Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 21, 1996

Defending NCAA baseball champion Cal State Fullerton has picked up where it left off. . . .

The Titans are 9-1, each of the games against opponents ranked in the top 25. . . .

On Friday through Sunday, they will host the Anaheim Hilton & Towers Classic that is shaping up as one of the most attractive regular-season college baseball tournaments ever. . . .

The four teams in the round-robin event--Fullerton, USC, Florida State and Oklahoma--have a combined record of 29-4. . . .

The final game at 5 p.m. on Sunday will be a rematch of the Titans’ 11-5 victory over the Trojans for the NCAA championship last year at Omaha. . . .

Mark Kotsay, the Titan outfielder-pitcher who won the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s outstanding amateur player, is batting .425 with seven home runs, 18 runs batted in and a 1.000 slugging percentage. . . .

He is Mr. Clutch. . . .

Kotsay’s home run in the seventh inning at Pepperdine gave Fullerton a 5-4 victory. . . .

His two-run homer was the difference in a 6-5 victory over Fresno State. . . .

His bases-loaded, two-run, two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning capped the rally that brought the Titans a 9-8 victory over Arizona after they once trailed, 8-2. . . .

Oh yes, he also has pitched one perfect inning in relief.

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Thumbs up to Pepperdine for hiring Lorenzo Romar as head basketball coach. . . .

The UCLA assistant coach is an excellent teacher and recruiter who might be able to bring back the success the Wave program enjoyed during the Jim Harrick and Tom Asbury eras. . . .

USC interim coach Henry Bibby was a starting guard on the UCLA national championship team that handed the Trojans their only two defeats during the 1970-71 regular season. . . .

The USC star was guard Paul Westphal, who might return to campus next season as permanent head coach. . . .

The Trojans will play the Bruins at the Sports Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. Early birds can catch the USC men’s volleyball team against top-ranked Hawaii at 4 p.m. at the north gym on campus. . . .

The way Georgetown handled Connecticut, you’ve got to give the Hoyas a legitimate chance to reach the Final Four. . . .

Whether the Clippers trade for an established player or keep their lottery pick might depend on the availability of a point guard in the draft. . . .

Fitting the bill could be Allen Iverson if the flashy Georgetown sophomore decides to leave school early. . . .

What makes Charles Barkley’s 10,013 rebounds so remarkable is that Barkley is listed at 6 feet 6 and might be two inches shorter. . . .

The Oakland Raiders didn’t have much depth in the offensive line even before tackle Greg Skrepenak signed with the Carolina Panthers. . . .

New England Patriot assistant coach Bill Belichick and actress Dana Delaney were schoolmates in high school and college. . . .

The Packers aren’t the only successful team in Green Bay. Wisconsin Green Bay is 21-2 and ranked 25th in the Associated Press basketball poll. . . .

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Butterbean was stopped in his last fight but remains so popular that the 310-pound former Tough Man champion will make another appearance on “The Tonight Show” on Friday before returning to the ring on Sunday on an ESPN2 card at Arizona Charlie’s in Las Vegas. . . .

The funny thing is that the publicist for Butterbean and George Foreman, Bill Caplan, is heavier than either of them. At his last weigh-in, Caplan scaled 312. . . .

Harry Coyle, who died Sunday at 74, worked the first World Series telecast in 1947 and was the best baseball TV director of his time. . . .

“He encouraged an entire group of young directors,” Al Michaels said. “He was a compassionate man, and what helped to make him so great was his love of the game.”. . . .

Among NFL franchises claiming they need a new stadium to remain competitive are the San Francisco 49ers. . . .

For $35 million, the least Deion Sanders can do for the Dallas Cowboys is concentrate on football. . . .

News item: Shawn Bradley, 7-6, scores 27 points and limits Gheorghe Muresan, 7-7, to 12 during the New Jersey Nets’ win over the Washington Bullets. Reaction: Bradley usually does his best work against taller men.