August 2007 Archives

The squeeze is on for space, so we did what we could with the sports media column in today's Daily News. Here's what's left to sift through:

==Consider this knock-your-socks-off exchange between FSN's Michael Eaves and UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell that'll open the "In My Own Words" half-hour special on FSN Prime Ticket on Saturday, after the Bruins' opener at Stanford:
EAVES: I heard a really corny joke not too long ago.
DORRELL: OK.
EAVES: And I want to know if you heard it too: Do you know why 8:47 is a Bruins fan’s favorite time of the day?
DORRELL: (puzzled) 8:47?
EAVES: It’s 13 to 9. (pauses) The score when UCLA upset USC (last year). Have you heard that corny joke?
DORRELL: No, I have not
EAVES: It’s corny right?
DORRELL: Yeah.
OK, so we've established its corny and Dorrell hasn't heard it, nor is he amused.
But that's comedy gold. It can only get better from there.

==UCLA’s opener at Stanford (FSN Prime Ticket, 12:30 p.m.) employs Matt Devlin, Warren Moon and Michael Eaves on its coverage.

==KLAC-AM (570)'s plans for Saturday's on UCLA football gamedays: Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook are on the pregame show two hours before kickoff (10:30 a.m. in this case), followed by a one-hour post-game show hosted by Tim Cates. Both pre- and post-game are also on AM570Radio.com.

==USC's football opener against Idaho (FSN West, 7:15 p.m.) uses the No. 1 Pac-10 package team of Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson on the broadcast. Former USC quarterback and “Best Damn Sports Show Period” co-host Rodney Peete has been added to the “Trojan Live” post-game show with Lindsay Soto and Jeremy Hogue.
KSPN-AM (710)'s plans for Saturday's on USC football gamedays will be put into effect this weekend, starting at 11 a.m. with 14 hours of programming until 1 a.m. (including the game at 7 p.m.). The Trojan Talk (11 a.m. to noon) and Trojan Chat Room (noon to 2 p.m.) are replays of programming from earlier in the week leading into the live "USC Game Day" show from 2 to 5:45 p.m. with Steve Mason, Curt Sandoval and Dave Denholm, plus reporters such as Brandon Hancock, Darrell Rideaux, David Newberry and Curtis Conway. "Trojan Warmup," a 90-minute pregame with Mason and John Jackson, leads into the game, and "Trojan Download" is a one-hour postgame show. That's followed by a Sunday morning "Trojan Brunch" (9 to 11 a.m.) to rehash all that happened. Again.

When faced with pressing issues from readers that need to be addressed, Mr. Wise Guy has the stationery and penmanship to find the right envelope, stamp it and personally deliver.
Mr. Wise Guy, actually a postal-worker-in-training who takes perpetual umbrage in the constant annoying state of
the sports media, put up his usual fight when summoned from the cramped quarters of his brother-in-law’s rumpus room to make a quasi-annual appearance as the ombudsman for fellow grouchy couch potatoes.
Just be aware going in, he’s not in a real swell mood. His investment went bad in Bad Newz Kernels, a hip-hop popcorn online company whose server crashed because of a computer virus delivered ironically by carrier pigeon
from PETA because the group leaders were convinced there was some connection to Michael Vick.
Before things get out of hand - and they will - we’ve asked nicely that he field these questions without getting too persnickety:

Question: What is your good ol’ take on this new Big Ten Network? Is it true the SEC is going to do this, too? Is all this laying the groundwork for every college conference to get its own channel?
= K.J., Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Answer: Whoa, Nielsen.
Here’s a quote trying to justify this exercise in greed from Jim Delany, the commissioner of the Big Ten (still living in denial that it actually has 11 members), who seems to be surprised he’s defending a channel that maybe Aunt Gertie and Uncle Ferd in Plainview, Minn., really don’t want to kick in the extra buck a month for on their cable bill.
“When the cable company decides to send 70 channels - the food channel, the dog channel and the bike channel and the jewelry channel - into your home, the Big Ten Network deserves to be in the grouping,” he said with a straight face.
Especially if Rachel Ray does a whole show dedicated on how best to sculpture Wisconsin cheese at a tailgate party.
Who’s gonna be left with farm fresh organic egg all over their face when the overnight programming consists of Co-ed Championship Hay Bailing, spilling over into the Chase for the Intramural Mulchers Association Handspreaders competition, which then pushes back the documentary: “Northwestern Men’s Water Polo: Hold On To Your Speedos!”
Maybe not Comcast or Time Warner cable, which so far have held out from taking this in.
As for the SEC starting up its own channel: How soon before that Little Miss Sunshine from South Carolina maps out a career as a sideline reporter at the conference hornet-swatting finals?
Put it this way: The major games will continue to be on the major networks. The minor sports, as well as the games no one really cares about, will grovel for outlets like these. The Internet looks like the best (and cheapest) route to
go with video streaming, and no public feuds with cable companies who say they simply have no room for such a thing. Especially when the jewelry channel has a spinoff in the works devoted to Lindsay Lohan brand label cubic zirconium ankle bracelet / tracking devices.

Faith is in. Pink is out.
NBC, which by now must realize it can't add another member to its NFL pregame show, officially says that the wholesome, non-tatooed or pierced Faith Hill will do the opening theme for "Sunday Night Football" with that really cool song, "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night."
Last year, Pink did it. Pink? You mean the female version of Billy Idol?
Pink apparently now stinks. Faith rocks. (Actually, she doesn't compare to Carrie Underwood in the Country Music Awards voting dept., but she's a great runnerup).
A special version of the song called "Waiting All Year for Opening Night" will be used for the Thursday, Sept. 6 kickoff game between Indianapolis and New Orleans.
The song, if you remember, is a remake (i.e., ripoff) of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You." The NFL didn't really want the word "Hate" in its network partner theme song, so that's what happened. Kinda like ESPN having the Black Eyed Peas change "Let's Get Retarded" to "Let's Get It Started" for its NBA pregame music.
"It's exciting to have been asked to sing the open for this season's Sunday Night games," said Tim McGraw's honey in an NBC statement, forgetting to note she has a new album coming out on Oct. 2. "Maybe now I'll be able to get my jersey size and some better seats for the games?"
Maybe. Ask Pink about that.
"Faith Hill is a true recording star with mass appeal," said Fred Gaudelli, "NBC Sunday Night Football" producer, said in a release, which probably echos what he once said about Hank Williams Jr., during an ABC "Monday Night Football" press release issued a few years back when they paid his checks. "It's not often that you get the opportunity to have a mega-star like Faith Hill perform the signature open to your show. We were thrilled when she agreed to do it, and even more thrilled with the performance she delivered."
For those who care to sing along, here's the lyrics for "Waiting All Day For Sunday Night":

All right Sunday Night where are you?
Just kicking back from the things that you do
You want the Big Game, we want it too!

