September 2009 Archives

By Tim Dahlberg
The Associated Press

Perhaps the best thing about Twitter is that it forces people to get to the point, in 140 characters or less.

Not that it matters much for most athletes, who rarely have thoughts that run that long anyway.

They get paid to play, not to tell us how to eliminate hunger or explain black holes in the universe (Phil Mickelson excepted, of course).

Take Allen Iverson,for instance. He didn't come close to using up his Twitter allotment to show off his new character in Memphis.

"I want to help them develop a winner," Iverson tweeted after signing with the Grizzlies.

Pretty innocuous stuff, the kind that in previous times would be handled in a team statement or e-mail.

But these are new times, and this is new technology. No longer must athletes risk having their words muddled by the media.

It's a perfect tool for Terrell Owens and the attention hounds that populate sports, even if they don't have anything to say.

Better yet, they can only misquote themselves, as T.O. so famously did in his own autobiography.

He did the other day after former Patriot Rodney Harrison called him a "clown" and T.O. fired off a barrage of tweets in response.

Most had to do with Harrison being suspended in 2007 for using steroids, which Owens finally conceded wasn't exactly correct.

"My bad Rodney! I hv been corrected by ur supporters, u used HGH nt steroids! So, every1 go ahead & use HGH!!"

Before Twittersphere thoughts appeared and disappeared within seconds, those kind of things could lead to defamation lawsuits.

But while there's a new world order out there, there's no new sheriff in town.

That scares coaches, and it terrifies teams. Secrets are being spilled, and control freaks are losing control.

The food in San Diego is slop. The fans in Washington are dim wits. Coaches have no clue, and talking heads on TV are worse.

(By the way, have you noticed every thought in this column is 140 characters or less?)

Laughing German Midget - Watch more Funny Videos

That's the line of the week from the first "Saturday Night Live" Thursday "Weekend Update" edition, when Bill Hader did his scary interpretation of politico James Carville.

The real Carville, appearing on CBS College Sports Network's Tony Barnhart show today, had this to say when asked if he favored a playoff system instead of the current polls leading into a BCS title game:

"Of course I'm a playoff guy. If you want to know just how stupid this whole system is, the Coaches Poll has Penn State ranked above Iowa. This is the beautiful one, they have Cal ranked higher then Oregon. Last week they had BYU ranked higher then Florida State. How can anyone with a straight face defend the poll? Oregon beat Cal 42-3. I think I know who the better football team is...They have got to turn this thing around. And they can do it within the existing bowl structure.

"If it was up to me, every team would play nothing but conference games, and then have the conference champions tee it up and have all the bowl games be intersectional games...

"This system is no good. I pull against it every time. I hope there are three undefeated teams in the country, and I hope it's just a big mess. That's the one thing I pull for more than anything in college football, that the BCS just turns into a big, rotten mess."

Maybe we can mute this and just put in those quote above as subtitles:

From a post on SportsByBrooks over the weekend (linked here):

An upcoming game between the Chicago Bliss and the New York Majesty has been "postponed" for six weeks because of "issues with New York's facility."

The Majesty was to play their games at the Nassau Coliseum -- yes, indoors -- which is the home of the New York Islanders.

Speculates Brooks:

"My guess is so few tickets were sold that putting on the game would've been a complete embarrassment. And that (LFL founder Mitch) Mortaza finally got the hottie girlfriend outta all this that he dreamed of."

As far as we can tell, your Los Angeles Temptations still plan to play their home opener at the L.A. Sports Arena on the day after Thanksgiving (linked here) and January 29 (linked here).

How many commercials for Sears will you see this week, versus what ESPN will do to promote its next Monday night football game? Can't they just combine the two somehow?

Brett Favre, hot off his miracle pass gamewinner in last Sunday's Vikings' home win against the 49ers, have his old team, the Green Bay Packers, visiting the Metrodome. It won't be as caustic as Week 8 -- a 1 p.m. local kickoff at Lambeau Field, which Fox has and likely won't give up.

But assume the worst and hope for the best.

The punch to the gut as far as L.A. football care about: CBS has only one window this weekend, and has picked a less attractive meeting in the AM instead of the star-studded contest in the PM that would feature Mark Sanchez's visit to New Orleans to face Reggie Bush's team.

Register your complaints early and it could be changed...

SUNDAY:

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: Baltimore at New England (with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, instead of Tennessee-Jacksonville, Oakland-Houston or Cincinnati-Cleveland in this window).

