Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez needs some positive energy in Boston

This weekend might have been more interesting if Vladimir Shpunt were still on the Dodgers’ payroll.…

Would the “positive energy” transmitted by the Russian emigre physicist and self-proclaimed healer trump the negative vibe directed at Manny Ramirez by Red Sox fans? …

Sadly, we’ll never know.…

The Sandy Koufax comparisons are premature, of course, but Clayton Kershaw gives Dodgers fans reason to dream. …

Cliff Lee would look splendid in Dodger blue before the trade deadline, of course, but even more so in October.…

Everyone talks about LeBron James, but ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews also will be a free agent July 1.…

She too will be in demand.…

Seventh games in the NBA Finals were more frequent before the league switched to a 2-3-2 format in 1985.…

In an era of five-man rotations and fewer starts, Ubaldo Jimenez has virtually no chance of becoming the majors’ first 30-game winner since Denny McLain in 1968.…

The Dodgers, for instance, haven’t even had a 20-game winner since Ramon Martinez in 1990.…

The Angels’ most recent was Bartolo Colon -- five years ago.…

Thirty-five years ago this week, the Lakers acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a blockbuster trade that sent Elmore Smith, Brian Winters and recently drafted Junior Bridgeman and Dave Meyers to the Milwaukee Bucks.…

Also drafted in 1975 was Joe “Jellybean” Bryant of LaSalle, whose son Kobe was born three years later.…

After bringing Colorado and Utah on board, the Pacific 10 Conference probably would call itself the 12-Pac if it could squeeze a few bucks out of a sponsoring beer company.…

By the way, with Matt Barkley and USC out of the running by NCAA decree, Oregon is the favorite and Oregon State the No. 2 choice to represent the Pac-10 in the 2011 Rose Bowl, according to odds posted at Bodog.com.…

UCLA, a 6-1 shot, is the No. 4 pick.…

Forgive USC fans their skepticism when Reggie Bush professes his “great love and respect” for the university he helped disgrace through his involvement with agents.…

At least he didn’t promise to pursue the “real” cheaters.…

Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, where Trevor Bauer and UCLA on Saturday will launch their bid for the Bruins’ first NCAA baseball championship, will be razed after the College World Series to allow for expansion of a nearby zoo.…

Next year, the tournament moves to a new state-of-the-art stadium a few miles up the road in downtown Omaha.…

Perhaps Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” is not heard much at major league ballparks, reader Wilburn Smith III of Laguna Niguel e-mails to suggest, “because it is a socialist anthem decrying capitalism … and most owners of professional sports teams are ardent capitalists.” …

Guthrie was once asked if he were a communist, reader Steve Roberts of Thousand Oaks e-mails to note, and he replied, “I don’t know if I’m a communist, but I’ve been in the red all my life.” …

A Sporting News ranking of 25 athletes younger than 25, topped by Sidney Crosby, includes Southland products Mark Sanchez, Evan Longoria and DeSean Jackson.…

Among 10 others barely missing the cut were the Dodgers’ Kershaw and former USC linebacker Clay Matthews.…

U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, dismissing a prediction by Slovenia’s Andrej Komac that Komac & Co. would topple Team USA on Friday: “A lot of boxers talk too and they’re looking up at the lights … trying to figure out how they got there.” …

Pele, told this week by fellow soccer icon Diego Maradona to “go back to the museum,” will turn 70 in October.…

Roger Federer, seeded No. 1 at Wimbledon even though Rafael Nadal recently replaced him atop the world rankings, has lost only twice on grass in more than seven years.…

Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens, seeking support from the public in his opposition to a proposed 18-game NFL regular season: “If fans want to show their love, they should let everyone know that we are not machines.” …

Tom Watson has competed in every U.S. Open played at Pebble Beach, the only player that can make that claim.…

Watson, 60, won in 1982. …

Jonathan Papelbon, asked by the Boston Globe how he might pitch to Ramirez: “Very carefully, dude. Very carefully.”

jerome.crowe@latimes.com