The search is on for a real ‘Heel

Not to give any USC or UCLA fans any ideas, but did you see the prank on Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry?

Ferry, who played at Duke, arrived at the Cavaliers’ new $25-million practice facility this week to find one of his office walls painted Carolina blue, complete with a very professional-looking North Carolina logo and a Tar Heels footprint.

“I have no sense of humor when it comes to that,” Ferry told reporters. “This is my office for one day. Tomorrow it will be fixed.”

Pranksters also arranged for Coach Mike Brown’s office to be painted pink.

Ferry promised revenge.

A quick check of the roster revealed no former Carolina players. But check out the coaching staff: John Kuester, an assistant coach, played for Carolina in the 1970s. But he’s probably being framed.

Other suspects? How about LeBron James?

NC could stand for No College.

Trivia time

How many Final Four teams did Ferry play on at Duke?

Deep breath, Boston

Every loss by the Red Sox -- and every win by the Yankees -- is making it harder for people to breathe in Boston.

With the Red Sox lead in the American League East down to 1 1/2 games, the Boston Globe’s website polled fans on their anxiety level.

More than 11,000 responded.

Some 44% rated their level as “crawl on the ledge,” and another 25% chose “panic.”

Other responses: Worry (14%), Relax, October is what matters. . . not September (10%) and Concern (7%).

Repeat after us: This is not 1978. There is a wild-card berth. This is not 1978. There is a wild-card berth. This is not 1978.

Finally in the League

No, Sonny Vaccaro is not working for the NBA.

We’re talking Ivy League.

Vaccaro, the former shoe company impresario who has been called the godfather of amateur basketball, made the first stop on his fall tour Wednesday when he spoke at Harvard Law School, and skewered the NCAA for hypocrisy and the NBA for its early entry rules. Today’s stop: Yale.

Among other things, Vaccaro told the Harvard audience of about 30 that he used to routinely buy airplane tickets for the parents of college players, saying that he had a “deal with US Air in the 1980s,” the New York Times reported.

Some pair, the renegade-turned-crusader and Harvard Law.

“In our organization, we’re looking for people who have opinions and tend to be controversial,” Mike Menitove, president of Harvard’s Committee of Sports and Entertainment Law, told the newspaper. “Whatever you think about Sonny, he certainly is a passionate guy.”

Also in the works: an HBO biographical drama called “ABCD Camp,” in which actor James Gandolfini, a.k.a. Tony Soprano, will play Vaccaro.

King of the rink

Luc Robitaille hasn’t exactly been an old-time hockey guy since becoming the Kings’ president of business operations.

He announced that a new Kings mascot, a 6-foot lion character named Bailey, will be unveiled on the team’s website today.

“As an organization, we feel it is very important to connect with our fans and with the public as a whole and a mascot is a great and fun way to accomplish this, especially as it relates to kids,” Robitaille said.

One nice touch: Bailey is named after the late Ace Bailey, the Kings’ director of pro scouting who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Trivia answer

Three, in 1986, ’88 and ’89.

And finally

Lindsay Davenport, who has won seven consecutive matches since returning to the WTA Tour three months after giving birth, and is traveling with her infant son, her mother and a nanny in tow:

“Luckily, he’s quite a good sleeper.”

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com