Angel Pitching, Not Seahawks, Gets the Shakes in the Kingdome

Is Greg Norman an Angels fan, or is it the other way around . . .

* To clear up any possible confusion, the Angels really did blow a 9-1 lead Monday night and lose to Seattle, 11-10. Many tuned in late and mistook Channel 9’s live telecast for a repeat presentation of the Angels’ 1995 highlight film.

* When Ken Behring sings his song about the Kingdome roof caving in some day, everybody laughs except the Angels.

* No truth to the rumor that Greg Norman has never attended an event at the Kingdome for fear of spontaneous combustion.

* No truth, either, to the rumor that the Angels’ new Disney-designed logo will be a shark.

* Quote from Marcel Lachemann, in the aftermath of Tank II: “We battled, but we just pitched very, very poorly, and I won’t stand for it. I don’t know what our options are, but I’m going to find out. I’m going to sit down with Chuck [Hernandez, Angel pitching coach] and Bill [Bavasi, general manager] and see what we need to do, because I can’t do that to this team. We fought too hard to let this happen.” Where have we heard this sort of sentiment before?

* Could it be this quote from Buck Rodgers, following a 9-5 Angel defeat at the Kingdome on the afternoon of May 15, 1994?: “You have to realize John Dopson [previously] has been released. Mark Leiter has been released. Joe Magrane has been released. And we’re trying to find spots for them on our club. We have to find a way to stay out of [these] situations . . . You’ve got to look at what we’ve got to start with. I would like, in a day or two, to make some decisions, depending on how our talks come out.”

* Those were among Rodgers’ final words as manager of the Angels--words that helped expedite Rodgers’ firing two days later. Lachemann, as of this writing, remains on the Angel payroll. Lesson to be learned: Griping about rotten pitching is permitted here. Just don’t name names.

* The way the Angels and the Dodgers have started this baseball season, there has never been a better time to start watching soccer. To put it another way: 69,255 Galaxy fans at the Rose Bowl on a mid-April Saturday night can’t be wrong, can they?

* The Galaxy’s Major League Soccer debut went head-to-head with Hideo Nomo and outdrew Nomo’s 17-strikeout performance by more than 23,000. It also outdrew any Rams or Angels game ever held at Anaheim Stadium. It also ended in half the time it takes the average major league baseball game to reach the seventh inning stretch.

* Other reasons: Ticket prices are reasonable--$17 for midfield, $14 adjacent to the penalty area. The World Cup broke many soccerphobes of their thought-to-be-genetic fear of flying headers. Demographics have changed since the demise of the NASL--the first AYSO generation did grow up and is now buying tickets. Hard-core soccer loyalists, miffed after years of mainstream media abuse and neglect, have finally turned activist. And, of course, there’s Jorge (The Human Party Favor) Campos, who plays goalie and striker--often at the same time.

* Campos, a superstar in his native Mexico and hugely popular in the Southern California Hispanic community, stands to be to the Galaxy what Fernando Valenzuela was to the Dodgers.

* Another good thing about soccer: In this sport, no one ever blows a 9-1 lead.

* Top Five Reasons The 1971-72 Lakers Lost The NBA Single-Season Record For Victories To The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls: Toronto Raptors. Vancouver Grizzlies. Minnesota Timberwolves. Dallas Mavericks. Los Angeles Clippers.

* Top Two Reasons The 1971-72 Lakers Would Beat The 1995-96 Bulls In A Best Of Seven (Or Nine, Or 11, Or 82) Game Series: Wilt Chamberlain. Luc Longley.

* I still say the 1995-96 Lakers can make a run at the Bulls in the finals. Assuming they can find five non-suspended players in time for Game 1.

* Had the Ducks made playoffs, they’d have done well to extend Detroit to five games. Their Stanley Cup debut would have been nothing more than a cameo--two more sellouts at The Pond and then, off to the beach. But without doing a thing during the offseason, the Ducks look like the third-best team in the Western Conference heading into 1996-97.

* That’s not to suggest the Ducks not do a thing during the offseason. Last summer’s lack of activity cost them, what? One point in the standings? Two? One more point and the Ducks are skating in Detroit tonight. Two more and the Pond is hosting Games 1 and 2 of the first round.

* As well as the Ducks finished, their 1993 expansion brethren, the Florida Panthers, did them one better--reaching the playoffs in their third season. “Yeah, but their philosophy is different than ours,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson says. “They went with more veteran guys in the expansion draft. Guys like [Brian] Skrudland, older guys who are good for a year or two, but eventually start to fade. You saw that this season. They started to fade, we made a trade and now we have two superstars. They can’t say they have one, except maybe [goaltender John] Vanbiesbrouck. We have two, and they’re both young. That’s going to be our white horse.”

* Two assistant coaches--gone. Kevin Simmons, second-team all-conference forward--gone. Brian Keefe, second-team all-conference guard--good as gone. UC Irvine hasn’t lost so many coaches and players since it dropped baseball. At this rate, will Rod Baker, the Big West Conference coach of the year, be a Big West Conference coach next year?

* Just a hunch, but I am firmly convinced the Angels will not blow an 11-game lead this season.