When you crunch all the numbers, it adds up to a brilliant, albeit, shortsighted method of madness.
Teaching math to a bunch of high school students using NFL Fantasy Football as a basis ... well, is that just advancing the idea of gambling, or turning it into an educational opportunity?
A story in Monday's San Jose Mercury News tells the tale of John Hagen, a math teacher at Foothill High in San Jose, who uses NFL rushing, passing and scoring stats to teach algebra to a bunch of students who otherwise wouldn't know how to apply their knowledge to something more productive.
Hagen's "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" tactic certainly make his job easier, and makes him kind of the cool teacher on campus. But there's the big picture to look at here: Fantasy football isn't just a nickle-and-dime pasttime.
Said 17-year-old Jessica Zamora in the story: ``You don't really look at it as math that much because you're doing sports."
We can appreciate thinking outside the box when teachers look for ways to connect to students.We did a story awhile back about Dr. Timothy Gay, a physics professor at the University of Nebraska who used situations from a football game to explain things like force, inertia, speed and thrust. That makes sense.
We just wouldn't be comfortable if our daughter came home and spent all her Sundays in front of the TV wondering how Peyton Manning did and told us it was part of her math homework.
ESPN's "Outside The Lines" will tackle this subject on Sunday (6:30 a.m., with a replay at 9 a.m. on ESPNEWS), citing a study conducted by the federal government that shows 83% of the eighth-graders in large U.S.
cities are not considered proficient in math.
“Their attitude about school is just a lot better," says New Jersey eighth-grade teacher Robert Creamer in the ESPN story, which you can also view online by clicking here. "I’ll come in here nine in the morning I’ll have six kids lined up
outside my room: 'Can I get on your laptop to see how so and so (my player) did?'�

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) - Though it's snowing like crazy in Colorado, several members of the World Cup ski family are focused on global warming and its effect on their sport.

"When we look at the glaciers back in the '70s and now, we cannot say this is just a short-term phenomenon or a question of fickle weather," said Guenther Hujara, director of the men's World Cup. "The meteorologists have been telling us over 15 years of the risks coming up. Whoever believes we are going into deep weather problems is wrong _ because we are already in the middle of it."

Even on a day when the men's downhill World Cup training was canceled after a storm dumped 2 feet on snow on the course, triggering threats of an avalanche, Ted Ligety's thoughts were on global warming.

The Olympic combined gold medalist from Park City, Utah, is worried that greenhouse gas emissions will eventually eliminate skiing altogether and rob future generations of the thrills of winter sports.

Three World Cup events already have been canceled because of warm weather, and skiing's governing body has called the situation "critical."
"We already see this year the effects of warm weather. We're supposed to be going over to Europe next week and everything is canceled," Ligety said.

The season-opening races in Soelden, Austria, in October were wiped out because of heavy rain, and the women's events set for St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 9-10 were canceled because of lack of snow and warm temperatures. The men's races in Val d'Isere, France, on the same weekend were scrapped on Wednesday. The photo above is from an empty ski lift in the region of Sudelfeld in southern Bavaria on Wednesday, where the weather is too warm to do anything on skis.

Because of good snowfalls in North America, ski officials are working with organizers in Aspen and Beaver Creek to hold some of the abandoned events in Colorado.

Worrying about weather early in the season has always been part of the World Cup. Only, it used to be mid-October to November that had skiers sweating it out.

"But now we go November and into December," Hujara said. "The spring has hot temperatures, too, now of course. We're more concerned as a winter sport with the lack of snow. But there have been dramatic changes in summer weather, too."

Ligety, who is working with the World Wildlife Fund to create more awareness about the issue, wants people to contact their politicians to urge them to create policies to curb global warming.

For those who see the irony in Ligety talking about global warming on a day that he schlepped through 24 inches of snow to train in the technical events at Keystone -- here's a picture of a Beaver Creek ski patroler going over a bridge in the Colorado city on Tuesday after the snowfall cancelled the World Cup downhill training race -- he noted that races in his hometown were canceled a few years ago because of warm weather.

"This year we have snow, next year we may not," Ligety said. "At this point, I don't think there's many people who can deny there are effects to global warming."

Fellow Utah native Steven Nyman, an Olympic downhiller, said global warming is a hot topic among others on the U.S. Ski Team who are worried about its effect on skiing. He and combined coach John McBride have had several conversations about it after reading Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."

"It's scary," Nyman said. "And we travel around to Chile (for offseason training) and we're deep in the Andes and we see these glaciers every year. We, even being there for three or four years, can watch them deplete. They're going away. And that's very scary because our love is on the snow."

Yet, Nyman said the top professional skiers are "probably the worst" offenders and don't really practice what they preach.

"We're staying in hotel rooms, changing the linens, we're flying here and there and we're driving everywhere. We are using amazing amounts of fuel and resources," Nyman said. "So, it's tough for us to talk as skiers traveling the world."

Ligety said he's doing what he can: He just bought a new fuel-efficient furnace and will travel in a hybrid vehicle instead of a gas guzzler whenever he can. "Little things like that can definitely help," he said.

Ligety said he believes the sport is in grave danger, especially in Europe, where the races are held at lower elevations, where even man-made snow isn't an option.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hold onto your joy stick for a second, Arena Football League fan who can't wait to get your season seats for the 2007 campaign. That Playstation 2 version will be all you get for a little longer than usual.
The season now starts on March 1 -- about six weeks later than usual, when there was a big NBC TV contract and it wanted it fired up the weekend before the Super Bowl. You know, to gain that huge NFL fan base. That never happened.
That pushes the annual ArenaBowl to July 29, which may now conflict with some ice show or circus, but what they heck. They can play around it.
The AFL will have 19 teams for this, its 21st season, including your Los Angeles Avengers, who still call Staples Center home and will use it on Sunday, March 4 to open their 16-game season against the San Jose SaberCats. With New Orleans back and a realigned division -- the Avengers go down to N.O. for Game 3 on March 24 -- it should be one memorable season of kickoffs-into-the-net, rug burns and field goals hitting the overhanging scoreboard.
Can you name the defending champion? It wasn't Jon Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Whachamacallits. Or John Elway's Colorado Thingamagigs. Didn't Mike Ditka own a piece of the Chicago Beerfarts? Anyway, that last team ... they won it.
With the realignment, the Avengers are in the Western Division, along with Arizona, Las Vegas, San Jose and Utah. The Central has Chicago, Colorado, Grand Rapids (which is in the state of ... denial?), Kansas City and Nashville. In the Eastern division, it's Philly, Columbus, Dallas (that's pretty east) and New York; in the Southern, it's Austin (is that more east than Dallas?), Georgia, New Orleans, Orlando and Tampa Bay and ... that's it. The South is loaded. No wonder Dallas had to relocate.
So, without NBC's deep pockets (they decided last June not to renew), the league will mostly be a cable phenomenon until Sam Baker's dad (aka, The Whammer) finds someone willing to advance him some premium TV time. FSN has many of the individual team deals, and Versus signed the national deal to do 11 games and one playoff game. Maybe ESPN/ABC or the NFL Network will be enthusiastic enough to come on board for either the season openers or title game. Did you know ESPN actually carried the Arena Bowl title game from '92 to '97, with such luminaries as Tom Mees, Todd Christensen (with Kirk Herbstreit on color and Mike Golic on the sidelines) and Mike Adamle doing the play-by-play?
Oh, for those good ol' indoor days of the war on the floor. And for the days when Carl's Jr. gave out those super Avenger toys that didn't look at all like any player we saw down on the field.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

You hate to see a great sporting event such as forcing a bunch of dogs to lug a human being on a sled across 1,150 horrible miles of snow, but the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is getting hit in the wallet because, of all things, it's having trouble selling raffle tickets and the drain of its website.
According to the Associated Press, the organization that runs this thing is facing a $600,000 shortfall in its $3.8 million budget because of the Iditarod Insider Web site and too few winter raffle tickets sold, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce.
The Web site has daily video clips and updates throughout the race, which is important for those of us who want to know how many dogs have fallen ill and just been left for dead along the way. It also had live streaming of events, including the start and finish, virtual trail fly-bys and the option to view video archives of the race for a whole year.
The Iditarod Trail Committee typically sells 2,000 raffle tickets for a summer drawing and 4,000 for a winter drawing, bringing in $600,000. Last winter, ticket sales fell 450 short, knocking $45,000 off estimated revenues.
According to the Website, 97 dog drivers, including 36 rookies, were signed up to start for the March race. They're also holding an auction to become an Idita-Rider: That is, you get to ride the first 11 miles through downtown Anchorage, Alaska with your favorite musher, providing you start with the minimum $500 bid.
Shouldn't that be enough to keep this tradition from just melting away?
Or why not sell a few more copies of Disney's "Snow Dogs" with Cuba Gooding Jr., at the Iditarod Web store?
Or, they could just cut back on the food they buy for the pooches...

