Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 21, 1995

An unbeaten week will vault UCLA to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press college basketball poll, but maybe the Bruins could do without the honor. . . .

In the last 12 years, only the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils, led by Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner, have been able to run an AP regular-season poll championship into an NCAA title. . . .

Balance is all five UCLA starters shooting at least 50% from the floor and 70% from the free-throw line. . . .

If Long Beach State can build an attractive basketball arena on campus, why can’t USC? . . . The New York Knicks’ 122-117 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday marked the first time in 11 meetings that either team scored as many as 100 points. . . .

Among the things I like about Wayne Lukas is that he thinks big. . . .

After victories by Thunder Gulch in the Fountain of Youth on Saturday at Gulfstream Park and Serena’s Song in the Las Virgenes on Sunday at Santa Anita, the trainer was talking about the possibility of winning both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. . . .

“There’s no comparison between the horse that won in Florida and the one that got beaten by Afternoon Deelites in the Hollywood Futurity,” Lukas said about Thunder Gulch, who is seeded second among the 3-year-old colts in his barn behind Timber Country. . . .

“Thunder Gulch had shipped east to west before the Futurity and, for some reason, that is usually more difficult than west to east,” Lukas said. “We had had him for only four or five weeks. The writers who saw him Saturday were impressed by the way he’s filled out.” . . .

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It was strange watching Alexei Zhitnik of the Buffalo Sabres trying to check Luc Robitaille of the Pittsburgh Penguins on the tube Sunday night. . . .

Bonehead-of-the-month award goes to women’s tennis officials who turned down a $10-million offer from Tampax to sponsor the tour. After years of sponsorship by a cigarette company, they were worried about a negative image that the feminine hygiene product might give them. . . .

Which was more predictable Sunday, Steffi Graf regaining the No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis or Bonnie Blair sweeping her fourth race in speedskating’s world sprint championships? . . .

Blair will be honored as the North American winner of the Amateur Athletic Foundation World Trophy at a reception Thursday in Los Angeles. Other winners: William Sigei of Africa, Kenji Ogiwara of Asia, Johann Olav Koss of Europe, Samantha Riley of Oceania and Rosmario de Souza Faria of South America-Caribbean. . . .

Eric Allen’s management group has sent out a fax saying that the five-time Pro Bowl cornerback wants to be traded by the Philadelphia Eagles. It even mentions Denver, Minnesota, Dallas, San Diego and Green Bay as he teams for which he would like to play. . . .

Dick Butkus, Don Shula, Mike Ditka, Steve Garvey, Don Sutton and Yogi Berra are among those who will participate in the seventh annual Frank Sinatra celebrity golf tournament Friday and Saturday at Marriott’s Desert Springs Resort. . . .

Among the happiest ringsiders at the MGM Grand Garden on Saturday was Dan Goossen. . . .

Goossen was delighted when Oscar De La Hoya beat John John Molina to set up a big-money bout against Goossen’s Rafael Ruelas and that De La Hoya was forced to go the 12-round distance. “You can definitely see that Oscar is beatable,” Goossen said. . . .

However, De La Hoya passed the same kind of test once provided Muhammad Ali by Billy Daniels, Joe Frazier by Eddie Machen, and Sugar Ray Leonard by Randy Shields. . . .

As up-and-coming fighters, they all had problems against clever, more experienced opponents, but won decisions. . . .

Conventional thinking is that De La Hoya will have an easier time against the more orthodox Ruelas on May 6. . . .

Basketball broadcasters’ cliche: “They won’t go away.”