Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 25, 1991

That Vlade Divac shaving commercial, which was filmed before he re-grew his beard months ago, has got to go. . . .

But Vlade has got to stay with the Lakers. . . .

I would hate to see those trade rumors, which surfaced before the deadline last week, ever pop up again. . . .

Sunday against Detroit, Divac dominated the overtime without scoring a point. He stole the ball twice, pulled down a key rebound, and had a couple of assists. He did the kinds of things a guy who played for the other team, Dennis Rodman, often does to win games. . . .

Some reports had Divac being packaged in a deal with the Clippers for Benoit Benjamin. The trouble with Benjamin is that he’s not a winner. He wasn’t entirely to blame, of course, but the Clippers went 128-333 after drafting him out of Creighton in 1985. . . .

Pat Riley is a better color commentator than a studio host. You want a former coach to tell you what to expect in the closing moments and overtime, and Riley filled that role Sunday on NBC alongside Bob Costas. To his credit, Riley didn’t root for or against his old team. . . .

Needless to say, New Yorkers are mentioning Riley for both the Knicks’ coaching and general manager jobs next season. . . .

Was it a typo in The Times’ box score Sunday morning or did the Clippers outdo themselves by announcing the attendance for Friday night’s game against San Antonio at the Sports Arena as 47,818? . . .

It doesn’t happen often, but a midseason coaching change has helped the Indiana Pacers. . . . What were the chances that the Chicago Bull with the highest-scoring game so far this season would be Scottie Pippen? . . .

Look-alikes: Terry Teagle and Ahmad Rashad. . . .

The trade that sent Bernie Nicholls to the New York Rangers for Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato is looking better for the Kings every day. . . .

Wayne Gretzky came up with a new maneuver Sunday in Winnipeg when he passed the puck to himself off the boards. . . .

Larry Robinson hasn’t scored a goal this season, but he’s making some important contributions on defense. . . .

So much for my crazy notion that Brett Hull was overrated. All he did Saturday was score the hat trick against the Boston Bruins. . . .

The answer to your question after hearing that Jim Harrick had become the first UCLA coach to win at least 20 games in his first three seasons: John Wooden won 22 and 24 his first two seasons, but slipped to 19 his third season. . . .

Those who are saying Don MacLean doesn’t have the proper attitude to make it big in the NBA said the same thing about Reggie Miller. . . .

Harold Miner and Ronnie Coleman get most of the ink, but there are nights when Robert Pack is the guy who makes USC go. . . .

Too bad the officiating hasn’t improved with the rest of the Pacific 10 Conference. . . .

Pepperdine, which has won 13 in a row, and Loyola Marymount, which has won 10 in a row, are two of the hottest teams in the nation. . . .

Why does Arizona play an intersectional game against Duke this late in the season? It’s as simple as ABC.

I had no problem with the split decision awarded Greg Haugen over Hector (Macho) Camacho in a close fight. . . .

Haugen is the tough, smart, well-conditioned kind of professional we used to see in the late 1950s and early ‘60s on the Wednesday (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and Friday (Gillette) night fights. He baited Camacho into throwing the punch before the start of the last round that cost the heavy favorite a one-point deduction and what would have been a draw. . .

Lightweight champion Pernell Whitaker, who sometimes is billed as the best fighter pound-for-pound in the world, may not even be the best fighter in his own stable that includes Meldrick Taylor and Evander Holyfield. . . .

What the California State Athletic Commission needs is some boxing people. . . .

One thing the Cleveland Browns don’t have to worry about is a helmet logo controversy. . . .

If the baseball owners continue to win arbitration cases next season, they could go broke. . . .

Only Nevada Las Vegas could afford to send out all six of its seniors for the start of the final home game of the season and take a technical foul. But if Jerry Tarkanian had wanted to be a true sportsman, he would have played only four men the rest of the night against UC Irvine.