Notes on a Scorecard - March 12, 1991

The hottest race at the Forum this year is on ice. . . .

The Kings have a two-point lead over the Calgary Flames in the Smythe Division with 10 games remaining on the schedule. And what a schedule! The Kings and Flames will play three times the last 15 days of the season--Saturday at Calgary, March 23 at the Forum and the final day, March 31, at Calgary. . . .

The NHL computer, which had the Kings playing Winnipeg twice back-to-back in nine days recently, and the NBA computer should compare notes. . . .

Portland got a seven-day vacation last week. The Trail Blazers didn’t play Monday through Saturday. They beat the Celtics March 3 at Boston Garden and then, undoubtedly suffering from too much rest, lost to them Sunday at the Portland Coliseum. . . .

“We saw this problem coming in July and still couldn’t do anything about it,” said Matt Winick, the NBA director of scheduling. “The problem is that the Trail Blazers had nowhere to play. Their building wasn’t available and we couldn’t find a place to put them on the road.” . . .

Kelly Hrudey, with a goals-allowed average of 3.00, and Daniel Berthiaume, at 3.07, are giving the Kings’ outstanding goaltending, but in 1974-75 the combination of Rogie Vachon, 2.24, and Gary Edwards, 2.34, was downright stingy. . . .

That was the season the Kings finished with a franchise-high 105 points. Without an overtime rule, they were 42-17-21. This team must go 8-2 the rest of the way to equal that record. . . .

The King wearing the biggest smile in Quebec Saturday after Hrudey’s shutout victory was Berthiaume. . . .

Rookie defenseman Rob Blake is showing that a long reach is nearly as important to a hockey player as it is to a prizefighter. . . .

Most exciting scoreless overtime I’ve ever seen was between the Kings and Canadiens Sunday in Montreal. . . .

Quite an auspicious Ranger debut for tough guy Joey Kocur. He was injured in his first game with New York, missed the second game, and drew a match penalty in the third game that will sideline him the next three games. . . .

You wouldn’t believe it, but Evander Holyfield, not Mike Tyson, is the one having the most legal problems. . . .

Funeral services were held Monday for Ed Sobel, who was one of the truly nice people in boxing. Among others managed by Sobel and his brother Howard Storm were Oscar (the Boxer) Muniz and Tony Baltazar. . . .

Sports Arena fans should have cheered, not booed, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Danny Ferry the other night. The Clippers would be even worse with Ferry instead of Ron Harper. . . .

USC-Florida State and UCLA-Penn State should be pretty decent basketball games, but they would be terrific football games. . . .

George Raveling, who finished second to Washington State’s Kelvin Sampson in Pacific 10 Conference coach-of-the-year balloting, deserves a contract extension from USC before the start of the NCAA tournament. . . .

If Jerry Tarkanian needs material for a pep talk before Nevada Las Vegas’ opening tournament game against Montana, he should consult John Wooden. On the way to Wooden’s last NCAA championship in 1975, the Bruins played the Grizzlies in the second round at Portland. UCLA barely survived, 67-64. . . .

Let’s see if CBS can do half the job that ESPN did on first- and second-round games. . . .

A team to watch is Oklahoma State, coached by Eddie Sutton. A team to listen to is Utah, coached by Rick Majerus. . . .

Louisiana State’s performance without Shaquille O’Neal showed why the sophomore center is a leading candidate to become NCAA player of the year. . . .

My comment that Cherokee Parks was the best big man in Southern California prep ranks since Bill Walton drew the ire of supporters of Bill Laimbeer, Adam Keefe and Lewis Brown. . . .

The Los Angeles City and Southern Section boys’ and girls’ all-star teams that will play at the Forum in the Southern California Prep Classic on April 11 can thank Jerry Buss for the opportunity. He is opening the doors to his building rent free. . . .

Former Stanford quarterback-guard John Paye has coached the Menlo High girls’ team into the Division V State championship game. . . .

Nice of the Milwaukee Brewers to give Candy Maldonado, who had 22 home runs and 95 runs batted in for Cleveland, a shot as a nonroster player. . . .

George Steinbrenner bought a spring training season ticket for Yankee games. . . .

Mark Spitz on his comeback: “I have to feel crummy to know I’m making progress.”