Don’t Assume Anything: Are You Listening, Oscar?

The high points, low points and ticklish talking points for the weekend that was:

Not many things, but some important, powerful things, you could count on in this sports world.

You could bank on Oscar De La Hoya winning a big decision in Las Vegas, no matter how damaged he emerged.

You could believe that, even in a major down cycle, the Pacific 10 Conference was due for some kind of revival.

You could assume that the Raiders, Lions and Chiefs all stunk; you could rely on the Broncos, Packers, 49ers and Vikings to start strong.

Until this weekend. Then the storm blew through and chaos prevailed.

* After home losses to Stanford and New Mexico State, respectively (but totally unrespectably), Arizona and Arizona State, once the presumed leaders of the Pac-10, have collapsed and are assumed comatose.

* Over a few head-spinning hours, the Raiders held together against Minnesota, the Lions stuck together against Green Bay, the Chiefs joined together against the Broncos and the Saints almost got it together in San Francisco.

* And in the most topsy-turvy surprise of all, De La Hoya, for the first time, failed to meet the magic of the moment in front of judges usually committed to giving him the benefit of the doubt.

De La Hoya can be excused if he doesn’t appreciate the irony: More than two years ago, he was given a more controversial decision over Pernell Whitaker, who frittered away the final rounds as De La Hoya did against Felix Trinidad. Jerry Roth judged both fights, scoring for the aggressor each time. De La Hoya assumed his star power and style meant that he could beat Trinidad without mixing it up with the bigger, stronger fighter. And nobody seemed more stunned by the decision than De La Hoya.

But on this stormy weekend, maybe as a way to humble us all, the sure bets were off, and now it’s time for everybody to start over.

THE BIG PICTURE / Paus and Think, Mike Shanahan

When so many of his peers live play-to-play, UCLA Coach Bob Toledo displayed cool perspective and a subtle hand.

In a similar situation (filling the void of a superstar), Toledo did with Cory Paus and Drew Bennett what Denver Coach Mike Shanahan did not have the patience to do with Brian Griese and Bubby Brister.

At the start of this season, two things were clear: Paus had the talent to get it deep to Freddie Mitchell and Danny Farmer, but not the seasoning; and after waiting behind McNown, Bennett deserved a chance at the big job.

You didn’t want Paus to wander into Ohio Stadium as an overmatched redshirt freshman starter. And you didn’t want to ruin Bennett’s spirit by skipping over him right to Paus.

So, Toledo, with a host of two-game suspensions to withstand, addressed the Boise State-Ohio State opening weeks as a semi-preseason, which gave Bennett two starts to win the job and Paus the chance to work his way into big-time college quarterbacking as a part-timer.

The result? On schedule, Paus stepped into his first start against Fresno State and immediately enlivened the downfield UCLA attack. When Paus was knocked out of the game, Bennett was confident enough and tested enough to lead the Bruins and save the victory, and he is calm enough to ensure solid play if Paus can’t play Saturday against Oregon.

And in Denver? It’s a long Bronco wait for Griese to get up to NFL speed, or scrounge around with a bitter Brister.

WEEKEND TALKING POINTS

1. Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi: Public canoodling yields Grand Slam coverage in all four majors--”Entertainment Tonight,” “Access Hollywood,” the New York Post and the National Enquirer.

2. Sammy Sosa hits 60-plus again: And if he can only do it, oh, about 15 more times, eventually, he’ll lead the Cubs into the Series.

3. The Ryder Cup: Let’s hope it comes down to Tiger vs. Sergio, both teams lining the green, sweating bullets. Let’s hope there’s at least one quirky controversy. Basically, just like the last three or four.

4. Don King and Bob Arum negotiate De La Hoya-Trinidad rematch: Bob, I’ll bet you $1 million D.K. makes this one a little bit more difficult. Oscar, how do you like San Juan in the spring?

5. UCLA at Stanford on Saturday: Higher-scoring than the two schools’ next basketball game?

6. Mark Grudzielanek, Eric Young, Eric Karros: Would be fine together in the Dodger lineup if National League allowed three DHs.

7. USC receivers R. Jay Soward and Kareem Kelly: In Soward’s senior season, he’s far less dependable than a true freshman. ABC’s Bob Griese slammed Soward after his one-hand half-effort that led to an interception-return touchdown.

8. Trojan linebacker Markus Steele: There’s at least one Pac-10 defensive player who can make plays all over the field.

9. Detroit Lions, 2-0 without Barry Sanders: Rest of Lions will retire if he comes back.

10. Bob Davie’s Notre Dame coaching career: In serious jeopardy so soon after signing a two-year extension? Well, the clock does seem to run out faster for him.

TEN YEARS FROM NOW . . .

What we’ll remember about this weekend . . . is that at this watershed point of De La Hoya’s career, his instincts against a true power hitter were more Hector Camacho than Sugar Ray Leonard.

This is not entirely bad--he knows better than anyone when he’s up against somebody who can hurt him.

But De La Hoya has lost something since he fired trainer Emanuel Steward--he doesn’t have dynamite in his hands anymore, and he’ll need to find some in the Trinidad rematch, whether it’s in two months, or two years.

To keep climbing, to move into special territory, De La Hoya needs to regain confidence in both his chin and fists and remember that he is battling for a place in history, not another commercial spot.