Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 25, 1993

One UCLA basketball tradition that lives is the winning season. . . .

The Bruins have clinched their 45th in a row, a streak that began in 1948-49 when John Wooden replaced Wilbur Johns as coach and the team improved from 12-13 to 22-7 and won a Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division championship. . . .

Next season, the Bruins can tie the NCAA Division I record, established by Louisville from 1945-90. . . .

Television network money is the primary reason UCLA, for the second consecutive year, will play Duke on the Sunday afternoon after a Thursday night game against USC. . . .

This time the Bruins must travel to Durham, N.C., to face the Blue Devils after playing the Trojans tonight at Pauley Pavilion. It was tough enough last year when UCLA lost to both of them without having to leave Los Angeles. . . .

How important is turnover ratio? Arizona, unbeaten in the Pacific 10 Conference, ranks ninth in the league and UCLA is 10th. . . .

I got teary-eyed last week watching the tape of Jim Valvano speaking to the crowd at North Carolina State’s Reynolds Coliseum. . . .

The incredible shrinking Perkins: Sam Perkins, who had been listed as 6 feet 9 1/2 by the Lakers, was measured at 6-8 by the Seattle SuperSonics’ physician. . . .

How much difference does Charles Barkley make? The Phoenix Suns were 32-17 without him last season and are 39-10 with him. The Philadelphia 76ers were 24-27 with him and are 18-33 without him. . . .

Washington Bullet forward Tom Gugliotta, who scores 30 points one night and five the next, is proof how difficult it is to be consistent as a rookie in the NBA. . . .

I’m surprised that some scouts compare Rick Mirer favorably with Drew Bledsoe as an NFL quarterback prospect. . . .

Buddy Ryan, who soon will have other duties as the Houston Oilers’ defensive coordinator, recorded his first victory as a thoroughbred trainer Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs when Sixquick won the fourth race. . . .

Former national riding champion John Sellers is booking mounts at Santa Anita for English jockey Alan Munro, who won the 1991 English and Irish Derbies aboard Generous. . . .

The wheelchair race, featuring world record-holder Jim Knaub of Long Beach and 1992 Paralympics gold medalist Heinz Frei of Switzerland, will be among the highlights of the L.A. Marathon on March 7. . . .

Oscar De La Hoya is training in Big Bear for his scheduled eight-round bout against Jeff Mayweather on the pay-per-view card at the Las Vegas Hilton on March 13. . . .

“The mountains have become our new friends,” said De La Hoya’s trainer, Robert Alcazar. “Things get a little hectic in the city sometimes. We have a little more privacy up here.” . . .

Proof that the Olympic Auditorium is being renovated is the new paint job. . . .

A showdown against Lennox Lewis would be preferable, but it is nice to hear Riddick Bowe talking about a rematch with Evander Holyfield, instead of another title defense against a tomato can. . . .

Kevin Brown, a 6-1, 212-pound right winger who was drafted during the fourth round by the Kings last year, is making a good impression with the Detroit Junior Red Wings of the Ontario Hockey League, where he is coached by Tom Webster. . . .

Thumbs up to the Pittsburgh Penguins for not rushing Mario Lemieux back onto the ice and, instead, waiting until he completes his radiation treatments for Hodgkin’s disease. . . .

Arizona State has played 17 baseball games this season and UCLA only six because of the rain. The Bruins will open their Pac-10 season against the Sun Devils on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Weather permitting, that is. . . .

A probable first-round pick in the June draft is a Texas high school pitcher appropriately named Toby Dollar. . . .

Minor leaguer Otis Green, 29, is being given a shot at making the Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching staff after being converted from an outfielder in 1990. . . .

I like Eric Karros’ attitude--report to spring training on time even though you haven’t signed a contract. . . .

It was 29 years ago today that Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, won the heavyweight championship at the Miami Beach Convention Center when Sonny Liston did not answer the bell for the seventh round.