Morning briefing

Here’s the unappealing option the Angels face.

They can avoid facing Josh Beckett again -- if they get swept.

Otherwise they figure to see him in Game 4, and his performance in Game 1 was enough to make columnist Bob Ryan wax historic in the Boston Globe.

They need a Ruthian comeback

Very historic.

“How good was Josh Beckett last night? Depending on your depth of Red Sox postseason knowledge, it was either the best postseason pitching performance since Luis Tiant in ‘75, Jim Lonborg in ‘67, Boo Ferriss in ‘46, or perhaps even Babe Ruth in either -- take your pick -- 1918 (six-hit shutout in Game 1) or 1916 (the 14-inning, 2-1 conquest of the Dodgers).”

Trivia time

Two Red Sox pitchers are tied for the franchise lead in wins, with 192, and also in shutouts, with 38. Roger Clemens is one.

Who is the other?

You again?

John Elway and Tom Ramsey used to go at it as rival quarterbacks when Elway was at Granada Hills High and Ramsey was at Granada Hills Kennedy, and again when Elway played at Stanford and Ramsey played at UCLA.

These days, Ramsey is living in the Denver area and helps coach his son Luke’s eighth-grade football team.

Guess who’s nearby, helping coach his son Jack’s team at Cherry Creek High?

Elway, naturally.

By the way, Ramsey said he is to be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame this year, 25 years after leading UCLA over Michigan in the 1983 game.

That’s one Hall of Fame that Elway can’t get into. He never played in the game.

Yawn-inducing

Hockey is a great game with an image problem, not to mention a television problem.

Few of these slogans NHL teams have come up with seem likely to catapult the sport to greater heights.

A selection, courtesy of Sports Business Daily:

Buffalo Sabres: We Are Sabres.

Calgary Flames: C of Red.

Carolina Hurricanes: Our Team. Our Tradition.

Edmonton Oilers: You’re In Oil Country.

Florida Panthers: See It. Get It. Love It.

Kings: We Play For L.A.

Montreal Canadiens: The City Is Hockey.

New York Islanders: We’re All Islanders and Grit. Character. Heart.

San Jose Sharks: This Is Sharks Territory.

St. Louis Blues: Whatever It Takes.

Vancouver Canucks: We Are All Canucks.

One we like belongs to the Boston Bruins: The Hub of Hockey.

One we like more is the Ducks’. They don’t have one -- just a Stanley Cup championship.

Go figure

The Irish are 0-5, but the Notre Dame-UCLA football game is nonetheless a hot ticket.

Fans at TicketsNow.com have paid an average of $172 per ticket, the site reported, despite the availability of tickets for as little as $24 Thursday.

Most expensive ticket purchased, according to TicketsNow: $589.

Chang of pace

Among the golfers who competed in the California State Open in Temecula last week was 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang.

“For me to be able to come out and hit balls is relaxing,” Chang, 35, told the North County Times. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m not trying to be like Rick Rhoden and make it on the Champions Tour or anything like that. I’m just really enjoying the game.”

Chang missed the cut after rounds of 78 and 80.

Trivia answer

Cy Young.

And finally

Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks are the inspiration for endless punch lines after this week’s jury decision in a sexual harassment case.

This from David Letterman:

“Let me ask you a question: Are you folks enjoying the new fall television programs? Have you seen the show about the cavemen? Fantastic, isn’t it? Here’s what it is: It’s a group of cavemen and they live together and they run Madison Square Garden.”

robyn.norwood@latimes.com