Notes on a Scorecard - April 18, 1991

Study Hall at the University of Hollywood Park will commence promptly at 11 a.m. next Wednesday. . . .

Tables, chairs, lights, clean air, peace and quiet will be available for serious students of the Daily Racing Form and Racing Times in a section of the Players Club. No-smoking signs will be posted. Visual aids, most notably a bank of television sets showing past performances, will be provided. . . .

Study Hall is a part of the new Hollywood Park that will open for business next week. New are the management, the paint job, the walking ring and paddock, the restroom decorum, the handicapping machines, the betting formats, the programs and, most important, the attitude. . . .

“We are dedicated to the horseplayer,” new President R.D. Hubbard says. “The $2 bettor has been neglected here for too long. We want to bring him back.”. . .

Hubbard consulted a $2 bettor, Roger Newell, son of basketball Hall of Famer Pete Newell, before making major policy decisions. . . .

Newell suggested something for the $1 bettor. So, every Thursday, there will be a $1 exacta wager on every race. . . .

Those who tend to bet with two fists rather than one can do so more comfortably. Ties no longer are mandatory in the Turf Club. . . .

Let Hubbard take you on a tour of the nearly $3 million in improvements, listen to him talk horse sense, and you are convinced that the Inglewood track soon will return to its old prominence. . . .

“Thanks for what you’ve done with the track kitchen,” a hot walker told Hubbard, who has replaced plastic utensils with real knifes, forks and spoons and expanded the menu in the Horse and Saddle. . . .

The Kings are getting no bargain in Edmonton. Goaltender Grant Fuhr is playing so well that last year’s Stanley Cup hero, Bill Ranford, can’t get back into the lineup. . . .

Of course, the Kings are not heartbroken that it took the Oilers and the Calgary Flames seven games to decide their series or that the last two games went into overtime. . . .

What would the NHL playoffs be like without a Boston Bruins-Montreal Canadiens series?. . .

NBA player most likely to be traded in the off-season is John (Hot Rod) Williams of the Cleveland Cavaliers. . . .

The Dallas Mavericks would like to get rid of Roy Tarpley, but is anybody interested?. . .

Clipper rookie forward Loy Vaught should have had more playing time this season. . . .

The Denver Nuggets have won three times as many road games as the Sacramento Kings. . . .

For the record: Guard Chris Corchiani of North Carolina State broke the NCAA career assist record this season. . . .

Don MacLean has declined an invitation to try out for the U.S. Pan American Games team because he plans to attend summer school at UCLA and attain his goal of graduating with his class. . . .

Upset of the year was Pete Gillen removing himself from consideration for the Notre Dame coaching job. A success at Xavier, he would have had the Irish in the Final Four in quick order. . . .

In the tradition of former Bruins Jackie Joyner and Gail Devers, Janeene Vickers won the 100 meters, the hurdles and the 200 and anchored the 1600-meter relay team that finished third and gave the UCLA women a tie with Houston Saturday. . . .

The NFL draft was more fun when it wasn’t over-analyzed the previous six months. . . .

I’m not so sure the Angels can contend for the American League West title with the bullpen they have. . . .

Ramon Martinez was lousy otherwise, but his changeup that struck out Will Clark Tuesday night at Candlestick Park was one for the ages. . . .

I wonder if people will flock to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore only because this is its final season. It has neither the charm nor the history that old Comiskey Park had. . . .

The Dodgers haven’t executed a triple play since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. . . .

Ballplayers who claim they don’t read the papers are the first to complain that they have been misquoted. . . .

The Yankees’ pin-stripes are still the best-looking uniforms in baseball. . . .

Bleachers and racing equipment from the old Ascot Park are being stored in San Bernardino and kept ready in case promoter Cary Agajanian finds a site to relocate. . . .

George Foreman is underestimating himself when he says he will knock out Evander Holyfield in the second round Friday night at Atlantic City, N.J. It will be the first round.