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you missed the second half kickoff of Saturday's USC-Notre Dame, don't fret. Nothing happened.
Which completely sucked for Burbank's Brian Batter.
He won the internet vote on KSPN-AM 710 to make the live call of that play, based on an audition phone call he made to the station during its "You Make the Call" contest leading up to the big game.
And when it came time for Brian to actually make the call at the Coliseum booth with play-by-play man Pete Arbogast and colorman John Jackson ... well, we'll let him tell the story:

"The whole experience was great. We had to run the stairs up to the press box since the coaches were using the elevators, which made things a little lively. I made it into the booth just as halftime started, and had a few minutes to gather myself before I was introduced. After going over the highlights JJ gave up his headset to me, and Pete continued to talk for what seemed like an eternity. Waiting for the intro I thought that Booty’s Jekyll and Hyde performance in the first half would make good chatter so while the teams lined up for the kick I recapped JD Booty’s up and down 1st half. Before I could exhale, the kick was off, I called the play, and it was done."

What happened was the Notre Dame kicker did some kind of lame pooch, sending the ball out of bounds on the Irish sideline at about the Trojans own 30, so that ended the play as USC took the ball at the 35 yard line to start the second half. If it was the other way around, surely USC kicker Troy Van Blarcom would have kicked it through the end zone.

Sure, it was our dream that this whole promotion blow up in everyone's face -- that's just our sick way of dealing with live radio -- but even we felt badly about how Batter's 15 minutes of fame was cut to about 15 seconds.

On Monday's Steve Mason and John Ireland show, Batter said joking that he "got jobbed" by that kick. Arbogast summed it up after his live call by saying it was "a little anti-climatic, but what the heck."

As for how Arbogast received him, Batter told Steve and John: "John (Jackson) was nice, but with Pete, it was like a cold breeze blew through the room. The engineer was helpful and the producer was nice ..."

But Pete.... A tough guy to warm up to. Go figure.

Since Batter only got a few seconds of airtime on that call, Mason and Ireland have invited him to come on their show sometime soon and read the questions for the "Big Show Interruption" segment. Batter has agreed.

"Maybe then I’ll get more than 35 seconds!" he said. "I can’t thank the folks at 710 ESPN enough for putting this whole thing together."

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

You booze, you snooze, you lose. That pretty much sums up the past weekend in a Irish-colored nutshell.
So when Sunday night came a callin', I was no where near the TV set to watch Fred Roggin play nine questions with me on the KNBC Channel 4 "Challenge." I was tucked away under the covers. Dreaming. Of winning "The Challenge." But not this week.
Man, I'm too old for this sh................
And we'll do it all over again next weekend for the UCLA-USC game. And I already have plans for Sunday night, so I'll miss the show again.

At least Fred did explain to me how his wife was able to finish in fourth place last week. He said she had some friends over to help shout out the answers. I shoulda thought of that after week 1. But I have no friends who want to come over to my house on a Sunday night.
Again, I lose. Maybe I should offer more booze.

I TiVo'd the show, watched it Monday morning (amidst a few power outages brought on by the rains) and I think I would have finished with about 175 points. Bill Ruehr ruled the week with 245 points; Patrick Alog vaulted past the DeSaegher entry into first for the overall standings, leading 2,670 to 2,645. Congrats to them to having the focus, tenacity and no life to have been available to play each week so far.

I dropped into a tie for 107th in the overall standings with a 0 points week. And I don't feel all that bad about it because I got to hear coach John Wooden recite a poem as Roggin's special guest on the show Sunday.

For those who missed it, here's how it went from the man just inducted into the NABC College Basketball Hall of Fame.
And this isn't just any poem. This one called "God's Hall of Fame", is something did a search for, found it online and was surprised to discover the author: Abraham Lincoln

This crowd on Earth, they soon forget
the heroes of the past
They cheer like mad until you fall
and that's how long you last

But God, He never does forget
and in His Hall of Fame
by just believing in his Son
enscribed you'll find your name

I tell you, friends, I would not trade
my name however small
enscribed up there beyond the stars
in that cellestial hall

For any famous name on Earth
or glory that they share
I'd rather be an unknown here
and have my name up there

Here's how the quizshow went Sunday:

Question 1: Which player holds the NFL record for the most rushing touchdowns in a Super Bowl?
a) Emmitt Smith
b) Roger Craig
c) Terrell Davis
d) John Riggins

Question 2: What school did Lakers center Brian Cook attend when he was chosen in the first round of the 2003 NBA draft?
a) Illinois
b) Michigan
c) Ohio St.
d) Purdue

Question 3: Which coach led UCLA to an NIT championship?
a) Larry Brown
b) Larry Farmer
c) Steve Lavin
d) Walt Hazzard

Question 4: Which baseball player is singing this song ("Hold Onto Me")?
a) Scott Spiezio
b) Bernie Williams
c) Derek Lowe
d) Ben Broussard

5. Which player won the most MVP awards in his career?
a) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
b) Michael Jordan
c) Wilt Chamberlain
d) Bill Russell

6. What country did the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team defeat to secure the gold medal?
a) Sweden
b) Czech Republic
c) Finland
d) Soviet Union

7. How many Heisman Trophy winners has USC had?
a) 5
b) 6
c) 7
d) 8

8. Mario Lemieux retired in 2006 yet in what year was he inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame?
a) 2006
b) 2000
c) 2002
d) 1997

9. Rafael Nadal won his second straight French Open title this year. Who was the last player to accomplish the feat?
a) Bjorn Borg
b) Mats Vilander
c) Gustavo Kuerten
d) Jim Courier

Answers:
1. c) Davis, with 3 in Super Bowl 32. I would have taken Craig. No rhyme or reason there. 0 points.
2. a) Illinois. Knew it. Woulda had 35 points, again with that DirecTV delay killing me.
3. d) Hazzard, beating Indiana in the 1985 season. I thought it was Farmer. 0 points.
4. d) Broussard. The Mariners first baseman. Who knew that one? I took Spiezio. 0 points.
5. a) Abdul-Jabbar, with six (three in Milwaukee, three in L.A.). And no Oscars for "Airplane." I had it right, but probably would have only got 30 points with the delayed reaction.
6. c) Finland, a 4-2 win. I had it. Woulda got 35 points.
7. c) 7: Garrett, Simpson, White, Allen, Palmer, Leinart and Bush. Got it right for 35 points.
8. d) 1997. And it's called the Hockey Hall of Fame, as Lemieux said correctly in his answer. I'd have waited until the end to get the 10 lousy points.
9. c) Kuerten, in 2000 and 2001. My guess would have been "Who cares," which means I'd have waited to take another meaningless 10 points.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was Burbank's Brian Batter who won the contest to make the live call of the horribly anticlimatic second-half kickoff at Satuday's USC-Notre Dame game from the Coliseum that went over the KSPN-AM (710) airwaves.
Got a chance to meet him at the 710 tailgate party beforehand, and he didn't appear intoxicated enough to perform as we anticipated. I, however, had one too many Bloody Mary's, and apparently thought that Brian, who had the nice, polished delivery, was named Mike Owens, the Charlton Heston impersonator from Huntington Beach who I wanted to win. In an earlier blog on this, I misidentified him.
Anyway, Brian will be on today with John Ireland and Steve Mason for their 3-7 p.m. show to talk about his experience and replay that call. And if you saw the second-halfboot -- that kinda pooch kick from the Notre Damers that sailed about 35 yards and went out of bounds -- Brian's call probably wasn't as memorable as the Anthony Davis return in '74 that launched a legend.

