Notes on a Scorecard - April 29, 1991

The Great One was the Mediocre One, and that is the biggest reason why the Los Angeles Kings again failed to survive the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. . . .

I’m not sure why Wayne Gretzky didn’t score a goal against Edmonton or control the flow of any of the six games. . . .

The defense of his shadow, Esa Tikkanen, had something to do with it. So did the ear injury that sidelined Gretzky in Game 3 after the first period and the broken leg that kept linemate Tomas Sandstrom out of two games. . . .

But I do know that Gretzky, who already has smashed nearly every record in hockey, is paid big money to come up with big performances in big games. . . .

Funny, but the turning point Sunday night was the injury that sent Edmonton goaltender Grant Fuhr to the hospital early in the third period with the Kings leading 3-2. . . .

The Kings should have tested replacement goalie Bill Ranford with heavy bombardment. Instead, they got conservative. They kept icing the puck. They allowed the Oilers to regain their confidence. . . .

Wasn’t it the Kings who were supposed to overcome an injury to a star player to win the series? . . .

Actually, the Oilers won the game twice. The TV replays showed that their first goal in overtime shouldn’t have been disallowed by the referee. . . .

That was real sportsmanlike of Houston Coach Don Chaney Saturday at the Forum, not playing Dave Jamerson after Terry Teagle was suspended. . . .

Most significant team statistic in Game 2: Eight blocked shots by the Lakers, one by the Rockets. . . .

Mike Dunleavy didn’t give Magic Johnson his customary rest at the beginning of the fourth quarter and, not coincidentally, that is when the Lakers pulled away. . . .

There isn’t much difference in talent between these two teams, but the Lakers have been playing more intelligently. . . .

Vlade Divac led both teams in floor burns Saturday. . . .

Dunleavy on Divac: “To do any damage in the playoffs, we have to get this kind of play from him.” . . .

The Golden State Warriors may be the most entertaining team in the NBA. . . .

That bulky brace on his knee didn’t stop Charles Barkley from being a spittin’ image of his old self when the Philadelphia 76ers won two in Milwaukee. . . .

The Boston Celtics looked old Sunday. . . .

I would take Larry Johnson over Billy Owens in the draft. . . .

NBA teams without a first-round pick this year are the Lakers, Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland and San Antonio. Golden State has three and the Clippers, Denver, Orlando and Sacramento two apiece. . . .

Best piece of hitting Sunday at Dodger Stadium was Mike Scioscia’s opposite-field, hit-and-run single in the third inning. Scioscia does things like that all the time to help his team win games. . . .

Surprising stats: Darryl Strawberry has scored more runs than Brett Butler, but hit the same number of home runs. . . . Strawberry says Juan Samuel looks like the Samuel of 1987. That’s the year he had 28 home runs and 100 RBIs for the Philadelphia Phillies. . . .

Overlooked in the first 17 games was Samuel’s glove work at second base. None of the Dodgers’ 21 errors over that span belonged to him. . . .

Montreal would be crazy to fire Buck Rodgers, one of the best managers in baseball. . . .

Two films on the life of Babe Ruth are in the works, a feature starring John Goodman and a TV movie starring Stephen Lang. . . .

I wonder how Terry Cooney is going to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout performance against the Seattle Mariners. . . .

If a certain Chicago White Sox property loses commercial endorsements, will he be known as Shoeless Bo Jackson?