October 2008 Archives

The Associated Press

NAMPA, Idaho -- A high school football player accused of punching his coach and leaving him with broken bones in the face has been charged with felony aggravated battery.

Kipton Ramos, 18, who was arrested Thursday night, did not make a plea when he appeared in District Court on Friday, and is being held in the Canyon County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Officials said Scott Wooldridge, coach of the Nampa High Bulldogs, tried to break up a fight between Ramos and a player from Emmett High School at the end of Thursday's game. A school district spokeswoman told the Idaho Press-Tribune that Ramos punched Wooldridge as the coach tried to restrain him.

Wooldridge was treated and released from a hospital Thursday night. Police say Woolridge was punched more than once and had a broken nose and broken bones around his right eye socket.

According to witnesses, players piled on each other after Emmett tried an onside kick as the clock ran out in Nampa's 28-16 victory. A Nampa player standing on the field but not involved in the play was hit in the back by an Emmett player, who was not penalized.

Nampa players who saw it reacted.

Ramos, a running back and defensive end, had been penalized by an official for unsportsmanlike conduct before Wooldridge intervened, said John Billetz, executive director of the Idaho High School Activities Association. The penalty means Ramos was ejected and must also miss the team's next game.

A spokesman said Ramos has been kicked off the team and suspended from school for five days. The Bulldogs, runner-up in the 4A state playoffs last season, begin postseason play next week.

It was a productive week at the Media Learning Center, even with some issues that we didn't even care to tackle because of the fact, well, who really cares?

We feel smarter, and it's not at the expense of someone else's blunder. OK, Danyelle? Why jump all over here, when TNT's Charles Barkley said something even more ridiculous, about Isiah Thomas. (linked here).

For now, we'll review what we know about the media from the last seven days:

== As context to the column on Petros Papadakis (linked here), we have his schedule of work this week (linked here), then a buttload of more photos from his appearance on the "Best Damn Sports Show Period" tonight on FSN West (linked here) that's sure to scare the living Hollywood Halloween out of you.

== L.A.'s NFL Week 9 TV guide: A Charger- and Raider-free viewing zone, so sleep away the afternoon until New England-Indy shows up on Channel 4 (linked here).

== L.A.'s college football Week 10 TV guide: Don't mess with Texas. Or Texas Tech. Don't you just Lubbock? (linked here).

== What does Fox do to improve its World Series ratings, which hit an all-time low? Reinvent the wheel of misfortune (linked here) by going old-school (beyond what McCarver may even think).

== By the way, Fox's spin on Game 4 1/2 of the World Series: Appreciate what you just witnessed -- it was historic! (like watching a storm wipe out a village) (linked here). Also, everyone loves to blame Fox for the mess of the '08 World Series in total, but is it fair (linked here).

== A lot of folks (relatively) watched the Breeders' Cup (linked here).

== Slamball makes a network run -- actually, one time, Sunday, 3 p.m., Channel 2 (linked here).

== More detail than anyone should have to know about why ESPN planned a "Monday Night Football" game in Washington DC on the night before the national elections (linked here).

== Why if Chris Berman happens to refer to Obama as "Osama," it wouldn't be the first time an ESPN guy did it this week (linked here).

== On who has put Kobe Bryant on the cover of their magazines, and why some seem more artworthy than others (linked here).

== ESPN's X Games finally gives equal pay to those who don't have added schnozzle on their snowboard (linked here).

== NFL broadcasters have started to whine to Roger Goodell (linked here).

== Did you get the free taco that was promised to you from watching the World Series (linked here).

== If you find yourself Googling Doris Burke more often these days, it's not only legal, but you aren't alone (linked here).

== You heard about these senators still harping about the NFL and its' NFL Network airing games (linked here).

== If we ever hear Trevor Denman (left) utter the phrase "Booyah" during a horse race, we'll never watch the Sport of Kings, Queens and Deadbeats again (linked here).

== Does exposure on TV help you get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and does that help you on your resume when searching for a new job (i.e., Joe Theismann) (linked here).

==FSN's college hoops package doesn't start until later this month, but we have the schedule (and some dandy shots of USC and UCLA cheerleaders of the court) (linked here).

== The new element of NBA TV: You pick the Tuesday game (linked here). The followup: Boston-Houston won, with more than 60 percent of the vote, and will air on Election night.

== And other news of note (linked here).

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and ESPN analyst Steve Young and his wife are publicly opposing a state ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in California.

Steve and Barbara Young have posted yard signs in front of their Palo Alto home urging a no vote on Proposition 8. Barbara Young has also donated about $50,000 to defeat the measure.

Young, a prominent Mormon, has broken with his church on the issue. The Mormon Church has donated much money to the "Yes on 8" campaign.

Young isn't the current or former athlete to fight Prop 8. According to campaign records, Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent has donated $15,000 to the campaign to ban gay marriage.

Don Doane, 62, bowled a perfect 300 game, his first in 45 years of enjoying the sport at the facility in Ravenna, Mich., on Oct. 16.

Then he high-fived a teammate. And died.

A medical examiner said a heart attack was the cause of death.

Bowling lane owner Jim Nutt said: " At first we thought he just fainted."

Teammate Todd Place: "He threw his 300 game with all of his friends, gave each other high-fives and it's like the story ended. He died with a smile on his face."

Read more at this link.

The story, and video, of Will Ferrell's appearance at USC football practice Thursday dressed as "Captain Compete" -- a spoof of the Pete Carroll mantra about needing to compete so you can "win forever" -- and then "rescuing" a video guy who fell off a crane platform, and another person who happened to catch fire:

http://www.petecarroll.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/407897/pid/400025

Associated Press/Eric Risberg

Course marshal Ed Schmitz of Novato dons a Halloween costume while watchig play on the second green of Sonoma Golf Club during the second round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship golf tournament in Sonoma today.

The 2008 edition of the Best American Sports Writing has been out a few weeks, in paperback at most bookstores and online (linked here), edited by Bill Nack.

Buy it for $14, or pick it up in the store to review some of the better scribing you may have missed during 2007 (that's how it works) and if you have ideas for anything you've seen in 2008, you've got a couple of months to submit it to the series editor, Glenn Stout ... it's all explained in the book.

One of the stories noticed for its quality content in this book comes from L.A. Times columnist T.J. Simers, a piece he did in January (now nearly two years ago) entitled "Family Carries On After Tragic Day" (linked here).

Among the "notable" stories of '07 that didn't make the top 25:

"Old Mike, New Christine," L.A. Times, April 26, by Christine Daniels.

The numbers are in from the ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 coverage of last weekend's Breeders' Cup from Santa Anita and the crunchers have proclaimed: 19.7 million viewers, up 62 percent from last year (12.3 million), which is a household rating of 0.7 for nine hours on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24-25. Last year's rating: 0.6.

For Los Angeles, it was a 0.8 mark on the ESPN coverage (of five races Saturday after 12:30 p.m., including the Classic). It didn't make it into the top 5, led by Louisville at 3.0.
L.A. did a 1.9 for the ABC coverage (four races, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) and was the third-best market, behind Las Vegas (2.1) and Oklahoma City (2.0).

And the customary press-release quotes of praise from all involved:

=="With the expanded two-day format and the addition of ABC, we achieved one of this year's main objectives -- to showcase the World Championships to a significantly larger audience," said Greg Avioli, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. "We thank our partners at ESPN for a tremendous production and outstanding promotion leading up to the event."

=="These 'poll' numbers mean The Breeders' Cup on ESPN and ABC is the big winner in 2008, "said Len DeLuca, Senior Vice president of programming and acquisitions, ESPN. "We'll continue to work with Greg Avioli's team to grow horse racing's biggest two days."

John McCoy/Daily News Staff Photographer

Petros Papadakis' appearance tonight on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period" won't be until midway through the hour-long presentation, and doesn't hit the L.A. TV market until 12:30 a.m. (early Saturday morning). But it's still in prime time for any Halloween party gathering and worth seeking out.

The former USC fullback will be outfitted quite differently than what you may have seen him on "Jim Rome Is Burning" (today, ESPN, at 1:30 p.m.), the "BCS Breakdown" show (FSN West, today at 6 p.m.), the "BCS Ratings Show" (Sunday, FSN West, 8 p.m), the "Lexus Gauntlet" show (Monday, FSN Prime Ticket, 9 p.m.) or "The Challenge" with Fred Roggin (Sunday, 8 p.m., KNBC Channel 4).

How he missed an opportunity to be on "Gary, Unmarried" defies explanation. With or without the pearl necklace.

Before he took the stage Wednesday at the Fox Studio in Century City to tape his segment with Chris Rose (as Bret Michaels, above), Papadakis went through some proper primping for his role (as captured by Daily News staff photographer John McCoy):

John McCoy/Daily News Staff Photographer

You can go to today's media column (linked here), then come back and catch up on more notes and things that were left out in the wake of Petros Papadakis' whirlwind, wigged-out workweek ... that's what we'd subscribe to.

-- More photos are coming, by the way. The one above ran with today's story: That's (believe it or not) Michael Strahan (dressed as Terry Bradshaw, which is sure to make its way to the "NFL on Fox" studio show this Sunday), Chris Rose (as Bret Michaels), Eddie George (as King Tut), Papadakis (take a guess) and -- the wildcard -- Eric Byrnes, the Arizona D'backs outfielder, as The Joker. Not pictured, for some reason: John Salley (who tried to pull off Chef from "South Park" but really looked like a skinny ex-NBA player with a white chefs outfit on) and Charissa Thompson (as ... we're not sure... she had a green fairy outfit on ... you'll have to watch tonight's episode of the "Best Damn Sports Show Period," at 12:30 a.m. early Saturday, to figure it all out).

The sport of trampolines and jumping out of one's shoes, created at the turn of the century by Mason Gordon in cahoots with Mike Tollin's Toluca Lake-based production company, has had a nice run on the Versus network as a Sunday programming staple.

It'll get a major blast on CBS (Sunday, Channel 2, 3 p.m.) during NFL programming, so at least TiVo it.

(It's already seen some major TV exposure: The CW series, "One Tree Hill," produced by Tollin-Robins, has used a Slamball story arch in five eposides, including one coming up Monday. Coincidence? Of course not. Also you may remember seeing it on CBS' "King of Queens" before).

And there's another excuse to run some video of it, straight off the Slamball web site (www.slamball.net).

We did a big media story about the sport in 2002 when it was first becoming a TV show, first on TNN (former The Nashville Network, then Spike TV), and some local kids were some of the first Slamball participants. Last summer, they held an actual eight-team league, taped it all at Universal Studios, then parceled it out, leading to today's final.

More on the background of the TV side in today's USA Today (linked here) after the part where Chris Berman stuff where he puffs his chest out about given the assignment to interview Obama and McCain on Monday.

We'll get far more indepth about the future of this human video game in a Sunday column -- it's heading to China, for example, and looks to find a lot of growth overseas as it continues to grow organically in this country. So give us a little hangtime to catch up.

The obituary for the 2008 World Series must include, in the lead paragraph, that it was the least-watched crowning of baseball's champions since Neilsen began its attempt to measure TV viewing audiences 40 years ago. The 8.4 national rating and 14 share erases the 10.1/17 brought on by the dubious the St. Louis-Detroit Series two years ago, and this is the first without a double-digit rating ever.

Not that anyone residing in Philadelphia, which registered a 51.8 rating and ridiculous 69 share, will shed a tear over that. (Or in Tampa-St. Pete, where it was 32.4/45).

In lieu of flowers, we suggest lobbying hard to Fox and the MLB to face facts: Frigid night games, especially those weather-delayed, aren't going away in October (or November), so, with the ratings bar already as low as it can get, go old-school.

Bring back day games.

Factor 1: People are awake in the day. They'll find a way to watch even if they happen to be at work. They've become accustomed to the practice from the NCAA basketball tournament.

Factor 2: People, especially kids, are asleep at night. Many hit the sack by 10 p.m., when Game 3 finally started in the East, or the time before it ended in the West.

Factor 3: The perception that the MLB has sold its soul to TV has become reality in the minds of the viewers. Change the business model. Accept fewer hundreds of millions of dollars for the TV rights fees, with the understanding that day World Series games are part of the new strategy. If ultimately the budget-stretched fans finance the advertisers who support the prime-time TV coverage, this circles back to the fans making a stance against such spending on their behalf.

Don't wait until Congress conducts another bogus hearing on the state of baseball to make these adjustments. Those hearings will likely be televised. And the fans will watch. No matter what time they're aired.

Between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1, Petros Papadakis (Wikipedia link here) may get about six hours of sleep. Total. With some luck.

And it's by far his favorite time of year.

College football intersects the five-day-a-week drive-time sports-talk show he does from 4 to 7 p.m. with Matt "Money" Smith on KLAC-AM (570) with a collision that could kill a lesser man, woman or Warren Sapp.

We picked this week to corral him, in a car as he was barreling up the 405 having just left the 20th Century Fox Studios in Century City and was trying to get to the start of the radio show from the Clear Channel studios in Burbank, to figure out why he puts himself through such a hellish work schedule. That'll be the topic of Friday's media column.

On top of everything else this week, he's appearing on "Jim Rome Is Burning" on ESPN (taped in Orange County). And there's absolutely no added stress by the fact he and his fiance, Dayna, are trying to schedule a wedding for this June and get her up to speed with the Greek Orthodox way of life. It probably includes mandatory waiting of tables at the Taverna on weekends, but that's the package deal.

Here's a rundown of his week:

Really, aside from those interviews that Stuart Scott and Bob Ley did with Barack Obama and John McCain, repectively and respectfully, earlier this year, they've tried their hardest to stay out of influencing who'll be the newbie in the White House come January.

And the fact they've picked a Washington Redskins home game to cover on the Monday before the biggest presidental election in decades was sheer coincidence.

Two points to ponder, provided by the crack ESPN PR crew (mostly Bill Hofheimer):

==Steve Hirdt of Elias Sports Bureau and a longtime member of the "Monday Night Football" production crew introduced the "Redskins Rule" during the Titans-Redskins MNF game on ABC Sports on October 30, 2000.
The Rule has remarkably predicted the results of U.S. presidential election -- 17 times in the 17 elections since the Redskins played their first game in DC in 1937 (having moved from Boston). Nothing else out there is as perfect.
The Rule states: If the Redskins win their last home game prior to a U.S. presidential election, then the party that won the popular vote in the previous election will win the White House in the upcoming election. Conversly, if the Redskins lose their last home game before the election, the party that lost the popular vote in the previous election will win the White House.
Obama is then pulling for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win Monday. McCain has become a Redskins fan.

==In the summer of 2004, the Illinois senate race was up in the air.
The Republicans searched for a candidate to face a then-unknown Democrat state senator named Barack Obama. Legendary Chicago Bears coach and current ESPN NFL analyst Mike Ditka was the choice of the Illinois Republicans. Ditka seriously considered the offer. Ultimately decided to remain a football analyst.
On Sunday's "NFL Countdown" (8 to 10 a.m.), reporter Greg Garber will explore what if Ditka ran against Obama in 2004? How would history be different? Could 2008 could have ended up the crowning moment for.....President Ditka.

UPDATE THURSDAY AM:

This just in from ESPN:
==Chris Berman will do a one-on-one interview with both Obama and McCain on Monday that will air at halftime.
They'll do the interviews on tape, "pending last-minute schedule changes, via satellite" with Berman in Bristol, Conn. They'll air at about 7:15 p.m.
==Also, ESPN says its networks on Tuesday nigth will alter the "bottom line" scroll with updated election results as reported by ABC News. So next to "NBA" or "NHL," look for a trivialized logo that says "ELECTION" to give you the final scoreboard on Obama vs. McCain.

Entrance into the Canton, Ohio, shrine of the eternals -- pro football's Hall of Fame -- may look good on the TV resume when a network has to decide who to keep and who to let go each year.
Emmitt Smith, step aside. You're skewing this argument.
Today, the list of the 133 players, coaches and contributors who made the preliminary cut for the Class of 2009 came out (linked here) -- it'll be cut down to 25 candidates (announced later this month) and then down to 15 finalists.
Those that jump out from a media side of things, whose career behind the mike probably hasn't hurt their credibility and visibility in the eyes of those mysterious voters:

==Randy Cross, the former Crespi High and UCLA center who starred with the San Francisco 49ers and now works at CBS. And look at his NFL rookie card -- always ready to talk.

==Cris Carter, the former Minnesota Vikings star now with ESPN's NFL Countdown after a run at HBO's Inside the NFL.

==Todd Christensen, the former Raiders tight end working for the MTN channel on Mountain West college football, after a run at ESPN.

==Boomer Esiason, the former Bengals and Jets QB who's in CBS' studio (with Hall of Famer Dan Marino) and also a former ABC "Monday Night Football" analyst who still does games for Westwood One.

==Tom Jackson, the former Denver Broncos linebacker well
entrenched in ESPN's NFL programming studio shows.

==Jimmy Johnson, for what he did as coach of the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, part of the Fox NFL studio set that already has Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long.

==Ed and Steve Sabol, founders of NFL Films -- why they're not in already is ridiculous.

==Shannon Sharpe, former Broncos and Ravens tight end, part of the CBS NFL studio crew.

==Phil Simms, former New York Giants quarterback, and main game analyst for CBS.

==Steve Tasker, former Buffalo Bills receiver, who works CBS' regional NFL games.

==Joe Theismann, former Washington Redskins QB, who works for .... no one, really, since ESPN let him go from the "MNF" crew. Maybe it's good he's laying low right now.

We know her name is Doris, rare for anyone walking the earth these days.
Someone made a Wikipedia page for her (linked here) that notes she was born on ... that's just impolite ... attended Providence ... A former all-Big East basketball player who blew out her knee in 1987 and stayed on as an assistant coach ... her husband is the Rhode Island athletic department.

And because she has no baby issues, she'll replace Michele Tafoya as a sideline reporter on the NBA games show on ABC this season.

Michele said the workload of the NBA, along with the NFL and the weekly pops on ESPN Radio, gave her little time for her family in Minnesota. So she's backing away.

Burke, meanwhile, is only adding to her workload. She'll also continue doing games for some ESPN NBA telecasts. She'll also keep doing analysis for some ESPN men's college games. And the WNBA. And the women's basketball stuff. ...

When did she become the new Anne Meyers?

We barely have room in our cerebral cortext for the content of baseball, football, hockey and pro rodeo. Throw in basketball, it's circular overload.

Especially the colleges, the one sports where it seems not only every single game is televised by someone, but every school seems to have a team. Three-hundred plus, right? That would mean there's about ... 3,600 cheerleaders across the D-I landscape? Conservatively...

We can't begin to decipher the latest schedule released by FSN of its college basketball bombardment, so we'll simply cut and paste below and allow you to sift through it.

