Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 27, 1995

Among those impressed by the UCLA basketball team on the Sunday afternoon that it laid claim to No. 1 was Terry Donahue. . . .

“I’d love to have about five of them play outside linebacker for me,” the Bruin football coach said. . . .

UCLA, best known for its finesse, out-rebounded Duke, 51-35, during its 100-77 victory at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

“The best thing about them was their aggressiveness, the way they crashed the boards,” said Cherokee Parks, the Blue Devils’ forward from Huntington Beach. . . .

“They’re extremely athletic,” said Erik Meek, the center from Escondido. “They really run the court well and they always seem to have four guys on the boards.” . . .

“They’re certainly worthy of being No. 1,” said Pete Gaudet, the Duke designated head coach during the absence of Mike Krzyzewski. “They’ve got a strong player at every position.”. . .

But those looking for comparisons between the Bruins and Atlantic Coast Conference powers North Carolina and Maryland did not find them in the Duke locker room. . . .

The Blue Devils, who lost to the Tar Heels and Terrapins by only two points in each of their previous meetings, play rematches against them this week. . . .

“I’m sorry, but it isn’t a coach’s job to compare teams,” Gaudet said. “I don’t want to make anybody’s bulletin board.”. . .

*

“Double figures,” said Clipper season-ticket holder Billy Crystal, smiling after the team’s 83-81 victory over the Lakers at the Sports Arena Saturday. . . .

On a night when the Lakers were trying to win their fifth game of the week, the big deal turned out to be that the Clippers won their 10th game of the season. . . .

It was nice to see the Sports Arena, where USC also plays its home games, rocking for one of the few times this season. . . .

However, at least two-thirds of the capacity crowd of 16,021 was cheering for the visiting team. . . .

The Lakers hadn’t been received this warmly since the Showtime era. . . .

The work ethic of Del Harris’ team was evident when it made a run at the Clippers late in the fourth quarter despite fatigue and a makeshift lineup that was without the injured Cedric Ceballos and Eddie Jones and the ejected Anthony Peeler. . . .

“Our players left everything they had on the court,” Harris said. “It would have been a wonderful week for us. Seldom do you win five games in a week. But four is acceptable.” . . .

The Clippers worked hard, too. . . .

“Bill Fitch is a godsend,” said Loy Vaught after the Clippers put an early end to their chances of equaling the NBA record for fewest victories in a season. “He doesn’t let us quit.” . . .

Donald Sterling ought to tear up Fitch’s contract and give him a new and improved one. . . .

Fortune cookies were served in the press room before the game. Mine read, “Clippers win 7th home game vs. Lakers.”. . .

The Lakers will have another five-game week March 5-11 when they play Minnesota at home and Miami, Orlando, Minnesota and Chicago on the road. . . .

New Golden State Warrior Coach Bob Lanier is being called “The Eclipse” because the 6-11 Hall of Famer stands during the entire game and blocks the views of his players on the bench and the writers at the press table. . . .

*

The key to a resurgence of the Kings could be Robert Lang, the talented young center who sparked their comeback victory at Edmonton on Saturday. . . .

The Kings need the firepower that Lang, who led the Czech team in scoring in the 1992 Olympic Games, has the potential to supply. . . .

Horse racing continues to self-destruct, the latest example being the 60-day ban assessed trainer Wayne Lukas by New York authorities five months after his filly Flanders tested positive for the presence of 1/28th of an ounce of a therapeutic drug that doesn’t enhance performance. . . .

Gerald McClellan, who is in critical condition and on life support after being knocked out by World Boxing Council super-middleweight champion Nigel Benn in the 10th round Saturday in London, was quoted last week as saying, “When I’m in the ring I have so much hate for the other guy, so much desire to knock this guy unconscious. It’s a great feeling for me to knock a man unconscious and watch them fall. I enjoy the feeling better than sex.”