Notes on a Scorecard - June 15, 1992

I am sick and tired of hearing how these Chicago Bulls would have lost to the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers, the ’72 Lakers, the ’86 Boston Celtics and the ’87 Lakers. . . .

The fact is that the Bulls beat the 1992 Portland Trail Blazers for the NBA championship and that is all that really matters. . . .

Michael Jordan has won as many NBA titles as Wilt Chamberlain, and Jordan has a lot better chance than Chamberlain to add to his total. . . .

The most underrated Bull might be Phil Jackson. Unlike college basketball coaches, pro coaches often don’t get enough credit. . . .

What will be remembered most about the Chicago-Portland series are the Bulls’ surge without Jordan early in the fourth quarter of Game 6 and Jordan’s unworldly performance during the first half of Game 1. . . .

What will be soon forgotten is the Trail Blazers’ 21-for-21 marksmanship from the free throw line during Game 6. . . .

The length of the season, which has been extended by television requirements, lowers the quality of play in the finals. . . .

I hope the next NHL president knows a little something about hockey, as well as TV. . . .

In Hartford today, Paul Holmgren is expected to become the sixth NHL coach to be hired since the firing of Tom Webster by the Kings, who are still coach-less. . . .

Evander Holyfield says losing a $30-million payday against Mike Tyson doesn’t bother him. . . .

“I’ve made more money than I’ll ever spend, anyway,” said Holyfield, whose $15-million purse for the Larry Holmes fight Friday night at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas will put him over the $60-million mark for heavyweight title bouts alone. .. . .

Holyfield and Tyson sparred one day in Colorado Springs before the boxoffs for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. . . .

“Tyson hit me on the arm so hard that he knocked me across the ring,” Holyfield said. “But I got in some good shots, too. Pat Nappi, the coach, yelled, ‘Enough!’ and made us quit after the first round.” . . .

The rib injury to Tyson that led to cancellation of the fight that was scheduled for Nov. 18 gave Holyfield the opportunity to attend six of the seven games of the World Series that matched his beloved Atlanta Braves against the Minnesota Twins. . . .

Tim (Doc) Anderson was Holmes’ first victim during his latest comeback. Holmes knocked him out during the first round. Last week, Anderson knocked out Mark Gastineau. . . .

I liked the frequent showing of the computerized scoring in the Olympic Trials by NBC, even though it took any suspense out of the decisions. . . .

What still bothers me about the scoring of amateur fights is that a light punch that lands counts as much as a hard punch. . . .

It is difficult not to root for Oscar De La Hoya when you know that he is dedicating his pursuit of a gold medal to the memory of his mother. . . .

Forum Boxing, which wants to pair Michael Carbajal and Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez in a match for the unified mini-flyweight title, might first stage a card featuring Carbajal, Gonzalez and Jorge Paez in separate bouts in August. . . .

Newly crowned World Boxing Assn. lightweight champion Joey Gamache has won over Maine in the manner that Virgil Hill did North Dakota. . . .

Pepperdine’s NCAA championship baseball and men’s volleyball teams will be honored by Los Angeles County supervisor Kenneth Hahn at the Hall of Administration Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. . . . Rarely has a jockey made a runaway of the Hollywood Park standings like Kent Desormeaux is doing this meeting. . . .

I thought CBS finally was going to show us a major league baseball game Saturday. Instead, we got the Dodgers against the Cincinnati Reds. . . .

The Dodgers should jump at the chance to sign Harold Reynolds, three-time Gold Glove-winning second baseman for the Seattle Mariners, if he files for free agency after the season. . . .

Rob Deer is the Dave Kingman of the ‘90s. . . .

It was classic Jim Leyland Saturday when the Pittsburgh Pirate manager used six relief pitchers in the last four innings of a victory over the New York Mets. . . .

You know the save rules are too liberal when Jeff Reardon ties the career record on a day he enters a game the Boston Red Sox are leading, 5-2, during the ninth inning and gives up a run. . . .

Veteran catchers Carlton Fisk and Darren Daulton know better than to turn around and argue a ball call with an umpire. It got both of them ejected last week. . . .

That is quite a battle Mark McGwire and the Boston Red Sox are staging in the home run category. . . .

Olympic Games parlay: The U.S. men in basketball to Sergei Bubka in the pole vault.