Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 23, 1991

in tennis and golf. . . .

Football? “The No. 1 thing we have to do, as coaches, is have a simple, concise game plan and be positive to the players,” says Larry Smith of the Trojans, who have lost eight consecutive games in the series. “I don’t want to hear a bunch of this Notre Dame hoopla.” . . .

Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz, in the tradition of Frank Leahy, spent much of his news conference Tuesday praising the 3-3, unranked Trojans and moaning how injuries have hampered the 6-1, fifth-ranked Irish. . . .

However, Holtz is not without a sense of humor. He likes “Cheers.” After the victory over Stanford, he awarded a game ball to George Wendt, who plays Norm on “Cheers” and attended Notre Dame. . . .

You rarely hear the term subway alumni anymore, but, besides NBC’s telecasts of home games, all Notre Dame games are broadcast by 280 radio stations nationwide. . . .

Smith on Curtis Conway’s kickoff return against Stanford: “Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. People are going to start to kick the ball away from him. There’s no question that we have to get the ball to him more.” . . .

It was nice to see that California wasn’t dropped from the Associated Press top 10 after its loss to Washington. . . .

I’m not sure which was funnier Monday night, the Cincinnati Bengals’ performance against the Buffalo Bills or the “WKRP in Cincinnati” rerun. . . .

Sam Wyche’s conduct much of the evening was poor, but the Bengal coach showed a lot of class by shaking hands with every player on the sidelines near the end of the game. . . .

Jeff George of the Indianapolis Colts could be the Archie Manning of his generation--a good quarterback saddled with a lousy team. . . .

Do I hear some early coach-of-the-year support for rookie Dick MacPherson of the New England Patriots? . . .

It’s all relative: Running back Reggie Cobb of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the nephew of Lou Brock, and wide receiver Art Monk of the Washington Redskins was a cousin of the late, great jazz musician Thelonious Monk. . . .

When Joe Montana checked into a hospital for surgery recently, he registered as Harvey Keck. . . .

Rookie linebacker Mike Croel of Nebraska is among the reasons for the Denver Broncos’ success. . . .

Defensive lineman Tim Green of the Atlanta Falcons has written a novel, “Ruffian.” . . .

The 1986 NBA draft must have been cursed. The late Len Bias was picked second by the Boston Celtics, Chris Washburn third by the Golden State Warriors, William Bedford sixth by the Phoenix Suns and Roy Tarpley seventh by the Dallas Mavericks. . . .

When the New York Knicks played at Toronto the other night, it wasn’t the first time. In fact, the first NBA game, in 1946, matched the Knicks and the Toronto Huskies in the Canadian city. . . .

A rookie to watch is the Indiana Pacers’ Sean Green, a guard who was taken in the second round from Iona. . . .

Dennis Hopson finally appears to be living up to his potential in the Chicago Bulls’ training camp. . . .

Dikembe Mutombo has been as good as the Denver Nuggets thought he would be on defense, and better on offense. . . .

A team in need of a three-point scorer should pick up Darrell Griffith, who was released by the Utah Jazz. . . .

UCLA basketball fans will have their first opportunity to see the men’s and women’s teams Sunday at 2 p.m. on “Fan Appreciation Day” at Pauley Pavilion. Posters and pictures will be handed out, players will sign autographs, and there will be dunking and shooting contests. . . .

“Play Ball for Literacy” will be the theme of the basketball tournament sponsored by the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce and featuring Loyola Marymount, Washington State, Morgan State and Central Connecticut State Nov. 22-23 at Loyola. . . .

Dave Taylor of the Kings is one of only eight NHL players who have been with the same team for at least 10 years. . . .

Thoroughbred racing’s economic slump continued at Belmont Park, where attendance for the 48-day fall meeting was down 3.2% and the handle declined by 5%. . . .

The Minnesota Twins have won nine of their 10 home World Series games. The only loss was in the seventh game of the 1965 Series when Sandy Koufax pitched the Dodgers to a 2-0 victory over Jim Kaat. . . .

St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Joe Magrane has proved to be witty and informative as a guest analyst on the Keith Olbermann postgame show on Channel 2. . . .

Within a span of less than a year, the Twin Cities will have had the U.S. Open, International Special Olympics, World Series, Super Bowl and Final Four. . . .

Attention Dodgers: The best free-agent shortstop available is local product Kurt Stillwell.