Scoreboard

Baseball tradition and superstition hold that when a pitcher is working on a no-hitter, no one dare mention it to him for fear of jinxing the effort. That goes for the scoreboard operator too, as it should go without saying. Last Sunday, Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. As he stepped on the mound, a trivia question appeared on the scoreboard: "Who was the last Indians pitcher to throw a perfect game?"

KEY MOMENT: Jamey Wright gave up an 11th-inning double to Rockies pinch-hitter Brandon Barnes, after which Wright was replaced by left-hander J.P. Howell. Facing the left-handed-hitting Charlie Blackmon, Howell gave up a run-scoring single that broke a 2-2 stalemate. The run was the first of three in the inning for the Rockies. Adrian Gonzalez closed the gap to 5-4 with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. ON THE MOUND: Josh Beckett pitched what was by far his best game of the season, limiting the Rockies to two runs and four hits over eight innings.

Baseball Coach Terry Craven was irritated after Cal State Northridge's season opener Tuesday against Cal State Long Beach. "This would've been nice," Craven said, "if they hadn't screwed up my scoreboard." Craven was upset with the students operating the Matador Field scoreboard, which locked up on the number 16 during the seventh inning. But he probably should have blamed his players. They were the ones who made the board tilt in an impressive 18-3 win at home.

 Fairfax High School will honor James Samson , who was a volunteer for more than 25 years helping the basketball program, on Friday at 6:15 p.m. before the team's game against Hamilton. The school will unveil its new scoreboard in honor of Samson, who was the scoreboard operator until his death last February. He was 62. Fairfax also has renamed its State Preview Classic on Jan. 25 after Samson. Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com  

Allan Malamud, complimenting the Anaheim Stadium scoreboard for keeping fans current on the progress of other major league games (June 16, Notes on a Scorecard), tells only half the story. The Angels "Souvenir Program"--in steep decline for the last several years--no longer publishes the uniform numbers of major league pitchers; thus, even though the scoreboard faithfully continues to flash those numbers, we (the fans) have no way of knowing to whom the numbers refer. The program also has stopped listing the uniform numbers of the Anaheim Stadium umpires as well, so we're now likewise clueless about who they are. This year, the program also stopped publishing anything more than the uniform numbers of the visiting team's players; gone are the height/weight/hometown/major league experience, stats, etc. Oh well, at least the program's price has gone up to $2.50.

When: 7 PDT. Where: Rogers Arena. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Records : Kings 37-26-12, Canucks 45-21-9. Record vs. Canucks: 2-1. Update: The Kings will be scoreboard-watching because the two teams immediately behind them in the standings are playing each other Monday: San Jose is hosting Colorado. All three teams have 86 points, but the Kings are eighth because they hold the tiebreakers. Kings forward Justin Williams, who has eight points in his last eight games, was talking about watching the scoreboard recently.

The most dangerous job during the Nissan Open Sunday belonged to Warren White, the guy who climbed the ladder and manually changed the numbers on the large scoreboard behind the 18th green at Riviera Country Club. White's partner, Scott McOwan, received updates on each player through his walkie-talkie. Every time one of the leaders completed a hole, up the ladder White went to add a number. The rain Sunday made getting up that ladder a little tricky. White, however, was not deterred.

I have to agree with Scott Ostler that Dodger Stadium needs a scoreboard showing the scores of other games on a continuous basis. But there's one other thing that the scoreboard needs even more. There should be a string of red lights running between the home and visiting lineups to indicate who's at bat. That way, fans could tell at a glance who the next few batters are and could strategize along with the managers. DAVID M. KENEIPP Beverly Hills

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Seasoned concert-goers who walk into the resurrected Forum in Inglewood after it opens Wednesday with the first of six Eagles concerts may be struck as much by what's missing as by what's been added to the 46-year-old former sports palace. The overhead electronic scoreboard and basketball backboards that were integral to the Forum during its 31-year reign as Southern California's premiere sports arena? Gone. Hard-plastic sports-arena seats? Gone - replaced by movie theater-style high-back upholstered seats.

