Notes on a Scorecard - Aug. 24, 1995

The Milwaukee Brewers, with a payroll of $14 million, have a better record than the New York Yankees, with a payroll of $55 million. . . .

Is it the genius of Bud Selig or the stupidity of George Steinbrenner? . . .

Yes, the Angels miss Gary DiSarcina. Going into Wednesday night’s game, they were 10-9 since the injury to their good-hit, good-field shortstop. When he went down, they were 56-34. . . .

On “Turn Back The Clock Night” at Anaheim Stadium Saturday, the Angels and Baltimore Orioles will wear replicas of their 1961 uniforms. The Angels were born that year and beat the Orioles on opening day at Baltimore. . . .

A pregame motorcade will feature Fred Lynn, Clyde Wright, Doug DeCinces, Mike Witt and Bo Belinsky. But why not any of the original Angels? . . .

In his first season, Lee Smith has moved to eighth place on the Angel career save list. . . .

I wouldn’t be surprised if the left side of the Dodger infield looked like this next season: Chad Fonville at shortstop and Jose Offerman at third base. . . .

Cancer claimed New York Yankee greats Mickey Mantle at 63, Babe Ruth at 53 and Roger Maris at 51. . . .

News item: Future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn sets single-season high with 73rd run batted in. Reaction: Don’t snicker. The personal best of another great hitter, Wade Boggs, is only 89 RBI and Gwynn has plenty of games left this year. . . .

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John Jackson Jr., son of the Forum Boxing Inc. vice president, is batting .286 in the Pacific Coast League. He was traded this season from the Angel organization to Minnesota and switched from Vancouver to Salt Lake City. It is the former USC wide receiver’s third season as a full-time, minor league outfielder after a three-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. . . .

Half the division leaders--the Angels, Boston and Atlanta--have better records on the road than at home. . . .

Jeff Tarango should be able to afford to pay his more than $60,000 in fines. He has earned $232,392 in prize money on the tennis tour this year and that is just a portion of what he makes from the sport. . . .

On Tuesday, Don King said, “I respect Bob Arum.” . . .

On Wednesday, Bob Arum said: “On some levels, I respect Don King. He’s a very innovative and clever guy, but would you want him to handle your money?” . . .

The question now is whether Arum’s heavyweight, George Foreman, will ever get into the ring with King’s heavyweight, Mike Tyson. . . .

“I got a call from an emissary of King’s,” Arum said Wednesday in Los Angeles. “The emissary said King wanted to meet with me as soon as I got back to Las Vegas.” . . .

The topic of the meeting would be a Tyson-Foreman bout for, say, next March. . . .

“George is 100% sure he can beat Tyson,” Arum said. “Tyson is very confident too. I think King is the one who’s scared that his guy might lose.” . . .

Arum has proposed that each fighter be guaranteed $15 million with an additional $50 million or more going to the winner. . . .

Arum and King have co-promoted three shows--Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran I and a doubleheader featuring Tyson and Foreman. . . .

Tyson is expected to fight Buster Mathis Jr., son of the former heavyweight contender, on Nov. 4 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. . . .

Tyson already has knocked out Marvis Frazier, son of former champion Joe Frazier, and won by disqualification over Peter McNeeley, son of former challenger Tom McNeeley. . . .

So how about Tracy Patterson, the adopted son of former champion Floyd Patterson, as an opponent? Oh, I almost forgot, Patterson, a lightweight, is scheduled to box Oscar De La Hoya Dec. 15 at Madison Square Garden. . . .

Good news: James (Bonecrusher) Smith, 42, is retiring. Bad news: Joe Bugner, 45, is coming out of retirement. . . .

The Pacific 10 Conference won nine NCAA team titles in 1994-95, compared to four each for the runners-up Big East, Big Eight and Southeastern Conferences. . . .

Better late than never: Paul Robeson and Jim Brown will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame Saturday at its new location, South Bend, Ind. . . .

One thing I like about the Trojan schedule is that there are no byes--except for those against San Jose State and Houston.