January 2007 Archives

According to a rough draft of the upcoming Major Soccer League schedule that is supposed to be released as early as next week, the Galaxy are going to have to play on the road for a good part of the second half of the season so that David Beckham's Tour Across America can take full effect, according to a story this week in the Sports Business Journal.

Which means that those who buy Galaxy season seats will be stuck with a bunch of early-season Beckham-less games at Home Depot Center in Carson until he arrives sometime in July or August? It stands to reason that a front-loaded home schedule doesn't do the Galaxy any good, but the league's back-loaded idea will make everyone more money.

It's a 30-game season, with 15 set for home and 15 on the road. If 11 of those second-half games are in other MLS cities, well ... you do the calculus.

The only blip here is that the Galaxy usually faces each MLS team once or twice in each of those cities per season. A "roadie" against Chivas USA counts as much as when the Clippers face the visiting Lakers at Staples Center a couple of times a year, so that's an added appearance, apparently.

According to the story, if the Galaxy was to sell out once on the road in every MLS market at an average ticket price of $16, roughly the league’s average, it would deliver a $4 million bump in revenue leaguewide, says a guy crunching the numbers and crossing his fingers.

If each MLS team had some pull, they could also try to stage a Spice Girls reunion tour to coincide with each game. Oh, right. The idea is to attract fans.

Barbaro.... dead.
Laminitis ... just too much.
Unable to ever reproduce again.
Former Detroit Tigers utility player Barbaro Garbey ... unavailable for immediate comment.
First, Gump Worsley ... and now this.
How will we all get through this national nightmare?

By CHRIS DIXON
New York Times
SAN DIEGO — Wandering the teeming halls of the San Diego Convention Center on Friday afternoon,
the former professional surfer Peter King said of the goings-on at an action sports trade show, “I’d say it’s a lot more fun than a Dell computer convention.��?
It is easy to see why. On Thursday and Friday, scores of bikini-clad models, tattooed and scarred skateboarders and tanned surf bums plied their wares or promoted their sponsors’ brands. From Thursday to Sunday, more than 18,000 people are expected to pass through the convention center’s doors for an event that helps shape the future
of the billion-dollar industry.
To some, like King, the 26-year-old show is a “bro-fest��? that offers a chance to catch up with old friends and talk about future video or broadcasting projects. To others, like Tina Novak of Freestyle Audio, it is
a chance to share business cards and sell the waterproof Billabong Soundwave MP3 player.
“It’s got 40 hours of battery life and can go 10 feet underwater,��? she said, demonstrating a line of wet-suit and life-preserver tops that hold the music machine.
When asked why a surfer would want a music player, she said that runners have been listening to their headphones for years. “It’s like starring in your own surf video,��? she said.

Read on ...

By Jamie Malernee
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Football fans who planned to show up at the Super Bowl this year to enjoy a little tailgating are in for a nasty surprise: It’s banned.
There’s no grilling allowed. Forget about bringing a cooler full of beer. If you don’t have tickets for the game, you won’t be able to get near Dolphin Stadium.
A lot of local fans aren’t happy about it.
“Tailgating is part of the whole football experience; it’s one and the same. I was very surprised and disappointed and didn’t really even believe it at first,��? said Bill Krawiec, a Cooper City resident and lifelong Chicago Bears fan. “I mean, there aren’t that many people who follow the teams that can afford tickets. I guess they just want it to be a corporate event where people drive up in their limos, go to the game and go home.��?
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the “no tailgating��? policy has been in place at the Super Bowl for several years, the result of tightened security following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. This game day, Feb. 4, only those with tickets for the championship match between the Bears and Indianapolis Colts will be allowed near
Dolphin Stadium and the surrounding parking lots.
“The parking lot and traffic flow will look a lot different than it will during normal season games,��? McCarthy
said. “We’re going to have a security perimeter so we can screen people coming in.��?
Among the items banned: containers of any type, coolers of any size, backpacks, bottles, banners, noisemakers and horns.
“We’ll have security people out in the parking lots,��? McCarthy said. “If they see something that’s obtrusive to other fans, they’ll say you should put that back in your truck.��?

So, what are we supposed to do with this $319 gas-powered blender we got as a Christmas gift?

Read on ...

The Dodgers have locked in some of their promotions for the 82 dates on the 2007 regular season schedule. Some of 'em you can probably figure out. Others, we're not so sure.

Guess which promotion is real, and which one we made up:

--Bring Your Dodger Dog to the Park
Before the Sunday, July 8 game, fans can bring their dogs for a parade on the field dressed in their favorite Dodger attire. A contest will award the top five dogs, and a grand prize winner will be allowed to stay in the park and sit in a seat with their owner.

Answer: False.
What do you think this is, Petco Park?

-- Fans Vote Bobblehead Night:
Fans get to vote online for the player they'd like to most see on a bobblehead. The first 50,000 who show up to the Aug. 2 game will receive the winner player's bobblehead.

Answer: True.
We'll cast the first votes for Joe Beimel
(Unfortunately, he's not one of the six choices you have to pick from. And you gotta vote by April 3 so they have time to get it ready by August.)

Read on, if you're curious ...

Even more spillover from today's Daily News media column :

-- By the way, next week (Feb. 2) we start the 15th annual Best and Worst of the L.A. sports media with the Top 10/Bottom 5 list of sports-talk show hosts. The four-part series runs through the end of Feburary covering TV sportscaster/personalities, live game analysts and live game play-by-play men. Submit your suggestions ASAP to thomas.hoffarth@dailynews.com ...

--As the newspaper's notebook item covers, Jim Nantz got to see the Jeremy Piven immitation of him on "Saturday Night Live" from a version of the skit posted on YouTube.com. After that one disappeared, this one popped up:

--CBS' Nantz, on what covering this weekend's PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines means as a sort-of season opener (and Tiger Woods' 2007 debut) even though there's been three tournaments played before this, all on the Golf Channel: "I don't want to take away from what the Golf Channel has done already, but San Diego has been given a primo spot on the West Coast schedule. It's not by accident that (CBS Sports chief) Sean McManus and (executive producer) Tony Petitti helped set this up. When you lock in the week between the NFC and AFC Championships games and the Super Bowl, going unopposed to the NFL juggernaut, this becomes a big tournament for many years to come. I've watched in my 20 years the West Coast truely be the opening for the tour, and it used to be the Mercedes (Classic, now in Hawaii) got everyone's attention but that lost a lot of luster and the Doral Open (in Florida) got the windfall. Now it's shifted back to the West Coast. And again not to slight the first three events, but when you have Mr. Woods riding a win streak, it's the tournament that will awaken every golf fan and fringe fan." CBS (Channel 2) has the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday from noon-to-3 p.m.

--Save the date: Someone at ESPN with access to a calculator and a great imagination has decided that the 30,000th live edition of "SportsCenter" happens to fall in a prime-time Sunday spot on Feb. 11 (8 p.m.). Stuart Scott and Steve Levy will host the episode that'll be mashed in with plenty of the usual retrospective, a Bob Ley appearance and plenty of self-congratulations. No Chris Berman walk-on cameo? At least it's not in the script. Yet.

-- The Lakers-San Antonio game is the back end of an NBA doubleheader on ABC Sunday, tipping off at noon after the Cleveland-Phoenix contest. Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Michele Tafoya call the Lakers-Spurs, and the broadcast will feature SkyCam and something called Freeze Cam, which uses a wide lens to halt video during a replay, then expands the view to show the surroundings before resuming to roll video, allowing commentators to better analyze the play (according to the ESPN press release).

Read on, if you please ...

If former Grant High of Van Nuys star Gilbert Arenas ever went back to college, he says he'd have a lesson to teach Coach K and Duke.
To the tune of "84 or 85 points."
The Washington Wizards’ All-Star, who left the University of Arizona after his freshman year, is still miffed that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski cut him from the U.S. National team last summer. He promised this season to take out his frustrations on Krzyzewski’s Team USA assistants, Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni, and Portland coach Nate McMillan.
Arenas scored 54 points against the Suns last month and has said his next 50-point game will come against the Trail Blazers on Feb. 11.
That prompted D’Antoni to say: “I can’t wait to see what he does against Duke. He’s gonna kill Duke.�
On his blog posting on NBA.com, Arenas answered: “He’d like to see what I’m going to do against Duke. I thought it was funny because if I have the chance to go back to college, I’ll give up one NBA season to play against Duke.
“One college game that’s five fouls, right? ... 40-minute game at Duke, they got soft rims ... I’d probably score 84 or
85. I wouldn’t pass the ball. I wouldn’t even think about passing it. It would be like a NBA Live or an NBA 2K7 game, you just shoot with one person.�
When Arenas was cut from the U.S. team, it was announced he had a strained groin. Arenas said the injury was
minor and a convenient excuse.
Arenas, who trailed Vince Carter by more than 200,000 votes as of Jan. 11 for a starting spot on the NBA All-Star Eastern Conference team, ended up outpolling Carter by 3,010 votes to make the lineup announced Thursday.

This here is Sarah Spain. She's a big Chicago Bears fan. She wants to go to the Super Bowl. She doesn't have a ticket.
Wanna be her Sugar Daddy? Then go somewhere else. This high-matience gal has other plans.
Spain, a Brentwood resident who works at Fox Sports, started begging/pitching her plea on eBay.com to get someone to find her a ticket to Miami for Super Bowl XLI in exchange for nothing more than companionship for the afternoon. She then presented her case Thursday on the D'Marco Farr Show (With Kevin Kiley) at 710-AM.
Spain said her date would be: "Show up, go to the game, have some beers, go crazy, cheer for the Bears and enjoy the biggest game of the year.� The 26-year-old is single, but she's not an escort, she says, even if this Super Bowl date ends up going terribly wrong and she's escorted to someone's hotel room afterward.
Her thought was that someone with corporate seat connections probably was given a couple of tickets, is trying to find someone to go with, and might take her up on the offer.
For more info on Ms. Spain: www.myspace.com/spainy. There are many more flattering pictures of her there than this Rebecca Lobo-looking mugshot above.
eBay.com took down her initial posting, because of the ridiculousness of it, but she has figured out another way around it by offering up two pom-poms for auction -- not the ones attached to her chest -- as long as she can go along with them to the game. Sounds like a pretty creative bimbo.

God bless Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy for being the first two black head coaches to make it to a Super Bowl. One of them will end up as the first to actually win the big game.
And they can say they're the second to actually win a pro football championship.
Back in 2002, Darren Arbet (pictured) coached the Arena Football League's San Jose SaberCats to the largest victory in league history, 52-14, over Arizona in ArenaBowl XVI. That made Arbet the first black to win a pro football title in this country. Two seasons later, Arbet's 'Cats beat Arizona again, 69-62, in ArenaBowl XVIII.
What does Arbet think of the accomplishments of Smith and Dungy?
"They are two quality men and excellent football coaches," Arbet said through an AFL spokesman. "They both deserve what they earned this season. They are both motivators and teachers and enjoy the game.
"Minority coaches are more prevalent in all sports today, so this was going to happen eventually. I think the media is making a bigger issue out of this than the coaches themselves. Lovie and Tony are just quality football coaches who happen to be African-American."
We second that.

