Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 8, 1990

That was quite a show Sunday at Anaheim Stadium, but something was missing. Defense. It’s questionable whether the Cincinnati Bengals have enough to reach the Super Bowl or the Rams enough to make the playoffs. . . .

Really, it’s not too early to start doubting the Rams’ playoff chances. They’re 1-3, have given up an average of nearly 28 points and will be on the road two of the next three weeks against the formidable Chicago Bears and the touchdown-happy Pittsburgh Steelers. . . .

The Rams’ defensive personnel is so lackluster that even Fritz Shurmur, one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, might not be able to do much with it. . . .

The Rams would have been better off Sunday if both teams had heeded referee Jim Tunney’s announcement after he called a penalty on Cincinnati on the final play of regulation time: “The game is over.” . . .

If a team ever was due for a breakdown, it was the previously unbeaten and nearly mistake-free Raiders in the fourth quarter in Buffalo. . . .

That new CBS soap opera “Dark Shadows” continues today with Game 3 of the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati series, which starts at 3:18 p.m. EDT at Three Rivers Stadium. . . .

Boston Manager Joe Morgan is wasting Roger Clemens when he matches him against Dave Stewart. . . .

This could be the year that three of the four major pro sports championships are won by repeaters--San Francisco in the NFL, Detroit in the NBA and probably Oakland in baseball. . . . Look-alikes: Walt Weiss and Tom Hayden. . . .

UCLA quarterback Tommy Maddox, Coach Terry Donahue and Chancellor Charles Young looked foolish arguing the call on the last play of the game against Arizona. ABC commentator Dick Vermeil quickly pointed out that Maddox was over the scrimmage line when he threw what would have been a touchdown pass--and the videotape replay clearly showed the same thing. . . .

Maddox makes the same mistakes as most redshirt freshman quarterbacks--and does most things a lot better. . . .

I’ll never understand why coaches call dangerous passes to the flat near the end of close games. One of them gave Arizona a game-winning interception Saturday and another nearly cost USC its victory over Penn State when a Nittany Lion dropped what might have been a TD interception. . . .

A tailback controversy at USC? Just kidding, Larry Smith. But sophomore Mazio Royster has all the moves and is bigger than Ricky Ervins. . . .

Perhaps the Trojans’ greatest accomplishment against Washington State was blocking two field goal attempts by Jason Hanson, who is considered the best in the nation. . . .

Least useful pieces of equipment at the Coliseum Saturday night were the air-conditioning units behind the Washington State bench. . . .

Getting the most out of the least: Stanford tailback Tommy Vardell ran four yards for 24 points against Notre Dame. . . .

Both Notre Dame and Wisconsin would be better off if Barry Alvarez were still the Irish’s defensive coordinator. . . .

Do you dare make a team with one loss No. 1 this early in the season? I would. Michigan seems to be playing the best football. . . .

Florida State, which was ranked second in the nation last week, might be only the third-best college football team in the state. . . .

Bonehead of the week award goes to Missouri Coach Bob Stull, who should have run onto the field and stopped play before Colorado got a chance to run off its fifth down. Mizzou would have been awarded the ball--and the worst Stull would have gotten would have been a halfway-to-the goal line penalty from the one-yard line. . . .

Worst rule in college football is that allowing the defensive team to score points on a conversion attempt. LSU did it against Florida, returning a blocked kick for two points. Thus, Florida netted four points on its touchdown. . . .

Who was voted defensive player of the Wyoming-San Diego State game? . . .

Maine, a 44-3 loser to Hawaii, should have stayed on the Maine-land. . . .

Indiana is the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten. . . .

George Allen’s Cal State Long Beach 49ers have a longest winning streak of any Division I-A school in Southern California. . . .

Upset of the weekend: A Dodger employee, publicity director Mike Williams, leaving to take a job with the Clippers. . . .

News item: New Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy says A.C. Green will start ahead of Sam Perkins at forward. Reaction: The more important question is, who will finish the games at forward? . . . Contender Evander Holyfield has bought $100,000 worth of tickets for the Oct. 25 heavyweight title fight at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. Champion Buster Douglas has bought $10,000 worth. . . .

I’m not all that crazy about the Kings’ new mascot. Better, they should have gotten a defenseman.