Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 14, 1995

Oscar De La Hoya, who has hardly stirred a breeze at the box office in his hometown of Los Angeles, is taking New York by storm. . . .

More than 14,000 tickets have been sold for his bout against James Leija on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, and there is the possibility of a 19,600-seat sellout for the first boxing show there in nearly three years. . . .

In contrast, De La Hoya drew only 2,900 and 1,600 for two fights at the Grand Olympic. . . .

Among the spectators will be Julio Cesar Chavez. If De La Hoya wins as expected on HBO, he and Chavez will be co-featured on a doubleheader Feb. 9. And then, should everything go according to plan, they will meet in May. . . .

The ring Friday will be the same one that has been used at four different Madison Square Gardens since 1925. . . .

It has been gathering dust, but another fight, the George Foreman-Michael Moorer rematch, is about to be signed for the Garden. It is scheduled for Feb. 29, nine days before the 25th anniversary of the first Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali bout. . . .

On the Foreman-Moorer undercard will be Butterbean against Peter McNeeley. . . .

McNeeley is infamous for his 89-second loss to Mike Tyson, who should get a slightly tougher and longer workout from Buster Mathis Jr. Saturday on Fox. . . .

Mathis can’t break a cracked egg but has some defensive skills. . . .

A few publications listed Archie Moore’s birthday Tuesday as his 79th, but, according to old Ring Record books, he turned 82. If so, the former light-heavyweight champion was 49 when he fought the last of his 231 professional bouts. . . .

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For the first time in his NBA coaching career, Pat Riley is without a superstar for an extended period of time. . . .

Minus Alonzo Mourning, who is on the disabled list, Riley’s Miami Heat lost, 105-80, to Golden State on Tuesday. Exactly how cold the Heat has become will be determined tonight when it plays the Clippers, losers of nine in a row, at the Sports Arena. . . .

Northwestern will arrive in Southern California on Sunday, unusually early for a Big Ten team preparing for a Rose Bowl game. . . .

The Wildcats won’t miss any classes, though, and will miss the frigid Chicago weather. . . .

Most USC practices will be on campus at Howard Jones Field, but there are three this week at the Coliseum and a walk-through at the Rose Bowl on Dec. 31. . . .

There ought to be an asterisk besides Isaac Bruce’s new Ram single-season pass receiving yardage record. It took Bruce 14 games to get his 1,503 yards. It took Elroy (Crazy Legs) Hirsch 12 games to get his 1,495 in 1951 when NFL teams played a 12-game schedule. . . .

USC basketball Coach Charlie Parker is happy with the improvement in performance and attitude that center Avondre Jones is showing after a year at junior college. . . .

“He had a high temperature before the UNLV game Sunday,” Parker said. “Before, he wouldn’t have played. Instead, he got 12 rebounds, nine points, and five blocked shots. But we still haven’t seen the true Avondre. He will have stretches when he’ll be one of the best inside players in the nation.” . . .

Jones ranks seventh in the nation in blocked shots with a 4.3 average. UCLA’s Jelani McCoy is fifth at 4.7. . . .

Oregon, picked to finish eighth in the Pacific 10 Conference by the media, is 4-1 in nonconference games and averaging 101.2 points. . . .

Bluechip Illustrated ranks Arizona’s early basketball recruiting class second in the nation behind Syracuse’s. . . .

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The L.A. Galaxy of Major League Soccer will have open tryouts Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Registration will begin at 7 a.m. at section H. . . .

The NCAA had an unallocated surplus of $24 million for the 1994-95 fiscal year. . . .

I wish Craig Biggio finally would make up his mind. . . .

Most vocal twosome at the first Lexus Challenge, hosted by Raymond Floyd on Friday and Saturday at the Citrus course at La Quinta, figures to be Lee Trevino and Jimmy Connors. . . .

The only Forum in the NHL will be in Inglewood starting March 16 when the Canadiens move into the new Molson Center in Montreal. . . .

I just received my fifth annual Christmas card from UCLA football fans John and Linda Gunn and Allen and Kevin Jerkens, this time with “24-20” on the blue-and-gold cover. . . .

Have you set your VCR to Channel 4 yet for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games?