Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 6, 1994

Maybe it should not have been such a surprise that Wisconsin had the home-crowd advantage in the Rose Bowl. . . .

It was not the first time, nor will it be the last, that a guest has been treated hospitably here. . . .

Ram fans were out-shouted by those from Pittsburgh during the Steelers’ 31-19 victory in Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl. . . .

Anaheim Stadium sounds like Candlestick Park South every time the San Francisco 49ers play there. . . .

Thousands of Giant fans chanted “Beat L.A.!” at Dodger Stadium on the next-to-last day of the season. . . .

The Dallas Cowboys clearly were L.A.’s team when they beat the Raiders last season at the Coliseum. . . .

Baseball, basketball, football, and hockey clubs from New York and Chicago always have rooting sections in Southern California. . . .

That is what made it so refreshing Sunday when a sellout crowd gave the home team, the Raiders, a lift at the Coliseum. . . .

Linebacker Joe Kelly, who played high school football a few miles away at Jefferson, said the defense fed on the fans’ frenzy during the second half when the Raiders limited the Denver Broncos to three points and rallied from a 30-13 deficit. . . .

Raider followers do not have a glowing reputation. . . .

Not enough of them show up for games, and those who do have been accused of being rowdy. . . .

Sunday, however, 66,904 turned out, never gave up hope, were loud, but well-behaved, and made a difference in the Raiders’ 33-30 overtime victory. . . .

Ready for an encore this week? . . .

*

Danny (Little Red) Lopez climbing off the canvas and roaring back to score a knockout. . . . Jerry Quarry delivering a thunderous left hook. . . . Art Aragon reveling in the catcalls. . . . Mando Ramos and Sugar Ramos pounding each other for three minutes every round. . . .

Ah, those glorious fight nights at 18th and Grand. . . .

Let’s hope there will be many more to come, beginning March 5 when boxing returns to what is now known as the Grand Olympic Auditorium. . . .

The official announcement came Wednesday that Oscar De La Hoya will challenge World Boxing Organization junior-lightweight champion Jimmi Bredahl of Denmark and James Toney will defend his International Boxing Federation super-middleweight title against Tim Littles on opening night. . . .

“I believe that Los Angeles is the best market in the country, if not the world, for boxing,” said Bob Arum, who will promote a minimum of 25 shows a year. . . .

If anybody can make this work, it is Arum, whose cards will be on Friday and Saturday nights and Saturday afternoons and include HBO, Univision, ESPN, European network, pay-per-view and perhaps even CBS, NBC or ABC telecasts. . . .

De La Hoya will become the Olympic’s first third-generation performer, his father and grandfather having fought previously. . . .

Steve Needleman, the auditorium’s chief executive officer, cites one major improvement from the last card in 1987--a parking structure across the street that can accommodate 2,400 cars. . . .

The capacity has been reduced from 9,200 to 7,600, primarily because the new seats are 22 inches wide, rather than 18. . . .

The phone number? RIchmond 9-5171, of course. . . .

The Kings’ 5-1 victory over Quebec Tuesday night at the Forum was their most impressive of the season. . . .

They actually are hitting people now. . . .

What a shot defenseman Doug Houda gave Mats Sundin in front of the Nordiques’ net. It is no coincidence that the Kings returned to winning form when the 6-2, 190-pound Houda began to flex his muscles. . . .

UCLA is leading the Pacific 10 Conference in field-goal shooting percentage with 52.9 but is last in free-throw shooting at 57.1%. . . .

USC, which used to live and die with the three-point shot, isn’t attempting as many from beyond the line as last season, but has a higher percentage. . . .

Dan Woolridge, who picked the officials for the Orange Bowl, defended some of their questionable decisions by saying: “Our crew had a combined 140 years of officiating experience.” That might have been the problem. Not enough young legs.