Hey Jack it's a fact, the show's back in town,

I've been waiting all day for Sunday Night
The tough get rough in a primetime fight
The last one standing gets to turn out the lights
Cause I been waiting all day for Sunday Night

Sunday Night Football on NBC
Al & John are the best on TV
Players are ready, kick that ball off the tee
Cause the NFL rocks on NBC

Crespi, Notre Dame, Hart and Canyon -- but no Oaks Christian -- have made it on the schedule for FSN Prime Ticket/FSN West 10-game high school football game package, released Tuesday.
Crespi's home game against Centennial on Sept. 14 (7 p.m., FSN Prime), Notre Dame's home game against Servite on Oct. 5 (7 p.m. FSN Prime) and the Hart-Canyon game on Oct. 12 (7 p.m., FSN Prime) are the only Valley-related games on the schedule that begins on Sept. 7 with Redlands East Valley at John W. North.
The Oaks Christian game at St. Bonaventure set for Sept. 21 was on the original FSN "wish list," but limitations put on the network by the home school about when it could set up its equipment prevented FSN from following through on it. Instead, Carson at Long Beach Poly will be carried.
The schedule, with games all on Friday, as it stands now:
Date, Matchup, Time, Channel
9/7: Redlands East Valley at John W. North (7 p.m., Prime)
9/14: Centennial at Crespi (7 p.m., Prime)
9/21: Carson at Long Beach Poly (7 p.m., Prime)
9/28: Los Alamitos at Orange Lutheran (7 p.m., West)
10/5: Servite at Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), (7 p.m., Prime)
10/12: Hart at Canyon (7 p.m., Prime)
10/19: To be determine (7 p.m., Prime)
10/26: Vista Murrieta at Chaparral (7 p.m., Prime)
11/2: South Hills at West Covina (7 p.m., Prime)
11/9: Mater Dei at Servite (7 p.m., Prime)
FSN Prime will have a CIF-SS Pac-5 Championship, the CIF (State) Selection Show on Sunday, December 9, and, on Saturday, December 15, for the second year in a row, the CIF State Toyota Championship Div III, II and I games.

By LARRY McSHANE
Associated Press Writer
A lineup of team logo baseball caps denounced as tailor-made for gang members was ordered removed from store
shelves by its manufacturer Friday after complaints from baseball officials.
“It has been brought to our attention that some combinations of icons and colors on a select number of our caps could be too closely perceived to be in association with gangs,” said Christopher H. Koch, CEO of New Era Cap. “In response, we, along with Major League Baseball, have pulled those caps.”
The three styles in question used colors and symbols linked to three gangs: an all-white cap with a blue bandanna, the trademark of the notorious Crips; an all-white cap with a red bandanna worn by the rival Bloods; and a black cap with a gold team logo and an embroidered crown, a symbol favored by the Latin Kings.

Wait a sec ... They're banning those hats, but still selling this Yankees' pink rhinestone cap for $75 on the MLB.com store site?

“We encouraged and now fully support the decision of cap manufacturer New Era to pull these caps and any others that feature offensive or concerning symbols,” read an MLB statement.
The New York Yankees had joined an anti-gang group, Peace on the Street, in denouncing the hats.
Both MLB and the Yankees insisted they were unaware of the symbolism in the cap designs, with the New York team noting they were never given a chance to review the new hats until they were already for sale.
The team was “completely unaware that caps with gang-related logos and colors had been manufactured with the New York Yankees logo on them,” said a Yankees statement. “The New York Yankees oppose any garment that may be associated with gangs or gang-related activity.”
Thursday, protesters demonstrated about the new caps outside several Manhattan stores carrying the merchandise. The stores were selling a version of the hats bearing the familiar interlocking “NY” logo of the Yankees.
Richard Garcia, a karate instructor who works with Peace on the Street to provide youngsters with alternatives to gangs, said he immediately recognized the hats’ colors from his work with former gang members.
“My fear was that the wrong kid was going to wear the wrong hat in the wrong neighborhood and get hurt,” he said.
New Era said it would increase its efforts to ensure it had a better working knowledge of gang symbols, names and locations. The Buffalo-based company has produced hats for Major League Baseball since the 1930s.

In addition to today's column on Michael Vick in the Daily News, two more things before we move on:
==Thanks to Marc Isenberg and his always interesting blog "Money Players" for providing a link to Comedy Central's Daily Show and Jon Stewart's recent take on how NBC's "Football Night in America" crew debated the facts and rumors of the Vick story on last Sunday's show.
"Are you &*#^@-ing me!" Stewart exclaims when Peter King and Cris Collinsworth discuss how the NFL is more concerned about the gambling aspect of the case instead of the killing of dogs ...
Isenberg, by the way, has a book coming out called "Money Players: A Pro Athletes' Guide to Success in Sports, Business and Life" that can be preordered on his site.
As for that photo above ... compliments of the Onion, with the headline: "NFL Reports Strong Sales Of Michael Vick's 2008 Jersey"

==And then there's this shot fired from Thomas McIntyre on his blog at Field & Stream, reacting to how New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury has compared dog fighting to hunting. Good luck arguing with a guy who's got a load of buckshot pointed in your grill.

==More Daily News notes on the Dodgers' Spanish language radio deal, what smokes and chokes, and read on ...

Monte, a 6-year-old Weimaraner, is shown chewing on a Michael Vick football card, the remains of which owner Rochelle Steffen is auctioning off on eBay.com from her Giardeau, Mo., home.

By BRIAN CHARLTON
Associated Press Writer
Take some trading cards picturing a disgraced NFL superstar. Add some dog slobber and teethmarks. What do
you get?
The most valuable Michael Vick cards — by far — on eBay, that’s what.
Collector Rochelle Steffen of Cape Girardeau, Mo., gave every Vick card she owned to her dogs and let them go to town on the images of the Atlanta Falcons quarterback who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal dogfighting charge Monday.
Once Monte, her 6-year-old Weimaraner, and Roxie, her Great Dane puppy, were done worrying them, nearly two dozen cards worth between $1 and $10 were crumpled, crimped, chewed, torn and generally in a sorry state. Some even had corners missing.
As of Thursday evening, the highest bid on the lot of 22 cards had risen past $1,000 and more than 18,000 people had viewed the posting. There were 93 bids on the auction, which ends Sunday.
The next-most expensive Vick cards — well-preserved specimens from his rookie year — were going for less than half the price of the gnawed ones.
“If I would have had some of his super-duper ones, they would have been right in the mix too,” Steffen said
Thursday.
She plans to donate the winning bid money to the humane society of the bidder’s choice.
Since Vick was indicted on federal dogfighting charges last month, former fans have donated Vick jerseys to dog shelters, while others have tried to cash in by selling Vick T-shirts and chew toys for dogs.
“I’m not angry toward him; my anger is toward anyone who would do this to animals,” said Steffen, a college student and artist who wrote a note accompanying her auction to explain it was artistic expression.
“I mean no harm to anyone involved with this auction,” she wrote.
Steffen’s cards join a collection of newly released items on sale. T-shirts are being sold online with slogans
that say “Ignorance Breeds Ignorance. Neuter Mike Vick,” and “ConVICKt” and others that show dogs urinating on footballs and jerseys.
A few fans also have released “Free Vick” shirts.
The St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team known for campy promotions, gave out Vick chew toys Tuesday to the first 15,000 fans with some game proceeds going to the Humane Society. Fans got the St. Paul pig mascot with a No. 7 printed on the back and a tag around its neck with Vick’s picture.
The Atlanta Humane Society also has reported former Vick fans mailing in jerseys — often accompanied by financial contributions and letters of outrage over the charges. Those former fans have suggested the Falcons jerseys become animal bedding or rags to help scrub up the messes that dogs leave behind. Other branches of the Humane Society have said they’ll take donated Vick items to resell on eBay.
Steffen said she hopes to bring more attention to the abuse of animals involved in dogfighting activities.
“The money donated to local shelters makes this whole idea of selling the cards worthwhile,” she said.

