Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 1, 1990

Four-and-oh is no fluke. Stamp the Raiders as legitimate Super Bowl contenders after the way they handled the previously unbeaten Chicago Bears. . . .

Perhaps the only thing that could keep the Raiders out of the expanded playoffs would be more injuries. They’ve had enough already to deplete an ordinary team. . . .

The crowd of 80,156 was the biggest in the NFL this season, but not among the best behaved despite the push to make the Coliseum a nicer place on Sunday afternoons. . . .

Scoreboard message that was ignored by many fans, mostly in the east end: “Be A Team Player--Root Responsibly!” . . .

Block of the Day: Marcus Allen’s demolition of Richard Dent during a 20-yard Jay Schroeder- to-Mervyn Fernandez pass play early in the fourth quarter. . . .

Schroeder, who isn’t forcing anything, is making all the right decisions. . . .

The Raider defense has scored three more touchdowns than the Pittsburgh Steeler offense this season. . . .

An early defensive rookie of the year candidate is linebacker Aaron Wallace. . . Strangest penalty of the day was the one assessed against the Bears for 12 men on the field--on the first play after a timeout. . . .

Thumbs up to Raider Steve Wright, who has filled in superbly for the injured Bruce Wilkerson at offensive right tackle. . . .

Who would you rather have as your offensive coordinator, the Vikings’ Joe Schnelker or the Steelers’ Joe Walton? . . .

It’s hard to believe, but the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles are each 1-3. . . .

The New England Patriots got what they deserved Sunday. . . .

This has been a great year for Eddie Murray, the Dodger slugger, but a lousy one for Eddie Murray, the Detroit Lions’ kicker. . . .

It’s time to give the Cincinnati Reds some credit. They bent, but didn’t break.

The biggest reason the Pittsburgh Pirates won the NL East pennant is that they were hungrier than the New York Mets. . . .

I liked Comiskey Park better than Wrigley Field. . . .

However, a different name should have been given the new park across the street. Bill Veeck Stadium would have been perfect, but White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf wasn’t a big fan of the greatest showman in baseball. . . .

This is Tom Lasorda’s second best job of managing. His best was in 1988 when the Dodgers won the World Series with maybe the weakest lineup ever in the Series. . . .

This will be remembered as the year the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals finished last. . . .

Lost and found: The USC and UCLA rushing attacks. . . .

In Nevada, all bets are called off if 55 minutes or more aren’t played in a football game. The USC-Ohio State game was stopped after 57 minutes and 24 seconds. . . .

John Cooper should ask his athletic director never to schedule Larry Smith again. . . .

UCLA-Washington State was an exciting game, but were you able to stay up until the end? It didn’t end until around 11:30 p.m. because of the late starting time dictated by ESPN and all those TV commercials. . . .

Tommy Maddox is going to make Bruin football exciting for the next three-plus years--or until he opts for the NFL draft. . . .

Hype of the week: ESPN announcer Wayne Larrivee calling Northern Illinois quarterback Stacey Robinson a “bonafide Heisman Trophy candidate” before the Huskies were routed by mighty Northwestern. . . .

Despite its come-from-ahead defeat to Notre Dame in South Bend on opening night, Michigan may have the best team in the nation. On a bad day, the Wolverines still were able to handle decent Maryland, 45-17. . . .

BYU quarterback Ty Detmer on being intercepted five times by Oregon: “I threw ‘em, they caught ‘em.” . . .

So much for the hot Arizonas. . . .

Auburn Coach Pat Dye sure loves ties. He wore a grin and waved his cap to the fans on his way to the dressing room after the Tigers’ 26-26 tie with Tennessee. And remember that draw with Syracuse in the Sugar Bowl? . . .

If Dye had gone for one point instead of two when the Tigers trailed 19-9, they would have won Saturday. . . .

Ohio State freshman running back Robert Smith had his problems against USC, but he’s a dead ringer for O.J. Simpson with those long, graceful strides. . . .

Bad taste award: To CBS for reporting that New York Jets Coach Bruce Coslet was fined by the NFL for making an obscene gesture--and then showing it on “The NFL Today.” . . .

No changes were reported over the weekend in the NFC West standings or Willie McGee’s National League batting average.