== 10 a.m., Channel 11: N.Y. Giants at Kansas City (with Kenny Albert, Darryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa, instead of Detroit-Chicago or Tampa Bay-Washington)

== 1 p.m., Channel 11: Dallas at Denver (with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, instead of St. Louis-San Francisco; CBS also has N.Y. Jets-New Orleans and Buffalo-Miami in this window)

== 5:15 p.m., Channel 4: San Diego at Pittsburgh (with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer)

MONDAY

== 5:30 p.m., ESPN: Green Bay at Minnesota (with Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski)

Bye week: Atlanta, St. Louis, Carolina and Philadelphia.

The Associated Press

The University of Missouri athletics department is changing its procedures for clearing out old merchandise after selling a box of formerly-used cell phones that included text messages and contact numbers.

After someone named Mike Bellman paid $190 for 25 phones, he found out they included text messages to and from basketball coach Mike Anderson, football coach Gary Pinkel and Athletics Director Mike Alden. E-mails and contact numbers were also on the phones.

The university offered to buy them back, but Bellman said he hoped to sell them to a sports collector. Bellman did not immediately return calls and e-mails from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Athletics department spokesman Chad Moller said all information will now be wiped out of phones before they are discarded.

It was crazy enough seeing the Tennessee Titans wearing Houston Oilers' blue helmets with white oil derricks on the sides, until this ...

The Associated Press

University of Houston coach Kevin Sumlin is missing three helmets that were swiped during the on-field celebration following this weekend's 29-28 win over Texas Tech.

The helmets remained missing Tuesday despite Sumlin's plea via Twitter a day before:
"Saturday night was fun, but it will be hard for 3 of our guys to play this week without their helmets. Please return, NO QUESTIONS ASKED."

The coach of the 12th-ranked Cougars remains optimistic that the helmets will be found before Saturday's game at UTEP.

If they aren't, what happens?

ESPN's "College GameDay" was all set to bring its outdoor set to the Bay Area, in celebration of the USC-Cal contest this Saturday.

Then ... well ... it sobered up late Sunday after the tailgate party.

Especially after Cal forgot to put the nozzle back into the gas pump, pulled away from the station, and had a trail of combustable fluid behind them, going up in flames during a ridiculous loss at Oregon.

With a one-loss Trojans, coming off a less-than-impressive win over Washington State, facing a one-loss Bears, it wasn't No. 3 vs. No. 5 as it could have been two weeks ago.

The repercussions came fast and furious on Monday AM.

Instead, ESPN goes to Chestnut Hill, Mass., prior to unranked Florida State's game against unranked Boston College -- a game that West Coast viewers won't even see (because it's up against UCLA-Stanford, and ESPN already has Penn State-Illinois locked into that window). Nor will the game that most of the nation sees in the prime-time spot -- Oklahoma-Miami (with Musburger and Herbie) -- go to the Western region, because of USC-Cal.

Kirk Herbstreit's appearance Saturday AM in Boston, then flying south to Miami to call the game at night, is off the West Coast radar. Sorry, guy.

There is speculation that the reason ESPN has picked Boston is to do a story on Mark Herzlich, the star BC linebacker and 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year who was diagnosed with cancer this past March.

And if you're looking for perhaps the hottest team in the country -- Alabama -- it's stuck on the SEC Network (sponsored by ... ABC? CBS?) against Kentucky. If you can find this game on your TV listings, let us know.

You interested in Arkansas-Pine Bluff this week? That, we can find.

The rest of the weekend:

THE LOCALS:

== 12:30 p.m., Ch. 7: UCLA at Stanford (with Dave Lamont and David Norrie)
== 5 p.m., Ch. 7: USC at Cal (with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham)

WEDNESDAY

== 5 p.m., ESPN2: Hawaii at Louisiana Tech (with Rece Davis, Mark May and Lou Holtz)

THURSDAY

== 4:30 p.m., ESPN: Colorado at West Virginia (with Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Erin Andrews
== 4:30 p.m., ESPNU: Alcorn State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (with Charlie Neal and Jay Walker)
== 5 p.m., CBS College Sports: Southern Miss at UAB (with Dave Ryan and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila)

FRIDAY

== 5 p.m., ESPNU: Pittsburgh at Louisville (with Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore)
== 6 p.m., MNT: Utah State at BYU (with Bill Doleman, Blaine Fowler and Toby Christensen)

SATURDAY

== 7 to 9 a.m., ESPN: "College GameDay" from Chestnut Hill, Ma., site of Florida State at Boston College (with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and Desmond Howard).