Sam Querrey, the blustry 19-year-old from Thousand Oaks, goes into next week's U.S. Open unseeded and in line to play sixth-seeded James Blake in a third-round matchup. Which, to John McEnroe, only makes sense.
"It's fitting because they seem to play each other in every tournament," said the CBS tennis analyst who'll be in Flushing, N.Y., to call the action the next two weeks.
Two weeks ago in Cincinnati, Querrey was happy with his performance in a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Blake in the quarterfinals. Three weeks before that, Querrey had 34 aces in a 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) win in the quarterfinals at Indianapolis -- Querrey's first win against a top 10 player.
"He's got a lot of game and the hardcourt is definitely his best surface," McEnroe said of Querrey. "The first six months of the year he stumbled while he was attempting to learn how to play on clay and grass, but he's found his game and he's letting it all hang out.
"He's dangerous. The question is how fit is he now? I saw him fade after two or three sets in the past. I suspect he's in better shape, but he needs to be to get past the third round and have any real chance."
When told that Querrey pulled out of the New Haven event this week so he could rest up for the U.S. Open, McEnroe called it "a good play for him. Since everyone else is doing it, he might as well join the lest and take a week to get fresh."
Mary Carillo, McEnroe's TV tennis foil, said she saw the rolicking Querrey-Blake match in Cincinnati played before more than 10,000 and had to laugh when Querrey was asked afterward what the biggest crowd he'd ever played before that night.
"Without a blink, he said, '8,242,' making up some bogus number," said Carillo, laughing. "He's got a nice vibe around him. He's very low key, but very funny and casual. It's like having a surfer on tour all of the sudden."
TV coverage of the U.S. Open starts Monday at 8 a.m. on USA Network, which is doing more than 100 hours (almost all live) over 12 days. CBS, with Dick Enberg as the main broadcaster, has 37 hours, mostly on the weekend afternoon events, including the men's final (Sept. 9) and women's final after the two men's semis (Sept. 8). As it did a year ago, DirecTV will expand on USA Network coverage with an an interactive package of outer-court matches during the first week that will exceed 300 hours of action and give viewers up to five live matches at a time.

Don't worry if you can't make it out to the Angels' game tonight.
You can watch it not once, but twice, on FSN.
Along the lines of the experiment that FSN did the last two seasons in giving viewers the experience of how a Lakers game looks and sounds like from the courtside seat at Staples Center, FSN West will suppliment tonight's Angels-Blue Jays game (7 p.m.) with a feed on FSN Prime Ticket to show you what it's like if you were in the field-level premiere seats.
The benefit: You hear more. You see things closer. There's very few commercial breaks. The downside: You'll misjudge every fly ball hit. And the rats might feel like they're under your feet.
FSN will have seven cameras positioned low in the first row of seats, from the first base foul pole to the third base foul pole, to let you see and hear what it's like. (Note the game plan graphic provided above by FSN). Also, reporter Bill Macdonald will be followed with a hand-held camera to talk to fans in those seats whose view you're blocking. He'll also talk to grounds crew members, visit the Diamond Club, talk to GM Bill Stoneman in his suite, talk to PA announcer David Courtney, the game's official scorer .. even the National Anthem singer.
The interview we want: the guy who operates the fountains in center field.
One other note: If you go back and forth between FSN West and FSN Prime Ticket, the feed on the later will be on a delay -- that's to help the sound editors take out any, ahem, player profanity that the mikes might pick up.

Eric Gagne may have left the Texas Rangers' bullpen, but the team has managed to squeeze one more marketing gimmick out of the Dodgers.
They've gone to the dark side of an all-you-can-eat admission ticket.
A story in today's Dallas Morning News business section says the Rangers will test out the $29 eat-everything-in-sight ticket for Thursday's game against Seattle.
The story says the test run follows a program by the Dodgers, but has also been tried out by the Orioles, Braves and Royals.
It notes: The recent wave of all-inclusive tickets for average fans was launched last year by the Dodgers, which tested them in its $8-a-seat bleacher section at three games.
After working out a few kinks– long lines for drinks, for example – the team transformed the section into the AM/PM convenience store chain's All You Can Eat pavilion and bumped the price to $35 this year.
The pavilion, which seats 3,000, has been running about 75 percent full – up from less than 50 percent before food and drinks were included.
"It's been an overwhelming success," said Marty Greenspun, the Dodgers' chief operating officer.
The story also says: Mr. Greenspun declined to give details on how much customers typically consume on a given night but said, "Our concessionaire is happy."

AP Photo/Chris Carlson
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani waves to the crowd during the Yankees-Angels game at Angels Stadium on Tuesday.

We're not quite sure how a 5-4 kickball game instantly becomes a classic, but since the original game was probably not seen by the average spectator and shown only on Fox Sports Soccer channel and other network we're not aware of, ESPN Classic has decided to add last Saturday's Galaxy-New York Red Bulls contest as an "Instant Classic" to repeat Thursday at 4 p.m. It's the first MLS game to ever receive such a classy designation.
David Beckham played classically in all 90 minutes and had three assists in the game witnessed by some 66,000 at Giants Stadium. It was the 11th time in league history (that's 11 years) that two teams combined for at least nine goals. You'd only hope that'd happen more often.
There were three lead changes and three ties, for those scoring along at home.
The presentation of this game will end 30 minutes before ESPN2 carries the Galaxy-Chivas USA game from Home Depot Center (at 6:30 p.m.), which Beckham is scheduled to play in if his flight back from England isn't delayed. (And the same goes for Landon Donovan and Jonathan Bornstein, who are playing for Team USA in Sweden on Wednesday).
ESPN says Bob Ley will add come credibility by hosting an expanded 30-minute edition of MLS Primetime Thursday live from Home Depot Center. Dave O'Brien and Eric Wynalda call the game, with Lisa Salters and Allen Hopkins on the sidelines. The game is also on ESPN360.com.
Now, does anyone have tape of that game at Home Depot Center from a while back when Beckham scored his first goal?

Among the early responses to today's multi-story Sex & Sports spread in today's Daily News, which included my column taking the side that we should feel guilty for marginalizing good-looking athletes, while Jill Painter took the side that if you've got it, flaunt it, in addition to a sidebar on Jessica Mendoza's encounter posing for Stuff magazine, the danger of web browsers on high school athletes and how gay-themed sites play things straight:

Gentlemen:
I am writing in regards to your articles on THE SEX APPEAL OF SPORTS. They both missed at least one important point of view: women objectifying male athletes. I personally love tennis and soccer and can't get enough of the
attractive guys involved with both sports. Of course, I have a blog relating to my interests and have found that "gay-themed" sites (like Kennethinthe212) have similar agendas in objectifying male athletes. Call it what you like; reverse-misogyny, reverse-sexism. As a feminist sports fan, I enjoy pointing out the sex appeal of male athletes, while respectfully appreciating the athletic talent of their female counterparts. The world has had enough of the objectification of women, and in turn, I have no shame in treating men like the eye-candy that they
are...
Cheers,
==Lady Hooligan Kat, Editor-in-Chief, Lady Hooligan.com and
http://ladyhooligan.blogspot.com

xxxxx

Here's an unproven fact that I wish I could bet a million dollars on: Take a bunch of overweight, unattractive women dressed or undressed, and you couldn't pay people to come and watch them play beach volleyball.
== Jack Berkus, Playa del Rey, CA

