Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 18, 1991

What the Great American Race needed Sunday was a finish. . . .

There’s something ersatz about the Daytona 500 when the winner, Ernie Irvan, doesn’t exceed the highway speed limit when he takes the checkered flag. . . .

The final three laps were run under the caution flag after Dale Earnhardt crashed. That meant no change of position. But why not adopt the policy of many short tracks and extend the race by three laps after order is restored? Just give all the competitors a pit stop before OT, so nobody runs out of gas. . . .

Much of CBS’ television coverage was as dull as the 200th lap. The announcers picked up on Earnhardt’s misfortune late and didn’t even get excited. And we missed much of the action because the network was too busy selling products and promoting the Arizona-Georgia Tech basketball game. . . .

However, we got a true bird’s-eye view of the race from a camera placed inside Earnhardt’s car--the same view a seagull got when it flew into the car. . . .

Running the Daytona 500 at the start of the stock car season is like playing the Super Bowl at the start of the football season. . . .

What double overtime did in the Ohio State-Indiana game was triple our pleasure. The Buckeyes won, but Hoosier freshman Damon Bailey finally showed us what all the fuss was about. . . .

Sometimes these things are hard to figure. UCLA loses to Stanford at Pauley Pavilion and, without Don MacLean, beats Stanford at Maples Pavilion. USC loses to California at the Sports Arena and beats California at Harmon Arena. . . .

The game has changed drastically, but the 1955-56 University of San Francisco unbeaten national champions may have had the style to give the 1990-91 Nevada Las Vegas Rebels plenty of trouble. Led by Bill Russell on defense, the Dons played deliberately on offense. . . .

College basketball announcers give too much credit to the coaches and not enough to the players. . . .

How good would Kentucky be this season with Chris Mills, Shawn Kemp and LeRon Ellis or LSU with Chris Jackson and Stanley Roberts? Kemp had committed to Kentucky before being ruled a Prop. 48 casualty. . . .

I like the idea of our best basketball players competing against the rest of the world’s best in the Olympic Games, but some college kids are going to be deprived of a great experience and some pros are going to get a second opportunity. . . .

Billy Tubbs no longer can be accused of pouring it on. . . .

During a phone interview from Italy, Michael Cooper told Gabe Kaplan of KLAC’s “Sports Nuts”: “A lot of people here ask me about Magic Johnson, but just as many ask me about Jack Nicholson and the Laker Girls.” . . .

Former Ohio State linebacker Derek Isaman and former UTEP linebacker Ross Puritty will fight a heavyweight six-rounder Sunday at Bally’s in Las Vegas. . . .

My vote for the Sullivan Award is going to wrestler John Smith. . . .

Listening to Skip Krake’s daughter sing the national anthems before the King-Oiler game in Edmonton the other night reminded me of one of the Kings’ worst trades ever--a first-round draft choice, who turned out to be Reggie Leach, to Boston for Krake in 1968. . . .

However, the Kings topped even that one in 1978 when they dealt a No. 1, who turned out to be Ray Bourque, to Boston for Ron Grahame. . . .

Harold Ballard must be rolling over in his grave now that the Toronto Maple Leafs have called up a Soviet player. . . .

Wayne Lukas has the best horse in the land again. The year after Criminal Type, it’s Farma Way. . . .

Bobby Bonilla’s unsuccessful arbitration case probably cost Pittsburgh any chance it had of signing him in 1992. . . .

When Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Larry Fleisher founded the NBA players’ union in 1962, the average salary was $10,000. When Fleisher died in 1989, the average salary was $700,000. . . .

Trade possibility: Sacramento forward Wayman Tisdale to New York for guard Mark Jackson. . . .

Milwaukee showed it is more interested in bucks than Bucks when it traded Ricky Pierce to Seattle for Dale Ellis.