== 9 a.m., ESPN: Wisconsin at Minnesota (with Dave Pasch, Chris Spielman and Bob Griese)
== 9 a.m., ESPN2: Arkansas State at Iowa (with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley)
== 9 a.m., ESPNU: Clemson at Maryland (with Clay Matvick and David Diaz-Infante)
== 9 a.m., CBS College Sports: East Carolina at Marshall (with Tom Hart and Aaron Taylor)
== 9 a.m., ESPN360.com: Virginia Tech at Duke (with Dave Weekley and Danny Kanell)
== 9 a.m., Big Ten Network: Michigan at Michigan State (with Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin and Charissa Thompson (or Northwestern at Purdue with Ari Wolfe and Anthony Herron)
== 10 a.m., ESPN360.com: Cincinnati at Miami, Ohio (with Jim Barbar and Robert Chmiel)

== 12:30 p.m., Ch. 2: LSU at Georgia (with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson)
== 12:30 p.m., Ch. 4: Washington at Notre Dame (with Tom Hammond and Pat Haden)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPN PPV: Florida State at Boston College (with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPN: Penn State at Illinois (with Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPNU: N.C. State at Wake Forest (with Todd Harris and Charles Arbuckle)
== 12:30 p.m., FSN West: New Mexico at Texas Tech (with Bill Land, Gary Reasons and Emily Jones)
== 12:30 p.m., CBS College Sports: Air Force at Navy (with Craig Bolerjack and Randy Cross)

== 4 p.m., Versus: Oregon State at Arizona State (with Ron Thulin, Kelly Stouffer and Lewis Johnson)
== 4 p.m., ESPNU: Mississippi at Vanderbilt (with Eric Collins, having no more Dodger games to do, and Brock Huard)
== 4 p.m., ESPN Classic: South Carolina State at South Carolina (with Bob Wischusen and Brian Griese)
== 4 p.m., Big Ten Network: Ohio State at Indiana (with Craig Coshun, Glen Mason and Rebecca Haarlow)
== 4:30 p.m., CBS College Sports: Tulsa at Rice (with Jason Knapp and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila)
== 4:30 p.m., ESPN2: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas in Dallas (with Mark Jones and Bob Davie)
== 4:45 p.m., ESPN: Auburn at Tennessee (with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews)
== 5 p.m., MTN: SMU at TCU (with James Bates, Todd Christensen)
== 5 p.m., ESPN PPV: Oklahoma at Miami (with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters)
== 7:30 p.m., ESPNU: Colorado State at Idaho (with Carter Blackburn and Jon Berger)

The Associated Press

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- David Clowney might think twice before tweeting from now on.

The New York Jets' speedy wide receiver was benched by an angry coach Rex Ryan for the team's game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday after Clowney complained on Twitter about a lack of playing time.

"I was upset with him, yep," Ryan said Monday. "For a couple of reasons. One of them is you'll hear things if a guy's unhappy or whatever. I'm not a big Twitter guy, but you hear different things. To me, this is about our team and understanding this is about our team. No individual is bigger than the team."

A few hours after the Jets beat New England 16-9 last Sunday, Clowney tweeted: "1 play in the 1st Half, 4 plays in the 2nd half ... A bit disappointed about my playing time but very happy and satisfied about the win."

Clowney added in a subsequent tweet that, "My team always comes first so I'ma just keep grinding."

Ryan got wind of Clowney's gripe and called him into his office early last week and told him he would be inactive against the Titans.

"If I feel a guy is not putting the team first," Ryan said, "I'll make that decision to put the guy down."

He said he wanted to see how Clowney responded, and was satisfied with the receiver's effort. So much so, in fact, Ryan said he would probably give Clowney the team's practice player of the week award.

"It could be a misunderstanding between David and I, but nobody's a bigger fan of David Clowney than I am, yet, if I sense that with anybody, then that will be the case," Ryan said. "It's not head games or anything else. It's just the way I feel. I could be wrong on that, but he responded the way I wanted him to respond.

Clowney, coming off a second straight impressive preseason, has no catches during the regular season. He wasn't in the locker room Monday during media availability, but tweeted: "In the bed ... Doc sent me home as soon as I walked thru the facility doors ... Bout to take a mean nap."

Not an episode (above) of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians." But don't you think it oughta be?