Sorry we're getting around to this a few days late, but if anyone's got a YouTube.com video exchange between Adam Carolla, subbing in on Tuesday for Jim Rome on "Jim Rome Is Burning" on ESPN, and Ryan Braun, the rookie third baseman of the Milwaukee Brewers out of Granada Hills High, we'd pay top dollar for it.
Braun, sitting with a earpiece at an empty stadium and staring into a camera, tried to be polite as possible with Carolla, the wise acre best known around here for his early-morning radio show on KLSX-AM 93.1, the former co-host of "Love Line" on KROQ-AM 106.7 and one of the few we even recognize at the Dodgers' Hollywood Stars Night. But with Carolla, who was forced to wing it with the sports questions, the scrunched-up, Gilbert Godfried look he gave when listening to the stock answers provided by Braun, whose real claim to fame has been his home-run hitting prowess (which was never discussed), the priceless moments are the follow-up questions when it was obvious he was quickly bored with the whole process and wanted to take the discussion into a new direction.
Until you see the video, here are some of the highlights of the five-minute interivew, which came after Carolla had a rant about what the Seattle Sonics' name should be if the franchise moves to Oklahoma City, and before another rant about why some of today's major leaguers lather up their helmets in pine tar, or pull their pants up to look "like kids selling newspapers in the '30s":
AC: Congratulations on your really short stint in major league baseball, how long you been up, you got called up in May?
RB: Yeah, actually got called up May 25 and been up here ever since.
AC: And, uh ... what's your batting average? Two-fifty-some-odd?
RB: Yeah, something like that. As long as we're winning I'm not concerned with my individual success.
AC: Riiiiiight. 'Cause the coach may be watching. You worry about you. And here's the way I look at it. And I'd tell everyone in the dugout the same thing: If we all worry about hitting .400 then we're gonna win, so don't worry about the next guy. Forget this team sport crap. It's all about you, Ryan.
RB: (Nervous laugh) Yeah, I mean it definitely is an individual sport to a certain extent because obviously the better you do on an individual basis will help the team win, so if everybody focuses on themselves I think the team will be allright.
(So now Carolla has Braun buying into the "me-first" concept, and Braun seems to spin it right)
AC: Well now, uh, the Brewers haven't seen much success in about 24 years ... since '83 I guess was the last time they made the playoffs ... or '82, they say in my ear ... like it makes a difference... the point is, it's been a dry spell, right? So you were like, what, in Pampers the last time they went ... somewhere....?
RB: Actually I wasn't born yet at that time.
AC: You make me sick, you really do. Speaking of being born, we're both from the San Fernando Valley. I'm from North Hollywood, I hear you're from Granada Hills ...
RB: Yes, born and raised in Granada Hills, went to Granada Hills High School.
AC: Ummm-hummmmm. And, uh ... we didn't cross paths or anything did we? We didn't have the same girlfriends or stand next to each other in the same urnal in Van Nuys or anything like that?
RB: Not that I recall, but it's definitely a possibility.
(Ryan now looks like he's trying to roll with this, but without the face-to-face, it's becoming more littered with awkward pauses).

If we had Jerry Yang's money -- and sorry if we forgot the spoiler alert, since ESPN hasn't started showing the Main Event of the 2007 World Series of Poker until next week -- we're start our own televised Go Fish Tour and sell it to the Learning Channel as the next hottest "sports" property.
Until then, as we explained in today's Daily News media column and notebook, we're content with holding out for something more competitive. Suduku anyone?
Here's some more media notes as we try to decide whether to hold 'em, fold 'em, walk away, or run:

== World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, whose background of working in the NBA and NASCAR really didn't prepare him for this newest gig, had a good laugh when I asked him about why people on ESPN keep watching re-run after re-run of his WSOP events, not even caring what year it took place or know who won?
"Look at the success of any syndicated show, whether its a drama or comedy. People aren’t afraid to watch things over and over when they know the outcome. Traditionally, sports is best consumed live, like election results. Obviously, with an ESPN Classic, there's a market for reliving great moments. What’s interesting to the World Series of Poker is that we're taking an event that goes 10, 12 sometimes 14 hours long, condensing it and telling a story in a way that's evergreen. That's the best way to describe it as TV content. You can watch stories of the players that are always told in an entertaining way and restudy how players playeda certain event. For poker players, it's always instructive and a compelling product."
And for mainstream viewers, isn't there a chance of overkill?
"There's some truth to thatk. It's not something to be happy about, but when you watch the shows this year, there's a difference in how it's presented so you'll know it's not from past years. I have some concern with being over-exposed. Our interests with ESPN are aligned. Neither want it overexposed, but always to embrace an evergreen property.
"All that said, in online world, we've experimented with live broadband coverage of some final tables and hole card cameras, and it was successful. There’s a future for us in live coverage of the World Series. We did those pay-per-view shows of the last two finals, even on the Internet. And if ESPN turned to me tomorrow and said, 'We'll go live with the final on ESPN2 for however long it takes,' we'd be thrilled. But you've got to be a real fan to watch for 10-plus hours."
Whatever the ratings are for these shows, it shouldn't matter about the WSOP's success, right?
"One of the things I leanred from David Stern is we can't be in the ratings business," said Pollack, who splits time between Las Vegas at his office in Harrah's and his Los Angeles home. "That's for the TV partner to focus on. But I also learned that when you play on a certain stage, there's a couple of realities. Ratings come and go, as well as attendance. But having a committment to the long haul, you'll be fine. I expect ups and downs. We have a 38-year history that no other poker property does. Everyone else is a startup. We operate strategically. Would we prefer ratings to always be up? Sure, but they're not going to be for anyone. We're just pleased to be part of ESPN and hope to be for the next 50 years."

==For a history of the WSOP on ESPN and beyond -- it actually was on CBS back in the day, with Jimmy The Greek Snyder as the host, check out this link and scroll down to see who else has hosted it in the past.

==GSN, otherwise known as the Game Show Network, starts its fourth season of High Stakes Poker hosted by Gabe Kaplan, on Monday at 9 p.m. Players such as Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Phil "Unabomber" Laak, Daniel Negreanu and Jamie Gold put up $100,000 of their own cash -- no Monopoly money -- in a cutthroat game of Texas Hold'em.

==Norman Chad, secure in his career these days as a poker colorman/quipper for ESPN, has a few choice words for sportswriters who are trying to make a living on TV as talking heads with his latest syndicated column. "We've gone from minor nuisance to cultural menace," Chad writes. "If ESPN got out of the sports business tomorrow, half of America's top sports columnists would have to send their children back to public schools."

Read on ....

As far as the networks are concerned, West Coast hockey may just as well be contained to the Aleutian Islands.
In releasing their NHL TV schedules for the upcoming season Wednesday, both Versus and NBC don't see any mystery in the fact that the Stanley Cup champion Ducks and everyone else in this time zone isn't on anyone's radar. In fact, they seem to be saying the Western Conference can take pucks and sticks and just hope the New York Rangers someday return to Mystery, Alaska.
Versus, entering its third year holding the league hostage, snagged exclusive coverage of the Kings-Ducks game in London on Sunday, Sept 30 at 9 a.m. (local time; 5 p.m. in England). But in its 57-game regular-season slate, Versus will have the Ducks on only three other times, including twice in the first week and never at the Honda Center. The other quick look is Wed., Oct. 3 in Detroit, the first of a double-header that night.
The Kings have, other than the opener, no Versus appearances. The Kings-Ducks game that actually opens the season on Saturday Sept. 29 doesn't have a TV designation yet outside of CBC in Canada and HD Net. Meanwhile, the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers are on Versus eight times each.
And only one time does a game start as late as 7 p.m. on the West Coast -- and that's the regular season finale when Colorado is at Vancouver. Otherwise, almost all games are at 4 p.m. in the PST, with an occasional 6:30 start in Colorado. A cost-cutting move? Probably. Keep all the equipment in the same vicinity and it won't be as expensive to do a game at, say, the Honda Center when the Ducks are receiving their Stanley Cup rings.
Versus' other big announcement is that Bill Patrick will serve as the host of "Hockey Central," replacing Bill Clement, who it probably can't afford any longer.
Over on NBC, where they're also in their third season as a partner with the league, the Ducks' game at Dallas on Sunday, Jan. 20 will be the first of a regional schedule. The Kings? Nothing.
NBC is starting this flexible scheduling element for nine regular-season games, trying to hold off on picking a matchup too soon. NBC will be able to pick up to four games on Sunday afternoons, and 13 days prior to the scheduled games (on Mondays), NBC, in conjunction with the NHL, will decide which of them to use as the game of the week telecast. The others will remain available to the teams' regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC's broadcast window.
The only other Ducks telecast on NBC is Sunday, Feb. 10 at Detroit.
Pittsburgh has been penciled in for as many as seven times, although the rules are a team can appear up to four times on the network.
Here's the complete schedules:

USC is ranked (yawn) No. 1 in the Sports Illustrated college football issue that hits newsstands on Wednesday, and with it comes a cover shot of running backs Emmanuel Moody, C.J. Gable and Chauncy Washington under the headline "Big Run for No. 1."

But that's just one fifth of the story.
As you can see below, SI has a cover going to the midwest with Michigan's Mike Hart. And one for the East with West Virginia's Steve Slaton. For the Southwest, it's Oklahoma's Allen Patrick. All of them are carrying the ball under that same title, "Big Run for No. 1."
A special South market issue, however, will get Arkansas' Darren McFadden, with the headline: "The No.1 back in the land," with a story on him by Phil Taylor.
Austin Murphy has a story on the stable of USC tailbacks under the headline "The Year of the Running Back.

As for SI’s Top 20:
1. USC
2. LSU
3. Florida
4. West Virginia
5. Louisville
6. Michigan
7. Virginia Tech
8. Texas
9. Oklahoma
10. Wisconsin
11. Ohio State
12. Rutgers
13. Arkansas
14. Penn State
15. Boise State
16. Auburn
17. Tennessee
18. Nebraska
19. Georgia
20. Cal

(AP/Andy Wong)
China's Yue Yuan, left, and Zhang WenWen play against Malaysia's Teck Hua and Shun Thing during a FIVB Beach Volleyball Women's Challenge match at Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground Stadium in Beijing, China today. The match is part of a series of test events for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games one year countdown.

Oh, yeah, they had cheerleaders there, too.

And the attendance ... not so great.

But a Canadian player with tats knew the handsignals. This one means: "Hurry and finish so we can get some dim sum."

Though the supermodels in its commercials don't seem to do anything more strenuous than sitting around and looking glamorous, the chief executive of the Victoria's Secret brand said yoga pants, sports bras and other athletic clothes could soon become a major portion of the lingerie retailer's business, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Victoria's Secret is putting athletic wear in 30 of its stores this fall to test the potential of sports gear, said Sharen Jester Turney, president and chief executive of the chain. In two weeks, the retailer also will open a free-standing store in Columbus to sell athletic clothes.
Early customer response to the gear has been "extremely positive," Ms. Turney said. "Many of our customers have said, 'I've been waiting for you to do sport wear that is sexier'" than other athletic brands, which tend to look less feminine, she said.

(AP/John Rooney)
Sal Durante, 19, (dark jacket, white shirt) of New York's Coney Island, reaches up to catch New York Yankees Roger Maris' 61st home run ball in the lower right field stands of Yankee Stadium in New York, in this Oct. 1, 1961 file photo.

By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press Writer

When Barry Bonds slammed his 756th home run and Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th, sound strategy, serious toughness and a little luck were at play.
Not for the players, but for the fans scrapping for the balls.
Crowds at sporting events are known to battle for the chance to catch a rolled up T-shirt. So, of course, there are a lot of people willing to throw a few elbows to grab the equivalent of a winning lottery ticket.
Historic home run balls have always captivated.
On the last day of the 1961 season, Sal Durante, then 19, got some tickets in the right field at Yankee Stadium. He failed in his modest dream of grabbing a batting practice ball.
But in the fourth inning, Roger Maris hit a home run — his 61st of the season, which broke Babe Ruth’s single-year record — right at him. He stood on his seat, reached as high as he could and plucked it from the air. No scrum.
He sold it for $5,000 — a huge windfall for a young man making $60 per week.
“The difference today is everybody knows if you catch or retrieve a famous baseball, it’s going to be worth hundreds of thousands, maybe millions,” said Durante, now a 65-year-old retired bus driver. “You’re out there to kill.”
Few home runs have been as anticipated as Barry Bonds’ 756th, hit Tuesday at AT&T Park in San Francisco to make him the all-time leader. The biggest questions were when would Bonds hit it and who would catch it?
More important, what would he do with it, and how much would a wealthy sports fanatic pay for it?
The record-breaking ball hit the stands, then took a sharp bounce toward the right field foul pole and back a few
rows. Chaos ensued as fans scurried for the ball.
Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old New Yorker wearing a Mets jersey, emerged from the scrum with his clothes torn, his face bloodied — and the ball in his hand.
“Longest minute of my life,” Murphy said Thursday on NBC’s “Today Show.” “I think one gentleman kicked me in the back of the head. There were people on top of people on top of people, which I didn’t really understand. The San Francisco Police Department really helped me out by getting there quickly.”
Memorabilia experts estimate the ball could be worth a half million dollars in an auction for Murphy, who caught the game during a layover on his trip to Australia.

At least it's one way to prevent skin cancer.
The AVP announced today formal plans to conduct an indoor arena pro beach volleyball series starting in January and running seven weeks through Feb. 23 in 19 cities around the country that are typically snowbound in the early winter. The closest this will come to L.A. is the last event in Las Vegas, which just as easily could be outdoors but will be inside at the Orleans Arena.
The AVP "Hot Winter Nights" tour is set to be sort of a one-night, barnstorming, three-hour competition and a "beach festival," including shipping more than 200 tons of sand.
What about tanning booths for those who need that indoor-tan look?
Current AVP players such as Kerri Walsh, Misty May-Treanor, Elaine Youngs, Jake Gibbs, Sean Rosenthal, Phil Dalhauser, Todd Rogers and Stein Metzer have committed to play in a round-robin format.
Tickets for the events are already on sale at the AVP site or Ticketmaster.
The schedule:
Jan. 10 - Oklahoma City, OK – Ford Center
Jan. 11 - St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
Jan. 12 - Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
Jan. 17 - Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center
Jan. 18 - Madison, WI – Alliant Energy Center
Jan. 19 - LaCrosse, WI – LaCrosse Center
Jan. 24 - Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Jan. 26 - Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Jan. 30 - Albany, NY – Times Union Center
Jan. 31 - Trenton, NJ – Sovereign Bank Arena
Feb. 1 - Norfolk, VA – Constant Convocation Center
Feb. 7 - Omaha, NE – Qwest Center
Feb. 8 - Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
Feb. 9 - Bloomington, IL – US Cellular Coliseum
Feb. 13 - Spokane, WA – Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Feb. 14 - Everett, WA – Everett Event Center
Feb. 16 - Portland, OR – Rose Quarter Arena
Feb. 23 - Las Vegas NV – Orleans Arena

Followup to today's Daily News media column and notebook comes these Giant-sized webgems:

==Of all the broadcaster calls we've heard on Barry Bonds' 756th home run, Jon Miller's description for KNBR in San Francisco was the most precise, had the right amount of energy and, because it was for radio, the most description -- and should be the audio for any visual of the moment in years to come. Miller, the longtime play-by-play may on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball," noted the ball went to "the deepest part of the ballpark, left of the 421 foot sign" and then punctuated it by saying that Bonds "has hit more home runs than anyone who's played the game." Far less of a homer call that local TV guy Duane Kiper, and with more depth than what Dave O'Brien bellowed for ESPN2 (see the YouTube video to make sure), who actually could have said more with less if he'd just backed off and let the pictures and crowd come across.

==The Sports Business Daily notes that ESPN2’s broadcast of Tuesday's Giants-Nationals game did a respectable 1.1 coverage in cable rating, although most in San Francisco were watching on the FSN Bay Area. ESPN2 ended up adding eight San Francisco games during Bonds' last two weeks of chasing Aaron.

==Anticipating Saturday's San Francisco-Pittsburgh game from AT&T Park to perhaps be the place to see Barry Bonds attempt to break Henry Aaron's career home-run record, Fox got the team to switch the start time last week from 6 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. to it could include it in the regional coverage. Now Fox plans to show it to only nine percent of the country -- San Francisco, Sacramento and Pittsburgh -- with Matt Vasgersian and Mark Grace on the call. The Dodgers' game in St. Louis, with Thom Brennaman and Joe Girardi, will go to L.A. as well as 46 percent of the country. The other 46 percent will see Boston at Baltimore.