Meanwhile, a replay of the Daily News High School Sports Live show that we did Friday night (7-10 p.m.) from the Calabasas studios will be up soon (they tell us) at NowInLA.com. Gerry Gittleson and I had a blast doing it -- especially taking calls from students in the stands at some of the best high school football playoff games around the area. Thanks again for Channel 4's Fred Roggin for coming on to help set the table; to Chris "Geeter" McGee, the FSN high school play-by-play man for his update while he was covering the Notre Dame-Long Beach Poly game, and to John Hefner, the producer at Vootage. com who was covering the Mission Viejo-Santa Margarita contest.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Not to start tossing spitwads at the competition, but when I picked up the front page of the Los Angeles Times on Thanksgiving Day, a painful juxtaposition jumped out.
At the top of A1, there's a picture of a 3-year-old girl getting a turkey dinner served to her at the Los Angeles Mission. (The story wasn't worthy of putting on the cover; it made B1, but the picture said it all). Then down at the bottom of the page was a story about people whining because they don't get the NFL Network, and couldn't watch last night's Denver-Kansas City contest.
Boo-freakin'-hoo to you.
Anyone who's been caught up in this greed-vs.-greed contest between Time Warner Cable and the NFL is completely missing the point. No one wins. Everyone gets hosed.
The NFL wants you to keep logging on to its website and cry, cry, cry to your cable system to add its channel. The cable system says its looking out for your best interests by not including it on their basic sports tier.
Enough already.
Or as Off Wing Opinion.com says: This isn't a news story, it's a full employment act for flacks and media beat writers. Wake me when it's over.
And when media beat writers are done acting as puppets for either side.
By the way, during that Chiefs' 19-10 victory, here's what you missed: John Fogerty looking goofy during a halftime show.

-- Last year's USC-Notre Dame may still be etched in everyone's minds, but for another look at it, NBCSports.com has put up a replay of it on its Notre Dame site. It's also broken down into quarters so you can skip to the end. The recent Notre Dame win over UCLA is also up on the site.

--Dick Enberg discusses his first NFL radio broadcast in 30 years -- back when he was doing L.A. Rams games -- in Jay Posner's San Diego Union-Tribune column today.

-- FSN Prime Ticket tried to get one of the CIF Southern Section playoff games today to move to a 4 p.m. kickoff so it could be televised live since it has both Kings and USC basketball broadcasts tonight. Even though St. Bonaventure-Hart has a 3:30 p.m. start on KHTS-AM (1220) at College of the Canyons, FSN decided to put the Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks-Long Beach Poly contest on tape delay starting at 10 p.m. Chris McGee, John Jackson and Lindsay Soto report from Long Beach's Veteran Stadium. KTHS also has the Saugus-Moorpark game at 7 p.m., also at College of the Canyons. Both will be called by Dave Caldwell and are streamed on the station's website. Time Warner's Channel 36 will air the St. Bonaventure-Hart game at 4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

-- Don't forget to surf over to NowInLA.com to find the Daily News-sponsored High School Football show from 7-to-10 p.m., hosted by me and Gerry Gittleson. If you're out at a prep football game and want to call or email in, go for it. Or if you're camped out at home rying to find scores, ry it out. This is the first time we're launching this thing to see how it goes.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The annual "Dubious Dozen" of the sports media can only have 12 finalists -- hence, the name -- so here are some that were worth noting again, but couldn't quite stumble their way into the big time:

NOT ENOUGH FLUFF:
The culprit: "ESPN Hollywood"
The crime: In Aug., 2005, ESPN2 launched a "signature show" with a $15 million budget, calling it "Entertainment Tonight" meets "SportsCenter." Co-host Thea Andrews (pictured) said of the show's content: “I’m blown away by how much great material we’ve had during rehersals. The only problem we’ll have isn’t sustaining it, but what we’re going to turn away.��? Former "Saved by the Bell" actor Mario Lopez was the other co-host.
The aftermath: By January, 2006, the show ran out of steam and was canceled. “Our research and the ratings clearly suggest that a daily show may have been to much,��? said John Skipper, ESPN’s vice president of content.

DON'T HIT 'SEND' SO FAST:
The culprit: Eric Govan, Golden State Warriors public relations assistant.
The crime: In February, he forwarded an e-mail to about 100 national media outlets entitled "Ghetto Prom," which featured 17 pictures of African-Americans students dressed in various formal skin-tight clothes, with comments about their appearances. Govan accidently forwarded the e-mail to the team's weekly distribution list. He e-mailed that list again about 20 minutes later to apologize.
The aftermath: The team fired him, citing an "extreme poor taste and completely unprofessional" action, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

WHEN YOU ASSUME ...
The culprit: Jim Kleinpeter.
The crime: Last week, the college football writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune was dropped from voting in the Associated Press Top 25 poll because someone noticed that he curiously dropped Oklahoma from No. 15 to No. 24 on his ballot, even though the Sooners (8-2) defeated Texas Tech 34-24. Kleinpeter, covering the Alabama-LSU game that weekend, said as he was mulling over his ballot, he couldn’t find the Oklahoma-Texas Tech score. Someone told him Oklahoma lost. He couldn’t find a result the next day in a local paper. So that’s the info he went with.
The aftermath: “It was my fault,��? Kleinpeter said. “I probably had other avenues I could have gone to get the score, but I usually rely on the morning paper here in Baton Rouge. And for some reason, they didn’t have the score. I looked all through it.��?

TRY STUB-HUB NEXT TIME:
The culprit: The Ventura County Star managing editor Richard Luna.
The crime: He reportedly pressured a staff sports reporter to obtain a press credential for him to attend two Final Four college basketball games in March, even though Luna wasn't covering the event. Publisher and president Tim Gallagher admitted to Editor & Publisher magazine that the paper was investigating.
The aftermath: Luna told E&P: "I did accept a credential for an event that I wasn't covering, and that was wrong. I'm very, very sorry for what has happened." He resigned from the newspaper in May.

STU'S TOO COOL:
The culprit: ESPN's Stuart Scott
The crime: ABC recruited him to host the David Blane special (see the YouTube video above), where the illusionist tried to stay underwater in a bubble. In Scott's regular column in ESPN The Magazine, a reader asked him if he thought Blane would have set a record for holding his breath? "Yes, I did," Scott wrote. "But imagine what a challenge it was, after he’d been underwater for a week and then had to escape from chains. One of the gutsiest things I’ve seen. He didn’t go nine minutes, but anyone who says Blane failed would have the warped view that an Olympic silver medal is failure, too. Not another person on earth could have done what Blaine did."
The aftermath: In June, ABC recruited him again, to host "America's Funniest Home Videos: Sports Edition," as a lead-in to him co-hosting the network's coverage of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas.
In a somewhat related response, SI.com’s Peter McEntegart wrote on July 7 what he’d do if he was commissioner of sports TV: "Show game highlights on SportsCenter. Remember when this show recapped the day in sports rather than provided 60 minutes of Stand-Up at the Improv? This means no more Poetry Jams, no Budweiser Hot Seats and no Fact or Fiction from two ex-jocks stuffed into suits who pretend to argue. Instead, how aobut we see the key plays from the games played that day without the omnipresent hard sell for ESPN Mobile? Boo-yeah? Boo-no."

TOO FAST, TOO FURIOUS:
The culprit: Amazon.com
The crime: Before the UCLA-Florida NCAA men's basketball championship game, the online retailer sent out an e-mail to customers offering Bruins championship caps and other goods. Florida won the game.
The aftermath: An Amazon spokesperson, Patty Smith, speculated the mistake may have been made by some Bruins fans with a case of wishful thinking, the Associated Press reported.

A PAINFUL ENDING:
The culprit: Keith Mills, a sports anchor at WMAR-TV, Baltimore's ABC affiliate.
The crime: Was arrested in January and charged with stealing perscription pain killers from his neighbor.
The aftermath: In May, Mills was sentenced to nine months house arrest. During that time, he was hired as a freelance reporter on a local radio show and, in July, was hired by a public relations firm that handles Cal Ripken Jr.'s endeavors.

COTE VS. CUBAN:
The culprit: Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote.
The crime: In his June 19 column during the NBA finals between Dallas and Miami, Cote reported near the end that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, upset that his team was behind 3-2 in the series, went to referee Joe DeRosa after the Heat's Game 5 loss and screamed profanities, before turning to NBA comissioner David Stern and other NBA officials seated at the scorer's table "and was overheard to shout venomously in the jubilant din, '[Bleep] you! [Bleep] you! Your league is rigged!''
Cuban replied in his blog: "Apparently the Miami Herald is reporting i screamed at the NBA comissioner after the game the other night. Didnt happen. Didnt say a word to the man. Not a single word. And that was absolutely by intention. Apparently this “reporter��? has written he has several “sources��?. Well they must be the same sources the tabloids use to find two headed babys and aliens, because it didnt happen. Ive already blogged about and been fined for the source of my displeasure in these playoffs and there was absolutely no reason for me to say another word about it and i wont ... Chalk up some more great reporting to the Miami Herald. The source of phantom comments."
The aftermath: Cote responded on a local radio show that his source was “impeccable." But why then was it burned in his column?
Cote later blogged: "Someone near the scorer's table who said he heard Cuban say what I quoted him saying passed the information to someone I trust who informed me. My source in turn trusted the person who reported hearing it. For the record, I never believed Cuban actually believed the fix was on. I believed then, and do now, that, in context, an outspoken owner was venting in the heat of the moment at a raw, emotional time. In any case, however, I was wrong to use the quote. That doesn't mean the words were never said, denial notwithstanding. I was wrong, journalistically, to put quotation marks around words I did not personally hear. I would be wrong even if Cuban had not denied having said it."

