Headline Writers Go Boone or Bust

As far as the New York tabloids are concerned, Aaron Boone was the right guy to hit the game-winning home run for the Yankees in Game 7 Thursday night.

Headline on Page 1 of the New York Post: “KA-BOONE!” New York Daily News: “BOONE TOWN!”

The Philadelphia Daily News, reaching a bit, chipped in with this one: “Curse of the BOONEBINO!”

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Trivia time: What former major league pitcher wore his hometown on the back of his uniform?

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Fan’s lament: How bad was the loss for Red Sox fans?

“It’s like love, when you get dumped and swear off women forever,” Hal Phillips of Gloucester, Mass., told Bloomberg News.

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Stiff competition: TNT televised Thursday night’s Cleveland Cavalier-Laker exhibition game opposite the Yankees and Red Sox. At halftime, TNT’s Charles Barkley said, “[Cleveland Coach] Paul Silas’ wife and LeBron James’ mother aren’t even watching this game.”

Well, some people were. The game got a respectable national cable rating of 1.0.

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Strange sight: New TNT commentator Steve Kerr said, “Is that really Karl Malone in a Laker jersey? How strange does that look?”

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Plot sickens: Here’s a movie idea that probably won’t go over too big in Chicago. Daily Variety reports that Revolution Studio plans to make a film about a baseball fan who messes up an easy out and then has to deal with the ramifications.

The film would be called “Fan Interference” and star Kevin James of CBS’ “King of Queens.”

Another idea: How about a movie titled “King of the Bronx” about Boone?

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Out on the town: Randy Hill of foxsports.com, on the collapse of the Cubs causing Harry Caray to be spinning in his grave, adds, “But sources report that Harry’s casket hasn’t been slept in.”

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Time gauge: So how long has it been since the Cubs won a World Series? Sixteen U.S. presidents have been elected.

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Cheers? From John Salley on “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” “Hey, Cubs, thanks for reminding me why Harry Caray drank so much.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1977, Reggie Jackson hit three consecutive homers in an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers that gave the Yankees the World Series title in six games. Jackson hit all of his shots on the first pitch.

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Trivia answer: Bill Voiselle, who played for the New York Giants and Boston Braves in the 1940s. He was from Ninety-Six, S.C., and wore No. 96.

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And finally: The World Series starts in New York today and will finish there if the Series goes beyond five games. The reason the Yankees have the home-field advantage is that the American League won this year’s All-Star game.

“It’s not logical to have what is typically the least important game of the year tied to the most important game of the year -- Game 7 of the World Series,” Bob Costas said.

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