Al Davis has thongs older then Lane Kiffin. Not that we know for sure. Just gotta assume.
The highlighs of Tuesday's press conference, where the Raiders general managing partner (or whatever he's calling himself these days) introduced the 31-year-old former USC offensive coordinator as his new head coach are already all over the radio waves. Kiffin's robotic soundbites had San Jose Mercury writer John Ryan wondering if there wasn't a future endorsement in WD-40.
But the key may have been when Davis slipped and called him "Lance." Or, when he mentioned he was a former USC assistant coach "30 some years ago in 1959 ..."
It's been a long process, finding someone with an IQ small enough to take over this Dunder Mifflin of the NFL franchise. We understand how exhausted Al must be at this point. He's just glad he's still living and breathing without the help of an oxygen tank.
What kind of future does Kiffin have with the Raider Nation?
"Coaching the Raiders isnt going to be an uphill battle for Kiffin, it's an up-cliff battle," said Petros Papadakis on Tuesday's "PMS" show on AM-570.
If only Lance, er, Lane could just play video games like he did as the character in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

In its latest Valentine’s Day newspaper ads, the 99 Cents store finally has the sense to move all the Posh Spice figurines it can out the door. The ad’s hook: David Beckham may cost the Galaxy $250 million, but Victoria has been marked down to 2 for less than a buck with “no limit.�

(Although we're looking at the ad again, and if you do the math, two Poshes at 49 cents each adds up to 98 cents, but ...)

It's actually quite a deal. A quick search of online auctions show the same doll doing for about 2 bucks, plus $2.50 shipping. But if you’re looking for real Spicy dolls, may we suggest this 1997 Sporty Spice Barbie-Sized babe on eBay that the seller claims has “no chew marks� and “is naked, as pictured.�

By PETER PRENGAMAN
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Whether David Beckham’s American adventure proves a financial boon or multimillion-dollar blunder for Major League Soccer could depend on how well Beckham wins over fans such as Rodrigo Diaz.
Diaz emigrated from Mexico when he was 14, plays soccer with his friends at a local park and occasionally goes to watch the league’s two Los Angeles-based teams, Chivas USA and the Galaxy.
“I’ll go to one or two games to see how Beckham is playing,��? the 32-year-old Diaz said while buying a knee brace at Niky’s, a soccer store in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. “If I see he’s not into it, I’m not spending any
more money.��?
Hispanics made up a third of fans at MLS games last season, according to league statistics, with the percentage higher in Hispanic-heavy cities such as Los Angeles and Dallas. Regular-season games averaged 15,504 fans, a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of soccer fans and players the league estimates are in the United States.
Hispanic immigrants are both a substantial MLS fan base and a relatively untapped market. The 13-team league is hoping a recent deal with Spanish-language giant Univision to broadcast some games this season will help change
that.
Even with more exposure, the sell could prove difficult: Many Hispanics scorn MLS as a bush league where players show little of the panache and artistry that gives soccer its “beautiful game��? name.

Read on ...

If Kobe Bryant's 81-point game last season wasn't voted No. 1 during Sunday night's "Greatest Moments in Sports Awards," sponsored as a fund-raiser by the L.A. Sports Council, something would have been terribly askew.
Not that we know the real definition of askew, but it's probably the right word to use there.
Bryant's feat of selfishness on Jan. 22, 2006 helped the Lakers pull out a 122-104 win over hapless Toronto and put him No. 2 behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-pointer in 1962 on the NBA's all-time single-game scoring performances.

For the record, here's the Top 10 list of L.A. sports moments that were revealed at a pot-luck banquet at the Beverly Hilton:
1. Bryant's 81.
2. USC-Texas Rose Bowl (Jan. 4). Even though the Longhorns won 41-38 for the national title.
3. Dodgers hit four consecutive homers in the bottom of the 9th to tie San Diego, then win it on Nomar Garciaparra's two-run shot in the 10th (Sept. 19)
4. UCLA's 13-9 win over USC at the Rose Bowl to end a seven-game series losing streak (Dec. 2)
5. UCLA basketball reaches Final Four (April 3)
6. Clippers defeat Denver 4 games to 1 to win their first playoff series since 1978 (May 1)
7. Jered Weaver wins 9 straight to begin career (August 18)
8. Ducks set NHL record for best start at 12-0-4 (November 9)
9. Sparks center Lisa Leslie scores 5,000th career point (June 24)
10. So Cal native Tiger Woods wins 6 straight PGA events (July 23-October 1).

That last one? Sure, a stretch. What about when Luc Robitaille set the Kings' franchise scoring record with his 551st goal, scoring a hat trick in an 8-6 win. (Jan. 19).

Also:
Sportsman of the Year: Clippers forward Elton Brand
Sportswoman of the Year: Sparks center Lisa Leslie, the WNBA's MVP
Executives of the Year: Dodgers GM Ned Coletti and Ducks GM Brian Burke.

What the L.A. Sports Council calls a "blue-ribbon media panel " picked the overall Top 10 moments and ranked them in order of importance. We weren't part of the panel. Our feelings aren't hurt. But how could you call it a "blue ribbon" anything without our imput (we ask Rich Perelman, the L.A. sports historian who put the group together)?

Our white ribbon pannel of one -- and didn't the white ribbon at the state fair always look better than the blue one anyway, with that gold lettering and all? -- has determined the Top 5 worst moments in L.A. sports for 2006. Note some crossover names:

1. Kobe Bryant scores one point and takes only three shots in the second half of the Lakers' 121-90 Game 7 loss to Phoenix in the first-round playoff series, capping a Lakers collapse after a 3-1 lead that woul d have sent them to the second round against the Clippers (May 7).
2. The Dodgers' Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew are both thrown out at home plate on the same play in the Dodgers' eventual 6-5 loss to the New York Mets in Game 1 of their NLCS. (Oct. 5)
3. Dodgers reliever Joe Beimel is left off the playoff roster because he said he cut his hand after dropping a glass of water in his hotel room. He came clean a few days later and said he did it in a New York bar. (Oct. 4).
4. The Kings fire Dave Taylor as their general manager after nine seasons. The team also dumps its director of player personnel, its interim coach, two assistant coaches and reassignes its vice president of hockey operations. This comes a month after the team fires head coach Andy Murray, who had a 37-28-5 record. (April 18)
5. Sparks star center Lisa Leslie announces she will miss the entire 2007 WNBA season because she's pregnant (Dec. 7)

Non-sportsman of the year (tie): Kings' Sean Avery, kicked off the team for the last part of the 2006 season; Drew, who opted out of his Dodgers contract to become a free agent.
Non-executive of the year: Clippers GM Elgin Baylor, who actually was named NBA executive of the year in 2006.
Worst owner of the year: Clippers' Donald Sterling, who had the U.S. Department of Justice file a lawsuit against him and his family for housing discrimination, accusing him for failing to rent to blacks, Latinos or famlies.

Got your own additions?

Brother-in-law Mitch, five months into his tour of duty in Iraqi for the U.S. Marines, says this is his favorite time of sports year.
Mostly because his Colts have a shot to do something they've never done in his memory: Go to a Super Bowl.
Here's Mitch (posing with a British weapon next to a British Tornado) making his latest observations and predictions from 10 hours away:

"How is everything there still cold? Lakers beat the Spurs but looked horrible against the Mavs. Who is going to win, Barkley or the ref?
"This weekends picks are the Colts and Saints. Oh yeah: COLTS and more COLTS. I wish I was there to see it with my dad (a born Patroits fan). Does anyone else realize the Patriots have not played in the RCA Dome, be it regular or post season, in over six years? Gotta love those schedule writers, huh? Indoors on turf, the Colts are much faster. Watch out Pats -- get out of the way.
"Take care."

Mitch's previous correspondence:
Jan. 5
Dec. 31
Dec. 1
Oct. 12
Sept. 19
Sept. 11
Sept. 9

By DEBORAH YAO
AP Business Writer
Comcast Corp. is making a big bet on golf, hoping to transform its little-watched Golf Channel network into a household name.
The Golf Channel is exclusively carrying every round of the first three PGA Tour events of 2007. So for the first time in four decades, this weekend’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic will not be shown on network television.
The coverage is part of the Golf Channel’s unprecedented 15-year partnership with the tour that kicked off this month. The deal gives the channel early round coverage of every regular PGA Tour event, and every round at 13 PGA Tour tournaments. NBC and CBS pick up the weekend coverage for 31 tournaments.
The contract substantially boosts the channel’s tournament programming and for the first time gives considerable
heft to a network co-founded by Arnold Palmer 12 years ago. But it’s also likely to generate big losses in the early years for parent company Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator.

Read on ...

Start making your list of who'd play Althea Gibson in a movie about the life of the late ground-breaking female tennis player.
And start with Serena Williams, not Eddie Murphy.
Serena said she's working on a movie script about Gibson, who won five Grand Slam singles titles in the late 1950s and was credited with being a forerunner for other black athletes.
“I think Althea Gibson has a great story ... we’re working on a script right now,� Williams said Friday at the Australian Open after her three-set win over Nadia Petrova.
Williams said Gibson, the first black person to be voted by The Associated Press as its female athlete of the year in 1957, had been “a little bit overlooked ... I just feel sometimes that Althea Gibson, who did so much for people like me to play this sport, and she was the first, before even Arthur Ashe, and I just think it will be a great story to tell."
And an inspiration to do other things in her honor.
“You’ve got the U.S. Open, you’ve got the Arthur Ashe court — Arthur Ashe is a great guy, and it was my lifelong dream when I met him,� Williams said. “Then you have the Louis Armstrong Center and the center being named after Billie Jean King, who, again, I always admired Billy, and she’s someone that I love.�
Gibson, who won two singles titles each at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and the French Open once, died in 2003 at the age of 76.
Asked what her status could be on the movie, Williams didn't seem to want to play the part.
“I definitely won’t be directing it," she said. "Hopefully I can produce it or something."
And Venus can take the lead.

OMAHA, Neb. -- A veterinarian will be in court next week to face accusations he injected horses with vodka to calm their nerves before races at Fonner Park in Grand Island.
Jay Stewart faces four misdemeanor counts of attempting to influence a race by tampering with a horse. His trial starts Wednesday in Hall County.
In a story first reported by the Omaha World-Herald, Stewart denied any wrongdoing. He didn’t immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at his Grand Island clinic said Stewart was in surgery Friday morning.
Stewart is alleged to have administered vodka to horses in 2005 — before the fourth race Feb. 20, the sixth race Feb. 27, the fifth race March 11 and the ninth race April 9.

