Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 8, 1996

Indianapolis’ upset victory over Kansas City on Sunday ruined the chance of two quarterbacks from the same school--Steve Bono and Troy Aikman from UCLA--starting in a Super Bowl for the first time. . . .

Of course, Bono was so bad that he was pulled by Coach Marty Schottenheimer with four minutes remaining before substitute Rich Gannon led the Chiefs downfield to set up another miss by field-goal kicker Lin Elliott. . . .

Coach Ted Marchibroda had the Colts well prepared, but if they had lost he would have been second-guessed for ordering a long field-goal attempt instead of a short first-down try late in the game. . . .

Please, don’t even suggest that Deion Sanders is the reason why Dallas is in the NFC championship game and San Francisco isn’t. . . .

The Cowboys were going to win, anyway, but the suspense evaporated when injured Eagle quarterback Rodney Peete left early in the second quarter. . . .

Underachiever of the decade: Randall Cunningham. . . .

If Aikman bought presents for the Cowboys’ offensive linemen, then the Green Bay Packer offensive linemen ought to buy presents for Brett Favre. . . .

It took only one play Saturday--Pittsburgh wide receiver Ernie Mills’ touchdown catch that really wasn’t--to demonstrate that instant replay should be reinstated for NFL postseason games, at the very least. . . .

The Steelers’ most productive pass catcher, Yancey Thigpen, had no receptions in four games as a rookie with the San Diego Chargers in 1991 after being drafted in the fourth round out of Winston-Salem, N.C., State. During his first three years with the Steelers, he caught only 46 passes. . . .

Pittsburgh players argue a lot with Coach Bill Cowher on the sidelines, but they also play hard for him. . . .

Next flu season, Bruce Smith should get a shot. . . .

The trouble with being a 49er or Cowboy is that your season is considered a failure if you don’t win the Super Bowl. . . .

Don’t knock Al Davis to Green Bay General Manager Ron Wolf. . . .

Wolf, who was employed by the Raiders as a scout and player personnel specialist from 1963 to 1975, said, “Al Davis is totally involved, and he taught me. I was very, very fortunate to work for him.” . . .

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Stunner of the week: Jimmy Johnson acknowledging he is interested in succeeding Don Shula at Miami. . .

Now that Shula has retired, Tom Lasorda, who will begin his 20th season with the Dodgers, has the longest tenure of any major league coach or manager. . . .

John Madden, who often makes comparisons to boxing during his football telecasts, manages an unbeaten super bantamweight fighter from Sacramento, Willie Jorrin. . . .

Versatile Phil Simms appeared minutes apart in a commercial on Fox TV during the Cowboy-Eagle postgame show and in a segment from Kansas City on NBC during the Chief-Colt pregame show. . . .

News item: Detroit Red Wing defenseman Paul Coffey gets record number of votes in NHL All-Star game balloting. Reaction: Think the Kings regret having traded him, Sylvain Couturier and Jim Hiller to Detroit for Jimmy Carson, Marc Potvin and Gary Shuchuk on Jan. 29, 1993? . . .

UCLA had a couple of scares at Washington State and Washington, but, in college basketball, you take road wins any way they come. . . .

Something is wrong when 13 college telecasts are shown in L.A. on Saturday and UCLA-Washington is the only one that is delayed. . . .

If you can figure out hot-and-cold USC, contact Coach Charlie Parker. . . .

Look-alikes: New UCLA football coach Bob Toledo and actor Paul Sorvino. . . .

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The first time I wrote about the exploits of Mark Harmon was in 1972 when he made his debut as a collegiate quarterback by leading UCLA to a 20-17 victory over Nebraska, then top ranked, at the Coliseum. Later, Harmon, the actor, helped people while portraying a doctor on the television show “St. Elsewhere.” But it was last Wednesday night that he truly became a hero when he rescued two teenage boys from a burning car in Brentwood. He had the presence of mind to quickly fetch a sledgehammer from his home and the strength and courage to break the car windows open and pull the boys to safety. Firemen and paramedics said Harmon put himself at great physical risk. No Bruin has ever performed better in the clutch.