Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 16, 1996

The Kings should do everything possible to keep Wayne Gretzky. . . .

He is no longer the Great One, but it would be no exaggeration to call him the Very Good One. . . .

Gretzky, who will turn 35 on Jan. 26, probably has two or three more productive seasons left. Supposedly, the legs go first. That is no big thing with him because he never was fast. . . .

He is hockey in L.A.. . . .

Trading him would be a public relations blunder. . . .

Interest would dip all the way to where it used to be. . . .

If King executives are disappointed with attendance now, they will be jolted next season if Gretzky is not around. . . .

Gretzky, eligible for free agency after this season, has indicated it would take the addition of an offensive-minded defenseman and a 50-goal scorer to keep him in a silver-and-black uniform. . . .

It seems to me that the Kings had a couple of people who fit those descriptions--Paul Coffey and Luc Robitaille--but traded them away. . . .

Conceivably, the Kings could get value in exchange for Gretzky. Some young talent might make the future brighter. But history suggests that the Kings would find a way to screw up the deal.

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Pittsburgh and Dallas have met in two of the closest Super Bowls ever--Pittsburgh winning, 35-31, in 1979 and 21-17 in 1976--but nobody from either of those games will play on Jan. 28 in Tempe, Ariz. . . .

Too many defenders try to intercept balls on Hail Mary plays rather than simply bat them down. . . .

This is a recording. Instant replay review should be reinstated in the NFL. This is a recording. . . .

That was quite a sermon the Rev. Reggie White delivered to the Fox-TV cameraman who was shooting a close-up of him on the bench during the closing moments of Green Bay’s loss to the Cowboys. . . .

I still can’t figure out if Emmitt Smith makes the Dallas offensive line look better than it is or vice versa. . . .

It should not be forgotten that Jim Harbaugh, who had a career season, was terrific in defeat for the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game. . . .

The harshest rule in the NFL book might be the one that gives the receiving team the ball on its 40-yard line after a kickoff that goes out of bounds. The old five-yard penalty seemed more fair. . . .

Do you mean to tell me that Jimmy Johnson isn’t getting per diem from the Miami Dolphins? . . .

Some NFL team ought to give Tommie Frazier a chance to play quarterback. If he fails, then try him at running back. . . .

UCLA had three seniors drafted by the NBA--Ed O’Bannon, George Zidek and Tyus Edney. That might never happen again in college basketball because so many players leave school early. . . .

O’Bannon isn’t doing much with New Jersey, but you have to think that he would be more productive in a better environment. . . .

On the day that Kris Johnson, son of Marques, scored 36 points for UCLA, Washington guard Donald Watts, son of Slick Watts, played against Oregon guard Terik Brown, son of Fred “Downtown” Brown. . . .

Penn State’s basketball team might finish the season ranked higher than the football team. . . .

Thin Men Can Jump: Two of the most improved players in the nation are UCLA’s Johnson, who lost 45 pounds during the off-season, and USC center David Crouse, who dropped 25. . . .

Too bad that Clipper teammates Brent Barry and Stanley Roberts can’t exchange metabolisms. . . .

The Don Buford-Dennis Gilbert celebrity golf tournament, a benefit for the Los Angeles City College baseball program, will be Jan. 29 at Griffith Park’s Wilson course. . . .

Major league baseball ought to put the Arizona and Tampa Bay franchises in different leagues. That way there would be 15 teams in the American and 15 in the National and interleague play would be necessary to keep at least one team in each league from being idle every day. . . .

Interleague play is only about 50 years overdue. . . .

Dr. Robert Kerlan, Alan Rothenberg, Seth Greenberg and Brad Gilbert will be among those inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame at its fifth annual banquet Saturday at the Westside Jewish Community Center. . . .

The first race Sunday at Santa Anita was a modest claiming event, but trainer Bill Spawr and his assistants wore formal evening attire while celebrating in the winner’s circle. The name of their horse? Tuxedos Requested.