'WEST WING' MEETS THE KENTUCKY DERBY:
The culprit: NBC Sports.
The crime: A freelance writer plagerized two passages from a 2002 episode of the NBC series "West Wing" during a short feature on Michael Matz, the trainer for Barbaro, jockey Alex Solis and Brother Derek's trainer, Dan Hendricks, during the network's Kentucky Derby coverage in May. The similarities between the Derby feature script and the script for the episode of "The West Wing," written by Aaron Sorkin, were discovered by a reader who sent an e-mail message to The New York Times.
The aftermath: Ken Schanzer, the president of NBC Universal Sports, told the N.Y. Times that the plagiarism had occurred. He would not identify the writer but said, "He won't work here anymore."

FOR REAL?
The culprit: Rusty and Leann Real of Biloxi, Miss.
The crime: In October, they named their new baby boy ESPN.
The aftermath: The middle name is Montana, after Joe Montana. The full name: ESPN (pronounced Espen) Montana Real. And this is hardly the first time a baby has been named after the all-sports station. In 2005, there was Espn McCall in Pampa, Tex.; Espn Curiel in Corpus Christi, Tex.; and Espn Blondeel in Michigan. "We were the talk of the hospital," Rusty Real told the Associated Press. "The nurses kept asking my wife if she was really going to let her husband name him ESPN. She said, 'Oh, yes.'"

AND IF YOU DIDN'T HEAR IT THE FIRST TIME ....
Those sportscasters who couldn't help but put their foot in their mouth, we have these to thank, in addition to Steve Lyons, Lamar Thomas, Keith Hernandez, Rick Sutcliffe and Bert Blyleven:
Tom Jackson: During a live September episode of ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown,��? colleague Michael Irvin went on a rant about the opening night game played between Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts and Eli Manning’s New York Giants. Finally, Jackson blurted out: “Are you retarded?��? ESPN and Jackson apologized.
Jay Bilas: During a January college basketball broadcast on ESPN, he suggested that the Kentucky team, after a visit from a sports psychologist, might next be taken to see the film “Brokeback Mountain��? and “have a good cry.��? One viewer complained: “I hope (Bilas) was not suggesting that a lack of toughness is somehow analogous to being homosexual. I found the remark not only tasteless but remarkably offensive.��? Bilas apologized.
Jason Stark: During the World Baseball Classic in March, the ESPN baseball analyst wrote in an online story about Japan’s win over Cuba that Cuba manager Higinio Velez, who used three pitchers in the first inning, “spent the first inning managing like his raft was on fire, and it didn’t work out too caliente.��? Stark apologized.
Ray Dunlap: A pit reporter for Speed Channel was taping a show segment with Nextel Cup driver Michael Waltrip and took issue with a claim that 10 percent of NASCAR fans were Hispanic and made a joke about it. He was suspended for one NASCAR Truck Series race for “making comments on-air that the company found inappropriate,��? although the comments never aired.
Brian Kinchen: A college football analyst for ESPNU, during a game in October between Iowa and Northern Illinois, was explaining how receivers need to catch with their hands because they are “tender��? and can “caress��? the ball. He then paused and said, “That’s kind of gay, but hey .��? Kinchen apologized and was suspended for one game.
Andy Furman: The longtime WLW-AM Cincinnati radio commentator called Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh a “racist��? on Oct. 6, a day after the player failed to make a scheduled paid appearance on his show. Furman also accused Houshmandzadeh of calling him a “punk-ass white boy,��? according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Houshmandzadeh denied the remark, but admitted: “I told him, ‘Andy Furman, you can f—- yourself.’ That’s the bottom line. And he twisted it into all whatever he wants to.��? Furman was fired by the station a month later.
Craig James: The ABC college football studio analyst, during halftime of the Penn State-Wisconsin contest on Nov. 4, said that Penn State coach Joe Paterno must have been upset at halftime because “his Geritol kick(ed) in.��? He also referred to Paterno as an “old fart.��? James later apologized on the air.
Michael Irvin: On Monday’s edition of Dan Patrick’s ESPN Radio show, the former Cowboys receiver and ESPN NFL GameDay analyst tried to joke about how Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who is white, became such a great athlete: “(There must be) some brothers in that line somewhere . (maybe) his great, great, great Grandma ran over in the hood . (she) pulled one of them studs up outta the barn (and said) ‘Come here for a second’ back in the day.��? So far, no apology or comment from ESPN. Or a comment from Tom Jackson.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:59 AM | Permalink

By CHRIS TALBOTT
Associated Press Writer

JACKSON, Miss. -- When Michael Oher sits down to Thanksgiving dinner, there will be turkey, dressing, potatoes and all the other traditional trimmings, including family.

Five years ago, the Mississippi left tackle couldn't count on either.

One of thirteen children born to a crack-addicted mother and the son of an absentee father who was murdered, Oher was a ghost with no permanent home, little education and no hope for a future.

Today, his is a life transformed. Oher's a member of a rich family, a high-profile future NFL Draft pick, a student who takes education seriously and the subject of a bestselling book.

Oher grew up in Memphis, where he attended Briarcrest Christian and first met the Tuohy family. When Leigh Anne Tuohy saw him walking down the street wearing shorts in winter, she bought him new clothes and a jacket. She fed him and began to help with school work. Before long, he was living with the family. By his senior year, the family adopted him and wrote him into the will.

"Without her I wouldn't be here today," Oher said. "She was the first one that loved me, the first one that cared about me, the first one to take me in. I owe a lot of stuff to her. I love her. She's an amazing person. She's just incredible."

Sean Tuohy, whom Oher refers to as "Pops," said the amazing transformation depicted in Michael Lewis' "The Blind Side" reminds him just how far his adopted son has come.

"It's impossible to imagine," Tuohy said. "It is absolutely. And if you deal with it every day, you don't see it."

Lewis had a hard time believing the Tuohy-Oher story, too.

Already interested in the changes in the NFL that have made left tackles some of the sport's richest and most-coveted players, Lewis discovered Oher through former grade school schoolmate Tuohy.

"The contrast was so stark," Lewis said from his Berkeley home. "I guess he could've been adopted by Donald Trump or Madonna. But apart from that he went from about the bottom to about the top. That was really to me very appealing."

Read more ...

Oher (above left, with teammate and running back Bruce Hall during a game last week against LSU) was plucked from his desperate childhood by Leigh Anne Tuohy, who took charge of the 6-foot-5, 350-pound teenager's life.

"I couldn't think of a social class below Michael Oher," Lewis said. "He was living essentially amid the underclass. But even in the underclass he was at the bottom. That that kind of child poverty exists in our society is shameful. I was shocked by it."

So was Leigh Anne Tuohy. So, she did something about it.

All her work, especially helping Oher with his school work, allowed Oher to play organized sports for the first time in his life.

He really only wanted to play basketball so he could be just like Michael Jordan. But once he stepped on a football field, he became a national sensation _ long before he really knew how to play the game.

As Lewis tells it, prep scout Tom Lemming first saw Oher play on a grainy piece of game tape. But his size and explosiveness shone right through.

It was enough for Lemming to travel to Memphis in the spring of 2004 to interview Oher. For his efforts, he got nothing. Oher didn't say a word. Not one.

No matter. Lemming still declared Oher the next big thing.

Almost overnight, he was the top-rated offensive line prospect in the nation with hundreds of letters from college recruiters in his mailbox, dozens of scholarship offers and a parade of coaches marching through the living room.

"He became effective on the football field the exact day he began being recruited," Sean Tuohy said of Oher's transition from basketball to football. "There was never a lead up. There was never time to wonder what schools were going to recruit him. He went from being a Division II basketball recruit to Michigan and Notre Dame writing letters."

Oher wound up at Ole Miss for a lot of reasons, including his parents' ties to the university. Sean Tuohy had been a point guard at the school, Leigh Anne a cheerleader. And their eldest child, daughter Collins, had plans to enroll at the Oxford, Miss., university the next year.

