Notes on a Scorecard - May 8, 1991

Love those Shea Stadium fans. They booed and taunted Darryl Strawberry unmercifully most of Tuesday night and cheered him wildly when he hit a home run in the sixth inning. . . .

I wonder who would win a fielding contest between the 1962 Mets and the 1991 Dodgers. . . .

Lenny Dykstra should count his blessings that he was luckier in that Pennsylvania car crash than in those Mississippi poker games. . . .

Alcohol is a bigger problem than drugs in sports. . . .

More emphasis should be put on designated drivers than designated hitters. . . .

Orel Hershiser thrives on pressure and that’s one reason why he chose to pitch tonight at Bakersfield, in front of the Los Angeles-area media, instead of elsewhere in the Dodger organization. . . .

Don’t be surprised to see middle reliever Brian Holton in a Dodger uniform again soon. Holton, who is pitching at Albuquerque after being released by the Baltimore Orioles, was a key member of the 1988 World Series champions. . . .

Ramon Martinez has a 9-1 record and seven complete games in his past 12 starts. . . .

Who are those guys in Anaheim masquerading in New York Yankee uniforms? . . .

The new Comiskey Park is kinder to home run hitters than the old Comiskey was. . . .

Montreal would like to obtain Denis Boucher, the first French-Canadian to pitch in the majors since Claude Raymond, from Toronto. . . .

Danny Heep, back in the majors with the Atlanta Braves, is my idea of a survivor. . . .

Martha Graham, the famous ballet dancer and choreographer who died recently, was captain of the Santa Barbara High girls’ basketball team in 1913. . . .

A jockey’s life: Chris Antley flew home to New York Saturday night a few hours after winning the Kentucky Derby aboard Strike The Gold. The next day, he won a race and finished second in the feature at Aqueduct. . . .

Sure enough, ABC announcer Al Michaels bet $20 across the board on the horse he picked to win the Derby, Mane Minister. That meant his net profit was $190.60. Not that Michaels needed the cash. . . .

There will be Pick 7 wagering at all betting sites on the Breeders’ Cup races, which will be run Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs. After the various taxes are deducted, all the money will go into one pool. The figure could reach $10 million. . . .

Amazing how quickly General Manager Bobby Clarke has gone from a dunce in Philadelphia to a genius in Minnesota. . . .

An unsung hero for the North Stars has been young defenseman Mark Tinordi. . . .

Brett Hull finished with 97 goals, including 11 in the playoffs. But the NHL record still belongs to Wayne Gretzky, who scored 87 in the regular season and 13 in the playoffs in 1983-84. . . .

The Philadelphia 76ers got four points from the center position in their 112-100 defeat by the Chicago Bulls Monday night. . . .

First, Magic Johnson. Then, Scott Skiles. The next important NBA guard from Michigan State will be Steve Smith. . . .

Frank Layden’s humor would go over big in Miami. . . .

If I’m producing a track and field telecast, I want Dwight Stones on my announcing team. . . .

It looks as though Sergei Bubka is going to repeat his indoor pole vault record-a-week outdoors. . . .

Pepperdine produced six top 10-ranked teams this year and had an overall winning record of 75%. . . .

Quite a comeback Steffi Graf is attempting at the ripe old age of 21. . . .

Stella Sampras, sister of Pete, and Kimberly Po of UCLA are the nation’s third-ranked doubles team going into the NCAA women’s championships this week at Stanford. . . .

The Bruin women’s softball team finished the regular season with an 0.33 earned-run average. . . .

Terry Tumey, the Bruins’ all-Pacific 10 defensive lineman in 1985-87, will enter the UCLA graduate school of management this fall. . . .

Northern Illinois made a good choice when it hired USC assistant basketball coach Brian Hammel. . . .

Battle of the scales: San Francisco 49er tackle Bubba Paris, who played at 365 pounds last season, has been told to report to camp at 325. He’s already down to 334. . . .

ABC has scheduled an attractive Monday night regular-season football opener for Labor Day, Sept. 2--the 49ers vs. the Super Bowl champion New York Giants at the Meadowlands. . . .

Garfield High lightweight amateur boxing sensation Oscar de la Hoya should choose Jackie McCoy as his new trainer. . . .

It’s a lot more dangerous for A.J. Foyt, 56, to climb into an Indy race car than it was for George Foreman, 42, to climb into the ring with Evander Holyfield.