Notes on a Scorecard - Aug. 3, 1992

Boxing still can’t get it right. . . .

Computerized scoring in the Olympic Games ought to go the way of instant replay in the NFL. . . .

Something is wrong with the system when a bout is decided by the reflexes of the judges instead of those of the fighters. . . .

On each of the five officials’ printouts, Eric Griffin of the United States landed more punches than Rafael Lozano of Spain in their 106-pound bout Saturday. Yet Lozano won, 6-5. Imagine, only 13 punches landing in three rounds. Many blows weren’t counted because at least three of the five officials didn’t hit their buttons within the required one second. . . .

Among the punches not recorded was a right hand by Griffin that landed so cleanly and with such force that the referee gave Lozano a mandatory eight count. . . .

If these guys were scoring basketball, the Dream Team would be winning its games, 24-14, 18-8 and 21-12. . . .

Of course, there were even worse decisions when pencils were used instead of computers. Some judges always are swayed by the crowd and favor the home nation. Others don’t get enough experience in their countries. Three judges from Pakistan are working these Olympics, compared to only one from the United States. . . .

It is also absurd that, under amateur rules, a light jab counts as much as a knockdown punch. . . .

At least, the amateurs don’t have to worry about officials assigned by the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Assn. or International Boxing Federation. . . .

What happened Saturday in Barcelona probably won’t hurt Griffin in the pocket book when he turns professional. If anything, Evander Holyfield’s price went up after he was disqualified on a bad call during the 1984 Olympics. . . .

Crissy Ahmann-Leighton’s reaction after finishing second in the 100-meter butterfly last week: “People came up to me and said they were disappointed. That bugged me. I don’t know that many silver medalists--and I’m one of them.” . . .

NBC, which virtually refuses to interview anyone who doesn’t speak English, should have made room in its budget for interpreters. . . .

Best NBC features have been those on swimmer Mike Barrowman’s diary and the scheduling mixup in Munich in 1972 that kept U.S. sprinters Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson away from the starting blocks during the 100-meter heats and has haunted Coach Stan Wright. . . .

I enjoy waking up in the morning to Dick Enberg and Katie Couric. . . .

The network was really on top of Oscar De La Hoya’s most recent bout, showing it only a day late. . . .

You hardly would have known it from the television coverage, but the only swimmer to win three individual gold medals was Kristina Egerszegi of Hungary. . . .

One of my pet peeves is announcers who don’t give the score often enough. Well, the NBC radio announcers, doing an update from the baseball stadium Sunday on KMPC, gave the Japan-United States score four times in less than a minute. It was 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning. What they neglected to reveal was who was ahead. . . .

The U.S. team suffers from the same problem as most American and National League teams--not enough pitching. . . .

If the looks on the faces of the competitors is any indication, rowing may be the most grueling Olympic sport. . . .

This was the first question asked of Spain’s basketball coach, Antonio Diaz Miguel, at the news conference after an 83-63 loss to Angola: “Will you resign?” . . .

Former middleweight champion Michael Nunn will resurface on Sept. 12 when he challenges Victor Cordoba, the World Boxing Assn. super-middleweight champion, on the Julio Cesar Chavez-Hector (Macho) Camacho card at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. . . .

John Madden’s presentation speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday was fine, but nobody captured Al Davis better than himself during his acceptance speech. . . .

Orel Hershiser might have a future, after all. . . .

The least-needed people in Barcelona this summer are the television and radio analysts for the Dream Team’s games.