Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 12, 1995

Gentlemen, start your Zambonis! . . .

Call me a member of the lunatic fringe, but I even had begun to miss icing, let alone Wayne Gretzky’s playmaking, Pavel Bure’s shotmaking and Patrick Roy’s goaltending. . . .

Will the 1995 Stanley Cup championship be tainted? Nah. The 1981 Dodgers are remembered as legitimate World Series champions and the 1982 Washington Redskins as legitimate Super Bowl champions despite strike-shortened regular seasons. . . .

It is a pity, though, that the owners staged the longest power play in NHL history. . . .

The two dominant units in the NFC and AFC championship games Sunday should be the San Francisco offense and the Pittsburgh defense. . . .

Thus, give edges to the 49ers over the Dallas Cowboys and the Steelers over the San Diego Chargers. . . .

If the decisions are close, they will reverse a trend. Five of the last AFC title games have been decided by at least 11 points and five of the last six NFC title games by at least 10 points. . . .

The most refreshing speaker at the Pacific 10 Conference preseason basketball media session was Kevin Eastman, the new Washington State coach. . . .

Eastman was candid, humorous and insightful. . . .

Apparently, he is a pretty good coach too, because Washington State is the early surprise of the conference race. . . .

Having beaten two nationally ranked teams, Stanford and California, last week in the Palouse, the Cougars are in town to play USC tonight at the Sports Arena and UCLA Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

Eastman spent the previous four seasons coaching at North Carolina Wilmington, where his center at one time was Matt Fish. . . .

USC sophomore forward Jaha Wilson is averaging 10.8 rebounds, which ranks 15th in the nation. No Trojan has been more prolific on the boards since Cliff Robinson in 1978-79. . . .

Jaha means “King of Warriors” in Swahili. . . .

UCLA is most effective when point guard Tyus Edney is at his best and controlling the tempo of the game. . . .

The Bruins have won 15 in a row over the Washington schools at Pauley. . . .

Jerry West says a conversation he had with Temple Coach John Chaney was crucial to the Lakers drafting Eddie Jones in the first round. . . .

“It was one of the most convincing talks I’ve ever had with a college coach,” West said. “John usually talks glowingly about his kids, but this was far beyond glowing.” . . .

Grant Hill is an exceptional rookie, but please explain to me why he has more All-Star game votes than Shaquille O’Neal. . . .

Track & Field News has selected Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Noureddine Morceli the male and female athletes of 1994. . . .

Joyner-Kersee will compete in the 50-meter dash and Julia Stamps, a 15-year-old from Santa Rosa regarded as America’s best middle-distance prospect since Mary Decker, in the high school mile at the Sunkist meet Feb. 11 at the Sports Arena. . . .

Apprentice Obed Sanchez, 19, who is campaigning at Santa Anita, is a cousin of World Boxing Assn. welterweight champion Felix Trinidad. . . .

Three stakes races will be run Saturday--the San Carlos, postponed from last Saturday, the San Fernando and the San Gorgonio. . . .

They are among 19 stakes at Santa Anita this meeting that begin with “San.” . . .

One of the finest college sports publicists ever, Roger Valdiserri, will retire in June as associate athletic director at Notre Dame. . . .

USC ranked 25th in the nation in home football attendance with an average of 58,538 and UCLA 28th at 51,396. Washington led the Pac-10 at 70,072, which was 13th highest. . . .

One of the reasons Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. wasn’t successful promoting boxing at the Grand Olympic was that a regular schedule never was developed. . . .

The new promoter, Peter Broudy, plans to operate once a month on the same day and at the same starting time. The question is whether he can stage the kind of fights that will bring crowds back to 18th and Grand. . . .

Common sense dictates that Cal Ripken Jr.’s streak of consecutive games played should not be considered ended if the baseball strike continues and replacements are employed. . . .

It’s big news these days when a prominent junior says he won’t make himself eligible for the NFL draft.