Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 25, 1990

An especially Merry Christmas to Jay Schroeder, who ignored all those Scrooges in the stands and press box at the Coliseum to become the most effective pro quarterback in Southern California. . . .

If the Raiders beat San Diego Sunday, they will not only win the AFC West championship, but will equal their Los Angeles high of 12 regular-season victories. . . .

Meanwhile, we’ve now got the five-and-dime Rams. . . .

It was so cold in Green Bay Saturday that officials wore ski masks. With the kind of season they’re having, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea for them to wear them every week. . . .

Those instant-replay snafus are bad enough, but it seems as though the striped shirts are holding conferences before every penalty they call. . . .

The Pittsburgh Steeler offense scored three more touchdowns in the first 7 minutes 20 seconds Sunday against Cleveland than it did in the first four games of the season. . . .

Chuck Knox has done the best coaching job of his career, but I still think he lost too much weight. . . .

After watching the Green Bay-Detroit game, do you think the Packers regret drafting Tony Mandarich instead of Barry Sanders in 1989? . . .

The success of Sanders and Thurman Thomas won’t hurt Oklahoma State tailback Gerald Hudson’s stock in the draft. . . .

Steve Young may make a bigger impact as a running back than a quarterback. . . .

Warren Moon shouldn’t have been playing on a cold day in Cincinnati with his team trailing by 20 points and 1:47 left. . . .

In the two Chicago-Tampa Bay games, Mark Carrier, the Bears’ safety, intercepted three passes and his distant cousin, Mark Carrier, the Buccaneers’ wide receiver, caught six passes. . . .

Bernie Kosar would be a more efficient quarterback if he weren’t playing for his third coach and fifth offensive coordinator in Cleveland. . . .

George Seifert is 30-4 as an NFL coach and 3-15 as an Ivy League coach. . . .

It’s going to get tougher for Buddy Ryan to keep his promise not ever to lose to a team coached by Jimmy Johnson. . . .

Funny, but Marv Levy, who ripped Sam Wyche for the no-huddle offense, is using it a lot himself these days at Buffalo. . . .

New York Jet General Manager Dick Steinberg said no thank you to Mark Gastineau when he stopped by practice and offered his services. . . .

At many Las Vegas hotels, it’s more difficult to get rooms during Super Bowl weekend than on New Year’s Eve. . . .

If you insist on watching the Blue-Gray game today, keep an eye on linebacker Keith Traylor of Central (Okla.) State. . . .

Reliable reliever Barry Jones may be the difference in the deal that sent him and Ivan Calderon from the Chicago White Sox to Montreal for Tim Raines and a couple of minor leaguers. . . .

Raines became the 25th baseball player who will be paid at least $3 million next season. . . .

Tonie Campbell, the bronze-medal winning 110-meter hurdler at Seoul, is training to become a commercial pilot. . . .

Rarely, if ever, have there been more stunning upsets in consecutive world title fights at the same arena than Pedro Decima over Paul Banke and Rolando Pascua over Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez at the Forum. . . .

Pascua, the new World Boxing Council light-flyweight champion, is one of those tough southpaws whose records suffer because they have to fight so often under adverse circumstances. A natural southpaw, he was forced to box right-handed once. . . .

Just to add to the beauty of a delightful weekend in the Midwest, the UCLA basketball team had to travel the 45 minutes between Iowa City and the airport in Cedar Rapids Sunday in an unheated bus. . . .

Florida State picks a tough spot to open its first ACC hoop campaign--next Dec. 14 at North Carolina. . . .

If Indiana Pacer General Manager Donnie Walsh had drafted Tim Hardaway or Pooh Richardson instead of George McCloud, maybe he wouldn’t have had to fire Coach Dick Versace. . . .

Charles Barkley’s new defensive tactic against Larry Bird last week was to tell him jokes and try to make him laugh when he shot. It didn’t work. Bird scored 24 points. . . .

I can do without the new college rule that awards two free throws after a team commits its 10th personal foul in a half. . . .

Georgetown Coach John Thompson on the difficulties of playing at exam time: “I hate that time of year. The split of emotions and responsibilities for the players is tremendous. They’ve got a 6-10 madman yelling at them to get back on defense and they’ve got to worry about taking tests, too.” . . .

May the holidays bring joy to Bud Furillo, the man who got me started in this business and is convalescing from heart bypass surgery at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood.