Don’t Tell Red Sox It’s Never Too Late

People in Boston weren’t too happy about the start time of Game 1 of the Red Sox’s series opener with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. It began at 7 p.m. in Oakland, which is 10 p.m. in Boston.

“It’s not an inconvenience, it’s an outrage,” Gerry Callahan wrote in the Boston Herald. “Forget about 6-, 7-, or 8-year-olds There is not one 14-year-old kid out there who can realistically see this through to the end.

“Most 14-year-old kids won’t even be able to read about Game 1 in the newspaper [today]. It will end too late to get in most editions.”

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Trivia time: Before they were the Red Sox, what was their nickname?

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What a deal: Tickets for Saturday night’s boxing card at Staples Center start at $25. Promoter Bob Arum pointed out that because there are four championship fights on the card, that’s $6.25 per title fight. (Actually, there are three title bouts, plus the main event.)

“I paid $6.50 for a latte at Starbucks the other day,” Arum said. “Is this a bargain or what?”

The difference: Arum probably got a good seat at Starbucks for his $6.50.

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A Plimpton wannabe: CBS’ Craig Kilborn announced on his late-night show that he is going to try out for the Minnesota Timberwolves next week. Kilborn, who played basketball in the early 1980s at Montana State, says he was “a standout bench warmer.” He averaged 3.1 points.

In a satellite interview with Coach Flip Saunders, Kilborn said, “I’m a throwback to the old NBA, when players were slower and less skilled. Two words for you: bounce pass. I have two more words for you: groin pull.”

And when Kilborn crashes the boards, here’s another word he might hear: “Timber!”

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Head of the class: A recent quip here from a reader -- “What do USC players get on their SATs? Drool” -- prompted USC graduate Joseph O’Connor to send along recent statistics from the Princeton Review citing the average SAT scores for current freshman classes.

The USC average was 1,335, UCLA 1,264, California 1,300, Michigan 1,283, and Ohio State 1,169.

Now we know why Jim Healy used to call the Trojans “brain surgeons.”

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Oops department: Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean’s office sent out a statement Wednesday that read: “Rush Limbaugh’s comment this week about Philadelphia Jets quarterback Donovan McNabb is unacceptable.”

A correction soon followed.

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Trivia answer: The Boston Red Sox were the Boston Somersets in 1901 and were the Boston Pilgrims from 1903 to ’07.

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And finally: President Bush showed that he has a little knowledge of hockey when the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils visited the White House on Tuesday.

The president, up to speed on the name of the trophy, congratulated the Devils’ Pat Burns for winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. One problem, though. That award went to Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild.

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com