Sooner than later, Khloe Kardashian's private wedding Sunday in Beverly Hills to the Lakers' Lamar Odom is not only supposed to be a storyline on the E! Show, according to People magazine (linked here). But this rush to the altar, some imply, was done because of a shove from the show's producers behind paying for it to happen ASAP.

"They want to create some drama for the cameras," some of those awesome "sources" told the awesome news resource. "Meetings and decisions are being delayed to the last minute."

TMZ reported that the couple "must get married on Sunday because one of the Kardashian reality shows is footing the $1 million bill for the wedding ... but the deal is that the wedding must be shot (this past) Sunday."

The TMZ report also said the couple had both "lawyered up" for a pre-nup, and if it had not been done before the wedding "it could be a non-binding ceremony."

The Associated Press report of the wedding included that Kardashian, 25, was walked down the aisle by her stepfather, Bruce Jenner. The wedding was attended by numerous stars, including the bride's sister Kim.

"Tonight was one of the best nights of my life! Khloe & Lamar's wedding was a night to remember!" Kim wrote on Twitter.

The Lakers open training camp Tuesday.

Next question: Is friggin' potty-mouthed Jenny Slate hitched?

TODAY

Twenty was the magic number in Pittsburgh last week -- as in, the G-20 summit that finally got out of town, with the dogged Dodgers right behind 'em, trying to figure out much magic is left in the tank. So, with the last week of the regular season here, if the Dodgers win 20 in a row, they're world champs, right? The Angels need the Texas Rangers to take a detour about 20 miles north to avoid finding Anaheim and get stuck in line at a downtown L.A. Pinkberry's so they can wrap up the AL West uncontested and then plot their own demise against the Boston Red Sox starting next week. Or something like that.
MLB: Dodgers at Pittsburgh, 9:35 a.m., Prime Ticket; Angels vs. Texas, Angels Stadium, 7 p.m., FSN West (also Tuesday and Wednesday, 7 p.m. and Thursday at 3 p.m.)

Another look at the Big Ol' Headache that Jerry Jones has built for himself in Dallasville. Good luck trying to fill it every night and get a return on that investment. Panthers fans don't travel well. Would you consider a daily rodeo/gun show?
NFL: Carolina at Dallas, ESPN, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY

It's a classic battle of the defensive-minded Fever against the feverish shoot-it-n-run Mercury. The Fever, they're from Indiana. The Mercury, from Phoenix, just eliminated the L.A. team. Now you're up to speed. Best of three, by the way, so make it count.
WNBA Finals Game 1: Indiana at Phoenix (Game 2 is Friday; Game 3 if necessary is Sunday)

This is the night that another celeb is eliminated from the soon dying "Dancing With the Stars." Ashley Hamilton (who?) and Macy Gray are already gone; sporties like Chuck Liddell, Michael Irvin, Natalie Coughlin and former SI cover girl Kathy Ireland are still in the mix. The Padres, they were eliminated from the NL West race in July.
MLB: Dodgers at San Diego, 7 p.m., Prime Ticket (also Wednesday, 7 p.m.).

WEDNESDAY

On last week's season premiere of "Gary Unmarried," Jay Mohr's character . . . named, uh, Gary . . . decides he has "a dream" to become a radio sports-talk host, so he calls a friend at a Saugus station and hijinx ensure. Now, he's ready to make a demo tape. Soon, he may be subbing for Jim Rome. Wait, that's really happened.
"Gary Unmarried," Channel 2, 8:30 p.m.

THURSDAY

Now that all the craziness is over in resolving the PGA Tour championship -- Phil wins the battle, Tiger wins the war and all the FedEx gift certificates -- we can get down to serious business of Crenshaw, Mize, Zoeller . . . put the walkers down, you're up.
Golf: The Senior Players Championship in Baltimore, first round, 10 a.m., Golf Channel (rounds two, three and four also on Golf Channel and NBC)

FRIDAY

By this time, the Dodgers and Rockies could get a waiver to use American League rules -- let Jim Thome and Jason Giambi be the designated swingers, to get more ABs in their designated, glorified roles before the playoffs. Spoiler alert: This will not be a preview of the NLCS.
MLB: Dodgers vs. Colorado, Dodger Stadium, Prime Ticket, 7 p.m. (also Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.)

