Text messages from press row...

Mannywood is suddenly lifeless, its disgraced leader gone missing and its devoted denizens deflated. . . .

From Pawtucket to Provincetown on Thursday, Boston Red Sox fans shouted into their chowder, “Told you so.” . . .

Manny Ramirez is the sixth player among baseball’s top 17 all-time home run hitters who has been linked to drugs. . . .

It’s not fair, of course, but playing in the steroids era also casts doubt on two more of the top 17: Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Thome, who presumably are clean. . . .

Here’s an idea for a new ZIP Code at Dodger Stadium, replacing the recently announced 90090 and reflecting Ramirez’s 50-game suspension: 86450. . . .

When will we stop doubting Jose Canseco? . . .

Derek Fisher, his suspension for tonight’s game a no-brainer, looked more like Mickey Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson than a savvy, levelheaded veteran Wednesday night. . . .

Watching Kobe Bryant score 40 points in Game 2 probably reminded a few longtime Lakers fans of Jerry West, who averaged 40.6 during the 1965 playoffs, carrying the Lakers to the NBA Finals after Elgin Baylor suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening game of the first round. . . .

Noted TNT’s Charles Barkley of Bryant’s “he can’t guard me” attitude toward Shane Battier, “Some nights you let the game come to you; some nights you have to go get it.” . . .

With Yao Ming getting the better of Pau Gasol in Game 1 and Gasol the better of Yao in Game 2, the series could hinge on the Yao-Pau matchup, which is fun to say if nothing else. . . .

If Scott Niedermayer and the Ducks eliminate the favored Detroit Red Wings from the playoffs again, they might want to change the name of their Anaheim home to Wingstop Arena. . . .

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, is calling on the L.A. branch of the NAACP to put on hold its plan to give a lifetime achievement award to Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who is accused of racism in a lawsuit filed by former general manager Elgin Baylor. . . .

Reader Doug Hays of La Canada e-mails to note that if the Tournament of Roses does not select Vin Scully as grand marshal of next year’s Rose Parade, “it will be the biggest injustice since [its] failure to pick Jackie Robinson when he was still alive.” . . .

Next year’s parade theme: A Cut Above the Rest. . . .

A likeness of Muhammad Ali sold for $5,100 at an auction of Hollywood Wax Museum figures, topping the winning bids made for likenesses of Mark McGwire ($3,600), Mike Tyson ($3,000), Michael Jordan ($2,700), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ($1,800), Tiger Woods ($1,680) and Joe Montana ($1,560). . . .

Punk rock fans surely must have enjoyed this USA Today headline over a story about London’s attempts to bring a Super Bowl to the city: “London Calling for Super Clash.” . . .

Danny Gans, the Torrance-reared Las Vegas headliner and former minor league baseball player who died last week, had a small role in the 1988 film “Bull Durham” and is remembered fondly by director Ron Shelton, who e-mails to note, “He could turn the double play, which few actors can.” . . .

Shelton says he cut a scene -- “due to length, not quality” -- in which the impressionist performed the national anthem, “singing in several voices from Michael Jackson to Johnny Mathis, sort of a preview of what his Vegas act would become.” . . .

Larry Hollyfield, who helped UCLA win three NCAA basketball championships in the early 1970s, is recovering from a stroke at Reche Canyon Rehab Center in Colton, reports longtime friend and former Compton High teammate Reynaldo Brown, who finished fifth in the high jump at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. . . .

KLAC radio hosts Steve Hartman and Matt “Money” Smith have written a book, “The Great Book of Los Angeles Sports Lists,” which offers rankings silly, sublime and always fun. . . .

Here, for instance, are the authors’ top five “Chickisms,” an ode to the late Chick Hearn, of course: “He did the bunny hop in the pea patch,” meaning a player traveled in the lane; “Coop-a-loop,” an alley-oop pass to Michael Cooper; “The mustard came off the hot dog,” signifying excessive showboating; “slam dunk,” self-explanatory; and “It’s in the refrigerator,” indicating that the Lakers had put away another opponent. . . .

A personal favorite that didn’t make the list: “I don’t think that the Lord and all of his disciples could have stopped the Lakers.”

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jerome.crowe@latimes.com