Spilling over from our coverage of the Golf Channel's march into the PGA Tour are these replaceable divots:

WHAT SMOKES:
=Jim Lampley, who has been accused but not charged in the domestic abuse incident on Jan. 3 involving his former girl friend, will be on the HBO telecast as scheduled for Saturday’s card from the Paris Casino in Las Vegas that starts at 6:45 p.m. The network would not elaborate on the assignment, only to say that Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward would be ringside. HBO also says Lampley and Co., will do the Feb. 10 Shane Mosley bout from Las Vegas for the network.

=FSN West will reair a Luc Robitaille “Kings Insider� episode prior to covering the former Kings’ great’s number 20 retirement ceremony Saturday at 7:30 p.m., leading into the Kings-Phoenix 8 p.m. game. KTLA-AM (1150) will also air the ceremony live.

=FSN Prime Ticket carries the two-hour live L.A. Sports Council’s second annual L.A. Sports “Greatest Moments� Awards show from the Beverly Hilton (Sunday, 8 p.m.) co hosted by Petros Papadakis and Bill Macdonald. Presenters include Vin Scully, Joel Meyers, Ralph Lawler, Steve Physioc and Brian Hayward.

=Word is that, even though the USC football season is done, the folks at WeAreSC.com will allow future ex-play-by-play man Pete Arbogast to continue his self-inflicting blogging - which is happening in most part because Arbogast requested he keep it going so that he’ll continue to get some minor income.
From his latest “Random Thoughts� column: “I spent most of the weekend in bed; this flu comes with not only the barfs, but also aches and pains and fever of the regular flu. Nice.� Cha-ching.

= Sage Steele is a) an adult film entertainer, b) a competitor in the mixed martial arts world, c) the newest anchor hired by ESPN. These are media notes, so of course, it's C. Steele, part of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic since its April 2001 launch, will be on ESPNEWs and ESPN SportsCenter from time to time, so don't get too freaked out. She's worked in Baltimore, Indiana, Tampa Bay and not must move to Bristol, Conn. Good luck with that and fighting off the boys in the office. Wonder how the rest of her family, Parsley, Rosemary and Thime, approve of this move.

=Bruce Arena gets a chance to critique the U.S. men's national team that dumped him after the recent World Cup, and he'll get paid for it. ESPN hired the former team's head coach for its coverage of the U.S.-Denmark contest Saturday (1:50 p.m., ESPN2) from the Home Depot Center in Carson. Rob Stone does play-by-play, and Eric Wynalda will share the booth with Arena. Allen Hopkins, who did Galaxy analysis on FSN Prime Ticket, has just accepted a job with ESPN and will make his debut as a sideline reporter for this telecast. The four will return to cover the Feb. 7 U.S.-Mexico match in Glendale, Ariz.

=Dodgers’ Spanish-language Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrin will be a guest speaker along with his son, Jorge, the KABC-AM jetcopter reporter, at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center (Sunday, 7 p.m.) discussing their careers in the media. More information: www.TorranceArts.com.

=Part of NBC’s two-hour special on the International Auto Show (Sunday, 10 a.m.) will be host Bill Weber’s tribute to Benny Parsons, the former NASCAR champion driver who died Tuesday from lung cancer. Weber worked with Parsons at NBC and TNT on NASCAR broadcasts for the last six seasons.

=NBA TV will reair Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against Toronto on Monday (10 a.m.), on the one-year anniversary of the accomplishment at Staples Center on Jan. 22, 2006.

= The second season of Spike TV's "Pros Vs. Joes" , 10 episodes strong with no repeats, starts Thursday, Jan. 25 with a challenge of stopping Michael Irvin from catching a pass. The first episode has several repeats. Petros Papadakis again hosts the show, which originates from the Home Depot Center in Carson.

WHAT CHOKES

=Last week, it was Stephen A. Smith finding out his ESPN2 show “Quite Frankly� was knocked off the programming schedule. This week, it was revealed that ESPN Classic will no longer have any more original programming, so no more “Classic Now.� This comes a year after “ESPN Hollywood� came and went from ESPN2. The common thread: All three shows were creations of Mark Shapiro, the former network executive in charge of programming who has since left to help Daniel Snyder run his Six Flags theme parks.

= While on the subject of Charlie Casserly, as we were with a blog item earlier this week, it was pointed out to us that the guy CBS drags in as a regular "insider" was actually getting his back patted by studio host James Brown the previous week for something that was more dumb luck than an inspired choice. As Brown introduced the former Redskins and Texans GM to the show, he said he wanted to "congratulate you for another one of your draft picks, the Texans' Dimico Ryans, being named the NFL's defensive rookie of the year ... another great draft by you." Yeah, congrats on passing on Reggie Bush and hometown favorite Vince Young to take Mario Williams, a lineman from North Carolina that most experts didn't even have on their Top 10 draft board, with the overall No.1 pick in that draft, too. So, the bottom line here is, Casserly's second-round pick was way better than his first-round pick. Why not bring that lame computer-generated Thurston Long back as long as you're trying to revert to a comedy show.

= Bill Simmons, the ESPN internet columnist who has been turned loose onto ESPNU college basketball telecasts lately, did Monday’s USF-Pepperdine contest for the network. According to reports, Simmons said with 16:36 left in the first half: “I’m very upset. Not only did the game start late, I didn’t get to say my intro. I feel cheated. My TiVo is screwed up. I’m very upset.� At least no one watched it. And you can always go back to just being a writer.

=ESPN, in announcing that Mike Goldberg and Mike Golic will be the lead broadcast team for its Arena Football League games this season, also noted that Ron Jaworski would be on the third team (with Merrill Hodge). Jaworski, who owns a piece of the Philadelphia Soul team and is their team president, won’t do games involving his team.

=Not related to David Beckham coming to the Galaxy, but more soccer TV exposure news: The English Premier League doubled their previous deals and scored a $1.23 billion rights deal for overseas TV and media packages, which is on top of their $3.3 billion domestic TV deal with Sky and Setanta, according to the London Telegraph. The biggest increase in Premier exposure is the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Here's one way how the Galaxy can raise the money to pay David Beckham: Charge $130 a head to would-be players who want to try out for the team.
The Galaxy announced an open tryout overseen by coach Frank Yallop (pictured) that'll be held on Feb. 10 at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Those who make the first-day cut will be invited back to continue on Feb. 11.
As Rich Perleman points out on his Sports Examiner website, all it would take is 76,923 people to register so the team can collect enough to pay the soccer side of Beckham’s agreement for this season.
A recent open tryout by the newest MLS entry, Toronto FC, drew upwards of 1,000 people and yielded at least one potential prospect, reports TSN in Canada. Jamaal Smith, a York University soccer player, will attend the team's training camp next month in Florida in hopes of making the final roster.
Registration for the Galaxy tryout can be filled out on the team's website. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. Space is said to be limited and is restricted to those 18-year-old and older.
Those who actually win a spot on the Galaxy roster by some stroke of luck are reminded to never look Beckham directly in the eye.
Otherwise, wait around for the Galaxy's Adult Fantasy camp set for next December.

By DAVID MERCER
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Oglala Sioux Tribe demanded Thursday that the University of Illinois return the regalia worn by the school’s Chief Illiniwek mascot, including the eagle feathers that were once part of the costume.
Whether the school still has those feathers, considered sacred to American Indians, wasn’t clear Thursday.
The resolution was submitted to the university’s board of trustees ahead of its Thursday meeting in Chicago. It called the use of Chief Illiniwek “a degrading racial stereotype.�
Telephone messages seeking comment from the tribe’s executive committee, which approved the resolution, were left Thursday at tribal offices on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where the tribe is based.
Tom Hardy, a spokesman for the board of trustees, said the board wouldn’t yet respond to the resolution.
The university bought the costume, including a headdress with eagle feathers, in 1982 from Sioux Chief Frank Fools Crow, whose wife made it. The eagle feathers since have been replaced by turkey feathers.

Read on ...

Former "American Idol" and Grammy-winning singer Kelly Clarkson has entered into the biggest partnership that NASCAR has ever made with a music artist, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
"Anyone who knows me knows I'm a race fan and love NASCAR," she said in a NASCAR press release. "I look forward to hanging out with the fans, drivers and the entire NASCAR community."
Clarkson will be "integrated into all aspects of NASCAR," including television spots, charitable events and NASCAR's awards dinner in New York City in December, NASCAR said.
It starts with her headlining the Nextel "Tribute To America" concert airing live on Fox just before the Daytona 500 in Florida on Feb. 18. During the appearance, Clarkson will film a 30-second NASCAR spot for TV featuring a new song from her upcoming third album.
Know how she could really help NASCAR? Play the part of Ricky Bobby's wife in the remake of "Talledega Nights."

When the question came up at the Galaxy press conference last week that David Beckham didn't attend about what number he'd be wearing and when his laundry would go on sale, AEG chief Tim Leiweke seemed rather tongue tied.
Why wouldn't they have a jersey with No. 23 or No. 7 already made and in boxes shipping out to the Foot Locker?
Because it seems they're changing the look and color scheme.
SI.com’s Grant Wahl, while breaking down this $250 million contract figure that's been thrown around, says Old Spice Boy will "never wear green and gold with the Galaxy" because they're discussing a "more worldly brand" -- Lewieke's words -- that'll probably be more blue and black. With a new logo. And new design.
And you'll have to wait about two months to see 'em because they haven't figured out which company will make them.

The Baseball Reliquary has come out with its latest 50 eligible candidates for the 2007 election to the Shrine of the Eternals, the membership organization’s equivalent to the Baseball Hall of Fame, except that it's the fans who vote, not the baseball writers. This is the ninth annual ballot for the Shine, which is intended to honor those from the obscure to the well known who have altered the baseball world in ways that supersede statistics.
Nope, Mark McGwire isn't on this ballot.
There've been 24 already enshrined, from Jim Abbott to Kenichi Zenimura, with a Mark Fidrych, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Fernando Valenzuela and Bill Veeck thrown in between.
There are 10 first-timers on the new ballot: Umpire Emmett Ashford, former White Sox inept star Zeke Bonura, former relief pitcher turned author Jim Brosnan, former catcher Darren Daulton, ex-Detroit Tigers star Willie Horton, Deadball Era star Sherry Magee, Negro League third baseman Oliver "Ghost" Marcelle, former single-season home-run champ Roger Maris, fan "Nuf Ced" McGreevy, famed scapegoat Fred Merkle, former relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry and former star picher Luis Tiant. Both Maris and Tiant had been on previous ballots, but they return this year.

