Chicago White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia retired the first 23 Angels batters he faced Wedensday night, putting him four outs from the majors' first perfect game in more than two years. Then, his bid ended—not, as you might think, because of the bat of Adam Kennedy, who lined a base hit. No, the culprit sat in a broadcast booth above the field, and swung no bat. Instead, he spoke words Garcia never heard.

White Sox broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson announced, after the seventh inning, ''PERFECT THROUGH SEVEN!'' And this, Chicago Sun-times columnist Jay Mariotti declares, is the reason Garcia blew it. Here's Mariotti:

To hear him violate the traditional code that comes with any no-hit bid—never, ever mention the p-word or the n-word during a broadcast—basically jinxed any chance of Garcia completing the rare deed. Same goes for a large WGN graphic posted in the top of the eighth inning, which blared this to an afternoon drive-time audience in Chicago:

'PERFECT GAME IN PROGRESS.''

Of course, Garcia lost his flirtation with perfection in the eighth, only magnifying the decision by Harrelson and the production crew to blurt out the news flash. Why not be cleverly subdued like other broadcast crews in similar situations?

How should broadcasters act in similar situations? In the South Florida Sun-Sentinel last week, Jim Sarni noted that Marlins broadcasters pussy-footed around rookie Anibal Sanchez's no-hitter bid. Surely that was the reason he was successful. (And surely it's because Carl, attending a game in San Francisco last week, noted out loud, from the cheap seats, that Giants pitcher Matt Cain took a no-hitter into the sixth inning is the reason Brian Giles singled to right.)

Superstitition is harmless, but it's also sloppy thinking. Newspapers should promote clear thinking and rationality, and not reinforce unfounded beliefs.

Bonus: Check out the WIkipedia entry on Harrelson, which reports that he "currently serves as a television broadcast announcer for the Chicago White Sox (or at least while they're winning). When the White Sox are trailing, he talks about his old playing days." Wikipedia writes, "The neutrality of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".