Notes on a Scorecard - July 27, 1993

It is easy to imagine what it must have been like for the U.S. soccer team Sunday during its 4-0 defeat by Mexico before 120,000 roaring and flag-waving fans at Azteca Stadium. . . .

In 1970, I covered the opening game of the World Cup between Mexico and the USSR at Azteca. . . .

As the capacity crowd filed into the stadium, a fan held up a sign that translated to “Mexico Wins Or I Kill Myself.” . . .

The game ended in a 0-0 tie, leaving the guy with something of a problem. . . .

Maybe the Dodgers should have saved some of the runs they scored Monday for the rest of the series against the San Francisco Giants. . . .

Remember when Tom Lasorda was ripped for refusing to have Tom Niedenfuer walk the St. Louis Cardinals’ Jack Clark in the sixth and decisive game of the 1985 National League championship series? This season, the Dodgers have issued the most intentional walks in the league. . . .

Incidentally, Todd Worrell got the victory that day at Dodger Stadium, after Clark’s three-run homer in the ninth inning. . . .

Nolan Ryan has struck out 21 Hall of Famers. . . .

Jamie Moyer, the other surprise in the Baltimore Orioles’ starting rotation besides Fernando Valenzuela, is the son-in-law of former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps. . . .

Six American League teams already had hit at least 100 home runs before the San Francisco Giants became the first National League team to reach that plateau Sunday. . . .

The Yankees are leading the league in homers, but won’t threaten the club record of 240 set in 1961. Roger Maris hit 61 and Mickey Mantle 54 during that expansion year when the Angels opened shop in tiny Wrigley Field, the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota, and a new franchise represented Washington. . . .

Jeff Burroughs’ son Sean is believed to be only the third Little Leaguer to clear the fence at Highlander Field in Hacienda Heights. The other two? Cecil Fielder and Dave Hansen. . . .

During the 1968 season, when he completed 28 of 34 starts for the St. Louis Cardinals, Bob Gibson never was removed from the mound during a game. . . .

I guess Phil Garner of the Milwaukee Brewers is suffering from the managerial version of the sophomore jinx. . . .

Jerry Tarkanian will be the analyst on Prime Ticket’s USC telecasts this season. . . .

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Nadev Henefeld, the forward from Israel who played for the University of Connecticut a few years ago, played on the Boston Celtics’ summer league team in New York. . . .

Another former UConn performer, Scott Burrell, is the first person to be drafted in the first round in both basketball and baseball. . . .

Playoffs in the college summer league at Cal State L.A. will be held Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. A team featuring brothers Ed and Charles O’Bannon of UCLA will play Saturday at 4 p.m. and another featuring incoming USC freshmen will play Sunday at 1 p.m. . . .

Pay-back: Kevin Magee, UC Irvine’s first and only All-American basketball player, made a $1,000 donation to the Irvine Valley Community College basketball fund-raiser staged by his old coach, Bill Mulligan. . . .

Benjie Kaze, son of KIEV sports talk host Irv Kaze, is leaving Channel 5 to become a highlights supervisor at ESPN. . . .

The injury that will sideline running back David Lang for two to three months makes the Rams’ decision to draft Russell White look that much better. . . .

One of the most improved passing attacks in the NFL might belong to the Cincinnati Bengals. Among sophomore David Klingler’s receivers will be newly acquired Mark Duper and Eddie Brown, who sat out last season because of an injury. . . .

John Robinson, who celebrated his 58th birthday Sunday, believes that Kansas City back Marcus Allen will thrive on the artificial turf of Arrowhead Stadium. “It will allow him to make sharper cuts,” said Robinson, who coached Allen at USC when Allen won the Heisman Trophy in 1981. . . .

Larry Smith’s son Corby, a holder for kicks and reserve quarterback for USC last season, plans to transfer to Iowa. . . .

The major local tennis tournaments will be played in consecutive weeks next month, the men Aug. 2-8 at UCLA and the women Aug. 9-15 at the Manhattan Country Club. . . .

Hockey fan Michael J. Fox is a partner in the group headed by Pittsburgh Penguin owner Howard Baldwin that will run the Central Red Army team of Moscow. . . .

The West looks tough in the U.S. Olympic Festival.