Although we can pick out:

Sunday, Jan. 11, 7:30 p.m., USC vs. UCLA. at the Galen Center
The rematch on Weds., Feb. 12 at UCLA at 7:30 p.m. is scheduled for only a FSN Prime Ticket telecast.

Remember when this contest last year was the really hot ticket? Something about those Love and Mayo kids.

The ball is up .... and we haven't changed a delicious word of the press release so you'll have some understanding of what we have to do on our end before it filters out to everyone else with a keen interest in this kind of thing:

NBA.com has put in a new mechanism into place for drawing more fans to its NBA TV coverage of games each Tuesday night -- let the viewers investing their time in the game pick which one they'll see.

It makes far too much sense.

The promotion was mentioned on today's TNT coverage of the Boston-Cleveland opener, sending folks to the NBA "Fan Night" website (linked here) and vote now for a game that will air on Election Night, Tues., Nov. 4, at 4:30 p.m.:

==Boston at Houston (which some think is a preview to the NBA Finals)
==Phoenix at New Jersey
==Dallas at San Antonio

Voting so far has Boston-Houston with a commanding lead. Voting goes through Wednesday and the winner is announced Wednesday night on NBA TV. To watch the game, of course, you need the channel, which is run by Turner Sports.

The start of the NBA season can be gauged on how magazines try to use Kobe Bryant to sell their wares.

(Or, even teammed up with A-Rod, Michael Phelps and Tony Hawk to sell a video guitar game that makes everyone an instant hero).

We found easily three top publications -- regular ones, not special NBA preview guides -- that have Kobe in a different light heading into tonight's TNT coverage (exclusive) of the Lakers' home opener against Portland (7:30 p.m., unless the Celtics' game ahead of it runs long).

1. Slam: Kobe As Political Pop Art

This dynamic, bold cover easily catches the eye with the artwork of Stephen Goggi -- not just of Kobe, but also of Greg Oden, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Kevin Garnett (all linked here).
According to the note in the December, 2008 issue (yes, it's only October when it came out), executive editor Lang Whitaker wanted a spin off from the Barack Obama campaign poster "as our inspiration" for a cover. Those "Hope" ads that are posted guerilla style all over the place are very inspiring -- and extremely hard to find as well. Art director Goggi created the five as collectable covers, with the help of creative director Melissa Brennan. Whitaker notes that Slam subscribers have been mailed the Kobe cover, while newsstands across the country have the other of regional interest. Those interested in getting all five can find information on the magazine website (linked here).
But let's give credit where it's due.
Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey created the "Hope" Obama poster, and then was commissioned by Upper Deck to do a Kobe version (which we blogged about back in July, linked here).

I wish they all could be California teams.
But they aren't.
San Diego has a bye this week after its smashing success in England, and Oakland is playing host to Atlanta, which gives it to the Fox people to put on your TV this weekend, but that network is far too enamored with the Cowboys playing at the Giants.
So every game you watch this weekend on "regular" TV will be with an East Coast kickoffs.
(OK, sorry, but Tennessee is Central time, only two hours head).
Still, how regional is that to your interest?
The Titans must be special, having not lost a game so far. Or did they lose yet? We watched the World Series rain delay last night and paid no attention to the football thing, even after Joe Buck came on and said the game had been suspended.
We wanted that re-run of "Malcolm in the Middle" to resume as fast as possible.

SUNDAY:

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: New York Jets at Buffalo (with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms), as CBS skips over Jacksonville-Cincinnati, Baltimore-Cleveland and Houston-Minnesota.

== 10 a.m., Channel 11: Green Bay at Tennessee (with Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa). Fox also has a warmed-over Detroit-Chicago, Tampa Bay-Kansas City and Arizona-St. Louis that it has decided to pass over, with your approval.

== 1 p.m., Channel 11: Dallas at N.Y. Giants (with, as of today, Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver on the call). If the World Series runs into November, Buck will probably stay with it -- probably? as if that's an option? -- and Fox would have to find someone else to step in ... maybe Pat Summerall? Fox's plan is to finish Game 5 on Wednesday, the pick up potential Games 6 and 7 on Thursday and Friday. As for the NFL, Fox also has Atlanta-Oakland and Philadelphia-Seattle in this window. CBS could have decided on Miami-Denver here as its only game in L.A. this weekend, but it passed.

== 5:15 p.m., Channel 4: New England at Indianapolis (with Al Michaels, a rested John Madden and Andrea Kremer).

MONDAY:

== 5:30 p.m., ESPN: Pittsburgh at Washington (with Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser and ... that Jaworski lad)

Bye weeks: Carolina, New Orleans, San Diego and San Francisco.

COMING UP IN WEEK 10: THURSDAY, NOV. 6:
== 5 p.m., NFL Network: Denver at Cleveland (with Bob Papa and Cris Collinsworth)

So we're all prone to boners. Or, mistakes, if you will.

Like the guy who found this crumbled $20 in his pocket and made a scene about it.

There's a new episode of the "Sarah Silverman Show" on Comedy Central, where she thinks she sees Osama Bin Laden walking down the street and runs over him with her car. And she does it a second time when she finds out the first really wasn't him. And she chases another down on her bike when she finds out the first two weren't really him...

Wait, that's a comedy show. Scripted. Intentional humor.

Oh, stop. You're killing me.

Today, it was about 9:20 a.m. this morning, when Dan Davis, aka "The Duke," did his update on ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd show. He closed with repeating a story he reported on earlier -- that Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga was trying to expediate the sale of the team so he could avoid capital-gains taxes if Barack Obama is elected president (story linked here).

Davis said that he made a mistake in pronouncing Obama's name, "it was unintentional and I apologize."

An ESPN spokesman later confirmed that Davis said "Osama" instead of "Obama."

Davis isn't the first and probably won't be the last. But at least it was caught, dealt with and let go. Or, there will be some who won't let it go.

Like the story about the absentee ballots in New York that were actually printed with the name "Osama" instead of "Obama" (linked here).
It led to Conan O'Brien making the joke: "Today they apologized and printed new ballots that say 'Barack Hussein Osama.'"

As long as they're sorry and fixed it ,we're good.

This is the latest ratings release from Fox Sports, without any editing:

Baseball history was made last night when severe weather conditions in Philadelphia forced World Series Game 5 to be suspended. It is the first time a World Series game has been suspended in-progress, forcing it to be concluded on a different day. Game 5 is scheduled to resume Wednesday night at 8:30 PM ET with the Phillies coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied 2-2.

FOX earned an 8.2/12 household rating/share (13.2 million viewers) last night for the first five-and-a-half innings of Game 5. Comparisons to all previous World Series games are irrelevant due to the unprecedented suspension. When Game 5 is completed, Nielsen will issue a separate rating for the second portion of the game, and under Nielsen rules the two segments can not be officially combined into one rating.

Highlights

- Last night's pre-game show (4.1/7) and the completed portion of the game combined to average a 7.5/11 in prime time and a 3.7 among Adults 18-49. FOX ranked first for the night in prime among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 (3.1), in every significant male demo and second among households. Among both Households and Adults 18-49, last night rates as FOX's top Monday night in 23 weeks.

- The audience for Game 5 was growing as the evening progressed. It posted a 6.5/10 at 8:30 and a 6.7/10 at 9:00, surged to 8.8/13 at 9:30, 9.6/15 at 10:00. The final quarter-hour of the broadcast earned a 10.4/16 as the decision was made to halt the game.

- The last World Series Game 5 posted a 10.3/18 (16.3 million viewers) for the decisive game of the 2006 World Series between the Cardinals and the Tigers. To this point, the 2008 World Series has averaged an 8.1/14 (13.1 million), down -24% in rating compared to last year's 10.6/18 (17.1 million) for Boston's four-game sweep over Colorado. The '08 series is off 20% in rating and -17% in rating and audience, respectively compared to the five-game '06 World Series featuring the Cardinals and Tigers (10.1/17, 15.8 million).

- Philadelphia posted a stratospheric 45.2/60 last night for what could have been - and could still be - the decisive game of the Series. That 45.2/60 tops all games of the 2001 NBA Finals with the Sixers. Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg delivered a 28.1/40, a slight improvement over its Game 4 rating (27.5/41). Florida markets Orlando (12.2), West Palm Beach (12.0) and Ft. Myers (11.4) followed and other markets posting above average viewership for the first part of Game 5 include Minneapolis (11.0), Baltimore (10.0), Milwaukee (9.9) and Phoenix (9.5).

And the Los Angeles market on KTTV Channel 11: A 7.4 rating (from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m.), tied with that baseball bastion of Buffalo for No. 29 of the 56 metered markets. With 4 1/2 games in the books, L.A. has an 8.1 rating for the series, which ranks 23rd.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Stopping by Dodger Stadium this morning on some business, we couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to have a World Series game staged there right about now. The sun was out, it was a pleasant 70-plus degrees. No rain. No sleet. No gloom of the pending nightfall.

No Fox forcast needed by Jillian Whatshername. No Selig slush surfacing anytime soon.

Just a bunch of crew members dressing up the field and rearranging the outfield walls in preparation for a "All The Way" Mae Mordabito -- aka Madonna -- who'll be hitting to all fields during her concert on Nov. 6.

In sharp contract, all the way around, to the handwringing going on in Philadelphia right now, where the commissioner is trying to twist the rules of what makes a regulation game into a mini-series, and all the sports-talk show hosts this morning calling a "worst-case scenario" and a "complete nightmare."

Some are even blaming Fox for the whole quagmire.

It's an easy target, one taken frequently in mediaville a time or two.

By the time W. finishes clearing out some brush from the Crawford ranch on Saturday, he'll take off them Texas Highway Patrol glasses, set his 10-gallon hat down on the deer antler rack and settle in for another round of Texas football, BCS style.

Then, he'll turn his attention to when he has to clean out his West Wing gun closet, 'cause on Tuesday, a new White House tennant will be determined. But enough of that distraction.

The University of Texas has faced a ranked team in each of the last three weeks, and won, rising to No. 1 in the polls and in the BCS standings. Another ranked foe, Texas Tech, coming in at No. 7 in the BCS and vauling past USC in all of the human polls, could be the last regular-season test for them Longhorns.

USC fans will be watching that one after the Trojans veto another rival with a Washington agenda -- the 0-7 Huskies, who announced they've dumped their coach at the end of this season -- at the Coliseum in another FSN cable special. Before that, Florida faces Georgia in a game where the winner is likely to vault past USC in the BCS standings into the No. 5 spot.
UCLA has it easy: No BCS worries, and the week off:

THE LOCALS:

==3:30 p.m, FSN West: Washington at No. 5 USC (with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson).

After all those ESPN "SportsCenter" stories year after year publicizing how the men and women championships weren't paid the same at Wimbledon ... And the importance of Title X. ... And showing as many women's basketball games as the men (OK, that'll never happen).

Little did we know that the men and women winners at the X Games were equally inequitably compensated. Until it was revealed today to us by ...

ESPN.

"ESPN is proud to announce that the X Games and Winter X Games will feature equal prize money for both men and women in 2009," came the announcement out of the blue by John Skipper, network exec VP in charge of content (but not payroll).

"ESPN has been a leader in promoting and programming women's athletics, and this recent action sports prize purse increase is the latest example. This past summer saw the X Games feature women's motocross for the first time, and the upcoming Winter X Games will feature a host of female Olympic medalists from several different countries. Starting with Winter X Games 13 in January, 2009, men and women athletes at all X Games events will compete for equal cash awards."

That's the second revelation included in this announcement.

We always assumed every winner was paid in cases of Mountain Dew.

Holding the trend in that the city that has the highest Nielsen ratings also has won the game, Philadelphia stands one game away from capturing what otherwise could be the least-watched World Series in the history of TV land.

Through four games, the World Series has a total rating average of 8.0 nationally, down 25 percent from last season (10.6) and 21 percent down from 2006 (10.1). The lowest-rated Series of all-time was 2006 -- 10.1 -- meaning there has never been a World Series that has averaged in single digits.

Game 4 chugged in with a 9.3 rating and 15 share -- best so far, with 15 million viewers attached without an NFL game in competition. In Los Angeles, it drew a 9.4 mark. The top 10 markets Sunday included Seattle (13.4) -- the first Western regional city to break into the list, at No. 3; Charlotte and Orlando (13.2), West Palm Beach (13.0), Minneapolis (11.8), Milwaukee (11.6), Phoenix, Salt Lake City and St. Louis (11.4).

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

For tonight's game at Staples Center, against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, the Kings reintroduce their "All U Can Eat" value package -- a $27 seat that includes all the hot dogs, sodas, nachos, peanuts and popcorn you can eat. Last year, that seat sold for $36.
Above, the Pittsburgh Penguins' Eric Godard hands out pizza to students in line outside Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh in hopes of getting "student rush" tickets to an NHL game between his team and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. The Penguins took a block of 600 seats and offered them to area college and high school students for $20.
Welcome to the struggling financial economy, even for sports.
It leads us into this story:

By NANCY ARMOUR
The Associated Press

Buy their Slam Dunk Sampler ticket package, and the Indiana Pacers will throw in Kevin Garnett, LeBron James and Kevin Durant for free.

A few weeks ago, the St. Louis Blues told fans to name their own price for season tickets -- within reason, of course.

A family of four will be able to take in Oakland Athletics games for $50 on Fridays next season, meals included.

Even before the economic meltdown, leagues and individual teams alike had acknowledged that most fans can't spend several hundred dollars -- and some not even $100 -- to go to a game. Now with stocks plunging and a steady drumbeat of layoffs, bankruptcies and foreclosures, sales efforts such as variable pricing, pay-as-you-go plans, package deals and even mandated cheap seats are growing.

They're likely to only get more popular.

By JUDY LIN
The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO -- A bid by a former NBA All-Star to become mayor of California's capital city has drawn basketball celebrities to a town that is often overshadowed by the state politics that unfold here.

Kevin Johnson is campaigning on a pledge to raise the profile of his hometown after years of watching it get outshined by flashier cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. The contest pits him against a two-term incumbent who has taken a decidedly slower approach.

Because of the presidential race, a record number of voters is expected to cast ballots for either Mayor Heather Fargo or Johnson, a political novice who would be the capital's first black mayor.

"It's not a traditional mayor's race," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University in Sacramento. "It's a metaphor for what's going on in the other (national) races."

Both candidates are Democrats campaigning in a nonpartisan race.

Less than a week to find a sports-related Halloween costume.
Quick. Think.
No, don't think. React.
Scan the newspaper. Zip through the Internet.
Ask someone scary at the local supermarket who's buying up all the mini-Hershey bars he's just going to eat himself.
Key is finding a newsworthy subject to dress up and play nice. Pulling it off is the other half of the equation.

Snap!
Our top 10 suggestions for next weekend's party attire that don't squeezing into a tight sweater, grabbing a submarine sandwich and pretending to be Erin Andrews:

Kimbo Slice

Think Mr. T with an even bigger attitude. Have another friend dress up as some scrawny guy with pink hair, pin you into a corner of the room and beat you to a pulp within 14 seconds. Then get up and exclaim: "It's all good."

Pacman Jones

Sport a Cowboys No. 21 jersey, carry a bottle of (favorite adult beverage) and have a pile of disposable money to "make it rain" every now and then. A retro "Pac-Man" logo on the shoulder pads would be nice touch. So would a scuffle in the bathroom with a pal playing the part of a bodyguard to add more authenticity.

Ed Hochuli

Find a shirt from the Foot Locker. Wear fake, pumped-up biceps. Blow inadvertent whistles all night long.

Tom Brady

Back to the No. 12 Patriots jersey, a pair of crutches, a baby doll under one arm, a hot model on the other side. And a bunch of fantasy football owners crying nearby.

Michael Phelps

The more you don't have a washboard stomach, the better the spoof. Especially with the required Speedo. Hang a few gold medals around the neck. Bring a big goofy smile. With big goofy goggles. A large fin on your back. And flippers on your feet.

O.J. Simpson

Does this ever get old? Same old rubber mask from '94 that's been in the closet for awhile (or still selling on eBay.com). This time, put the new spin on it by carrying a plastic gun, carrying an arm full of sports memorabilia and having a bad attorney in tow.

Anything from a Will Ferrell movie

Costume stores actually still carry his Chazz Michaels Michaels frilly figure skating outfit from "Blades of Glory." Some also have his Flint Tropics basketball ensemble from "Semi Pro." No doubt, there's a full-on NASCAR jumpsuit with the Wonder bread logo as Ricky Bobby from "Talladega Nights." It's quick, simple, kinda lame, and good for dropping suggestive pick-up lines passed off as bad jokes.

Manny Ramirez

The Dodger Stadium-purchased do-rag-and-dred wig can be repurposed. A No. 99 jersey. Multi-colored mouthpiece. Spout anti-Red Sox phrases. Even more frightening - a friend hangs out with you dolled up as Scott Boras, with fake money coming out of ever part of his shirt and pants pockets.

Sarah Palin

Not the prim-and-proper Tina Fey version. The hockey mom, dropping the puck before an NHL game, tripping up the home-team's goalie on the carpet. Sporting a shotgun and sporadically firing it into the air. With a dead moose hanging over your shoulder. And arrive on a snowmobile. Maybe holding a copy of the DVD "Mystery, Alaska." For sure.

Al Davis

The Oakland Raiders crypt keeper. If you need this explained, you've missed the point. And that's most frightening.

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press Writer

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Global warming is having a greater effect than previously believed on a 120-mile speedskating marathon over frozen rivers and canals linking 11 towns in northern Holland.

A study published Friday by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency said the race is likely to be held only once every 18 years because of higher winter temperatures. Three years ago, it estimated the likelihood at once every 10 years.

Organizers insist on a minimum thickness of 6 inches of ice along virtually the entire route in the northern province of Friesland to ensure it is safe enough to carry thousands of skaters.

The rule means that races have always been rare. Known locally as the Elfstedentocht (translates to 11 cities course), it has only been held 15 times since the first official event in 1909.

Hopefully, you saw the story this week about Flo Bernstein, the 87-year-old woman who lives on Ridge Drive in the Mountaingate neighborhood of the Sepulveda pass.

She was evacuated early Thursday morning, just after 1 a.m., when she smelled smoke coming into her home. A fire broke out, bringing about 400 firefighters in to fight the blaze, that would grow to about 100 acres near the famed museum as well as close to Mount St. Mary's College campus, and would close the 405 Freeway for four hours.

Flo had time only to pull on a sweatsuit, grab some shoes and papers sitting on the table, and then do something crazy -- she packed four boxes of her son's baseball cards, which he gave her to keep safe. He'd been evacuated from his home in Porter Ranch after a fire last week broke out.

"I grabbed the cards this morning -- that's why I didn't get my glasses," she told the Los Angeles Times reporter.

The value of those cards? Who knows. Probably priceless.

Now the question: Would Flo have tried to save that collection if it had the rookie cards of Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel or Christina Ricci?

Off as the 49-1 longshot in today's Breeders' Cup Marathon at Santa Anita after opening at 30-1, Booyah actually had the lead for quite some time over 3-1 favorite Zappa before giving it up on the backstretch, fading on the turn, and ending up -- BOOYAH! -- last in the field of nine, far behind 25-1 Muhannak (won won it to pay $26.80).

Thank goodness.

Kenny Mayne, part of the ABC broadcast of the race, the first of today's Breeders' Cup slate, said he called colleague Stuart Scott to get a tip on the race and he said ... you can figure it out.

From Booyah's track record (linked here), it was a tough run to figure out. He's been a steady customer at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park (where he won an allowance race in July ) and Fairplex (a big $125,000 race win in his last jaunt). But going into the whole Breeders' Cup, the Daily Racing Form's early odds -- before the actual setting of the fields -- had the 4-year-old colt as the longest of all longshots -- 50-1.

Daily News horse racing writer Kevin Modesti told us before hand that Booyah's win at the L.A. County Fair was big, but that was a 1 1/8-mile race, and the Marathon is 1 1/2 miles, nor is Fairplex as an impressive place for a Breeders' Cup prep. His trainer, Jerry Fanning, 75, is a Southern California fixture whose career is dotted with upset wins -- Little Reb over Affirmed in the 1979 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita, Croeso over Copelan in the 1983 Florida Derby, Desert Wine over John Henry in the 1984 Hollywood Gold Cup.

Not this trip.

Did the horse get his name from Scott's cliche catch phrase? Was it from watching Jim Cramer on "Mad Money"? (see this link).

No matter. Booyah blew it. At last.

By MATTIAS KAREN
The Associated Press

LONDON -- Broadcasters are already seeing a drop in advertising revenue for NFL games because of the global economic crisis, league commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday.

At a conference on the globalization of sports held ahead of Sunday's NFL game in London, Goodell also reiterated that the league will face challenges in the current economic climate, but that the NFL is "incredibly strong" and should weather the downturn relatively unscathed.

However, he said network partners are already reporting that advertisers are pulling back, both on a local and national level.

"The sales market is different than it was even several weeks ago," Goodell said during a panel discussion with Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the English Premier League. "We see it primarily on a local level, which I think is through a large extent a reflection of what is happening in the automobile industry. But it has now in the recent weeks gone to the national level. It's had an impact. The fortunate thing
is that it hasn't had an impact on our viewership."

Goodell did not give any specific figures for the advertising drop, and was not available for media interviews after the discussion, which was moderated by CBS announcer Jim Nantz.

Goodell said he was confident that ad sales for the games would stabilize even in the
short term, adding that holding onto sponsors would be a bigger long-term problem for the league.

"That's something we are evaluating, whether there will be a long-term change in the way companies invest in sponsorships, and how they do that," he said. "And that could impact us well beyond 2009."

But even with all professional sports already feeling the squeeze of the credit crunch, Goodell was confident that the NFL's products should stay in high demand.

"It's hard to see that people are going to give up quality in a time like this," he said. "I think we are the ones who have the potential to come through it the strongest if we're
intelligent about it."

The NFL is staging its second game at Wembley on Sunday, when the New Orleans Saints face the San Diego Chargers. The game is a way for the NFL to continue its growth abroad. The NBA and NHL have also staged games in Europe over the last two years.

But with the Premier League already established as one of the most popular in the world, Scudamore said he didn't feel threatened that American sports would take away
revenue from football.

"I don't see really that we're competing," Scudamore said. "I think it's an awfully big pond out there that we all fish in."

And hopefully, you'll buy some of her clothing in the process.
The clothing that she's selling, still, to make ends meet.
The Major League Baseball professional stalker (Brad Penny's former fiance, Barry Zito's former squeeze, Carl Pavano ... girlfriend to be named later ... where do we stop?) has involved herself in a contest with NFL.com, tied into her line of women's apparel, but somehow, it also involves a winner meeting her at the Dec. 7 49ers-Jets game in San Francisco.
Details: (linked here).
No print-out cease and desist orders were attached. Although, the contest rules say it's an "opportunity" to meet her at the game. Maybe we pass on the game and just to go drinks at her hotel afterward.
OK with Tony Danza?

We're tied 1-1 going into Game 3 -- both in which participating city posts the biggest audience, and which team posts the greatest number of runs in that particular game.
The trend is quite spooky.

Nationally, Fox reports a somewhat dangerously disappointing 8.1 national rating and 13 share (12.8 million viewers) for a Game 2 on a Thursday night up against network competition that was taking away more viewers than Game 1's Wednesday.

That's also a tick away from the lowest-rated World Series game of all time -- 8.0 for Game 1 of the 2006 event.

Still, Fox had its best Thursday prime-time night since April 10. Maybe Los Lonely Boys, who did the national anthem, should have stuck around for a full-on concert.

"Now with the series tied at a game apiece, we're looking forward to interest building as the games continue and the drama unfolds," said Fox Sports executive producer Ed Goren.

Looking forward and praying are interchangable at this point. Fox needs a series going at least six games to have any impact on profits and ratings.

The 8.1/13 is down 27 percent from last year's Game 2 (Boston-Colorado, 11.1/18) and down 30 percent from 2006 Game 2 (St. Louis-Detroit, 11.6/18 which was on a Sunday with an NFL lead-in). The first two '08 games average an 8.7/14, down 19 percent to 2007 and down 11 percent to 2006.

After Tampa Bay/St. Pete and Philadelphia, the other Top 10 markets for Game 2:
Fort Myers, Fla., and Orlando, Fla. (each with 13.1/20), St. Louis (11.5/17), Charlotte, N.C. (10.3/15), Boston (10.1/16), Minneapolis (10.0/16), New York (9.8/15) and Milwaukee (9.7/15). Note: No major market West of the Ol' Mississippi in that group.

Los Angeles trickled in below the national average at 7.7, bringing its two-game total to 8.0, tied for 30th among the 56 metered markets with Salt Lake City, Hartford, Miami and Portland, Ore. And that was with Hart High grad James Shields (above) performing well for the Rays as their starting pitcher.

The series moves to Philly for Games 3, 4 and 5 on Saturday, Sunday and Monday night, the last night of which competes with an ESPN "Monday Night Football" game. At least it doesn't involve the Eagles or Bucs.

We may need Robert Shapiro to explain how this works, but the fact that someone stole a base in Game 1 of the World Series means Taco Bell will make good on a promise to give out a free taco to anyone who shows up at one of their places of business between 2 and 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

We, of course, won't try stopping at just one. But how do we achieve this improbablity?

According to the fine print in the rules posted on MLB.com (linked here):

Participating Taco Bell restaurant manager reserves the right to deny Free Taco to any person he/she reasonably believes has already received a Free Taco or has engaged in any other fraudulent activity.

We like the loop-hole sound of that...

Meanwhile, CNBC's Darren Rovell (linked here) has crunched the crunchy-taco numbers and determined that it could be as many as 2.75 million tacos given away nationwide in that four-hour window.

It is close to Halloween, and there is a chance we can find several costumes to wear for each visit ...

So, what if I bring my billy goat to get a free taco and am denied?

Read on for all the fine print (which we've actually posted in little, bitty type so that we can't be accused of ... using bigger type than intended):

We didn't learn much outside of today's media column (linked here), but what we did will stick with us forever.

Such as:

==Week 8 of the L.A. NFL TV schedule diverts to England, where David Beckham may actually be at this moment, playing football (linked here). And why listening to rumors can get you into trouble (linked here).

==Week 9 of the L.A. college football TV schedule diverts away from No. 1 Texas facing No. 6 Oklahoma State, which isn't cool if you're a USC fan trying to find out if there's another easy way to climb back into the BCS title race (linked here).

==This weekend's Breeders' Cup from Santa Anita may not have its first openly gay race horse (linked here), but the schedule is set (linked here).
And just for the heck of it: What is NBC showing on Saturday instead of the Breeders' Cup this year?
10-to-11 a.m.: Cartoons "Turbo Dogs" and "My Friend Rabbit"
11 a.m.: Knowing your Heritage: Hispanic College Quiz Show
11:30 p.m. Foreclosed Homes Auction in your area informercial
Noon: Houses for $300 informercial
12:30 p.m.: Paid programming
1-3 p.m.: Figure skating
3 p.m.: "Extra"
4 p.m.: "Access Hollywood"

==CBS needs a new MMA partner (linked here).

==Sometimes, baseball does draw more TV viewers than football (linked here).

==A sweet Obama-McCain Fox intro for its World Series (linked here), but not a sweet national rating for Game 1 (linked here)

==More background on Ken Rosenthal's impact on the Fox baseball coverage (linked here).

==Chris Berman is one busy dude this weekend (linked here).

==What Fox will do if there's a power outage during its World Series coverage (linked here).

==HBO's "Real Sports" includes prison rodeo in its jurisdiction (linked here).

==Your SI cover may say Kobe, but it really could have more (linked here).

==Why we tried again, but just can't listen to another USC football game on radio (linked here).

==And why the Onion Sports uncovered something we didn't know about Tropicana Field (linked here).

In addition to today's media column on Fox baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal and the disjointed Breeders' Cup coverage on ESPN2/ESPN and ABC this weekend (linked here), we've got it on good word that:

==TNT's Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins and Cheryl Miller will call the Lakers' season opener (exclusive to the cable channel) against Portland from Staples Center, Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. after the Cleveland-Boston contest (with Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, Reggie Miller and Craig Sager).
On Wednesday, ESPN's Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown will call the Lakers-Clippers contest from Staples Center at 7:30 p.m., following its network coverage of Phoenix-San Antonio, and repeat it at midnight. But since ESPN does not have exclusivity, KTLA-Channel 5 will also have it (from the Clippers' vantage point, since it is their season opener) and KCAL-Channel 9 carries it as a Lakers' road game. FSN Prime has a detached Lakers' live show at 6:30 p.m., leading into Ducks-Red Wings coverage.

==CBS hired Greg Anthony as its top NCAA basketball studio analyst starting in December. He replaces Clark Kellogg, who is replacing Billy Packer as the lead game analyst. Anthony, the former UNLV star, was on ESPN's NBA studio show since 2002.

After his Hall of Fame playing career at Purdue, and before he became established as a Hall of Fame coach at UCLA, John Wooden spent two seasons at Indiana State, guiding the Sycamores to a 44-15 record between 1946-48.

That, apparently, is worthy of Hall of Fame mention as well. Some 60 years later.

Thursday, the 98-year-old Wooden was one of six picked for induction into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. He'll be invited to the ceremony in March 2009.

Wooden, a native of Hall, Ind., was also the school's athletic director and baseball coach during his time at Indiana State.

He actually did achieve something major while he was there:

In 1947, Indiana State was invited to play in the NAIB Tournament, but Wooden refused, citing the organization's policy banning black players. Clarence Walker , an African American from East Chicago, Ind., was on the ISU squad.
After the NAIB changed its policy, Wooden took his team to the '48 final, losing to Louisville with Walker on the roster.

Wooden left to UCLA in 1948, spent 27 seasons in Westwood, posted 620 wins, 10 NCAA titles ... you know the rest. Except that the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer was also inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (1964), the Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame (1984), the Purdue Hall of Fame (1994) and the UCLA Hall of Fame (a charter member in 1984).

Don't be embarassed by admitting that, against all forces of nature, you're geeked up to heading out to the Coliseum on Friday night to watch No. 3 UCLA face No. 9 USC in a women's soccer match.

It's all about the rivalry, and a rematch of the '07 NCAA semifinals (which USC won and went on to take the title)? Sure, that should be enough incentive.

A 7 p.m. kickoff? It beats going to another overhyped high school football game.

The chance to see a girls kickball game in such a huge, vapid venue? OK, we'll bite.

The real the reason you'll break out $7 for an adult ticket, and another $8 for parking (does that add up right) is because you could be one of a (hopeful) 15,000 who watch this thing, which would break the NCAA record for a women's soccer game.

You realize what 15,000 will look like at the Coliseum? Yes, like an L.A. City high school football championship game. Maybe.

The current NCAA women's record of 14,410 was set ... we're not sure ... let's look it up ... 1999, the championship match between North Carolina and Notre Dame in San Jose. Wasn't there. Doesn't register.

Just gotta look at the big picture here. Be part of something much bigger than you or I individually. Or, hide in the bathroom and wait for next Saturday's USC-Washington football game.

In TV land, it doesn't matter so much that the Phillies outlasted the Rays 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series. Or even that the Backstreet Boys did a really cool version of the National Anthem before hand.

It's that Philadelphia predictably topped all Neilsen markets with a 35.7 rating and 53 share while Tampa Bay/St. Petersburgh, Fla., did a 31.9/49 for their markets.

That helped the overall rating of 9.2/15, which is 12 percent off from last year's World Series Game 1 of 10.5/18 between Boston and Colorado. It's 15 percent up from the 2006 Game 1 between St. Louis and Detroit (8.0/15).

Other cities who were in the Top 10 and were more apt to seeing Tampa Bay manager Joe Madden mouth the words "Bull----" to the umpires who wouldn't call a balk on Phillies pitcher Cole Hammels: Florida-friendly Orlando (14.4), Fort Myers (13.3) and West Palm Beach (12.7); Minneapolis (13.1); Milwaukee (12.5); St. Louis (11.1), plus New York and Charlotte, N.C. (both at 10.4).

Los Angeles did a rather lame 8.3, ranking about 30th out of the 56 metered markets. What else could have captivated the L.A. audience last night? "Knight Rider"? "Gary Unmarried"?

Fox's silver lining note: The Phillies winning Game 1 makes it more likely that the 2008 Fall Classic will extend beyond four games. Only once in the last 40 years has the visiting team won Game 1 and gone on to sweep the Series (the 1999 Yankees). Just reaching a fifth game will likely make this a more-watched World Series than last year.

This, of course, does not factor in the Tampa Bay variable, which by virtue of the Rays being in the World Series, everything else in the past is thrown out of kilter.

The words of John F. Kennedy, spoken by Barack Obama and John McCain, during Fox's World Series opening montage, which includes McCain quoting Herbert Hoover and Martin Luther King, while Obama also voices over quotes from Albert Spaulding and FDR.
Narrated by Michael Douglas, here's the clip to enjoy again, comparing how the country has endured some major problems -- some like the Great Depression, which can be compared to today's financial struggles:

You must be a big shot when a baseball team asks you to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Even if it's the Long Beach State Dirtbags.

FoxSports.net baseball writer Ken Rosenthal (read his stuff at this link), whose credentials as a scribe go back to the Baltimore Sun and The Sporting News, is that fellow who keeps popping up during Fox's baseball telecast with some kind of 20-second tidbit that adds to the storyline, advances a theme or brings context to a situation where his reporting experience has led him to some stuff others may not know about.

During Game 2 of the NLCS, Rosenthal had to practically introduce Dodgers pitcher James McDonald to the nation as he threw a few shutout innings, explaining why he was a highly-prized player in the organization that probably held up any trade it was trying to make with the Cleveland Indians for CC Sabathia.

During Game 3, Rosenthal came onto the screen with two outs in the first inning to report that "many Dodgers were upset (pitcher Chad) Billingsley failed to retaliate in Game 2" after Brett Myers threw a pitch behind the head of Manny Ramirez. It set the tone for a confrontation that eventually occured in the fourth inning between Dodger starter Hiroki Kuroda and the Phillies' Shane Victorino.

During the fourth inning of Game 5, Rosental also laid out the four major selling points that agent Scott Boras would use to sell Ramirez to teams who were interested in his services. Play-by-play man Joe Buck tied up that discussion by saying: "This is information you got from talking to ..."
"Scott Boras," said Rosenthal.

We caught up with Ken to grill him ... OK, converse with him ... about the benefits of having an "information" guy on the baseball telecast, especially during the playoffs. The men Rosenthal shares time with on the Fox telecast say they're more than glad he's around to add his information.

"He's one of the nicest and fair guys you'd ever want to meet," said Buck. "I know I don't have someone like Scott Boras on my speed dial, but he does. He talks to the GMs and thinks ahead and can forcast exactly what's going to happen with free agents. Whether we're in San Francico talking about Barry Bonds and steroids or during the National League Championship Series talking about Manny Ramirez' future, the more controversial topics you can bring up and add to a game telecast, it adds a lot of weight of what we're talking about by having him there.

"He's one of the most selfless people we have, giving Joe and me information, and he doesn't want credit for it," said analyst Tim McCarver.

We also have more on the Breeders' Cup coverage from Santa Anita, which is scattered among ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC over Friday and Saturday. Get your GPS out next to your remote control to follow along.

This, from a World Wide Leader press release today:

Major League Baseball's World Series week is usually one of the busiest of the year for Chris Berman and this year's "Fall Classic" is no exception. In addition to his usual NFL host duties on Sunday NFL Countdown, the Sunday night editions of SportsCenter, Monday Night Countdown and Monday Night Football halftime, Berman will first be in Tampa for Games #1 and #2 of the World Series where he will anchor ESPN's SportsCenter coverage. In addition, Berman traveled earlier this week to Buffalo for a one-on-one interview with Bills' quarterback Trent Edwards, who has guided Buffalo to a surprising 5-1 record and first place in the AFC East division standings. Berman's interview with Edwards will air during Sunday NFL Countdown at 11 a.m

Also, this from a New York Times' piece on behind the scenes at NFL Countdown that ran the other day (linked here):

Berman is the same on and off the air. He is big and boisterous, sensitive to criticism that he is too riotous and that his on-air approach needs updating. He is irked that he is not appreciated by critics the way he feels he is by fans. He says he has no plans to change.

But no one has yet to explain why he does that ultra annoying "WHOOOOOP!" when he's voicing over NFL highlights? Seriously, when Berman does that on my TV, my dog looks at the screen, cocks her head and seems to be saying: Is that guy OK?

Go back to that tragedy (in the words of Red Sox Nation) on Saturday night, when TBS blew a major fuse and wasn't able to bring the first 20 minutes of the ALCS Game 6 from Tampa.

"Two circuit breakers in our Atlanta transmission operations tripped, causing the master router and its backup -- which are necessary to transmit any incoming feed outbound -- to shut down," Turner Sports explained in a statement Saturday night. "This impacted our live feed from being distributed to any of the other networks in the Turner portfolio and caused the delay in our coverage."

Tell that to the folks crammed into the Cask N Flagon behind the Green Monster of Fenway Park.

"People were in a little uproar because they thought we didn't put the game on. They were just screaming at us to put it on and try all the other stations -- Fox, TNT," said restaurant manager Mike Fusco said. The bar didn't even have a radio to pipe in over the PA system -- that's not good -- so everyone had to watch "The Steve Harvey" re-run until power was restored.

