Notes on a Scorecard - April 26, 1995

News item: Darryl Strawberry receives an unexpectedly light sentence for federal tax evasion. Reaction: It must have been his exemplary lifestyle that swayed the judge. . . .

Poor Darryl will be confined to his $1.2 million home in Rancho Mirage for six months except, of course, when he is playing baseball or undergoing drug rehab. . . .

You can be sure that he will be in uniform on June 24, the day he is eligible to return to the major leagues after his 60-day suspension for testing positive for cocaine. . . .

The performance of shortstop Jose Offerman--who got three hits and was flawless in the field on opening night after a humbling stay in the minor leagues last season--will be among the keys to the Dodger season. . . .

What I’ll remember most about former Dodger Bob Welch, who was released by the Oakland A’s, is his striking out the New York Yankees’ Reggie Jackson in the ninth inning of the second game of the 1978 World Series. . . .

Tension mounted as Jackson fouled off pitch after pitch against the 21-year-old rookie, and when Mr. October finally struck out, the crowd response was the most enthusiastic at Dodger Stadium until Kirk Gibson’s home run that beat the A’s in Game 1 of the 1988 Series. . . .

The annual Pacific Coast League reunion will be May 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Carson Civic Center. Admission is free, and the event will feature a player panel of former Hollywood Stars, San Diego Padres and Sacramento Solons and a slide show on old Wrigley Field and Gilmore Field in Los Angeles and Lane Field in San Diego. . . .

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UCLA lost a good one when assistant basketball coach Mark Gottfried got the head coaching job at Murray State. . . .

The Bruins will have a difficult intersectional schedule next season, but it was that kind of preparation that helped them win the NCAA title this season. . . .

Midnight madness is a possibility for October at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

At least one Southern California team, Anaheim, is hustling every night as though an NHL playoff berth is very important to it. . . .

What makes the United States’ 2-0 record in the World Hockey Championships in Sweden surprising is that the team is without NHL players, was put together last week, and didn’t play any warm-up games. . . .

The Lakers’ Vlade Divac and the Clippers’ Loy Vaught have improved their scoring averages every year, Divac for six consecutive seasons and Vaught for five. . . .

Whatever happened to those plans for a downtown sports arena that were supposed to have been announced weeks ago? . . .

Santa Anita is blaming the rain for decreases in attendance and handle at the meeting that ended Monday, but a continued decline in the quality of racing was also responsible. . . .

There are too many small fields at every track in the state and it will only get worse unless the racing calendar is shortened. . . .

Long Beach State will hold the first Big West Conference baseball tournament at Blair Field May 12-14 and the conference track and field meet at the 49er track May 12-13. . . .

UCLA will send several athletes, including its men’s 400-meter relay team that is ranked fourth in the nation, to the 100th Penn Relays this weekend. . . .

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Angelo Dundee was quoted in the Washington Post on the late Howard Cosell, Muhammad Ali and boxing: “The worst disease in any sport is silence. With Muhammad and Howard, there was never any silence. Everybody was always talking about the fights. It was a lot different than it is now.” . . .

Mark Johnson, the flyweight who keeps winning at the Forum, would be a formidable opponent for newly crowned International Boxing Federation champion Danny Romero. . . .

A German newspaper said the decision handed George Foreman over Axel Schulz prevented what would have been the “greatest surprise in heavyweight history.” Not according to Las Vegas oddsmakers. Foreman was a 7-1 favorite over Schulz, but Mike Tyson was a 42-1 favorite over Buster Douglas. . . .

Telegram from Art Aragon: “If George Foreman won that fight I was robbed in my fight with Carmen Basilio.” . . .

Foreman’s next title defense will be in July and won’t be in Germany. . . .

St. Louis Ram publicist Rick Smith on draft choice Jesse James: “Our people think getting him with our second pick on the second round was highway robbery and that he could be the steal of the draft.”