Notes on a Scorecard - Aug. 14, 1991

Granted, it was the fourth quarter of an exhibition game and he was working against the Dallas Cowboys’ reserves. But the way Todd Marinovich took his team downfield Monday night reminded football fans of another left-hander who wore No. 12 for the Raiders, Kenny Stabler. . . .

At the very least, Marinovich resembled the cool sharpshooter who led USC into the Rose Bowl his redshirt freshman year more than he did the troubled sophomore who was yanked from the John Hancock Bowl. . . .

USC has been represented by 58 players in NFL training camps this summer, the most of any school in the nation. Next comes Miami with 54, Notre Dame with 49 and UCLA with 45. . . .

As the San Diego Chargers discovered the other night at Anaheim Stadium, the Rams’ Cleveland Gary is an effective running back when he holds onto the football. . . .

What a breath of fresh air Roger McDowell is. . . .

The Dodger reliever, who was accused of doctoring the baseball by San Francisco Giant Manager Roger Craig, brought out the lineup card Sunday afternoon at Candlestick Park wearing a carpenter’s tool belt and with sandpaper sticking out of his pocket. . . .

After the Philadelphia Phillies won their 13th consecutive game, McDowell cracked: “If they had traded me during spring training, they would probably be 120-0 now.” . . .

A practical joker, McDowell was on the receiving end when somebody hid his shoes in the Dodger clubhouse late Monday night and replaced them with a pair of green suede boots with three-inch heels. . . .

No matter the position, Lenny Harris belongs in the Dodger starting lineup every game. . . .

Tom Lasorda’s nephew, Ben Piazza, leads the Dodger organization in home runs with 23 at Bakersfield of the California League. A 62nd-round draft pick in June of 1988, Piazza is a catcher who hit only 14 homers his first two seasons. . . .

I’ve rarely heard a player booed as loudly at Dodger Stadium as Rob Dibble was Monday night when he was announced as the Cincinnati Reds’ relief pitcher. . . .

The question about the Atlanta Braves is how their young pitching staff will react down the stretch to the pressures of its first title race. . . .

Wade Boggs has switched to a lighter, 31-ounce bat that’s paying dividends. . . .

It’s difficult to classify the Giants as contenders until they surpass the .500 mark. . . .

The New York Yankees should have stuck to their word a few years ago when they said Jay Buhner was untouchable. . . .

If Kansas City stays hot, the American League West race truly will be a battle royal. . . .

Is it my imagination or are a lot of umpires calling balls and strikes poorly this season? . . .

In the early 1980s, Arizona State had an outfield of Barry Bonds, Oddibe McDowell and Mike Devereaux. . . .

Fresno State, which also draws packed houses for football and basketball, led the NCAA in baseball attendance with 180,000. . . .

Reggie Miller, master of the three-point shot that is so important in international competition, would be a natural for the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team. . . .

It’s hard to criticize the Clippers’ trade with Detroit. They got a serviceable veteran backup center, James Edwards, without giving up much. . . .

Promoter Don Chargin, not one given to hyperbole, says his boxing show Sept. 13 at Arco Arena in Sacramento will be California’s best ever. Six of eight fighters are current or former world champions. The main event is International Boxing Federation junior lightweight champion Tony Lopez vs. Brian Mitchell in a 12-round rematch of their March draw. Nontitle bouts: Meldrick Taylor vs. Ernie Chavez, Mark Breland vs. Jorge Vaca, John John Molina vs. Rowdy Welch. . . .

Upsets again ruined the plans of the Forum’s Tony Curtis, who wanted to match International Boxing Federation featherweight champion Troy Dorsey against Louie Espinoza. In what figured to be tuneup bouts Monday, Dorsey lost a decision to Manuel Medina and Espinoza was knocked out by Jose Martinez.