Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 1, 1994

The only thing more boring than the rhetoric on both sides in the baseball labor dispute would be games between so-called replacement players. . . .

Owners are mistaken if they think a substantial number of union members will cross a picket line. . . .

If I knew the genuine major leaguers would be playing in 1995, I’d be more excited about trade rumors such as the one that has the Seattle Mariners sending Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees for some prospects. . . .

Roger Clemens, making his motion picture debut in “Cobb,” nearly beaned Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones during filming with a fastball that the Boston Red Sox star estimated at 88 m.p.h. . . .

In attendance at the “Cobb” premiere Tuesday in Beverly Hills was George Raveling. The former USC coach is walking with the aid of a cane, eating and feeling better, and hoping to do commentary on some NCAA tournament games for CBS, although nothing has been signed. . . .

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Don’t be so sure that the Clippers (0-13) will break the NBA record of 17 losses out of the gate--they play the Minnesota Timberwolves (1-13) Saturday night at the Sports Arena. . . .

Last season at this time, the Clippers were 6-7. Of course, they had Danny Manning, Ron Harper and Mark Jackson. . . .

The Clippers are so bad that they’re getting more attention than the Lakers, who are off to a good start. . . .

The youngest player in the NBA is Seattle’s Dontonio Wingfield, 20, and the oldest Charlotte’s Robert Parish, 41. . . .

The John R. Wooden Classic Saturday at The Pond of Anaheim is the biggest December treat for local college basketball fans since the L.A. Classic, the eight-team tournament staged at the Sports Arena from 1959-67. . . .

Wooden’s UCLA teams won the last six L.A. classics. Among those who participated during the early years were Jerry West of West Virginia and Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek of Ohio State. . . .

It develops that Jeff Fisher and Kevin Kennedy from Taft in Woodland Hills aren’t the only alumni of the same high school to coach in the NFL and manage in the major leagues the same year. . . .

According to research by Rick Obrand of Harbor City, the last time it happened was in 1991, when Dan Henning coached the San Diego Chargers and Joe Torre managed the St. Louis Cardinals. Both are graduates of St. Francis Prep in New York. In 1983-84, Henning and Torre coached and managed in the same city, Atlanta. . . .

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The Raiders have lost their last four to the Chargers at the Coliseum but beaten them three of the last four times at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, the site of Monday night’s game. . . .

TV and radio analyst Hank Stram says NFL teams that call timeouts to try to freeze field-goal kickers often outsmart themselves. Stram, who coached the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl IV, says that instead of rattling the kickers, the extra time allows them to relax. . . .

The Orange Bowl game between top-ranked Nebraska and Miami will be played on Sunday night, Jan. 1. That means Penn State will know if a national title is within reach when it plays Oregon in the Rose Bowl the next day. . . .

It didn’t shock me that Ohio State gave John Cooper permission to talk to Louisiana State and Oklahoma about their coaching openings. . . .

Oscar De La Hoya is donating $50,000 worth of tickets to the Boy Scouts of America for his fight against John Avila Dec. 10 at the Grand Olympic. . . .

De La Hoya’s next bout might be against World Boxing Assn. junior-lightweight champion Genaro Hernandez or International Boxing Federation champion John John Molina in February. That would be at 135 pounds for De La Hoya’s World Boxing Organization title. . . .

Poetry in motion: Mashaallah, winner of the Jim Murray Handicap, and Franchise Player, winner of the Red Smith Handicap, have been nominated to the Hollywood Turf Cup on Dec. 11. . . .

The handle on Japan Cup Day at the Tokyo Racecourse was $58,037,772. Attendance was 165,930. Off-track handle for the 11-race card was $430,493,914. . . .

Rafer Johnson’s daughter, Jenny, is an outside hitter for the UCLA volleyball team that will play its last home game of the season at 7 p.m. Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in the second round of the NCAA tournament. . . .

I’d love to see a penalty box door swing open soon, but in the NHL, not the NFL.