For a complete list of the ballot, or for membership information to the Baseball Reliquary, go to the weblink above or contact Terry Cannon at P.O. Box 1850, Monrovia, CA 91017 or by email at terymar@earthlink.net

Among all the blather from Sunday's NFL pregame shows came this gem from Charlie Casserly, the CBS expert on behind-the-scenes matters based on his stellar career as the GM at some team that hasn't made the playoffs.
Uncle Charlie said: "There are reports that Oakland is near naming a head coach this weekend. Can't happen. They haven't complied with the Rooney Rule yet _ that's what it's called in the league for interviewing a minority candidate for your head coaching position. Al Davis, who hired Art Shell as the first modern-day minority coach, certainly isn't going to violate the rule ..."
Why wouldn't he? If he thought Shell was the best African-American candidate for the job, and he clearly wasn't, why would Darth Raider even consider ... you finish that sentence. And have a nice Martin Luther King Jr. Day yourself.
Anyway, it was actually that "Rooney Rule" reference that had us busting up.
Did he mean Art Rooney?
Andy Rooney?
Or Edward R. Rooney?

(Evan Yee/Daily News Staff Photographer)

As we pointed out in today's "Writing On (And Off) The Wall" column, the primary goal of Thousand Oaks' Sharon Fluxman is that every kid gets a chance to play her native sport of netball, one she grew up with in South Africa before she and her husband, Colin, a radio and TV broadcaster, fled the country of turmoil and violence to settle in Southern California.
Her plan seems to be working. By launching the Thousand Oaks Comets netball club for ex-patroits, she's been able to convert a few local Americans with athletic skills to try their hand at this basketball-like sport without a lot of arm twisting.
"Don't be intimadated by the rules," Fluxman says. "They're very easy to catch on."

THE BASICS:
-- The game is played on a 50-by-100 foot court (larger than a regulation basketball court). The court is divided into thirds.
-- A size 5 soccer ball is often used. Official netballs often look like volleyballs.
-- Seven players to a side. Three players are stationed as defenders, three as offensive players, and one in the center.
-- Each of the seven players wears an apron or velcro patch that indicates their position. They are:
GS: Goal scorer
GA: Goal attack
WA: Wing attack
C: Center
WD: Wing defense
GD: Goal defense
GK: Goalkeeper
--Four quarters, 15 minutes each
--The teams alternate starting the action from the center court, no matter what team scores before action stops. The center starts in the center circle to a player who moves into the middle section of the court. The ball moves to the designated GS or GA, who can only shoot within the arch that stretches 32 feet along the baseline.
--No player with or without the ball can come into physical contact with an opponent.
--Two umpires regulate play, running up and down each sideline.

THE TEAMS:
-- Thousand Oaks Comets website
-- Los Angeles Waves website
-- The California Netball Association website
-- The USA Netball Association website (based in Florida)
-- The International Netball Federation website (based in England)

THE HISTORY:
-- In 1891 in Springfield, Mass., 30-year-old James Naismith invited an indoor game for the YMCA with a peach basket. His rules had nine players a side. Clara Baer, a gym teacher in New Orleans, asked Naismith to give her a copy of his rules so she could adapt it for women. The game eventually made it to England, where it was first played in 1895. As Naismith's game evolved into what it is today, adding backboards, dribbling, etc., the netball rules remained the same but were tweeked for those who took up the sport in England, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
Korfball, a similar but distinct game played in the Netherlands and Belgium, developed from netball.

By HARRY STEIN
Special to the New York Times

In an article that ran Wednesday — the day after he and his fellow baseball writers emphatically rejected Mark McGwire’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame — the Toronto Globe and Mail columnist Stephen Brunt recalled a news conference the St. Louis Cardinals called for their outsized slugger the first day of spring training in 1999, six months after he obliterated the single-season home run record.

McGwire was a media god, equal parts Paul Bunyan and Jack Armstrong, and, wrote Brunt, the assembled sporting press was eager to revisit his feel-good story “except that one of their number wasn’t playing along (no, not yours truly). He stood up and asked a question about drugs, about McGwire’s admission that he had used
androstenedione, about role models and messages to kids and sports ethics.

"The crowd reacted as though someone had broken wind.�

In the wake of the Hall of Fame vote, there was quite a bit of this kind of thing. Sportswriters criticized themselves and they criticized one another; they lit into Major League Baseball and they ripped the players association; and mainly, of course, they went after McGwire. On the face of it, this was pretty strange. I happen to have a number of sportswriter friends, and used to do a fair amount of baseball writing, but you would be hard pressed to find
an unlikelier collection of moral authorities this side of Rosie and The Donald. As Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe delicately observed, he and his colleagues “are probably not a group best suited to be judging other people’s character.�

Still, in a time as devoid of standards as this one, we will take our ethicists where we can get them, even if it is on the fly. The fact is, a survey of the commentary on McGwire and the Hall of Fame vote reveals a general moral seriousness and no-holds-barred candor that we could probably stand more of elsewhere in the newspaper.

Read on ...

David Beckham has the cold, hard cash to lay some money down on a few of the exotic wagers offered up now on the Internet. Fact is, he could make the bets in his wife's name and then actually make a few of these things happen and collect the rewards.
Don't let Janet Gretzky in on the scam, though.
According to the website Intertops.com, here are some odds on things they've posted that could happen to the man who's famous for being famous once he starts his new life in L.A.:

Gets a DUI = 10 to 1
Stars in a movie with Tom Cruise = 100 to 1
Attempts a field goal in an NFL game = 500 to 1
Wins "Dancing with the Stars" = 500 to 1
Divorces Victoria and marries Paris Hilton = 10,000 to 1
And the odds that he tears up a knee in his last game for Real Madrid before coming over to play his first Galaxy game? Alexi Lalas would rather not even consider that a possibility.

As reported earlier this morning on Deadspin.com, "Quite Frankly With Steven A. Smith" has taken the gas pipe and come to a screeeeeeching halt on ESPN2.
The network confirmed it late this morning with a release, announcing that Smith, the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist as well as an "outspoken and insightful commentator," will "expand his presence across numerous ESPN entities."
Just not his own one-hour show.
They're gonna find more time for him on SportsCenter. On NBA studio shows. On ESPNEWS. Write for ESPN Magazine. And ESPN.com. And hosting "interview specials" -- do I smell a Roy Firestone in the making?
Today is his last "Quite Frankly" episode (ESPN2, 8 p.m.), which was taped yesterday. It debuted in Aug. 2005, which is a pretty decent run in the TV world. Longer than "ESPN Hollywood," so we'll give him that.
Quite frankly, the show was worth trying out for ESPN. However, once the screaming stopped, even Stuart Scott probably stopped watching it two months ago.

Seems as if it didn't have anything to do with David Beckham, it didn't qualify for mention in today's Daily News media column or notebook.So rejoice and be glad, here's the rest of the stuff:
-- Among the more interesting reads assessing why more than 400 media members of the Baseball Writers Association of America snubbed Mark McGwire in this week's Baseball Hall of Fame voting came from Editor & Publisher columnsit Joe Strupp, who pointed out the "same scribes who wrote glowing and supportive articles about McGwire and fellow slugger Sammy Sosa" during their 1998 single-season home-run record chase are now guilty of turning on him. (Like, Sports Illustrated, which named the two of them their Sportsman of the Year). "One has to look hard to find any real journalistic questioning questioning of McGwire's record at the time," Strupp continued. He then quoted Jeff Pearlman, a former baseball writer for Sports Illustrated: "I think we just blew it."
Tony Kornheiser reponded on an episode of ESPN's "PTI" this week that McGwire is the victim of two things here: He's been made a scapegoat for that "terrible" TV testimony he gave before Congress, and he's "taken the wrath of sportswriters who say, 'We should have written about this in 1998 ... we should have known more,' and they're taking it out on this guy."
More columns worth reading on the subject are from those who explain why they voted for McGwire, including Dave Albee of the Marin Independent Journal and Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and a column about the hyprocracy shown by the voters written by Pete Hayes of the (River Bend) Telegraph.

Associated Press
MILWAUKEE -- Two dinners apparently changed the direction of the Milwaukee Brewers. Jeff Suppan reaped the rewards both times.
The first, in the midst of Brewers’ team meetings just after a disappointing 75-87 season, came in Arizona, where executives huddled in the back of a restaurant and wheeled in a television to watch Game 7 of the National League
Championship Series between St. Louis and the New York Mets.
“It was a pretty interesting and exciting game,� said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, who said he was rooting for the Cardinals because his family vacations with St. Louis counterpart Walt Jocketty. “You just had to enjoy the game itself, and watching Jeff compete out there against a quality team like the Mets.
“At that time, there was probably not a whole lot of thought that Jeff Suppan would be wearing a Brewers uniform today. But I’m glad he is.�
Melvin said the game stuck in his mind as part of the future direction of the Brewers as Suppan won the NLCS’ MVP.
Two months later, Brewers’ management had a date with Suppan, the former Crespi High standout, at the Brentwood home of Mark Attanasio, the team’s unconventional owner. Attanasio catered the meal from a famous Los Angeles chef, and it featured hors d’oeuvres, steaks and fish over glasses of Italian wine.
The five-hour date a week before Christmas was a rousing success. It showed the 32-year-old right-hander that Milwaukee was seriously wooing him.

After testing their all-you-can-sorta-eat gimmick for those who pay up to sit in the right field pavilion, the Dodgers apparently have sent ripples of excitement around the gluttonous greater L.A. area by formally announcing they're going to do the one-stop eating binge on a regular basis during the 2007 season.
Remember, when we took you through the artery-stopping event last August, we were hardly impressed. The non-grilled hot dogs were also kinda cold, there was a small selection, the lines became too long during the game, and they shut it all down before the seventh inning.
The Dodgers haven't said they've fixed it, but they feel confident to make it a regular feeding zone with a few tweeks to last year's trial runs.
“Instead of paying cash, fans ask for whatever they want, and they get it," said Marty Greenspun, the team's exec and COO. "There are going to be some self-service parts, buffet-style, as well."
Those 3,000 seats in right field will go for $35 in advance, or $40 on gameday. Left field will remain $10 a pop.
“The response was overwhelmingly positive,� Greenspun said of the three test runs in right field last year. "The St. Louis Cardinals have done it. IIt hasn’t been anything of this size. The other ballparks charge a higher rate than this.�
The concept goes as such: Food booth open 90 minutes before the game and close two hours after the first pitch. The all-you-can-eat concept means you can only have two Dodger Dogs at a time.
Then you have to get back in line. Again and again.

