Notes on a Scorecard - March 20, 1995

Yeah, this is a different UCLA basketball team. . . .

The others this decade would have lost to Missouri at the buzzer rather than won. . . .

These Bruins find a way to win, even on rare days like Sunday when they get outworked. . . .

They let Missouri take too many uncontested three-point shots, didn’t crash the boards, and left the Boise State Pavilion with fewer floor burns than the Tigers. . . .

But the Pacific 10 Conference champions will live at least a few more days in the NCAA tournament because Tyus Edney--who reminds Coach Jim Harrick of Rickey Green, who used to be the fastest player in the NBA--raced coast-to-coast to score the game winner. . . .

It was the second victory for L.A. over Missouri this week, but much more exciting than the NFL vote in Phoenix. . . .

*

The Chicago Bulls’ new No. 45 didn’t remind me much of their old No. 23 Sunday. . . .

In a couple of weeks, though, he ought to be the spitting image. . . .

There is no reason why the world’s greatest basketball player--who has stayed in shape while playing another sport and is only 32--should not be able to regain peak form after missing 1 4/5 seasons. . . .

Jordan’s most impressive statistic on re-opening day was the 43 minutes he played during the overtime game against the Indiana Pacers. During his last full regular season, 1992-93, he averaged 39 minutes. . . .

He certainly knows how to steal the spotlight, having retired from the NBA during the baseball playoffs and un-retired during the NCAA basketball tournament. . . .

Jordan returned to the NBA in the same state, Indiana, where Mike Tyson will return to the general population on Saturday morning. . . .

CBS, which was showing tournament action, must have been thrilled when the Bull-Pacer game on NBC went into overtime. . . .

Chris Webber, who called a timeout that didn’t exist for Michigan against North Carolina in the NCAA championship game two years ago, ought to send Lawrence Moten of Syracuse a letter of sympathy. . . .

It was Moten who called a timeout the Orangemen didn’t have against Arkansas although the culprit was identified on TV as Lucious Jackson. . . .

Arizona’s first-round woes continue to baffle me because Lute Olson is an excellent coach and the Wildcats play a demanding nonconference schedule. . . .

Eddie Sutton had Oklahoma State extremely well prepared for Alabama. . . .

Anybody still think six Big Ten teams belonged in the tournament? . . .

I loved Western Kentucky Coach Matt Kilcullen yelling, “Believe!” at his players during their flurry of three-point baskets that couldn’t quite catch Kansas. . . .

Hope you switched from the Bull-Pacer game long enough to catch Georgetown’s last-second victory over Weber State. . . .

CBS did a good job of switching from site to site, although the third overtime of the Old Dominion-Villanova game Friday should have been shown in a corner of the screen during the UCLA-Florida International game. And that game should have been shown from the start in L.A. instead of being picked up when the Bruins were leading, 5-0. . . .

All four teams that participated in the inaugural John R. Wooden Classic last December at The Pond of Anaheim--top regional seeds UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky and second-seeded Massachusetts--are among the Sweet Sixteen. . . .

In his tournament TV commentary debut, George Raveling blended the proper amounts of analysis and humor. . . .

Seth Greenberg probably could almost double his Long Beach State salary at Nevada Las Vegas. . . .

*

Roy Jones Jr. got tremendous support from the hometown fans Saturday night in Pensacola, Fla., where about the only person not standing during most of the two minute, six-second fight was opponent Antoine Byrd. . . .

If I’m King Coach Barry Melrose or General Manager Sam McMaster, I can’t be very happy about the reports that my owner talked to Mike Milbury about my job. . . .

A luncheon honoring Dave Taylor has been rescheduled for April 10 at the Hotel Inter-Continental Downtown. . . .

The San Francisco 49ers’ offense will be less versatile if they don’t match the Philadelphia Eagles’ offer sheet for free agent running back Ricky Watters. . . .

Reader Steve Kloves says watching replacement baseball is like watching “Beatlemania.”