Notes on a Scorecard - May 13, 1993

Harry the Hockey Honk was on the horn. . . .

He said he was about to turn on his VCR to confirm that he really had seen the Kings beat the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 1/3 a few minutes before midnight Tuesday. . . .

I couldn’t blame him. . . .

In their first 25 years, the Kings never had taken a 3-2 lead in a second-round Stanley Cup series. . . .

Tonight at the Forum, Harry the Hockey Honk and 16,004 others will have the opportunity to watch them advance to the conference championship series for the first time. . . .

No wonder tickets with a face value of $95 are going for as much as $325 at local ticket brokers. . . .

The Kings are playing better on the road than at home during the playoffs, but I have an inkling that they are going to reward some of the most loyal and longest suffering sports fans in town. . . .

It is no mean trick for an NHL team to miss qualifying for the Stanley Cup tournament, but the Kings have done that seven times since joining up for the 1967-68 season. They have failed to survive the first round 11 times and the second round seven times. Their playoff record is 49-80. . . .

However, these Kings could care less about history. . . .

Their double-overtime victory over the Canucks showed their resiliency. . . .

Two days earlier, they had been beaten, 7-2, at the Forum by a bigger team that appeared to be wearing them down physically. . . .

Coach Barry Melrose was criticized for giving goaltender Kelly Hrudey another start, but the veteran responded in terrific style. . . .

Melrose took a chance by scratching popular center Corey Millen from the lineup. His replacement was Gary Shuchuk, who scored the winning goal. . . .

Before the playoffs, it was mentioned that a key to the Kings’ chances would be the performance of Wayne Gretzky, who had been shut out in half of his previous 12 playoff games. . . .

Gretzky is the leading scorer in the playoffs. He is playing better than he ever has in Los Angeles. He has a cracked rib, but he is sacrificing his body like never before. . . .

No. 99 is the spirit of ’93. . . .

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During the second inning of the St. Louis Cardinal-New York Met game Tuesday, KMOX radio announcer Jack Buck said the Cardinals needed a triple play. On the next pitch, Todd Hundley hit into the first triple play of the major league season. . . .

Bob Borgen produces first-rate King telecasts for Prime Ticket, but I wish those updates on other scores didn’t occupy so much of the screen during play. . . .

Jorge Paez, who opposes Jesse Torres on Monday at the Forum, has a new trainer. He is Alex Sherer, formerly of the Kronk gym in Detroit. Paez doesn’t speak English. Sherer doesn’t speak Spanish. They get along beautifully. . . .

George Foreman, who weighs a svelte 275, expects to lose at least 20 pounds during two weeks of training at St. Lucia in the Caribbean for his June 7 bout against Tommy Morrison in Las Vegas. . . .

Bruk Vandeweghe, 29-year-old brother of Kiki, teamed with Adam Johnson to win his first Pro Beach volleyball tournament last week in San Antonio. . . .

Sue Enquist (softball), Greg Foster (track), Mac Goodstein (football), Karch Kiraly (volleyball), Jose Lopez (soccer), Don Manning (football), Bill Putnam (basketball) and Curtis Rowe (basketball) will be inducted into the UCLA athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday night at the James West Alumni Center. . . .

*

The trade that sent Bobby Humphrey from the Denver Broncos to the Miami Dolphins for Sammie Smith didn’t help either team. . . .

Shane Matthews, the quarterback from Florida who signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent, could have a future in the NFL. . . .

Wilber Marshall is expected to be traded to the Houston Oilers by the Washington Redskins any day now. . . .

An upset of Ivan Lendl isn’t such an upset anymore. . . .

Ed O’Bannon of UCLA is among 17 finalists for the 12 spots on the U.S. team for the World University Games--and more than a few scouts say his younger brother, Bruin-bound Charles, will be even better. . . .

When Charles Barkley shoots five for 21 and the Phoenix Suns still win by nine points, the San Antonio Spurs are in trouble. . . .

Thumbs up to Washington Bullet owner Abe Pollin for retaining Wes Unseld and realizing that the coach isn’t the reason the team has missed the playoffs four consecutive seasons. . . .

News item: U.S. Olympic Committee says it is going to pay American gold medalists $10,000 apiece. Reaction: Nice for archers or rowers, but Nike paid Barcelona track and field gold medalists such as Quincy Watts and Kevin Young $40,000 bonuses.