Notes on a Scorecard - April 27, 1995

The Lakers were outscored, outrebounded and out-assisted this season. . . .

But they finished with a 48-34 record. . . .

Go figure. . . .

It will be even more surprising if they finish with a winning record in the playoffs, which begin for them tonight at Tacoma, Wash. . . .

The prediction is Seattle, 3-1, in the best-of-five series. . . .

I’m giving more importance to Seattle’s 113-97 victory at the Forum last week than to the Lakers’ earlier 96-95, 128-121, 102-96 and 108-105 victories over the SuperSonics. . . In the other Western Conference series, it also seems safe to stick with the chalk: Utah over Houston, San Antonio over Denver, and Phoenix over Portland. . . .

In the Eastern Conference: Chicago over Charlotte, Orlando over Boston, New York over Cleveland, Indiana over Atlanta. . . .

Western semifinals: San Antonio over Seattle, Phoenix over Utah. . . .

Eastern semifinals: Orlando over Chicago, New York over Indiana. . . .

Western championship: San Antonio over Phoenix. . . .

Eastern championship: Orlando over New York. . . .

NBA finals: San Antonio over Orlando. . . .

This is David Robinson’s year. . . .

*

Horseplayers are getting a well-deserved three-day vacation between the end of Santa Anita’s meeting and the start of Hollywood Park’s. . . .

Hollywood Park’s 67-date spring schedule should get off to a fast start Friday night. Last year, the 13 night programs drew an average of 17,253 fans. The opening-day matinee attracted 14,559. . . .

Gary Stevens will begin his Inglewood campaign on May 7, a month earlier than anticipated. He is cutting short his stint in Hong Kong to ride Thunder Gulch in the Kentucky Derby and will be back home the next day. . . .

Three of the best performances on opening night in Florida were those of Dodger pitcher, fielder and hitter Ramon Martinez. . . .

It wasn’t long ago that many baseball people thought Martinez had lost his fastball and would never regain the form that made him a 20-game winner in 1990 at 22. . . .

After Raul Mondesi’s two-homer, four-RBI performance, teammate Eric Karros said, “He’s going to be the best player in the game.” . . .

Karros told me the same thing late in the 1993 season after Mondesi was called up from Albuquerque. . . .

I like the box in the upper left-hand corner of ESPN telecasts that provides pertinent information--score, inning, count, number of outs--in an unobtrusive manner. It’s even more effective than the one used by Fox TV for NFL telecasts. . . .

USC will get upgraded basketball practice facilities, moving from the cramped campus gym to the Sports Arena. There will be a Midnight Madness session at the Lyon Center. . . .

The Trojans’ Pacific 10 Southern Division-leading baseball team has been elevated to No. 5 in the nation by Baseball America and will close its conference home season with games against California on Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoons at Dedeaux Field. . . .

Westmont College tied an NAIA record for most hits, 31, in a 31-9 victory over Whittier last week. Grand Canyon holds the record for runs, 45. . . .

The Kings’ 5-1 victory over Detroit on Tuesday at the Forum was their most impressive of the season and showed what can happen when they perform with intensity for 60 minutes. . . .

The St. Louis Rams are expected to play their first three home games at Busch Stadium next season before opening the dome against the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 22. . . .

Finally, some good news for New York Jet fans. They will play only two teams, Miami and New England, that made the playoffs last season, and the schedule includes games against Jacksonville and Carolina. . . .

The Oscar De La Hoya-Rafael Ruelas weigh-in will be conducted during an ESPN fight card the night before their May 6 bout at Caesars Palace. . . .

Mike Tyson will do ringside analysis on the Showtime program Saturday that will be shown on tape delay at 11 p.m. and feature Vincent Pettway’s defense of the International Boxing Federation light-middleweight title against Simon Brown. . . .

In its monthly newsletter, the World Boxing Council says about Tyson’s rating as the No. 1 heavyweight contender: “The WBC has always been in the corner of the boxers of the world, and once against shows its absolute support of Mike.”