Answer for Angels Lies Down the Freeway

Tony Tavares hasn’t consulted me yet, but my choice for next Angel manager is Davey Lopes. . . .

The San Diego Padre coach is familiar with the territory, having been a fixture at second base for the Dodgers, and with the American League, having coached at Texas and Baltimore. . . .

He is a sound baseball man who has paid his dues and would be a fresh face rather than a retread. . . .

Darryl Strawberry, who hit three consecutive home runs for the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, always has been a streak hitter. . . .

Like father, like son: Prince Fielder, 12-year-old son of Cecil, is 5 feet 8 and weighs 180 pounds. . . .

Seattle’s Jay Buhner set a major league record last season for ratio of runs batted in to hits, 121 to 123. Before Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland, he had 100 RBIs and 109 hits this season. . . .

Randy Johnson is 23-2 in 1995 and 1996. . . .

Hank Aaron, who wore No. 44, hit 44 home runs four times during his career. . . .

On Monday, the Dallas Cowboy-Kansas City Chief exhibition game was played at Monterrey, Mexico. On Aug. 16-18, the San Diego Padres will play a three-game series against the New York Mets in Monterrey. Jack Murphy Stadium will be the site of a Republican National Convention session on Aug. 16. . . .

Lookalikes: ESPN baseball commentator Dave Campbell and actor Robert Culp. . . .

USC sophomore cornerback Daylon McCutcheon will not play some offense this season as had been anticipated, but will return kicks. . . .

Among the most impressive of the incoming freshmen at Howard Jones Field has been wide receiver R. Jay Soward from Fontana High. . . .

All-American defensive tackle candidate Darrell Russell, 6-4, 305, looks even stronger than a year ago. . . .

UCLA Coach Bob Toledo on Cade McNown: “He’s a great competitor, a linebacker playing quarterback.” . . .

Much has been made about the Bruins having to play at Tennessee and Michigan in two of their first three games, but they face lightly regarded Northeast Louisiana at the Rose Bowl the week after Tennessee and have an open date before Michigan. . . .

*

Stanford, formerly known as Quarterback U., will enter the season unsettled at the position for the second year in a row. . . .

Arizona Coach Dick Tomey on Richard Dice: “He may be the toughest player on our team, and you can’t say that very often about a wide receiver.” . . .

This might be a make-or-break year for former USC Coach Larry Smith at Missouri and chances are that it will be break. . . .

One of the nation’s best performers on Saturday afternoons is expected to be North Carolina center Jeff Saturday. . . .

The new NCAA tiebreaker rule was in effect for bowls last season, but used only in the Las Vegas Bowl, in which Toledo kicked a field goal to beat Nevada, 40-37. . . .

One negative to the rule is that coaches seldom will call for a two-point conversion attempt when trailing by one point late in regulation time. Instead, most coaches will settle for the tie and take their chances in overtime. . . .

Best-dressed coaches and players are those from Washington State who posed for mug shots in the media guide in tuxedos. . . .

The Notre Dame media guide is 440 pages. . . .

Fashion note: Midnight green has replaced kelly green as the primary color of the Philadelphia Eagles uniforms. . . .

For openers since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978, the Dallas Cowboys have the best record by far. They are 27-8-1 for a winning percentage of .764 in opening games. The Denver Broncos are second at 22-13-1 and a .625 winning percentage. . . .

Based on last season’s records, the Green Bay Packers have the toughest schedule in the NFL this season, the San Diego Chargers the second toughest, and the New England Patriots the easiest. . . .

Pooh Richardson, Marques Johnson and celebrities from the entertainment world will participate in the second annual Friends of Belize charity basketball game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Crenshaw High. . . .

It’s too bad that the Women’s National Basketball Assn. couldn’t capitalize on the success of the U.S. team in the Olympics by opening play earlier than June 1997. . . .

I’m going out on a limb and picking Cigar to win the sixth race at Del Mar on Saturday.