She must have worn a name tag

Perhaps it was an omen for a certain slugging third baseman who wears No. 13 for the New York Yankees when a red-tailed hawk attacked a young girl who was touring Fenway Park on Thursday.

The hawk, which had nested near the stadium press box, unexpectedly swooped down from its perch with its talons extended and scratched the head of the girl, who was touring the stadium with her middle school class.

“She’s a little shaken, but she’s OK,” teacher Vince Jennetta told the Boston Globe.

So what does this have to do with the Yankees’ third baseman?

The girl’s name: Alexa Rodriguez, age 13.

Trivia time

Coach Jack Gardner led Kansas State to the Final Four in 1948 and 1951 then took Utah to the Final Four in 1961 and 1966, becoming the first coach to lead multiple teams to multiple Final Fours. Who is the only other coach to accomplish that feat?

Bling it on

New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said the team’s Super Bowl rings should be a “10-table ring,” defined as one that could be seen 10 tables away in a restaurant.

He won’t be disappointed. The Giants unveiled the ring this week and the Tiffany and Co. design includes about 1.5 carats in diamonds and is a sparkling white gold.

“I threw out the fact that it was a big win, it was a huge win, so the ring should be designed accordingly,” said center Shaun O’Hara, who was among a group of players involved with the design. “Michael said it best when he said he wanted a 10-table ring. I think everybody is going to be very pleased with the design.”

Bad memories

Coach Thad Matta and Ohio State finally got their championship when the Buckeyes defeated Massachusetts in the NIT final Thursday.

Still it was a year too late and the wrong tournament for the Buckeyes, whose loss to Florida in the NCAA title game last year still stings so badly that they might not be watching the Final Four today.

“Kind of a sore loser,” Matta said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I think I’m going to rest.”

Scratching the itch

Baseball has had its share of problems with gambling, but that isn’t stopping the Pennsylvania Lottery from associating with the national pastime.

Lottery officials this week unveiled a baseball-themed scratch-off ticket featuring the Phillies and Pirates. Prizes include tickets to Phillies and Pirates games, All-Star game tickets, trips to spring training and up to $100,000 in cash.

Free lottery tickets will be distributed to the first 50 adults at selected Phillies and Pirates games, so anyone seeking a Pete Rose autograph might try the front of the line on those days.

Money for nothing

The Detroit Tigers increased their payroll by nearly $40 million in the off-season and have the third-highest payroll in the major leagues at $138 million after acquiring slugger Miguel Cabrera and left-hander Dontrelle Willis, among others.

Still, they have started the season winless in four games, including a three-game sweep by the Kansas City Royals, who rank among the most frugal spenders with a $58-million payroll.

“We stunk. It’s pretty simple,” Detroit Manager Jim Leyland told reporters at the end of the Royals series. “We acted like a dead club. We looked like an old club.”

So does that mean they qualify as old money?

Trivia answer

Roy Williams, who is in this year’s Final Four with North Carolina. It is his second trip with the Tar Heels after making four trips with Kansas.

And finally

The Chicago White Sox gave up 17 runs in losing the first two games of a season-opening series with the Cleveland Indians but finally got in the win column with a 2-1 victory Thursday.

Manager Ozzie Guillen said there was never reason to panic.

“We expected to win at least one game this year,” he said.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com