Is It a No-No to Utter the Words 'No-Hitter' on the Air?
by Ed Price
With two out in the bottom of the sixth inning on June 6, with the Yankees' Javier Vazquez pitching in Toronto, YES Network broadcaster John Flaherty said something on the air about Vazquez he never would have said to Vazquez as a teammate.
"This is the point in the ballgame, Bob, you start thinking about the possibility of a no-hitter," Flaherty said, addressing play-by-play man Bob Lorenz. "Two out here in the sixth, he has not given up a hit yet."
Yes, Flaherty used baseball's version of the N-word: no-hitter.
"I wouldn't have said it to him, but I would have said it to the guy sitting next to me on the bench," Flaherty, a former big-league catcher, told FanHouse in recalling the moment. "I wouldn't say anything to him, but when you're having a conversation about it, you definitely say, 'Oh, he's got a no-hitter going.' "
With so many no-hitters, and close calls, this season, broadcasters' superstitious sides have been tested.
In the end, they are determined to either avoid the jinx or ignore it.
by FanHouse StaffDon Hawkins, a leader of a Mormon church group that had thousands of members at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, collapsed on the field during batting practice and later died.
According to reports, Hawkins collapsed near the third base coaching box as the San Diego Padres were taking batting practice. Medical staff performed CPR on him on the field before he was put in an ambulance at 6:35 p.m. PT, about a half hour before the first pitch, and transported to Good Samaritan Hospital.
The Dodgers announced a short time later that Hawkins had passed away.
Hawkins was on the field as part of Mormon Community Night activities at the Dodgers-Padres game. 
by Pat McManamon
CLEVELAND -- A man wearing a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey was escorted from the Progressive Field bleachers during the sixth inning of the Yankees' 8-0 win over the Indians Wednesday night.
The fan evidently was heckling fans while wearing the jersey, and when he did it in the bleachers the Cleveland fans responded.
As police arrived a chant of "Kick him out" rose from the bleachers, with several Cleveland fans spewing verbal venom toward the fan wearing the Heat jersey. When police arrived to escort the fan out of the stands, the crowd cheered.
Videos posted online from fans in the bleachers on Sports By Brooks showed the fan arriving and being heckled. He responded, evidently in strong terms as before long the seats around the couple were empty.
Police escorted the couple to the exits, and as they did the girl -- who was wearing a Grady Sizemore jersey -- appeared to shove some of the fans yelling at her. The man seemed unbothered; he continued to turn and show his Heat jersey to the crowd as he left. Fans in the area said they were told the fan was escorted out of the bleachers because he was provoking other fans and being disruptive. Police wanted to avoid a bigger problem. 
by Andrew Johnson
John Lackey took the mound in Anaheim Tuesday night for the first time since signing with the Red Sox as a free agent last December after spending the first eight years of his major league career with the Angels.
It was a mostly happy homecoming for Lackey, who continued his strong pitching in the second half by outdueling ex-teammate Jered Weaver with 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a win.
But fans in Anaheim weren't so welcoming of the right-hander, who won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series against the Giants and time and time again came up big in an Angels uniform, showering him with boos at the beginning and end of his start. 
by Pat Lackey
In the top of the 12th inning of the Phillies' 4-3 win over the Reds on Thursday night, Jayson Werth ran into foul territory and reached up into the stands to snag what he thought would be the third out of the inning. Instead, a fan out-reached him and snagged the ball before Werth could grab it.
The fan, who was in Phillies' gear, immediately caught the brunt of Werth's anger.
Two days later, Werth isn't exactly apologizing for the incident. After the fan went on to local radio to give his side of the story -- that the ball was about to hit his 10-year old son and he was trying to keep that from happening -- and say that he wasn't happy Werth cussed him out in front of his son, Werth talked about the incident with the Philadelphia Inquirer, saying that he "felt bad" for the language he used, but stopping short of apologizing.