Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 1, 1994

Who says it’s so hard to repeat? . . .

The Dallas Cowboys have won the last two Super Bowls, the Chicago Bulls the last three NBA championships, and the Toronto Blue Jays the last two World Series. . . .

But you have to go back to 1962 for the last time there were repeat winners in all three sports--the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, the Boston Celtics in the NBA, and the New York Yankees in baseball. . . .

Nevada bookmakers have already established the Cowboys as favorites to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. . . .

Dallas should remain on top for at least another year simply because it has the best players and the best coach in the league. . . .

I agree with Emmitt Smith. Cowboy safety James Washington from UCLA and Jordan High should have been voted most valuable player of the game. . . .

In 28 Super Bowls, the only defensive players to win the award have been linebacker Chuck Howley of Dallas in V, safety Jake Scott of Miami in VII, tackle Randy White and end Harvey Martin of Dallas co-honored in XII, and end Richard Dent of Chicago in XX. . . .

What do the voters have against defenders from L.A.? . . .

Oakland Raider linebacker Rod Martin from USC and Hamilton High intercepted three Philadelphia passes in Super Bowl XV, but quarterback Jim Plunkett was voted most valuable. . . .

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Don’t look for Duke to remain No. 1 in the college basketball polls for long. . . .

The Blue Devils’ next game is Thursday at North Carolina. . . .

It is disappointing that such a fundamentally sound player as Jason Kidd of California is as inept as most college shooters from the free-throw line. . . .

The UCLA-USC game Thursday at Pauley Pavilion is a sellout, but, surprise, will be televised live by Channel 5. . . .

Lisa Leslie of USC and Natalie Williams of UCLA, the two best collegiate women’s forwards in town and probably the nation, will play Friday at the Lyon Center. . . .

Leslie was named by 58% of voters who were asked to select the top two midseason candidates for the Naismith Award. . . .

John Robinson has reversed the pattern at USC, where Larry Smith never recruited many quality junior college transfers. . . .

If the Washington Capitals keep winning under Jim Schoenfeld, the move from the ESPN studio back to coaching might become as fashionable as the move from NBC. . . .

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Evelyn Ashford, Mike Bowlin and Charles Miller have been elected to the board of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. . . .

Too many fights and too many good times might have cost Julio Cesar Chavez one of his greatest attributes-- stamina. . . .

The Grand Olympic Auditorium already has set a house record with more than $300,000 in sales for the March 5 card featuring Oscar De La Hoya. Of course, tickets were a lot less expensive than $250 to $50 when the building was known simply as the Olympic Auditorium and the promoter was Aileen Eaton. . . .

Michael Carbajal, Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez and Jorge Paez will be among those participating in a free public workout Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the Forum parking lot. . . .

Whatever happened to Brian Bosworth? . . .

Horse racing has a commissioner, but baseball doesn’t. . . .

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No wonder the NBA and NHL have such light schedules on Super Sunday. The crowd of 12,862 at Santa Anita was about 25% below normal Sunday. . . .

Doug Peterson, who trained Seattle Slew after his Triple Crown victories, has a promising 3-year-colt, Fly’n J. Bryan, who won his Santa Anita debut by 4 1/2 lengths. . . .

Surprise of the meeting is Fernando Valenzuela, the jockey. He has ridden 20 winners in the first 28 days, more than defending champion Gary Stevens, Eddie Delahoussaye, or cousin Patrick Valenzuela. . . .

L.A. Marathon director Bill Burke, who says he has received hundreds of calls from people concerned that the race would be canceled because of the earthquake, reports that everything is still a go for March 6. . . .

“We also are going ahead with the painting of the largest freeway mural in the world on the Santa Monica Freeway, only 200 yards from where it collapsed,” Burke said. . . .

Ben Crenshaw, who supervised the construction of the rebuilt greens and bunkers at Riviera Country Club, will be able to test them next week during the L.A. Open. . . .

Stay tuned: Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding are among those scheduled to appear in a figure skating exhibition in April at the Sports Arena.