If the first weekend of the high school football season is any indication of what's to come, fans had better be prepared to see lots of scoring. Twenty-two teams scored 50 or more points, and five were in the 60s. Blame it on the spread, no-huddle offenses, which are allowing teams to run plays in rapid fashion, creating more scoring opportunities. "It's definitely because of more plays," said Corona Centennial Coach Matt Logan, whose team scored 60 points against Henderson (Nev.)

UCLA football is embracing a high-tech future. The Bruins unveiled a new gizmo Wednesday: the CoachComm Tempo, a system that includes two Led Zeppelin-ready speakers and that can run the clock and scoreboard, simulate crowd noise, play music and be used to amplify the instructions of coaches. "A lot of teams around the country are using this," Coach Jim Mora said. "Oregon uses it; Chip Kelly bought one when he went to [coach] Philadelphia. We talked to five or six coaches and they all said it would help practice efficiency.

PHOENIX — One by one, the Lakers were introduced before their game. Predictably, loud boos followed. But Phoenix Suns fans couldn't dismiss the guy affectionately known as "Two-Time" around here. So they cheered when Steve Nash's name was called. There were some boos as well, some fans feeling slighted that Nash green-lighted a trade last July to the Lakers, a Pacific Division rival. If only they had heard what Nash told reporters before Wednesday's game. "It's a special, special place," he said, summing up his 10 seasons with the Suns over two tours.

The new scoreboards are nice, and so is the new sound system. The expensive players are nice too. But, for all the improvements to the Dodgers and their ballpark, there are five words the new owners absolutely refuse to say: "We're staying at Dodger Stadium. " Say what you will about Frank McCourt, but the man publicly committed the team to the stadium for another 50 years. He ran out of money, and Bud Selig ran him out of baseball, but at least he had the right idea. GRAPHIC: New look for old ballpark The Dodgers' new owners have the money, so much so that they can throw $100 million into Dodger Stadium renovations without making any long-term commitment to stay there.

There is not a whole lot about the Dodger Stadium renovation that the Dodgers haven't already discussed, so Tuesday's news conference mostly focused on the details. Which is probably good, because anyone who glanced out the Stadium Club windows at the construction going on and considered the big picture would have to wonder how it can possibly be completed in time for the Dodgers' March 28 exhibition game against the Angels. The giant holes inside each foul line remain open, and the stadium remains cut out to the loge level.

After all the hoopla about Edison Field representing the fan-friendly attitude of the new Angels organization, you have to wonder when you look at the way prices have skyrocketed. In addition to the well-known hikes in ticket and concession prices, here's a really ludicrous example. With the "old" Angels organization, you used to be able to acknowledge a birthday or anniversary on the scoreboard with a simple phone call the day before. Not anymore. Now, you have to send a fax five days in advance of the game and make a mandatory "charitable contribution" of $25. Now, I realize that the new stadium was expensive to build and they have to recoup the costs some way. But soaking fans $25 each for a simple message on the scoreboard is ridiculous, no matter who gets the money.

Stanford vs. Oregon State: A roundup of men's Pacific 10 conference games in Friday's Sports section incorrectly reported that Stanford played Oregon State at Stanford. The game was played in Corvallis, Ore. In addition, the box score for that game listed the players from the women's game between the two schools instead of the men's game. The correct men's box score is on today's Scoreboard page.

UCLA brings plenty of offense to the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl on Thursday night in San Diego. The Bruins will need it. The last time Baylor played a Pac-12 Conference team in a bowl game, scoreboard circuits were taxed to the max. The Bears outscored Washington, 67-56, in the Alamo Bowl last season. Times staff writer Chris Foster examines the game's matchups and story lines: One for the road UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin hopes this game becomes a victory lap. The senior gets one more chance to add to his UCLA career and season rushing records.

USC returned to practice Sunday with hopes of jump-starting its passing game when it resumes Pac-12 Conference play Thursday at Utah. But neither players nor coaches anticipate a performance similar to the one they watched or heard about during Saturday's open date, when West Virginia defeated Baylor, 70-63. West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith passed for eight touchdowns and completed all but six of 51 passes. Three West Virginia and three Baylor receivers each amassed more than 100 yards receiving, and one from each team eclipsed 300 yards.