But the book's rehashing of the recruiting process, including a fruitless NCAA investigation, was tough for the Tuohys to relive.

"There's not very many secrets in my life anyway," Sean Tuohy said. "A lot of this, people in Dallas know about now. But the people in Oxford, they probably knew about 95 percent of it anyway.

"Hanging your underwear out on the line and stringing it across Poplar Avenue for two years is not a very wonderful process. But you know it's a great story, and it needed to be told. Sometimes you have to take one for the team."

Tuohy said he has no complaints about the book, but Leigh Anne Tuohy didn't like the curse words.

"I took a little Sharpie and I marked them out of her book, so we're OK," Tuohy joked.

Lewis explained to the Tuohys that without the negatives of the major college football recruiting process the story would be a fairy tale with no credibility.

It's still a fairy tale to Oher, one he says he sometimes can't believe.

"It's crazy," Oher said. "The life that I had and the life I have now, I can't even talk on it. It's unbelievable."

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So by now you've likely seen the weekly snippets of Pete Arbogast's blog from WeAreSC.com (haven't I promoted that site enough over the last few months?) For the most part, we still run them because it's like that proverbial accident on the other side of 405 while you're driving through the Sepulveda Pass. We're in somewhat amazement that he a) continues his undignified begging for fulltime work, b) gives backhanded compliments to fellow workers (including referring to Rory Markas as one of his great friends in the business while he openly campaigns to do USC basketball broadcasts) or c) rehashes the life and times with his current girlfriend and her kids. But that's how he's decided to fill the space. Bless him for that.

(And as far as that picture of him and Paul McDonald we found on valleytrojan.com ... not sure where it came from, but it looks like some high school production of "Guys and Dolls.")

Anyway, his blog posting from Sunday deserves a little more direct response.

Fifth paragraph:

Years ago, a local writer wrote some pretty awful things about Fred, and then called me a week later to ask if I would help him with an interview to fill up his column on how I (and UCLA’s Chris Roberts) went about preparing for the big game. He had already interviewed Chris, and now wanted to talk to me, but I told him I was in no way interested in helping him after the yellow-journalistic hatchet job he done to this fine man and outstanding professional broadcaster. The writer seemed taken aback by my strong dedication to my partner and friend. He apparently continues to be hurt by this perceived “snub� on my part. This writer has never spoken to me again. I am still waiting for an apology from him to Fred.

Now, let's deal with the facts.
When I called Pete to do a phone interview way back when about how he and Chris Roberts prepare for their week of the USC-UCLA game, Pete in no way, shape or form said he was upset about something I wrote about Fred Gallagher the week before. He simply said: "I"m not interested." And sure, I was taken aback. Why? Because he gave no explanation. He just said again, "I'm not interested." OK, fine.
I had done a few interviews with Pete in the past, so this caught me off guard. I remember once I wrote that before a USC football game up at Washington, viewers would be wise to turn down the sound on the ABC telecast and listen to Pete do the call on the radio. And during that radio broadcast, Pete even gave me a pop for saying that. That was kinda cool, but I appreciated it.

But because of the fact he clammed up this time, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This happens from time to time with other radio or TV personalities I deal with. It's simply part of the stuff that comes with writing the media column now at the Daily News since 1992, and for five years before that the Daily Breeze in Torrance.
Unless you completely water things down and try to be nice in your criticism of everyone in return for favors, you just end up like .... never mind.

Anyway, I took that conversation for what it was. Today, this honestly is the first time I've heard Pete's reasoning for not wanting to be interviewed. I've heard rumors of the fact, but it didn't make any sense to me. And when guys don't want to be interviewed, I generally leave them alone. Why aggitate the situation more? There are many on that list at this point in my career -- guys (and girls) who I don't bother to talk to any longer because of something from the past that still has their panties in a bunch. Some come around and we end up talking out what's been going on. Others ... that's how it goes.

So if truth be told, I'm not at all hurt by this "snub." And, as I've come to learn from others who have had to deal with Pete on a more regular basis, this is pretty much the way he operates: never confrontational, just a passive-aggressive method of getting his point across, whether it's mailing letters to the editor under an assumed name, or having a go-between deliver his message. If that's his character flaw, I'm fine with it.

So should I apologize to Fred and end this whole thing? I'm not even sure what I'd be apologizing for. If I had to write something now about Fred, who then was a sports anchor at KNX-AM (710), I'd have to say that I thought that with USC's rich football history, the school could have found an ex-player who could probably do a better job at explaining what was going on down on the field rather than someone trained to be a news deliverer. I knew Fred did his homework and was a good reporter. But he just wasn't the right fit for that job. Is that a harsh yellow-journalism slam?
(The irony is, now that Paul McDonald has had the seat for awhile, I'd probably wish they'd go back to using Fred. At least he wouldn't just cackle away like Ed McMahon at all of Arbogast's jingoistic calls).

I'm only sorry I hadn't heard this explanation before until now. I guess it now makes sense. I admire Pete's loyalty to his partner. I just, as usual, don't agree with Pete's methods.

And as long as he uses his blog to try to further twist the arms of USC fans to help him gain employment opportunities -- especially with this latest campaign for a job that he has yet to even apply for at 710-AM, co-hosting with D'Marco Farr) -- I'll continue to pass it on here on the blog and in my Friday media column.

It just seems like you give Pete enough blogspace, and he'll continue to make himself look foolish. Even when he gets the story wrong. And for what it's worth, I'll email this blog entry directly to Pete. I won't expect a direct answer, of course, but it'll be interesting to see what alias he uses next.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Nike has announced on its website that it will not take orders of hand-stitched soccer balls from a Pakistani company because of labor violations.
Nike decided to end its contract after a six-month investigation of Saga Sports, which makes hand-stitched soccer balls in private homes. Nike has a policy against home-based settings because of the potential for underaged workers and the inability to ensure safe working conditions, the company said.
"This contract factory has persistently broken its commitments and irrevocably breached its trust with us; most importantly, the factory has failed its employees," said Nike CEO and president Mark Parker in a company press release.
Nike said its investigation uncovered "serious allegations by trade union representatives and other Saga employees of worker harassment, wrongful termination and inaccurate payment of wages."
The company said the Fair Labor Association, in an unannounced audit of Saga unrelated to Nike's investigation, found similar violations. Nike said it held repeated meetings with Saga executives to correct the problems, but "Saga did not make needed changes."
The balls were made inside private homes in Sialkot, Pakistan, where Saga is based.
Hannah Jones, Nike's vice president of corporate responsibility, said that in support of workers the company strives to work with its contract factories to remediate compliance violations and create continuous improvement in contract factory conditions. However, in this case, the company said it exhausted all options and was left with no alternative but to cease orders, despite the potential impact to workers and the near-term affect on Nike’s soccer ball business.
On a related note, have you seen this Nike ball vending machines?

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sometimes, readers get angry. And they email me. And I respond. Why shy away? But then the whole thing blows over. We agree to disagree.
But lately, I've been getting emails from someone named Tyler Harris. Good kid, probably. But somewhere in our past, our emails crossed.
I didn't know until recently that Tyler is a BYU student. That's not his picture, by the way, working on his laptop. I found it on the BYU website and, for now, that'll be my image of him.
My educated guess is he probably was upset with something I wrote about ... who knows what. He found it online. He emailed me to complain. I wrote back. Then my email address got stuck in his address book.
I hate when that happens.

Until this week, the only other person I knew from BYU was Robbie Bosco. I covered his 1984 game, when the Cougars knocked off Michigan in the Holiday Bowl and eventually claimed the national championship. I then covered Steve Young for a couple of years when he played for the L.A. Express of the old USFL. Pretty cool guy.
But anyway.

Fast forward to last week.
Tyler CCd me on an email he wrote to some of his school pals, informing him that he had "some bad news. I got a grade 2 kidney tear on Saturday ... I've been in the ER and having cat scans and blood drawn and all that stuff that's associated with hemorrhaging. I peed blood and stuff, so basically I haven't been feeling all that well" ...
Hey, hey, big guy. Too much information. You coulda stopped at kidney tear.
The reason for his worries, it turns out, is he had a paper due for his Biology 100 class, but since he was recouping at his parents house in Centerville (I didn't make that name up), he emailed the essay to Annie to finish up.
"I"m really sorry about all this," Tyler said.
Hey, bud. Take it slow. We need you later for that intramural cornhole tournament.

