Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 12, 1994

The Raiders, who are playing some of their best football in December, should become the only local major league franchise to reach the playoffs this year. . . .

Defense is the name of their game. . . .

The highlights of their 23-13 victory over Denver Sunday were goal-line stands in the second and third quarters that forced the Broncos to settle for field goals. . . .

Both times the Broncos had first downs on the one-yard line. . . .

Both times they wished they had John Elway at quarterback instead of Hugh Millen. . . .

And both times they wished young linebackers Rob Fredrickson and Greg Biekert and veteran tackle Jerry Ball hadn’t made big plays. . . .

It is nice to see fullback Tom Rathman becoming an integral part of the Raider offense. . . .

The more I see of rookie running back Calvin Jones, the more I like him. . . .

For a change, Raider special teams were special. . . .

The only thing wrong with the crowd of 60,016 at the Coliseum was that it was big enough for the wave to be executed. . . .

Catch of the day: Rocket Ismail’s remarkable reception for a 42-yard gain in the fourth quarter with cornerback Ben Smith draped over him and guilty of pass interference. . . .

I’m glad that Ismail and Jeff Hostetler had the chat not long ago that resulted in more business coming Rocket’s way. . . .

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What will the NFC playoffs possibly be like without the Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? . . .

You must have stayed glued to your TV set during that epic battle from Florida. . . .

I don’t understand why the Dallas Cowboys, with no timeouts left, didn’t throw into the end zone in the closing seconds against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. You simply can’t leave room for error, such as receiver Jay Novacek slipping inches short of the goal line. . . .

Stat of the day, courtesy of Fox TV’s Howie Long: Steve Young has thrown more touchdown passes to Jerry Rice than Joe Montana has. . . .

Something is wrong with the system when three NFL games are televised into the nation’s second-largest market, Los Angeles, on the 15th Sunday of the season and none of the teams has a winning record. . . .

Best football game on the tube over the weekend here was Santa Ana Mater Dei High’s 28-21 victory over La Puente Bishop Amat at Anaheim Stadium for the Southern Section Division I title. . . .

Daylon McCutcheon, who was brilliant in defeat, is my choice for the 1997 Heisman Trophy. . . .

Bruce Rollinson, who did a terrific job coaching Mater Dei to an unbeaten season, lettered as a defensive back at USC in 1971. . . .

The only upset in the Heisman Trophy balloting was that Kerry Collins, the Maxwell Award winner, finished as low as fourth behind winner Rashaan Salaam. . . .

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Phase I of Oscar De La Hoya’s professional boxing career is over. . . .

From now on, the Golden Boy from East L.A. will face only opponents who are reigning champions or ranked highly by the three major alphabet groups. . . .

His ninth-round victory over game but outclassed Johnny Avila on Saturday at the Grand Olympic was exactly what De La Hoya needed before embarking on Phase II against International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion John John Molina on Feb. 18 in Las Vegas. . . .

I don’t know how Avila stood up to all the punishment dealt by De La Hoya, who didn’t lose a round on my card. . . .

After Felix Trinidad’s eighth-round knockout of Oba Carr in Monterrey, Mexico, Don King got in the ring and challenged Pernell Whitaker on behalf of Trinidad. A heavy hitter with a long reach, Trinidad might have the style to bother Whitaker. . . .

World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman made a “greatest promoter in the history of boxing” presentation to--you’ll never guess it--King. . . .

George Foreman will defend his heavyweight title against an opponent yet to be signed in April at the Superdome in New Orleans. . . .

James Toney and manager Jackie Kallem have made amends and Toney will fight on the De La Hoya-Molina card. . . .

Fenway Park should do wonders for Jose Canseco’s career. . . .

I turned on the car radio Friday night and heard Chick Hearn say the score of the Laker-Clipper game was 72-49. It didn’t surprise me. . . .

TV sportscasters’ cliche of the year: “He’ll do well on the next level.”