Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 14, 1991

Thumbs down on the CIF City Section Interscholastic Athletics Committee for putting the Banning High football team on probation until the end of the 1992 season. . . .

How can the committee be so insensitive to the players and coaches who chose not to play Dorsey on Nov. 1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium, site of what is believed to be two gang-related shootings in the past few weeks? . . .

Owner Jack Needleman has expressed interest in bringing boxing back to the Olympic Auditorium. . . .

Julio Cesar Chavez stopped Jorge Mellan of Argentina in the fourth round of a non-title bout Monday night in Mexico. Reportedly, it was a tough fight for Chavez while it lasted. . . .

George Foreman will be paid $5 million for boxing unranked Jimmy Ellis on Dec. 7 in Reno, the same amount he received in 1974 when he lost his heavyweight title to Muhammad Ali in Zaire. . . .

The tomato cans Larry Holmes has been beating are leftovers from Foreman’s comeback trail. . . .

Francesco Damiani, who was leading Ray Mercer on all three judges’ cards when Mercer knocked him out in the ninth round last Jan. 11, may give Evander Holyfield a better fight than most people think Nov. 23 in Atlanta. . . .

Buddy McGirt, who will challenge World Boxing Council welterweight champion Simon Brown on Nov. 29 at the Mirage in Las Vegas, says: “I used to have a life of fast women, fast cars and big money. Now I have fast cars, but I drive them slowly.” . . .

If Kevin Williams replaces injured Shawn Wills against Oregon Saturday at the Rose Bowl, Williams will join Wills, Ricky Davis, Maury Toy and Kevin Smith as UCLA tailbacks to start at least one game this season. . . .

Southern California Cougars: It is possible that Brigham Young will play four games in Southern California this season. BYU, which has lost to Florida State at Anaheim Stadium and to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, will play San Diego State at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium Saturday night and may return there for the Holiday Bowl or to Anaheim for the Freedom Bowl next month. . . .

USC Athletic Director Mike McGee took a lot of heat from Berkeley, but his prediction that California wouldn’t land a berth in a major bowl is about to be proved correct. . . .

USC isn’t going anywhere this holiday season. It will be the first time since the 1971 season that the Trojans haven’t gone to a bowl game in a year when they have been eligible. . . .

The Trojans were ineligible in 1980 because of Pacific 10 Conference penalties and in 1982-83 because of NCAA penalties. In ‘83, they would have stayed at home, regardless, after a 4-6-1 season, but they finished 8-2-1 in ’80 and 8-3 in ’82. . . .

Pentagon report: Air Force is second in the nation in rushing and Army third. . . .

It’s been quite a clinic on how not to play hockey that the Kings have been conducting lately. . . .

What puzzles me most is how a team with all that firepower can be so ineffective on the power play. . . .

Trevor Linden may become to the Vancouver Canucks what Mark Messier was to the Edmonton Oilers. . . .

Dr. Eric Heiden, the speedskater who won five gold medals in the 1980 Winter Olympics, is interning at a Sacramento hospital. . . .

If Michael Jordan told his Chicago Bulls teammates not to pass the ball to Bill Cartwright at crunch time, he might make a good coach some day. . . .

TBS commentator Hubie Brown on the Bulls: “They’re the dominant team. Nobody is close to them.” . . .

UCLA’s basketball game against Indiana Friday in Springfield, Mass., will be the Bruins’ toughest assignment on opening night since they lost at North Carolina, 107-70, in 1985. . . .

Seven players formerly coached by George Raveling are on NBA rosters: James Donaldson and Craig Ehlo from Washington State; Les Jepsen, Kevin Gamble, Brad Lohaus and B.J. Armstrong from Iowa and Robert Pack from USC. . . .

The NBA season isn’t three weeks old and there have been 27 players on the injured list. . . .

Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves deserved to win the Cy Young Award, which is based solely on regular-season performance, but he isn’t the best young left-handed pitcher on his team. . . .

John Robinson would have little to lose by giving Ram running back Marcus Dupree a steady workload the rest of the season. . . .

Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers has gone three consecutive games without catching a touchdown pass. . . .

The Green Bay Packers will always regret drafting Tony Mandarich in the first round in 1989 instead of Barry Sanders. . . .

Where would the Raiders be today without the two Jeffs, Gossett and Jaeger? . . .