This morning, I got another misguided email from Tyler's computer. The paper was done. "Sorry it is soo late it was the earliest i could get done," he wrote. "I should be awake around an hour before class, so if you think something absolutley needs to be changed call me after 9 A.M. and I'll see what I can do."

OK, man. I think we're cool with it.
Below is the paper Tyler cranked out while in a lot of pain. You'll know there's another co-author named "Tom," who probably was supposed to be CCd on this email, but it came to me out of Tyler's address instead. I only wish I could get the "real" Tom this paper. He's probably pretty upset with Tyler right now for hanging him out to dry the last week.

So, what's the lesson in all this?
Be careful who you email ... Naw, too easy.
Make sure your address file is cleaned out because you never know what jerky, insensative, too-much-time-on-his-hands Los Angeles sports writer will get your school essay and then put it on his blog?
You're getting warmer.

My guess is that if any college kid out there needs a paper on the virtues of hydrogen fuel, he could easily ... uh ... borrow this. There's nothing I can do about it. It's a good, tight, well-written. Gets right to the point. Unlike this top of the blog.

Whatever I can to do help higher education. And sorry, but I have no experience in repairing torn kidneys.

Running Head: Hydrogen Fuel

Team Research Project Paper
Tyler Harris, Charolette Carter, Daniel Findley, Tom Preston, Brittany Linde
Brigham Young University

Biology 100, Section 052
TA: Annie Layton
November 20, 2006

To many politicians, environmentalists, manufacturers, and consumers, the powering of cars is a major issue. There may not be any debate over whether or not a more efficient, environmentally friendly method of creating fuel is a good thing, but there are plenty of opinions about how to do it and who is responsible for making it happen.
Hydrogen powered cars may be the solution that we are all looking for. Hydrogen emissions are clean and can provide the power that car manufacturers desire. According to research by Mercuri, Bauen and Hart (2002), internal combustion engines consume about twice as much energy as hydrogen fuel cells and are thus highly inefficient. Internal combustion engines also produce carbon dioxide, an environmental toxin, and filling up at a hydrogen fuel station, as opposed to a regular gas station, would be much more environmentally friendly. However, studies by Maclean and Lave (2003) show that fuel cells would not be much better than internal combustion engines without an effective way to produce the hydrogen.
There are major issues that still need to be worked out in producing the amounts of hydrogen we would need to drive the world to a cleaner automobile. There are three viable production methods: fossil fuels, renewable energy sources, and nuclear power. Three criteria, efficiency, earth friendliness, and cost effectiveness, can be used to assess the merits of each of these methods.
The first possible production method is using fossil fuels to create the hydrogen. The infrastructure of large oil companies is already set up for the harvesting of fuels, and a cost effective system of transport is already in place. Thus, the use of fossil fuels to create hydrogen is both economical and efficient. However, according to Dr. Walters, Dr. Wade and Dr. Lewis (2002), using fossil fuels to produce hydrogen would generate just as much carbon dioxide as internal combustion engines. Therefore, there would be no real environmental benefits.
With fossil fuels out of the question because of their environmental implications, renewable resources may seem be a viable option. Renewable resources such as wind and solar power can create the heat necessary to produce hydrogen. However, renewable resources also have some significant drawbacks when considering large-scale production.
Calculations by Dr. Walters, Dr. Wade and Dr. Lewis (2002) show that using renewable resources to produce enough hydrogen to power all the cars in the nation would require an impractical amount of space and money. In order to produce the hydrogen with wind power, it would take 640,000 windmills occupying 71,000 square miles of land. To use solar panels, the cost would be $4.8 trillion dollars and take 3,000 square miles of land. For both of these scenarios, the required cost and land is neither efficient nor economical, though both are environmentally friendly.
Overall, nuclear power may be the best possible option for producing the power necessary. For the amount of power that one nuclear plant can produce their costs are relatively low. Nuclear plants are also extremely efficient. One pound of uranium (about the size of a baseball) in a power plant is equal to the producing power of one million gallons of gasoline. And with the rise in understanding of nuclear fission the energy producing possibilities are only getting better. But perhaps the greatest positive aspect of nuclear production of hydrogen is that it is environmentally clean. Nuclear reactors emit no more radiation than is typically in the air. Also, the reactions that take place within the reactors have no harmful byproducts that could be spewed into the atmosphere. Nuclear power plants truly meet all of the requirements to being a feasible method to producing hydrogen.
The combination of nuclear power plants to produce hydrogen and hydrogen powered cars would help clean up the environment in numerous ways with even more benefits. In cities as large as Chicago, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles or others where a lot of CO2 is emitted daily, the benefits of zero emission vehicles would be amazingly helpful, as well as the areas nearby. For instance, New York's pollution negatively effects nearby states like Vermont for the worse, despite Vermont's environmental nature.
Hydrogen powered automobiles is a step in the right direction for the U.S. and world ecosystem to deter the self destructive path that we put it on. Getting a usable, practical hydrogen producing network in route is the first step in making this dream come true. Nuclear plants are the only hydrogen manufacturing method that is efficient, clean, and cost effective.
Any change in a major fuel source poses a major issue for American businesses, consumers and all other parties involved. There is no easy way to solve this problem. While nuclear power may be the best solution, it won't be easy by any means. However, we cannot afford to continue to be the biggest harm to our environment. We need to be a more clean and efficient nation, and while it will be difficult in any situation, it is absolutely vital. Hydrogen power can help us get there.

Bibliography
Dr. Walters, L., Dr. Wade, D. & Dr. Lewis, D. 2002, 'Transition to a Nuclear/Hydrogen Energy System', The Nuclear Engineer, vol. 43, no. 169-175

Mercuri, R., Bauen, A. & Hart, D. 2002, 'Options for the refuelling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Italy', Journal of Power Sources, [Online], vol. 106, no. 1-2, pp. 353-363

Maclean, H. & Lave, L. 2003, 'Life Cycle Assessment of Automobile/Fuel Options', Environmental Sciences of Technology, [Online], vol. 37, no. 23, pp. 5445-5452

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 9:51 AM | Permalink

Sean Avery, the Kings' hit-'em-where-the-are enforcer, made an in-studio appearance on Fred Roggin's "The Challenge" Sunday night and claimed that he was definitely a lover, not a fighter.
Or, more specifically, "I'm a Buddhist."
We pray, for Elisha Cuthbert's sake, he was kidding.
That was a very Avery appearance, and we're glad he can joke about the fact he's a masher.
Like we almost mashed -- again -- on this week's quizshow. We didn't do bad -- we were right on with the first four questions, and five of the first six to get the maxium points (at least what we could get with the DirecTV delay) and ended up scoring 195 points, but it only got us tied for 50th place in the head-to-head competition, far behind winner Chi Cheng with 335 points. And did you notice that Mrs. Roggin was fourth with 280 points? Wow, does something smell here?
Like she needs the prize for the week: Warner Brothers DVDs.
For the season, we've climbed back from 105th into 83rdth place -- all alone -- with 1,425 points. Far ahead of Mrs. Roggin, we suspect. But not enough to catch the new leader, Sonia DeSaegher (or Steve DeSaegher, who leads Patrick Alog by 15 points).

Watch this YouTube highlight show of Avery's greatest hits, then check out how Week 10 shook out for the Rogginfest:

Question 1: Who was the first USC player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in the regular season?
a) Marcus Allen
b) O.J. Simpson
c) Charles White
d) Ricky Bell

Question 2: Clippers guard Shaun Livingston and announcer Ralph Lawler attended the same high school, but which one?
a) Lawrence North HS (Ind.)
b) DeMatha HS (Washington DC)
c) St. Vincent-St. Mary HS (Ohio)
d) Peoria Central HS (Ill.)

