Notes on a Scorecard - March 14, 1996

It is extremely difficult to sympathize with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf when he is making $2.6 million a year and being treated like a hero in a country whose flag he says is “a symbol of oppression, of tyranny.” . . .

I almost thought Bill Walton was back in a Portland uniform Tuesday night at the Forum. . . .

But the Trail Blazer center who scored 25 points in 24 minutes, got fastbreaks going with some nifty outlet passes and grabbed the key rebounds in their 105-99 victory over the Lakers was 31-year-old rookie Arvydas Sabonis. . . .

There is no telling how good Sabonis would be if he had signed with Portland in 1986 after being drafted in the first round, 24th overall. . . .

Instead, he played through the 1988-89 season for a club team in his native Lithuania and from 1990 to ’95 in the Spanish League. . . .

He led the Soviet Union to the gold medal in the 1988 Olympic Games and the first-ever Lithuania team to the bronze in 1992. . . .

“What you just saw was no fluke,” Portland Coach P.J. Carlesimo said after Sabonis’ performance. “His statistics per minute are outstanding. You’d be hearing a lot more about him if our record was better. He can do so many things. He can pass, rebound, has a good shooting touch inside and outside, and is a better-than-adequate defender. He makes our other players on the floor better.” . . .

At 7 feet 3 and 292 pounds, Sabonis is almost graceful. . . .

But it’s too bad we couldn’t have seen him in the NBA when he was several years younger, 50 pounds lighter, and even more mobile before twice rupturing his Achilles’ tendon. . . .

Before the game, Laker Coach Del Harris was describing the value of Magic Johnson in games against teams with losing records. . . .

“Great players help you not to get beaten by teams that, quote unquote, you ought to beat,” Harris said. “Sidney Moncrief was the same way in Milwaukee. Magic saved us one night against Dallas here when we were dying. He helped us a lot too in a game at Sacramento. He helps to make sure that everyone plays hard.” . . .

Then, on an off-night, the Lakers went out and didn’t show much moxie against the Trail Blazers. . . .

Average attendance at the Forum before Magic’s return was 14,439. Since then, it is 17,204. . . .

I was surprised that the announced attendance for the 76er-Toronto game at Philadelphia was as high as 8,066. . . .

Even more shocking was Philadelphia’s 22-for-23, 95.7% shooting from the free-throw line. . . .

For the first time in his seven-year NBA career, Vlade Divac’s scoring average will show a decline from the previous season. . . .

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All five players on the Associated Press All-American first team are from schools in the eastern time zone--Marcus Camby of Massachusetts, Tim Duncan of Wake Forest, Ray Allen of Connecticut, Allen Iverson of Georgetown and Kerry Kittles of Villanova. . . .

The all-time NCAA tournament scoring leader is Christian Laettner, who had 407 points in 23 games for Duke. Austin Carr, who averaged 41.3 in seven games for Notre Dame, is the points-per-game leader. . . .

If you have any complaints about the starting times of the tournament games, tell CBS, which determines them. . . .

Look for Mike Tyson to stop Frank Bruno in the fifth round on Saturday in a repeat of their first fight seven years ago. . . .

It’s appropriate that Buster Douglas, who turns 36 next month, will launch a comeback attempt on a card featuring a bout between those up-and-coming prospects, Roberto Duran and Hector Camacho. . . .

Tom Lasorda and Jim Hill have been named co-chairmen of the 11th annual Cedars-Sinai Sports Spectacular on June 23 at the Century Plaza. . . .

An international field will compete in the Mobil St. Patrick’s Day 10K Run for the Blind on Sunday morning in Torrance. . . .

The Detroit Red Wings need 10 victories in their last 15 games to break the NHL season record of 60 set by the Montreal Canadiens in 1976-77. That season lasted only 80 games, compared to 82 now, and there was no overtime. . . .

Somebody forgot to tell Washington Capital goaltender Jim Carey about the sophomore jinx. . . .

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There have been few, if any, competitors in the NFL more fierce than Ronnie Lott. . . .

Lott deserves a Hall of Fame berth in 2001, the first year that he will be eligible. . . .

After some team gets jobbed again in the NFL playoffs next season, there will be regrets that instant-replay wasn’t reinstated. . . .

Maybe the Angels should save some of those Cactus League game victories for the American League season, particularly the last couple of months.