For Fox's coverage of the World Series starting tonight, executive producer Ed Goren says he believes his network was ahead of the curve, and it goes back to the '94 Northridge earthquake.

"We buy an insurance policy with a facility in Houston, so that if something happens in L.A. with the main transmition, we can switch to Houston and get coverage within minutes," said Goren. "Yes, it's something you worry about and, yes, it can be a nightmare, and five minutes off the air can feel like a lifetime, but it's happened to others before and hopefully it doesn't happen to us.

"I think our situation is pretty unique. The Houston facility is the central location for all the (FSN) cable channels, so not all our money is in one place. I do remember from Day 1, in 1994, being based in L.A., at some point (Fox Sports chief David) Hill pointed out to me that, 'If we had the Northridge earthquake, what happens to our football (coverage)?' So we had that conversation way back when we began as a sports network in 1994."

The problem CBS had last Sunday with a power outage in Buffalo that delayed coverage of the Chargers-Bills wasn't the network's fault. But networks do carry backup generators to events like a World Series in case of that kind of problem -- just look at the 1989 San Francisco earthquake that knocked out power on ABC's coverage before the generator kicked in.

By RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press Religion Writer

Devil ... be gone!

For 10 years, they were a lousy team with a fiendish nickname: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Then the club exorcised the "Devil" from its name, and suddenly Tampa Bay is in the World Series.

Was it the hitting, the pitching, the coaching - or the hand of God?

"I told my wife before the season started, 'Whoever is in that organization made, to me, a very interesting decision,'" said Les Steckel, a former NFL coach and head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an evangelical ministry. "Six months later, look what happens."

On HBO's "Real Sports," episode No. 139 (10 p.m., with many repeats), one of the stories covered is Bernard Goldberg heading to the Angola State Prison Rodeo in Louisiana. It's 18,000 acres in the middle of nowhere. And those incarcerated participate in this rodeo that goes back to 1964 that's pretty insane.
Events such as "Convict Poker" -- four of them sit at a card table while a raging bull is let loose. The last prisoner to run, wins. And "Wild Cow Milking" -- teams of prisoners are against each other as they attempt to milk an angry cow. And "Pinball" -- prisoners stand inside hoola hoops while an angry bull tries to maul them. The prisoner who stays inside the hoop the longest is the winner. And the last event, "Guts & Glory" -- a $500 poker chip is tied to a bull's head. The first prisoner to remove the chip, gets to keep the money.
And spend it where?
Why isn't this on Spike TV?

Sports Illustrated's NBA preview cover for this week's issue can't decide on which player to focus on, so it picked six: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Elton Brand, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard.
Not in the order above.
Mix and match, and depending on where y'all live, you'll see Kobe on your local newsstand (considering that's probably where you even look for things to read these days).
It's a "special" SI double issue where it goes out on a limb to pick Boston winning the East, the Lakers winning the West and ... the Spurs winning it all?
Sorry to spoil the surprise.

The Royal Chargers of lower Los Angeles stopped over for a lackluster effort in Buffalo for its power-outage-afflicted contest -- the Bills' old "Electric Company" of Reggie McKenzie, Dave Foley, Mike Montler, Joe DeLamielleure and Donnie Green couldn't provide the emergency juice? -- before heading across the pond to be duped into playing face the New Orleans Ye Old Saints (without the injured Reggie Bush) in the annual NFL Game In Un-New England fiasco.
It's like Breakfast at Wimbledon -- a 10 a.m. start for a game that kicks off at 6 p.m. in London between two teams that would rather not have their week messed up with extra travel.
Too late. They're already landed in Wembley Stadium. And perhaps Beckham will be there to do something.

The rest of the L.A. schedule:

SUNDAY:

==10 a.m., Channel 2: San Diego vs. New Orleans in London (with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms). CBS will also be carrying (and it's good to know unless England's power is cut off) Oakland-Baltimore, Buffalo-Miami and Kansas City-N.Y. Jets.

==10 a.m., Channel 11: Tampa Bay at Dallas (with Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa, and quarterback Brad Johnson wearing old Bike elbow pads). Fox also has in its inventory: Arizona-Carolina, Washington-Detroit, St. Louis-New England and Atlanta-Philadelphia.

==1:15 p.m., Channel 11: N.Y. Giants at Pittsburgh (with Dick Stockton, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver). As opposed to Fox's Seattle-San Francisco and CBS' Cleveland-Jacksonville and Cincinnati-Houston. It all funnels into Fox's coverage of World Series Game 4 at Philadelphia.

==5:15 p.m., Channel 4: Nada. They still do "Football Night in America" studio show from 4 to 5 p.m., but then cut it off -- no game because of the embarassment it would cause Major League Baseball if a regular-season NFL game was watched by more folks. Instead, Channel 4 airs the "Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo" (which is worth at least putting on the TiVo), the network nightly news, the local news, a 2002 episode of "Monk" and the movie "The 40 Year Old Virgin" at 8 p.m.

MONDAY

==5:30 p.m., ESPN: Even though there's Game 5 of the World Series from Philly, the cable giant has decided to go ahead with Indianapolis at Tennessee (with Ron Jaworski ... we forget who else is there ... Mike Greenberg? Mike Tirico and Tony Franklin... no, Tony Kornheiser).

Bye weeks: Chicago, Denver, Green Bay, Minnesota and Tom Brady.

We hope know your Saturday morning wasn't planned around pulling up a saddle to view No. 1 Texas face No. 6 Oklahoma State.
Wasn't gonna happen anyway, cowpoke.
UCLA's game at Cal is locked into the Southern California market in the Saturday at 12:30 p.m. slot -- it's one of four regional games in that window -- so the Longhorns and Cowboys get pushed aside. Unless you're into buying the ESPN pay-per-view package. Or care to watch it free on the Internet at ESPN360.com.
Often, the game like that -- a big-time regional on ABC that's been kicked out of that slot for something more local interest -- would be the "mirror" game flopped onto the ESPN networks. But in this case, they say that ESPN2 has to show Michigan-Michigan State instead, and ESPN has ... the Breeders' Cup from 12:30 p.m. through the rest of the afternoon.
There's your City Slickers fix.

Meanwhile, the Trojans' contest at Arizona stands alone on the national FSN telecast. Again. Since it's at night, maybe USC quarterback Mark Sanchez won't need to wear the eyeblack stickers that give someone a birthday shoutout.

We'll use the new BCS rankings as our reference point now (since it combines the coaches' farcical ranking, the even more ridiculous Harris voters choices and then the completely comical computer consensus):

THE LOCALS:

==12:30 p.m., Channel 7: UCLA at Cal (with Terry Gannon and David Norrie)
==7:15 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket: No. 5 USC at Arizona (with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson). Trojans' Live show at 10:45 p.m.; game replayed at 11:15 p.m.

Neilsen's numbers spit out this AM:

Sunday night's Tampa Bay-Boston ALCS Game Seven on TBS: A 9.2 cable rating, translating to 13.4 million viewers. It's the most-viewed MLB game in cable history (beating ESPN's 10.6 million for a Cubs-Cardinals telecast in September '98, when Mark McGwire hit his 61st home run).

Sunday night's Tampa Bay-Seattle NFL game on NBC: A 6.3 rating. The lowest rated NFL prime-time game in broadcast TV history.

We now have restored faith in American sporting viewership prioritization.

His name: Ship's Captain.
And some think he's about to cross the wrong finish line.
Watch the video and discuss amongst yourselves:

First Openly Gay Racehorse To Compete Sunday

The writing on the wall seemed pretty evident recently, and Monday, the news came down that was kind of expected: The L.A.-based ProElite Inc. ran out of cash.
The story on SI.com (linked here) notes that through its partnership with Showtime and later CBS, which in 2008 agreed to broadcast four live EliteXC events in primetime, EliteXC gained a tremendous amount of visibility. The company, however, hemorrhaged tens of millions of dollars during its 22 months in operation.
So what happens next with the CBS MMA Saturday night brawls? No one's saying yet.

UPDATED Tuesday morning:
Among the postings that the Sports Business Daily found in reaction to this:
==Sherdog.com's Loretta Hunt reported a notice posted last night on graciefighter.com read: "We are confirming that EliteXC has folded." ProElite has "accrued $55 (million) deficit during its two years of operation," but discussions of the company's purchase "were said to have gone well and a deal looked imminent as of two weeks ago when EliteXC held its third installment" of "EliteXC Saturday Night Fights." But "negative press surrounding questionable conduct" before the October 4 Seth Petruzelli-Kimbo Slice main event, which included allegations that EliteXC promoters told Petruzelli how to fight Slice, has "overshadowed the ratings success.
==The Baltimore Sun's Mark Chalifoux: "It seems as if EXC really was as flimsy as Kimbo Slice's chin."
==SportingNews.com's Chris Littmann: "What an absolute, raging failure by CBS, too. ProElite was run by a bunch of dopes; that's pretty obvious. But what was CBS thinking getting into bed with them?"

We're heading out to Santa Anita to gather material for upcoming media coverage and other columns. Meanwhile, here's a rundown of what the nine-plus hours of TV will be for the 14-race event this week:

==Tuesday: TVG will televise the live draw for the Filly and mare Turf, Ladies Classic, the Turf and the Classic at 1 p.m. All 14 races will be drawn on this day in two separate announcements.

==Wednesday: Breeders' Cup Preview Show, 2 p.m., ESPN2

==Friday, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., ESPN2: Five races:
* Filly/Mare Sprint
*Juvenile Turf
*Juvenile Fillies
*Filly and Mare Turf
*Ladies' Classic (formerly the Distaff)

==Saturday, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Channel 7: Four races:
*Marathon
*Turf Sprint
*Dirt Mile
*Mile

==Saturday, 12:30 to 4 p.m., ESPN, Five races:
*Juvenile
*Juvenile Turf
*Sprint
*Turf
*Classic

==Saturday, 4 to 5 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket: Wrapup show

I had to run a bunch of errands on Saturday morning, leaving me with the lesser of two evils -- get updates on USC and UCLA games by KNX-AM (1070) radio, or listen to the actual home-team broadcasts.

Comparing Pete Arbogast head to head with Bob LaPeer ... even a USC fan had to eventually settle for the later if he was to be honest.

In what was the most time spent this season listening to Arbogast call USC's game at Washington State, I tried but could not come away other than having the feeling that he sounded so unjustifiably arrogant about the Trojans' performance.

His touchdown calls were barely indistinguishable from his inane asides about the movie he saw on the plane or spotting John Jackson on the sidelines with a suit because he "was a TV guy" for this game.

Arbogast's smugness in games like that is really unbecoming and insulting to any listener, perpetuating the cliche that all USC people are condesending to a fault. Or maybe, the more I think about it, that's what his limited filter has decided is the audience who he's talking to. He's one of "them" -- a USC die-hard whose birthright is a polarizing loutish behavior that just goes with the territory of having success.

I mean, it's 21-0, USC leading in the first quarter, and Arbogast is already saying, "Bring on the Wildcats," a reference to the Trojans' opponent in a week.

If only Paul McDonald could save the broadcast once and awhile. Believe it or not, the former QB does offer more than a laugh track to the ridiculous Arbogast comments, but you really have to listen hard for the pertinent analysis.

This doesn't even mention that on the post game show, Arbogast remarked, "Yeah, so it was another Trojan blowout," and failed to give the score.

Sorry to bore you, but some of us would just like a few facts mixed in.

You'd think he'd have learned from his "performance" that caused USC to lose to Oregon State just a couple of weeks ago (linked here).

Add to that the first paragraph from his blog posting today on WeAreSC.com:

Well, we came close to putting 70 up, but I imagine if SC had wanted to, it could have been 150. And, yes, that Washington State team would lose to some high school teams in Southern California. Never mind the size of the linemen; the skill guys would be the difference.

The bottom line: The guy has about as good a voice as you'd want for a football play-by-play man. But something is lost in his translation of his job description and his personal attitude. Things get so skewed up from a basic Broadcast 101 syllabus that it's a wonder how he got past doing College of Sequoa games.

Other than that, great broadcast. How don't you do.

Give me your thoughts.

Remember earlier in the week, back on Tuesday, when we wondered how the news of Tony Romo's injury would affect the local L.A. Fox affiliate's decision to air the Dallas-St. Louis game on Sunday? (linked here).
A that time, Fox send out a release with this TV lineup information on Wednesday:

Game 1: San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants (Dick Stockton, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver), going to 40 percent of the country, markets include: Baltimore, Boston, Columbus, Hartford, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Providence, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, West Palm Beach.

Game 2: Dallas Cowboys at St. Louis Rams (Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa), going to 20 percent of the country, markets include: Albuquerque, Austin, Cleveland, Dallas, Jacksonville, Memphis, Nashville, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tulsa.

(Game 3: New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers was going to 15 percent ... Game 4: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears going to 14 percent ... Game 5: Detroit Lions at Houston Texans going to 10 percent ... including San Diego.)_

Then there was word that Romo might play with that broken pinkie finger on his right hand. Nothing definite. Thursday, he practiced again, but nothing definite.
Fox couldn't stand to wait.
An update was emailed Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.:
Here's the new lineup:

Game 1: San Francisco-N.Y. Giants now going to 30 percent of the country, major markets include: Baltimore, Boston, Hartford, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Providence, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, West Palm Beach

Game 2: Dallas-St. Louis, now going to 29 percent of the country, major markets include: Albuquerque, Austin, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Nashville, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tulsa, Washington.

The other three games didn't change.

So now on a rumor that Romo may play, L.A. now gets the Dallas-St. Lous game instead, as well as Las Vegas, Columbus and Washington. That's a 10-percent swing.
Again, based on a rumor.

We thought we should have been after talking to Bob Costas on Thursday morning (linked here) about his feelings surrounding the "truthiness" of the new Ernie Davis bioflick, "The Express." Until we came across this piece by Ray Buck in the Fort Worth Star Telegram (linked here), where he now has the Texas angle on how facts were messed with, particularily about the 1960 Cotton Bowl when the University of Texas faced Syracuse.
Buck's piece includes:

For those who were Texas Longhorns 48 years ago, it's not easy to look up and find the foibles of the day wearing burnt orange, magnified on the big screen as only Hollywood can do.
Keep in mind that "The Express" is portrayed as "the extraordinary true story of Ernie Davis" and "the inspiring true story of an American hero" in most of the movie
trailers.
That's at the core of the debate.

This weekend's Bob Hope auction at the old Trader Vic's at the Beverly Hilton is something to see, if only you're looking and not so inclined to get into bidding matches with some who may have an eye on something they'd really like to add to their collections of sports memorabilia.
As we wrote earlier (linked here), about a third of the 600-plus items are sports related, many of those pertaining to his love of golf. Those novelty golf clubs we showed early are a perfect example of the kind of sports equipment a legendary comedian would have in his office.

But as a part-owner of the Los Angeles Rams during the 1940s and '50s, there are plenty of signed footballs up for bidding -- such as the one above, item No. 259, given to him by the 1975 team, with signatures from Merlin Olsen, Jack Youngblood and Ron Jaworski (who signed twice, for some reason). The ball is expected to fetch between $500 and $700.
Also Rams' related are a 1951 World Championship stadium blanket (No. 260), a 10K gold World Championship tie clip (No. 261), a framed citation of all the Rams' owners (including primary owner Dan Reeves, No. 257) and a 1951 Rams signed white Wilson football (No. 258), which has the scribbling of players like Norm Van Brocklin and Crazy Legs Hirsch. It is expected to get between $400 and $600.
"I remember every Sunday during the football season when the Rams were at home, we'd go to the games and drive up Exposition Blvd., turn into the Coliseum and Dad was able to get a pass so he'd park right up close," said Linda Hope, Bob's daughter who helped organize the auction, which benefits the family charity and will directly help war veterans. "We didn't have special luxury boxes then, just seats on the 50 yardline, about 30 rows up. Nothing fancy in those days."

Sports items such as that, numbered 120-323, are up for bidding in the second session Saturday starting at 2 p.m. An online catalogue is available at this link (linked here) and you can follow the auction with streaming video online (linked here to AuctionNetwork.com) as well as in person.

Others in that batch include:

No. 286: A novelty football helmet: The plaque with it reads: "To Ol' Ski Nose, April 2, 1963, from Students of Oklahoma State University." Yes, the extra-long face mask was to protect his famous breathing apparatus.

No. 238: A novelty baseball helmet: With a golf ball embedded in the left ear flap. Who knows where this must have been used.

No. 144: Novelty golf shoes: Wooden clogs with cleats, complete with the 19th hole flag and a couple of martini glasses from Holland's Wooden Shoe Factory. The other is a pair of hand-painted Hindu goddess designed with the inscription "Shanks For The Memories/Thailand, 1971."

On Sunday, items from lots 324-494 begin bidding at 10 a.m., and lots 495-680 start at 2 p.m. Included in that last lot of bidding are:

No. 542: Bob Hope's personal golf bag and clubs: Woods 1-6, Irons 3-9, with a brass head putter. It is expected to go from $4,000 to $6,000. With it could be some red and white patent leather golf shoes (No. 545) with the original box, size 10B.

Following up on today's media notes column (linked here) that involved the MLB playoffs, Barack Obama's clout in pushing back the start of World Series Game 6 (Fox, by the way, says the $1 mil they'll get for airing that half-hour infomercial is a wash, compared to all the ad time they'd have sold for a 20-minute pregame show) and John Madden parking the bus for a couple of weeks, we learned this week that:

==The L.A. college football TV schedule for Week 8 is really busy Saturday at about 1 p.m. (linked here).

==The L.A. NFL TV schedule for Week 7 won't include the Dallas Cowboys -- because they might lose again? To the Rams? (linked here).

==Fox's coverage of the NLCS had some dandy camera work (linked here)

==Citizens of Sylmar are now safe that TNT's Charles Barkley has come and gone (linked here).

==Someone's Top 15 sports blog sites includes ones we actually have on our list, on that pulldown menu from that giant gold star (linked here).

==A measure of how Kings fans were overwhelming frosty on the "Rinkside View" that FSN West offered ealier this week in a game against the Ducks -- mostly because it was used as the main feed instead of an alternative viewing option (go to this link at the Daily News Kings blog, and also read comments, linked here).

==Bob Costas stands behind his involvment, and the Hollywood dramatic license, taken by "The Express" (linked here).

==We lost an L.A. sportscasting legend when Gil Stratton passed away in Toluca Lake on Saturday (linked here). Also watch thetouching piece that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann did on Stratton (linked here).

Following up on today's media notes column (linked here), more notes that were just too ... unimportant? ... for the print edition:

==ESPNU has four hours of Midnight Madness coverage beginning at 6 p.m. tonight, whipping around from Georgetown, Kansas, Davidson, Gonzaga and Indiana (the later of which former UCLA coach Steve Lavin will be stationed).

==NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is back on Sirius XM Satellite Radio with a new season. His first episode Thursday (1 p.m.) from the NHL Store in New York had Whoopi Goldberg as a guest. Wup-he.

==Bill Walton, moving from the ABC NBA pregame show to the ESPN version, will be joined by former Dallas coach Avery Johnson. TNT says it will announce next week who'll be Magic Johnson's replacement on its NBA studio show.

==Since Fox controls the BCS bowl games, it gets to reveal the first BCS ranking, and will do so in the post-game show at about 1 p.m., after the Giants-49ers contest. Charles Davis and Barry Switzer will hang around to throw in their two cents.

==Tuesday's upcoming episode of HBO's "Real Sports" (10 p.m.) includes a piece where reporter Jon Frankel visits famed sports doctor James Andrews. The doctor has a story about how his willingness to be available to his patients at all hours does have its limitations.

Frankel: "Everybody in the sports world knows how to get in touch with you, 24/7."
Andrews: "Well, that's true. I mean, you've got to be able to talk to 'em. And when's the best time to talk to somebody? It's when they need you and when there's something going on."

Frankel: "Is it true that in January of 2006, shortly after suffering a severe heart attack, that you snuck your cell phone into your room?"
Andrews: "That was my security blanket. My wife was trying to take it away from me so I hid it under my pillow. As a matter of fact that's when I heard from Carson Palmer on Sunday afternoon. And I just had had that heart attack that morning he got his severe knee injury. They wanted to know could they send him down to Birmingham (ala.) for me to fix his knee. I was a little bit doped up so I said, 'Well, I probably can't do it this week. But, I can do it next week.' I was thinking I was probably infallible at that point. Superman or something."

To the benefit of Palmer's knee, Andrews didn't do the surgery.

==A Boomer said, Troy said spat that seems to be gaining steam has now made it into USA Today territory (linked here). Read it, then tell us you really have no interest in getting any farther than it's already come.

==Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward call Saturday's Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins light heavyweight bout at Atlantic City, N.Y. for HBO's pay per view (6 p.m., $49.95)

=="Black Magic," the acclaimed documentary on the injustice characterized by the Civil Rights movement as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities, comes out on a 2-disc DVD set from ESPN Home Entertainment on Tuesday, Oct. 28 ($19.95).

=="ESPN Ringside Muhammad Ali," a four-disc set with more than 10 hours of footage and 15 of Ali's fights, has been released ($34.95).

==For those who haven't been paying attention since our story on Warren Sapp juggling his duties between the NFL Network, Showtime's "Inside the NFL" and ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," the former defensive lineman is among the eight contestants still standing (no surprise), heading into the next week of elimination. He and partner Kym Johnson were the third-highest judged (by the judges) over the last two weeks. Olympic sprinter Maurice Green remains alive, but beach volleyballer Misty May-Treaner ruptured an Achilles a week ago and had to pull out. Brooke Burke remains the favorite among the fans and judges.

**AND THE CLOSING ARGUMENT:

=From today's Onion Sports (linked here):

Nation's Dads Find That Frank Caliendo Guy Pretty Funny

SHELTON, CT -- According to those sitting in the same room as their fathers during MLB postseason games on TBS, the nation's dads have been both impressed and amused by "Frank TV" promos in which comedian Frank Caliendo performs impersonations of politicians and celebrities.
"Let me tell you, he's got George W. Bush down pretty good," said local dad Gerry DiCenzo, 54, who smiled throughout a 30-second spot in which Caliendo sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" as Bush, Robert DeNiro, Dr. Phil, and John Madden.
DiCenzo emitted a contented chuckle upon the ad's conclusion.
"I like it when he does Seinfeld, and then he walks onto the same screen and does George at the same time. It's pretty clever."
Despite enjoying the commercials, the nation's dads said they have no plans to actually watch the full show once it begins airing on Oct. 21.

When we wrote last week (linked here, with a blog followup linked here) about how the fact fudging in the movie "The Express" about the life of former Syracuse star and 1961 Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis started to bother us to a point where we even suggested Hollywood create some kind of "Truth Committee" that puts a label on sports films to let the audience know just how much bending of information was done to someone's real story, we wondered if it was only us who was making a bigger stink about this.

At least one other astute media writer, Neil Best at New York's Newsday, added his thoughts (linked here) and backed up the notion that a dramatic license in Hollywood doesn't necessarily mean you can drive on the other side of the road without fear of injuring someone. Ask the West Virginia football fans.

It led us to finding NBC/HBO sportscaster Bob Costas, a graduate of the famed Syracuse communications department in the early 1970s who was asked by the producers to help in the promotion of the movie, for his take. Costas did a sit-down interview with another Syracuse star, Jim Brown, portrayed in the film as the person who helped recruit Davis, that aired before a recent NBC Notre Dame telecast. Costas also did voice-over work on radio spots for the movie.

Costas felt that while some liberties were taken, it was not much different than what scenes were altered in other films such as "Glory Road," on Don Haskins' 1966 Texas Western basketball team's run to the NCAA title with five African-American players and how they were treated during that time. The same with Ron Howard's portrayal of James Braddock in "Cinderella Man," in how Max Baer's character may have been done up almost cartoonish in order to get a dramatic effect across.

A Q-and-A with Costas from this morning hitting on some of our problems with "The Express":

Now that he's come and gone, we think without incident, we can tell you that Charles Barkley was in Sylmar on Wednesday.

Not to unwillingly visit the local department of corrections facility, asked to hammer a few boulders in the prison yard. He was, however, in a courtroom setting -- shooting a few new promos for the upcoming TNT NBA season. This, after he spent the weekend in the Palm Springs area with the network's coverage of the Phoenix-Denver outdoor exhibition game at the Indian Wells Tennis Center.

The premise for the new spots has Barkley testifying before Congress on a series of charges from statement he's made on the air. The four spots include Fred Thompson, the former Republican presidental candidate and actual D.C. statesman (a senator from Tennessee) who grills Barkley for comments he'd made on the air about NBA players.

Barkley was in Sylmar for seven hours doing the taping on the courtroom set. This, after being grilled by Larry King on his political stances for "Larry King Live" on CNN the night before from the show's L.A. studios.

The spots, directed by Scott Duncan (the brother of Spurs star Tim Duncan), will start airing the week of Oct. 27.

A TNT spokesperson says they're quite humorous, and are in the same, top-notch quality as promos shot in recent years featuring Jay Z and Jeremy Piven:

It was Oct. 16, 1968, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos won the gold and bronze medals in the 200 meters at the Mexico City Summer Olympics, then stood on the victory stand and ... you know the rest. (Or if you don't, go to this link).

ESPN "SportsCenter" has planned a special story about that moment during the 3 p.m. airing today. The segment will include Smith and Carlos' first trip back to Mexico City earlier this year.

Among the hundreds of items that once belonged in the Toluca Lake and Moorpark offices of Bob Hope, some of the most unusual golf clubs could be found propped up against the wall, or bookshelf, or desk chair.

And mostly, they were props.

At an auction Saturday and Sunday at the Beverly Hilton's old Trader Vic's on Wilshire Blvd., in L.A., about a third of the some 600-plus pieces of Hope's office that is open for public purchase is sports related, and much of that, from his golf bag.

"And there's probably a great story behind every one of them," said Darren Julien of Julien's Auction House.

The former host of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Springs amassed some of the craziest golf-related things a commedian could possibly own.

Take lot No. 149 above for example.

On the far left, it's a putter in the shape of a red block.
Then a putter with a concealed ligher.
Next to that, a putter with the head shaped like a foot.
Then a wind-powered "Gay Brewer Levelume" 2 iron.
The one next to that has an ash tray for a putting head.
The curved shaft "Tantrum Mashie" is one probably anyone could make themselves.
Finally, a putter with a J&B bottle on the end.

Julien expects this particular club collection to fetch between $500 to $1,000 when it goes up for bidding Saturday.

A former amateur boxer, part owner of the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Rams, and the only civilian inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame (linked here), Hope's death five years ago at the age of 100 left a trove of memories for his wife, Dolores, and four children to go through.

The auction coming up will benefit Hope's favorite charities that support war veterans and expects to easily raise a half-million dollars.

For more information on the auction, including an online catalogue to browse through, go to the Julien's website (linked here).

The auction will take place live on AuctionNetwork.com (linked here).

The Sports Business Journal (linked here) surveyed a bunch of us -- those who received a survey is all I can gather who "us" really entails -- and asked for a list of the "must-read sports destinations" on the Internet machine today.

There was no distinction on those who did or didn't include scantly clad women posing as lures. We admire that freedom of choice. Those who do such a thing are just catering to the lowest common denominator of blog readers, stooping to a level that no real journalist would need to do based on the faith that his subject matter is enough to hold anyone's attention. And then string sentences together that really don't make any sense, but at least wrap around the pictures nicely.

The voting turned out these 15 (in no particular order, except the order we decided because that's how they're on our pulldown under the giant gold star):

==Brooks Brooks Melchior's SportsByBrooks.com (linked here), if only for the pictures of the women he takes with his own digital camera (he calls himself a professional photographer first, a sports information provider second, an occasional sports-talk host third, a professional photographer fourth, fifth and sixth).

==Will Leitch (linked here). The former ringleader at Gawker media sports' Deadspin.com, (linked to his stuff here), now working at New York Magazine, plus WEEI.com and Sporting News. And Buzz Bissinger's buddy.

==Extra Mustard at SI.com (linked here) with sports and pop culture merging with "hot clicks" and our boy Arash Markazi, who wrote about ESPN hiring Magic Johnson: "What is it with ESPN hiring legendary athletes as analysts who can't, well, analyze? Magic Johnson may be the greatest point guard ever, but having him as a studio analysts is almost as bad as having Emmitt Smith break down "Monday Night Football" games with more clichés than a high school quarterback."

==Neil Best's "Watchdog" blog for Newsday (linked here) for sports-media news.

==TheBigLead.com (linked here), which SBJ calls "simply the top sports media blog" with editor Jason McIntyre.

==Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski of SI.com (linked here) and joeposnanski.com (linked here)

==Bill Simmons on ESPN.com (linked here). Pay particular attention to the 9,000-word piece he did on why Manny Ramirez was run out of Boston by the manipulated Red Sox-slanted media (linked here).

==Mike Florio on ProFootballTalk.com (linked here), for news and gossip on the NFL, plus a column in SportingNews.com.

==Peter King on SI.com (linked here) with his "Monday Morning Quarterback."

==Jay Glazer on FoxSports.com (linked here) for breaking NFL news.

==Mark Cuban on BlogMaverick.com (linked here) for his own crazy stuff (read the one on the U.S. economy and how it's still doomed).

==Buster Olney on ESPN.com (linked here) for baseball breaking news, commentary and other links.

==Mark Kriegel of FoxSports.com (linked here), the L.A.-based writer from New York who's mad as hell and ... you know the rest.

==BleacherReport.com (linked here), which SBJ calls "the next step in the evolution of sports blogs, social networking and fan commentary, this hub trades in citizen-based sports journalism." Also linked from FoxSports.com.

=Yardbarker.com (linked here), where Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb likes to go to vent.

The lack of a flashy opponent doesn't help USC this weekend, nor does UCLA's recent performance warrant anything more than local coverage only as the Trojans and Bruins find themselves going head-to-head in a rare instance of splitting Southern California college football viewers right down the middle.

A split screen may be necessary, but not essential. A counter on the screen, something like you'd see at a local gas pump, may be more in tune with USC's potential to break 70 points against the Cougars' defense.

One brain is enough to tell you there are probably better things to do with your time than monitor either of these two. Two brains will just confuse you. Just get up on the roof and keep watering things down. And go to the car wash. All that soot is just ... sooty.

The headliner of the weekend appears to be new No. 1 Texas, coming off its shootout win against previous No. 1 Oklahoma, facing No. 11 Missouri in Austin, Tex. Other than that, you're on your own. Choose wisely.

And there could be at Dodgers-Phillies Game 7 to contend with on Saturday. Maybe.

THE LOCALS:

==Saturday, 12:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket: USC at Washington State (with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and John Jackson)
(Repeated at 11 p.m., FSN Prime)
==Saturday, 1 p.m., FSN West: Stanford at UCLA (with Bill Macdonald, James Washington and Jim Watson).
Note: Lindsay Soto is on neither sideline ... She's working for Versus at Iowa State on Saturday.

The rest ...

Not that we doubt the shelf life of the new Versus' "Sports Soup," hosted by comedian Matt Iseman, which lauches tonight (7 and 10 p.m., with various replays) with a new show every Tuesday and Thursday.

We just have concerns it will reach anything past a show to TiVo when there's nothing else on. If it's still around in six months, it'll probably have a different look and feel than what it does now, so, like reviewing a new restaurant, we'll give it some room to find itself before we start to tear it down.

In talking last week with Iseman, a stand-up comedian who didn't want to be a doctor despite all those years in medical school at Princeton and Columbia, we find him to be one of them Dane Cook-kinda loud, funny, pound it home kind of jokesters.

The show's premise is basically what "Talk Soup" eventually did for the E! Channel's cutting-edge clip-driven celebrity skewering, "Sports Soup" is on the runway for Versus' next venture into athletic anarchy.

Iseman says isn't that much different than what you find in your email in-box each morning - links to YouTube clips from your friends of ridiculous sports-related video.

We won't get dragged into speculation about who'll eventually replace John Madden at the top NFL analyst at NBC, because we aren't reading more into the fact that he's taking this Sunday's Seattle-Tampa Bay broadcast off so he can stay home in Northern California and not take that insane bus ride across the country for ... the Seahawks and Bucs?
It's not as if you're gonna watch it anyway, either.
The Washington Post notes that Madden had done 476 NFL games in a row until deciding to take this weekend off. Cris Collinsworth, the NFL Network game analyst and a long-time booth guy at Fox and NBC, will come out of the overcrowded studio to take Madden's spt with Al Michaels.
Madden explained to the Post that NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol suggested last spring he consider not trying to get to every game on the network schedule, and Madden said he'd think it over.
"I still enjoy the travel, but you'd like to be home once in a while. ... It's a quality of life issue," Madden told the Post.
Said Ebersol: "To me, it's just a week to rest my best player. It's like giving your best starting pitcher an extra day off in the rotation."
Madden also told the New York Times: "I just wanted to have a bye. ... I never get a home game. I've got five grandkids now and I want to be home a little. Last year, I never got home at all."
It's actually a two-week vacation, since NBC doesn't have an Oct. 26 contest on purpose -- it goes head-to-head with Game 4 of the World Series on Fox.

Oh, goodness. Goodness ... goodness ... goodness.
Gracious, too.
Tony Romo has a bad pinkie. Really bad. Super bad.
What does Fox do with its NFL coverage this weekend? And the next. And the two after that?
Can it justify putting them Dallas Simpsons on the tube again?
Is the storyline better now with the Cowboys losing two of their last three?
Does Troy Aikman suit up?
Think of the plot thickening, and not having them on TV?
Dallas, who lost Romo on a bad fumble in OT in Arizona last Sunday, faces the new, improved (?) St. Louis Rams, coming off its victory against Washington, in the 10 a.m. window of Sunday's professional football menu, and Fox has the game.
Or, will it show 49ers-Giants, Vikings-Bears or Saints-Panthers instead in that window -- the only one it has for the L.A. market this weekend.

And the winner is ...

The best of Fox's performances came from the camera crew during Monday's Game 4. The first showing Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe in the dugout slamming down a box of something and then tearing open his jersey before heading to the clubhouse after giving up two runs in the first was not just good drama, but an indication of where the oft-emotional player's head was at that point.

Joe Buck added the line: "There's a good chance that shirt is hanging down somewhere on the lower level for the Dodgers being sold as we speak."

There were several instances where it seemed Lowe was tending to a problem with a finger, and another camera shot in the dugout of him looking at his right hand, as if there was an issue. Did he tear a nail or cut himself on that jersey tear-open tantrum?

Reporter Chris Myers came in with a hit during the fourth inning to explain that Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt had the ballboys rub up some more balls with mud "or dirt" so Lowe could get a better grip on them.

A "Sounds of the Game" segement also had home-plate umpire Ted Barnett say he didn't blame Lowe for complaining about the slippery feel to the balls.

Tim McCarver finally chimed in with the pertinent information: Blackburn's Delaware Mud is what they've rubbed on balls for years. Dirt? Yeah, that was it.

The Magic Kingdom may take on new meaning sometime down the road.

A global marketing company like Magic Johnson, locking in with Disney's brand, seems to make some good business sense in these crazy times.

So the fact that ABC/ESPN announced today that the former Lakers star was joining the network studio show starting on Christmas Day is likely one piece of a puzzle that will expand the Magic touch.

You know Magic has that movie theatre at the Crenshaw Mall, and Disney makes movies...

It may be true that the Orlando Magic was named for the fact that Disney has a theme park in the vicinity, but you gotta belive that Magic Johnson's connection to the NBA also had some strength behind that decision several years ago.

On a deal down the road with Disney, Magic said: "I don't know. We could probably talk about that. Disney is an incredible brand and the biggest brand in the world. Everybody knows Disney. Is there other things (besides broadcasting)? I don't know at this time. I'm sure there could be. Right now I'm focused on the NBA. If other business opportunities come, then we'll explore it."

(Added Norby Williamson, the ABC/ESPN exec VP of production: "It's the start of a long relationship. With such an accomplished person, he brings with him a great acumen on basketball, but also is a creative and great business person. We look forward to conversations with him from ESPN about potentially expanding the relationship.")

On leaving TNT, and whether all the trips to Atlanta made a difference in the decision, Magic said: "I'll probably make as many trips to Bristol (Conn., ESPN headquarters). It was a great time there. They're all friends of mine -- Charles (Barkley), Ernie (Johnson) and Kenny (Smith). They were great. ESPN just gave me a great opportunity and I wanted to work the Finals. I'm a basketball junkie and I love the NBA. Nothing went wrong or bad (at TNT)."

Williamson also added that Bill Walton, who Johnson replaces in the NBA studio, will stay with the company doing many other things. Walton suffered from major back problems last year and was left to recouperate at home, missing many studio assignments.

"Bill's in good shape and he'll be popping up and doing some things," Williamson said. "Starting later this week he'll be part of our seminar. He'll continue to be a fixture with the studio programming, contribute to ESPN Radio and online and on ESPN's 'Shoot Around' studio show. His back is feeling much better, and it was so terrible last year."