UCLA, envious of USC's basketball program. Hardy har har.
Except that Thursday, the school finally announced it would take "formal steps" to renovating Pauley Pavilion, hoping to dedicate the facelift project on Oct. 14, 2010, which would be coach John Wooden's 100th birthday.
And hoping that USC's Galen Center, or the House That Somehow Pete Carroll Built, is a run-down dump by then.
Wooden was the UCLA basketball coach when Pauley opened in 1965, costing just $5.2 million. Wooden had a hand in designing it, with architect Welton Becket.
Pauley Pavilion, named after primary doners Edwin and Barbara Pauley, houses the school's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics teams, as well as serving as the site for the 1984 Olympics for gymnastics.
So what are they gonna fix up? New lockers, a video room, a media room, a medical treatment area, and a practice facility. Plus new concession areas, restrooms and other state-of-the-art stuff.
Like baseline seats closer to the court? One step at a time, big boy.
The school said it has formed a selection committee to evaluate potential executive architects and hopes to have one in place by the end of March. No estimate as to how much the renovation will cost. But somehow, Sam Gilbert will help pay for it.

By LARRY LAGE
Associated Press

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Mark Hollis has heard the allegations about Nike Inc. operating sweatshops overseas. The Michigan State senior associate athletic director believes Nike when it says all its workers are treated well, and he eagerly accepted the company’s offer to tour some of its Asian factories.

“It’s easy to be told one thing, but it’s a great opportunity to go see for yourself,��? said Hollis, who was set to travel Thursday to Vietnam. “Nike is in business to make money, but they take allegations and perceptions seriously.��?

Michigan State, Georgetown, California — a few of the many schools with sponsorship agreements with Nike — and the America East Conference are expected to have representatives joining Nike officials for a tour of facilities in Vietnam and China.

Global Exchange, a humanitarian, not-for-profit organization based in San Francisco, hopes Hollis and the other college administrators ask tough questions during a tour paid for by the world’s largest athletic shoe and clothing company.

“Are the workers paid a living wage that allows them to live in their country’s middle class?��? said Jason Mark, who is on Global Exchange’s board of directors. “Are the workers allowed to collectively bargain for their interests with an independent trade union? Unfortunately, repeated investigations into Nike’s operations overseas has given us ‘No’ answers to both of those questions.��?

Read on ...

Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. were in New York today to tape "Late Show" with David Letterman and give the Top 10 "Good Things About Being Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame."
Mark McGwire must have missed his plane connection.

If you don't want to wait up, here's the list:

10. Ripken Jr.: “While traveling the country, I can shower with any team I choose.‿
9. Gwynn: “Can now advertise my garage sales as “Hall of Fame garage sales.‿
8. Ripken Jr.: “George Steinbrenner just offered me $20 million to play again.‿
7. Gwynn: “On Bobblehead Day, guess who gets two bobbleheads?‿
6. Ripken Jr.: “At any moment, there’s a good chance Bob Costas is boring someone with stories about me.‿
5. Gwynn: “It’s nice to be mentioned in the same breath as Arky Vaughn, Burleigh Grimes and Gabby Hartnett.‿
4. Ripken Jr.: “Free chalupa from Taco Bell if I mention them in my induction speech.‿
3. Gwynn: “Made all those years playing in Southern California’s lousy climate worth it.‿
2. Ripken Jr.: “I can now admit I broke my streak in 1998 because I had tickets to ‘Les Mis.’‿
1. Ripken Jr. and Gwynn: “Get to be on national television – even if it is this show.‿

It's come to our attention that we've never been to a Hooters restaurant, and have no idea just how good the wing are.
(Pause, for a long inhale, followed by a longer exhale).
We realize this because Fox Sports Net is televising something called the "Best Damn Hooters Beauty Pageant," which seems to be the perfect storm of all that's wrong with sports programming. It's on tonight, at 9 p.m. and repeating at 11 p.m. But, as usual, we regress.
Fox has put up a website where fan balloting will determine
the "Hooters Best Damn Dream Girl." Fox says more than 180,000 have logged votes so far, picking among the 16 candidates for this top honor.
At this point, we suspect you want to see some of the candidates.
Take your pick:

It makes for some interesting legal tanglements, this news from the Sports Business Journal that the agent for retired soccer star Mia Hamm has left his company and joined the Wasserman Media Group. Dan Levy, who was the Octagon director of Olympic and women's sports -- hence, he repped Mia -- joined WMG, whose managment president is Arn Tellem, who happens to be the agent for her husband and Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra.
Will Levy be able to bring his clients with him to Wasserman's team?
Will Mia break her ties with Octagon and find an agent with Wasserman -- like Tellem?
Does this mean that everyone's sleeping together and no one cares anymore?

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart has a three-year endorsement deal with Polaroid that guarantees a low-seven figure payout, his agent, Chuck Price, told the Sports Business Journal.

This isn't about pitching cameras that spit out stupid little square things that you need to shake around until they develop. This is all about the company's new flat-screen TVs and other cool electronic stuff.

There's gotta be something it for Matt beyond just easy cash. May we speculate?

-- A razorphone that doesn't take pictures in bars, clubs or any other place where alcohol is served.

-- Special high-pitched ringtones to distinguish whether it's Paris, Brittney or some other starlette from "One Tree Hill" who might be calling at an inopportune moment.

-- A GPS system that tells him whenever Reggie Bush is in the same city, so he can make sure to separate himself from any sort of walking legal problem.

-- A Sharpie that allows him to sign-and-track articles that he signs, so that if something needs to be retrieved and revalued, he'll find it within two business days.

-- An super-duper extended family calling plan for his young fans (some of whom may be related and refer to him as Pops).

When the Sporting News Radio moves its business operations from Northbrook, Ill., to Santa Monica, it'll have a new program director. Bill Pugh, who has been in the sports radio business for more than 25 years, was most recently the VP of programming for the Mighty 1090 Double XX in San Diego the last four years.

Pugh ... Pugh. ... The name sounds familiar....

Oh, right. He's the older brother of ESPN's Dan Patrick.

Patrick (real last name: Pugh) does the 10 a.m.-to-1 p.m. PDT show on ESPN Radio.

Pugh, who used to run XTRA Sports 690 back in San Diego before it merged with other Jacor/Clear Channel programming and morphed into KLAC-AM (570), now has the job overseeing all content initiatives for Sporting News Radio -- and finding programming that will draw listeners away from his little brother. Currently, Sporting News Radio runs the Dave Smith show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., heard in Los Angeles on 1540-AM The Ticket.

“I’ve enjoyed my time with XX Sports. I have to say, we’ve accomplished a lot over the last four years�, said Pugh. “Sporting News is one of the greatest brand names within the sports industry. I am excited to join an A-List management team.�

Few things can get us laughing so hard that we draw actual tears, and for some reason -- maybe a lack of sleep, perhaps too much Red Bull -- a when he came across a list of the names that the new Tiger and Elin Woods baby could possibly have, we had to call for help to get us off the floor.
I don't want to oversell this, but ...
The link starts with the "Cultural Oddsmaker" AJ Daulerio on Deadspin.com. , where he decided it was time to set the odds for the top candidates for the kids we'll simply refer to at this point as the "Swedecaublasian":

--Lil' Earl: 1-to-4 odds.
--Stacy Grenrock: 3-to-1 odds
--Fuzzy: 8-to-1 odds
--Ocelot: 12-to-1 odds
--Urethra: 15-to-1 odds

Then the readers chime in with their own suggestions (you make the odds):
--The bastard son of Tiger Woods
--Barbaro
--Optimus Prime
--Swoosh
--Earlette or Earlina
--Morning
--Lynx
--Fluff
--Nike presents [Baby's name] Woods
--Norwegian
--Buick Skylark
--Phil (or Lefty)
--Philgogetyourballinthe
--Iron
--Nicklaus
--Ickey
--Doesabears***inthe
--M. Night
--Natalie
--Seymour

And our favorite:
--Liger

We have no idea whether Allen Iverson will qualify as a starter for both the Eastern and Western Conference teams that converge on Las Vegas for the Feb. 18 Shoot-Til-U-Drop NBA All-Star game, but four days into the worldwide fan vote to decide who'll be accepted to perform on the first-ever NBA All-Star Dance Team, we're just not sure we're up to the task.
It's too hard.
There are 90 young ladies on the ballot that you really have to stumble upon to find on NBA.com . Only 30 make the roster. So there's 60 that someone has to tell weren't up to standards. Maybe you invite the 60 losers to come to Vegas anyway and hire them out for bachelor parties (just beware of the guys who have a shovel in their trunk).
Not only will the hot squad perform at the game, but also at the All-Star Jam Session, All-Star Celebrity Game, All-Star Saturday Night and anything else with the name "All-Star" attached, unless there's a brothel by the same name somewhere in the area code.
At least go look at the ballot. Voting ends Jan. 19. Each nominee has a 30-second video showing her moves and allowing fans/stalkers "to acquaint themselves" with the lovllies.
If you're like us, you don't limit your votes just for the six L.A.-centric nominees (Becky, Jessica and Lindsay from the Lakers or Brittany, Kristin and Lindsay from the Clippers). But you've at least gotta pick one, to support the city.
So after further review and far-too-long scrutiny, we'll go with the Clippers' Lindsay (pictured here, although the shot of her on the Clippers' site is much more flattering), for many reasons. Her bio says she's pursuing a B.A. in Deaf Studies and has learned sign language. Hmmmmm.
And the thing most people don't know about this Jennifer Love Hewitt wanna-look-alike is that she's "petrified of dots and I'm Russian."
That's soooooo fascinating. Tell us more ...

Maybe lost among the stories of UCLA's loss to Oregon on Saturday was this tiny mention of a victory by Caltech's basketball team.
The mighty Beavers' 81-52 win over something card the Bard College of New York means that the Pasadena brainiac school's 11-year losing streak -- that's 207 games -- was finally over.
What were the odds that the streak would have continued? Only a Caltecher could have figured that one out.
Travis Haussler had 27 points and eight rebounds, and Matt Dellatorre added 24 points and eight rebounds to lead Tech, who actually have a coach.
"We expected to win a game, but not like this," Caltech coach Roy Dow said of the surprisingly one-sided victory.
"It was a combination of a sense of relief and happiness for the kids. They were euphoric."
It was the Beavers' first win in 60 games overall, including non-NCAA foes.
Caltech next will try to end an even longer losing streak, 245 consecutive defeats in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play going back almost 22 years. The Beavers haven't begun league play yet this season. Amd it's not easy finding the CalTech athletic schedule. They don't even have a link to the school's athletics on the website's home page.
The upcoming Caltech schedule includes Thursday at Occidental and Saturday against Pomona-Pitzers. Cal Lutheran has them on the SCIAC schedule Jan. 27 and Feb. 19.
Like other Division III schools, Caltech does not offer athletic scholarships, and many of its players didn't so much as play varsity basketball in high school.
But Bard College ... a school that came in with a 1-9 record (it's only win was a four-pointer against a school called Anna Maria College) and whose North Eastern Athletic Conference schedule includes such juggernauts as Philadelphia Biblical College, Baptist Bible College, D'Youville College and Cazenovia College.
In the small but joyous crowd at the game against Bard were new Caltech president Jean-Lou Chameau and his wife, Carol Carmichael, who had arrived from Singapore just two hours before tipoff, Dow said.
"They were the first ones who came across the floor and extended congratulations," the coach said.
He added, "Now we still have to get that other streak."

