Notes on a Scorecard - Dec. 19, 1995

Every week, I miss the Raiders and Rams even less. . . .

Oakland has lost five in a row after starting 8-2. . . .

St. Louis has lost eight of 11 after starting 4-0. . . .

All the light-hearted speculation about the Rams and Raiders meeting in the Super Bowl ended long ago. The Rams will sit out the playoffs again. The Raiders might, too. . . .

The Rams’ collapse is understandable. The talent isn’t there. Even 7-9 would be a marked improvement over 4-12 the year before. . . .

But the Raiders? . . .

Underachievers again. . . .

So much for those of us who believed that the coaching switch from Art Shell to Mike White automatically would turn them into AFC contenders or even champions. . . .

They will have to beat Denver on Sunday at Oakland to equal last season’s 9-7 record. . . .

The low-key White apparently isn’t much of a motivator. . . .

Something goes wrong and his players quit. . . .

They appeared to be going through the motions as early as the first quarter Sunday night at Seattle, where the aroused Seahawks humiliated them, 44-10. . . .

Another injury to quarterback Jeff Hostetler can’t be used as an excuse. The Raiders were trailing, 34-3, when Hostetler departed early in the third quarter. . . .

At least, we’ve got two college teams that made it to postseason play. . . .

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Safest prediction of the bowl season--a lame-duck coach will win the Aloha. . . .

The Howard Schnellenberger era at Oklahoma lasted 16 years fewer than the Bud Wilkinson era. . . .

The Grand Pappy of Them All: Northwestern won the Big Ten title in 1936 under Coach Pappy Waldorf--and beat the Waldorf-coached California Bears, 20-14, in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1949. . . .

A rookie, Ray Rhodes of Philadelphia, wouldn’t be a bad choice for NFL coach of the year. . . .

The funny thing about the Eagles is that they are 10-5, but have been outscored, 318-304. . . .

The so-called Heisman Trophy jinx might apply to quarterbacks, but not running backs. . . .

Rashaan Salaam, who scored three touchdowns and ran for 134 yards in Chicago’s victory over Tampa Bay Sunday, is having a fine rookie season. . . .

Before Salaam, there were Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson, Mike Rozier, Herschel Walker and Marcus Allen. . . .

The last six Heisman-winning quarterbacks have been Charlie Ward, Gino Torretta, Ty Detmer, Andre Ware, Vinny Testaverde, and Doug Flutie. . . .

You can compare three of the Pacific-10 Conference’s best basketball teams during a tripleheader on TV Saturday: California-Illinois, 10 a.m., Channel 2; UCLA-Nevada Las Vegas, Channel 2, noon; Arizona-Syracuse, ESPN, 2 p.m.. . . .

What a difference there is between NFL expansion teams Carolina and Jacksonville--and, for that matter, NBA expansion teams Toronto and Vancouver. . . .

No list of candidates for sportsman of the year would be complete without Mario Lemieux, who is leading the NHL scoring race after missing the 1994-95 season because of cancer-related problems. . . .

Detroit Red Wing goalie Chris Osgood, one of the best in the league, is virtually being ignored in the All-Star game balloting. . . .

Martin Panza, Hollywood Park’s creative racing secretary, has carded a seniors’ race for Thursday. Claimers seven and older will compete in the Senior Tour. Fans 62 and older will be admitted free for all nine races. . . .

Hot trainer Jay Robbins is a brother of Hollywood Park President Don Robbins, and Santa Anita and Del Mar executive Tom Robbins. . . .

Tickets for the Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno bout March 16 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas are overpriced at $1,000 to $200. But what boxing shows aren’t overpriced? . . .

There is a women’s pole vault record--Emma George of Australia cleared 14-0 1/2 on Sunday. However, the event won’t be on the 1996 Olympic Games program. . . .

Pat Riley isn’t likely to get a standing ovation tonight when he is introduced as the Miami coach before the Heat-New York Knick game at Madison Square Garden. . . .

I had the pleasure of working with Al Stump, who died last week, at the old L.A. Herald Examiner. He told a million stories, all of them fascinating. His best writing was done for magazines, newspapers and books on the life of Ty Cobb. Robert Wuhl portrayed Stump in the motion picture “Cobb,” and those who knew Al can spot him in a scene sitting at a bar.