Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 20, 1990

It wasn’t fancy, but the kind of efficient football the Raiders played Monday night could bring them back to the state of Florida in January for the Super Bowl. . . .

When you’ve got Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson, why not keep the ball on the ground? . . .

Maybe Reggie Roby should lend Dan Marino his wristwatch so the Dolphins can get their plays off on time. . . . The 1990 season is Exhibit A that there should be a major college football tournament to determine the national champion. . . .

Polls are too unscientific. I mean, what makes Colorado better than Miami, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame or half a dozen others? After all, the Buffaloes needed a fifth down to beat Missouri. . . .

Bowls aren’t much better. Before Thanksgiving, plans for New Year’s Day are made. The Orange and Sugar bowls got what they deserved--losses by Notre Dame and Virginia on Saturday. . . .

Just imagine the excitement and television ratings the NCAA playoffs would generate in this wide-open season. . . .

The clock ran for five extra seconds while USC was celebrating in the end zone after Johnnie Morton’s game-winning touchdown against UCLA. There should have been 21 seconds remaining instead of 16. . . .

The USC-Notre Dame game Saturday in the Coliseum has been sold out since August. . . .

Tommy Maddox may have the quickest, strongest delivery in the Pac-10 since John Elway. . . . UCLA lost five conference games by an average of 4.4 points. . . .

If Pacific’s Troy Kopp passed for 515 yards and six touchdowns against Utah State, what is Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer going to do to the Aggies Saturday in Provo?. . . .

Newest excuse for pouring it on was offered by Houston Coach John Jenkins after David Klingler threw 11 touchdown passes against Eastern Washington: “Nolan Ryan takes so many throws in a ballgame and a quarterback needs to have so many plays a game.” . . .

I guess Joe Paterno hasn’t lost it, after all. . . .

All those empty seats at Veterans Stadium didn’t stop George Allen and Cal State Long Beach from going 6-0 at home this season. . . .

Did anyone notice that San Francisco clinched a tie for the NFC West championship with six weeks left? . . .

The next great running back in the NFL, which needs one, could be Emmitt Smith of Dallas. . . .

Last season’s AFC finalists, Denver and Cleveland, are a combined 5-15. . . .

Overstatement of the weekend: CBS commentator Terry Bradshaw said that Steve DeBerg of Kansas City was one of the best quarterbacks in the league. . . .

What ever happened to the Three Amigos? . . .

In its hockey preview, Sports Illustrated might have been off by 20 spots by saying it wasn’t out of the question that the Kings would finish last in the NHL. . . .

Calgary forward Doug Gilmore will portray Peter Revson in a movie about the late auto racing driver. . . .

In Nevada, the Darryl Strawberries have been established as favorites to win the National League pennant. . . .

The Angels may try to package Devon White in a deal with the Yankees for Steve Sax. . . .

Dave Righetti tells intimates that he’s down to two teams and one of them isn’t the Giants. Could they be the Dodgers and Yankees? . . .

Blame Ron Shelton for the minor league-major league dispute. If the writer-director’s “Bull Durham” hadn’t been such a smash hit, the minor league boom might never have happened. Or was it those dreadful prime-time TV re-runs that drove people back to ballparks? . . .

Manager Howard Storm says heavyweights, the only boxers who don’t have to make a contracted weight, should be fined half their purse for coming in more than five pounds heavier than their averages for the past five fights. . . .

Thumbs down on the Virginia Slims Championships for making Monica Seles and Gabriela Sabatini play a best-of-five set and stay on the court for 3 hours 47 minutes Sunday in Madison Square Garden. . . .

Lead paragraph for Sunday night’s debacle at the Sports Arena: “Despite Shawn Kemp’s 11 points, the Seattle SuperSonics lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 78-65.” . . .

Laffit Pincay is to collarbones what E.J. Holub was to knees.