Argonauts

Another close one like this, and they might have to dangle the smelling salts in front of Garden Grove football Coach Jeff Buenafe. The Argonauts needed a 75-yard fourth-quarter drive and 23-yard field goal by Adrian Ioja with 5 minutes 49 seconds left to beat Pacifica, 17-14, in a Garden Grove League game in front of 1,500 Thursday night at Bolsa Grande High.

Talk about your basic "Who, me?" recruitment to the battlefield. Quarterback Brian Schneider, who was minding his business on the sidelines early in the first quarter, was forced into the game when starter Simon Fuentes went out with a shoulder injury in Garden Grove's first series of the night. He responded by guiding the Argonauts to a 14-7 nonleague victory over Laguna Hills in front of 1,000 Friday at Garden Grove High School.

It didn't take long for The Rocket to ignite his pro football career. Raghib (Rocket) Ismail made his play-for-pay debut Thursday night with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, playing most of the first half on offense and contributing to a 20-10 lead over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with two kickoff returns, a 38-yard pass reception and a pair of exciting punt returns, one an unusual 75-yard play that brought him a standing ovation from the Skydome crowd.

With knees shaking and confidence breaking, with cynics and supporters, celebrities and reporters watching, the Rocket finally blasted off Thursday night. Launchings that attract this much attention usually occur at Cape Canaveral. But this one happened at Toronto's SkyDome, where wide receiver/kick return specialist Raghib (Rocket) Ismail made his long-awaited debut for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in the team's home opener before a crowd of 41,178.

The jetliner, trimmed in silver and black, taxied from the runway Wednesday and came to a halt. A formation of 10 limousines drove out to meet it. As the doors of the aircraft opened, the photographers started clicking away. With comedian John Candy serving as a one-man welcoming committee, they emerged: actress Mariel Hemingway, actor Jim Belushi, Wayne Gretzky, Bruce McNall and 25 others, heavyweights from the sports, entertainment and business fields.

In a surprising twist to an already intriguing story, King owner Bruce McNall said Wednesday night that receiver Raghib (Rocket) Ismail is free to work out a Bo Jackson-type deal in which he could play for both the Toronto Argonauts and the Raiders next season. "I don't even know if the Rocket knows about this," McNall said in Edmonton, where he was attending his team's NHL playoff game against the Oilers. "But if (Raider owner) Al (Davis) wanted to do it, I wouldn't stand in his way."

Owner Bruce McNall of the Kings has agreed in principle to buy the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League for about $5 million, U.S. Harry Ornest is expected to relinquish ownership of the club in a few weeks. McNall said it is "very likely" that King center Wayne Gretzky and comedian John Candy will become minority owners. Gretzky is expected to buy about 20% of the club. He grew up in Brantford, a small town 90 miles from Toronto.

Teledyne Inc. reported Sunday that its fourth-quarter and 1990 profit fell sharply because of a slowdown in the steel and automotive industries, labor strife at engine manufacturing locations, product liability settlements and loan loss provisions. The Los Angeles company's fourth-quarter net income was $800,000 (1 cent per share) on revenue of $880.4 million, compared to net income of $62.9 million ($1.14 per share) on revenue of 883.4 million during the period a year ago.

The talented but young Garden Grove High School football team likely will remember this season as a bittersweet one, and perhaps nobody will see it that way as much as the Ioja brothers. Things looked good at the start. Bob Ioja, a senior, was returning as the starting quarterback, and Adrian, a junior, would be defensive tackle, tight end and kicker.

Using the screen pass as if they had invented it, La Quinta High School's Aztecs rolled over Garden Grove, 27-14, Thursday night in the Garden Grove League opener for both teams at Bolsa Grande High School. "It's no secret," said La Quinta Coach Roger Takahashi. "We like the screens and we use them." In a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated, the Aztecs (4-0, 1-0 in league) didn't waste any time going to their favorite play.