Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 27, 1994

I had a dream. . . .

The Rams kept winning after shutting out Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs. Noisy, partisan crowds began filling Anaheim Stadium. The Rams edged the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC West title. Georgia Frontiere sold the Rams to an Orange County group that kept the team in Anaheim. . . .

Just a dream. . . .

Incidentally, I had a nightmare a couple of months ago. It was October and there was no World Series. . . .

Don’t expect Al Davis to make any drastic changes in Raider coaching or playing personnel the rest of the season. . . .

Davis is loyal, to a fault, to those employees he likes. . . .

However, the team probably will have to mount a comeback and reach the playoffs for Art Shell to retain his job next season. . . .

The offensive line doesn’t block very well for the running backs, but the rushing attack might be respectable if Leonard Russell had been acquired instead of Harvey Williams. . . .

The Raiders couldn’t complain about the lack of a true home-field advantage Sunday. The crowd was 13,000 short of capacity, but one of the most vocal I’ve ever heard at the Coliseum. . . .

This plea was posted on the message board before kickoff: “Be a team player!!! Root responsibly. Raider football is a contact sport, but let’s keep the contact on the field. Thanks.” . . .

The television commentator the Arizona Cardinals need most is Jimmy Johnson, not Phil Simms. . . .

Including their 38-35 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Minneapolis on Sunday, the Miami Dolphins are 6-5 in games in which Dan Marino has passed for more than 400 yards. . . .

Is it just my imagination, or do NFL tight ends always seem to be open? . . .

Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart’s “Hail Mary” pass that beat Michigan makes him an early contender for a certain award that Boston College quarterback Doug (Hail Mary) Flutie won in 1984. . . .

USC tailback Shawn Walters was more powerful than ever Saturday night when he rushed for 207 yards against Baylor and he also showed some nifty, new moves. . . .

The Trojans must be the only team in the nation with a 225-pound starting tailback, Walters, and a 200-pound starting fullback, Terry Barnum. . . .

Hawaii is 0-2 against Western Athletic Conference teams and 2-0 against the Pac-10. . . .

Auburn, Washington and Texas A & M are unranked by USA Today/CNN because that poll doesn’t recognize teams that are on probation. . . .

*

Al Campanis will return to baseball as vice president in charge of player personnel of the Palm Springs Suns of the new Western League that begins play next May. . . .

Former Dodger and Angel catcher Bill Sudakis has been named manager of the Suns. . . .

There will be a 90-game schedule and none of the eight teams will have a major league affiliation. Oh yes, there will be a salary cap--$24,000 a month, per team. . . .

Billy Ashley, the Pacific Coast League’s most valuable player, plans to work on his defensive skills in left field this week with the Dodgers’ team in the Arizona instructional league. . . .

According to the University of California Wellness Letter, nearly 70% of all baseball injuries result from sliding. . . .

Look-alikes: Jeff George and Wade Boggs. . . .

Two of the four people elected to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame last week, deceased Olympic gold medalists Lillian Copeland and Cornelius Johnson, were graduates of L.A. High. . . . Don Klosterman, who will receive the “Pride of Lions” award from Loyola Marymount on Saturday at the Red Lion Hotel near LAX, set eight college football passing records during his career. . . .

Who’s going to pay to watch new World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Oliver McCall defend his title against the likes of Franz Botha, Tony Tucker, Bruce Seldon or Peter McNeely? They sound like Showtime cable shows, not pay-per-view. . . .

Of course, the idea is to keep McCall winning until another Don King fighter, Mike Tyson, gets out of prison. Tyson would attract a huge TV audience against anyone, including his ex-sparring mate McCall. . . .

The Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor show at the MGM Grand Garden on Sept. 17 drew a near-capacity paid crowd of 14,261 and a gate of $4,298,219. An additional 1,045 paid $52,250 to watch a closed-circuit telecast elsewhere in the hotel. . . .

The Lakers might not have to give the Phoenix Suns a draft choice until 1997 and that makes the deal for Cedric Ceballos a steal. . . .

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to George Raveling. I’m worried about how the gourmet will react to hospital food.