It’s nice to see the Lakers’ Lamar Odom at play

Welcome back, Lamar Odom. . . .

When the enigmatic Lakers forward is fully engaged, as he was Wednesday night, he is a pleasure to watch because he competes with a Magic Johnson-like joie de vivre. . . .

When he’s not, he doesn’t. . . .

Kobe: Doin’ Decoy. . . .

Chauncey Billups, wearing No. 7 in honor of John Elway, is the first Denver native to play for the Nuggets. . . .

Gail Goodrich, who prepped at Sun Valley Poly High before moving to UCLA, is the greatest Southland-bred Laker, but former Westchester High standout Trevor Ariza might have something to say about that before he’s finished. . . .

Wednesday at Staples Center wasn’t the first time that Tyrese Gibson was booed while singing the national anthem. . . .

In December 2007, the R&B; crooner was jeered by Ricky Hatton fans before a Hatton-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout in Las Vegas, a headline in the London Daily Mail later noting, “Boozed up boo boys shamed their nation as well as their hero.” . . .

This time, Gibson brought the heat on himself by singing “our Lakers were still there” instead of “our flag was still there.” . . .

The Dodgers, sailing along with the best record in baseball, haven’t finished a season with baseball’s top mark since 1974, when Steve Garvey was the National League’s most valuable player and Mike Marshall the league’s Cy Young Award winner. . . .

They’re now in their 60s. . . .

That team, also featuring Jimmy Wynn, Andy Messersmith and Don Sutton, lost to the Oakland A’s in the World Series. . . .

Second place in their division, three games out, sounds pretty good for the Angels when you consider that Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu, Gary Matthews Jr. and Jeff Mathis have hit three home runs among them and John Lackey, Ervin Santana and still-mending Kelvim Escobar have combined for one win. . . .

With the French Open heating up and Wimbledon on deck, this must be a great time of year for the couple who owns the car bearing this California vanity plate: 10S M8S. . . .

Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, was part of a judicial panel that kept Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett out of the NFL draft in 2004 -- a ruling that also affected USC receiver Mike Williams. . . .

Dodgers die-hard Alyssa Milano, Lakers honk Jack Nicholson and USC supporter Will Ferrell rank among the top 10 celebrity sports fans, according to realclearsports.com. . . .

Also making the cut: Denis Leary, Stephen King, Ashley Judd, Regis Philbin, Elton John, Billy Crystal and Spike Lee. . . .

The Pasadena-based Baseball Reliquary has announced the 2009 class of inductees to its Shrine of the Eternals: Roger Maris; Jim Eisenreich, who overcame Tourette’s syndrome to bat .290 over 15 major league seasons; and Steve Dalkowski, an erratic, hard-throwing left-hander who never reached the majors but inspired the Nuke LaLoosh character in “Bull Durham.” . . .

They will be enshrined July 19 at the Pasadena Central Library in a ceremony open to the public free of charge. . . .

The local chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research offers a bus tour of former L.A. baseball park sites, June 6 at 9:30 a.m. starting at the LA84 Foundation, 2141 W. Adams Blvd. . . .

Information: (909) 338-2487. . . .

Before the Clippers won the Blake Griffin sweepstakes, Michael Lee of the Washington Post suggested that Donald Sterling’s crew be barred from the process for a year because “you shouldn’t be rewarded every year for that kind of ineptitude.” . . .

Ralph Lawler and Bob Miller deserve better than to be silenced every year when the NBA and NHL seasons reach their peak. . . .

In a Sports Illustrated poll of 324 NHL players taken before the playoffs, more than half said Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was the best player in hockey. . . .

Only 1.9% said Sidney Crosby. . . .

Adding Jerry West as executive director of the Northern Trust Open is nice, but what the tournament really needs is Tiger Woods, who has skipped the annual event at Riviera Country Club the last three years and has never won it in 11 starts. . . .

While Tom Brady says he’d like to play until he’s 41, Brett Favre still hasn’t committed to next season. . . .

When he’ll turn 40. . . .

This might soothe Lakers fans if things don’t go well tonight at Denver: Since moving to Los Angeles, the Lakers have lost only once in 11 Game 7s on their home court. . . .

They’re unbeaten when Bill Russell is not the opposing center and Jack Kent Cooke has not hung balloons in the rafters.

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jerome.crowe@latimes.com