Notes on a Scorecard - June 15, 1994

That was some Garden party. . . .

From the San Jose Sharks’ seven-game shocker over the Detroit Red Wings in the first round to the New York Rangers’ seven-game sweat over the Vancouver Canucks in the championship series, the Stanley Cup playoffs couldn’t have been better. . . .

A lot of crazy things happened the last couple of months, but the Cup is where it belongs, in the possession of the best and most-deserving team.

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What worked for Eric Karros in the Texas League four years ago is doing the job for him now in the National League. . . .

Karros, one of the hottest hitters in baseball, has returned to the open stance he used when he batted .352 for the Dodgers’ double-A farm club at San Antonio. . . .

“For some reason, I got away from it,” said Karros, the 1992 National League rookie of the year. “I went back to it a couple of weeks ago. I’m seeing the ball a lot better now.” . . .

Karros has a reputation for being a better second-half than first-half hitter. . . .

“We’ll have to see what happens this year,” he said. “That is, if there is a second half.” . . .

When he is joined by second baseman Garey Ingram, shortstop Jose Offerman and third baseman Tim Wallach, first baseman Karros is the only member of the Dodger infield who didn’t hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. . . .

Little did anyone suspect that Ryne Sandberg’s last day in the Chicago lineup might have been Friday, when he went 0 for 4 against Kevin Gross during the Cubs’ 2-1 loss to the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. . . .

“I was shocked,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said after hearing of Sandberg’s retirement announcement. “His manager said he was putting too much pressure on himself, but nobody had any idea about him quitting. I had the pleasure of managing him in All-Star games. He was a terrific player and a good guy.” . . .

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Reliever Tim Fortugno of the Cincinnati Reds, then 30, was the Angels’ oldest rookie ever in 1990 and is best remembered for giving up hit No. 3,000 to George Brett and then picking him off first base. . . .

Fortugno returned to the minors with Ottawa in 1993, was released by the Seattle Mariners after spending the spring in their minor league camp, pitched 14 games with the Reds’ Chattanooga farm club and was called up May 13 after Tom Browning was injured. . . .

He is a graduate of Southern California College, whose pitching staff this year included Ila Borders. . . .

How odd that Bret Saberhagen is 7-3 in an even-numbered year. . . .

The New York Mets’ right-hander was 39-53 in even-numbered years before this one and never had a winning record in any of them. He is 81-37 and never has had a losing record in odd-numbered years. . . .

Every time I see Wrigley Field in Chicago, I’m reminded of old Wrigley Field in L.A., which was a gem of a minor league park before housing the Angels during their first American League season of 1961. . . .

This Wrigley, at 42nd and Avalon, always had lights and was the scene of several major fights, including Joe Louis-Jack Roper, Floyd Patterson-Roy Harris, Sugar Ray Robinson-Bobo Olson and Carmen Basilio-Art Aragon. . . .

That Jose Canseco-Ken Griffey Jr. power show Monday in Texas was simply marvelous, juiced-up ball or no. . . .

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I prefer the NHL’s 2-2-1-1-1 format in the finals to the NBA’s 2-3-2, which was implemented several years ago so teams wouldn’t have to travel so much. . . .

It seems more fair to both sides, although the World Series also is contested under the NBA format. . . .

Centers Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing are the stars, but the three-point shooters might decide the NBA finals. . . .

In 1923, it took Gene Sarazen 194 holes to win the PGA Championship under a match-play format at Pelham Manor, N.Y. . . . .

Despite being out of action for three months after a skiing accident, Phil Mickelson, 24, has improved to seventh in the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings. . . .

UCLA guard Tyus Edney has been invited to try out for the U.S. Goodwill Games team, coached by USC’s George Raveling, at the UC Irvine training camp that begins July 4. Bruin Ed O’Bannon has withdrawn because of a summer school commitment. . . .

The women’s version of the Say No Classic will tip off Saturday at 10 a.m. at the North Gym at USC. Twelve teams of current and former college basketball players will participate in the six-week tournament. . . .

It’s never too early to start thinking about college football. The Sporting News’ preseason magazine has UCLA ranked 14th and USC 19th nationally. Bruin J.J. Stokes is rated the best wide receiver and Bjorn Merten the second-best kicker. Trojan Rob Johnson is the No. 2 quarterback behind Stanford’s Steve Stenstrom, and Tony Boselli is the No. 5 offensive tackle.