Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 17, 1991

The Coliseum has been very, very good to John Robinson and Art Shell, who will meet there Sunday in one of the more attractive heavyweight matchups of the week. . . .

In the blue-and-gold corner: Robinson, who has a record of 37-5-1 at the Coliseum. In the silver-and-black corner: Shell, who is 16-3. . . .

Robinson coached USC in 1976-1982 and, with the Rams, won his only road game against the Raiders in 1988. Shell won his first 10 home games after succeeding Mike Shanahan as Raider coach in October 1989. . . .

Exposition Park should be rocking over the weekend with 60,000 expected for USC vs. Stanford Saturday and at least 85,000 for Los Angeles vs. Los Angeles Sunday. . . .

Unlike Robinson and Shell, USC Coach Larry Smith hopes to reverse his pattern at the Coliseum before it gets a facelift. In the past two seasons, the Trojans are 3-4-1 at home, 7-1 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. . . .

The USC-Stanford series began in 1905. Other USC opponents that year were the National Guard, Harvard School, Los Angeles Poly High, Whittier Reform, the Alumni, Occidental, Sherman Institute, Loyola and Pomona. Memphis State was not available because it wasn’t founded until 1912. . . .

Asked if his offensive line, which averages 300 pounds tackle-to-tackle, tends to tire, Stanford Coach Dennis Green said: “No. These aren’t guys we recruited when they were 255 pounds. The Lord made them that way. They’ve always been able to handle big bodies.” . . .

Remember when the local schools did relatively little out-of-state recruiting? The probable starters in the UCLA secondary for the Oregon State game Saturday hail from Texas, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio. . . .

Their teams have been disappointing, but three of the top four senior prospects ranked by the NFL scouting combine are from Houston and Michigan State. Cougar quarterback David Klingler is No. 1; Spartan wide receiver Courtney Hawkins is tied with Tennessee safety Dale Carter for second and MSU defensive lineman Bill Johnson is fourth. . . .

“Eleven NFL teams are starting different quarterbacks from their final game last season,” former Ram assistant coach Artie Gigantino said on “Up Close” on ESPN. “It’s no coincidence that only two of them have winning records.” . . .

When Rusty Hilger is signed again by the Indianapolis Colts, you know it is a rough year for quarterbacks. . . .

Jim Lachey was a first-round draft choice, but the Washington Redskins’ four other interior offensive linemen are free agents or players drafted after the 10th round. . . .

Another overachiever has been Seattle wide receiver Brian Blades, who is tied with Haywood Jeffires of the Houston Oilers for the AFC pass reception lead with 40 despite the Seahawks’ problems at quarterback. . . .

Look-alikes: Sen. William Cohen (R-Me.) and Jerry West. . . .

Clarence Thomas is in his 15th season as football coach at Pomona-Pitzer. . . .

Among the questions about hard-hitting heavyweight Tommy Morrison, who fights Ray Mercer Friday at Atlantic City, N.J., is the texture of his chin. . . .

The odds favoring Mike Tyson over heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield on Nov. 8 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas have dropped. . . .

English Derby and Irish Derby winner Generous has been retired. . . .

The New York Islanders, who used to sell out Nassau County Coliseum regularly, drew only 7,065 for their game against the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night. . . .

Last week, the Winnipeg Jets had their smallest home crowd, proving that those who say the NHL has problems aren’t suffering from delusions. . . .

The Met Life soccer tournament, which will be played Friday night at El Camino College and Sunday afternoon at UCLA, has produced at least one NCAA semifinalist in each of the last six years. This year’s field includes UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, Army and Akron. . . .

It may have been midnight madness elsewhere, but UCLA and USC both opened basketball practice at 6 a.m. Tuesday. . . .

For the first time since the 1986-87 season, UCLA has all five starters returning. They will be tested early. The opener is on Nov. 15 against Indiana in the Hall of Fame game at Springfield, Mass. . . .

USC, which reached the NCAA basketball tournament for the first time in six years last season, has produced a four-minute marketing video that features All-American candidate Harold Miner. . . .

Nevada Las Vegas would be wise to hire Don Winston, USC’s senior associate athletic director, who is one of the five finalists for the job of UNLV athletic director. He has been instrumental in raising more than $7 million for the Trojan athletic department in each of the last four years.