Notes on a Scorecard - March 23, 1993

Hostetler to Ismail might not have the same ring as Montana to Ismail, or even Kelly to Ismail, but Jeff Hostetler would be an improvement over Jay Schroeder as the Raider quarterback next season. . . .

Not many passers have Super Bowl titles in their resumes. Hostetler, 31, completed 20 of 32 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown three seasons ago when the New York Giants beat the Buffalo Bills in Tampa. He is agile and bright enough to have been nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship by West Virginia. . . .

As for Rocket Ismail, look for Al Davis to deliver enough American currency to lure him back from Canada. The Raiders are badly in need of a kickoff returner as well as a young wide receiver. . . .

Al LoCasale, Raider executive assistant, is feeling better and able to conduct business on the phone after suffering a mild stroke last week. . . .

“I’ll be ready for the two big events--the NFL draft April 25-26 and the Raiderette tryouts May 16,” LoCasale said. . . .

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Those who are using the word choke in connection with UCLA’s performance against Michigan should be aware that the Bruins rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half to send the game into overtime. . . .

It probably will be some time before anyone equals Duke’s two consecutive national championships. Making the task even more difficult is that so many outstanding players skip at least their senior seasons to go through the NBA draft. . . .

North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Western Kentucky have teams in both the men’s and women’s round of 16. . . .

Best individual matchup this week could be forwards Jamal Mashburn of Kentucky and Rodney Rogers of Wake Forest in the Southeast Regional semifinal Thursday. . . .

After having been force-fed a steady diet of Big East teams on ESPN during the regular season, I won’t miss them the rest of the tournament. . . .

The Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets are the only two NBA teams that have won more games on the road than at home. . . .

How important is it for the New York Knicks to finish with a better regular-season record than the Chicago Bulls and get home-court advantage in case they meet for the Eastern Conference title? The Knicks are 30-4 at home and 15-14 on the road. . . .

The Perkins update: In 14 games with the Seattle Supersonics, Sam Perkins is averaging 23.8 minutes, 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds. In 48 games with the Lakers, he averaged 32.4 minutes, 13.7 points and 7.9 rebounds. . . .

Key to the Clipper performance most nights is whether Stanley Roberts stays out of early foul trouble. . . .

Look-alikes: Lute Olson and Ed Davis. . . .

Boxing manager-of-the- year candidate George Foreman is guaranteed $7 million for his June 7 bout against Tommy Morrison, a good attraction who is guaranteed a mere $1 million. . . .

How are they going to sell the Riddick Bowe-Jesse Ferguson heavyweight title mismatch in Washington? Ferguson was beaten by Michael Dokes there in July. . . .

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The good news for local racegoers is that Allen Paulson’s filly Eliza is expected to run in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3. The bad news is that Paulson’s colt Corby is being aimed for the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 10. . . .

Trainer Darrell Vienna, whose Eclipse Award winning Gilded Time is out of the Triple Crown events, is thinking about running a colt he claimed for $32,000, Offshore Pirate, in the Santa Anita Derby. . . .

USC and UCLA are tied for the Pacific 10 Southern Division baseball lead, but it is going to take a while to sort out things. You see, the Trojans are 8-4 and the Bruins 4-2. . . .

Casey Burrill, a senior who has returned to his former position of catcher after undergoing surgery twice on his shoulder, leads USC with a .505 batting average, 10 home runs and 31 RBIs in 28 games. . . .

Shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who is expected to be taken by the Seattle Mariners with the first pick in the June draft, will appear with his nationally top-ranked Westminster Christian High of Miami team in the Upper Deck Classic, which will be played at six Orange County sites April 5-8. . . .

All the wet weather and cancellations in Florida should mean even more than the usual bunch of high-scoring games early in the season. . . .

ESPN’s first base camera is a worthy innovation that ought to be carried over to the regular season. . . .

Rogie Vachon boarded a bus taking both the Kings and the Denver Nuggets to the Philadelphia airport during the recent blizzard, looked around, and asked General Manager Nick Beverley, “Did we make some trades last night?”