Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 20, 1993

I’m not sure which was worse Sunday, the Raiders’ prevent defense or prevent offense. . . .

Shell. That pretty much describes the nature of the Raiders’ second-half offense this season. In three games, they have scored a grand total of six points after halftime. . . .

This time they could produce only one first down against Cleveland in the second half and that was on a penalty. . . .

They might have gotten away with it, too, except for the fact that they let the Browns’ backup quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, have all the time in the world to deliver in the fourth quarter after rushing the eyeballs out of Bernie Kosar. . . .

Maybe the Raiders also should have gone to the bullpen. . . .

Jeff Hostetler obviously wasn’t 100% after being injured and couldn’t get anything going against the Browns’ formidable defense. So why not try a healthy Vince Evans, who completed his only two passes? . . .

One big reason the Browns didn’t reach midfield in the first half was Chester McGlockton, who outplayed another former Clemson defensive lineman, Michael Dean Perry. . . .

The crowd of 48,617 was loud, but only 80 larger than a year ago when the teams were each 0-2 instead of 2-0 and the Coliseum renovation was still on the drawing board. . . .

You would have thought that the boredom of watching the Ram-New York Giant game on television would have driven more people out of their living rooms and into the Coliseum. . . .

All it took was the switch from Ray Handley to Dan Reeves to make the Giants a factor again in the NFC East race. . . .

*

UCLA is 0-2 for the first time in Terry Donahue’s 18 years as head coach. . . .

The most encouraging thing Saturday was the way the offensive line blew Nebraska off the line of scrimmage, opening huge holes, especially for freshman tailback Skip Hicks. . . .

But Donahue must have thought he was watching a rerun of a 1992 game in the third quarter when center James Christensen and tight end Brian Richards were helped off the field after suffering knee injuries on the same play. . . .

The Bruins rushed four times for three yards after Hicks left because of a sprained ankle following a 23-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. . . .

Hicks is the most impressive true freshman runner at UCLA since Gaston Green in 1984. . . .

State of Florida rankings: 1. Miami Dolphins, 2. Florida State, 3. Florida, 4. Miami Hurricanes, 5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. . . .

Florida State might have been ranked higher, but, clearly the Seminoles need work on their extra-point attempts, which have been so costly in their 42-9, 45-7, 57-0 and 33-7 victories. . . .

*

I was going to take a look at the tape of the disputed draw between Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez Saturday night, but, instead, watched the disputed decision awarded Stanford over Colorado. . . .

California’s 58-0 victory over Temple might shake up the Bottom 10 rankings more than the Top 25. . . .

Northwestern is vastly improved, but the Wildcats’ all-purple uniforms are still the ugliest in college football. Just call them the Grapes. . . .

Most consistent defense in the nation might belong to Pittsburgh, which has allowed 63 points in each of its last two games. . . .

Texas A&M; improved 103 points from a 44-14 loss to Oklahoma to a 73-0 victory over Missouri, which faltered by 101 points after defeating Illinois, 31-3. . . .

Weekly time of possession statistic--Final score: Nevada 63, Texas Southern 14. Time of possession: Texas Southern 31:32, Nevada 28:28. . . .

*

The Mighty Ducks’ first exhibition game drew 16,673 Saturday night at Anaheim Arena. Twenty-six years ago, the Kings’ first regular-season game drew 7,023 at the Long Beach Arena. . . .

It is a shame that the Tim Salmon-Mike Piazza rookie home run and RBI derbies were ended prematurely by the season-ending injury to Salmon. . . .

A former Angel outfielder, Dante Bichette, also is through for the season because of an injury, but not before hitting 21 home runs, driving in 89 runs and batting .310 for the Colorado Rockies. . . .

The worst thing about realignment for the Dodgers is that they must remain in the same division with the Rockies. . . .

How far south have the Oakland A’s gone? They are last in the American League West, last in in the league in pitching and last in the league in hitting. . . .

From ESPN announcer Brad Nessler: “Being Bill Walsh’s offensive coordinator is like being Superman’s strength and conditioning coach.”