Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 9, 1995

That wild and crazy finish in San Diego on Sunday saved the weekend. . . .

Until then, the NFL playoffs were about as exciting as the 1994 major league baseball playoffs. . . .

What were the chances that the Chargers would shut out Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the second half? . . .

The Chargers’ gritty offense and the Dolphins’ sloppy defense kept the ball out of Marino’s hands for almost the entire third quarter. . . .

If there is a job in sports that doesn’t appeal to me, it’s place-kicker. . . .

Just think how Pete Stoyanovich feels now. . . .

NFL officiating, which has been terrible all season, has gotten worse in the postseason when the best officials are supposed to be working. . . .

Only one of the last 10 NFC divisional playoff games have been decided by fewer than 10 points. . . .

However, that was quite a comeback San Francisco staged Saturday, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to beat Chicago, 44-15. . . .

Troy Aikman is back at peak form and the Dallas Cowboys looked refreshed while routing Green Bay, but it is difficult to imagine them upsetting the 49ers at Candlestick Park without Emmitt Smith being fit. . . .

If Sterling Sharpe had played, the Packers might have lost, 35-19, instead of 35-9. . . .

The smiling fellow sitting in the second row of a box at Texas Stadium while Aikman’s family was being identified on TV was Rick Neuheisel, the new Colorado coach who was an assistant at UCLA when Aikman played there. . . .

I love the confidence of 49er Coach George Seifert, who called a Steve Young-to-Jerry Rice pass play instead of going for a field goal on fourth and 11 from the Chicago 33 while the 49ers were leading, 20-3, in the second quarter Saturday. . . .

By contrast, Cleveland Coach Bill Belichick settled for a field-goal attempt on fourth and one at the Pittsburgh five while the Browns were trailing, 17-0, in the second quarter. . . .

Did you catch the look on Cleveland owner Art Modell’s face during the telecast? I pity any Brown player or coach who got within shouting distance of him after the game. . . .

Chicken call of the weekend: The offsetting unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties called against the 49ers and Bears after Shaun Gayle leveled Steve Young in the end zone. All Young did was spike the ball in front of Gayle. . . .

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Losses by UCLA, Arizona, California and Stanford and upset victories by Oregon and Washington State during the opening week indicated that the Pacific 10 Conference might be weaker at the top, but stronger toward the bottom than basketball experts thought. . . .

Just like last season, nobody figures to stay No. 1 in the national rankings for long. . . .

Defending champion Arkansas still should be the NCAA tournament favorite. . . .

Mary Kaczor, who teamed with Zak Brown to finish 10th in the Formula Opel Nations Cup race last year in Holland, is making the transition from fashion model to race driver and looking for sponsors. . . .

Carlos Monzon, who was killed in an auto crash Sunday in Argentina, must be regarded as one of the greatest middleweight champions ever. He was big, strong and awkwardly clever. . . .

If Michael Moorer’s handlers really did turn down Jeremy Williams as an opponent, they made a mistake. Williams was a huge disappointment Friday night at the Grand Olympic, where he stopped Everton Davis in the ninth round but left questions about his chin and attitude. . . .

Dick Young began his 54th year as a boxing official when he served as a judge during the Grand Olympic card. Young, 79, has worked 76 world championship fights and still does an excellent job. . . .

The star of the weekend was Alejandro Gonzalez. The 21-year-old featherweight from Guadalajara, Mexico, was sensational winning the World Boxing Council title from HBO favorite Kevin Kelley, who didn’t come out for the 11th round at San Antonio. . . .

Featherweight Rudy Zavala will make his 13th appearance at the Forum, second to David Kamau’s 18, tonight when he faces Jessie Magana. . . .

The Lakers have the highest payroll in the NBA at $42,970,000. That includes payments of $14,660,000 to Magic Johnson and $7,250,000 to James Worthy. Their highest-paid active player is Vlade Divac at $3,333,300. . . .

The Clippers are 21st at $18,480,000. Stanley Roberts is the highest paid at $3,460,000 and Loy Vaught tops the active players at $2,750,000. . . .

What about having a no-game regular NHL season, but a full Stanley Cup tournament?