Notes on a Scorecard - March 8, 1995

The baseball teams that could use replacements the most are the owners’ and union’s negotiating teams. . . .

No wagering is being offered in Las Vegas on spring training games. . . .

Remember when the L.A. Kings used to have a better record than the Sacramento Kings? . . .

A couple of fine hockey teams we have here--the Kings have allowed the most goals in the NHL this season and the Mighty Ducks, along with Ottawa, have scored the fewest. . . .

Best seats for hockey at either the Forum or The Pond of Anaheim are 20 rows up at the blue line. . . .

The trade that sent Sean Elliott and David Wood to the Detroit Pistons for Dennis Rodman in 1993 was a great one for the San Antonio Spurs. . . .

The trade that brought Elliott back to San Antonio from the Pistons for the draft rights to Bill Curley and a 1997 second-round pick in 1994 was nearly as good. . . .

Scottie Pippen is on his way to becoming the first non-guard to lead the NBA in steals since forward Rick Barry in 1974-75. . . .

The Chicago Bulls should use the backcourt combination of B.J. Armstrong and Steve Kerr more often. . . .

Half of the Big Eight is ranked in the top 19 in the Associated Press college basketball poll. . . .

Duke (12-17) might be 17-12 with Mike Krzyzewski. . . .

Connecticut and Massachusetts remind me of each other. . . .

West Coast Conference tournament champion Gonzaga has accomplished something it couldn’t in the John Stockton days in the early 1980s--qualify for the NCAA tournament. . . .

If the hook shot works so well for UCLA’s George Zidek, why don’t more college and pro centers use it? . . .

My idea of a good college basketball TV analyst is one who talks more about the players than about the coaches. . . .

The Pacific 10 Conference had its best record ever against nonconference opponents, 72-25. . . .

Ventura has the best record, 34-1, of the eight teams in the men’s state junior college tournament that runs Thursday through Saturday at the Bren Center at UC Irvine. Take lunch and dinner and stay for all four games starting at 2 p.m. on opening day. . . .

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It has been 15 years since the Santa Anita Handicap was run on an off-track. However, the conditions that afternoon didn’t bother heavy favorite Spectacular Bid, who romped by five lengths. . . .

Best Pal will carry 122 pounds Saturday, two less than when he won the race in 1992. . . .

Only one of Best Pal’s 40 races has been in the mud, the Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park last September when he finished a badly beaten third. . . .

Many physicians believe boxing headgear doesn’t help to prevent brain injuries, but why not try to improve the quality of the equipment? . . .

Axel Schulz, who challenges George Foreman on April 22 at the MGM Grand, was born a month after Foreman won the heavyweight gold medal in the 1968 Olympic Games at Mexico City. . . .

You can be pretty sure that neither Oscar De La Hoya nor Rafael Ruelas will run out of gas May 6 at Caesars Palace. Each will have sparred more than 200 rounds at 7,000-feet altitude in Big Bear. . . .

“Hoop Dreams” filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert have directed commercials for Prime Sports featuring Wayne Gretzky and Nick Van Exel. . . .

What makes the American women and men’s eight downhill victories on the World Cup ski circuit this season even more surprising is that none belong to Olympic gold medalist Tommy Moe. . . .

Name game: The Atlanta Ruckus, an expansion team in the A-League, formerly the American Professional Soccer League. . . .

Call the Indianapolis Colts--who signed free agent wide receiver Flipper Anderson to a five-year, $8.5-million contract on his 30th birthday--anything but cheap. . . .

Poised Brad Otton probably has a slight edge over strong- armed Kyle Wachholz in the duel for the USC starting quarterback’s job as the Trojans open spring practice today at Howard Jones Field. . . .

If the Clippers win at least one of their remaining 22 games, they will avert equaling the franchise’s worst record, 12-70 in the 1986-87 season.