Notes on a Scorecard - April 4, 1995

For weeks, Tyus Edney wouldn’t let the UCLA Bruins lose. . . .

Monday night, the UCLA Bruins wouldn’t let Tyus Edney lose. . . .

Beating defending champion Arkansas without their quarterback, Edney, ranks as the most remarkable of the Bruins’ 11 NCAA championship game victories. . . .

I feel happiest for the coach, Jim Harrick, a gracious winner who no longer will have the words much-maligned attached to his name. . . .

Ed O’Bannon did what a player of the year is supposed to when the title is on the line....

And how do you think Bruin opponents feel about the prospect of facing Toby Bailey for two or three more years? . . .

Nobody worked harder than George Zidek. . . .

Cameron Dollar is a money player. . . .

As good a shooting team as UCLA is, defense was the best part of the Bruins’ game Monday and for most of the season. . . .

UCLA is a superbly conditioned team, but it never hurts your stamina to have eight three-minute TV timeouts during a game. . . .

It didn’t look good for the Bruins when they committed five turnovers in their first 10 possessions. . . .

Edney, who logged 2 minutes 37 seconds Monday, didn’t play at all because of flu Feb. 2 at the Sports Arena, where the Bruins rallied to defeat USC, 73-69. . . .

The Pacific 10 Conference, which hadn’t won the NCAA title in 20 years and had only two teams reach the Final Four the previous 14 years, sure needed this. . . .

Just about every year, we are reminded that John Wooden’s record of seven consecutive NCAA titles never will be threatened. . . .

*

Among the best-kept secrets in town during March--and April--madness has been the continued success of the Lakers. . . .

They’re playing so well that they beat Orlando on Sunday at the Forum despite getting only two points from Vlade Divac. Cedric Ceballos outscored Shaquille O’Neal, 33-27. Of course, it didn’t hurt the Lakers’ cause that Anfernee Hardaway was out of the Magic lineup. . . .

Do you think Michael Jordan will get some votes as NBA comeback player of the year? . . .

The third-place Boston Celtics trail the second-place New York Knicks by 18 1/2 games in the Atlantic Division. . . .

Next year’s Final Four will be at the New Jersey Meadowlands, but, unfortunately, then will come at least six in a row at domes--Indianapolis in 1997, San Antonio in 1998, St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1999; Indianapolis again in 2000, Minneapolis in 2001 and Atlanta in 2002. . . .

Some of the most enthusiastic basketball players I’ve seen this season participated in the NCAA women’s tournament. . . .

Those last two Davis Cup matches in Italy after the United States had clinched the victory reminded me of those meaningless old NCAA tournament consolation games. . . .

Well, they should have been meaningless, but many outstanding-player voters were swayed by Princeton forward Bill Bradley’s record 58 points against Wichita State in the 1965 third-place game. . . .

Bradley won the award over UCLA guard Gail Goodrich, who scored only 42 during the Bruins’ victory over Michigan for the championship. . . .

USC assistant coach Jack Fertig would make an excellent choice to fill the head-coaching vacancy at either Cal State Fullerton or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. . . .

Whoever selected Monday as Dave Taylor Night at the Forum must not be a basketball fan. . . .

Chances are that Saturday will be a pleasant day. The last 37 Santa Anita Derbies have been run on fast tracks. . . .

As a senior golfer, Jack Nicklaus’ version of the Masters is the Tradition. . . .

It will be nice to have major league baseball back, but I would feel much better about it if the owners had promised not to lock out the players during the season and the players had promised not to strike. . . .

About the only thing wrong with a 144-game season is that the chance of any single-season records being broken is minuscule. . . .

However, there are enough games on the schedule for Cal Ripken Jr. to break Lou Gehrig’s streak of consecutive games played. . . .

The players, who are loyal to the union, are not due an apology from Tom Lasorda for his being loyal to the Dodgers. . . .

If you’re the San Diego Padres, how do you know which replacement team to send home? . . .

Mike Piazza has pledged $100 for every home run he hits this season to the unions representing the ushers, ticket takers, concession workers and parking cashiers at Dodger Stadium.