By BEN WALKER
AP National Writer
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The big matchup between Ohio State and Florida has almost everything that college football could want: No. 1 vs. No. 2, the Heisman Trophy winner, dazzling pageantry, neat traditions and a sparkling new stadium.
Only one thing is really missing. Namely, a catchy name.
“Bowl Championship Series national championship game — it’s a little long,��? Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said diplomatically. “It’d be nice to have something that would brand it, something that resonates."
In other words, even Poinsettia Bowl sounds better than the BCS national championship game. So do the Salad, Cigar and Astro-Bluebonnet bowls from long ago. Heck, even Division III has the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
But what?
“It should be something like ‘Super Bowl’ but one level below because the NFL already took that. They stole it, I think. They don’t have bowls in the NFL,��? Florida receiver Jemalle Cornelius said.
“I’m trying to think of a word that means the same thing, but not quite. It’s not easy to come up
with something."
Bonanza Bowl?
Blitz Bowl?
Big Bowl?
“I don’t like those at all,��? Cornelius said.
Those in charge are equally stumped. This is the first season a title bowl is being played, and the name game posed quite a challenge.
Read on ....

First, all the ratings crud that ABC wants you to know about its USC-Michigan Rose Bowl coverage last week: It earned a 13.9 rating, up 14 percent compared to the 2005 Rose Bowl (can't compare it the '06 game because that was a national title contest). Not only was the Rose Bowl the highest-rated show on television that day and that week (Dec. 26 – Jan. 2), and led all shows for delivery of viewers and Men 18+, Men 18-34, Men 18-49 and Men 25-54, it was the highest-rated show on television and led in viewers and Men 18+ for a three-week span (Dec. 12 – Jan. 2).

Next, thanks to SportsByBrooks.com, we present Jimi Hendrix throwing congratulating the Trojans on their victory:

(Go back to that SportsByBrooks link to see the historial context)

Brother-in-law Mitch (also known as SSgt. Mitchell P. LeBlanc, USMC, Sqd. GySgt, VMA-211) got to celebrate birthday No. 33 today in Iraq while performing his latest duties for the Marines. As a present to him, let's hope his Indianapolis Colts don't get knocked out of the NFL playoffs in the first round.
A quick email from Mitch this morning revealed his picks for the weekend (after he hung in watching the Lakers finally beat Sacramento on Thursday night in a game that nearly went into Friday morning):

How about those Lakers ... a little suspense for my birthday.
Here are the picks for this weekend: Colts, Pats, Philly, Seattle. I think the only close one will be the Seahawks and Cowboys. I am glad to see that Cinci did not get in, they would be tough for the Colts.
A quick weather update: It is cold and wet. Everything else is fine, take care and I'll talk to you later. Mitch

Mitch's previous correspondence:
Dec. 31
Dec. 1
Oct. 12
Sept. 19
Sept. 11
Sept. 9

More media spillage than one newspaper column and notebook can hold ....

-- Official word finally came out that, at last, Petros Papadakis will return to the L.A. sports-talk airwaves, teamming up with Matt "Money" Smith in the KLAC-AM (570) afternoon drive 4-7 p.m. slot starting this Monday. Papadakis, who left 1540-AM a few months back after starting his radio career and picking up a No. 1 ranking in our 2006 Best/Worst of L.A. Media poll for sports-talk hosts, had been rumored to be going to 570 for some time now, but nothing could be said until the contracts were worked out. The announcement was finally made Friday after station program director Don Martin gives Joe Grande and Wayne Cook the standard "we're going in a new direction" speech. “Right now the crazy thing is I haven't worked on the radio in three months so I've got so many things built up in my brain that my head is about to explode," Papadakis said. Smith added: "Of all the talented people I’ve had the privilege to work with, I say with great certainty Petros is right at the top. His passion, creative genius and unique perspective on not just sports, but all talking points is a refreshing change from what this city was accustomed.“ Daily News USC beat writer Scott Wolf, a regular on Papadakis' 1540 show, has already posted a blog item on this. The 570-AM website has already taken down the bios of Cook and Grande from the "Good Times" show promos.
The news comes as KSPN-AM (710) went ahead and hired Kevin Kiley to babysit D'Marco Farr on the 1-3 p.m. slot., starting Tuesday, Jan.16. Good luck with that one. Kiley has assignments as an NFL sideline reporter for Westwood One coverage of the NFL playoffs for the time being and is willing to relocate to L.A. since he has a kid attending UCLA. Will the show get better? At least Killey will challenge Farr on all his half-baked ideas about what makes the sports world go around. And on NFL picks, we're guessing Kiley would at least win against a dog.
Knowing these two hirings were on the way, we decided to hold off the release of the 2007 Best/Worst of L.A. Media series until February to give these guys a chance to settle in and work their way into the Top 10 list, where they belong.

-- If you're forced to watch a meaningful BCS game without the voice of Keith Jackson setting the tone, at least Fox has the right attitude to try a Terry Bradshaw-Howie Long pairing, as it did with some fun results during Wednesday's Sugar Bowl. The comedy team, trying to follow Kenny Albert's lead, would be an inspired choice if given time to replace the mixed-and-match Thom Brennaman-Barry Alvarez-Charles Davis trio for Monday's BCS Championship game telecast. Fox, which has the Cotton, Orange, Fiesta, Sugar and BCS title games through 2009, might at least consider the switch in the coming seasons. Unable to hire away Kirk Herbstreit, Gary Danielson or Todd Blackledge from their respective networks for the BCS title game, Fox may have its best team of analysts already in house disguised as NFL studio comedians.
Fox Sports chief Ed Goren said he was also pleased at how former UCLA coach Terry Donahue meshed with former USC quarterback Pat Haden on the Orange Bowl telecast on Tuesday. "Pat Haden is a wonderful broadcaster and the fact that (NBC Sports chief) Dick Ebersol was kind enough to allow him to do it, and for him to want to join us and give up a New Year's Eve was very special," said Goren of the regular NBC Notre Dame game analyst. "He and Donahue worked well and I suggested to Terry that he adopt Pat; he's so quirky that I think he elevated Terry's performance. I heard things out of Terry that I hadn't heard all year (on NFL broadcasts). Blame Pat for that."
By the way, all of Fox’s BCS bowl games are or will be available for watching in full or condensed versions for the first time ever on digital downloads at the Fox Sports site. Fox Interactive Media’s Direct2Drive also has the downloads, as well as Apple’s iTunes, Amazon’s Unbox, AOL Video, CinemaNow and Instand Media. The Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl was streamed live for the first time on the Internet. “Our goal is to expand the reach of the Bowl Championship Series through as many platforms as possible, and digital rights have become a more important part of the media mix every year,‿ said Gary Ehrlich, Executive Vice President of Fox Sports Enterprises. “This content offering represents important first steps in digital delivery for both the BCS and FOX Sports, and we look forward to finding more ways to deliver sports content to fans via digital download in the future.‿ Game highlight packages run for $1.99 each, while the full-length games cost $2.99. A $19.99 package includes the entire bundle of video. ABC, not Fox, carried the Rose Bowl, so that game included in this BCS package.

-- Thanks to San Diego Union-Tribune's Jay Posner for capturing the essence of the speech that Brennaman delivered about a post-season playoff -- right as Boise State was lining up for a two-point conversion that would decide the game in overtime. We tried to remember what was going on in a previous blog entry, but the TiVo ran out just before that play went off, and we only went off what we saw live. “Fellas,‿ said Brennaman before the snap, “you know what everybody across the country that's watching right now is saying: It's calls like this, it's effort like this, guts like this, which screams for a playoff in Division I-A football.‿ Finally, it was analyst Alvarez who said, "Let's watch the play!" to knock Brennaman off his soap box.

-- KSPN-AM (710) went ahead and hired Kevin Kiley to babysit D'Marco Farr on the 1-3 p.m. slot., starting Tuesday, Jan.16. Good luck with that one. Kiley has assignments as an NFL sideline reporter for Westwood One coverage of the NFL playoffs for the time being and is willing to relocate to L.A. since he has a kid attending UCLA. Will the show get better? At least Killey will challenge Farr on all his half-baked ideas about what makes the sports world go around. And on NFL picks, we're guessing Kiley would at least win against a dog.

-- With no more Sunday night football, NBC yields to the man with the astroturf head of hair, Donald Trump, and his sixth season of "The Apprentice" (debuts Sunday from 9:30 to 11 p.m. before settling in on a regular one-hour schedule from 9-10 p.m.). Of the 18 contestants -- isn't there a way to sneak Rosie O'Donnell into the mix just to hear Trump chew her out? -- we can't help but pull for U.S. women's Olympic hockey player, Angela Ruggiero, (pictured), the Simi Valley native who grew up in the San Fernando Valley before moving with her mom to Michigan after a college career at Harvard. In her "Apprentice" video clip on the show's website, Ruggiero says she's moving to New York soon. Her plans include training for this year's World Championships and trying to make the 2010 U.S. squad, which would be her fourth Olympics (she has a bronze, silver and gold medal so far). Ruggiero was added to the cast based on winning an Internet vote on the NBCSports.com website during the 2006 Winter Games. "There were a lot of smart people and a lot of Type A personalities in this show and going at it every day," said Ruggiero. on her website. "However, I have to say that being an athlete, I was definitely prepared for the challenge. The self confidence, discipline and hard work ethic that I’ve acquired over the years definitely transfers into the business world."

-- NBCSports.com’s John Walters finishes his 10 bowl games in 21 days of traveling 15,000 miles with Monday’s BCS Championship game in Glendale, Ariz. “I just feel like the luckiest man in Bedford Falls,‿ Walters wrote in his first blog, plotting out the “bowlnanza‿ itinery that started in San Diego with the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 19 and included stops in Las Vegas, Hawaii, San Francisco, back to San Diego, Phoenix, Boise, Glendale, Ariz. (the Fiesta; instead of Pasadena for the Rose), New Orleans and, coming soon, a U-turn to Arizona.

-- We kinda expected some chest thumping by both ESPN and NBC for how things played out during their first seasons of the NFL on Monday and Sunday nights for their respective networks, and neither disappointed in how they publicized it. ESPN describes its first “MNF‿ season as “the most-watched series in cable TV history,‿ taking the top 17 spots for a cable TV show during 2006 with an 8.2 household rating. NBC says it averaged 17.7 million viewers through its first 16 Sunday telecasts, up 8 percent from what ABC did with “MNF‿ last year, if that’s the proper comparison. NBC says its “SNF‿ averaged 17.5 million viewers, or 1.2 million more than ABC did with a slumping “MNF‿ franchise a year ago. Truth be told, every NFL broadcaster finished ahead of 2005, according to Neilsen’s twisted numbers. Fox’s 10.7 average rating was up seven percent and CBS’ 9.9 average rating was one percent up.

