Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 27, 1990

There is something distressing about the grandson of them all, the Blockbuster Bowl, having a better attraction than the Rose Bowl. . . .

I mean, would you rather watch Penn State, holder of the nation’s longest winning streak, against Florida State, or Washington against Iowa, loser of two of its past three games? . . .

Of course, the Rose Bowl has only itself to blame for the number of blah matchups in recent years. It got locked into this Pacific 10-Big Ten thing. Otherwise, such powers as Notre Dame, Miami and Penn State would have been taking the money and running in Pasadena on New Year’s Day. . . .

The last time two teams played for the national championship in Pasadena was after the 1968 season when Ohio State defeated USC, 27-16. . . .

Teams with at least four defeats will be appearing in seven bowl games. . . .

The resurgence of Minnesota is no blessing for the Raiders, who must play the Vikings on the road Dec. 22. . . .

Marcus Allen is still the best running back in town. . . .

This time it was a Plan B free-agent acquisition on the other side, Kansas City nose guard Dan Saleaumua, who helped decide a Raider game. . . .

Don’t tell anybody, but Joe Montana had a lousy game against the Rams. . . . What do Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Bubby Brister, Jim Kelly and Bernie Kosar have in common besides being AFC quarterbacks? All have had candy bars named after them. . . .

This is a season the New England Patriots would like to forget, but their Ray Agnew may be the best rookie defensive lineman in the league. . . .

The way the Falcons and Hawks are going, there must be a lot of talk about the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. . . .

“Bo Knows Bo,” heads the United Press International’s nonfiction best-seller list. . . .

Baltimore took the early lead in the George Bell sweepstakes, but now the Chicago Cubs are making a major bid for the Toronto free-agent outfielder. . . .

General Manager Al Rosen of the San Francisco Giants, who has been criticized for giving Bud Black $10 million, says major league teams are spending so much money on pitchers because there aren’t many good ones in the minor leagues. . . .

Official paid attendance for the Evander Holyfield-Buster Douglas fight at the Mirage Oct. 25 in Las Vegas was 9,637 in a 16,000-seat stadium and the gate a disappointing $6,129,500. . . .

Terry Norris, the World Boxing Council junior middleweight champion who will defend his title Feb. 9 against Sugar Ray Leonard at Madison Square Garden, will box an eight-round exhibition at the Country Club in Reseda tonight. . . .

Exotic locale for International Boxing Federation junior flyweight champion Michael Carbajal’s Dec. 8 shootout with Leon Salazar will be the Rawhide Western Theme Park in Scottsdale, Ariz. . . .

Happy 92nd birthday to Tom Gallery, the former boxing promoter and head of NBC Sports who is convalescing at Tarzana Medical Center.

If they can, the Clippers should trade Gary Grant to Indiana for the steady Vern Fleming. . . .

Bo Kimble will make an ideal sixth man when Ron Harper returns to the Clipper lineup. . . .

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined Magic Johnson on the sidelines at the Raider-Kansas City game. . . .

Depth is among the reasons for the success of the Portland Trail Blazers, who go 10 deep. . . .

Al Bianchi, the New York Knicks’ general manager, should bring back Bernard King, who is being made available by the Washington Bullets. . . .

Cazzie Russell, who was an assistant to Mike Fratello in Atlanta, has been named coach of the Grand Rapids Hoops of the Continental Basketball Assn. . . . New Loyola Marymount Coach Jay Hillock must have learned defense from Paul Westhead. . . .

If Arizona keeps playing the way it did against Arkansas, I may have to retract that statement about the Nevada Las Vegas-less NCAA tournament determining which team is second best in the nation. . . .

Most impressive USC basketball victory over the weekend was the women’s 88-77 upset of Texas. . . .

Drastic changes in college football and basketball regulations are expected when the NCAA holds a recruiting summit meeting in May. . . .

I hear more talk about the Skins Game than any golf event besides the majors. . . .

Rare athletes taking a pay cut are those in the Senior Professional Baseball Assn., where the maximum salary has dipped from $15,000 to $10,000. . . .

Quarterback Corby Smith scored the only touchdown in Loyola High’s playoff victory over Fontana Friday and then, tears in his eyes, told reporters how much it meant to him to have his father, USC Coach Larry Smith, at the game. . . .

The late Fred Shero would have loved the Philadelphia Flyers’ latest call up from the minors--Darren Rumble.