Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 17, 1990

Whew! The Raiders didn’t trade Marcus Allen. Dealing him for a draft choice would have been a step backward, not forward, for a team that can reach the Super Bowl this season. . . .

As with starting pitchers, you can never have too many running backs. . . .

The Tuesday night massacre in Cincinnati may have given the Oakland Athletics the one thing they lacked--humility. . . .

CBS was as well prepared as the Reds. . . .

The network brought 15 cameras to its first World Series game, but used them judiciously instead of getting too artsy. . . .

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I would like to have seen Lou Piniella give Jose Rijo the opportunity to pitch a complete-game shutout. . . .

I don’t know who was worse Monday night--the officials or the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings. . . .

Football officiating is a tough, physically demanding job. What the NFL corps needs now is a youth movement. . . .

Look-alikes: Jerry Burns and Buster Keaton. . . .

Until I saw him standing on the sidelines, I’d forgotten that Jim McMahon is an Eagle. . . .

The next time Philadelphia cheap-shot artist Andre Waters does his thing, he should be suspended. . . .

Thumbs up to ABC commentator Dan Dierdorf for not being afraid to get on Waters’ case. . . .

For the second time this season, the New York Giants made a bad decision on a linebacker. Why was Carl Banks playing Sunday against the Washington Redskins with one arm? Now he’s out of action for weeks. . . .

Larry Smith on facing Arizona, where he coached for seven years before going to USC in 1987: “It’s like playing your best friends. You want to beat them in tennis or golf. But it’s no grudge match. I’ve got a lot of respect for (Arizona Athletic Director) Ced Dempsey.” . . .

UCLA’s 18-game winning streak over California will be in jeopardy Saturday in Strawberry Canyon. The Bears have won three consecutive games for the first time in eight years and have the style to beat a team that is ranked eighth in the Pacific 10 in rushing defense. . . .

However, the Bruins’ ground game is coming around, too. Tailback Brian Brown, who averaged 7.3 yards a game rushing the first three games, has averaged 134.3 yards the past three. . . .

Washington belongs in the top 10. . . .

Mississippi has regained its winning touch on the football field, but the support it has shown paralyzed Chucky Mullins has done more to improve the image of the university. . . .

The instant-replay rule, NFL style, wouldn’t have done Michigan any good against Michigan State on that two-point conversion attempt. Pass interference is not a call that can be reviewed. . . .

My mail strongly favors Terry Cooney over Roger Clemens. . . .

Sitting in Bruce McNall’s box at the Kings-St. Louis Blues game Sunday at the Forum was the Dodgers’ . . . oops, Mets’ Darryl Strawberry.

Every time John Ziegler opens his mouth about what serves as the National Hockey League’s drug policy--”zero tolerance”--he makes a fool of himself. . . .

Unless the World Series takes only four games, Rich Marotta will substitute for A’s announcer Bill King as the play-by-play man on KFI’s Raider-San Diego Charger broadcast Sunday. . . .

Work from the past 40 years of one of sports’ finest photographers, Robert Riger, will be on display Oct. 26-Dec. 2 at the Sports & Entertainment Gallery in Venice. . . .

The odds on Evander Holyfield are dropping, but is Buster Douglas’ weight? . . .

The heavyweight division now has some depth. Among the youngsters showing promise are Riddick Bowe, Bruce Seldon, Lennox Lewis and Tommy Morrison. . . .

UCLA’s Don MacLean and USC’s Harold Miner share the regional cover of Street & Smith’s college basketball preview magazine. . . .

Calling all former UCLA basketball lettermen and managers to a reunion in the Faculty Center Oct. 28 at 4:30 p.m. . . .

Best race in the Breeders’ Cup Oct. 27 at Belmont Park should be the Distaff, where favorite Go for Wand will run against last year’s winner, Bayakoa, and runner-up, Gorgeous. . . .

Overall, the Breeders’ Cup fields are the least appealing in the history of the event. . . .

For the record: Tim Brown, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1987, graduated from Notre Dame. . . .

Startling revelation in his book, “Bo Knows Bo,” from Bo Jackson: “Auburn wasn’t paying me anything.”