-- NBC, which has the NFL wildcard doubleheader on Saturday, will go greyhound with counterprogramming during Sunday’s NFL playoff games on the rival networks with the “Incredible Dog Challenge‿ (9-10:30 a.m.), an “Olympic-style sports event‿ where competitive canines do things like high jumping (watch for Soaring Cindy, who sets a Guinness Book of World Record leap of 5-feet, 8-inches), obstacle course runs, a Jack Russell terrier hurdles sprint, diving into water and chasing down Frisbees. Trace Worthington, who did some real Olympics coverage for the network, has the bark-by-bark duties for the event taped last October in St. Louis. NBC has carried this event now four years.

-- FSN West's latest “Before the Bigs" focuses on Lakers forward Luke Walton and debuts Sunday at 9:30 p.m., following the Lakers-Mavericks game. Joel Meyers narrates the piece.

-- Going full throttle into its renewed coverage of NASCAR in addition to IndyCar, Champ Car and NHRA, ESPN2 starts its block of “Garage‿ shows this weekend — “Truck Stop,‿ “Chopper Nation,‿ “Drive,‿ and “Michael Waltrip Racing.‿ ESPN2 plans for more than 500 hours of motorsports programming this year.

-- ESPN will reveal the Baseball Hall of Fame's 2007 class of inductees at 11 a.m. Monday. It'll be the guy who doesn't get voted in -- Mark McGwire -- who draws the most attention on this show.

The odd news Wednesday that HBO boxing announcer Jim Lampley spent some time bailing himself out of jail because of a domestic violence charge, as well as violating a restraining order, will sort itself out in the weeks to come.
From our experiences, this is out of character for the former KCBS Channel 2 sportscaster. Awhile back, Lampley was good enough to participate in a regular column we'd do called "What Would Jim Lampley Do," a sort-of takeoff on the popular WWJD religous phrase. This was far from what anyone would expect Lampley to do.
But from what his 29-year-old girlfriend Candice Sanders, a former Miss California, has put before the courts to decide, it's going to be a ugly battle for awhile, one that could take Lampley time off his HBO duties to sort out in the meantime.
Thursday, Lampley issued a statement through a publicist insisting he's innocent. He posted a $35,000 bail and was released Wednesday from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
“The circumstances are that there was an altercation between Mr. Lampley and a 28-year-old female with whom he reportedly has a dating relationship,� said Sheriff's Captain Glenn Revell, adding he could release no additional details pending the presentation of a completed investigation to the district attorney’s office.
Said Lampley through his spokesman Howard Bragman: “I am innocent of the charge of domestic abuse that has been leveled against me and will vigorously defend myself. I have tremendous respect for the justice system as a whole and for the San Diego courts and district attorney’s office specifically. I’m confident that the process will prove that I’m not guilty of this charge. I thank my friends and family for their support during this difficult time, and ask for the understanding and patience from the media until my legal situation allows me to discuss this in more depth.�
A San Diego County Sheriff said Lampley's arrest was for violating a restraining order. Domestic violence detectives were at the woman's resident conducting a followup interview when Lampley showed up. That's when he as put under arrest.
Linda Lee, the first of Lampley’s three former wives and a professor in the school of journalism at the University of Kansas, told the Associated Press that she couldn’t believe any accusation of violence against him.
“He’s like nobody else. I adore him,� Lee said. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. We grew up together. We were married for a while. We’re still friends. When I heard this, it was just unimaginable.
“I know the man, I’ve known him for years. He’s not capable of striking a woman, in my opinion. I’ve never
seen him strike anything or anyone. I’ve never seen him strike a pillow, that’s not his nature. He’s a very gentle man and very even-tempered.�
Lampley was also married to former KCBS Channel 2 news anchor Bree Walker and has two children with her. One of those children was allegedly present when a New Year's Eve incident occured at her Encinitas apartment.
A hearing on the restraining order that had been scheduled for Thursday morning was postponed to Jan. 11. Lampley did not appear in court Thursday, but Sanders did and alleged in her request for the restraining order that Lampley and his son were watching a movie with her at the Encinitas apartment when Lampley's son went to bed. Lampley pulled Sanders from the sofa, but she wanted to finish watching the movie, Sanders alleged in the court documents. She said that Lampley chased her around the apartment, grabbed her and threw her against a wall, threw her against another wall, and threw her against a door before she collapsed.
Sanders reportedly asked Lampley's son to call 911, but Lampley prevented it. Sanders went to a neighbor's apartment to call sheriff's deputies, who arrived after Lampley and his son had left, she alleged in the court documents.
"I am terrified that he will harm me unless he is restrained," Sanders wrote in the court documents.
Sanders alleged in the court documents that Lampley was drunk and "high on pot" the night of the incident.
Sanders also alleged that Lampley threw her down two months ago in a New York city restaurant, resulting in bruises from her neck to her tailbone that lasted for two weeks. Sanders alleged "the incident was kept quiet by his associates because he was to broadcast a major fight 2 days later."
More Lampley coverage from the North County Times and the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com attempt to shed more light on this.

Because TNT analyst Steve Kerr is nursing a back injury, the network has decided to dispatch Charles Barkley from the studio to cozy up next to Marv Albert on Thursday night's telecast of the Lakers' game at Sacramento (7:30 p.m.)
It's the first time TNT has thought it was necessary to sent Barkley to an actual game. It leaves Ernie Johson and Kenny Smith alone in the TNT studios to fend for themselves.
Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins are doing the Detroit-New Orleans game (from Oklahoma City) as the opener to the network's doubleheader.

Will Mike Tyson play the Wesley Snipes character or the Ving Rhames guy when they shoot the remake of "Undisputed" ? 'Cuz one way or another, the former champ could be doing more time for doing his latest crime.
The 40-year-old charged with two felonies for drug possession and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence could be sentenced to up to 7 1/2 years if the Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has his way.
"He has run out of second chances, at least in my bood," Thomas said in a news conference reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday. And he wasn't even talking about Tyson's pose for his booking shot.
Tyson was arrested Friday in Scottsdale, Ariz., pulled over after he left a nightclub. An office found bags of cocaine in his back pocket and another in a package of cigarettes in his car, court records say.
Add that to a rap sheet that includes:
-- In 1992, a rape conviction in Indiana.
-- In 1998, a contest plea to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland.
-- In 1989, an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Central State University in Ohio.
"I don't take any pleasure out of doing this," Thomas said of pursuing jailtime for Tyson. "A week ago, my kids and I were watching 'Rocky Balboa' in the movie theater, and we saw Mike Tyson make a cameo appearance in the movie, and now here we are and he's looking at going back to prison."
About that cameo: Tyson is shown getting into a verbal spat with Rocky's challenger, Mason "The Line" Dixon, seemingly about to bite his ear off.
The next movie Tyson could be preparing for is "Undisputed II," after the 2002 movie where Snipes plays a champion boxer in a prison who is forced to confront the world heavyweight champ (Rhames), who was sent to the hole on a rape charge.
Could Tyson play both parts?
Would he have to fight a woman?
Will this interrupt Tyson's latest "world tour" of four-round sparring sessions that some actually paid to watch on TV?
Thomas said Tyson should be back in court for a preliminary hearing within the next two weeks. Until then, he can work on his prison slang. Remember in '91 when he told Razor Ruddock that "everyone knows you're a transvestite and you love me. I'm gonna make you my girlfriend. I can't wait to get my hands on a pretty thing like you." Stayed tuned.

Maybe it was the same ABC cameras used during the NBA playoffs that focused really well on the bouncing breasts of women sitting courtside that was lucky enough Monday to pick up a shot of a USC cheerleader during the Rose Bowl who either had a really good thong or misplaced an important article of clothing before being rushed out to perform in the unusually warm afternoon weather.
The videos that are piling up on YouTube seem to verify that it's more than just an optical illusion:

We all know it's not the first embarassing moment for a USC cheerleader in the last year:

This classic shot from the 2006 Rose Bowl between USC and Texas shows Trojan Song Girl Natalie Nelson (the daughter of squad director Lori Nelson) in a cheerful moment of misdirected pleasure. Or she was just a Vince Young fan.
Follow that up by a clip called "Dumbest Cheerleader Ever" of another USC girlie getting excited about an extra point kicked by UCLA, found on ifilm.com via michiganzone.net:

In a piece on by Austin Murphy on Sports Illustrated's website, we may have discovered a clue as to why the above cheek shot even happened. Murphy quotes Natalie about why USC song girls wear those thick white sweaters: "We have a halter-top. But it has to be 85 degrees or hotter (to doff the sweaters). So, when it's warm, we're like praying to God that it gets warmer."
Otherwise, they just do what they have to do to play it cool.

UPDATE:
The debate on the Internet continues over who's bare rear that belonged to, since she was spinning so fast the pervs at home couldn't slo-mo it quick enough to get a good look at her for the sketch artist.
Deadspin.com continues its investigation Wednesday with a few girls' names throw under the bust....
FURTHER UPDATE:
Deadspin has concluded that the evidence points to Megan as the culprit. Us, we're not so sure. Let's see it again....

If you stuck around long enough in the post-game show of Monday night's Fiesta Bowl, you saw Fox reporter Chris Myers give Boise State running back Ian Johnson a prime-time window to pop the question to his cheerleader girlfriend Chrissy Popadics, but almost spoiling the moment by announcing after his interview with Johnson that it was now time to make the proposal.
Popadics heard Myers and had a shocked look on her face even before Johnson struck the unmanly on-one-knee pose and asked for her hand in marriage.
After a finish to a game that could be one of the greatest in BCS history -- three touchdowns and one two-point conversion in the final 1:30 of regulation, then more razzle-dazzle in overtime for a 43-42 finish - Johnson's proposal was just as crazy a capper as anything else.
What if Boise State, who could be the only Division I college football team to finish undefeated, had another game. Against, say, Ohio State, who's been given the honor of facing Florida for the BCS Championship on the game Glendale, Ariz., field on Jan. 8.
That's another proposal Fox play-by-play man Thom Brenneman was hardly afraid to put forth during the closing moments of the Fiesta Bowl. His strong-worded pronouncement -- I wish I had it on the TiVo, but somehow I missed capturing it -- concerned the fact that had a team like Boise State been allowed to move ahead in a post-season playoff, we could see just how they'd stack up against the so-called power conferences. Even a grumbling Keith Jackson, who'd make his displeasures known in the media, was never that forceful in his bellowing on the air during a game.
We appreciate Brenneman's sentiment. But then, it was also Brenneman who exclaimed as if he just made it up: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog," after Boise State tied the game with seconds left in regulation on a "hook-and-lateral play" as analyst Charles Davis decided it should be called.
As for the proposal by Johnson, who ran in the winning 2-point conversion on a Statue of Liberty-type play, he told the Associated Press late Monday night that he made the decision to go ahead with it "as soon as the camera got on me. ... I had the ring in my room. I was waiting for us to go back to California (the San Dimas native is a 2004 graduate of Damien High in La Verne) but the moment just hit. There was no better time."
Popadics accepted but only after saying: "I think I'm going to pass out."
"She finally figured it out," Johnson said, "and she eventually did say yes."
Fox reported Tuesday that Johnson's proposal was seen by 7 million viewers (4.4 rating/12 share), making it the the highest-rated marriage proposal in sports since the 1985 Ahmad Rashad-Phylicia Ayers Allen proposal on NBC’s Thanksgiving Day NFL pre-game show (13.5/31). That marriage didn't last. Maybe because O.J. Simpson was Rashad's best man.
Defensive back Marty Tadman said Johnson "is a little different guy."
"When you think of Ian Johnson proposing to his girlfriend, you've got to think of the weirdest circumstance that he could possible do it," Tadman said. "I think this was it."
Things could be weirder. Boise State could be facing Ohio State for a mythical national title.