==Vasgersian, the sharp-witted San Diego Padres TV play-by-play man, has apologized for comments he made about the citizens of St. Louis that were intended for both on and off the air -- even though all of it got in -- during the Padres-Cardinals telecast back to San Diego on Monday, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. Vasgersian went so far as to explain his mea culpa on the blog AwfulAnnouncing.com, after the site made note of his comments a day earlier.

==Onion headline/story of the week:

Destruction Of National Pastime Given Two-Minute Standing Ovation

WASHINGTON (AP) -- David Beckham can do lots of things with his feet. Thursday, he realized he’d stuck one in his mouth.
The English midfielder apologized to FieldTurf, which makes an artificial surface used in many stadiums. A day earlier, the new Galaxy star said FieldTurf was one of the things that was “not right” about Major League Soccer and that all of the league’s games should be played on grass.
The reference was to the field at Toronto, where Beckham didn't play Sunday.
“I have to apologize — I didn’t realize FieldTurf was actually a company,” Beckham said.
Adding to the embarrassment, Beckham admitted that he had actually purchased three FieldTurf fields for one of his youth soccer academies.
“At that level, I think it’s a great surface,” he said.
Beckham said his feelings haven’t changed about the use of FieldTurf for MLS games because of the toll
the harder surface takes on the body. Four of the league’s 13 teams play their home games on an artificial surface.
“I’ve been playing on grass since I was a young kid,” he said.

Comedian Jay Mohr will star in a weekly show, "The Alternative with Jay Mohr," on FoxSports.com starting in early September, as well as write a weekly column for the site. The premise for the 20-minute show is for Mohr to travel primarily around L.A., but also to events across the country, and deliver his take on the news.
"I always stunk at math, but I've always been pretty good with words and this format gives me a good-sized soapbox to stand on," Mohr said. "It's very humbling to make a living writing, after all to paraphrase Bobby Knight: ‘It's something we all learned to do in third grade. '"
Mohr's first column for FoxSports.com took shots to all fields, including Barry Bonds, Michael Vick and the Colorado Rockies' mascot. And it finished with this:
"I will not get into the habit of addressing my critics but this is an exception. For all of you soccer maniacs out there, you need to come down off your high horses. Just because I do not like soccer, does not mean that I do not know how to play soccer. Nor does it mean that I don't "understand" soccer or "appreciate" soccer.
"Soccer — (nee) futbol — is a sport I grew up around. I played it constantly. My Uncle Bob was the head coach at Drew University and my family had season tickets to the New York Cosmos for years. I spent my entire childhood watching Pele pass a ball to Franz Beckenbauer. I watched plenty of Seninho and Rick Davis as a child and even saw Carlos Alberto punch Shep Messing in the back during warm ups once. I know how to play soccer, I appreciate soccer, and I get soccer. I don't like soccer. If soccer is so fantastic, then why isn't it successful here? Maybe if you spent less time on message boards and more time in the seats at a Galaxy game, there might be an MLS five years from now! And stop telling me that proof that soccer must be great is because every other country plays it. Have you seen every other country? C'mon, I'm supposed to get fired up for soccer because they are playing it in Cameroon? I'll stick with running water and baseball."

Rick Ankiel, who struggled as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, has returned to the roster as an outfielder and will start tonight's game against San Diego, meaning he'll probably see some playing time against the Dodgers this weekend in St. Louis.
The 28-year-old Ankiel was hitting .267 with 32 homers and 89 RBIs in 102 games at Triple-A Memphis. He also struck out 90 times and had a .314 on-base percentage.
Ankiel won 11 games and struck out 194 batters in 175 innings as a 20-year-old rookie in 2000. As a surprise pick to start the Cardinals' 2000 postseason opener against Atlanta, he became the first major league pitcher to throw five wild pitches in one inning since Sept. 15, 1890.
He threw nine wild pitches in four innings during those playoffs. The next year, he was 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA in six starts, went back to the minors, missed 2002 with a left elbow sprain, tore a ligament in his left elbow in '03 and then actually went back to the majors in a Sept., 2004 callup, but threw only 10 innings in five relief appearances and had a 5.40 ERA.
He announced on March 9, 2005 he was switching to the outfield.
An interesting note in a recent story about his comeback in USA Today: Ankiel has a "ingering resentment"against ESPN, which he feels chronicled his troubles on the mound too much over the years. ESPN had at least four interview requests rejected by Ankiel while he was playing this year at Triple-A Louisville.

At least NBC has given everyone a year's notice on how much of the Bejing Olympics will be ringing in our ears.
Back up the burro -- It'll be a record 3,600 hours -- more than every other Summer Games combined that's been televised in the United States, going back to 1960 -- that will eminate from China via the National Broadcast Company's cameras that feed pictures to its family of channels as well as this gadget called the Internet.
The lion's share of that 3,600 will be, of course, Web related, with 2,200 hours of live streaming video available for the first time on NBCOlympics.com, according to Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports' chairman and king of all Olympic related stuff. There'll be 3,000 additional hours on the Internet with highlight packages and other features.
I fear my DSL is already on the DL.
Of the thousand-plus hours over 17 days that NBC plans to broadcast on its primary network, as well as USA Network, MSNBC and CNBC, the live stuff going to the East in prime-time will focus on -- what else -- swimming and gymnastics, but also beach volleyball.
China is 15 hours ahead of us -- meaning in our PDT prime-time of 8 to 11 p.m., it'll be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. there -- but all we get is the reruns from what happened from 8-to-11 a.m. in China, moved up to accomodate the East Coast.
Perhaps the late, late, overnight live hours on the West Coast can feature some events that'll be live in China's prime-time. Or is that asking too much too soon?
In 2004, NBC did 1,210 hours from Bejing. In 1960, CBS did 20 total hours from Rome. The 12 Summer Olympics Games that have been broadcast to the U.S. have totaled 2,562 hours.
Wireless coverage will be announced in the future. Which is just fine, since I'm charging my cellphone right now and couldn't call anyone to tell them much about it anyway.

(Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger lines up on the defensive side of the ball before the beginning of a football workout at training camp in Latrobe, Pa., on Tuesday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a filly can't be named Sally Hemings-- which is the name of Thomas Jefferson's most famous slave and reputed lover.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled that the Jockey Club can legally bar horse owner Garrett Redmond from naming his 4-year-old horse after Hemings.
Judge Alice Batchelder, writing for the three-judge panel, said Redmond has other options that may be approved by the Jockey Club, which forbids horse owners from using names of famous or notorious people without special permission. The club's rules also say that "names considered in poor taste; or names that may be offensive to religious, political or ethnic groups" won't be approved.
"To be sure, the First Amendment protects horse owners' rights to free speech, and we do not foreclose Mr. Redmond indiscriminately from asserting that right, but the right to free speech is not absolute in all contexts," Batchelder wrote.
The Jockey Club is a private organization designated by Kentucky to track and approve names of race horses. Without an approved name, a horse cannot race at a Kentucky track.
Jockey Club president Alan Marzelli said Tuesday about a third of the 60,000 names submitted each year are rejected, mostly because they are identical or similar to names already used. But this is the first time a complaint over a name has sparked a major legal battle, he said.
"Since we first denied this name, we've issued over 100,000 names," Marzelli said. "It's pretty silly. I can't think of another example in 24 years where we rejected a name and it started a fight. People just pick another name."
Attorneys who represented Redmond didn't immediately return a call for comment.
The horse, now known as Awaiting Justice, ran at Churchill Downs on July 1 and at Ellis Park in Henderson on July 25. She did not finish in the top 3 in either race.
In May 2005, Redmond sued the racing authority and the Jockey Club after his request to name the horse for Hemings was denied. Redmond argued that the denial had deprived him of constitutional rights.
U.S. District Senior Judge Karl Forester had sided with the Jockey Club and the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority in dismissing the lawsuit.
Batchelder wrote that because the Jockey Club is a private organization with power delegated by the state, it may restrict free speech so long as it doesn't discriminate against a specific viewpoint.
She also quoted Shakespeare's "What's in a name?" and cited the band America in rejecting Redmond's appeal.
"In short, because he has spent three years insisting he has a constitutional right to name his horse 'Sally Hemings' and that no other name will do, Mr. Redmond now finds himself, like the songster of the 70s, having 'been through the desert on a horse with no name,'" Batchelder wrote.
"If he really wants to race or breed this horse in Kentucky, Mr. Redmond will have to come up with a name that complies with the Jockey Club's rules," Batchelder wrote. "A quick look at the Jockey Club's Registry confirms that 'Horse With No Name' is no longer available."