SATURDAY

The last time both USC and UCLA fans met together in the Bay Area for a roadie had to be the late '60s, for a student protest. (OK, for the record, it was just three years ago, when USC played at Stanford and UCLA was at Cal ... but before that, never).
Now, we see how Barkley reacts to Berkeley, and how lucky the 3-0 Bruins' defense feels against a Cardinal QB named Lucky after a bye week.
College football: UCLA at Stanford, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7; USC at Cal, 5 p.m., Channel 7.

Another season, another chance to see how loyal Kings fans are in these tough economic times.
NHL: Kings vs. Phoenix, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., FSN West

SUNDAY

The Chargers' Darren Sproles didn't seem to be feeling the aftershock of that Ray Lewis hit from more than a week ago as San Diego fileted the Dolphins on Mission Bay on Sunday. But will Spoles curb his enthusiasm that Troy Polamalu is still resting up after his Game 1 mishap.
NFL: San Diego at Pittsburgh, 5:15 p.m., Channel 4

Surely, CBS will send this one back to L.A. -- Mark Sanchez against Reggie Bush.
NFL: N.Y. Jets at New Orleans, 1 p.m., Channel 2

The Sprint Cup championship detours to Kansas before chasing its chassis to Fontana the week after.
NASCAR Price Chopper 400, 10 a.m., Channel 7.

A couple of hundred tennis dignitaries, players and fans gathered at the UCLA Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon to give one last farewell to legendary figure Jack Kramer, who died at 88 on Sept. 12.

A funeral was held for him last week and he was buried in Santa Monica. Another memorial was held at the golf course he created, Los Serranos in Chino Hills. Saturday's was the third, and final, gathering for family and friends to remember his impact on the game he helped push forward from the 1940s to present day.

The focus of Sunday's column is the impact Kramer had on the life of Tracy Austin, the former U.S. Open champion who grew up at the Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates.

Among the things said in tribute Saturday to Kramer, survived by his five sons and eight grandchildren:

== Son Bob: "It was a fabulous and glorious end, but he got a bad call late in the fifth set. He didn't argue it. "

== Barry MacKay, a former Davis Cup player and broadcaster: "The best promoter the game of tennis ever has had, and ever will have."

== USTA Southern California Section President Bill Kellogg : "Jack was all about celebrating life, and he was truly a champion of the game."

== US Open Tournament Director Jim Curley : "Every one of us who makes our living in professional tennis owes a debt of gratitude to Jack."

== Eddie Merrins, the long-time PGA teaching pro at Bel Air Country Club, comparing Kramer to legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden : We in golf like to claim Jack Kramer just like you in tennis do."

== Charlie Pasarell, another promoter and former UCLA player, who spoke of idolizing Kramer: "When I came here from Puerto Rico, playing with that wooden Jack Kramer racket, the first thing I wanted to do was to meet my idol. In the world of tennis, Jack Kramer was a giant. Nothing less. More importantly, Jack was a good man, a champion in life."

== Eldest son David, who runs the Los Serranos Golf Club: "He was a champion not because he came in No. 1. His life was a gift to us, and we accept in all gratitude."

== Former women's champion Pam Shriver: ":When I was 9 growing up in Baltimore, my coach taught me the Jack Kramer forehand. When it was working, it was a deep, sliding hard flat approach shot."

For those who haven't already seen it:

AP File Photo
In 1966, artificial turf is installed at the Astrodome in Houston.

By Ronald Blum
The Associated Press

Maury Wills remembered back 43 years to that April night when he became the first batter to hit on artificial turf in a major league game.

Even when the green rug was novel, he didn't like it.

"I'm a traditionalist," said the Dodgers speedster, who opened that night at Houston's Astrodome with a single off Hall of Famer Robin Roberts. "I'm still an old-school guy. I believe baseball was meant to be played outdoors and be played in the daytime."

Turns out, most others think baseball is better on grass, too. The sport's turf wars are nearing an end.

Once regarded as magic carpets that would eliminate bad hops and minimize rainouts, artificial surfaces are going the way of the dead ball and complete games.

After the Minnesota Twins play their Metrodome finale on Oct. 4 and open Target Field next April 12, just two non-grass fields will remain in the major leagues: the Rogers Centre in Toronto and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

That's down from a high of 10 artificial surfaces, in 1977-78 and again from 1982-94. While colleges and high schools actually are installing more faux fields -- to accommodate multiple sports -- artificial turf is unloved by Major League Baseball.

The Associated Press

ALAMEDA -- The Oakland Raiders backed off a demand made to CBS that quarterback-turned-game analyst Rich Gannon be banned from the team's facility for production meetings before Sunday's broadcast.

