As longtime Angels communications director Tim Mead admitted to The Times a decade ago, "We all come to work choosing to disregard public and media talk of the jinx, but do we privately wonder? Yeah, we shake our heads and wonder." . . .

On Thursday, sadly, their fragile world was shaken anew. . . .

This is the scenario Lakers fans envisioned a year ago: Andrew Bynum back in the lineup, tuning up for the playoffs. . . .

Dennis Rodman might not be worthy of the Hall of Fame, but as a seven-time NBA rebounding champion, two-time defensive player of the year and owner of five championship rings, he probably would be given more consideration if not for his eccentricities. . . .

Splitting a season-opening series against the San Diego Padres must have been disappointing to the Dodgers, especially after they started it by toppling their nemesis, Jake Peavy. . . .

Left-hander Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays , a winner Thursday in his major league debut, is a former City player of the year from Roosevelt High who helped Cal State Fullerton win the College World Series in 2004. . . .

Three of Baseball's four highest-paid players -- Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira -- play for the New York Yankees. . . .

The fourth is Manny Ramirez. . . .

Speaking of Ramirez, here's something he could shoot for: hitting a ball out of Dodger Stadium -- something only Mike Piazza, Mark McGwire and Willie Stargell have done. . . .

Hopeful UCLA fans can stop waiting for Jrue Holiday to come of age in a Bruins uniform. . . .

James Harden extends this streak: The last 20 Pacific 10 Conference players of the year have not played another minute of college basketball after their award-winning seasons. . . .

The last to return was Arizona's Sean Elliott, who repeated as conference player of the year in 1989. . . .

The Minnesota Timberwolves have launched a clever rookie-of-the-year campaign for Kevin Love, promoting the relentless rebounder from UCLA as a "Miracle Glass Cleaner" and the "best new product of 2008-09." . . .

Former Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley calls Eric Gordon "by far" the NBA's top rookie, but most observers seem to believe it's a two-man race between Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo. . . .

CBS commentator Greg Anthony called North Carolina's rout of Michigan State "as impressive a performance as I've ever seen in a national championship game." . . .

It wasn't any more impressive than Nevada Las Vegas' Anthony-orchestrated 103-73 dismantling of Duke in 1990. . . .

Oklahoma, home to Sam Bradford and Blake Griffin, is the first school whose athletes won the Heisman Trophy and college basketball player-of-the-year honors in the same school year. . . .

UCLA came close in 1967-68, when Gary Beban won the Heisman Trophy and Lew Alcindor was runner-up to Houston's Elvin Hayes as college basketball player of the year. . . .

Phil Mickelson could climb to No. 1 for the first time if he wins the Masters and Tiger Woods finishes out of the top five. . . .

Here's why, if Greg Norman falters at Augusta, the Shark might ROOT for Sergio Garcia to win the Masters: Norman's daughter, Morgan-Leigh, is Garcia's girlfriend. . . .

Ryan Garvey, a sophomore at Palm Desert High who hit two home runs in one inning this week in a 21-6 victory over Palm Springs, is a son of Steve Garvey. . . .

Not to suggest that the Clippers are directionless, but if Zach Randolph was driving from a condo in Marina del Rey to a house in Marina del Rey the other night, as Mike Dunleavy maintains, what was he doing on the 405? . . .

Surely a Rolls-Royce comes equipped with a GPS. . . .

Perfect for a man cave, likenesses of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson are among more than 200 figures that will be auctioned May 1 by the Hollywood Wax Museum. . . .

Before Cal Poly brought Joe Callero to San Luis Obispo to be its new basketball coach, the Mustangs reportedly passed on an applicant whose resume includes a national title: Jim Harrick. . . .

Noting that a school district in Austin, Texas, has decided against naming a stadium Tumbleweed Hill in fear of inviting potential marijuana references, Fark.com writes that officials are "still mulling over what to do with the hash marks."

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jerome.crowe@latimes.com