More: On the Monticello Official Site, a discussion about Sally Hemings, as well as a biography.

Maybe one thing the story in today's Daily News about the National Golf League didn't quite point out is that, without a lot of publicity, these crowds that the league and founder Bob Aube wants to see out for their events don't really swell to the galleries you're used to seeing at a PGA Tour event.
Of course, there's not the same quality of golf going on. But you'd think just for the chance to sit along the 9th fairway with a cold one, getting rowdy, it would draw some attention for those who'd like to watch golf in a different way, and not fork out any admission fee.
Saturday's third season of the NGL got underway in San Jose, for the Northern Division, as the East Bay Power won with 26 points, thanks to a Andrew Streatfield holing out a 25-foot birdie on the final 3-point hole.
The real hitters for the crowd to appreciate were Vince Howell and Jeff Williams, two who've competed in the National Long-Drive Competition. On the 400-yard fifth hole, Howell cut the corner on a dogleg and landed his drive on the green.
The next NGL match is the Southern California opener on Saturday at the Channel Islands Sharks' home course at Sterling Hills in Camarillo. Check it out.
And more on the league at www.nationalgolfleague.com or www.ngl.tv

AP photo/Chris Carlson
Adolfo Valadez, 13, of East L.A. takes one last look at the water after a LA Surf Bus trip to Huntington Beach. LA Surf Bus is one of a growing number of programs in Florida, California and Hawaii dedicated to getting children off the streets and into the ocean before they turn to gangs and drugs.

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer
HUNTINGTON BEACH -- As the school bus rolls up to the beach, Veronica Lopez looks out the window past the wide-open sand at the pounding surf and whispers, “I’m scared.”
The shy 14-year-old from the inner city lives closer to the beach than most Americans, but she has only been there once, as a toddler. To overcome her fear of the water, she’ll need more than another day at the beach — she’ll need a surfboard.
Lopez is one of hundreds of city kids catching waves this summer with LA Surf Bus, one of a growing number of programs in Florida, California and Hawaii dedicated to getting children off the streets and into the ocean before they turn to gangs and drugs.
“The beach is only 22 miles away from us, but it might as well be a million miles away,” said Martin Rascon, a Los Angeles Parks Department supervisor who runs an inner-city summer camp. “By bringing them out here, they’re going to know that ... it’s OK to get out of East L.A.’”
Most kids who sign up for the free, eight-week surfing session don’t own a swimsuit, can’t swim and have been to the beach just once or twice, if at all. And most don’t realize that their classroom — eight miles of beach in the self-proclaimed Surf City, USA — also hosts one of the sport’s hottest competitions, the U.S. Open of Surfing.
Yet the program, mostly conducted in waist-deep water, doesn’t pretend to churn out lifelong surfers: it’s as much an effort to open their minds as to get them on a board.
The first challenge, however, is making peace with choppy waters.
Lopez has been quiet the entire ride as dingy storefronts and graffiti-covered freeway overpasses give way to sun-drenched beaches, gently curving bike paths and the smell of the sea. She hangs back when the doors of
the bus wheeze open and her classmates race down the sand, pushing and shoving each other into the crashing waves.
Once they are reassembled on the beach, they get matching periwinkle blue neoprene shirts and learn the basics of water safety: how to signal for help, how to spot a rip current, how to avoid sting rays hidden in the sand.
When it’s officially time to enter the water, Lopez swallows her fear and jumps in clinging to a plastic foam body board. The panic on her face foreshadows the inevitable: she gets sucked under by a wave and spun around in the shallows.
She comes up gasping for air, her long, dark hair clinging to her face in wet strands, and retreats to a safe spot on the sand.
“I felt like I was getting pushed to the deep end,” she said. “I was scared of the fish and I thought there would be sting rays.”

By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press
LONG POND, Pa. -- Here’s another four-letter word stirring up trouble for Tony Stewart: ESPN.
Stewart (shown above sneaking a kiss from a surprised spokesmodel at the finish line after winning the Brickyard 400 on Sunday) said Friday he is fed up with the sports network and he didn’t even need to curse to express his frustration with the way he believes some of its analysts have unfairly criticized him. Stewart was upset ESPN
chided him for saying he was going to drink a case of beer to celebrate his July 15 win in Chicago, and one analyst even said later that Stewart was not a good role model.
Maybe it was the foul language.
When Stewart was celebrating his win last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he cursed in his post-race interview at the finish line. The interview was live on ESPN, and NASCAR fined Stewart $25,000 and docked him 25
points this week for the inappropriate language.
Stewart talked to the media behind his hauler after qualifying on Friday at Pocono Raceway, and the former champ made it plainly — and cleanly — clear that he’ll pick and choose when to speak with reporters from ESPN.
“If every time we do an interview and you want to stand here and dig up dirt, you might as well go find somebody else because we’ll wait until you leave before we do the rest of the interviews,” Stewart said, responding to a question from ESPN reporter David Amber.
Stewart pointed around him and wondered why ESPN couldn’t ask positive, creative questions like the rest of the media. Stewart has had run-ins with the media before, however, but he took this opportunity to turn the tables and bash the network that is televising Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500.
“Every time we’ve got to deal with somebody from ESPN it’s a sharp knife trying to dig for dirt,” he said. “I’m not
saying they’re not fair questions. Do we always have to leave with a dagger on our back from ESPN? That’s all I’m curious about.”
Maybe he’s just upset because he didn’t win the oh-so coveted “Who’s Now” title.
Stewart, who had just won his second straight race when he dedicated the win to all his fans who pull for him and “take all the bullshit from everybody else,” understood why NASCAR disciplined him.
“They needed to do that and you understand why,” he said. “It’s just one of those deals that you’re so excited you’re not even thinking about what you’re saying. But NASCAR did the right thing.”
Stewart, fourth in the points standings, only wished announcers sometimes waited a few minutes before sticking a microphone in his face so soon after a race.
“Obviously, if we had 10 minutes to think about what we were going to say before we said things, it would give us a bigger advantage in not getting in those situations,” he said. “But that’s why this sport’s so exciting. You get to hear the emotion, you get to feel the excitement from drivers or the disappointment, depending on what happens.”

