Alex Johnson

No Angel has won the American League batting title since Alex Johnson in 1970, but outfielder Garret Anderson is hitting .467 two weeks into the season. While the Angel coaches believe their cleanup hitter can contend for the crown, Anderson believes he has no chance. "If I were a selfish hitter, yeah, I could probably have a chance," he said. "Where I hit in the lineup, I'm required to drive in runs, and sometimes that comes with sacrificing yourself. I'll get a guy over in a heartbeat.

Reporting steady progress in his rehabilitation program, Darin Erstad on Friday said he has elected to forgo surgery in his attempt to recover from chronic tendinitis within his right hamstring that sidelined him for most of the season. "I've been seeing improvement, and I want to continue to pursue that avenue," the Angel center fielder said before Friday's game, in which his teammates rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat the Texas Rangers, 5-3, at Edison Field.

Four Loyola Marymount players scored in double figures Sunday to lead the Lions past La Sierra, 100-62. Drew Viney led Loyola Marymount (1-1) with 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ashley Hamilton scored 12 points for the Lions, with Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Larry Davis adding 10 each. The Lions, who led 51-25 at halftime, bounced back from an 81-79 home loss to Morgan State on Friday night. Godwin Okonji grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lions, who held a 52-26 edge on the boards, including 20 on the offensive glass.

Jason Walberg scored 17 points for Pepperdine, but the Waves fell to No. 25-ranked Brigham Young, 86-67, Saturday night at Provo, Utah. Lee Cummard scored 21 points to help the Cougars (9-2) extend their home winning streak to 37 games, the longest active string in the nation. Trent Plaisted had 18 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds for the Cougars (9-2), who overcame 29 turnovers -- 19 of them in the first half -- by shooting 57% from the field.

"Take me out to the ballgame . . . buy me some peanuts and . . . " What, no Cracker Jack? Not at Busch Stadium in St. Louis this season. Sports Service, the St. Louis Cardinals' vendor, has stopped selling Cracker Jack snacks in favor of a competitor, Crunch 'n Munch. Buy me some peanuts and Crunch 'n Munch? * Trivia time: Who was the only Angel ever to lead the American League in batting? * No North Pole?

Steve Walsh knew what would happen if the third-ranked Miami Hurricanes got some help. They did, and it turned into the kind of rout Walsh had envisioned. With Walsh throwing for two touchdowns and the Hurricanes getting five turnovers and a botched punt, Miami rolled to a 44-3 victory over No. 11 Louisiana State Saturday night, the worst home-field setback for the Tigers since a 46-0 loss to Tulane in 1948.

Bill White will be named today to succeed A. Bartlett Giamatti as National League president, becoming the first black to head a major professional sports league in the United States, The Associated Press learned Thursday. White, a six-time All-Star first baseman with the New York and San Francisco Giants, St. Louis and Philadelphia, and a broadcaster with the New York Yankees for 18 seasons, was chosen Thursday by the five-man search committee, several sources said.

Kirby Puckett became the first baseball player to break the $3-million average annual salary barrier, agreeing today to a three-year contract for $9 million with the Minnesota Twins. Andy MacPhail, the Twins general manager, and Ron Shapiro, Puckett's agent, reached an outline of the deal Tuesday night and were to sign a memorandum of agreement today.

So what happened to the New York Yankees? It could be an Angel curse. "Bombers Need to Exorcise Angels" screamed a headline in the New York Post on Tuesday. "Angels and Curses is not a new heavy metal band, not a movie vehicle designed to finally prove that Madonna can act, and not a Fox reality series about clergy that strays," the Post's Joel Sherman wrote. "It is the burden the Yankees carry into this postseason."

New York Mets announcer Ralph Kiner calls them as he sees them, but now and then something gets lost in the description. Here are some gems from "Baseball . . . A Laughing Matter," a collection of notes, quotes and anecdotes published by The Sporting News: --"There's a base hit into center field as Santana can't get to it. But he goes over there and makes the catch." --"Leading off for the Mets will be Walter Johnson. Make that Howard Johnson. Well, Walter was a good hitter, too."