Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 15, 1994

As far as I could tell, George Raveling was the only college basketball coach who belonged to the American Humor Studies Assn. . . .

No others ever wrote weekly columns for the L.A. Herald Examiner and Seattle Times. . . .

He has built a personal library of more than 3,000 books and a collection of thousands of albums and subscribes to nearly 100 newspapers and magazines. . . .

He initiated the “Reading with Raveling” program in junior high schools. . . .

He worked endless hours for the Black Coaches Assn. . . .

No wonder Basketball Times called him one of the five most intriguing people in the sport in 1992. . . .

His 22-year record of 336-292 was not great. . . .

But his contributions to daily life were. . . .

As a matter of fact, they still are. . . .

George isn’t about to leave us, which is pretty terrific considering that he nearly lost his life in an automobile accident Sept. 25. . . .

Nine broken ribs, a broken pelvis, a broken collarbone, a collapsed lung, and the months of rehabilitation that he still faced after a long hospital stay told him this might be the right time to quit the USC job, which was going to be his last in coaching anyway. . . .

It won’t be too long before he resurfaces in sports as an administrator for the U.S. Olympic Committee, the NCAA, a coaches’ group or some other lucky organization. . . .

For certain, Charlie Parker will take his place on the bench at the Sports Arena on Wednesday night when the Trojans play New Mexico State in the Preseason NIT. . . .

Parker was Athletic Director Mike Garrett’s choice as interim head coach. . . .

I hope Garrett gives Parker every chance to become the permanent coach and is realistic about expectations during a season in which the Trojans, who are picked to finish seventh in the Pacific 10 Conference, play an unusually tough schedule. . . .

*

If you abhor violence, I recommend tonight’s Clipper-Laker game at the Sports Arena. . . .

This might be the most peaceful rivalry in sports. . . .

Neither team is physical and I have yet to see any of their fans exchange insults, let alone blows. . . .

What the Lakers need is a brute of a power forward. Horace Grant would have been perfect. . . .

What the Clippers need are NBA caliber players at several positions. . . .

Fashion note: The Lakers wear black shoes on the road and white at home. . . .

The scoreboard didn’t work during the Forum opener against the Denver Nuggets on Friday. Of course, they only had since April 23 to get it ready. . . .

Missing from the Sports Arena is the Hustle Board. Not that Bill Fitch’s team doesn’t hustle. It’s just that a sponsor couldn’t be found. . . .

This is how sportswriters and sportscasters predict the Pac-10 race: 1. UCLA, 2. Arizona, 3. California, 4. Arizona State, 5. Stanford, 6. Oregon, 7. USC, 8. Washington State, 9. Washington, 10. Oregon State. . . .

Tickets still are available at both UCLA and USC box offices for the football game Saturday at the Rose Bowl. . . .

Wasn’t there too much talk about playoff hopes before, during, and after the Raiders’ victory over the Rams? . . .

I mean, that lifted the Raiders all the way up to the .500 mark while the Rams dropped to the .400 mark. . . .

San Francisco-Dallas was one game of the year that lived up to its hype. . . .

New England Patriot quarterback Drew Bledsoe threw 17 more passes, 53, after halftime against the Minnesota Vikings than the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers threw all night. . . .

Chicago Bear wide receiver Curtis Conway’s touchdown pass against the Miami Dolphins was more luck than finesse, but the former USC Trojan was a quarterback at Hawthorne High. . . .

Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez’s majority decision over Michael Carbajal in Mexico City on Saturday night was a carbon copy of their second fight. Gonzalez won it with defense and smarts. . . .

After jockey Christine Davenport won a race last week at Bay Meadows, track announcer Paul Allen commented, “A well-timed ride.” Davenport is Allen’s wife. . . .

Promoter Al Franken remembers the night in 1961 when fans literally knocked down the doors at the Sports Arena to see Wilma Rudolph the year after she had won three gold medals in the Olympic Games. . . .

“We sold out the meet in advance,” Franken said. “Some people who couldn’t get in forced their way through the doors at the east entrance.” . . .

Franken said he has worked with few athletes as gracious as Rudolph, who died of brain cancer at age 54 Saturday.