As somewhat expected, ESPN2 has added tonight's San Francisco-San Diego game, as well as Saturday night's (both at 7 p.m.) to its schedule, hoping Barry Bonds finally hits and breaks Hank Aaron's record so Bud Selig can finally go home after his Herculean effort to follow his quest so far.
Why not just add ESPNBONDS channel at this point?
Dusty Baker and Orel Hershiser join Dave O'Brien on the call, with Erin Andrews trolling through the crowd trying not to get pinched by some salty sailors.
These will be the seventh and eighth games either ESPN or ESPN2 has added during Bonds Watch 2007. ESPN says it has received a 0.9 cable rating (866,000 homes) for its previous two games, and the four games on ESPN2 have averaged a 0.7 cable rating (689,000 homes).
Meanwhile FSN Prime Ticket research revealed that its Thursday and Tuesday telecast of the Dodgers-Giants from Dodger Stadium did a 4.92 and 4.59 rating, which now rank No. 1 and No. 3 on the Top 10 rated Dodger games on FSN. An Oct. 1, 2004 Dodgers-Giants game from Dodger Stadium now ranks No. 2 at 4.66. Back-to-back games on Sept. 29-30, 2004, when the Dodgers hosted Colorado, now rank Nos. 5 and 4 on the list.
A 1.0 rating in the L.A. market these days equals 56,111 households.
And that lady sitting behind the Dodgers' dugout for Thursday's game against the Giants ranks very low on the hair meter.
Also, Fox announced it has switched the start of the Giants' Aug. 11 game against Pittsburgh from 6:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. so it can include it in its regional coverage next Saturday.

More media notes, after you're done with those corner kicks we threw out there in today's Daily News column on David Beckham and sidebar on Paul Page

A less-than-enthusiastic thumbs up for ESPN's introduction of the "Draft Track" that showed how wavy blue and yellow lines over a speeding NASCAR rig creates good and bad air for the others on the track. ESPN used it three times during its Brickyard 400 telecast on Sunday. The first time, play-by-play man Dr. Jerry Punch said: "I gotta love the fact the air changes colors with the pressure and air speed changes in the draft to let you know how the air changes when its turbulent." With all the smoke and flames coming out of some cars during several accidents, we weren't always sure what was Draft Track or was was plain old fumes, such as what happened to Jimmy Johnson's No. 48 car on lap 61. The best use of the Draft Track came with 39 laps to go and showed how Tony Stewart was able to pass by Kevin Harvick and take the lead based on how the airflow was affecting the front of his car.
A bigger thumbs up to Stewart who, during the live interview afterward, summed up his victory: "This one's for everyone of those fans in the stands that pull for me and take al lthe bullshit from everybody else." ESPN edited that "bullshit" part out of its "SportsCenter" replay. Stewart was later fined $25,000 and 25 points. It raised a question to Fox NASCAR analyst Larry McReynolds on his recent online Q-and-A session as to why some are fined more than others for swearing into a live mike.

Not that ESPN is dumbing NASCAR technology down too much with its Draft Track and other new elements to its coverage starting last week, but when you really get down to it, this "TV" report by The Onion gets to the essence of what the sport is all about, in terms even a Fontana resident can understand:

NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: 'Drive Fast'

Pack it in, pack it out. Extremely well.
Say what you will about the X Games, but the organizers have made this one of the most environmentally conscious sporting events over the years, and the city of Los Angeles should be thankful.
An intensive recycling program at all venues is just one of things spectators will find that help reduce waste and preserve the natural resources with sustainable materials. There are also incentives for ridesharing, not just for spectators but staff members.
Why? Because it's the right thing to do.
"The X Games attracts a young demographic, and that puts us in a terrific position to lead by example in increasing environmental education and awareness for future generations," Chris Stiepock, X Games General Manager, esplained in a statement. "Our sports depend on a healthy environment, and we're proud of our efforts to preserve natural resources in any way we can."
Last year, the X Games reported to be able to recycle or compost 71 percent of the waste generated, which was diverted from landfills.
This year's event at the Home Depot Center will include a TRASHed Recycling Store where spectators putting their trash in recycling or compost bins receive tokens redeemable for eco-friendly prizes.
The X Rider program also tries to get people to carpool four or more, or use LA Metro to get to the Home Depot Center. Tokens are also given to those riders for the store.
The X Games Enviromental initiave will also involve planting 5,000 trees in California this year to help with reforestation efforts after recent fires.

UPDATE: The Action Sports Environmental Coalition will announce, along with athletes Bob Burnquist and Danny Way, an industry-wide environmental initiative at Saturday's X Games, 10:30 a.m. at the Half Pipe at the Home Depot Center. Stay tuned.

DENVER (AP) -- As Barry Bonds pushes for home run No. 755 to tie one of baseball’s most hallowed records, a Colorado sushi restaurant is celebrating the man who set the record — Hank Aaron.
Hapa Sushi Grill ran a half-page ad Thursday in the satirical weekly The Onion that read “Congratulations Hank Aaron on 755 home runs.” At the bottom of the page, the ad continues: “Organic beef and chicken, no added steroids.”
Full-page ads are planned for two Boulder, Colo., daily newspapers starting Friday.
Hapa, which has two locations in Boulder and one in Denver, previously has used skinny sumo wrestlers and flaming bags of fast-food hamburgers in its ads to promote its healthy Japanese food.
Hapa founder Mark Van Grack said the ad taps into the Bond controversy to promote his business but it also sends a message like other previous ads for the company.
“Think about what you’re doing. Be healthy. You don’t need steroids do something great, as Hank Aaron did,” he said of the message.
Jonathan Schoenberg of TDA Advertising & Design in Boulder, who created the ad, said it’s intended as a tribute to Aaron. But he acknowledged it’s also a roundabout dig at Barry Bonds, who has been accused of using steroids. Bonds has long denied doping.
“It’s just a reminder that people are questioning the legitimacy of his breaking this incredible record,” said the 39-year-old Schoenberg, who grew up admiring Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson as a New York Yankees fan in the 1970s.
He said he got the idea about a month ago after reading Aaron didn’t plan on watching Bonds tie the record.
Schoenberg said he still feels bad for Bonds, because the steroid allegations will cloud his accomplishments.
“You’re so famous for something you don’t want to be famous for,” he said.

Thanks to Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are set for 24 national TV games — the same as last year -- according to the NBA's 2007-08 schedule released Thursday.
Nine of their appearances are on TNT, eight go to ESPN and five are on ABC, including Christmas Day hosting Phoenix, Jan. 27 at home against Cleveland and Feb. 10 at Miami.
The Clippers have three on ESPN, one on TNT (vs. the Lakers in April) and none on ABC.
The NBA has three games on Christmas, with the Lakers staying at Staples Center to face the Suns at 2:15 p.m., after Miami visits Cleveland at 11 a.m. on ABC. It is capped off by Greg Oden and Portland hosting Kevin Durant and Seattle at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
The Lakers and Heat had played every Christmas since 2004, since Shaquille O’Neal was traded away.
The Lakers open the season Tuesday, Oct. 30 at home against Houston on TNT, while the Clippers open at home Friday, Nov. 2 against Golden State. The regular season ends April 16.

Still not sure if this is considered an improvement in the world of sports video gamingon a video game or some smart cross product placement, but EA Sports has announced that the Weather Channel's interactive site has been added to the recently released "NCAA Football 08" video game, providing "up-to-date information" and "reflect accurate, real-time weather conditions at NCAA stadiums" via the Internet.
What's wrong with this picture?
Real time, in a video game? What's real and what isn't?
“This is a long-awaited feature for gamers – it is the first sports game we know of where actual current weather conditions will affect weather conditions in the game,” said Derek Van Nostran, director of marketing for The Weather Channel Interactive said in a press release sent out by EA Sports. “The Weather Channel Interactive welcomes this opportunity to work with EA Sports to bring an extra dose of realism to the game.”
Here's how it works: Every time a player with a live Internet connection loads a new game, they have the option to choose real-time weather from TWCI. The video game will then use the current conditions at the selected location to create the weather experience for that game.
Our suggestion: Play all the games now while conditions are pretty good. Wait for the winter, and you could get messy.
“We are always looking to add more realism to the game experience,” said Jeffrey Luhr, producer for NCAA Football 08, said in the release. “Adding real-time weather conditions from The Weather Channel interactive truly helps gamers feel ‘in the game.’ ”
Thanks, but whether or not I want my weather real on a video game, I'll wait until Jillian Barbarie makes it official.