Question 3: Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss received his Ph.D. in what field of study?
a) Engineering
b) Biology
c) Physics
d) Chemistry

Question 4: Who is singing this song? ("Run To Me")
a) Jose Lima
b) Oscar de la Hoya
c) Carl Lewis
d) Rick Fox

Question 5: Which school has made the most appearances in the NCAA basketball tournament?
a) UCLA
b) Kentucky
c) North Carolina
d) Duke

Question 6: Who was the first head coach of the Mighty Ducks?
a) Guy Charron
b) Mike Babcock
c) Craig Hartsburg
d) Ron Wilson

Question 7: Which of the following wide receivers is in the NFL's top 10 for all-time pass receptions?
a) Keenan McCardell
b) Terrell Owens
c) Randy Moss
d) Steve Smith

Question 8: Who won college basketball's 2005 national championship?
a) Syracuse
b) Connecticut
c) Florida
d) North Carolina

Question 9: In curling, what is the final stone in the 10th end called?
a) The inside out
b) The hammer
c) The wrench
d) The last stone

Answers:
1. a) Allen, with 2,342 yards in 1981 (the first college player ever to top that mark). I got it right for 35 points (but not quick enough to beat the DirecTV delay).
2. d) Peoria. Got it for 35 points.
3. d) Chemistry. Knew it, and got 35 points.
4. b) de la Hoya, from his 2000 Latin Grammy-nominated CD. Knew it, got 35 points.
5. b) Kentucky, with 47. I had North Carolina. 0 points.
6. d) Ron Wilson. Knew it, althought I thought the real answer was Gordon Bombay. 35 points.
7. a) McCardell. I should have gone for the obvious. Took Moss and was left with nothing.
8. d) North Carolina. Oh, now the Tar Heels are the right answer. I confused '04 with '05 and took UConn. 0 points.
9. b) the Hammer. I watched enough curling in the Winter Games to know, although I got distracted by something my wife was yelling at me about and answered too late, got 20 points.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No one will ever break Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, according to those who seem to know such things.
So where does it rank among the most "unbeatable" records that matter?
According to the World Almanac and Book of Facts 2007 -- that big, fat paperback that tries to be the expert reference guide to anything from entertainment, science, technology, history and cultural trends -- they're taking a stab at generating interest in their new publication by making the Top 10 list of the "Most Unbreakable Sports Records" of interest.
Nope, there's no hot-dog shoving involved here.
Instead, these are the ones they find untouchable:

1. Most points in a single NBA game: 100, by Wilt Chamberlain (March 2, 1962).
Kobe Bryant tried, and the best he could do was come within 19.

2. Most touchdown passes in an NFL season: 49, by Peyton Manning (2004).
And Dan Marino's career mark is reachable? Sure, by Manning.

3. Most points in NHL career: 2,857, by Wayne Gretzky (1979-99).
With Mario Lemieux out of the way, who'll stick around long enough to challenge this?

4. Consecutive Tour de France titles: 7, by Lance Armstrong (1999-2005).
How about someone win seven lifetime first.

5. Career tennis singles titles: 167, by Martina Navratilova (1974-94).
Hard to imagine anyone hanging around long enough, but it could be done.

6. Oldest person to win an Olympic medal: 72, Oscar Swahn of Sweden, taking silver in the "running deer double-shot team" at the 1920 Antwerp Games.
There's got to be some coxswain on a rowing team that'll break this one.

7. Most NASCAR victories in one season: 27, by Richard Petty (1967).
Ricky Bobby would be happy with 27 for a career.

8. Consecutive games without a loss: 103, by North Carolina's women's soccer team (September 30, 1986- September 17, 1990).
That's just sick. But there'll probably be some Division III field hockey team that breaks this.

9. Most career strikeouts in Major League Baseball: 6,714, by Nolan Ryan (1966, 1968-93).
A pitcher will blow out his arm before coming close to 5,000.

10. Longest hitting streak in Major League Baseball: 56 games, by Joe DiMaggio (May 15-July 16, 1941).
Oh, here you are. Still think this is the toughest?

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

More media notes that didn't make it into today's L.A. Daily News column or notebook:

-- Posted too late Thursday to include in the "Chokes" section of today's print edition -- and maybe that's now done on purpose -- the latest blog entry on WeAreSC.com from USC play-by-play man Pete Arbogast reverts back to him begging for fulltime work, this time again on the radio station, 710-AM, that carries Trojans games.
Here's the best nugget of the Thursday posting:

I actually got asked for the very first time this year, to appear on the Gary and Demarco show, this was a request made last Tuesday. First time I’ve been asked to appear on any show on the USC flagship station. Then, the next day, Gary Miller was released/quit left to enjoy other endeavors in his career. So I have applied to become co-host of the show. Since I am otherwise unemployed, and certainly qualified to do an all-purpose talk show, not to mention close sales, do updates, report from game sites and do commercials, it seems that I might be a reasonable fit. Farr says he would welcome the partnership. My fingers are crossed. Anyone else besides me would like to hear the Voice of the Trojans on full time on the Trojan station? Okay, then, it’s almost unanimous. Heck yeah I’m campaigning!

-- Of all the excerpts from Bob Miller’s new book, “Tales From the Los Angeles Kings" (with Randy Schultz, $24.95, Sports Publishing LLC), the one that had a natural link to us involves a time in the mid-1980s when the Kings’ play-by-play man was contacted by a writer doing a story on Jack Kent Cooke for Los Angeles Magazine. Miller admits he had a rather stormy relationship with the former Kings owner, referring to him in the book as someone who could be “tyrannical, overbearing, shrewd, impressive, intelligent and dynamic.� And one who always would have the last word. After the magazine story came out, the author contacted Miller and asked if he thought he’d been quoted accurately. Miller agreed. But Cookie had called the writer to say “Miller was a disgruntled employee and he’s spreading lies.� The writer then used many of Miller’s quotes in a similar story for Washingtonian Magazine – Cooke, who owned the Washington Redskins at the time, lived in the DC area of Virginia. Miller picks up the story: “A few weeks later, I got a call from my former broadcast partner Dan Avey. He told me Cooke had called him while in Los Angeles and even though Dan had not spoken to Cooke for some 12 years, Cooke didn’t say hello … but just started: ‘Dan, what is Miller up to? He’s spreading falsehoods.’ Cooke at the time owned the Los Angeles Daily News so I decided to … phone the newspaper and was told that he was leaving California that night, but he would call me back. The Kings were opening the 1988-89 season that night and were playing games on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. By Sunday, I had not heard from Cooke. I had made a list of points I was going to make during our phone call, and since I no longer worked for him, I was determined not to be intimidated. After the weekend games I was home on Monday morning having almost forgotten about the call to Cooke when the phone rang and a woman said, ‘Mr. Miller, please hold for Mr. Cooke.’ I panicked. My notes were upstairs, and I was downstairs. Cooke came on the phone and bellowed, ‘You called me!’ I said, ‘Yes, Mr. Cooke. I understand you’re upset over the magazine articles.’ He said: ‘I’m more than upset. I’m mortified, that you would spread such lies … Goodbye.’ And he hung up. A week later, I told the story to Kings owner Bruce McNall, who got a laugh out of it and then I said, ‘Bruce, don’t ever sell the team back to Cooke, or I’m the first one to go.’�

--For those who can’t decide which college bowl game they’ll watch until they know the announcers, the assignments were formally announced this week: Thom Brennaman, Barry Alvarez and Charles Davis are the motlely crew doing the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl and then the Jan. 8 BCS title game on Jan. 8, both in Glendale, Ariz. (home of the new Dodgers spring training site); Terry Donahue and Pat Haden join Matt Vasgersian for the Jan. 2 Orange Bowl on Fox; Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long are the analysts for Kenny Albert’s call the Jan. 3 Sugar Bowl for Fox; Brent Musburger, Bob Davie and Kirk Herbstreit will be assigned to ABC’s coverage of the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl (which could include USC and a sequel to Pete Carroll’s disguist with Musburger’s signal stealing.

--Vootage.com, the high school football website that launched this season, will cover the Long Beach Poly-Mater Dei playoff opener tonight (7:30 p.m.) using KDOC-TV's footage. Former USC broadcaster Tom Kelly does play by play and Gary Paskwietz is the colorman.

--Part of the 10-game high school basketball schedule that ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU plan to start on Dec. 7 include new USC recruit O.J. Mayo (pictured) and his Huntington, West Va., team against New Jersey’s St. Patrick on Feb. 22 on ESPN2.

-- We hate tossing around ratings, since we don't trust 'em, but the fact Fox decided to unload on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" package makes this note relevant: Fox reports that in the first week of "flex scheduling," the Fox national game (featuring New Orleans and Pittsburgh), one that the NFL "hand picked" to be put on the network and moved from 10 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. (PDT), delivered a 13.6 rating and 25 share (21.8 million viewers). Meanwhile, the New York Giants-Chicago game that the NFL took from Fox and gave to NBC, had a 12.4 rating, 10 percent lower than Fox.

--GrindTV.com, an El Segundo-based Website that focuses on extreme and action sports, sent its entire staff to the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii for six weeks to cover the entire Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Series (which runs through Dec. 20). GrindTV.com plans to cover each contest through video and audio clips, news, stats and interviews.

