Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 23, 1990

Some .250 hitter or .500 pitcher signing for $1.5 million a year bothers me more than Will Clark signing for $3.75 million a year. . . .

And who can begrudge Jim Everett, maybe the third-best quarterback in football, his mere $2.2 million a year? . . . .

John McEnroe’s expulsion from a Grand Slam event was about a decade overdue. . . .

Forum fans will find Tomas Sandstrom, the Kings’ new acquisition, to be unusually chippy for a player from Europe. . . .

Nearly all the old-timers who performed in the Heroes of Hockey game Saturday in Pittsburgh still didn’t wear helmets. . . .

When the Calgary Flames play to 13 ties in their first 50 games, you know the five-minute NHL overtime period isn’t long enough. . . .

Agent Gene Short is sizing up business opportunities for Kent Desormeaux at Santa Anita, meaning the record-setting jockey likely will switch operations from Maryland to Southern California. . . .

If Willie Shoemaker’s final mount at Santa Anita Feb. 3 is scratched, he will get his choice of any other horse in the race. . . .

It will be great for golf if Bob Hope Classic winner Peter Jacobsen, a favorite with fans and players, finally lives up to his potential. . . .

Remember when encroachment was offsides? . . . Jackie Sherrill’s contract at Texas A&M; must have been as lucrative as reported. He now is co-owner of a car dealership in suburban Houston. . . .

San Francisco 49er back Roger Craig on the Super Bowl: “Our backs will be against the wall.” . . .

In Las Vegas, you can get 5-1 odds on Denver winning the game. . . .

Blair Thomas’ strong showing in the Senior Bowl will help to make the Penn State running back a high first-round draft choice. . . .

The Dallas Cowboys were shut out three times last season and twice during the 29-year reign of Tom Landry. . . .

One reason USC Coach Larry Smith won’t take an NFL job is that he doesn’t follow the pro game closely. . . .

Highlight of Super Bowl weekend may be the UCLA-Oregon State basketball game Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

Oregon State star guard Gary Payton orally committed to St. John’s as a student at Skyline High in Oakland four years ago, but the Redmen backed out when they gave scholarships instead to Boo Harvey and Michael Porter. . . .

USC Coach George Raveling on Payton: “In my 15 years in the conference, no guard has done what he has. He’s carried his team.” . . .

LSU guard Chris Jackson said his all-time favorite movie is “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh,” starring Julius Erving. . . .

Jackson was held to 11 points Sunday by Alabama’s Keith Askins, who also stopped Mississippi star Gerald Glass last week and may be the Michael Cooper of the 1990s. . . .

Dick Vitale said last week the best coaching job in the country was being done by Billy Tubbs of Oklahoma, which promptly lost two games. . . .

If Bobby Cremins coached as well as he recruited, Georgia Tech would be a national contender every year. . . .

ESPN’s move of “Sportslook” from 11 p.m. to midnight was its worst programming decision since hiding “Home Run Derby” in the wee hours of the morning. . . .

Dan Dierdorf of ABC and Bob Trumpy of NBC should stick to football commentary and forget about boxing blow-by-blow. . . .

An average of 211.4 points is being scored in NBA games this season, down 10.2 points from five years ago. Is it defense or expansion? . . .

I still can’t get used to the sight of Manute Bol trying a three-point shot. . . .

Coach Larry Brown of the San Antonio Spurs covets New York Knick guard Rod Strickland, but would he be willing to give up Sean Elliott or Willie Anderson in a trade?. . . .

Dallas Maverick center James Donaldson, who was born in England, enjoys a spot of tea before tipoff. . . .

Only three NBA teams--the Lakers, Utah and Boston--have winning records on the road. . . .

Seattle might trade third baseman Jim Presley to Boston, allowing the Red Sox to deal Wade Boggs. . . .

Times staff writer Ross Newhan will be presented the Bob Hunter Award Feb. 11 at the 33rd annual awards banquet of the Los Angeles-Anaheim chapter of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America. The dinner will be held at the Hyatt-Regency Hotel in Long Beach. . . .

Yankee pitcher Tim Leary flashed midseason form Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium, where the UCLA Bruin alumnus struck out four of the seven varsity batters he faced. . . .

“The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money that’s in it--not for the love of it, the excitement of it and the thrill of it.” --Ty Cobb, 1925.