Notes on a Scorecard - July 4, 1995

I hated to see Dodger shortstop Jose Offerman named to the All-Star team on a day when he was leading the major leagues in errors. . . .

Shortstop is one position at which defense should mean more than offense. . . .

I applaud Offerman for the way he took his demotion to Albuquerque last season and the way he is hitting this season, but making him an All-Star when he has 18 errors is sending him the wrong message. . . .

This is the first time that closers from both the Angels and Dodgers--Lee Smith and Todd Worrell--have made All-Star rosters. . . .

The Dodgers’ five representatives in Arlington, Tex., on Tuesday will be two more than they had in the last three All-Star games combined. The Angels, who have four this year, also had only one a year since 1992. . . .

Look for improvement from Mike Piazza in the home run contest. . . .

Deion Sanders received nearly 200,000 more votes than Cincinnati Red teammate Reggie Sanders, who is among the National League leaders in home runs, batting average and runs batted in. . . .

The Disney influence will be felt at Anaheim Stadium tonight for the first time since the company’s purchase of a portion of the Angels. . . .

Disney characters will be featured in a half-hour show after the Angel-Toronto game and before the traditional fireworks. . . .

Rod Carew, the Angels’ batting coach, has had a lot to do with the two longest hitting streaks in team history--his 25-game streak and the 23-game streak by one of his pupils, Jim Edmonds. . . .

Colorado pitcher Bill Swift’s 5-0 lifetime record against the Dodgers is impressive, but consider this: St. Louis’ Larry Jaster was 5-0 against the National League champion Dodgers in 1966 and all five were shutouts. . . .

Jaster had a total of seven shutouts during his seven-year career. . . .

*

Tom Weiskopf never won any Mr. Congeniality awards on the PGA Tour, but a lot of people were delighted when he won the U.S. Senior Open. . . .

He has mellowed, and recently has been under the strain of his wife’s battle with cancer. . . .

British tennis fan talking about Greg Rusedski at a Santa Monica pub: “I never really did care for that Canadian.” . . .

Three UCLA athletes who won national team or individual titles--George Zidek, basketball; Jennifer Brundage, softball, and John Godina, shot put and discus--have been awarded NCAA postgraduate scholarships. . . .

Bruins have won 39 of the awards, putting them third in the nation behind USC and Air Force. . . .

Local newspaper handicappers might have been fooled--12 of 16 picked other horses--but Cigar’s victory in the $1-million Gold Cup didn’t surprise Hollywood Park bettors Sunday. . . .

A track record $377,880 was bet to win on Cigar, who went off as the 4-5 favorite. . . .

The Gold Cup is one of the most formful major races in the world. In 56 runnings, 27 have been won by favorites, a whopping 48.2%. . . .

Laffit Pincay III is working as an intern in the Hollywood Park press box. . . .

Six-foot-five Lennox Lewis, who stopped 5-9 Justin Fortune in the fourth round Sunday, should start picking on guys more his own size. . . .

Taylor John, the 13-year-old son of former major league pitcher Tommy John, will sing off-stage as the voice of the Redwood bear tonight during the Hollywood Bowl’s holiday program. . . .

Watching a Canadian Football League game on TV the other day, it struck me that Calgary and Memphis have pro football teams, but L.A. doesn’t. . . .

*

If Clipper draftee Brent Barry had played for an Atlantic Coast Conference contender instead of a Pacific-10 also-ran, he would have gone much higher than 15th in the first round. . . .

Vlade Divac scored only five points and fouled out, but did a good defensive job on Arvidas Sabonis during Yugoslavia’s 96-90 victory over Lithuania for the European title. . . .

Don Nelson, a three-time NBA coach of the year, will be an excellent choice by the New York Knicks to succeed Pat Riley. . . .

Nelson’s players at Golden State and Milwaukee overachieved most seasons. . . .

George Raveling, the former basketball coach who enjoys administrative work and owns a home in Scottsdale, Ariz., would be a natural for the job of athletic director at Arizona State. Charles Harris resigned recently and Christine K. Wilkinson will act as interim athletic director for a year.