Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 13, 1995

This is civil war week in the Southland, where the beat goes on without the NFL. . . .

Tonight: Kings vs. Mighty Ducks at The Pond of Anaheim. Saturday: USC vs. UCLA at the Coliseum. Sunday: Lakers vs. Clippers at the Forum. . . .

The hottest professional team around is Anaheim, which has won six of its last seven games after dropping eight of its first 10. . . .

Last year at this time, there weren’t enough NHL games. The league was shut down because of the lockout. Now there might be too many games. The Kings are playing three in four nights. What’s the rush? I mean, the regular season doesn’t end until April 14. . . .

John Robinson’s goals when he became USC football coach for the second time in 1993 were to win a national championship, get to the Rose Bowl, beat Notre Dame, and beat UCLA. . . .

One down and three to go. . . .

“It’s a start,” Robinson said after the 28-10 victory over Oregon State at Corvallis that brought the Trojans their first Pacific 10 Conference title since 1989. . . .

Which New Year’s Day game would get a higher TV rating, USC vs. Ohio State or USC vs. Northwestern? . . .

Biggest no brainer in many a season is the selection of Northwestern’s Gary Barnett as coach of the year. . . .

If California dismisses Keith Gilbertson, look for Green Bay Packer quarterbacks coach Steve Mariucci to replace him. . . .

Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier, who is dueling Ohio State tailback Eddie George for the Heisman Trophy, gained more yards rushing than passing during the Cornhuskers’ 41-3 victory over Kansas. . . .

Consider yourself a diehard college football fan if you got up at 7 Saturday morning to catch the opening kickoff of the Williams-Amherst game on ESPN2 and watched the entire 0-0 tie between the Ephs and Lord Jeffs. . . .

However, those who prefer higher-scoring games must have switched channels after a couple of hours to Michigan’s 5-0 victory over Purdue on ESPN. . . .

*

How ‘bout them Cowboys? . . .

Honesty award of the month is presented to Dallas guard Nate Newton, who said he was hoping Steve Young wouldn’t play for San Francisco on Sunday because it would make the Cowboys’ job easier. . . .

In other words, no “we want to beat them at their best” stuff. . . .

Maybe Newton and his teammates became overconfident when they saw Elvis Grbac line up over center and Young put on the headset. . . .

The 49ers didn’t take the crowd out of the game. Instead, they never let the crowd in the game. . . .

It was 14-0 before the first commercial break. . . .

The Oakland Raiders have their best record after 10 games since 1977 when they were also 8-2. . . .

I still don’t think the Raiders throw the ball enough to Rocket Ismail. . . .

Six more victories in a row and Detroit Lion Coach Wayne Fontes’ job should be safe. . . .

I guess what the St. Louis Rams really needed to feel at home was a roof over their heads. . . .

Best celebration: Safety LeRoy Butler threw not the ball, but himself into the stands at Lambeau Field after Green Bay’s 35-28 victory over Chicago. . . .

Seattle Seahawk wide receiver-kick returner Joey Galloway is one of the most exciting rookies in years. . . .

Now that they have the single-best record in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs ought to get some respect. . . .

Is it just my imagination or doesn’t Fox give enough updates on other NFL games? . . .

*

The postponement of the Mike Tyson-Buster Mathis Jr. fight didn’t do much for the box office at the Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield bout. Paid attendance at Caesars Palace on Nov. 4 was a disappointing 8,504 and the gate $4,407,000. . . .

The crowd of 34,220 for the California Cup on Saturday at Santa Anita was only 3,026 less than that for the Breeders’ Cup at Belmont Park in New York two weeks earlier. . . .

Buck Showalter will be the first major league manager to go unbeaten--and winless--for two seasons. That’s because the Arizona Diamondbacks won’t begin play until 1998. . . .

Now that the Pac-10 football championship has been decided, here is how sportswriters believe the basketball race will finish: 1. UCLA, 2. Stanford, 3. Arizona, 4. Washington State, 5. California, 6. Arizona State, 7. Washington, 8. Oregon, 9. USC, 10. Oregon State.