Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 7, 1993

When Noureddine Morceli of Algeria ran for Riverside Community College two years ago, he often talked to Coach Ted Banks about setting world records. . . .

“He was fanatic about it,” Banks said. “He had tremendous determination and dedication. He never set any limits on himself.” . . .

Sunday, Morceli not only broke the mile record, he shattered it. His time of 3 minutes 44.39 seconds at Rieti, Italy, was nearly two seconds faster than the previous mark of 3:46.32 set by Britain’s Steve Cram at Oslo eight years ago. . . .

One reason Cram’s record lasted so long is that the mile, once the glamour event of track and field, no longer is run nearly as often as the 1,500 meters. . . .

“The way Morceli was beating everybody so easily in all his races, I knew the world record was coming in the mile if he got the opportunity,” Banks said. “He broke the 1,500-meter record last year and he’s only 23 years old. If he chooses to move up in distance, he’ll break the 5,000 and 10,000 meter records, too.” . . .

Banks has been at Riverside for six seasons after winning 16 NCAA titles at Texas El Paso. . . .

He had coached another Algerian athlete and spotted Morceli at a junior world championship meet. Under Banks’ tutelage, Morceli improved from No. 49 in the world at 1,500 meters to No. 1. . . .

Beware, Pittsburgh Steelers: The Rams, who lost their fourth consecutive season opener at Milwaukee Sunday, have won on the second week five consecutive times. . . .

Four of the five AFC West teams are still unbeaten. . . .

On the opening day of the season, only Thurman Thomas of the Buffalo Bills ran for as many as 100 yards and only Boomer Esiason of the New York Jets passed for as many as 300 yards. . . .

During one game coached by Dan Reeves, some New York Giants fans saw more razzle-dazzle than in their entire lifetimes. . . .

Mike Ditka was more controversial on the sidelines than he was as a NBC studio analyst Sunday. . . .

San Francisco 49er quarterback Steve Young and several Rams and Raiders spent part of their Labor Day with the kids at the NFL Youth Education Town in Compton. . . .

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Among the best football players I saw during the weekend on the tube was Steve Shine, the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Northwestern defensive end who spent half of Saturday afternoon in the Notre Dame backfield. . . .

John Robinson on USC’s 49-7 victory over Houston after a 31-9 defeat to North Carolina: “We scratched the surface of respectability.” . . .

Comeback of the week: Rutgers fell behind Colgate, 6-0, before rallying for a 68-6 victory. . . .

The Angels should pick up their option on Chili Davis, who is getting better at 33. . . .

Ditto the Dodgers with Brett Butler, who shows no signs of slowing down at 36 and is a positive influence on the younger players. . . .

The Atlanta Braves’ decision to trade for Fred McGriff was nearly as smart as their decision not to trade David Justice. . . .

Lee Smith looks more menacing than ever in New York Yankee pinstripes. . . .

Tommy John recently underwent hip replacement surgery in Florida. . . .

Most underrated pitcher in the American League might be Kevin Appier, the Kansas City Royal right-hander from Lancaster. . . .

Baseball is booming in Australia. Among the outstanding Aussie prospects is Glen Williams, a 16-year-old shortstop who signed a $920,000 contract with the Braves. . . .

Salomon Torres, who won his first two major league starts, has a terrific curveball and is being touted as the San Francisco Giants’ best pitching prospect since Juan Marichal. . . .

Eric Davis probably will help the Detroit Tigers more with his glove than his bat. . . .

The fourth-place Cubs are outdrawing the first-place White Sox in Chicago. . . .

UCLA basketball Coach Jim Harrick is answering his critics by doing a terrific job of early recruiting. Making oral commitments have been J.R. Henderson, the 6-9 forward from East Bakersfield who is considered among the top five California high school players, and 6-5 Loyola swingman Toby Bailey. . . .

The south wing of Heritage Hall at USC has been renamed the Jess Hill Administrative Wing in memory of the former Trojan athletic director and football and track and field coach who died last week. . . .

Sardula might be the best 2-year-old filly since Landaluce. . . .

She did something older horses usually can’t Saturday in the $250,000 Del Mar Debutante--engaging in a speed duel early and then pulling away to win a seven-furlong race by 7 1/2 lengths. . . .

The 5-hour 10-minute marathon between Richard Krajicek and Todd Martin at the U.S. Open is the latest example of why all tennis matches should be best-of-three sets. . . .

In 1954, Roger Bannister broke the four-minute barrier in the mile at 3:59.4. That would have left him more than 100 yards behind Noureddine Morceli on Sunday.