? They’ve haven’t met since Oct. 22, 1972. . . .

Pity the opponent who has to face Michael Chang when he’s got cramps in the fifth set of a match. . . .

The United States vs. Australia in a Davis Cup final--shades of the grand old days of the competition. . . .

One reason actor Jeff Corbett landed the role of a pitching phenom in Paramount’s “Talent for the Game,” now filming at Dodger Stadium, is that he can throw a baseball 83 m.p.h. . . .

With training camp about to start next week, only eight of the 27 NBA first-round draft choices have signed. . . .

Look-alikes: Outfielder Mike Greenwell and infielder Jody Reed of the Boston Red Sox. . . .

The senior golf tournament in Tokyo last week was won by Billy Dunk, who sounds as though he should be playing basketball. . . .

Nobody has ever written about golf with more humor than Joseph Wambaugh in “The Secrets of Harry Bright.” . . .

Now we know why Will Clark is having an off year. He will have to undergo foot surgery after the season. . . .

Although the Chicago White Sox are out of the division race, there’s a crush for media credentials for the final few games at Comiskey Park. . . .

The real National League batting race is for second. . . .

There might not be a single managerial change in the majors during the winter, but Toronto’s Gord Ash and San Francisco’s Ralph Nelson could wind up with general manager’s jobs. . . .

The Seattle Kingdome might no longer be such a home run paradise when the left-field fence is moved back 12 feet next season. . . .

His defeat to Tony Lopez at Sacramento Saturday may have been the last national TV shot for Jorge Paez, a clown who can’t fight all that well. . . .

I know you can hardly wait, but a Thomas Hearns-Juan Carlos Gimenez, Roberto Duran-Pat Lawlor doubleheader is being planned for mid-December in Seattle or Las Vegas. . . .

Donald Curry, who was supposed to be the fighter of the 1980s, will try to become a fighter of the ‘90s when he challenges Michael Nunn for the International Boxing Federation middleweight championship Oct. 18 in Paris. . . .

Marcel Dionne will be honored at a banquet Nov. 7 and his No. 16 jersey will be retired in ceremonies before the Kings’ game against Detroit the next night at the Forum. . . .

Former King broadcaster Jiggs McDonald, who was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame Monday night in Toronto, says the best fight he ever saw at a hockey game was between two women in the stands at the Forum. . . .

A.J. Foyt, 55, no longer competitive and recovering from serious leg injuries he suffered Sunday, should retire from the dangerous sport of auto racing.