Morning briefing

Wrong swing at wrong time

Angels catcher Jeff Mathis was a prominent story on ESPN this winter. Well, a back story anyway.

Mathis was repeatedly shown on the self-anointed worldwide leader . . . striking out.

He was the batter on ESPN most often being K’d by Roger Clemens when the cable channel was teasing a story about Clemens.

The Times’ Mike DiGiovanna barely finished asking a question about Mathis’ airtime before the Angels catcher chimed in, “How many times did I strike out this winter? About 250 times on one of the ugliest swings I’ve ever seen.”

And seen and seen . . .

“I caught a lot of flack from my friends,” Mathis said. “By the end of the winter I started laughing about it.”

In his brief career, Mathis has been struck out by Clemens only that one time. That prompts the question, what does ESPN have against Mathis? Maybe Congress should investigate.

Trivia time

The NBA All-Star game is being played tonight in New Orleans. Which side won last season’s game? No fair guessing.

Food for thought

The United States Olympic Committee has made arrangements to ship food to China for the Summer Games to protect U.S. athletes, the New York Times reported.

Frank Puleo, a caterer from Staten Island who has traveled to China to handle food-related issues, told the Times that he purchased a 14-inch chicken breast that “was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”

Masking agents

Meanwhile, Britain is considering supplying its athletes with masks for the Beijing Olympics to counter air pollution.

British Olympic Assn. Chief Executive Simon Clegg told the London Times: “We are all hopeful that the Chinese authorities will have addressed this issue by August, so the athletes are not put in a position where the measures we have put in place have to be deployed.”

Suspect food, bad air? Coming this summer, “Survivor: Beijing.”

Dawg gone it

With Georgia football fans still unhappy about being left out of the national title game, the state’s House passed a resolution Friday urging the NCAA to create a playoff system for college football.

The 151-9 vote made one thing perfectly clear: There are nine Georgia Tech grads in the house.

Another Patriot Act

William Gary, formerly of the St. Louis Rams, is among a group that the Cincinnati Enquirer reported filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for losing the 2002 Super Bowl, accusing the New England Patriots of cheating by videotaping the St. Louis Rams’ walk-through before the game.

According to the Enquirer, Gary wants each member of the Rams’ roster to receive $25,000 -- the difference between the bonuses paid to the losing team and the winning team -- plus compensation for not receiving a championship ring, which, according to the suit, now sells for $125,000 on EBay.

Austin city limits

Officials in Austin, Texas, are boasting about holding the first “green” marathon this weekend, with bins along the course to allow runners to recycle their old running shoes.

Isn’t it usually after the race that marathoners turn green?

Trivia answer

The West, 153-132. The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was named most valuable player.

And finally

The Dallas Mavericks’ Devean George seems to be enjoying the attention that came with his refusal to be traded to the New Jersey Nets in the Jason Kidd deal.

“I never thought I would be in this position to throw the league into a frenzy,” George told the Dallas Morning News.

“I didn’t know I’d be able to have that power. Everyone is, like, going crazy and wants to ask me questions and stuff.”

chris.foster@latimes.com