Notes on a Scorecard - April 4, 1994

Now I know how the rest of the nation must have felt when UCLA was a fixture in the NCAA championship game. . . .

Florida would have been a nice, fresh face. Instead, we get Duke for the fourth time in five years tonight against Arkansas. Ho hum. . . .

But John Wooden’s Bruins won all 10 of their title games during a 12-year stretch, and the feeling is that Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils will drop to 2-2 since 1990. . . .

It might not even be close in Charlotte. . . .

Arkansas is more talented, more physical, quicker, and deeper. . . .

I didn’t realize Corliss Williamson, the powerful sophomore forward, could pass as well as he can shoot, rebound and defend. . . .

And, oh yes, Coach Nolan Richardson is no slouch, either. . . .

I just wish Richardson would stop complaining about how he and his team don’t get any respect. . . .

Richardson has been recognized as a coach of the year and the Razorbacks were ranked No. 1 in the final USA Today/CNN poll and No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for a season-high nine weeks before finishing second behind North Carolina. . . .

The President of the United States is high on the Hogs, too, but Richardson continues to hammer that “us against the world” attitude into his players. . . .

North Carolina’s victory over Louisiana Tech in the NCAA championship game on a three-point shot at the buzzer should do a lot for women’s basketball. . . .

It was the most exciting finish of any tournament game, men’s or women’s, this season. . . . Nobody seemed to enjoy playing in a Final Four more than Marion Jones, the smiling Tar Heel freshman guard. . . .

Best 11-week-old basketball prospect in the nation is Rick Barry’s youngest son. . . .

While watching the highlights of the 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State, Magic Johnson-Larry Bird championship game, did you notice how short the uniform shorts were? . . .

Forward Felipe Lopez lived up to his reputation Sunday when he scored 24 points and was selected most valuable player in the McDonald’s high school all-star game at his future home, St. John’s. . . .

During a CBS interview, Wooden came up with an interesting suggestion that will get no support: Make the dunk a one-point shot. . . .

Luckiest player in the NBA Saturday night was Indiana Pacer guard Vern Fleming, who escaped with a broken lower bridge and cut lip after Shaquille O’Neal fell on him. . . .

*

What happened to the Dallas Cowboys last week reminded me of Dick Williams’ resignation as Oakland Athletics manager following World Series championships in 1972 and 1973 and friction with owner Charlie Finley. . . .

The A’s were able to three-peat under Williams’ successor, Alvin Dark. . . .

That probably won’t happen in Dallas with Barry Switzer, though, because a coach is more important to a football team than a manager is to a baseball team. . . .

The longest ball Bo Jackson hit all weekend reached the roof of the left field pavilion at Dodger Stadium during batting practice. . . .

New Dodger Delino DeShields made a couple of plays Friday night that would have been impossible for most other second basemen. . . .

Sign of the times: The Dodger and Angel media guides have medical glossaries. . . .

Marge Schott is in midseason form. . . .

The wild-card means that the San Francisco Giants, who won 103 games last season and didn’t make the playoffs, could win 90 this season and make the playoffs. . . .

Roger Clemens is the only opening day starter in the American League today who had a losing record last season. . . .

Brocco, who is expected to face eight in a contentious Santa Anita Derby Saturday, remains the mild favorite in most Kentucky Derby future books. . . .

The Lakers won a championship this season--the Lake Superior St. Lakers, that is, who whipped Boston University, 9-1, for the NCAA hockey title. . . .

Happy 68th birthday to Jack Faulkner, the Rams’ director of pro personnel who is in his 30th year with the club. . . .

Only in Fantasyland would anyone dare to have predicted that the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would be ahead of the Kings in the standings with 11 days left in the season.