Notes on a Scorecard - March 3, 1993

The nickname of the NHL expansion franchise in Anaheim isn’t half bad. . . .

I mean, Ducks is OK. It isn’t offensive to any ethnic group. It doesn’t suggest violence. It is a five-letter word that appeals to headline writers. . . .

But Mighty Ducks is hard to take. Mighty? The Mighty Ducks will be fortunate to win 15 games next season. . . .

The University of Oregon football teams were simply the Ducks when Dick Enright became coach in 1972. He wanted them to be known as the Fighting Ducks. The Fighting Ducks went 6-16 in two seasons under Enright. . . .

Since 1976, UCLA has had one football coach--Terry Donahue--and six basketball coaches--Gene Bartow, Gary Cunningham, Larry Brown, Larry Farmer, Walt Hazzard and Jim Harrick. . . .

Three of the 10 designated as franchise players by NFL teams--Paul Gruber of Tampa Bay, Lomas Brown of Detroit and Jumbo Elliott of the New York Giants--are offensive left tackles. Those are the important people who protect quarterbacks from blindside hits. . . .

Said KMPC Dodger reporter Larry Kahn: “Teams work on rundown plays every day during spring training, but rarely, if ever, during the regular season. Why not?” . . .

Two hundred and 65 major league players, an average of nine per team, will be paid at least $1 million this season. . . .

At the Baltimore Orioles’ camp, Fernando Valenzuela insists he is only 32 years old. . . .

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Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez, who will face Michael Carbajal in a mini-flyweight championship unification bout March 13 at the Las Vegas Hilton, will hold a public workout Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Brooklyn Gym in East Los Angeles. . . .

Buddy McGirt will have to overcome tendinitis in his right shoulder, as well as Pernell Whitaker, Saturday night at Madison Square Garden on HBO. . . .

Unfortunately, it looks as though Frank Bruno will be Lennox Lewis’ second World Boxing Council heavyweight title challenger. Bruno fights Carl (the Truth) Williams April 24 at Birmingham, England, and Lewis defends his championship against Tony Tucker May 8 at Las Vegas. . . .

Executive Director Dick Schultz is trying to create NCAA Properties, a licensing body that would be similar to NFL Properties. . . .

Even if Kent Desormeaux is suspended this week for a riding infraction last Sunday, he still will be able to ride defending champion Best Pal in the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap Saturday because of the “designated stake” rule. . . .

It is boom or bust for Jovial, the probable second choice in the Big ‘Cap who has won six of his 17 races and finished out of the money the other 11 times. . . .

Al Michaels wouldn’t be nervous Saturday if he was working on ABC’s telecast of the Big ‘Cap. But he will be washy because Barraq, the vastly improved grass specialist he owns with Dave Leveton, will make his stakes debut in the $100,000 Arcadia Handicap later in the day. . . .

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I heard a lot more talk about Philadelphia Flyer rookie Eric Lindros before the season than now. . . .

The Seattle SuperSonics were wise to extend Shawn Kemp’s contract by seven years. Too bad the Clippers didn’t do the same with Danny Manning a couple of years ago. . . .

Leon Wood, the former Cal State Fullerton and NBA guard, is among the scoring leaders in the French League. . . .

Those campaigning for a revival of the Pacific 10 Conference postseason tournament aren’t going to convince anyone this year. . . .

If you don’t think there is a lack of talent in the Pac-10, try picking an all-conference team. . . .

Eddie Sutton, who has Oklahoma State in second place in the Big Eight Conference, might be doing his best coaching job ever. . . .

USC Coach George Raveling believes Duke point guard Bobby Hurley will become an outstanding point guard in the NBA despite his size. . . .

“Nobody on the Dream Team could cover Hurley when they were practicing against those college kids in San Diego before the Olympics,” Raveling said. “He will be able to build himself up in the pros. Remember, John Stockton was no day at the beach when he came out of Gonzaga.” . . .

March Madness is upon us, but the Final Four won’t be played in New Orleans until April 3. . . .

Marge Schott should have realized that if free speech was unlimited in baseball, nobody would ever get tossed out of a game.