Notes on a Scorecard - July 19, 1990

Pete Rose, who is no menace to society, would do his country more good lecturing kids on the evils of compulsive gambling than he would serving a prison sentence. . . .

Easy Goer was a good race horse, but great only in the imagination of the New York media. . . .

Mike Port is overrating the Angels’ talent. . . .

The success or failure of Ozzie Canseco, Jose’s twin brother who was just called up from the minors, could determine whether Oakland makes a trade for Kirk Gibson. . . .

Isn’t it about time that somebody pitched a perfect game this summer? . . .

Hope you cut out the Minnesota-Boston box score Wednesday morning that included “TP--Minnesota 2.”. . . .

The Mets were funny in defeat. The Yankees aren’t. . . .

Milwaukee Brewer third baseman Gary Sheffield no longer is merely Dwight Gooden’s nephew. . . .

Raise your son to be a left-handed pitcher. There always will be plenty of work for him. . . .

George Steinbrenner comes off poorly in the transcript of his hearing with Commissioner Fay Vincent, but that’s no shock. . . .

Last season, Toronto traded for Mookie Wilson of the Mets. Now the Blue Jays are looking to make a deal for another National League center fielder, Willie McGee of St. Louis.. . .

Hitting three home runs in one game is fine, but I still want to see Bo Jackson sky-dive. . . .

In an off year, Wade Boggs ranks third in on-base percentage in the American League. . . . The National League may soon have its version of 6-foot-10 Seattle pitcher Randy Johnson. Leading reliever in the Texas League is 6-9 Terry Bross of the Mets’ Jackson, Miss., farm club. Bross used to play forward for the St. John’s basketball team. . . .

Steve Foster of Los Angeles writes that he’s seen fans in the stands make better bare-handed catches than Kevin Mitchell’s. . . .

Biggest secret in sports is the TeamTennis season. . . .

Power of the press: The British Open and Wimbledon became much hotter topics in this country early in the last decade when most major U.S. newspapers started sending reporters and columnists overseas every year to cover the two events. . . .

Stalwart Charger, expected to be an odds-on favorite in the $200,000 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park Sunday, may be developing into the best 3-year-old in the country. . . .

Timothy Busfield, co-star of ABC’s “Thirtysomething,” has bought some harness horses. One of the appeals of ownership is that you can put yourself in the driver’s seat for morning workouts. . . .

Three young American runners to watch in the Goodwill Games are Michael Johnson in the 200 meters, Joe Falcon in the 1,500 and Suzy Favor in the women’s 1,500. . . .

Tailback Mark Harper had an excellent junior season at Santa Monica High School, but was sidelined by a broken foot most of his senior year and went unrecruited. So, he will be looking for a college scholarship Saturday when he plays in the 14th annual L.A. Prep Senior Bowl at Long Beach Veteran’s Stadium. . . .

Thumbs up to UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis for returning Loyola Marymount to the Bruins’ basketball schedule, Dec. 2 at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez, who defends his World Boxing Council light-flyweight championship against Jung-Keun Lim of South Korea Monday night at the Forum, says he has no trouble making the 108-pound limit. He packs the wallop of a much bigger man but stands only 5-1. . . .

Don Chargin is close to signing a Tony Lopez-Jorge Paez Internatonal Boxing Federation junior-lightweight title bout for Sacramento in September. . . .

Luis Magana, long known as “Mr. Olympic Auditorium,” will be honored at a testimonial dinner on Aug. 19 at Steven’s Steak House in the City of Commerce. . . .

Wayne Gretzky vs. Mario Lemieux being the most glamorous matchup in hockey, the Kings will play five exhibition games against the Pittsburgh Penguins in September. . . .

Scott Williams, who wasn’t drafted out of North Carolina, is trying to earn a contract at the San Antonio Spurs’ rookie and free-agent camp. . . .

A physically sound Tim Brown will make the Raiders more dangerous this season. . . .

Training camp in Austin, Tex., won’t be a breeze for the Dallas Cowboys. . . .

I wonder if Greg LeMond exercises on a stationary bike.