ESPN announced this morning that Magic Johnson will be slurpin' with Stuart Scott, Mike Wilbon and Jon Barry on the ABC "NBA Countdown" studio show this season, starting with the network telecast on Christmas Day (which involves a Lakers-Celtics rematch).
This obviously means Magic's run as a TBS studio guy with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith is done. It also appears to mean that Bill Walton's time is over, perhaps due to more back issues.
We'll be on a conference call with Magic within the hour with more details.
"I am thrilled to be a part of the ESPN family. I look forward to working with a great team and covering all the big NBA events," said Johnson. "Christmas Day can't come soon enough for me."
ESPN also announced it renewed a "long term" contract with Jeff Van Gundy as a game analyst with Mike Breen and Mark Jackson.
"It was a very difficult decision to forego coaching for the next five years, but I enjoyed myself so much last year working with Mike and Mark that I decided to make this long-term commitment to broadcasting with ESPN," said Van Gundy in a statement.

Since I was at the game in the press section and didn't get to hear the TV broadcast as it was happening -- a monitor near me only had a picture, but not the sound -- I couldn't dissect any of the Joe Buck-Tim McCarver banter until coming home and watching the replay.

Yes, that's what some media critics do. They see the game in person; they watch it again at home. Probably some fans do the same.

The thing that struck me was how early on in the Fox telecat that they were in tune with a possible Dodger retaliation against the Phillies. Some of the groundwork was laid by Dodgers manager Joe Torre in conversations with the Fox broadcasters before game. But the spot-on analyst came from dugout reporter Ken Rosenthal, who, two outs into the top of the first, he was allowed to come into the broadcast and say that from his perspective and reporting, "many Dodgers were upset (Chad) Billingsley failed to retaliate in Game 2" against the Phillies' Randy Myers, who had thrown tight to Russell Martin and behind the head of Manny Ramirez in the first inning. Rosenthal also said it was the second time Rameriz had been thrown out without retribution -- the other, when the Giants' Matt Cain hit him in the helmet in San Francisco, a game Billingsley was also pitching.
Buck added a quote he saw from Rameriz that also said he'd be glad to have Myers on his team -- implying that he took no offense to the pitch, but only wish his pitchers had the same kind of fortitude to do the same.

Gil Stratton, the former minor-league umpire who became a long-time Southern California sportscaster for more than 40 years who claimed to "call 'em as I see 'em," died at his home in Toluca Lake of congestive heart failure Saturday. He was 86.

Known mostly for a career spent in the 1960s and '70s at KNXT-Channel 2 (which became KCBS) and on KNX-AM (1070) news radio, Stratton also did broadcasts of the Los Angeles Rams and hosted horse racing shows from Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar.

(A story today on KCBS linked here)

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Stratton served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and was also an actor who was in the film "Stalag 17," with William Holden, as well as "The Wild One" with Marlon Brando and "Monkey Business" with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. He was also in the film "Girl Crazy," where he sang with Judy Garland.

Stratton is survived by his wife Dee, and children, Gilda Stratton, Billy Norvas, Gibby Stratton, Laurie O'Brien and Cary Stratton, as well as eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

As tributes filled up on Stratton's website (linked here), we flash back to an extended interview Bill Seward did with Stratton for LARadio.com late in 2007.

Some excerpts from those stories:

Proving again that a key to success in instant gratification is giving the consumer something he thinks is special, the Dodgers have "upgraded" their menu for the NLCS contests at Dodger Stadium.
Joseph Martin, the Levy Restaurants' executive chef at Dodger Stadium, announced the following additions:

==Lasorda Cabernet Mini-Burgers: Sliders made Burger with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, an old world style Italian red wine from the Tommy Lasorda Gold Medal Collection, served in the Dugout Club and suites.
(What, no bleu cheese added?)

==Dodger cupcakes: At Mrs. Beasley's dessert-only concession stand on the Field Level, covered with rich vanilla frosting and topped with an edible Dodgers logo.
(If only there were more things with edible logos)

==The Screaming Blue Ravine: A drink made with vodka, blueberry lemonade, strawberry lemon-lime and the Blue Serenity, a non-alcoholic mixture of lemonade and blueberry with strawberry flavor and a splash of lemon-lime.
(Drink two -- or seven -- before heading home)

"There are some lines people don't want to see crossed," says Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder, played by Dennis Quaid, in the new movie "The Express."

And sometimes, lines are crossed that shouldn't be. Like, bending the truth.

Following up on today's column (linked here) about the fact-twisting involved in the Ernie Davis biopick:

==A piece on CBS Sportsline.com by Randy Williams (linked here), ranking the best tear-jerker sports flicks that involve the mortality of the subject. First, those "based on a true story" flicks -- "Brian's Song," etc. -- and then those that are pure fiction -- "Field Of Dreams," etc. Williams is the author of "100 Movies -- The Best of Hollywood's Heroes, Losers, Myths and Misfits." On Williams' Top 5 list for each, "The Express" didn't make either.

==A piece on ESPN.com by Jeff Merron (linked here) that also points out that the player in the movie named Jack Buckley (played by Omar Benson Miller), a huge lineman called "JB," is a fictional composite of good friends John Brown, an offensive tackle, and John Mackey, the eventual Hall of Fame tight end. Neither Brown nor Mackey are referenced in the film.

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Cleveland Browns' Brady Quinn shakes hands with Republican vice-presidential candidate, Gov. Sarah Palin in Strongsville, Ohio, on Oct. 8.

By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

ASHBURN, Va. -- As the presidential race revs up, political conversations in NFL locker rooms echo those in workplaces nationwide.

Taxes. Economy. McCain. Obama. War. Terrorism. White. Black.

And a dilemma for these high-paid athletes: principles or pocketbook?

"We're right in the middle," said Washington Redskins veteran Philip Daniels. "We've all got family members that are not doing so well. Democrats would help them out, but Republicans would help us out."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission has sided with the National Football League in a long-running programming dispute with Comcast, ruling that the cable giant should carry the league's NFL Network on its popular digital package.

In a decision released late Friday, the FCC ruled that Comcast discriminated against the NFL Network by agreeing to carry the channel only on a more expensive sports cable service. The NFL filed the complaint against Comcast in May.

The FCC ruling next goes before an administrative law judge, who could force Comcast to carry the NFL programming at a certain price.

"We are pleased with today's FCC ruling and appreciate the commissioners'
attention to our complaint," the NFL Network said in a statement. "NFL cable viewers could soon be the real winners."

Comcast has argued that consumers will have to pay more for programming many may
not want if the company is forced to include the NFL Network in its regular digital cable package.

In a statement, the company said its "programming decisions are in the best interest of our consumers and consistent with the law," adding that "forcing these networks onto our cable systems will cost consumers millions of dollars and cause cable prices to rise."

Those are the major market Neilsen ratings that Fox Sports released today, monitoring viewership of Thursday night's first game of the National League Championship Series.

The other markets in the Top 6: New York (7.7), Boston (7.5), Hartford (7.4) and St. Louis (6.5).

Overall, the game rated a 5.1 national rating and 8 share, translating to 7.7 million viewers.

L.A. might have had a higher rating but Manny Rameriz hit a satellite dish when his drive to center field in the first inning and knocked reception out to millions of homes.

Even more stuff we could have stuffed into the newspaper column (linked here) or a previous blog but wanted to save it and let it simmer in its own juices:

==TNT will dispatch Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller and Marv Albert to Indian Wells this weekend to call the Phoenix-Denver exhibition NBA game. Did we mention it was outside? The first outdoor NBA contest at the Indian Wells tennis center (Saturday, 7 p.m.) brings the three broadcasters together for the first time to do a game. David Aldridge and Cheryl Miller will also do sideline reporting and fetch cool beverages for the boys.

==ESPN2's coverage of the Miami-New Jersey NBA exhibition game in Paris yesterday was the first of four contests the network will do from Europe and China. Matt Winer calls the games with Tim Legler. The other games: Milwaukee vs. Golden State from Guangzhou, China (Wednesday, 5 a.m., ESPN Classic; reairs at 6 p.m. on ESPN2); Washington vs. New Orleans from Barcelona, Spain (Friday, Oct. 17, 12:30 p.m., ESPN Classic; reairs at 6 p.m. on ESPN2) and Milwaukee vs. Golden State from Beijing, China (Friday, Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2).

==Fox Soccer Channel has found some room between AYSO and replays of "Pele: What a Kicker" to air the Women's Professional Soccer starting with its first season this April.
There'll be a Sunday night game of the week, 20 games a regular-season and an All-Star game on Fox Soccer, with FSN doing the playoffs leading to the WPS title Aug. 22.
It's all there in a three-year contract (with an option for a fourth), which seems rather optimistic that there'll even be a WPS past Year 1 (sorry, just looking at recent history and the world's financial situation).
"Fox Soccer Channel has become the go-to place for global soccer coverage in the United States and is a tremendous broadcast platform for our league," said WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. "Between the FSC flagship, the Fox Sports Net regional networks and FoxSoccer.com, FSC is the right partner to bring WPS, the world's best women's soccer league, to sports fans and soccer fanatics alike."

Again, after today's media column (linked here) on why Ron Darling still has trouble sleeping and Eric Karros has no trouble agreeing with Tim McCarver, we learned through a week's worth of bombardment in the sports media world:

==College football's Week 7 on L.A. TV includes Top 10-on-Top 10 violence in Dallas (linked here).

==The NFL's Week 6 on L.A. TV kind of clashed with our baseball programming (linked here).

==What's in cold storage for TV's NHL coverage (linked here)

Also:

==What went wrong with the movie version of "The Express," focused on former Syracuse running back Ernie Davis (linked here). The movie opens today in theatres nationwide.

==The expanded version of Karros talking about McCarver, Manny, et.al. (linked here)

==Why a certain Dodger featured on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated spells doom (linked here)

==Why someone in Hollywood, more blind that Al Pacino was in "Scent of a Woman," considers Pacino a candidate as the movie version of Tommy Lasorda (linked here).

==A clip of ESPN's "E:60" showing the homeless basketball league at the Union Rescue Mission on L.A.'s Skid Row (linked here).

==Who's covering the 2009 World Baseball Classic, and who cares (linked here).

==What kind of future the MMA has on CBS after a 14-second climax last Saturday night (insert your own punchline here). (linked here).

==Norman Chad's latest take on the sports media world (linked here).

==Chris Berman is melting (linked here).

==Vin Scully is honored (linked here).

==Pete Arbogast is a victim (linked here) (and as one reader pointed out after seeing the hyprocracy in the USC football broadcaster complaining about being robbed and then bragging about how he snuck into the Greek Theatre to see Neil Diamond, Arbogast can also tell some stories -- proudly -- about how he used to scalp his Clipper comp tickets when he was the team's PA announcer).

==How Time magazine jinxed the Chicago Cubs (linked here).

Ron Darling says his start as a MLB game analyst couldn't have started any crazier. He agreed a day before the 2005 season started to work with Mel Proctor on the Washington Nationals' broadcasts.

But Darling, the former New York Mets pitcher who retired in 1995 and, living in Santa Monica, had done some TV work for FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period," says he wasn't ready for grind of the 150-game TV season that it entailed. He classifies his work that year as "brutal" but with work and comfort, it led to a pretty nice gig he has now with the New York Mets. With Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez, Darling works for the Mets' STV as well as WPIX, doing more than 100 games. TBS hired him to work the Dodgers-Cubs NLDS, and they're adding him to the booth with Chip Caray and Buck Martinez for the ALCS that begins Friday.

As much of a pain that first season may have bruised Darling's ego, the performance he had in the 1988 NLCS against the Dodgers continues to "haunt me to this day," he admits in a story we'll have Friday.

You can look up what happened to Darling and the Mets yourself in that series at the Baseball Reference website (linked here).

Here's also a story on Darling by USA Today that ran Wednesday, calling him the "accidental announcer" (linked here).

And a link to Neil Best's Newsday column on Darling this week (linked here).

Don't eat a bowl of pasta and read that at the same time, or you'll have Ragu all over the table cloth.
But that's the buzz throw out by Liz Smith in Daily Variety, the business' paper of record (linked here, thanks to a catch by SportsByBrooks.com).

The blind item -- blinder than Pacino was in "Scent of a Women" -- in Wednesday's column:

The life story of Dodgers' manager Tommy Lasorda is reported on the 'fast track for development' at Miramax. Al Pacino has 'expressed interest' in playing the famously irascible Lasorda with Michelle Pfeiffer a 'possibility' as his wife. Translation--don't dress for the premiere. There's many a slip twixt the 'fast track' and the first day of shooting. Still and all, for the life of me I can't imagine Al Pacino on a baseball field. But, that's why they call it acting!

You can't even make this stuff up.
Would Pacino have to do twice the work that Bobby De Niro had to do to bulk up for "Raging Bull" just to get in the Lasorda zip code for girthification?
Would it have to be rated R for language not suitable for Dodger family viewing?
And who plays Lasorda's hooker?
Next, we'll hear about some middle-aged Luke Walton stalker.

Fox (KTTV Channel 11) is the one-stop home for the National League Championship Series, starting with Game 1 of the Dodgers-Phillies tonight (5 p.m. for pregame, 5:22 p.m. for first pitch). Joe Buck and Tim McCarver do the call, with Ken Rosenthal and Chris Myers lingering near the dugout for any despicable comments. This is the team that will do the World Series as well starting Wednesday, Oct. 22 (schedule linked here).
In addition to the KABC-AM (790) coverage -- with Vin Scully doing the first three and last three innings and Charley Steiner and Rick Monday on the middle three, ESPN Radio's feed on KSPN-AM (710) will have Dan Shulman and Dave Campbell on the call.
FSN Prime Ticket also has a "Dodgers Live" scheduled after each game. For Games 1 and 2 in Philadelphia, Patrick O'Neal, Steve Lyons and Michael Eaves report at approximately 8:30 p.m. (Game 1) and 5 p.m. (Game 2). When the series moves to L..A., "Dodgers Live" goes to the centerfield stage with Eaves and Lyons, using Chris McGee as a reporter. No Jim Watson or Lindsay Soto? They seem to be working on "other projects."

Despicable? Once we've wiped all the spit off the salad bar shield following Tim McCarver's disarmingly delicious description of Manny Ramirez's recent performance in Boston before he came to the Dodgers (see blog item linked here), we wondered if former Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros would use the same word to sum up the situation.

He didn't have to since McCarver had already thrown it out there.

"He's absolutely right," Karros said of McCarver's adjectivication over Ramirez's lack of committment when playing for the Boston Red Sox before his trade to the Dodgers in late July.

"There is nothing worse as far as being athlete that you can do to a fellow player -- not going out and playing, or pulling yourself out of a game -- and that's essentially what (Ramirez) did. And the guys on that team voted him off the island. That's a fact."

The company that makes bigger-than-life stickers for kids to declare their allegiance and likewise deface their walls has finally concocted one for the Dodgers' larger-than-life left fielder.

On the Fathead website (linked here), the 7-feet-6 tall Man-Ram goes for $119.95, plus $29.95 shipping if you want it next day (who wouldn't!) or $14.95 if you're willing to wait until the Dodgers are eliminated from the playoffs.

By the way, it's just a pre-order thing now. It won't ship until Oct. 13 -- this coming Monday.

If you're keeping track of such things, Ramirez is bigger than the Angels' Vlad Guerrero Fathead (at 6-foot-7, for $99.95, linked here).

He's also bigger than the new No. 24 Kobe Bryant Fathead (just 6-foot-4 tall, for $99.95, linked here) or the old No. 8 Kobe (linked here, same height).

The Galaxy's David Beckham (6-feet, $99.95, linked here) doesn't stand a chance.

Even more insulting (to him), teammate Landon Donovan's Fathead is listed at just 70 inches -- you do the proportional calculus (at $99.95, linked here).

This is the piece that aired yesterday on ESPN's "E:60" about the Union Rescue Mission homeless basketball league, coached by Carl Williams, just a couple of blocks away from where the Lakers play at Staples Center:

"Courtside seats? They're the only seats. Balllin' at Union Rescue, it's more than just a game, it's about rebuilding. It's about surviving. This is also L.A. basketball."
Please watch. Invest the 13 minutes it takes to get through this story.
Again it reairs on TV: Tonight at midnight (ESPN), Thursday at 8 p.m. (ESPN) and Monday at 8 p.m. (ESPN2).

Ambling into the Chinese Theatre the other night for a screening of the new movie, "The Express," (official movie site linked here) this is what we knew about Ernie Davis:

==Syracuse running back, won the Heisman Trophy in the early 1960s.

==Didn't hear much about him after that.

==Can you get that popcorn a little slower, dude, I'm late and I need to find a seat.

But this is far from the story of Ron Dayne or Archie Griffin. Or any of another number of Heisman winners (list linked here) who just didn't make it into the NFL because of injuries or inability to play the pro game.

Was Ernie Davis really a "forgotten American hero" who "changed the game forever," or is that just salemanship for the movie in all the advertisement you've heard the last month?

Through a rather simplistic script, a straight-forward mode of story telling (that some may call B-movie quality) and an adequately compelling performance by actor Ron Brown, the PG-rated "based on a true story" of Davis, which hits theatres nationally Friday, is one that young kids for years to come will now know about, a positive role model, and probably nothing more.
From there, it's an "After School Special" straight to DVD.

Learning more about Davis than you may have already known is all one can take away from this film, which on a very elementary level, is probably all it seems the producer and director want to get out. There's nothing fancy about the production, no real social statement to be made that hasn't been made before. If you want more depth, read more about him in the library.

For anyone with a thurst for college football history, "The Express" will help you become more in tune with the fact that:

Ken Kaiser, the former tons-o-fun AL umpire (bio linked here) who has a great sense of humor about himself -- the title of his 2004 autobiography is "Planet of the Umps" (linked here) -- tried to dumb down the controversial call over whether the Angels' Reggie Willits was really out on that botched squeeze play in the Game 4 ALDS loss to the Red Sox.
If you remember, the ball popped out of catcher Jason Varitek's glove after the leather hit the ground.

On the Fox Sports Radio show this morning hosted by Craig Shemon and former UCLA footballer James Washington, Kaiser said:

"There's no rule interpretation. It's strictly a judgment call. There's no "This rule says that ... Well if the guy at home plate does this..." That doesn't happen. Now after saying that I'll tell you what happened on the play.
"(Umpire Tim) Welke got the play right. What happened was when (Varitek) tagged (Willits), at that point, that runner is out. Now, say the runner had kicked up his foot and knocked the ball out of his glove. Now he's safe. But what happened on that play there was he tagged him on his butt, and then after he took the next step, he hit the ground with his glove and dropped the ball. Had nothing to do with the player jarring it loose. Had nothing to do with the player kicking it out of his glove. He's already out. The play's over. ...
"The bottom line is it's strictly judgment, guys. ... And if you're talking about the play at the plate, to make that a little simpler for you. That's not a continuation. When they run into each other, as soon as he touches that runner, he's out. If (the catcher) shows the umpire that he's got the ball and he drops it, he's still out. But if it flies out of his glove like you talked about before, then he's safe."