The Raiders initially told the network that Gannon was not welcome at production meetings for Sunday's game against Denver because of constant criticism of the organization in recent years.

"He's repeatedly said that they should just blow up the building and start all over again," senior executive John Herrera said Friday. "He hasn't done that once or twice, but has done that repeatedly. He continually attacks the owner (Al Davis), he continually attacks the organization in every way that he can. After listening to all of that for the last several years, why would you want him in your building when all he does is attack the organization that made his career."

Herrera said later Friday that he stands by his criticisms of Gannon but that "because of league rules, we have relented."

Recalling a line from "South Park," where Butters once profoundly said: "You know, you can call a shovel an ice-cream machine, but it's still a shovel, Mom and Dad. Ah, and you can call a lie whatever you want, but it's still a no-good stinkin' lie!"

The Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Steamed over a practice brawl, a Canadian Football League lineman stomped off the field, then stormed back moments later brandishing a shovel before he was stopped by a team official.

As Edmonton Eskimos defensive tackle Xzavie Jackson marched toward teammate Aaron Fiacconi on Thursday, general manager Danny Maciocia stepped into his path. The GM gently put his hand on Jackson's chest and gestured toward the shovel.

"I just said, 'What are you planning on doing with that? Do you realize the repercussions?'" Maciocia said Friday. "I'm almost sure he had already come to that conclusion.

"I don't think he would have carried out an incident where he would have swung a shovel and tried to strike someone.

The bizarre fight began when Fiacconi, the starting center and a CFL veteran, was working out at three-quarters speed while Jackson, a spot starter and practice-squad player, was going at a faster tempo. After a bit of banging, Fiacconi began punching Jackson. No teammates intervened and Jackson, a former Missouri star who had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals, thundered away.

As Jackson yelled and whipped off his practice jersey, he walked past a nearby dumpster. He spotted a long-handled metal shovel, grabbed it and headed back at Fiacconi.

Jackson rejoined the Eskimos at practice Friday, sporting sunglasses and a bandage over a swollen eye.

"I'm very disappointed," he said. "That's not me. That's not my character. I know I could've made a better choice. I've apologized to my teammates and that's all."

Fiacconi accepted the apology.

"We've made our peace," he said. "In the end, I doubt he would have done something with the implement."

A website called Bookmaker.com -- we'll take it for what it's worth -- that has now posted odds of which broadcast team is next likely to split up, because of retirement, coaching job opportunity or just plain lousy.

Why they's waste their time on this, or would coax bets out of degenerative gamblers, is another story for another time on another website.

We just pass on this info, for entertainment purposes only:

The favorite: Fox's NFL team of Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick and Charissa Thompson -- a 31-percent change of disssolving. So soon?

No. 2, at 27 percent:
= NBC's Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer
= Fox's Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa
= Fox's Dick Stockton, Charles Davis and Laura Okmin

No. 3, at 25 percent:
= ESPN's Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden

No. 4, at 20 percent:
= CBS' Jim Nuntz (cq) and Phil Simms
= CBS' Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf
= CBS' Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon
= Fox's Chris Myers and Trent Green

No. 5 at 19 percent:
= CBS' Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts

No. 6 at 14 percent:
= NFL Network's Bob Papa and Matt Millen (who have not even done a game together yet)

No. 7 at 13 percent:
= CBS' Kevin Harlan and Soloman (cq) Wilcots
= Fox's Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver

Did they miss anyone? It's just NFL guys and girls, so ... why isn't Jillian Barberie Reynolds Cougar Mellencamp (we should have just stopped at cougar) in this list somewhere?

Other stuff we learned:

== The 49ers highlight our L.A. NFL Week 3 viewing (linked here)

== JoePa highlights our L.A. college football Week 4 viewing (linked here)

== A million fools followed Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s unanimous decision comeback (linked here)

== Brian Billick wants to make chicken salad out of chicken droppings for his SpaceFace friends (linked here)

== Joe Buck colorfully takes down Craig Sager, for obvious reasons (linked here)

== We didn't see Sean Salisbury, as advertised, on our Temptations-Dream Lingerie Football League TV broadcast last Friday ... but we know now he's busy planning legal moves and writing a tell-all book (linked here). He's a USC journalism major. So watch yourself.

== Someone misses John Madden already? (linked here)

== Former Daily News columnist Mike Ventre has Jets fans steammed.... but that's his job (linked here)

== "Shaq Vs." actually kicked some tail ... if you compare it to other sports reality shows that aired this summer ... on ABC ... on Tuesday nights ... when Ross Porter was doing a Dodger game (linked here).

