Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 13, 1995

What a shock! The NBA players, who voted to ratify a six-year contract and not decertify their union, might actually have learned something from the major league baseball strike and NHL lockout. . . .

If the National League West race ends in a tie, there will be a one-game playoff on Oct. 2, the day after the regular season concludes. . . .

In that case, a coin flip will determine the home team. . . .

Of course, the importance of such a playoff will be magnified if the Dodgers or Colorado Rockies haven’t already qualified as a wild card. . . .

If they have, the playoff winner will play Cincinnati in the first round and the loser Atlanta, assuming the Braves finish with the best record in the league. . . .

The cliche role model fits Tim Wallach. . . .

Callers to Cleveland’s Jacobs Field are greeted, “Central Division champion Indians.” . . .

Before Tuesday’s games, Cleveland had a 25-game lead in the division. The American League record for biggest winning margin in a league or division race is 20 games by the Chicago White Sox in 1983. The major league record is 27 1/2 games by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1902. . . .

If Edgar Martinez played in New York, instead of Seattle, he would be getting a lot of consideration for American League most valuable player. . . .

An ESPN commercial featuring Detroit Tiger slugger Cecil Fielder was shot at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, where Fielder has never played. . . .

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Negotiations have begun for a George Foreman-Michael Moorer rematch at Madison Square Garden on March 8, the 25th anniversary of the first Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali fight. . . .

Corporate sponsorship might be needed to meet Foreman’s asking price. . . .

Tracy Harris Patterson is out as Oscar De La Hoya’s opponent Dec. 15 at the Garden and Lamar Murphy is the probable foe. . . .

Instead, Patterson will defend his International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight title against Arturo Gatti, the winner to face World Boxing Council champion Gabriel Ruelas in a unification match. . . .

Hector (Macho) Camacho will make his L.A. debut Sept. 28 against Tony Rodriguez at the Grand Olympic. . . .

Look-alikes: Dodger pitcher John Cummings and golfer Scott Hoch. . . .

UCLA and USC will play their next three home games on the same dates--the Bruins vs. Oregon on Saturday, Fresno State on Sept. 30, and Arizona on Oct. 14 at the Rose Bowl, and the Trojans vs. Houston, Arizona State and Washington State at the Coliseum. . . .

After the football games on Oct. 14, the UCLA and USC basketball teams will have their first midnight madness practice sessions, the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion and the Trojans at Lyon Center at 12:01 a.m. . . .

USC’s No. 6 ranking in the Associated Press is its highest since 1990. . . .

The Trojans have been approached by officials of the Kickoff Classic about the possibility of playing in the game next year at the Meadowlands. . . .

California may be having second thoughts about the contract extension it gave Coach Keith Gilbertson through the 1998 season. . . .

Hot or cold, win or lose, Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre is among the most exciting performers in the league. . . .

Circle Nov. 12 on your calender--San Francisco at Dallas. . . .

Where are they now: Bo Kimble will play on a team featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar against the Harlem Globetrotters in a 12-games series in Europe. . . .

Cigar hasn’t raced in nine weeks, but shouldn’t have much trouble extending his winning streak to 10 in the Woodward Stakes Saturday at Belmont Park. . . .

Most jockey suspensions are unfair. A fine would be a more realistic penalty. . . .

The Pomona Invitational Handicap--the biggest race of the L.A. County Fair meeting that opens Thursday--has been renamed in memory of former Fairplex president Ralph M. Hinds. . . .

Kenyans swept the first eight places in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Grand Prix finals Saturday at Monaco. . . .

Three decades ago, how unlikely would it have seemed that the Bears and Cubs both would be playing on a Monday night in Chicago in 1995?