Kaiser was then asked about why the MLB has instant replay to determine home-run calls now, and that when the crap hit the fan:

"I firmly believe that a lot of this isn't because of the fans. I'll probably get myself in the crap house because of this, but I think it's because of the gamblers. Gamblers bet on games and they think that call cost them a bet. And I hate to see that. In football, it was the same way originally. I may be wrong, but this is just my opinion, guys. Don't break down the game. Let people enjoy the game."

We'll set the odds at 2-1 that Kaiser won't get a seat in said craphouse, but he'll never work another MLB game again.

And if you want to talk odds ...

Tim McCarver, who'll be doing the NLCS series for Fox with Joe Buck starting tomorrow, was asked by a Philly Inquirer writer (linked here) about his opinion on the Dodgers' Manny Ramirez.

McCarver, the former All-Star catcher, was his usual honest self.

"It's extraordinary - the dichotomy between what he was in Boston and what he is in Los Angeles. I mean, talk about wearing out your welcome in a town, and it was a long welcome with the Red Sox. But some of the things he did were simply despicable, despicable - like not playing, refusing to play. Forgetting what knee to limp on. And now it's washed, it's gone."

And ...

"Manny's doing things that even Manny doesn't do, [like] scoring on a double to right field from first base."

You may remember that scene back in '92, when the Atlanta Braves' Deion Sanders took umbrage to something McCarver said about him during the CBS telecast and douced him with a bucket of ice water in the locker room.
"You're a real man, Deion, a real man," McCarver said.
McCarver must dread Manny now.
Although TheBigLead.com (linked here) mentions that McCarver, appearing on the Dan Patrick radio show this morning, doesn't fear retribution.
"I'm not worried about that. You do your job and report what you report. I have no qualms, no fears about that. Thanks for your concern."
You're welcome. Now bring a change of clothes to Dodger Stadium for the weekend.

"Morning Light: Making the Cut," a one-hour documentary about how 15 kids were picked and trained to sail a high-tech, high-performance 52-foot boat in last year's TransPac race from L.A. to Hawaii, airs today on ESPN2 (5 p.m.), with repeats on Thursday at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

This is a prequel to the documentary film "Morning Light," produced by Roy E. Disney and Leslie DeMeuse, who recruited the sailors and documented their 2,500-mile journey from start to finish. That film hits theaters nationwide Friday, Oct. 17.

==View the movie trailer here (linked here)
==More about the Transpac race (linked here)

The NHL has survived another summer of global warming.
That's the good news.

The bad news could be that the new face of hockey -- or hockey moms -- is the current governor of Alaska who has bigger aspirations at this point in her career.
Our favorite sport -- behind college football, baseball, and maybe beach volleyball -- is gearing up for a big Blackhawks-Red Wings outdoor match scheduled for Wrigley Field on New Year's Day (linked here) -- no goats allowed.
Before, and after, here's a glace at how the rest of the regular season shapes up (you know, it already started in Europe) (linked here for the NHL.com schedule) before the real business begins in mid-April:

==Versus, the network that's been home to this sports now for ... we've lost count ... goes with a double-header on Thursday: Toronto at Detroit at 4 p.m. (with Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Bob Harwood), then Boston at Colorado at 7 p.m. (with Joe Beninati, Andy Brickley and Christine Simpson). A "Hockey Central" show starts it at 3:30 p.m. with Bill Patrick, Keith Jones and Brian Engblom.

It's the spot where USC sits in most of the college football polls this week.
But that's not what we're talking about.
The Sporting News did its annual "Best Sports Cities" ranking. Boston, which is full of beans right now, finished No. 1, for the third time in five years.
Los Angeles ... settled for No. 8.
"The great thing about Los Angeles, as a mover and shaker in the business pointed out to me, is that you've got such iconic teams: the Dodgers, Lakers, USC football and UCLA basketball. It's just a great sports city," said Sporting News Chief of Correspondents Bob Hille, who has coordinated the rankings since their expansion 12 years ago.
There are 400 cities (and a few towns) in the U.S. and Canada ranked on the number of teams, their regular-season won-lost records, playoff berths, bowl appearances and tournament bids; championships; power ratings; competition; fan fervor; attendance; stadium/arena quality; ticket prices/availability; franchise ownership; and marquee appeal of athletes.
"When the teams in your city are doing well, you feel good about where you live, not just as a sports fan but as a citizen," Hille said.
Do we feel great about No. 8?
That's the debate.
As for the rest of the Top 10 (a link to the whole list here):

1. Boston
2. Detroit (plus Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Mich.)
3. Dallas-Fort Worth
4. New York
5. Philadelphia
6. Phoenix (plus Tempe)
7. Denver (plus Boulder)
8. Los Angeles (minus Anaheim)
9. Chicago (plus Evanston)
10. Washington

In the past, L.A. was in fact linked to Anaheim, before the Angels got good and then it look as if Anaheim was carrying L.A.

In this list, Anaheim ranks No. 17; San Jose (with Palo Alto and Santa Clara, but not San Francisco/Oakland) is No. 21; San Diego is No. 27; Oakland (with Berkeley) is No. 36; San Francisco is No. 49 (seems appropriate); Sacramento is No. 52; Las Vegas is No. 96; Fullerton is No. 145; Santa Barbara is No. 157; Irvine is No. 180; San Luis Obispo is No. 217; Riverside is No. 245; Bakersfield is No. 258; Fontana is No. 276; La Quinta is No. 301; Carlsbad is No. 309; Monterey is No. 310; Napa is No. 343; Lancaster is No. 346; Lake Elsinore is No. 351; Rancho Cucamonga is No. 355 and San Bernardino is No. 359.
Burlington, N.C. is last at No. 400.

No Long Beach? Maybe they're lumped in with L.A., but if you consider the fact there is both a Golden League Baseball team as well as a stong university and a slew of talented athletes who've come from there... something's amiss.

The full list and an expanded explanation will come out in The Sporting News' Oct. 13 issue, which hits the newsstands Wednesday.

That would mean your cable or satellite TV system has the new MLB Network on Jan. 1, 2009.

And the announcement today that all the not-really-classy games leading up to the championship at Dodger Stadium near the end of March will be on the new league-owned network that hasn't even launched yet should really start a clamor.

Remember the WBC?

What they're calling "the world's premiere international baseball tournament" -- mostly, because the MLB won't let its players compete in the Olympics, which is why the IOC has dropped baseball from its schedule -- starts with 16 teams playing in seven venues in five nations (and territories) starting March 5.

ESPN will televise 23 games, including the semifinal and final, in English and Spanish. The MLB Network will do the other 16, plus a nightly studio show.

ESPN International has also the rights to all 39 games to the rest of the world.

"It was a simple calculus that produced our agreement with ESPN to broadcast once again the World Baseball Classic," said Gene Orza, the MLB Players Association Chief Operating Officer, who had to sign off on this.

Calculus? No one said there'd be math involved in this tournament. Although, if you're representing the players, you do need a heavy duty calculator to figure out how much your 5 percent take is during each contract renegotiation.

This Red River Shootout thing, between the consensus No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas (Channel 7, 9 a.m.) should be a dandy.
It's always good to put something on a Saturday morning for the kids with the word "Shootout" in the title. They'll be wearing their Davy Crockett coon-skin caps while watching that one.

No. 4 LSU at No. 11 Florida ain't bad, neither. If you like that SEC stuff.

No. 17 Oklahoma State at No. 3 Missouri has a heap o' trouble waiting to happen, too.

No. 6 Penn State at previously No. 18 Wisconsin should be worth keeping an eye on.

Other than that, not a whole lot going on this weekend in college football.

Unless you are prepared for the Top 10* to get jostled around again.

*-We for some reason are using AP rankings in our references, although we're not sure why. AP doesn't mean squat. The ESPNU fan poll (linked here) seems just as logical as anything else at this point.

THE LOCALS:

==Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7: Arizona State at USC (with Terry Gannon, David Norrie and Todd Harris)
==Saturday, 7:15 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket: UCLA at Oregon (with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson). Repeated at 11:15 p.m.

THURSDAY:

==4:30 p.m., ESPN: Clemson at Wake Forest (with Chris Fowler, Craig James and Jesse Palmer)
==4:30 p.m., ESPNU: Winston-Salam State at Florida A&M (with Charlie Neal and Jay Walker)
==5 p.m., CBS College Sports: Alabama-Birmingham at Houston (with Carter Blackburn and Aaron Taylor)

FRIDAY:

==5 p.m., ESPN: Louisville at Memphis (with Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman and Rob Stone)

SATURDAY:

==7 to 9 a.m., ESPN: College GameDay eminates from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, with Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. The first hour of the show is from outside the stadium. The second hour goes inisde, with Herbstreit, who's calling it, camped in the press box. It's probably saver up there if there's a pre-planned shootout going on down on the field. Even if it's only with some video gamers.

==9 a.m., Channel 7: Oklahoma vs. Texas in Dallas (with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters). Sorry, kids. Your morning cartoons are pushed to the side for daddy's programs. The ever-conscious Disney programmers would like you to know that your entire kids shows are pretty much wiped out today with all the college ball, then NASCAR, taking up all the time. We suggest NBC's lineup of "Jane and the Dragon," "Zula Patrol," "3-2-1 Penguins!" and "VeggieTales," plus "My Friend Rabbit" in the morning hours.

==9 a.m., ESPN: Minnesota at Illinois (with Dave Pasch and Andre Ware)
==9 a.m., ESPNU: Syracuse at West Virginia (Dave Armstrong and Larry Coker)
==9 a.m., Big Ten Network: Either Toledo at Michigan (with Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Charissa Thompson) or Iowa at Indiana (with Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin and Anthony Herron)
==9 a.m., Versus: Cornell at Harvard
==9:30 a.m., ESPN2: Colorado at Kansas (with Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore)
==10 a.m., ESPN Classic: Eastern Michigan at Army (with Eric Collins and Shaun King)
==11 a.m., MTN: Utah at Wyoming (with Rich Cellini and Jon Berger)
==Noon, FSN West: Nebraska at Texas Tech (with Joel Meyers, Gary Reasons and Jim Knox)
==12:30 p.m., Channel 2: Tennessee at Georgia (with Craig Bolerjack and Steve Beuerlein)
==12:30 p.m., ESPN: Notre Dame at North Carolina (with Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire and Stacey Dales)
==12:30 p.m., ESPN PPV: Purdue at Ohio State (with Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jack Arute)
==12:30 p.m., ESPN2: Michigan State at Northwestern (with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley)
==12:30 p.m., CBS College Sports: TCU at Colorado State (with Carter Blackburn and Aaron Taylor)
==12:45 p.m., ESPNU: Central Florida at Miami (with Doug Bell, Charles Arbuckle and Melissa Knowles)

==3 p.m., MTN: New Mexico at BYU (with Tim Neverett, Blaine Fowler and Sammy Linebaugh)
==4:30 p.m., ESPNU: Utah State at San Jose State (with Clay Matvick and David Diaz-Infante)
==5 p.m., Channel 2: LSU at Florida (with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson)
==5 p.m., ESPN: Penn State at Wisconsin (with Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe)
==5 p.m., ESPN2: Oklahoma State at Missouri (with Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Erin Andrews)
==5 p.m., CBS College Sports: Boise State at Southern Miss (with Tom Hart and Trev Alberts)
==6:30 p.m., MTN: Air Force at San Diego State (with James Bates, Todd Christensen and Jenny Carnar)
==7:30 p.m. (tape delayed), ESPNU: Tuskegee at Morehouse (with Dwayne Ballen and Eddie Robinson, Jr.)

We wish we had a video clip to show you from today's episode of "E:60" (ESPN, 4 p.m.) but all offered on the official website (linked here) are interview snippets from pieces on former Kings badboy Sean Avery, and jailed former Florida Marlins pitcher Ugueth Urbina.
The story line that grabbed our attention was a piece on the basketball league for homeless men in L.A., put on by the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row (linked here), narrated by "The Wire" actor Reg E Cathey and scored with original music by Daniel Bernard Roumain.
The show re-airs Wednesday (ESPN, midnight), Thursday (ESPN, midnight; ESPN2, 8 p.m.) and Monday, Oct. 16 (ESPN2, 8 p.m.)

We yield to the man of conviction from Yahoo!Sports, who seems to be much more in tune with this mixed martial arts genre as a sporting event than we will ever care to be. The fact that CBS is making such a fuss over being on the cutting edge of all this has us interested to see how fast and how far it will fall with the general viewing audience.
Last Saturday's MMA bout on CBS went past the 11 p.m. alloted time slot, 20 minutes more in fact, and ended with a disturbing loss by marquee man Kimbo Slice. He lasted just 14 seconds against a late-minute substitute (who could have, for all we know, been drawn out of the audience because he was sitting in a lucky seat).
Our Yahoo! yahoos (linked here) says the bout did a 2.6 rating and had 4.3 million viewers, but that's not counting beyond 11 p.m.
They also say that a fourth prime-time CBS MMA show will be sometime in the first few months of 2009.
CBS Senior VP/Program Operations Kelly Kahl is quoted: "It was a great number as far as I was concerned. The people saying it's the end of EliteXC and the end of EliteXC on broadcast television are misinformed."
So, if Slice is your big draw, and he just got walloped by a cat with pink hair streaks who gave away about 20 pounds, how is he the future of EliteXC, an L.A.-based company that has documented the fact it will run out of money by the end of this year?
UPDATED:
A CBS press release today said Saturday's card was the No. 1 program in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49 (tie). The final numbers were a 2.7 rating/5 share with 4.5 million viewers.

It must have helped that Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci was doing the dugout reports for TBS during its NLDS coverage of the Dodgers-Cubs series. Verducci has cranked out the cover story for the upcoming SI issue that features the Dodgers' Manny Ramirez gliding gracefully into home place on the cover.

Which, as Cubs fans know, is a guarantee that the Phillies win this upcoming NLCS best-of-seven series in three games.

"That Ramirez can rake is not news," writes Verducci. "That the man can hit while carrying an entire franchise on his back, not to mention a city that is falling in love with baseball all over again, is one of the greatest feats of his prolific career."

The story quotes Greg Maddux: "Even we look at Manny and go, 'That's just on another level.' It's like watching Tiger Woods hit an eight-iron a thousand feet in the air and knocking it stiff. Normal people just don't do that. Guys like Tiger and Manny are out there in a class by themselves."

Says Dodgers GM Ned Colletti : "I've been around Maddux, (Barry) Bonds and Manny. Those three guys are the smartest baseball players I've ever seen. They're in a class by themselves. They see and understand the game at a higher level than everybody else."

Yes, the Dodgers are doomed.

Also in the next SI issue is a story that Lee Jenkins did on the Red Sox's Jason Bay, who replaced Ramirez: "(Bay) is the anti-Manny in seemingly every way but one: He can rake too."

Raking seems to be all the buzz in baseball this autumn.

And yes, Manny has been on the SI cover before -- twice.
We came across the 2004 cover when looking through the official website for Manuel Aristides Ramirez (linked here), where he also has new stuff from his Dodger days.

We also came across a 1996 cover, when he was in Cleveland in a much smaller capacity, predicting an Indians victory over Atlanta in that year's World Series (which, of course, ended up with Yankees winning it all -- with Joe Torre managing).

For his girth, that is.
ESPN's prolific 800-pound gorilla who modestly admits that he's "larger than life" would rather it be closer to the 300-plus range it seems. He's the latest to pimp the Nutrisystem food wagon as a paid spokesman, and it showed up on the ESPN "Monday Night Football" coverage last night.

Good for him in trying to become healthier. Mix in a little time in the gym, and it's even better.
He could go all the way and do something about that nasty combover. But that's another endorsement for another day.

Game 3 of the Dodgers-Phillies NLCS from Dodger Stadium (Fox Channel 11, 5 p.m.) goes head-to-head with the San Diego Chargers' home game against New England (NBC Channel 4, 5:15 p.m.) as the marquee sporting event to witness on Sunday.

(And while TBS has a day off from its ALCS, it does have a Sunday lineup that includes classic dude flicks such as "Encino Man," "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo" and "Joe Dirt," it goes head-to-head with MLB and NFL with back-to-back showings of the 2003 Chris Rock-Bernie Mac masterpiece, "Head of State" from 5 to 8:30 p.m.)

What will Tom Brady be more mildly interested in smelling watching?

Otherwise, it's a look-in at the new, improved Oakland Raiders against Reggie Bush and the Saints as the only thing worth waking up early for, with another heapin' helping of them Cowboys in the PM:

SUNDAY:

==10 a.m., Channel 2: Oakland at New Orleans (with Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon). For this market, CBS skips Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets (with Dick Enberg, Randy Cross and Dan Fouts), Baltimore at Indianapolis (with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms) and Miami at Houston.

==10 a.m., Channel 11: Chicago at Atlanta (with Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick). Fox's games in this window are Carolina at Tampa Bay, St. Louis at Washington and Detroit at Minnesota.

==1 p.m., Channel 11: Dallas at Arizona (with Dick Stockton, all baseball'd out now that his TBS stint has ended, sitting in for Joe Buck -- who'll be at the Dodger-Phillies game -- Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver). Fox could have also shown Green Bay at Seattle or Philadelphia at San Francisco. CBS also has an intriguing Jacksonville at Denver (with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf) in this window.

==5:15 p.m., Channel 4: New England at San Diego (with Al Michaels and John Madden)

MONDAY

==5:30 p.m., ESPN: N.Y. Giants at Cleveland (starring Ron Jaworski, with supporting roles from Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser)

Bye weeks: Buffalo, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Tennessee. And Los Angeles, for the (you do the math) week in a row.

Last December, we wrote about the formation of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, created by CBS executive Ken Aagaard for the Sports Video Group (linked here), which focused not so much on those behind the mike, but many behind the scenes that didn't get proper recognition.

For example, the inaugural 11 in the class of 2007 included George Wensel, Tom Shelburne, Larry Thorpe and Julius Barnathan -- and we're guessing you have no idea what they did. Look 'em up.

So when the Class of '08 was announced this week, and included Dodgers' Baseball Hall of Famer Vin Scully, as well as those more well known such as Curt Gowdy, Chet Forte and Don Ohlmeyer, it's really the inclusion of Marvin Bader, Ted Nathanson, Val Pinchbeck, Bob Seiderman and Charlie Steinberg that makes Aagaard most proud.

A group of 80 from the industry pick honorees in seven categories: management, production, technical operations, engineering, leagues and teams, manufacturers and vendors, and on-air talent. Pretty much in that order of importance.

They'll all be recognized at a ceremony in New York in mid December in a production put on by the Sports Video Group (linked here).

For those lesser-known names:

Latest WeAreSC.com blog posting by USC ham radio play-by-play guy Pete Arbogast covers the ugly, bad and good (again, in the wrong order) of breaking the law.

