There must be a catch to this

So as the Angels head to Dodger Stadium for the second installment of the Freeway Series with a May sweep already in their pockets, we were just thinking ...

Maybe hitting coach Eddie Murray wasn’t the problem, although the Dodgers fired him Thursday on the eve of the rematch of a series in which they were outscored, 19-4.

Maybe the real problem was letting Mike Scioscia get away. Since the former Dodgers catcher, coach and minor league manager switched allegiances before the 2000 season, the Angels have won four playoff series, including a World Series.

The Dodgers? Zero.

In that time, Scioscia has a record of 651-550. The Dodgers? They’ve gone through Davey Johnson, Jim Tracy and on to Grady Little, not to mention four general managers.

Nah ... maybe it’s just a coincidence.

Trivia time

What is the all-time series record between the Dodgers and the Angels?

Revenge of the Avengers

The Rams and Raiders are long gone, but the Avengers take offense if anyone says there is no pro football in Los Angeles.

The Arena Football League team is playing its eighth season. That surpasses a raft of defunct L.A./Orange County teams. Only the Rams, at 49 seasons in the area, and the Raiders, at 13, had longer runs.

The list of those that fell by the wayside faster, according to an Avengers researcher, includes:

* Los Angeles Bulldogs, Pacific Coast Professional Football League, 1940-1945.

* Hollywood Bears/Wolves, PCPFL, 1940-1942, 1944-1945.

* Los Angeles Dons, All-America Football Conference, 1946-1949.

* Los Angeles Express, USFL, 1983-1985.

* Southern California Sun, World Football League, 1974-1975.

* Anaheim Piranhas, Arena Football League, 1996-1997.

* Orange County Ramblers, Continental Football League, 1967-68.

* Los Angeles Mustangs, PCPFL, 1943-44.

* Los Angeles Chargers, American Football League, 1960.

* Los Angeles Cobras, Arena Football League, 1988.

* Los Angeles Xtreme, XFL, 2001.

* Long Beach Admirals, Continental Football League, one game in 1967.

Like father, like son?

Not quite.

Jesse Rambis doesn’t wear Clark Kent glasses and trade elbows with opponents, but he qualified for the main draw of the AVP’s Charleston (S.C.) Open by winning three beach volleyball matches Thursday.

Rambis, 21, is the son of ex-Lakers forward and current assistant coach Kurt Rambis.

Take my tickets ... please

As the appeal of this year’s NBA Finals sank to a level matching the appeal of final exams, the ticket market tanked.

Tickets to Thursday’s Game 4 were being offered for as little as $74 on StubHub.com. What self-respecting Cleveland fan wanted to pay money knowing there was a chance San Antonio would be celebrating a sweep on the Cavaliers’ floor?

Outta here

As Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox approaches the all-time record for ejections from games, the satirical site TheOnion.com paid tribute to baseball’s all-time best on-field tantrums, including this fictional one from 1876:

“During the first official season of Major League Baseball, Hartford Dark Blues manager Bob Ferguson often argued with umpire Abner Doubleday by saying he was ‘making up the rules as he goes along,’ which he was, in fact, doing.”

Trivia answer

The Angels lead the series, 33-26.

And finally...

NBA Commissioner David Stern, in an interview with USA Today about the NBA Finals and TV ratings: “We’ve had, shall I say, inelegant games, and the ratings show me that our fans are very discerning.”

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com