Notes on a Scorecard - May 25, 1992

Only the Indy 500 has a more imposing disabled list than the National or American League. . . .

What eventually saved the day was that the demolition derby turned into a drag race. . . .

If some of the veterans who dropped out had driven with as much intelligence as rookie Lyn St. James, they also would have finished the race. . . .

New description of the Dodgers--scrappy. . . .

After Todd Benzinger hit what became the game-winning home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday, Vin Scully said, “The extras are starring in Ben-Hur.” . . .

Eric Karros, whose three-run home run won the game for the Dodgers in the ninth inning Saturday night, is averaging a homer every 17 at-bats. Darryl Strawberry is averaging one every 20 at-bats and Eric Davis one every 28 at-bats. . . .

The longshot St. Louis Cardinals are leading the NL East despite having as many as nine players on the disabled list during the first seven weeks of the season. . . .

The Angels’ bus crash rekindled memories of Jack (Lucky) Lohrke, a graduate of South Gate High who played infield for the old Hollywood Stars and appeared in two games in the 1951 World Series for the New York Giants. . . .

In June of 1946, Lohrke was riding on a bus to Bremerton, Wash., with the Spokane Indians of the Western International League. During a rest stop at a restaurant, he was informed by telephone that he had just been sold to San Diego of the Pacific Coast League. He waved goodby to his teammates and began to hitch-hike back to Spokane. Not long after, the bus tumbled down a 300-foot cliff. Nine players were killed. . . .

A few years earlier, after a stint in World War II, Lohrke had boarded an Air Force transport bound for San Pedro from Camp Kilmer, N.J. At the last minute, an officer pulled rank and took his seat. The plane that took off without Lohrke crashed. No one survived. . . .

Not only is the Memorial Day doubleheader a thing of the past, 10 major league teams are idle today and the Cubs and White Sox are playing an exhibition game at Wrigley Field. . . .

The question isn’t why the Montreal Expos fired Tom Runnells, but why they ever hired him to replace Buck Rodgers. . . .

I’m surprised the New York Yankees didn’t demand overtime pay after playing four consecutive extra-inning games. . . .

Blowout City: All seven NBA conference championship games have been decided by at least eight points. . . .

Midway in the second quarter at Chicago Stadium Thursday, TNT commentator Hubie Brown observed that the Bulls still had a chance to beat Cleveland because they were “only 25 points down.” . . .

Pat Riley has been robbed of the coach-of-the-year award again. . . .

Look-alikes: Blue Edwards and Mike Tyson. . . .

Mike Dunleavy, Jerry West and Randy Pfund held a lottery at the Lakers’ farewell dinner for Dunleavy last week. Dunleavy lost and had to pick up the check. . . .

Pfund’s favorite jockey must be Richard Pfau. . . .

Basketball and football teams that draft the best player still available rather than someone who is supposed to fill a particular need seem to get stung less often. . . .

The Los Angeles Marathon raised more than $1 million for charity for the third consecutive year. . . .

Five-set matches at the French Open will make major league baseball seem snappy. . . .

NBC ought to have Johnny Carson, the veteran Wimbledon spectator, do tennis commentary. . . .

Bob Uecker was the sports personality who made the most number of appearances on the Carson show, 63. . . .

Unless the handicap is that he has to play with both hands tied behind his back, I like Jimmy Connors over Martina Navratilova in their match at Caesars Palace. . . .

A release from Top Rank Inc. says, “After he wins the title, (Larry) Holmes’ first defense will be against George Foreman on November 13th.” . . .

World Boxing Assn. lightweight champion Pernell Whitaker weighed 148 pounds--only a pound and a half less than Terry Norris the night he beat Meldrick Taylor--Friday in Mexico City when he knocked out former sparring partner Jerry Smith in the first round of a non-title mismatch. . . .

Hall of Fame defensive back Willie Brown, who coached at Cal State Long Beach before the school quit football, wrote his masters’ thesis on “The Controversial Move of the Raiders’ Professional Football Team from Oakland to Los Angeles.” . . .

October should be boffo box office for the Raiders, who play the New York Giants, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum. . . .

News item: Edmonton Oilers fail on all 19 power play opportunities during their Campbell Conference championship series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Reaction: They must have picked up some tips from the Kings.