Notes on a Scorecard - Aug. 8, 1991

I am glad the Angels haven’t given Doug Rader an overwhelming vote of confidence. . . .

That usually means a manager is gone. Rader should be allowed to help dig the team out of a mess that wasn’t his making. What this organization needs is stability, not its 13th managerial change in the last 22 years. . . .

Perhaps any finger-pointing should be directed upstairs. While the Oakland Athletics were obtaining Ron Darling and Brook Jacoby for the stretch drive, the Angels were fortifying themselves with Shawn Abner and the now-departed Mike Marshall. . . .

Rob Dibble got off easy. . . Dodger coach Ben Hines and frequent visitor Brett Butler must be running out of things to say to each other at first base. . . .

Another role in a pennant race may be just what Roger McDowell needed. . . .

Surprising statistic: Eddie Murray has more stolen bases than Lenny Harris. . . .

Seattle Mariner outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. has made a decade’s worth of highlight film quality catches this season. . . .

If the National League’s most valuable player voting were conducted today, Atlanta Brave third baseman Terry Pendleton would be most deserving. . . .

In the year of the streak, the least likely is that of the Houston Astros. . . .

Nobody should be surprised by all the NFL holdouts. The holdout is the lone bargaining tool for players who have only Plan B free agency and no arbitration. . . .

Thumbs up to Indianapolis Colt Coach Ron Meyer for advocating three weeks of training camp, no exhibition games and an 18-game schedule. . . .

The Rams actually did a good job of getting their veterans into camp, but their failure to sign No. 1 draft choice Todd Lyght on time does nothing for their tightwad reputation. . . .

New Ram defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher speaks with his former boss at Philadelphia, Buddy Ryan, twice a week on the phone. . . .

It was a Paul Brown-coached and operated team, the 1951 Cleveland Browns, that the L.A. Rams defeated for their only NFL championship. . . .

Those Meadowlands fans who booed quarterback Phil Simms during Monday night’s game against Buffalo seem to have forgotten about all the good things he has done for the New York Giants. . . .

That’s some strange scheduling that put the San Francisco 49ers in Berlin against the Chicago Bears last Saturday and at Candlestick Park against the Denver Broncos only four nights later. . . .

Hockey salaries are escalating when the Kings have to match a four-year, $2.4-million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers to sign 32-year-old defenseman Charlie Huddy. . . .

The San Jose Sharks of the NHL are approaching 8,000 in season-ticket sales for their first season at the 10,800-seat Cow Palace in San Francisco. . . .

Overlooked in all the excitement being generated by the inaugural $1-million Pacific Classic Saturday at Del Mar is the appearance of perhaps the best turf horse in the nation, Tight Spot, in the $300,000 Eddie Read Handicap Sunday. . . .

Billy Joe Hobert of the University of Washington is a throwback to the days when most quarterbacks also punted. . . .

Finances have caused Northwestern to move what was a home game in Evanston, Ill., against Ohio State to Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. . . .

Penn State’s Joe Paterno hopes to become the first to coach teams in the Rose, Orange, Cotton and Sugar bowls. . . .

Stanford Coach Dennis Green says that Glyn Milburn is the finest all-round back in the country. . . .

Spread the word: Three-quarters of UCLA’s projected starting secondary--cornerbacks Carlton Gray and Dion Lambert and safety Othello Henderson--have been working in the school’s sports information department this summer. . . .

A headline writer’s delight is Debbie Doom, the softball pitcher from UCLA who has been making like Dennis Martinez in the Pan American Games. . . .

Monica Seles, who will play in the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles that begins Monday, plans to attend a Dodgers-Cincinnati Reds game next week. She recently spent $2,000 at a charity auction in San Diego for the opportunity to dine with Tom Lasorda. Presumably, for all that money, she won’t have to order the same diet food as Lasorda. . . .

Now that all the tickets have been sold for the Nov. 8 boxing show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the only question is whether Mike Tyson’s stool will be occupied.