Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 16, 1994

The only thing wrong with the Marty McSorley trade is that the Kings didn’t make it sooner. . . .

The Kings missed McSorley’s spirit as much as his strength. . . .

The greeting he will receive from the fans at the Forum on Friday probably will register on the Richter scale. . . .

Pernell Whitaker is the best fighter, Mike Tyson the most rested, Michael Carbajal the most exciting, Oscar De La Hoya the most promising and Julio Cesar Chavez the biggest crybaby pound-for-pound. . . .

The most improved? Freddie Pendleton. Just ask him. . . .

Pendleton is the International Boxing Federation lightweight champion despite the fact that he was 1-5 as an amateur, lost four of his first six professional fights, was .500 after five years and has three times as many losses as any of the 48 other champions recognized by the IBF, WBC or WBA . . .

He used to let his words speak for him. . . .

Now he lets his words and actions speak for him. . . .

“I’m going to make a few dollars to knock out a stiff in what is a perfect fight for me,” he said about his title defense against Rafael Ruelas Saturday night on the attractive Carbajal-Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez card at the Forum. . . .

Pendleton, 31, had a 12-fight unbeaten streak that improved him to 35-17-4 recently, but is coming off a bizarre defeat. . . .

He was winning a non-title bout in Miami when, riled by the taunts of opponent Ed Pollard, he went berserk after the third round, refused to return to his stool, took swings at everyone in the ring, including his cornermen, and was disqualified. . . .

“I got mad,” he explained. . . .

His problem used to be that he didn’t take his work seriously enough. . . .

“I was never in shape,” he said. “I was also a victim of mismanagement. I’d take fights on one-day notice. If I got beat, I’d forget about it quickly and kept talking about how good I was.”. . . .

A switch in managers to Miami policeman Al Bonanni helped to turn Pendleton into the winner that he always claimed to be. . . .

“Now you can’t get him out of the gym,” Bonanni said. “He’s a role model. He works with youth groups and was very active in aiding hurricane victims. He’s actually a very nice guy who doesn’t like his image.”. . . .

Friday is the 25th anniversary of Mando Ramos’ 11th-round victory over Teo Cruz in a rematch that made the Kid Charisma from San Pedro the youngest lightweight champion in history at 20. . . .

More important, January was the 11th anniversary of his abstinence from alcohol. . . .

Ramos, who is a longshoreman, will be at ringside in a special section of former Olympic Auditorium stars when the building is reopened for the De La Hoya-Jimmi Bredahl fight March 5. . . .

De La Hoya was 19 when he won the United States’ only gold medal in boxing at the 1992 Olympic Games. Ramos was 19 when he fought Cruz for the title the first time. . . .

NHL scoring, the lowest in years, might pick up now that referees have been told to call more hooking, holding, and interference penalties. . . .

Nick Nickson broadcast his 1,000th King game Monday night. . . .

Nicest success story this season is that of Boston Bruin wing Cam Neeley, who has come back from two knee operations to become the only player in the league with more goals than games played. . . .

Best-looking road uniforms in the league are still the traditional ones worn by Boston and the Chicago Blackhawks. . . .

Russia wouldn’t have been shut out by Finland the other day if Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure were playing in the Winter Olympics instead of the NHL. . . .

Duncan Douglas of the U.S. team, on why he likes the shooting competition in the biathlon: “It’s a sport where a 45-year-old guy who’s 30 pounds overweight can beat a 25-year-old in great shape.” . . .

I’ll be rooting for Dan Jansen in the 1,000 meters Friday. I hate hearing a dedicated athlete like him being called a choke artist. . . .

The Cleveland Indians will wear new home uniforms in their new ballpark this season. They are similar to those the team wore in 1954, the last time the Indians won the American League pennant. . . .

UCLA forward Natalie Williams has become the first athlete to be selected Pacific 10 Conference player of the week three consecutive times. . . . Best wishes for a quick recovery go to USC track and field Coach Jim Bush, who will undergo prostate surgery Monday at Cedars of Lebanon. . . .

As Yogi Berra might say, people don’t care about Skategate anymore because that’s all they read in the paper, hear on radio and see on television.