Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 23, 1991

Too bad Todd Marinovich can’t play defense. . . .

Marinovich performed better in his NFL debut than anyone could have expected Sunday, but it is difficult to win when the opposition isn’t forced to punt once all day. . . .

In the last nine quarters and one overtime period, the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills have exposed weaknesses in the Raider linebacking and taken advantage of injuries to linemen Howie Long and Bob Golic. . . .

Jim Kelly, I could understand. But Steve DeBerg and Bobby Hebert should not be able to pick apart the Raiders. . . .

You rarely see a game, such as this one, when neither team fumbles or throws an interception. . . .

It was refreshing to hear a quarterback cheered at the Coliseum. Marinovich was the darling of the crowd from the moment he emerged from the tunnel, raising his arms and urging the 65,144 fans to get with it. . . .

The first person to shake Marinovich’s hand on the sidelines after the first of his three touchdown passes was Vince Evans. . . .

The Raiders are feeble returning kickoffs, so why not let Tim Brown try? . . .

Buddy Ryan is the leading candidate to fill the Rams’ vacancy, but, really, John Robinson and NBC’s Bill Parcells ought to switch jobs. . . .

Overachievers of the NFL regular season: Detroit Lions. Underachievers: New York Giants. . . .

A lot of games during the weekend reminded me of the Pro Bowl. Nobody wanted to get hurt. . . .

Don Shula-coached teams never used to blow games in the manner they have the last two weeks. . . .

Good Taste Award: To the 9,091 fans who bought tickets to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Indianapolis Colts game at Tampa Bay, but stayed home. . . .

On the 100th birthday of basketball, USC and Ohio State played a game worthy of the occasion. . . .

From USC’s 6-0 opening run that many Sports Arena fans missed because of a traffic jam--yes, a traffic jam before a USC basketball game!--to Harold Miner’s decisive leaper in overtime, there was hardly a dull moment Saturday. . . .

At the end, the two All-American guards who lived up to their billing, Miner and Ohio State’s Jim Jackson, shook hands and exchanged compliments. . . .

“This week, I went to the playgrounds where I grew up and walked around, remembering when I dreamed I’d be in a game like this,” Miner said. . . .

Miner compared Jackson, who scored 22 points in the last 25 minutes, to Oscar Robertson. Love that Harold. Many of his contemporaries have never even heard of the Big O. . . .

Perhaps as important to the Trojans as Miner was guard Duane Cooper, who sank the tying three-pointer with 21 seconds left in regulation, fed the game-winning lob, scored 18 points, and committed only two turnovers in 43 minutes against the pressing Buckeyes. . . .

USC Coach George Raveling spent the last two weeks drilling his team, which normally employs a man-to-man defense, on a matchup zone. “We felt that playing a zone would reduce Ohio State’s athletic ability,” he said. . . .

The basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., is asking for memorabilia from Saturday’s games. Raveling plans to send the jersey Miner wore. . . .

Sign in the Trojan dressing room: “Pac Ten-Big Ten Challenge.”. . . .

Representatives from 10 NBA teams were in attendance. But one of them, Jerry West of the Lakers, left with 15 minutes remaining. He had to catch a plane to scout the Stanford-Virginia game at Palo Alto three hours later. . . . TV announcers and graphics people continue to flood us with all kinds of information, except for the score of the game. . . .

The Clippers’ four road victories surpass their season total for 1986-87 and 1987-88 and equals their total for 1988-89. . . .

Their Christmas Day game against the Lakers at the Sports Arena, which will open the NBA season on NBC, will be the Clippers’ first appearance on regular network TV since 1979. That day, Magic Johnson of the Lakers began his pro career against the San Diego Clippers. . . .

The holiday matinee hasn’t been big box office. As they usually say at the Sports Arena, plenty of good seats are available. . . .

I would hate to see Loy Vaught go. . . .

Julio Cesar Chavez again gets our vote as the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound. . . .

After Jack Morris stiffed the Minnesota Twins, it wasn’t surprising that he fled the country. . . .

Don’t worry so much about the Kings. They have five games in hand on the San Jose Sharks. . . .

Who put together ESPN’s Sunday night football schedule, Fay Vincent?