Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 19, 1994

The No. 1 spot in college basketball suddenly is UCLA’s to win--or lose. . . . On a Monday night when the minds of Southern Californians were on more important matters, Kansas, ranked first in the Associated Press poll and tied with UCLA atop the USA Today/CNN poll, was upset at Phog Allen Fieldhouse by Kansas State. . . .

Victories over Arizona and Arizona State Thursday and Saturday would make the unbeaten Bruins No. 1 in both rankings. . . .

But do they really need this? . . .

Kansas is about to become the fourth top-ranked team this season to be unseated, and only one regular-season poll champion--Duke in 1992--has won the NCAA tournament in the last 11 years. . . .

On balance, though, the Bruins should be excited about the possibility of being alone at the top for the first time since January, 1983. . . .

It would be another boon to Jim Harrick’s recruiting, which has picked up dramatically the last couple of years. . . .

Ticket sales also would be given a lift. . . .

On Thursday, Pauley Pavilion will be filled for only the second time this season. All 12,819 tickets were gone last Wednesday. . . .

ESPN--with Dick Vitale and all the trimmings--will televise the game live at 9 p.m. . . .

This is one season when the Pacific 10 Conference deserves national exposure, although the UCLA-Washington game didn’t even get L.A. exposure Saturday. . . .

Key matchup could be between point guards, the Bruins’ Tyus Edney and the Wildcats’ Damon Stoudamire. . . .

Women’s college basketball administrators complain about a lack of attention given their sport--and then schedule the important USC-Stanford game for 2 p.m. at the Lyon Center on Jan. 30, little more than an hour before the Super Bowl kickoff. . . .

It’s a good thing for Joe Montana that the three-knockdown rule isn’t in effect in the NFL. . . .

Those hoping to see Montana face Steve Young in the Super Bowl are encouraged by the fact that visiting teams won the NFC and AFC championship games last year. . . .

I like the way Marcus Allen scores touchdowns and the way he celebrates them--simply by handing the football to the referee. . . .

News item: Offensive tackle Marvin Powell is voted into the college football Hall of Fame. Reaction: Would Powell make an all-USC first team? Former Trojan tackles include Ron Yary, Ron Mix and Anthony Munoz. . . .

Muhammad Ali celebrated his 52nd birthday on Martin Luther King Day. . . .

Congratulations to trainer Eddie Futch, who has sent many a fighter into an L.A. ring, upon his selection to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. . . .

ABC will get back into boxing March 12 with a bout between unbeaten young heavyweights Jeremy Williams of Long Beach and Larry Donald of Cincinnati at the MGM Grand. . . .

The renovations to the Grand Olympic Auditorium were not set back by the earthquake and the Oscar De La Hoya-Jimmi Bredahl, James Toney-Tim Littles title doubleheader is still scheduled to reopen the building March 5. . . .

Toney will have to make 168 pounds to defend his International Boxing Federation super-middleweight title, but looked good at 176 the other night when he knocked out Anthony Hembrick, the guy who missed the bus at the 1988 Olympic Games. . . .

For the record: Sam Balter played basketball for the United States in the 1936 Olympic Games, the first time the sport was included in Olympic competition. . . .

It would take quite a comeback by John Williams for the Clippers not to regret the trade that brought him to Los Angeles from Washington for Don MacLean and William Bedford. . . . Shame on all those NBA scouts who downgraded MacLean, one of the best shooters in college basketball when he was at UCLA. Remember, the Detroit Pistons drafted him before trading him and Bedford to the Clippers for Olden Polynice and a couple of second-round picks. . . .

Among the most underrated players in the league is Sacramento King guard Mitch Richmond. . . .

Four of Chris McCarron’s five Breeders’ Cup trophies were among items broken at the jockey’s home in the hills above Sherman Oaks during the earthquake. . . .

“It’s only sad until you see what’s around you,” McCarron said. “There are a lot of people who have suffered a lot more than we have.” . . .

Basketball lost a good friend when Fred Snowden died of a heart attack Monday. He hadn’t coached since 1982, but never lost his enthusiasm for the sport and was a frequent spectator at the Sports Arena, Forum and Pauley Pavilion. He also will be remembered for the wonderful work he did for the Food 4 Less Foundation.