== ESPN Chicago and Boston are already here, and Dallas is coming Monday (linked here). L.A., early next year.

== Why didn't the latest Arboblog (linked here) take humbrage with the the fan who, with about seven minutes left in Saturday's game at Washington, gave him a new "lucky" Hawaiian shirt to put on? ... And "truth be told," he admits to knowing on Thursday that Aaron Corp was going to start at QB ahead of Matt Barkley but didn't say anything on the broadcast leading into it?

AND FINALLY:

== Luc Robitaille likes the direction the Kings' website is going ... by pillaging local journalists (linked here). Others don't.

== Former Daily News columnist Paul Oberjuerge (linked here) discusses it on his blog.

== A SportsByBrooks.com take (by Adam J) on what this hiring by the Kings of the Daily News hockey writer could mean in the big picture (linked here).

This can go one of two ways:

Ah, but if it's 2, that's brutal news for newspapers and media outlets. After all, teams wouldn't be siphoning off all beat writers... only the best. What would be left is an even more barren media landscape and even less of a reason to sink money into the dead paper and ink industry.

God help us all.

Michael Strahan's new TV show, "Brothers," begins with a one-hour pilot tonight, 8 p.m., Channel 11:

By Rick Freeman
The Associated Press

Michael Strahan could get used to the Hollywood life.

In his new career as an actor, whenever he makes a mistake or flubs a line, someone is rushing to his side with a script, offering help. It's a bit of a change from his previous job.

"When I'm having a bad day on the football field, it probably means I have a coach cursing in my face and some guy weighs a hundred pounds more than me is punching me in the head."

He'll take a bad day on the set of his new show, "Brothers," any day over one in the trenches of the NFL, where he spent 15 seasons as a defensive end for the New York Giants.

Now, like dozens of athletes before him, Strahan has crossed into scripted entertainment, putting together a sitcom with a friend he made during his playing days, Daryl Mitchell.

He's not completely used to it yet.

"You know, probably the weirdest thing to have happened to me is people coming up and saying 'Oh yeah, congratulations on your new show,'" Strahan said. "When you have other actors come up and say 'Hey, congratulations on your show, heard about your show, heard it's doing well,' it kind of blows your mind."

One million pay-per-view buys were registered for HBO's welterweight fight recorded last Saturday between Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez from the MGM in Las Vegas, according to HBO Sports' bean counters.

One million protests should have been filed afterward asking for their money back.

One million buys (525,000 from cable/475,000 from satellite dish owners) represent the largest boxing pay-per-view event in 2009, generating $52 million. and generated $52 million in pay-per-view revenue.

HBO says this is only the fifth time in boxing pay-per-view history that a non-heavyweight event has attained the one million buy mark.

Know who won? We'll avoid the spoiler alert, and you can watch it again -- free, if you pay for the HBO channel -- prior to Saturday's Vitali Klitschko-Cris Arreola bout from Staples Center at 7 p.m.

Sometime this afternoon, there will be about 2,000 crazies running up the 75-story U.S. Bank Tower -- the tallest building on the West Coast -- in downtown L.A. as a way to build toward a better place to live.

That's about 1,500 steps to climb. People can watch on a Jumbotron screen if they're not up to doing the run and just happen to be leaving work early.

The Hope Street Race Expo and Stair Climb to the Top benefits the YMCA's Ketchum Downtown Center.

Ceremonies begin at 2:30 p.m. The race is at 3 p.m.

The course record: 9 minutes, 28 seconds.

Those who stand to benefit are more than 2,000 children, families and seniors in the downtown area, including the Rampart-Westlake Montessori Preschool and Day Care Center for low-income families.

More info: www.YMCAStairClimb.org.

The first book Larry Merchant wrote -- the first of three he came out with in the 1970s -- was called "...and every day you take another bite." You fill in the first part of that title. It's easy.

Think: "Life is a sh-- sandwich ..."

The book was really more about pro football in that time period -- Joe Namath, Vince Lombardi, Rosie Grier, Pete Rozelle.

The crap that the 78-year-old Merchant chomps into these days is far healthier for his diet, as we wrote about in today's media column (linked here).

