Notes on a Scorecard - April 13, 1995

To those who never believed that the St. Louis Rams would move to Southern California, Wednesday’s decision by the NFL was hardly surprising. . . .

Among the winners are Raider fans, who should be able to watch their favorite team in a state-of-the-art stadium in Inglewood by 1997. . . .

Also, look for UCLA to move from the Rose Bowl to the new stadium. . . .

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Who is Donald Fehr to say Tom Lasorda has acted in ways detrimental to baseball?. . . .

Lasorda--who committed the unpardonable sin of remaining loyal to his 46-year employer, the Dodgers, during the strike--creates more goodwill for his sport in an hour than Fehr has in his life. . . .

Baseball has neglected the fans terribly, but the Angels will salute them on opening night April 26 at Anaheim Stadium. . . .

Season-ticket holders for each of the franchise’s 35 years will throw out first balls before the game against the Detroit Tigers. . . .

About 30 are expected to share the honor. . . .

The Angels’ first home game was at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles on April 27, 1961, when only 11,931 saw the Minnesota Twins win, 4-2. . . .

Also to be recognized on opening night will be many of the original Angel beat writers--Ross Newhan, then of the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Dan Hafner of the L.A. Examiner, Bud Furillo of the L.A. Herald-Express, John Hall of the L.A. Mirror-News and Bud Tucker of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. . . .

Belated happy birthday to USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, who turned 51 Wednesday. . . .

This will be the 30th anniversary of Garrett’s Heisman Trophy season, the first ever by a Trojan. . . .

Remember Florida International? Baseball America ranks the Golden Panthers No. 21 in the nation. . . .

Keith McCants, the defensive end signed as a free agent by the Rams, was the fourth choice overall in the 1990 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. . . .

The Chicago Bears are among those impressed by the NFL potential of former USC quarterback Rob Johnson. . . .

You realize what kind of defense the Washington Redskins had last year when they release their leading tackler, linebacker Andre Collins. . . .

Bee El Tee, who will run in the California Derby Saturday at Golden Gate, is named not for the sandwich, but for Larry Lewis’ sons, Bret, Elliot and Timmy. . . .

Bee El Tee cost owner-trainer Craig Lewis $4,500 at the same bankruptcy sale at which he purchased Larry The Legend for $2,500. . . .

Asked the amount of the offers for Larry The Legend that he has rejected, Lewis said: “I’d rather not say. My colleagues say I’m mentally incapacitated, and I’d rather not prove it.”. . . .

The field in the women’s 1,500 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays Saturday includes Rhodes Scholar Becky Speies from Villanova and Livermore, Ca. . . .

There used to be the Coliseum Relays and the Compton Invitational and later some Al Franken-promoted extravaganzas, but now Mt. SAC is the only major outdoor meet in Southern California. . . .

The Detroit Red Wings not only have allowed the fewest goals in the NHL this season, they’ve scored the third most. . . .

Beware the Vancouver Canucks. . . .

Tiebreaker: USC and UCLA are tied, 73-73, in their men’s tennis rivalry that will be resumed Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Marks Stadium on the Trojan campus. . . .

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I give Dallas’ Jason Kidd a slight edge over Milwaukee’s Glenn Robinson and Detroit’s Grant Hill, in that order, for NBA rookie of the year with the Lakers’ Eddie Jones not too far behind. . . .

Kidd isn’t supposed to be a scorer, but he had 38 points and was eight for 12 on three-point attempts in the vastly improved Mavericks’ double overtime victory at Houston on Tuesday. The former California point guard has three triple-doubles in his last five games. . . .

After reporting late, Robinson has helped his team contend for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, and he outscored Hill, 30-25, during the Bucks’ overtime victory over the Pistons. . . .

Lloyd Daniels was waived Tuesday, but he contributed more to the Lakers than expected during his brief stint. . . .

The Orlando Magic shot 60% from the field and 52.4% from the free-throw line during a 107-90 victory over Cleveland. . . .

Is it my imagination or have there been more illegal defense calls this season? . . .

So Mike Tyson is going to buy a home in Las Vegas for $3.7 million and has purchased five BMWs. His spending habits sure have changed since last month. . . .

If instant-replay is good enough for the O.J. Simpson trial, why not the NFL?