--NHL Interactive CyberEnterprises President Keith Ritter said that the NHL’s new deal to create its own channel on YouTube.com “will launch either next week or shortly after Thanksgiving, depending upon how quickly technical issues can be sorted out," according to the New York Daily News. The thought behind this is to air more uncut, behind-the-scenes action that didn't air during national Versus telecasts, and generating revenue for the league really isn't a key consideration here. You'd think, however, if the NHL really wanted better exposure, it would have taken this technology and put it on its own NHL.com site.

-- During an online chat Tuesday on Dodgers.com, Vin Scully fielded questions from fans, one who asked: "Has 57 years (on the air) caught up to you at all?" Said Scully: "I think what's happened is that I know I have to take better care of myself than when I first started. The rigors of the season are tough enough on the players, but they're also difficult for the broadcaster. The all-night flights and the three-time zone changes, the extra-inning games. I really have to make sure I get plenty of rest, eat properly, etc. I think that's the biggest difference. Just the awareness that it's not quite as easy as it used to be. But otherwise, thank God, I'm in good health and still love the job."

-- The Golf Channel says it will be in nearly 75 million homes by the end of this year as it is about to launch the first of its 15-year rights agreement to cover PGA Tour events. DirecTV, which has 15.5 million subscribers, is moving it into its upgraded sports tier to its “Total Choice� basic programming package.

--NBA TV has expanded into China to cover an NBA Development League contest between the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (coached by former Lakers guard Michael Cooper) and the Chinese National Team from Ningbo City, China. The second of a two-game series airs Saturday live at 4 a.m., repeated at 2 p.m.

--The Champ Car World Series will air on ESPN beginning in 2007, returning to the network that used to broadcast its
races. ESPN announced the multiyear agreement with the open-wheel racing series to do at least 11 races next season and a full schedule in 2008 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.

-- George Michael's “Sports Machine,� the syndicated highlight show on NBC Sunday nights that some say established the template for ESPN's "SportsCenter," will go off the air in March after 23 years when host George Michael retires. Michael began the show in 1980 as a late-night local feature on WRC Channel 4 in Washington. NBC recently announced layoffs and staff cuts for the show. ,“I told them, that if I have to lay anyone off, if I have to get rid of any of my staff, then I’m going to take the first bullet,� Michael told the Associated Press. In 1984, “Sports Machine� became the first nationally syndicated sports highlight show. It’s now shown in 194 U.S. markets and 10 foreign countries. Current TV personalities such as David Aldridge, Bonnie Bernstein, Tony Kornheiser, Joe Theismann and Michael Wilbon are among those who did their first on-air work alongside him.

-- Exactly 22 years after his 48-yard "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan gave Boston College a 47-45 victory over Miami and secured his Heisman Trophy, Doug Flutie will join Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call of the B.C.-Miami game that ESPN televises on Thanksgiving at 5 p.m. (PDT)

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

BEIJING (AP) -- China will use mice to test the safety of food for athletes competing in the 2008 Olympic Games, state media reported Thursday.

“Milk, alcohol, salad, rice, oil, salt and seasonings will be tested by white mice 24 hours before they are used in cooking or served to athletes,� Xinhua News Agency quoted Zhao Xinsheng of the Beijing Municipal Health Inspection Bureau as saying.

Zhao told a meeting on hygiene measures for the games that the mice would develop an adverse reaction to any food poisoning within 17 hours, sooner than test methods such as bacteria cultures.

China has seen a string of food poisoning incidents in recent months. In October, more than 200 students and teachers fell ill at a school in southern China. There have been at least eight other food poisoning incidents, but officials say they don’t appear to be connected.

Zhen Xiaozhen, of the medical team of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic
Games, told the meeting that most of the food for the Olympic athletes would be Western style, complemented by Chinese dishes.

Health inspectors were to receive training in management and inspection of Western food preparation starting this
month, said Liang Jin of the inspection bureau.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MIAMI (AP) -- Goody’s Headache Powders, a staple in NASCAR since 1977, will be replaced by Tylenol next season as the sport’s official pain reliever. It’s yet another break the stock car racing series is making from its longtime, but regional, partners.

“NASCAR has been trying to align itself with the leaders in their category, and those that have a national footprint,� Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s chief marketing officer, told The Associated Press on Thursday. “Doing so obviously requires some tough decisions, and Goody’s is one of the toughest — if not the toughest.�

Goody’s were formulated in Winston-Salem, N.C., by pharmacist Martin “Goody� Goodman in 1932. The formula was sold in 1936 to A. Thad Lewallen Sr., who marketed the powders by passing them out to factory workers during their shift changes. It created a dedicated following throughout the South and was touted for its speed of relief.

That led the company to partner with NASCAR in 1977, becoming one of the first non-automotive sponsors in the sport. Seven-time series champion Richard Petty became the official spokesman, and Goody’s became “The Official Pain Reliever of NASCAR.�

But Tylenol cracked into the sport last season by signaling out individual drivers, creating a “Team Tylenol� ad campaign with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Elliott Sadler. The commercials are comical, and because Tylenol is the best-selling pain reliever in the U.S., NASCAR felt it was a better fit.

“It’s not even about the money, about what Tylenol could pay vs. what Goody’s could pay,� Phelps said. “It really is about the marketing activation that Tylenol can bring.�

Goody’s, meanwhile, remains a Southern staple. Phelps said the company planned to stay involved with Petty
Enterprises and continue its relationship with Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where Goody’s sponsored a Busch Series race this season.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CANTON, Ohio (AP) -- A Columbus woman said the Internet auction site eBay shut down the sale of two tickets to Saturday’s Michigan-Ohio State game that she and her husband had hoped would help raise money to adopt a boy from Guatemala.

Kristie Sigler and her husband, Ken, have season tickets about 10 rows from the field at Ohio Stadium. They put the tickets up for auction, hoping the payout would help defray the $12,500 cost for adoption paperwork.

But Sigler said eBay canceled the sale Wednesday because it violated its policy on charitable auctions.

“They took it off and said because we were using the auction as fundraiser for the adoption, it violated their policy,� Kristie Sigler told The Repository.

According to its Web site, eBay has specific guidelines for charitable fundraising because that area is subject to state and federal laws.

Catherine England, a spokeswoman for eBay, said Thursday that when people use the auction site to raise their own money for a charitable cause, the company has no way of knowing how the proceeds are spent. She said people either need to use a certified nonprofit agency that can work with eBay or not say what the money will be used for.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kobe Bryant and Donald Rumsfeld have some explaining to do.
Tuesday, Bryant, the misunderstood Lakers superstar, was sued by a guy who claims he received an unprovoked elbow at a game last year.
Also Tuesday, Rumsfeld, the departing Defense Secretary, was sued on behalf of 12 abused war prisoners.
Who has the better chance of getting off scott-free?
We'll break it down:

The accusation:
Bryant: A Memphis Grizzles fan, Bill Geeslin of Arkansas, said he was in the stands last Nov. 14 when the Lakers played at Memphis. He said Bryant came off the court during play, landed on him and "without provocation" committed assault and battery when he hit him with an elbow.
Rumsfeld: Civil rights activists in Germany claim Rumsfeld approved harsh methods of questioning against 12 alleged torture victims -- 11 Iraqis held at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison and Mohamad al-Qahtani, a Saudi held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Al-Qahtani was captured in December 2001 along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Rumsfeld already told Congress about authorizing those questioning tactics.
Edge: Rumsfeld. Seems he's already confessed, but it's tougher for them to prove that it's true. It's not like there's TV cameras all over the place, like the ones that probably saw Kobe deliver the blow.

The length of the lawsuits:
Bryant: 3 pages.
Rumsfeld: 220 pages.
Edge: Bryant. Less evidence to sift through.

Demands:
Bryant: Geeslin seeks $75,000 in damages for unspecified injuries.
Rumsfeld: No monetary damanges announced.
Edge: Bryant. A quick phone call to his jewler and it's taken care of. Rumsfeld just saw what they decided to do to Saddam Hussein for his war crimes.

Reaction:
Bryant: Not available for comment.
Rumsfeld: A Pentagon spokesman had not yet seen the complaint, but said, "from the press reports, it certainly sounds frivolous to me."
Edge: Bryant. When he does eventually talk, using the word "frivolous" won't be part of his answer, based on recent experiences.

A key piece of information:
Bryant: Memphis won that game in question, 85-73.
Rumsfeld: The war in Iraq hasn't ended yet. Winner TBD.
Edge: Bryant. Rumsfeld might want to find a hotel in Eagle, Colorado to hide out for awhile.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)