Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 19, 1994

The real Jeff Hostetler and the real Bronco defense showed up Sunday in Denver. . . .

Nothing like a four-touchdown, 338-yard performance to end the speculation that the Raider quarterback has a sore arm. . . .

The way they played, the Broncos should have worn their old, ugly horizontal-striped stockings. . . .

John Elway ought to have a greater appreciation of Dan Reeves as a coach now. . . .

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Elway appears to be aging at 34, but San Francisco quarterback Steve Young, who will be 33 next month, continues to live up to his name. . . .

Young showed his versatility by throwing a one-yard--count it, one--touchdown pass to Jerry Rice against the Rams. . . .

The Rams had the same kind of home-field advantage at Anaheim Stadium that UCLA had during the Rose Bowl game against Wisconsin. . . .

If more people cared, there might be another bona fide Ram quarterback controversy with Tommy Maddox fans clamoring for him to get some playing time ahead of Chris Miller and Chris Chandler. . . .

You could say the roof fell in on the Seattle Seahawks except that their 24-10 defeat to San Diego was at Husky Stadium, not the Kingdome. . . .

Stan Humphries to Tony Martin, shades of John Hadl to Lance Alworth and Dan Fouts to John Jefferson. . . .

Best matchup of the AFC season might be Kansas City at Miami on Monday night, Dec. 12. . . .

The Pacific 10 Conference is a disappointing 10-9-1 in nonconference games and 2-5 against the mighty Western Athletic Conference. . . .

But UCLA and USC can’t be as bad as they looked the last two weeks on national television. . . .

Nebraska and Penn State are going to score a ton of points at home against anyone outside the NFL. . . .

Penn State seems to have the best balance of defense, pass offense and rush offense among the legitimate contenders for the national title. . . .

The Nittany Lions could be accused of pouring it on--in the first quarter--in each of their three games this season. . . .

Nebraska averages 295 pounds in the interior offensive line, but Nebraska Kearney averages 313. . . .

Maybe Nebraska Kearney should be allowed to play the next three games in Lincoln against Pacific, Wyoming and Oklahoma State. . . .

A couple of Bruins to watch in the future are true freshman wide receiver Jim McElroy and sophomore quarterback Ryan Fien. . . .

McElroy flashed the speed that won him the L.A. City 100-meter title at Washington High last year by catching two passes for 32 yards against Nebraska and Fien went six for seven for 68 yards in relief of Wayne Cook. . . .

Next year’s UCLA-Miami game, scheduled for Oct. 14 at the Rose Bowl, might be switched to the season opener the first week in September. . . .

The most significant thing the nearly-point-a-minute Florida Gators have done this season is shut out Tennessee at Knoxville. . . .

If Whitey Herzog becomes Royal manager, I wonder if he will live in Kansas City. . . .

Baseball lost one of its finest and most underrated television analysts when Tony Kubek announced his retirement. The former New York Yankee shortstop never was shy about offering a well-founded opinion. . . .

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The Ruelas brothers, Gabe and Rafael, have won their world titles the old-fashioned way with hard work. . . .

Gabe’s 12-round decision over World Boxing Council junior-lightweight champion James Leija on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden was among the highlights of what might have been Don King’s best card ever, top to bottom. . . .

There is a lack of skilled boxing trainers, but Joe Goossen has become one of the finest in the business. . . .

Goossen is a good teacher and conditioner and, like Angelo Dundee, his biggest strength is the psych jobs he gives his fighters, who include the Ruelas brothers and heavyweight Jeremy Williams. . . .

Quick now, name a half-dozen Clipper players. . . .

Chicago Bull General Manager Jerry Krause, who finds something wrong with most of his players, should have no trouble pinpointing a weakness or two in Ron Harper’s game. . . .

Golf’s new Presidents Cup is gimmicky, but quite watchable. . . .

The Breeders’ Cup without Holy Bull is like the NFL playoffs without the Dallas Cowboys. . . .

The Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles must have ruined Bud Selig’s week.