Notes on a Scorecard - March 3, 1992

Usually at this time, a Laker playoff berth is in the dairy section of Chick Hearn’s refrigerator. . . .

Right now, it is not even in the kitchen. . . .

Not since the 1974-75 season have basketball nights been so dreary at the Forum, where the home team has lost five of its last six games and the $500-seat customers are leaving earlier than usual. . . .

The Lakers went 30-52 in 1974-75 and then made a trade that helped to turn the franchise around, sending Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, David Meyers and Junior Bridgeman to the Milwaukee Bucks for Walt Wesley and a throw-in named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. . . .

At the end of this season, it will be time for another major transaction. . . .

Jerry West might be able to put together an attractive enough package for Charles Barkley, but it is more reasonable to expect the general manager to trade up for a high draft pick. . . .

Even if the Lakers miss the playoffs, they would need a lot of luck to pick in the first five because the lottery is weighted. The lower you finish among the 11 teams not making the playoffs, the higher you are likely to pick. . . .

West has scouted USC several times this season. He has not been looking at Bosco Kante. If Harold Miner decides to choose the draft as an undergraduate, West might want to trade the Lakers’ first-round draft choice and a veteran for a higher pick. . . .

A return of Magic Johnson next season remains a longshot. The Lakers need victories and excitement. Miner could supply both. . . .

Expectations for UCLA freshman forward Ed O’Bannon, coming off a year of inactivity and major knee surgery, have been too high. . . .

Overshadowed by the soap opera at Nevada Las Vegas is the coaching job Jerry Tarkanian has done, perhaps the best of his career. . . .

Sure, the Rebels are in a weak league, but a year after losing three first-round NBA draft choices, they have the longest winning streak in the nation. . . .

Tarkanian will receive the “Steamer Award” March 11 at the Professions & Finance Associates of the City of Hope’s seventh annual sports award roast. . . .

It is fair to say that the first two entries in the NCAA tournament, Mississippi Valley State and Princeton, won’t be among the last two remaining. . . .

The NCAA rules committee ought to consider eliminating the possession arrow and rewarding the defensive team every time in a held-ball situation. . . .

Another suggested rule change: Allow a team that is fouled in the final two minutes of a game the option of shooting free throws or taking the ball out of bounds. That way, the final two minutes wouldn’t take 15 minutes to play. . . .

Clipper forward Charles Smith hardly missed a beat, scoring 15 points and getting five rebounds in 19 minutes Sunday at Orlando, his first time back after sitting out nine games. . . .

However, comeback of the day honors belonged to Larry Bird, who had 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in his first game of 1992. . . .

The New Jersey Nets had 31 offensive rebounds against the New York Knicks, two more than the Knicks’ offensive and defensive total. . . .

Richard Levin, who covered the Lakers for the old Los Angeles Herald Examiner, has been promoted to executive director of public relations for major league baseball. . . .

Probable trade: Kirk Gibson from Kansas City to any American League team. . . .

What National League player has been with his original team the longest? Mike Scioscia, who joined the Dodgers in 1980. . . .

Manager Jim Lefebvre of the Chicago Cubs already has made former Dodger pitcher Mike Morgan his starter for the third game of the season. . . .

The Chicago White Sox have until March 15 to decide whether to renew the option on the contract of Bo Jackson. . . .

In the off-season, Texas Ranger Manager Bobby Valentine took Spanish lessons. . . .

Wonder how long St. Louis Cardinal Manager Joe Torre will stick with Pedro Guerrero in left field. . . .

Sign of the times: Center Viacheslav Kozlov is suing the Central Red Army hockey team to gain his release to play for the Detroit Red Wings. . . .

The fight I want to see most is Terry Norris-Meldrick Taylor on May 9 at the Mirage in Las Vegas. . . .

Before the Duke-UCLA game, Blue Devil Coach Mike Krzyzewski said: “To me, it’s like having a great scrimmage.” . . .

After Duke’s victory, center Christian Laettner said: “We thought of it as an NCAA (tournament) game, a Sweet 16 game, possibly a Final Four game.”