Notes on a Scorecard - March 13, 1995

If UCLA gets caught looking past Florida International and ahead to the Indiana-Missouri winner, the Bruins might be embarrassed again and win their opening NCAA tournament game by only 25 points. . . .

Toughest regional: Midwest. . . .

Weakest regional: East. . . .

Best first-round matchup: Alabama vs. Penn. . . .

Worst first-round matchup: UCLA vs. Florida International. . . .

Most deserving team that didn’t get a bid: George Washington. . . .

Least deserving at-large team that got a bid: Manhattan. . . .

Will underdogs have a better chance than usual to reach the Final Four in Seattle because it will be played on April Fools’ Day? . . .

On an emotional Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion, what warmed hearts the most was the long embrace between Ed O’Bannon and Tony Spino, the UCLA trainer who has been instrumental in O’Bannon’s recovery from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered five years ago. . . .

Thumbs up to Jim Harrick, who took brutal criticism from alumni, fans and media in past years much better than most coaches would have and refuses to gloat this season. . . .

Kentucky’s comeback victory over Arkansas in overtime for the Southeastern Conference tournament championship was as exciting a game as I’ve seen all season. . . .

USC (2-7) didn’t have the worst home record in the Pacific 10 Conference this season. California was 1-8. . . .

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The only good thing about the baseball strike is that it probably will be responsible for Michael Jordan returning to basketball a year or two early. . . .

Think the Bulls could have used Jordan--even after only a few basketball workouts--against the Lakers on Saturday night in Chicago? . . .

It was nice to see that the Orlando Magic finally clinched a playoff berth last week. . . .

The Kings’ first back-to-back victories in 52 games were accomplished without a single point from Wayne Gretzky or Jari Kurri. . . .

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The unsung hero of the Santa Anita Handicap was track superintendent Steve Wood. . . .

Despite the latest in a series of rainstorms that reached its peak Friday night, the track condition Saturday was labeled as fast and Urgent Request’s time of 1:59 1/5 equaled the fifth fastest ever for the Big ‘Cap. . . .

Urgent Request’s owner, Stewart Aitken of Scotland, wagered $90,000 of the $167,298 bet on his horse to win and $30,000 of the $39,510 bet on him to show. . . .

His bet lowered the win odds from 9-1 to 5-2, and Urgent Request eventually went off at 3-1. . . .

Aitken’s profit was $294,000, but he could have made nearly that much with a considerably smaller bet that wouldn’t have lowered the odds so drastically. However, who’s to argue with the gambling strategy of a casino owner? . . .

An early candidate for sportswoman of the year is Picabo Street, whose five downhill victories on the World Cup ski circuit this season are more than any other U.S. woman has won in a career. . . .

Riddick Bowe was sluggish Saturday night in Las Vegas. That’s probably why he knocked down Herbie Hide only seven times in six rounds. I don’t want to imply that Hide can’t take a punch, but his knees buckled once after Bowe threw a left jab. . . .

Bowe appeared to be in better shape than usual, but was easy to hit. . . .

If his Indiana prison gets HBO, Mike Tyson can’t be scared by any heavyweight he has seen the past couple of years on the tube. . . .

Dr. Bernhart Schwartz, who was a ringside physician at boxing matches in California for 47 years, died recently at 81. . . .

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NCAA tournament predictions--Thriving 32: Texas, Maryland, Cincinnati, Connecticut, UCLA, Indiana, Mississippi State, Utah, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma State, Illinois, Villanova, Stanford, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Brigham Young, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Georgetown, Michigan State, Florida, North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan, Arizona, Virginia, Louisville, Purdue, Syracuse, Arkansas. . . .

Sweet Sixteen: UCLA, Utah, Maryland, Connecticut, Wake Forest, Pennsylvania, Villanova, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Georgetown, North Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, Louisville, Arkansas. . . .

Elite Eight: UCLA, Maryland, Wake Forest, Villanova, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Arkansas. . . .

Final Four: UCLA, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Arkansas. . . .

Last Two: UCLA, Arkansas. . . .

Champion: UCLA.