DIGEST : Tarkanian to Broadcast College Playoff Game

Former Nevada Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian will provide color commentary during a television broadcast of a first-round game of the Southern California Regional men’s basketball playoffs between Antelope Valley and Glendale colleges at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The game will played at Antelope Valley and will be televised in the High Desert area at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on Channel 3 by Jones Intercable.

Tarkanian’s son, George, is an assistant coach at Antelope Valley.

Many of the legends of golf will gather in Ventura County at the Ojai Valley Inn and Country Club during the first week of March for the $500,000 GTE West Classic.

Among those in the field are defending champion Bruce Crampton along with Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Gary Player.

The 54-hole tournament begins March 7.

Crampton is eighth on the PGA’s all-time earning list with more than $4 million, with more than $3 million of that coming on the Senior Tour. In addition to his three-stroke victory over Rodriguez last year, Crampton has finished second or tied for second in the tournament in each of the other three years it has been played. In the second round of the 1992 tournament, he shot a 63.

“I wish I knew what it is about this course that makes me play it so well,” Crampton said earlier this week at a news conference. “If I knew, it would sure make my life easier.”

The tournament raises more than $150,000 annually for several Ventura County charities, including Casa Pacifica, a crisis care center for abused children under construction. Others benefiting from tournament proceeds include Interface, a family and child-counseling organization, and Nordhoff High School, which provides parking for spectators.

The 12-team San Fernando tournament is scheduled to kick off the 1993 high school baseball season with five pool-play games at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Teams entered in the event are Grant, San Fernando, Poly, Granada Hills, Kennedy, Monroe, Birmingham, El Camino Real, Thousand Oaks, Agoura, Cleveland and Franklin.

Wet field conditions in San Jose have forced the postponement of today’s baseball game between Cal State Northridge and San Jose State.

The game has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader at noon Saturday. A single game is planned for Sunday at 1 p.m.

Brian Smith, a former Agoura High and Pierce College first baseman who transferred to Cal State Long Beach, has been ruled academically ineligible and hasn’t played for the 49ers this season. The team has appealed to the NCAA, and Coach Dave Snow said he expects a decision by next week.

“It has to do with (academic) work at Pierce College that didn’t get done,” Snow said. “I don’t want to get into the details. . . . There are some questions surrounding the situation.”

Smith batted .320 in Western State Conference games last season for Pierce. His absence creates a hole in the middle of the 49er batting order, according to Snow.

“He was projected to be a starter for us,” Snow said.

College of the Canyons has scheduled its alumni baseball game for 10 a.m. Sunday at the Cougars’ field. The game will serve as a fund-raiser for the program, with a barbecue planned afterward.

Information: 818-368-1917.

The Notre Dame High alumni baseball game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the school baseball diamond.

A barbecue will follow the game, and school hats and paraphernalia will be available.

Information: 818-501-2336.