Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 7, 1992

It took the Clippers less than two hours Saturday to sell the 3,000 tickets they made available for Magic Johnson’s return to the NBA on Nov. 6 at the Sports Arena. . . . At the Forum, Laker game and season-ticket sales are up 500% per day from before Magic’s announcement last week. . . .

The flip side is how the absence of Wayne Gretzky will affect the Kings’ streak of sellouts. . . .

Last season, the Kings became the first Los Angeles professional team to sell out their entire schedule, and attendance for each of their last 73 regular-season and playoff games at the Forum has been 16,005. . . .

At last report, tickets were still available for the home opener Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings. . . .

The Angels won’t do it because of financial reasons, but they would be so much better off signing a free agent hitter or two and keeping pitcher Jim Abbott rather than trading him. . . .

Wes Parker, who will be inducted into the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, is writing a novel based on his experiences as a Dodger first baseman from 1964-72. . . .

Also on the literary scene, Mike Marshall, the 1974 Cy Young Award winner, has finished “The Kinesiology of Baseball Pitching.” . . .

Lee Pfund, father of Laker Coach Randy Pfund, compiled a 3-2 record with a 5.20 earned-run average for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. . . .

The Dodgers had the fewest saves, home runs, runs batted in and runs in the major leagues. . . .

First-year batting coach Larry Hisle deserves some of the credit for the Toronto Blue Jays’ moving from 11th to second in the American League in runs scored. . . .

The New York Mets are expected to protect their top RBI producer, 37-year-old Eddie Murray, from the expansion draft. . . .

Eighteen of the 26 major league teams had a decline in attendance. . . .

The Seattle Mariners will pick first in the June draft next year. The last time they did, they selected Ken Griffey Jr., in 1987. . . .

What makes the Ottawa Senators of the NHL different from other expansion teams is that they will raise six championship banners on opening night. A previous Senator franchise won the Stanley Cup in 1909, 1911, 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1927. . . .

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Kent Desormeaux will be seeking a hat trick of major Southern California jockey titles at the Oak Tree meeting, which begins today at Santa Anita. . . .

Desormeaux, who won the Del Mar and Hollywood Park championships, is leading the nation with $10.4 million in purses, $1.1 million more than Chris McCarron and $2 million more than Eddie Delahoussaye. . . .

The mare Paseana might have flopped against males in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, but Sid and Jenny Craig, the owners of the filly Exchange, are confident enough to enter her against colts in the $200,000 Goodwood Handicap on Sunday. . . .

The Clippers have only five players--Danny Manning, Ron Harper, Ken Norman, Gary Grant and Loy Vaught--of the 12 who suited up against Utah in the playoffs last season. . . .

Former Brea mayor Gene Leyton and his wife, Nadine, have endowed the first men’s basketball position, center, at USC for $250,000. . . .

Roberto Duran, 41, is hoping a decision victory over the fabled Tony Biglen in Buffalo last week will earn him a title fight against Iran Barkley, International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion. . . .

The Raiders might have a better chance than you think Sunday at the Coliseum against the Buffalo Bills, who usually perform better on artificial turf than grass. . . .

Balance is the key word in Philadelphia, where the Eagles’ defense is giving up the fewest points a game in the NFL and the offense is scoring the third most. . . .

Offense hasn’t passed by Coach Eddie Robinson, 73, whose Grambling Tigers have scored 230 points in five games. . . .

Michigan might be the best team in the nation. . . .

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden can recruit everyone except kickers. . . .

The University of California’s sports information department is sending out updates on tailback Russell White’s Heisman Trophy candidacy. . . .

It might take a while for USC and Oregon to get accustomed to their surroundings Saturday at the Coliseum. The Trojans are the only Division I football team not to have played a home game this season and the Ducks are among those who have played the most, four.