Foul play by a referee would be tough to stop

Text messages from press row ...

In an age when cheating seems to be taken lightly by many in the sports world, it’s sadly not all that surprising to learn of allegations against a referee....

What could be easier for a referee to manipulate than the over/under on a basketball game? ...

Just keep calling fouls until the over number is reached....

When the Stanley Cup champion Ducks open the season with games against the Kings on Sept. 29-30 at the new 02 Arena in London, they will be the first team from the NHL, NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball to begin defense of their title with a game outside North America, according to the Elias Sports Bureau....

Both teams have sold out their allotment of tickets, so as many as 1,000 Southland hockey fans are expected to make the trip....

It’s probably worth noting again that Tom Glavine of the New York Mets, two victories shy of 300 as he takes to the mound tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates, was a fourth-round pick of the Kings in the 1984 NHL entry draft....

Glavine, the 69th pick overall, was taken two rounds before Brett Hull and five rounds before Luc Robitaille, who was the 171st pick....

Five days earlier, Glavine had been picked by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of baseball’s amateur draft, and the native of Billerica, Mass., gave up hockey -- though he did skate with the Boston Bruins at a practice in 1992....

Including Glavine but not Mario Lemieux, who was the top pick in the ’84 draft, 82 of the 170 players taken before Robitaille never played in the NHL....

Regarding the so-called “Legends” match between John McEnroe and Jim Courier on Aug. 6 at the Home Depot Center: Since when is Jim Courier a legend? ...

Jack Nicklaus won one major title in the year after his 31st birthday, the ninth of his career, so 31-year-old Tiger Woods, with 12 major championships, is still ahead of the Golden Bear’s pace despite his oh-fer so far this year....

The major Nicklaus won as a 31-year-old: the PGA Championship....

Kevin Garnett, who owns a home in Malibu but is based most of the year in Minneapolis, showed Saturday night that he is not quite fully versed in the ways of the typical L.A. sports fan, arriving more than an hour early for David Beckham’s Galaxy debut at the Home Depot Center....

Reader J. Peter Rich, describing an hour’s wait to leave, says the parking situation at the Home Depot Center on Saturday was “horrendous,” adding, “It made the worst of Dodger Stadium (Opening Day) look good by comparison.” ...

Daniel Ewing, waived by the Clippers last month, reportedly has signed to play for Khimki Moscow of the Russian Basketball Federation....

John Montgomery, a senior walk-on point guard at Loyola Marymount last season and son of former Stanford and Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery, has been hired as a full-time assistant at Furman by Coach Jeff Jackson, who was an assistant to Mike Montgomery at Stanford....

Only seven schools, among them Stanford, have produced more Academic All-American athletes than the 108 produced by UCLA, according to research conducted by Bentley College publicist Dick Lipe, Academic All-American chairman of the College Sports Information Directors of America....

Nebraska is the all-time leader with 252 Academic All-Americans in the 55 years since the award was established in 1952....

Possibly making a rare appearance at the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing, in time for this weekend’s finals at the Huntington Beach Pier: big waves....

The event has been plagued in recent years by tiny, wind-blown slop, but if Tropical Storm Dalila tracks to the west off southern Mexico, Sean Collins of surfline.com reports, it could deliver head-high surf starting Friday....

Yogi Berra, inducted into the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals, was unable to attend Sunday’s ceremony in Pasadena, but the Hall of Famer was there in spirit, explaining in remarks read by Toni Mollett, grandniece of Casey Stengel, “I’m sorry I can’t be here today because I’m somewhere else.”

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jerome.crowe@latimes.com