Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 6, 1992

Before Tom Lasorda was roasted by the Friars Club the other night at the Beverly Hilton, he was questioned by reporters about a report that this might be his last year as Dodger manager. . . .

“Nothing has changed,” Lasorda said. “I feel great now. If I feel the same way next year and Peter O’Malley wants me back, I’ll be back. If he thinks someone else can do a better job, fine. The decision will be his.”. . . .

Lasorda, 64, is in the final year of a two-year contract and Bill Russell will get managerial experience this season with Albuquerque of the Pacific Coast League. . . .

About facing a murderers’ row of comedians at the Friars dinner, Lasorda said: “If I can take what the Giants fans say about me at Candlestick Park, I can take this.”. . . .

Emcee Milton Berle said: “Tommy went on the Slim Fast diet and lost 75 games.”. . . .

The most popular baseball rivalry in town every February used to be the Dodgers vs. USC. They played a few innings at Dodger Stadium, no admission or parking fee was charged, and as many as 50,000 fans showed up. . . .

No longer. The Players Assn. ruled several years ago that major leaguers couldn’t participate. So it became the Trojan varsity vs. the Dodger junior varsity. This year, the NCAA ruled that member schools could play no more than 57 games and that such an exhibition would count as one of them. . . .

Instead, there will be a workout Sunday at Dodger Stadium, an autograph session, and a home run hitting contest between Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics and Cecil Fielder of the Detroit Tigers that will be taped for showing Feb. 22 on Channel 11. The winner will be paid $100,000, the loser $20,000 and a vacation in Hawaii. . . .

Here’s a refreshing switch: After Racing Times columnist Jay Privman criticized jockey Kent Desormeaux for giving up too easily on some mounts, Desormeaux telephoned Privman and thanked him for the constructive criticism. . . .

Desormeaux says the secret to riding Best Pal, who will be favored to win the $500,000 Strub Stakes Sunday at Santa Anita, is to keep the horse close and well-placed going into the turns because he doesn’t handle them real well. . . .

Irv Kaze, a sports executive who has been around the block, wears a 1984 Los Angeles Raider Super Bowl championship ring on one hand and a 1981 New York Yankee American League championship ring on the other. . . .

Center James Donaldson, whose Dallas Mavericks are losing and unhappy, might be a good pickup down the stretch for a contending team. . . .

UCLA is expecting capacity crowds of 12,800 for its games at Pauley Pavilion against Washington tonight and Washington State Saturday. USC is expecting less than half of that for its games at the Sports Arena. It is a shame that USC alumni still refuse to recognize basketball as a major sport. . . .

You know a team is not going real well when its goal is the NIT. . . .

A book on Joe Don Looney, the controversial football player who died in 1988, is due out in July. . . .

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed a new scout, Jim Fregosi Jr. . . .

Jay Johnstone will do the commentary on the cable telecasts of Phillie home games. . . .

The expansion Florida Marlins have signed who they hope will be the next Clemente to star in the National League--pitcher Clemente Nunez of the Dominican Republic. . . .

Two Pitt defensive linemen, Sean Gilbert and Keith Hamilton, probably will be picked in the first round of the NFL draft. . . .

World Boxing Council middleweight champion Julian Jackson, who defends his title against Ismael Negron Feb. 15 at the Mirage in Las Vegas, says: “I’m the best-known secret in boxing.”. . . .

Canada hasn’t won an Winter Olympic Games gold medal in hockey since 1952. . . .

The Games will miss Eddie (the Eagle) Edwards more than they will the compulsory figures. . . .

Best winter sports movie ever was “Downhill Racer” starring Robert Redford. . . .

Stacy Webster, daughter of King Coach Tom Webster, broke her own CIF record for assists in a girls’ soccer game recently when she recorded seven for El Segundo High. . . .

The Hockey News rates goaltender Robb Stauber, who won the Hoby Baker Award as the nation’s outstanding collegiate player in 1988, as only the 10th-best prospect in the Kings’ system. He has been slowed by injuries. . . .

The most consistent thing about the Kings is their inconsistency.