Notes on a Scorecard - Aug. 25, 1992

The baseball owners shouldn’t blame Fay Vincent for their problems. He didn’t stick a gun to their heads and say they had to sign .250 hitters to multimillion-dollar contracts. . . .

This has been a relatively quiet season for Nolan Ryan, but I hereby nominate him for 45-year-old athlete of the year. . . .

Ryan has struck out an average of more than one batter an inning--132 in 125 innings--in 1992, and his 5,643 strikeouts exceed the combined lifetime totals of Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale. . . .

The last-place Dodgers have more runs batted in than their opposition, meaning opponents are scoring often on errors. . . .

Imagine where the Milwaukee Brewers would be if Gary Sheffield was producing for them the way he is for the San Diego Padres. . . .

Nine of the top 14 all-time save leaders are still active, which says something about the liberalization of the save rule. . . .

A good decision the Angels made was trading Dick Schofield and giving the shortstop job to young, capable Gary DiSarcina. . . .

Lori Petty, the actress who threw a mean fastball in “A League of Their Own,” got pinch-hitter Eric Karros to hit a ground ball in the celebrity game at Dodger Stadium the other night. . . .

The Colorado Rockies, who have yet to play a game, rank ninth in the major leagues in merchandise sold this season. . . .

Pitcher Mike Witt, 32, is attempting a comeback in the New York Yankees’ farm system. . . .

The Julio Cesar Chavez-Hector (Macho) Camacho fight, Sept. 12 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, already is a 19,100-seat sellout. . . .

After the gate reached the maximum $4.55 million, promoter Don King booked the 4,000-seat Las Vegas Hilton for a closed-circuit television showing. . . . Chavez is considered by many to be the best fighter in any division and is a prohibitive favorite to successfully defend his World Boxing Council super-lightweight title, but the villain, Camacho, is the better sales person. . . .

A heavyweight to watch is Lionel Butler, who has won all seven of his fights by knockout since Joe Goossen became his trainer. Last week in Florida, Butler knocked out Tony Tubbs in the first round. Tim Witherspoon may be next. . . . The Ruelas brothers, Gabriel and Rafael, will tune up for more lucrative bouts tonight at the Country Club in Reseda. Gabriel is expected to challenge WBC junior-lightweight champion Azumah Nelson in December, and Rafael has signed to box Jorge Paez Oct. 19 at the Forum. . . .

Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya probably will turn pro on the Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe undercard Nov. 13. . . .

The James Toney-Mike McCallum International Boxing Federation middleweight championship bout Saturday at Reno on HBO is a rematch of their draw that was one of the best fights last year. Most ringsiders believed Toney deserved the decision. . . .

The Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas will promote a monthly series of boxing programs that will be televised only in sports bars and race tracks throughout the country. . . .

Thunder Rumble, who won the Travers Stakes at Saratoga last week, has joined Belmont Stakes winner A.P. Indy among the candidates for the 3-year-old thoroughbred championship. . . .

The rest of the country will be able to rediscover the beauty of Del Mar on Saturday when the $1-million Pacific Classic is shown on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” The glamour horse will be the mare, Paseana. . . .

The Georgia Dome might be an impressive structure, but it’s still a turn-off because of the artificial turf. . . .

The dean of Los Angeles major sports coaches is Terry Donahue, who is starting his 17th season as UCLA’s head football coach. . . .

Houston acts as though it doesn’t want to trade Hakeem Olajuwon, but the Clippers should jump at the opportunity if the Rockets lower their asking price. The future of the center position at the Sports Arena is shaky at best after Charles Smith’s declaration that he wants to play forward and will sign elsewhere after the season when he becomes a free agent. . . .

A good question posed by the McDonnell-Douglas duo on KMPC radio: Who would win a game between the Dream Team of 1992 and a mid-1960s version featuring Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson? I would take the ‘60s team because of the domination of Chamberlain inside.