Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 30, 1992

The greatest victory in Fresno State history must also rank right up there among the most embarrassing losses ever for USC. . . .

I never thought I would live to see the night that the Trojans would be physically manhandled by a Western Athletic Conference also-ran. . . .

Gimmicks didn’t win the Freedom Bowl, inspired and fundamental football did. . . .

Fresno State gave second and third efforts on a lot of plays when USC didn’t even give one. . . .

A lot of Trojans will return next season, but the question must now be asked if Coach Larry Smith will be among them. . . .

The first decision of the new athletic director will be whether to give Smith one more chance. . . .

Brad Holland, UCLA class of ‘79, is excited about returning to his alma mater tonight. . . . “It’s like home for me,” said Holland, who played four seasons of basketball for the Bruins and was an assistant coach the last four. “It will be nice to see a lot of friendly faces. It will be like a reunion. Of course, they’ll probably treat me like a stranger and want to beat up on me.” . . .

Holland, you see, will be coaching Cal State Fullerton against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

He is off to a 5-1 start--victories over St. Mary’s, Northern Iowa, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Illinois and Chapman and a loss to Drake--in his first head coaching job since he guided an eighth-grade team in La Canada. . . .

But this is a step up in class, the first of three road games in six days against the Bruins, Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico State. . . .

“UCLA is clearly superior to us,” he said. “My hope is to be competitive. We’ll try to hang around for a while and see what happens.” . . .

Holland, 36, was the last high school player recruited by John Wooden, who scouted him at a CIF playoff game shortly before announcing his retirement at the 1975 NCAA Final Four in San Diego. . . .

“That was an honor,” Holland said. “I’ll always remember it as one of the highlights of my life.” . . .

Holland makes no secret that his goal is to sit on the UCLA bench again some day--as head coach. . . .

“I’ve been around a lot, but you don’t understand until you’ve become a head coach what it’s like to be responsible for a program and the people in it,” he said. “It’s eye opening, how many people you need to answer to--the players, the staff, the administration, the alumni and the fans. All those different factions are pulling at you. I used to hear Coach (Jim) Harrick talking about it, but now I have a better idea.” . . .

Joe Montana finished the season with a quarterback rating of 118.4, compared to the 107 of Steve Young that led NFL regulars. . . .

The Sugar Bowl will have the highest TV rating, but the Rose Bowl still pays the most money to the participating schools--$6.5 million apiece. Then comes the Orange at $4.2 million, the Sugar at $3.8 million and the Cotton at $3 million. . . .

You could probably win a bet by identifying the Houston Oilers as the team that has the longest streak of reaching the NFL playoffs. This is their sixth consecutive time. They have won three games during that stretch, lost five and have not advanced to the AFC championship game. . . .

The Sporting News’ ranking of the 100 most powerful people in sports lists Philip Knight of Nike No. 1, Bruce McNall No. 13, Beverly Hills agent Dennis Gilbert No. 36 and Jerry Buss No. 56. . . .

Perhaps the most underrated is No. 91, Washington Bullet and Capital owner Abe Pollin, who is a confidante of President-elect Clinton. . . .

Unfortunately, tonight’s Clipper-Boston Celtic telecast is the last on the soon-to-be defunct SportsChannel for the entertaining and informative broadcast team of Joel Meyers and Bill Walton. . . .

As Harold Miner demonstrated during the fourth quarter against the Lakers at Miami on Monday night, his ability to drive the lane will make him a force in the NBA. . . .

Watch out for the Golden State Warriors, who have Sarunas Marciulionis back. . . .

Six college teams appear to be well ahead of the rest of the pack--Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina and Michigan. . . .

The four newcomers making the biggest impact are sophomore Glenn Robinson of Purdue and freshmen Jason Kidd of California, Othella Harrington of Georgetown, and Rodrick Rhodes of Kentucky. . . .

Former Stanford basketball player Kimberly Belton will produce ABC’s Rose Bowl telecast. . . .

Corporate-sponsored bowl game name of the year: The Outback Steakhouse Gator Bowl. . . .

I doubt that 23-year-old skier Petra Kronberger’s retirement will last much longer than Sugar Ray Leonard’s first few. . . .

The World Boxing Council not only has withdrawn recognition of Riddick Bowe as heavyweight champion, it doesn’t rank him among the top 30 contenders. . . .

From George Foreman: “I have sympathy for Oprah Winfrey with all those checkout-counter tabloids bothering her about her weight so much. The No. 1 question asked of me is, ‘How much do you weigh, George?’ My new answer is, ‘A lot more than Oprah.’ ”