Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 19, 1993

Raider games are like NBA games used to be--you have to see only the final seconds. . . .

Jeff Jaeger kicked the winning field and Jeff Hostetler performed courageously, but the difference Monday night in Denver was the ferocious Raider pass rush. . . .

The Raiders might have been lucky that they had only one timeout during the final drive. That way, John Elway had only 13 seconds remaining when he got the ball. . . .

I can’t believe that Frank Gifford didn’t ask New York Giant Coach Dan Reeves about the terrible play of his former team in the first half during the halftime interview. . . .

All the impatient hitters in baseball, those who swing from the heels on 3-and-0 counts, should be learning something from the Philadelphia Phillies. . . .

Remember, you have the option of turning down the sound on your television set and listening to Vin Scully’s World Series play-by-play on KNX radio. . . .

Making sure that Paul Molitor, usually a designated hitter, becomes a position player in Philadelphia ought to be a no-brainer for Toronto Blue Jay Manager Cito Gaston. . . .

Phillie General Manager Lee Thomas downgrades his playing career, but he hit 26 home runs and drove in 104 runs for the L.A. Angels in 1962. . . .

Among the Angels’ worst deals was sending Devon White and Willie Fraser to the Toronto Blue Jays for Junior Felix and Luis Sojo on Dec. 2, 1990. . . .

I mean, imagine where the Angels would be now if they still had Fraser. . . .

It has long been forgotten, but the Phillies came close to signing Kirby Puckett after the 1992 season. Instead, they signed three free-agent outfielders, Jim Eisenreich, Milt Thompson and Pete Incaviglia. . . .

Philadelphia pitcher David West has faced eight batters in three World Series games, one this year and two in 1991 with the Minnesota Twins. All of them have reached base, four on hits and four on walks. . . .

The Houston Astros would be wise to hire Davey Lopes as manager. . . .

Look-alikes: the Phillies and the Stanford marching band. . . .

*

Hate to mention it, but every World Series game and the Super Bowl will be played on artificial turf this season. . . .

The Durham Bulls recently retired No. 18 in honor of Joe Morgan. The only problem was that Morgan wore No. 8 for the Bulls. . . .

Times certainly have changed for Terry Bradshaw, who is being billed as Prof. Bradshaw by CBS. . . .

Eric Swann--who had 12 tackles, two sacks and a safety against the Washington Redskins on Sunday--is justifying the Phoenix Cardinals’ decision to draft him with the sixth pick overall in 1991 although he had no college football experience. . . .

From Coach Richie Petitbon after the Redskins’ 36-6 defeat: “We’re not a very well-coached football team.” . . .

Joe Gibbs was also 1-5 after his first six games as Redskin coach in 1981. . . .

The Atlanta Falcons (1-5) have scored more points than the Kansas City Chiefs (5-1). . . .

Description of about half the teams in the NFL: Injury ravaged. . . .

Thumbs up to John Robinson for giving his USC reserves a lot of playing time Saturday against Oregon State. Many coaches don’t go to their benches until the closing minutes of games that are more lopsided than the Trojans’ 34-9 victory. . . .

In 1989, the pass-catch combination at Pt. Loma High in San Diego was Dan White to J.J. Stokes. On Oct. 30 at the Rose Bowl, quarterback White of Arizona and wide receiver Stokes of UCLA will be on opposite sides. . . .

The Southeastern Conference has the best record in nonconference games against Division I-A opponents, 16-4, followed by the Pacific-10, 20-8. . . .

Bill Stoyanovich, the Michigan State kicker who missed four field goal attempts against Ohio State, is the brother of Miami Dolphin kicker Pete Stoyanovich. . . .

You have to love the New York Times computer poll, which dropped Wisconsin from No. 2 to a tie for seventh with Notre Dame after the Badgers’ 42-28 victory over Purdue. . . .

USC forward Lorenzo Orr signed 1,200 basketball posters during homecoming festivities Saturday morning. . . .

Harley Frankel, who resigned from the Clippers, would make a capable administrator elsewhere in the NBA. . . .

One of the best records in boxing belongs to Floyd Patterson’s adopted son, World Boxing Council super-bantamweight champion Tracy Harris Patterson, who is 48-2-1 with 35 knockouts after stopping Daniel Zaragoza in the seventh round. . . .

The Mighty Ducks have to be encouraged by their 1-2-2 home stand. . . .

The surprise of the Kings’ 4-1-1 home stand was that Kelly Hrudey was in goal for every game. . . .

Thumbs down on the Houston Oilers for fining offensive lineman David Williams $125,000 for skipping the game against the New England Patriots so he could fly home to witness the birth of his son. A lot of Oilers haven’t contributed on Sundays this season. At least Williams had a good excuse.