Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 27, 1991

I was starting to doze off late Monday night in front of the tube when ESPN announcer Mike Patrick screamed into my ear, “New Mexico State has cut it to 11 points!” . . .

That is what the brilliance of Nevada Las Vegas does to usually rational people. The Rebels’ lead shrinks to a measly 11, and Dick Vitale’s straight man goes bananas. He did the same thing when New Mexico State became the third team this season actually to lead UNLV. There were only 37 or 38 minutes left in the game. . . .

I’m thinking about voting Stacy Augmon and Larry Johnson 1-2 for the John Wooden Award. Well, that might be unfair. Maybe it should be Johnson and Augmon 1-2. . . .

Johnson might throw the long ball better than anybody in the history of his school, including Randall Cunningham. . . .

What could be USC’s biggest game in years won’t be televised Saturday. Southland viewers will be able to see Notre Dame-Louisville, Fresno State-New Mexico State and even Arizona-Oregon, but not USC-Washington State. The Trojans are trying to get their first NCAA tournament berth since 1985, but their game Thursday night at Washington won’t be televised, either. . . .

In the locker room before the tipoff against Oregon, Coach George Raveling showed his players a homemade 13-minute film. Among the highlights: Every USC player scoring a basket, the celebrations after the victories over UCLA and Arizona and a George C. Scott speech from “Patton.” . . .

“Last week was my happiest since I’ve been at USC,” said Raveling, whose team ran away from Oregon and Oregon State. . . .

Raveling on Duck guard Terrell Brandon: “Abe Lemons once told me to recruit guys who are hard to guard. Brandon is the hardest guy in our league to guard.” . . .

Dick Harter would be a good choice to succeed Bill Mulligan at UC Irvine. . . .

Any team that has Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning should be playing better than Georgetown is. . . .

Louisiana State Coach Dale Brown thinks basketball needs taller officials. . . .

Billy Owens keeps saying no, but don’t be surprised if he skips his senior year at Syracuse. . . .

Want to be an athletic director? There are vacancies at California, Stanford and Washington in the Pacific 10 and at Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and Indiana in the Big Ten. . . .

Elgin Baylor will be happy if his newest Clipper acquisition, Olden Polynice, proves to be nearly as tough as Baylor’s former Laker teammate, Rudy LaRusso. . . .

Please, Larry Bird, don’t say you’re too old for the Olympics. It would be great to see Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan on the same team. . . .

Razor Ruddock’s camp will file a protest with the Nevada State Athletic Commission about Mike Tyson’s habit of walking out to the center of the ring before the start of a round. . . .

Has parity come to boxing? The string of upsets that began with Buster Douglas over Tyson is astounding. . . .

Oldest player on the Senior PGA Tour is Jerry Barber, 74, who will compete in the GTE West tournament at the Ojai Valley Inn Friday through Sunday. Barber shot his age or lower in 37 of 97 rounds last year. . . .

Natalie Williams, who led UCLA to the NCAA women’s volleyball championship in December, is averaging 14.3 points and 10.3 rebounds for the basketball team. . . .

Pro beach volleyballer Tim Hovland could earn $200,000 in endorsements and bonuses this year from his contract with Off Shore Products. . . .

The San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita Saturday will help clear up a clouded picture in the local 3-year-old division. In Florida, the big horse is Fly So Free, a six-length winner in the Fountain of Youth. . . .

The San Francisco Giants are bullish on 19-year-old minor league shortstop Andres Duncan. He’s a switch-hitter, as his brother, Mariano, once was. . . .

Will Clark has his old swing back in the batting cage after foot surgery. . . .

Eric Show is the leading candidate to fill the fourth spot in the Oakland Athletics’ pitching rotation. In that same spot, Storm Davis won 19 games two years ago and Scott Sanderson won 17 last year. . . .

There are 18 former UCLA Bruins on major league rosters this spring. Kansas City heads the list with four prospects--first baseman Jeff Conine, third baseman Sean Berry, pitcher Mike Magnate and first baseman/designated hitter Bob Hamelin. . . .

The Dodgers shouldn’t be so mad at pitcher Mike Morgan, who injured his hip while moving a television set for his mother. At least, it was for a good cause. . . .

It must be spring if the Chicago Cubs are back at HoHoKam Park.