This Is One Time Angels Can Go to a Higher Source

Russell Baker once said, “I squirm when I see athletes praying before a game. Don’t they realize that if God took sports seriously, he never would have created George Steinbrenner?”

Three World Series championships in the last four years for the Yankees confirm Baker’s point.

But you can’t blame the Angels for trying. They announced Monday that an emissary has been granted an audience with the pope.

Darrell Miller, the team’s inner-city scouting director, will escort seven student-athletes from Bishop Borgess High in Redford, Mich., to the Vatican next week. The trip is sponsored by the Catholic diocese of Detroit, which chose Miller because of his role in establishing the Angels’ inner-city baseball program last year in Detroit and Washington.

While he’s there, though, you have to believe he will take advantage of the opportunity to ask the pope to pray for divine intervention.

If God ever decides to bless a team, wouldn’t it be one named Angels?

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You assume that, given the choice, any college football team would rather go to a bowl game than not go to one. . . .

There is national prestige to consider, sometimes a significant amount of revenue, and, as USC’s Paul Hackett said last week, extra practice time that might prove valuable in the future for underclassmen. . . .

Hackett would like to have given more repetitions in particular to quarterback Carson Palmer, who is only now throwing effectively after having broken his collarbone. . . .

One advantage, however, to a bowl-free season is that it enables coaches to concentrate on recruiting. Given their records, you could argue that USC and UCLA need that more than they need bowl games. . . .

Two players coveted by both, as well as every other school serious about football, are defensive end Travis Johnson of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and tight end Alex Holmes of Harvard Westlake. We will discover later whether there was any significance in their decision to visit Michigan last Saturday for the game against Ohio State instead of staying home for USC-UCLA. . . .

Johnson, considered this area’s best defensive player, could become the second blue-chip prospect from Notre Dame High in the last three years to sign with Michigan. The Wolverines in 1997 successfully recruited running back Justin Fargas, who made it to the top of their depth chart as a freshman but missed this season while recuperating from knee surgery. . . .

Fargas’ San Fernando Valley rushing records have been under attack this season by Valencia’s Manuel White, who, coincidentally, will line up on the opposite side of Johnson in a CIF second-round playoff game Friday night. White has committed to UCLA. . . .

Perhaps the nation’s most highly recruited running back, Marcus Houston of Denver, is the brother of Bruin safety Lovell Houston. Marcus is considering UCLA, USC, Colorado and Texas. . . .

Houston’s family liked Texas Coach Mack Brown when he recruited Lovell a couple of years ago while at North Carolina. But Marcus might shy away from the Longhorns if they sign Albert Hollis, a 10.37 100-meter runner from Sacramento who reneged on a commitment to UCLA. Bruin coaches, having gotten to know him better this season, weren’t all that upset. . . .

Texas also is a leading contender for D.J. Williams, a Concord De La Salle linebacker who might be the nation’s No. 1 defensive recruit, but California coaches will be surprised if he chooses Austin over Berkeley.

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College football’s version of the hot-stove league is so intriguing that it’s easy to forget USC has a game remaining Friday at the Coliseum against Louisiana Tech. . . .

It’s still possible that we will be able to note at the end of the season that neither USC nor UCLA played a ranked team, but Stanford and Louisiana Tech both sneaked in this week at No. 25--the Cardinal in the ESPN coaches’ poll and the Bulldogs in the Associated Press sportswriters’ poll. . . .

Considering that Louisiana Tech has an 8-2 record, a victory at Alabama and Tim Rattay at quarterback, I’m surprised the Trojans are favored. . . .

Louisiana Tech has a football team this season that can make its women’s basketball players proud. . . .

I guess the oddsmakers think that Trojan fans who like to wager won’t take the Bulldogs seriously. But after USC losses in the ‘90s to Memphis State, Fresno State and Texas Christian, Trojan fans take everyone seriously.

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While wondering if the Knicks are leaving a ticket tonight at Staples Center for Heidi Fleiss, I was thinking: The quote of the week last week was delivered by Latrell Sprewell, who said he was still angry at the Golden State Warriors for not handling his “situation” with P.J. Carlesimo better, as if Sprewell were the victim. Yeah, the Warriors must have choked under the pressure.

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Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com.