It Wasn’t a Case of Identity Thrift

When it was announced in February that Vin Scully was given a contract extension through 2008, Scully let it be known he didn’t like it that the player names had been taken off Dodger uniforms.

So Frank McCourt announced right then and there that the names would be back in 2007.

Before last season, the names had been on the Dodger uniforms since 1972.

Some people think that Walter O’Malley originally resisted putting names on the uniform because he and general manager Buzzie Bavasi thought it would hurt sales of game programs.

Peter O’Malley said Friday that wasn’t the case.

“My father was in favor of names on the uniforms because he thought it would help the fans at the stadium and the viewers at home identify the players,” O’Malley said.

Also, apparently, the announcers.

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Trivia time: UCLA won seven consecutive NCAA men’s basketball championships; no other team has won more than two straight. What school was the last to win consecutive titles?

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Good reasoning: For their 21st wedding anniversary, Laker assistant Kurt Rambis gave wife Linda an elaborate, three-stone diamond ring and arranged a celebrity-filled party Thursday night at Staples Center. Among those attending were Jeanie Buss and Steve Bellamy, the founder and president of the Tennis Channel.

Buss told Bellamy that before the NCAA tournament began she did an interview with a Florida radio station and predicted that Florida, with star sophomore forward Joakim Noah, would go to the Final Four.

“The station called me back this week and asked why I picked Florida,” Buss said. “I told them because Joakim Noah is the son of [former tennis star] Yannick Noah, and that tennis players are great athletes.”

Bellamy liked that answer.

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Stamp of approval: There’s the John R. Wooden Award, the John R. Wooden Classic and the Nell and John Wooden Court at Pauley Pavilion. And it appears there will soon be the Coach John Wooden Post Office.

A bill introduced in Congress in December by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) on Thursday was passed by the House Government Reform Committee and now awaits passage by the full House.

The John Wooden Post Office would be in Reseda, even though Wooden has lived in Encino since 1972. The post office in Encino was named after Chick Hearn in 2002.

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Looking back: On this day in 1984, USC, led by Cheryl Miller and twins Pam and Paula McGee, won its second consecutive women’s basketball national championship, 72-61, over Tennessee.

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Trivia answer: Duke in 1991 and ’92.

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And finally: Because of all the upsets, some people are calling this NCAA men’s tournament the best ever. But Seth Davis of CBS and Sports Illustrated, as a guest on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” said, “This is the best tournament we’ve had since last year’s.”

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