Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 26, 1995

The best all-California matchup anywhere this week figures to be UCLA vs. Stanford tonight at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

For sure, the point-guard duel of the Bruins’ Tyus Edney against the Cardinal’s Brevin Knight will be worth the price of admission to the sellout crowd. . . .

The Sports Arena, scene of the USC-California game tonight, might not be the pit that, say, Cal State Northridge’s Matador Gym is, but California has lost three in a row to the Trojans, who are 52-9 at home since the start of the 1991-92 season. . . .

All-time series record: USC 106, Cal 105. . . .

Arkansas, 4-3 in the Southeastern Conference, may turn out to be the flop of the season. Remember, the Razorbacks have all five starters back from their national championship team. I wonder if Nolan Richardson still believes he isn’t getting enough respect from the media. . . . Most shocking statistic of the season: Indiana had only one free throw in the first half Tuesday night during the loss to Michigan that ended the Hoosiers’ 50-game winning streak at Assembly Hall. Usually, the officials are a lot kinder to the home team in Bloomington, Ind. . . .

North Carolina sophomore center Rasheed Wallace probably will be picked first in the NBA draft if he decides to skip his last two seasons of eligibility, but there is no clear-cut leader for national player of the year. . . .

Of the top 30 scorers in the nation, only Shawn Respert of Michigan State plays for a team ranked in the top 10 by Associated Press. . . .

Bobby Ross did quite well the first time he had two weeks to prepare for a specific opponent this season. . . .

The Chargers beat Kansas City at San Diego, 20-6, on Oct. 9 after a bye. . . .

San Francisco had a gimme after its bye, defeating the Redskins at Washington, 37-22, on Nov. 6. . . .

Average score of the last 10 Super Bowls: NFC 37, AFC 15. . . .

Charger tackle Stan Brock is impressed with quarterback Stan Humphries. “He eats more pizza than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Brock said. . . .

Super Dave Osborne--who will induct Deacon Jones, Eric Dickerson, Joe Kapp and Daryle Lamonica into his Walk of Fame on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on the USA Network--says, “I’m too close to both teams to make a prediction on the Super Bowl. I just hope Montana has a good game.” . . .

If you want to pace yourself Sunday, the Phoenix Open on ESPN might be preferable to the two-hour pregame hype show on ABC. . . .

The surest way for the Chargers to upset the 49ers would be to control the ball, but they rushed for only 56 yards in 22 carries during their 38-15 loss to San Francisco Dec. 11 at San Diego. Natrone Means was held to 50 yards and a 2.7 average. . . .

San Francisco linebacker Ken Norton and Charger rookie offensive lineman Vaughn Parker will be the 17th and 18th former UCLA players to suit up on Super Sunday in the last three years. . . .

Mike Gillespie will try to win his 300th game as USC’s baseball coach Tuesday against Cal State Northridge at Dedeaux Field. . . .

Two Trojans, shortstop Gabe Alvarez and outfielder Geoff Jenkins, are ranked among the top 10 college prospects in the country by Baseball America. . . .

Although replacement players won’t be used, tickets at Dedeaux Field are being slashed from $5 to $4. . . .

The longest-running monthly fight-club shows in the country begin their 11th year tonight at the Irvine Marriott. . . .

A potential scene stealer from the Ruelas brothers Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas is Konstantin Tszyu. A native of Russia now living in Australia, he will challenge Jake (the Snake) Rodriguez for the International Boxing Federation junior-welterweight title. . . .

Rookie Brett Lindros of the New York Islanders can’t score like his brother Eric of the Philadelphia Flyers, but he might be even more physical. . . .

Perhaps never has more heart been shown by both sides in a tennis match than by Pete Sampras and Jim Courier during their 3-hour 58-minute classic in the Australian Open. . . .

The most remarkable achievement in the career of Chris Evert, voted unanimously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, might have been reaching at least the semifinals of 52 of the 56 grand slam events she played. . . .

A permanent box in the upper left corner of the screen keeping the score and time of basketball games would be even more effective than the one Fox TV uses for football. After all, there are a lot more score changes in basketball. . . .

If Dennis Rodman had any imagination, he would show up for work one night wearing black hair.