Don’t Clump Magic Bump With Van Exel, Rodman

Magic Johnson’s three-game suspension is fair. . . .

Johnson committed a stupid act Sunday at the Forum, but comparing what he did to what Nick Van Exel and Dennis Rodman did is like comparing bad apples and oranges. . . .

Here is a shaky vote for the record-setting Detroit Red Wings, whose wide-open style is not the best for playoff hockey, to win their first Stanley Cup since 1955. . . .

Dodger Stadium attendance is up nearly 5,000 a game from last season. The lack of an NFL team here might have a little to do with it. . . .

A couple of Chan Ho Park’s pitches were timed at 97 mph in his victory over the Florida Marlins last week. . . .

“Chan Ho’s stuff is as good as anybody’s in our organization,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “He has an outstanding fastball, a real good curveball, and a good changeup.” . . .

Fred Claire on Billy Ashley: “He’s relaxing and hitting a lot of balls straight away. He didn’t pull the ball that much at Albuquerque. A lot of his power was to the alleys in left-center and right-center.” . . .

Sweet taste of success: The San Diego Padres, off to their best start in years, are giving away candy to fans who stay for the entire game at Jack Murphy Stadium. . . .

Sports historian John Hall believes the gate sale for the UCLA-St. Mary’s football game on Nov. 17, 1945, at the Coliseum was even bigger than the approximately 35,000 for the Galaxy-New York/New Jersey soccer game Saturday night at the Coliseum. . . .

“They expected only 30,000 for UCLA-St. Mary’s,” Hall said. “But St. Mary’s had beaten USC at the Coliseum a couple of weeks earlier. The crowd was 92,000 and UCLA upset St. Mary’s, 13-7.” . . .

The name of the favorite for the Kentucky Derby is Unbridled’s Song, not Unbridled Song, as 90% of the people on TV and radio have been calling him. . . .

Unbridled’s Song and the probable second choice in the Derby, Skip Away, are gray horses. Only five grays or roans have won the Derby, most recently the filly Winning Colors in 1988. . . .

I’ll be rooting for Ski Dancer to win the San Simeon Handicap on Monday, closing day at Santa Anita. Ski Dancer will be the last horse saddled by Gary Jones before he retires at 51. . . .

Greer Garson, the actress who died last week, and her husband, Buddy Fogleson, owned Ack Ack, who won the Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup in 1971 when he was voted horse of the year. . . .

Cover boy on Hollywood Park’s pocket calendar is Cigar, who is scheduled to defend his Gold Cup title on June 30. . . .

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Since the shooting death of a sparring partner in a coffee shop at Toluca, Mexico, last week, Julio Cesar Chavez has moved training headquarters for his fight June 7 against Oscar De La Hoya to Caesars Tahoe. . . .

Moses Malone Jr., a guard from Houston who will be a high school senior next season, was impressive during a recent prep basketball tournament at Long Beach City College. . . .

When Greg White was hired by his alma mater, Marshall, he became the sixth former assistant to Jim Harrick at UCLA to become a head coach at a Division I school. The others: Lorenzo Romar at Pepperdine, Mark Gottfried at Murray State, Brad Holland at Cal State Fullerton and San Diego, Tony Fuller at San Diego State and Pepperdine, and Paul Landreaux at St. Mary’s. . . .

Three former UCLA golfers finished in the top 11 at the Masters--Duffy Waldorf tied for fifth, Corey Pavin tied for seventh and Scott McCarron tied for 10th. . . .

The Bruins’ top-ranked tennis team will play second-ranked Stanford at noon Saturday at the L.A. Tennis Center on campus. Admission is free. . . .

NFL Charities has contributed $250,000 to the construction of a day-care center in Oklahoma City to replace the facility that was destroyed in the bombing of the Federal Building. . . .

Sean LaChapelle, the former UCLA and L.A. Ram wide receiver, caught seven passes for 141 yards and a touchdown in Scotland’s overtime victory over London in the World League on Sunday and was voted player of the game. . . .

Jeff Williams of L.A. won the 200 meters in a sizzling 19.87 at the Penn Relays. He is scheduled to run the 100 meters in the Mt. SAC Relays, but sponsors would love to have him oppose Carl Lewis in the 200 on Sunday. . . .

While CBS was showing Greg (the Shark) Norman’s collapse in the Masters on Sunday, TNT was showing “Jaws.”