Notes on a Scorecard - March 7, 1996

News item: Jim Bunning, a 224-game winner, is voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Reaction: Isn’t it about time that Don Sutton, a 324-game winner, and Phil Niekro, a 318-game winner, were voted into the Hall of Fame by the writers? . . .

Of course, Hall of Fame balloting often is baffling. . . .

The statistics of catchers Ray Schalk and Wally Schang are listed on the same page of the Baseball Encyclopedia. . . .

They played in the same era, Schalk from 1912 to 1929 and Schang from 1913 to 1931 and had the same amount of regular-season at-bats during their careers, 5,306. But Schang had much better statistics in virtually every category. Schang caught for three World Series championship teams and Schalk, who was a clean member of the 1919 Black Sox, for one. . . .

So which one is in the Hall of Fame? Schalk. . . .

A silly rule deprived Nellie Fox of election Tuesday. He had enough votes, but only one modern-day player can be selected by the Veterans Committee each year, so Bunning got the nod. . . .

However, I wholeheartedly agree with the pick of Ned Hanlon, who managed from 1889 to 1907, because I can’t recall ever second-guessing him. . . .

One of the best moves new Hall of Famer Earl Weaver ever made was switching Cal Ripken Jr. from third base to shortstop in 1982. . . .

No, Ripken doesn’t play every day during the spring. He missed the Baltimore Orioles’ opening exhibition game. . . .

Tom Lasorda isn’t blowing smoke when he says young Dodger right-hander Ismael Valdes has a chance to become one of the best pitchers in baseball within two years.

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Jim Harrick always starts his seniors their last game at Pauley Pavilion, meaning Kevin Dempsey will open for UCLA against Washington State on Saturday afternoon. . . .

The seven new inductees into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame will be introduced during halftime of the Cougar game. They are Bill Barrett, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Liz Masakayan, Eddie Merrins, Dot Richardson, Skip Rowland and Dick Wallen. . . .

Granted, USC needs a new arena, but the Lyon Center might be big enough to accommodate the crowds that will attend the Trojans’ games against Washington State and Washington this week. . . .

Connecticut has a shot to become the first school to win the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I basketball titles the same season. . . .

Barring an enormous surprise, the Southwest Conference will fold without ever having won a national men’s basketball championship. . . .

Second-best tournament this postseason should be the Big East at Madison Square Garden. . . .

Spike Lee didn’t look very happy courtside Tuesday at the Garden, where his beloved New York Knicks were being handled by the Clippers. . . .

Who needs Clyde Drexler? The Houston Rockets have the longest winning streak in the NBA, six games. . . .

The Dallas Mavericks attempted 56 two-point shots and 49 three-point shots during their win over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday. . . .

Don’t rule out the possibility of Wayne Lukas bringing Serena’s Song back in the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap on Sunday, eight days after she finished seventh in the Santa Anita Handicap. . . .

Whatever happened to Tonya Harding? . . .

Olympic gold medalist Quincy Watts will make his outdoor season debut Saturday in a special 400-meter race during USC’s track and field meet against Long Beach State and San Diego State at Cromwell Field. . . .

Don Fraser writes that Oscar De La Hoya actually is the third local fighter to be known as Golden Boy. Preceding Art Aragon and De La Hoya was Tommy Garland, a heavyweight who fought in the 1940s and doubled for William Holden in the motion picture, “Golden Boy.” . . .

USC, which plays Penn State in the Kickoff Classic on Aug. 25, will open spring football practice March 20. . . .

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I was afraid they would never make it, but the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Red Wings have clinched playoff spots. . . .

Bob Pulford, the best coach the Kings ever had, once told me he would rather see a player happy after a good performance in a loss than after a poor performance in a victory. . . .

Going from Pat Burns to Nick Beverley is a definite step in the wrong direction for the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . .

That was a historic game Wednesday night at the Forum, the Kings playing the Edmonton Oilers without Wayne Gretzky on either roster.