UCLA should be sour when it looks...

UCLA should be sour when it looks at the sweet sixteen field. . . .

The Bruins, with all those McDonald’s high school All-Americans, are staying home, and Eastern Michigan, with all those, well, hamburgers, is going to the East Regional semifinals. . . .

Among the underachievers was Jim Harrick. . . .

I liked the coaching job Harrick did his first two seasons at UCLA. And the future would appear to be bright. But too many opponents, most recently Penn State on Friday, seemed better prepared than the Bruins this season. . . .

The way to beat Nevada Las Vegas is to limit the Rebels to 37.9% shooting. The problem with Georgetown on Sunday was that it shot only 38.6%. . . .

Only UNLV could turn Georgetown into a sentimental favorite. . . .

It’s fashionable to say that Stacey Augmon is the Rebels’ best player, but a pretty fair talent scout named Jerry West can’t stop raving about Larry Johnson. . . .

Best sweet-sixteen matchup: Seton Hall vs. Arizona. . . .

North Carolina is playing about as well as anybody right now. . . .

With only Arizona left in the tournament, the Pacific-10 Conference should stop pounding its chest. . . .

UCLA’s Don MacLean and USC’s Harold Miner ought to forget about the NBA for the time being. . . .

CBS’ tournament coverage has been good but not as comprehensive as ESPN’s used to be. . . .

Pet peeve: Announcers who keep saying, “tonight” during afternoon games. . . .

Jim Valvano is right. Coaches who wear tournament credentials look like losers. . . .

When an ex-referee like Earl Strom doesn’t like the foul-out rule, you know something is wrong with it. . . .

The preseason NIT has it all over the postseason NIT. . . .

The Clippers’ comeback victory at Portland on Sunday may have been the least likely in the NBA this season. . . .

During a busy racing weekend, the most impressive victory was turned in by Unbridled, last season’s Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. . . .

Unbridled’s next start after beating Housebuster at his own game--sprinting--will be the Oaklawn Handicap April 13. Also expected in Hot Springs, Ark., for what shapes up as the race of the year are Farma Way and Jolie’s Halo. . . .

The signing of Santa Anita announcer Trevor Denman by Hollywood Park is another example of the new cooperation between the tracks that is so vital to the health of thoroughbred racing. . . .

Those small crowds for the soccer tournament at the Coliseum last week shouldn’t keep the World Cup from awarding the 1994 championship game to Southern California. . . .

I can’t remember the Kings showing more heart in a regular-season game than Saturday at Calgary, when they came back to beat the Flames. . . .

A heavyweight boxing prospect to watch is 23-year-old former Ohio State linebacker Derek Isaman. . . .

After Michael Carbajal defended his International Boxing Federation light-flyweight championship with a hard-fought unanimous decision over Javier Varquez on Sunday, Isaman knocked Horace Craft cold in the first round with a right hand. . . .

Isaman, 6-0 with five knockouts, is managed by a group of Columbus (Ohio) attorneys and trained by the veteran Joe Fariello. . . .

Fariello doesn’t want to rush Isaman or put undue pressure on him. His fight in Las Vegas wasn’t televised, although other preliminaries were shown on the ESPN card. . . .

New Angel Dave Parker is another illustration of why the National League ought to adopt the designated-hitter rule. Primarily because of that rule, Parker remains an exciting performer at 40. . . .

The way the rest of their pitching staff has been performing this spring, the Dodgers should think at least twice about letting Fernando Valenzuela go.