Notes on a Scorecard - July 13, 1995

The surest way for the major leagues to increase attendance the second half of the season would be to get a labor contract signed. . . .

It is difficult to get excited about divisional races when there is no guarantee that there will be league playoffs and a World Series. . . .

Another strike or a lockout would be suicidal, but, remember, this is baseball and anything is possible. . . .

Are you ready for Nakashima-mania? Tony Nakashima, a left-handed pitcher who is 1-0 for the Dodgers’ Great Falls, Mont., farm club in the Pioneer League, is of Japanese heritage but was born and raised in Brazil. His native tongue is Portuguese. . . .

Untimely hitting: The Dodgers rank seventh in the National League in team batting and eighth in home runs, but 13th in runs scored. . . .

Dodger reject Tom Goodwin, the Kansas City center fielder, is leading the American League in stolen bases. . . .

Angels Tony Phillips and Jim Edmonds rank 1-3 in the AL in the most overlooked offensive category, runs scored. . . .

The New York Yankees’ No. 8 was retired twice on the same day in 1972 in honor of Hall of Fame catchers Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. . . .

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Dave King is a candidate to become the first NHL coach to have the same name as his team. At least, I don’t think there have been any coaches named Maple Leaf, Devil, Canadien, Red Wing, Canuck, Blackhawk, Islander, Lightning, Mighty Duck, etc. . . .

It’s too bad that the Kings’ financial problems cost them any chance to hire Larry Robinson. . . .

I’m glad the Stanley Cup champion Devils, who averaged close to 17,000 last season, apparently are staying in New Jersey. . . .

However, it can’t be too long before that hotbed of hockey, Nashville, lands an NHL franchise. . . .

Los Angeles Blades forward Vaclav Nedomansky Jr. will play the national anthem on an electric guitar before the Blades’ Roller Hockey International game against Phoenix on Sunday night at the Forum. . . .

It is fitting that Chris Evert, who was one of a kind, will be the only person inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Sunday at Newport, R.I. . . .

Boris Becker should spend more time working on his own game and less worrying about Andre Agassi’s center-court schedule at Wimbledon. . . .

Among the speakers at “Breaking Through as a Sports Agent,” a seminar July 22-23 at Harrah’s Las Vegas, will be agent Dennis Gilbert, attorney Robert Shapiro and basketball Coach Jerry Tarkanian. . . .

Tarkanian’s topic will be “Athletics, Agents and the NCAA.” . . .

For the record: One of the golfers who finished behind Tiger Woods in the Western Open was Vijay Singh. . . .

Playing spots are still available for the third annual Maury Wills charity golf tournament July 27 at the Montebello Country Club. . . .

Sandy Shulman, who lost the Hollywood Park training title to Ron McAnally on the final day last year, is in a stretch duel this year with Bobby Frankel. . . .

I’m still waiting for the ESPN commentators to explain the rules and strategy of the Tour de France bicycle race. . . .

Big little man: Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez, who defends his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation light-flyweight titles against Saman Sorjaturong of Thailand on Saturday at the Forum, has drawn the two biggest crowds in Forum Boxing Inc. history. . . .

Gonzalez was the headliner on the March card at The Pond of Anaheim that attracted 12,479 and beat Michael Carbajal in a rematch before 10,333 at the Forum in 1994. Not bad for a guy who weighs 108 pounds or less for title fights. . . .

Dario Victor Galindez, the middleweight from Argentina who boxes Lonnie Bradley on the Forum card, didn’t lace on a glove until he was 19. That was nine years after the death of his father, Victor, the former light-heavyweight champion who didn’t want his son to fight. . . .

Mike Tyson’s handlers say he weighs 219 pounds five weeks before his comeback bout against Peter McNeeley. There were reports that Tyson weighed as little as 185 during his prison stay in Indiana and as much as 250 pounds before each of his last five fights. . . .

The HBO heavyweight tournament is a good idea, but it would need the cooperation of several promoters, meaning it probably won’t come off. . . .

When the United States’ 1-0 loss to Bolivia in the America Cup soccer tournament on South American soil is considered an upset, it shows how much progress we’ve made in the sport.