Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 14, 1994

Promoter Bob Arum flew to New York on Tuesday, bringing holiday cheer and videotapes to George Foreman. . . .

Foreman will study action footage of Lou Savarese, Axel Schulz and Brian Nielsen--a veritable “who’s he?” of the heavyweight division--and pick the opponent he wants to fight April 22 at the Superdome in New Orleans. . . .

Another possibility is Tommy Morrison, who has defeated Foreman. . . .

“The three other guys have knocked out Bonecrusher Smith,” Arum said, kidding. . . .

Foreman is in New York preparing for his next television appearance as host of “Saturday Night Live” this week. Arum will have a cameo. . . .

Jeremy Williams of Long Beach, Southern California’s most promising heavyweight since Ken Norton, will fight either William Morris, no relation to the agency, or Rodolf Marin Jan. 6 on the Grand Olympic’s first card of 1995. . . .

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On ESPN Monday night, both Joe Theismann and Phil Simms predicted that the Raiders will win the AFC championship. . . .

As you might have read, the other former NFL quarterback on ESPN’s team, Ron Jaworski, isn’t quite so bullish on the silver and black. . . .

Patrick Bates, the safety from Texas A&M; who was a first-round pick in 1993, might be the Raiders’ next great defensive back. . . .

There is no Ram quarterback controversy because nobody outside the immediate families of Chris Chandler and Chris Miller cares about who will start Sunday against the Bears in Chicago. . . .

Dan Marino deserves to be selected as starting quarterback for the AFC in the Pro Bowl, but Drew Bledsoe wouldn’t be a bad choice either. . . .

Junior Seau’s injury--and subsequent subpar performances--has demonstrated how valuable he is to the San Diego Charger defense. . . .

What wonderful insight to the game the driver of Don Shula’s golf cart on the sidelines must be getting. . . .

As long as there is no instant replay, the NFL is going to have to live with lousy calls, or non-calls, such as the one that gave the Miami Dolphins a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, although Gene Atkins stepped out of bounds after intercepting a pass and before lateraling to Troy Vincent. . . .

USC made a terrific hire in defensive line coach Rod Marinelli from Arizona State. A fiery type in the Marv Goux mold, Marinelli is highly regarded as a teacher and recruiter. . . .

It was refreshing to see Terry Donahue quoted as saying that a national championship is one of his goals at UCLA. . . .

News item: Santa Ana Mater Dei is elevated to No. 2 and Southridge High of Miami to No. 1 in the USA Today national prep football rankings. Reaction: How can anyone take high school polls seriously when the teams don’t play intersectional games? . . .

Freedom Bowl organizers are delighted to have Utah playing Arizona on Dec. 27 at Anaheim Stadium. The Utes have beaten a Rose Bowl team, Oregon, and a Holiday Bowl team, Colorado State. . . .

Re-signing Tim Wallach was a smart move by the Dodgers. Next up should be Brett Butler. But they should have made an attempt to sign free agent Lee Smith, the closer they need. . . .

If he had been commissioner then, Bart Giamatti would have kept Ty Cobb off the first Hall of Fame ballot. . . .

Positive Speed is helping to speed the recovery of Robert Kerlan, who is convalescing from multiple surgeries. Kerlan watched from home via satellite last week when the 2-year-old filly he co-owns and bred won her second consecutive race at Hollywood Park. . . .

Bill Walton’s son Adam is a 6-foot-9 forward at LSU but is redshirting this season as a freshman and won’t play against UCLA on Saturday at Baton Rouge. . . .

The Big East comeback is being fueled by the two finest freshmen in the nation, Allen Iverson of Georgetown and Felipe Lopez of St. John’s. . . .

I wouldn’t give up young talent or a first-round draft pick for Dennis Rodman. . . .

If the Clippers traded for him, Rodman probably would join most of the rest of L.A. in boycotting the Sports Arena. . . .

Sign of the times: Tuesday night’s game in Dallas, shown by TNT, was the Lakers’ first and only nationally televised appearance of the regular season. . . .

The trouble with baseball is that it doesn’t have a commissioner, and the trouble with hockey is that it has a commissioner.