We're like Mark McGwire. We don't like to dwell on the past.
Seven years after they told us our computers would blow up during a Y2K meltdown, we're still banging away on them, moving forward, hitting the erase key on everything else.
So here's what's coming in 2007 to a television set near you. Log these into your new Ziggy desktop calendar lest you forget, with a couple of predictions thrown in to make things interesting:

Jan. 1: The Rose Bowl in Pasadena. For the last three seasons, USC's football team has been like a U2 concert. Now they're a retooled video on YouTube. Our gut says no matter what kind of fire Pete Carroll tries to light under them, the Wolverines' fire will be more fierce. Final score: Michigan, still upset; USC, complacent.
Jan. 2: The Orange Bowl in Miami. Too tart.
Jan. 3: The Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Too sweet.
Jan. 6: The International Bowl in Toronto. Winner gets automatic bye into NFL Europe.
Jan. 8: The BCS National Championship in Glendale, Ariz.: Florida wins, 24-21, but Ohio State is still considered the best one-loss team in the country. Maurice Clarett does best McMurphy immitation but can't get Officer Ratched to put the game on the prison TV.
Jan. 9: Major League Baseball Hall of Fame voting announced. Ripken and Gwynn are in; McGwire's a liar.
Jan. 15-28: Australian Open tennis tournament.
Jan. 16-21: PBA's Dick Weber Open in Fountain Valley. Hey, hey, hey. They said Dick.
Jan. 17-21: PGA's Bob Hope Chrysler Championship in Palm Desert. A moment of silence for Jerry Ford.
Jan. 21: NFC, AFC championships.
Jan. 24: NHL All-Star game in Dallas.

Feb. 3: Pro Football Hall of Fame announcements. Can Al Davis be voted out?
Feb. 4: Super Bowl XLI in Miami. San Diego 30, New Orleans 27. Halftime performer Prince accidentally lipsyncs words to "Dude Looks Like A Lady."
Feb. 8-11: PGA's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Feb. 15: Pitchers and catchers report for MLB spring training.
Feb. 15-18: PGA's Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club.
Feb. 17-24: U.S. Curling Championships in Utica, N.Y.
Feb. 18: Daytona 500.
Feb. 18: NBA All-Star game in Las Vegas. How many will pull themselves away from the blackjack table to actually participate?
Feb. 22: NBA trading deadline at noon, PST. Dodgers GM Ned Coletti sends Mark Hendrickson to the Seattle SuperSonics for future Starbucks franchise considerations.
Feb. 25: NASCAR Nextel Cup Auto Club 500 in Fontana.
Feb. 27: NHL trading deadline at noon, PST. Angels GM Bill Stoneman again fails to make a deal.

March 4: City of Los Angeles Marathon. Call it a hunch, but a woman wins just as a trackside reporter finishes a story on someone who's run the whole thing on their elbows.
March 7-17: Women's Pacific Life Open tennis in Indian Wells.
March 9-18: Men's Pacific Life Open tennis in Indian Wells.
March 9-10: NCAA men's and women's college rifle championships, TBD. Who's gunning for this year's title?
March 11: NCAA mens and womens basketball tournament pairings announced, keeping sports-talk radio shows in business one more week.
March 16-18: PGA Champions Tour AT&T Classic in Valencia.
Feb. 19-25: World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo.
March 22-25: Mens and womens NCAA fencing championships in Houston. Could be the best fencing the state has seen since President Bush ordered some to be put up along the Texas-Mexico border.
March 29: NIT championship in New York.
March 31-April 8: Men's curling world championships in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Romancing the stone.

April 1: Major League Baseball season opens. Nomar Garciaparra manages to avoid the DL. For at least a day.
April 2: NCAA men's basketball championship in Atlanta. The score; Pittsburgh 79, UCLA 70.
April 2: Dodgers open season at Milwaukee. Luis Gonzalez homers three times off Jeff Supan in 10-9 victory. Angels open at home against Texas. Eric Gagne blows first save as Shea Hillenbrand's inside-the-park homer wins it for the Angels in the ninth, 3-2.
April 5-8: The Masters in Augusta, Ga. Tiger Woods accidently skips the event.
April 11: NHL playoffs begin. Search for Los Angeles Kings ends.
April 15: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. And one more day before you have to file your income taxes.
April 16: Boston Marathon.
April 21: NBA playoffs begin. Lakers vs. Clippers, first round.
April 25-29: U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Championships in Indianapolis. A computer malfunction messes up all schedules; event out of synch.
April 26-29: NCAA women's gymnastics championships in Salt Lake City. UCLA wins to finally capture the school's 100th NCAA title. Team found drunk later in the only open bar in the state of Utah.
Aprll 28-29: NFL draft in New York. The No. 1 overall pick: A recently discovered Manning brother, taken by the Detroit Lions, who convert him into a receiver.

May 5: The 133rd Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky. Winning horse refuses interviews by the press.
May 5: Oscar de la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight in Las Vegas. It's supposed to be Oscar's last fight of his career. He's also promoting it. You know what they say about a man who promotes himself? He has a fool for a client.
May 11-13: NCAA women's water polo championship in Los Alamitos. Have you seen women play water polo? It's cool.
May 16: UEFA Cup final in Glasgow, Scotland. Just so you don't happen to be caught in Scotland unaware of hooligans running about.
May 19: English FA Cup final in Wembley, England. See item above.
May 19: The 132nd Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.
May 22: NBA Draft Lottery.
May 27: Indianapolis 500. Danica Patrick still most well-known driver in IRL not to win it.
May 28-June 10: French Open tennis tournament.

June 2: English Derby horse race in Epsom, England.
June 2: IAAF Race Walking Grand Prix in La Coruna, Spain. One of the great oxymorons left in sports.
June 5: NBA Finals begin. Phoenix defeats (fill in Eastern Conference loser) 4 games to 2 using real leather balls and bringing the Gorilla mascot off the bench in the decisive game.
June 9: 139th Belmont Stakes in New York. A Triple Crown winner? Not unless Ryan Howard suddenly becomes a thoroughbred.
June 11: Last possible date for NHL Stanley Cup finals. Anaheim ducks past New Jersey, 4 games to 3, behind a hot goaltender not named Jiggy.
June 14-17: U.S. Open golf tournament in Oakmont, Pa. Tiger Woods enters, misses the cut, blames it on pending birth of son, L'l Earl.
June 15-25: NCAA baseball championships in Omaha, Neb.
June 23: NHL draft.
June 23: NFL Europe World Bowl XV in Frankfurt, Germany. Check out the German wieners.
June 25-July 8: Wimbledon tennis championships.
June 26-July 15: Copa America soccer tournament in Venezuela.
June 28: NBA draft. O.J. Mayo isn't eligible. Greg Oden is. Memphis Grizzles take the later.

July 7-29: Tour de France cycling race. (Fill in name of winner) fails drug test.
July 10: MLB All-Star game in San Francisco. Barry Bonds isn't voted in, but is added by commissioner Bud Selig to appease local fans.
July 16-22: ATP men's Countrywide Classic tennis tournament at UCLA.
July 19-22: British Open tournament at Carnoustie, Scotland. Tiger Woods remembers, but forgets passport.
July 29: Baseball Hall of Fame inductions at Cooperstown, N.Y. Pete Rose signs autographs at the local AM/PM minimart.

Aug. 4: Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions in Canton, Ohio.
Aug. 6-12: WTA JPMorgan Chase Open at Home Depot Center in Carson.
Aug. 10-13: NFL exhibition games start. And people actually bet on them.
Aug. 12-19: World Badminton Championships in Kuala Lumpur. Yes, that's a real place.
Aug. 22-Sept. 2: Americas Olympic basketball qualifying tournament in Las Vegas. Good morning, good afternoon and good night. Now back to the keno table.
Aug. 27-Sept. 9: U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Andre Agassi, a no show. Maria Sharapova, a big show.

Sept. 1: USC opens football season at home against Idaho. with a 57-2 victory. UCLA opens football season at Stanford with a 27-3 halftime lead (we won't bother to tell you how it ends up ... you can pretty much guess).
Sept. 2: NASCAR Nextel Cup event at Fontana. The new Labor Day weekend staple.
Sept. 6: NFL season begins. Terrell Owens bashing begins.
Sept. 10-16: ATP China Open in Beijing. A preview of next year's Summer Olympics.
Sept. 17-23: WTA China Open in Bejing. More previewing.
Sept. 30: (Prediction) Barry Bonds passes Hank Aaron's career home-run record in a 10-1 loss to the Dodgers on the final day of the regular season.

Oct. 2: MLB playoffs begin. Dodgers in; Angels in; Red Sox out.
Oct. 6: Notre Dame at UCLA. Jimmy Clausen throws for 411 yards in a 31-30 Irish victory.
Oct. 20: USC at Notre Dame. Jimmy Clausen throws for 412 yards in a 32-30 Irish victory.
Oct. 23: World Series begins. Kansas City Royals defeat Washington Nationals, 4 games to 1. (Just seeing if you're paying attention).
Oct. 27: Breeder's Cup in Monmouth Park. Barbaro trotted out to throw the first shoe.
Oct. 30: NBA season starts. Shaquille O'Neal injured.

Nov. 1-4: NHRA Automobile Club of Southern California finals at Pomona.
Nov. 4: New York City Marathon. Lance Armstrong finishes in the top 10,000 using a golf cart.
Nov. 24: UCLA vs. USC at Coliseum. Both teams wear their home uniforms. They finally got something right.