First, he recounts how his apartment in Venice was pillaged while he slept on that new mattress he keeps pimping on the radio ads ...

...both of our laptops and cell phones and other electronic equipment was stolen. They got in through a window, daring as it was, in the middle of the night from our second floor landing. the latch was locked, but they got it open. ... It's all very depressing and time consuming. ... The LAPD guy came from the Venice office. He knew me right away, and we talked some ball. ...

Nothing slows up a crime-scene investigation than that feined flattery in being recognized "right away" and having to go through that whole awkward conversation, pretending you're interested in the other person's life story when it's really yours you want him to know more about ...

But there's more ... Of course, there's more...

Norman Chad, who once did the Daily News NFL pick' em column long, long ago -- way back in the 1990s, we think -- continues a weekly column that he syndicates to several newspapers across the country, when he's not busy doing commentary for ESPN's World Series of Poker.
For some reason, his columns do not appear in the Daily News. It's a crime. But we're working on it from our end.
His "Couch Slouch" column that landed today (linked here) deals with "23 (more) facts, tried and true, about the widening world of sports television".
Among them:
== One day, I believe, ESPN will colonize Antarctica.
== If the marketplace drives America, how is there not a women's beach volleyball network?
== I watch the NFL Network more than I should, particularly on Mondays. It beats "Ellen."
== A friend of mine who is in prison will work a double shift of laundry detail before he'll watch "The Best Damn Sports Show Period."
== Sarah Palin is a "hockey mom." That locks up the Versus vote.

I compare Craig Fertig's legacy to the USC football program to that of John Madden's on the game of football.

Many people knew Craig for many different reasons -- as a former quarterback, an assistant coach under John McKay, an athletic department assistant athletic director, a TV commentator, a USC Athletic Hall of Famer. All spanning five decades, beginning when he arrived on campus in 1961.

I got to work with him a bit in the spring of 2007 when putting together Tom Kelly's autobiography -- Kelly and Fertig were TV broadcast partners for 15 years. Fertig wrote the forward to the book -- of course, spinning a few tales that only he could tell -- and Kelly made sure that a picture of the two of them together, wearing their Hall of Fame ribbons and holding their trophies when both were inducted on the same night in 2001, was included in that part of the book.

It was an opportunity to list Fertig's accomplishments:
As a player: Set the then-single-season passing record of 1,671 yards and set seven other marks between 1962-64, winning the Davis-Teschke Award for most inspirational player. Led the Trojans to a victory in '64 over then-No. 1 Notre Dame, completing a fourth-down pass to Rod Sherman for the winning score, just as Irish star Alan Page had flattened him.

As a coach: 1965-73, '75 under McKay, with a couple national championships.

As a head coach: 1976-79 at Oregon State

As an associate AD: 1983-90, focused on fund raising.

As a TV analyst for Prime Ticket and Fox Sports Net: 1992-2000.

"I don't know anyone more loyal to the university," Kelly wrote in his book on Fertig in a chapter about him. In the acknowledgements, Kelly calls Fertig "one of my dearest friends, and one of the greatest assets to the school."

We tried to soften the (latest) blow for Cubs fans in today's column (linked here). Just think of all those people in countries like El Salvador and the Congo who'll be wearing "Chicago Cubs: World Series Champion!" T-shirts and caps in the next couple of months.

Misery needs company.

And someone had a Top 5 list of what the Cubs needed to do to stay in the series against the Dodgers (linked here).

But the real culprit had to be another Top 5 list published in Time magazine -- the one that made Hitler its Man of the Year in 1938 -- when it ran this story in the middle of last week, prior to Game 1 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Cubs:

Five Reasons the Cubs Will Win the Series (linked here)

In 1,639 words, Time magazine writer Sean Gregory had it all mapped out.

Let's review what's in his five with what actually happened:

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il watched a university soccer game, a state-run news agency said from Pyongyang today, reporting on the leader's first public appearance in nearly two months.

Kim and other political leaders watched the game held to mark the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the university named after his late father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, the Korean Central News Agency report said.

The report did not say when or where the game was held. It also did not say whether Kim, 66, who is believed to have suffered a stroke in August, attended the game in person. There was no mention of his health. He hasn't been seen in public since mid-August.

North Korean officials steadfastly deny that Il is ill.

The report said Kim congratulated the two soccer teams from Kim Il Sung University and the Pyongyang University of Railways after the game. He also praised the student athletes: "The revolutionary and militant students in our country are good at art and sporting activities while devoting all their wisdom and enthusiasm to the study of science for the country and the people," KCNA said.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Which has led to SI.com's always entertaining FanNation blog to post (linked here) its five reasons for the North Siders to keep their heads about 'em as Game 3 of the NLDS starts in a few hours out at the Ravine.
The copy provided by Michael Bradt , creator of the subversive Cubs blog Hire Jim Essian! (linked here), is worth the look. But not as much as the shot above of the Dodger fan amused by the actions of a Cubs fan during the recent pounding at Wrigley Field.

Our instincts tell us this smells of something on the side of profiteering. Which, in reality, is what you learn in America, right?
A story in the London Telegraph (linked here) says that the Galaxy's David Beckham will launch a series of children's books has stands to get kids even more interested in spending their parents' money at his kickball camps.
The books, which are supposed to come out in the summer of '09, are aimed at 7 year olds and be "about what a group of young footballers get up to on the pitch and after training." The books will also have tips and a pull-out tactics board.
Like, all the stuff you do at a David Beckham Academy.
Actually, Becks isn't even writing them. He's just "inspiring" them.
A spokesman for him said: "The David Beckham Academy is more than just David's dream of giving children the chance to experience great football coaching, it exists to encourage all aspects of their learning and development. David is particularly pleased that The Academy has inspired a series of books that will bring children to reading through football."
His academy in London started in 2005, and another opened soon thereafter him joining the Galaxy on our shores on '07.
His three boys -- Brooklyn, 9; Romeo, 6; and Cruz, 3 -- may have to thumb through the books first to give final approval of the text. Otherwise, they may have to spice 'em up.

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

Trevor Wikre was willing to forgo a finger for football.
The senior offensive lineman at Mesa State College (of Grand Junction, Colo.) fractured his right pinkie so severely in practice on Tuesday, doctors told him he needed immediate surgery. His season and career would be finished.
Instead, Wikre told them to amputate the finger. He's now missing a good portion of his pinkie.
"I'm just short one," the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Wikre said with a chuckle. "But this game means that much to me. This team means that much to me."
Wikre will miss the Mavericks' game today at Colorado School of Mines, but will be back the following week -- albeit with what's left of his finger covered in a cast.
"Football is something that's been in my blood," said Wikre, from Berthoud, Colo. "It's something I have a passion for. The game quits everybody eventually -- you want to hang on to it as long as you can."
Wikre was going for a block in practice when he caught his finger in a teammate's jersey. At first, he didn't give the ailing pinkie a second thought, thinking the sensation he
was feeling inside his glove was a piece of tape that had simply slipped off. But when he removed his glove, the bone was jutting out, and he was immediately sent to the hospital.
Doctors informed Wikre he would need surgery to insert a pin and that he'd likely be out for up to six months as the finger healed. He couldn't bear the thought of his career ending so abruptly, so he decided to forsake the finger.
"This was the best way to get me back out there," Wikre said. "There are worse things in the world -- a pinkie is not that bad in my mind."

More media stuff to look forward to:

==What's KSPN-AM (710), the ESPN Radio affiliate in L.A., going to do with Bob Koontz leaving as the GM and VP? He emailed a brief explanation of what he thought he'd accomplished since helping launch the all-sports format in late 2000:

"It has been a crazy time here.....lots to be proud...
"It was really only the last couple of years that we were allowed to staff up. When it was announced Disney was selling the ABC stations and retaining ESPN and Radio Disney stations, we had no infrastructure besides the on-air staff. We had maybe four other full-time employees. We had always shared duties with KLOS-FM.
"I think the really game changer for KSPN was when John Davison and myself convinced ABC management to let us swap signals with Radio Disney. That 1110 signal just does not have the coverage that 710 has. The first two years on 1110, we never showed up in the ratings. Flip to 710, add the Angels, and we never missed a book again."

==This is the first look at a new online sit-com that ESPN's Kenny Mayne will star in and include his producer, cameraman, production assistant, network exec (all played by actors), plus other ESPN real folk like Scott Van Pelt, Neil Everett and others who happen to get roped in:

The show, called "Mayne Street," debuts on Nov. 11.

In addition to today's media column (linked here) on Warren Sapp's dancing between reality TV shows and NFL studio analysis, what did we have land in our computer laps from the media world this week:

==The NFL Week 5 TV schedule, which, from here on, won't have Lane Kiffin to kick around (linked here).

==The college football Week 6 TV schedule, featuring a new No. 1. (Can you guess which team it is? Hugh Jackman knows) (linked here).

==More of TBS' post-game MLB schedule (linked here), with Sunday's slate still up in the air (we suspect one channel can't handle four potential games, so one will probably be parceled out to TNT) (linked here).

==Your WNBA Finals schedule (linked here), with Game 2 tonight (but you already knew that).

Also:

For the record, Sunday's edition of "The Sports Reporters" marks the 20th anniversary of the media roundtable show (again, at the stupid West Coast time of 6:30 a.m., ESPN). Host John Saunders (running the thing since late 2001, succeeding the late Dick Schaap) will be joined in the egofest by Mitch Albom, Mike Lupica and Bob Ryan (pictured above, from a 2002 show).

Is the show still relevant?

Is it the "smart" newspaper guy show to watch, versus "Around the Horn" on a daily basis?

Are major newspaper columnist's opinions still viewer-friendly, or have they exposed themselves to be not as well versed as some who blog or write just for the Internet? Or is it Lupica who really is the pipsqueek that has caused us to just not even TiVo it any longer?

Submitted for your approval, the Mr. T-wannabe Kimbo Slice (facing legendary Ken Shamrock) and the easy-on-the-eyes Gina Carano (does it matter who she's choke-holding?) headline the third mixed-martial-arts card that CBS will present (Saturday, Channel 2, 9 to 11 p.m.).

But there are reports that the L.A.-based EliteXC is fighting for its financial life and may not make it to a promised fourth network show.

The first CBS card last May drew 6 million viewers; the second, last July, had 2.6 million. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission filings, EliteXC's parent company, ProElite, is more than $55 million in debt since starting in 2006 and only has enough financing to get it through this year.

When he's not getting up at 4:30 a.m. to appear on the NFL Network's "NFL GameDay Morning" Sunday pregame show in Culver City, or jetting off on a red-eye to appear on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" in New Jersey, Warren Sapp has some downtime learning new timing on a dance step for ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Today and Friday, he's at an L.A. studio trying to master the Viennese Waltz.

"She (partner Kym Johnson) says it's all about being slow and graceful," Sapp said Thursday morning. "I'm going to find out in about an hour."

It is drilled through your head yet that "Frank TV" returns to TBS on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 11 p.m.?

At least eight promos per TBS MLB playoff game - including two per commercial break at times - aired Wednesday during the tripleheader -- much like last season. Even though half of them promote the show, and others seem to be promoting The Dish Network.

Even funnier, the first promo that comedian Frank Caliendo did for each game seems to be one where, as President Bush, he says:

"If you electificate me president for a third term, I promise more 'Frank TV' ads during the playoffs . . . until you throw up."

She'd have never fired a coach at midseason, would she? And then blamed Chris Mortensen for it.

We're talking about Georgia Frontiere, when she owned the Rams. Unlike the team now, that canned its coach this week -- a day before former L.A. rival, the Oakland Raiders, dumped theirs.

Oh, if only they were back in L.A., the both of 'em, competing for media attention while the Dodgers and Angels were gearing up for the playoffs.

In response to the new 10th anniversary release of "Sports Night," (blog item from yesterday linked here) someone asked if the old HBO series, "1st & Ten" was available.

Of course. This is America. If money can be made, someone's trying.

Issued in 2006, the six-disc series is available on Amazon.com (linked here) for a mere $26.98.

A recap: The series ran from 1984-1990, with Delta Burke as the owner of the California Bulls as a result of a divorce settlement (not a husband mysteriously dying in the ocean). It was HBO's first original series, by the way, and it probably ran out of steam after a few episodes, with cameos by Marcus Allen, O.J. Simpson, John Matuszak, Brian Bosworth, Joe Namath, Eric Dickerson and Warren Moon making it worth checking out once and awhile (unlike "Arli$$"). (It even used Al Cowling as an assistant coach for the Bulls). Mostly, it kept a lot of unemployed USC and UCLA players in the game a few years longer than their intended shelf life, and kept USFL game action video in the loop.

The subject, however, is the San Francisco Italian-American Parade, coming up Oct. 12. The grand marshall: Tommy Lasorda.
He's Italian. He's American. What's the frickin' problem?
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (linked here, thanks to a link from The Big Lead, linked here) that San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Michela Alioto-Pier wants organizers of the deal to give Lasorda the big Italian boot.
"We can't have Tommy Lasorda come to San Francisco for the Italian American parade!" Alioto-Pier wrote in a resolution she hopes to pass at the next board meeting on Tuesday. "He's like enemy No. 1 right now. If you don't think this is important, you should move to L.A."
She also accuses Dodger fans of being "boastful and smug," lumping Lasorda with boastfulness and smugability, which simply isn't true.
"Furthermore, there are "many other distinguished local Italian American athletes" like Giants pitcher Barry Zito "or even Joe Montana" who could do the important job.
She's referring to Zito, the former USC and Pierce College star who grew up in Santa Barbara, and Montana, who now lives ... let's just say, his son goes to Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village.
By the way, we found that picture of Lasorda (and friends) chowing down on his favorite Italian spot in L.A., Buca di Beppo, the chain restraunt (maybe because Little Joe's has long closed down). He says his favorite spot in all of San Francisco (according to a blog posting in 2006, linked here) is Fior d'Italia - "The best Italian food in the entire city. They've been cooking pasta since 1886!" (a link here to the restaurant's site).
Maybe next time we're in S.F., we'll stop by Fior d'Italia. Or maybe not. Depends on if we're welcome.

==A link to a 1993 story about how Lasorda's pasta sauce business came and went very quickly due to, of all things, poor management (linked here).

Once the Sparks were eliminated, it slipped off the radar like post-Jordan Chicago Bulls.

Actually, once Paul Westhead left the champion Phoenix Mercury to become an assistant with the Seattle Sonics Oklahoma City WhateverThey'reCalled, it was even more a distant memory.

But then again, "I Kissed a Girl (And I Liked It)" from Katy Perry, which is my new ringtone -- swear --, is the hot tune these days.

Who can knock that? Or the WNBA Finals.

ESPN2 tries to bring it back, in the middle of the MLB playoffs, with the series against ....
C'mon, you know at least one team.

The New York Liberty! Naw.
The Syracuse Nationals! The Kansas City-Omaha Kings?

Shockingly, the Detroit Shock have a meeting with the Russian star Becky Hammon and the San Antonio Silver Stars starting tonight (4:30 p.m.) It's a best of five -- expanding from that best-of-three in the first two rounds.

Terry Gannon, Doris Burke, Heather Cox and Holly Rowe call it, after a studio show with Pam Ward, Nancy Lieberman and Carolyn Peck.

The schedule:

Game 1: Today, 4:30 p.m. at San Antonio
Game 2: Friday, 4:30 p.m. at San Antonio
Game 3: Sunday, 1:30 p.m. at Detroit
Game 4*: Monday, 4:30 p.m. at Detroit
Game 5*: Thurs., Oct. 9, 4:30 p.m. at San Antonio

*-do we really have to?

==UPDATED Thursday AM:
The Onion Sports has this report on the WNBA (linked here):

Breast Cancer Launches WNBA Awareness Month

That's Arbogast, not Carroll. Taking the blame for USC's loss last week at Oregon State.
Stupid new Hawaiian shirt. Ate at the wrong place ... Not on his A-game...
You know, all the usual stuff a self-absorbed broadcaster thinks that, because he does it, it must have a karmatic affect on the outcome of every game he works.
Maybe the emotional investment was just too much last week for him. Sad.
But, having a few days to let it sink in, consider really what happened, we decided to excerpt the Trojans' football and basketball play-by-play man's assessment of Oregon State 27, USC 21 last Thursday at Corvallis, Ore., thanks to his blog posting on WeAreSC.com (which, as we've said, is now only accessable through a $9.95 monthly subscription fee, buried in the "Publisher's Forum" link, rather than it was free and easy to get before ... but still worth the price of submission):

(and, yes, he's written this in all caps, complete with typos):

That's not a new show for the Oxygen Channel.

It's Frank Caliendo, Season 2 of "Frank TV" that comes out on TBS later this month -- don't worry, the network will promote the heck out of it starting today with the MLB playoffs.

The "NFL on Fox" funny man has a few clips released by the network of some of the stuff he'll be doing on the series (debuts Oct. 27, 11 p.m.).
Among them:

== "Jim Rome Is Blooming," advertised as a show a guy can watch with his wife, comparing Martha Stewart to Rachel Ray, etc. -- Get it, it's like Jim Rome's ESPN show, "Jim Rome Is Bur..." never mind. (linked here, a Windows Media Player wmv clip).

== In a reality series called "The Quarterback" (like "The Bachelor"), John Madden looks for a new love after Bret Favre announced his retirement (obviously conceived before Farve came back, but they pull it off anyway because Madden "is moving on") (linked here, wmv clip).

==Caliendo, as Charles Barkley, hosting a political talk show with Shaquille O'Neal ("Chuck 'N' Shaq) on the latest sports channel, ESPN Political. First guest: Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. (linked here, wmv clip)

==And cartoon superheroes -- Popeye, Batman, The Hulk, Superman and Barry Bonds -- go before a congressional hearing to defend themselves against steroid allegations. "Barry Bonds says lay off Hulk," Bonds says, in cartoon form. (linked here, wmv clip).

That's the cry already in Chicagoland, from those who've seen advertising placements at the hallowed Wrigley Field put up in anticipation of today's Cubs' playoff opener against the Dodgers.
This from Paul Sullivan at the Chicago Tribune (the company that presently owns the Cubs):
"Though advertising has been kept off the walls at Wrigley Field since its inception, with the exception of the Under Armour ads on the doors in the power alleys and the "CBOE" sign on the prime box seats behind third base, it has reared its ugly head for the postseason.
"A large ad on the padding of the wall down the right field line reads "January 1, 2009," with the logo for MLB, which is starting up the channel on that date. A similar ad on the padding of the left field wall is for MLB Postseason, and includes the logos of the networks carrying the games, TBS and Fox.
"Apparently, the landmarking of Wrigley Field did not preclude MLB from cluttering up the ballpark in October for lots of cash."