Saturday's Vitali Klitschko-Chris Arreola heavyweight fight at Staples Center, Merchant will be there. He says he's been looking forward to it "for a couple of years. I've watched Arreola and I thought from the first time I saw him, he had to be special and he has a chance to be a champion. It's my personal observation, as well as boxing's, that the sport needs a significant U.S. heavyweight champion, someone to look foward to."

Unlike last week's Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez fight last Saturday, also on HBO. Mayweather, after a 21-month layoff, won a 12-round decision.

Merchant says he did not look forward to watching that fight at all.

"I didn't do it," he said of not being part of the broadcast, "and I thought that fight was over when it was signed. I told everyone who asked me, bigger and faster beats smaller and slower every time."

Experienced and talented beats loud, self-important and flashy in any boxing analysis ring as well. We pick Merchant any time over Max Kellerman, or whatever else is out there.

We have some backup on this one as well (linked here and linked here ... thanks to Richard Deitsch at SI.com, linked here).

Rolling with the punches, we move on to other media notes of the week not newspaper worthy:

== The weekend baseball TV highlights focus, of course, on the Red Sox-Yankees series. TBS has a special airing of tonight's game (4 p.m., from Yankee Stadium, with Chip Caray, Buck Martinez and Craig Sager). Saturday, Fox's national/regional game has Red Sox-Yankees going to 82 percent of the country (with Josh Lewin and Tim McCarver ... the other 18 percent see Cubs-Giants). Sunday, TNT goes with Cardinals-Rockies at noon, because ESPN has Red Sox-Yankees both live at 10 a.m. (with Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips) and then replayed at 5:30 p.m. in what may be a first for the network.
The MLB Net has Cardinals-Rockies on Saturday (5 p.m.), and the gold-medal game of the 2009 IBAF Baseball World Cup (Sunday, 6 a.m.), with Twins-Tigers on Monday (4 p.m.).

== TBS was all atwitter to announce this week that all their studio and game broadcasters "will be actively tweeting during the MLB posteason" from the Oct. 7 opener all through its NLCS coverage - that's 140-word moment by moment analysis from Ernie Johnson, Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken Jr., David Wells, Chip Caray, Ron Darling, Buck Martinez, Marc Fein and Craig Sager. We'd give you the Twitter feed, but we don't see how that'll be very productive.

== College football give-and-take of the week, from CBS' coverage of the Tennessee-Florida game last Saturday:
Late in the contest, as Tennessee's Bryce Brown is running and get hit by three Florida defenders:
Gary Danielson: "Look at that hit (on the replay) - a bing, a bang and a bong."
Verne Lundquist: "Sounds like a late night college experience."
Danielson: "Oh, no."

==AND FINALLY:

== Fox can actually do more to promote the new Michael Strahan sit-com, "Brothers," which debuts on its network tonight (8 p.m. on Channel 11) with the one-hour pilot. But it doesn't have to. Consider the liklihood of this thing taking off past one season. Again, with Frank Caliendo doing an impersonation of Jay Leno on last week's NFL pregame show, he delivered the joke: "You hear about the NFL players who have donated their brains to a research to study all the pounding to the head. They say in extreme cases, ex-players get so delusional they think they can star in a sit-com."

The beauty of Mark Sanchez becoming a major player in the NFL is that the Mexican-American community wants more information about him.

It doesn't stop the Associated Press from issuing these kind of stories on its wire service (test your high school Spanish 101):

FLORHAM PARK, Nueva Jersey, EE.UU. (AP) -- El méxico-estadounidense Mark Sánchez, quarterback novato de los Jets de Nueva York, sufre una tendinitis leve en la rodilla derecha, pero no se espera que ello le impida conducir la ofensiva de su equipo el próximo domingo, frente a los Titans de Tenesí.

El entrenador Rex Ryan dijo que Sánchez "tenía una ligera tendinitis" pero participó plenamente en el entrenamiento del jueves. El mariscal de campo de ascendencia mexicana pareció tocarse la rodilla algunas veces y hacer algunas flexiones durante el periodo de 40 minutos del entrenamiento al que tuvo acceso la prensa.

"No es algo tan grave", dijo Ryan. "El tiene algo. No sé cómo describirlo, sino diciendo que es una pequeña tendinitis. Pero está bien, quiero decir, participó en todo el entrenamiento y creo que se movió muy bien".

Por su parte, el coordinador ofensivo Brian Schottenheimer dijo: "Mark está totalmente bien".

Sánchez apareció en el reporte de lesionados del equipo, el jueves por la tarde, aunque se aclaraba que "participó en toda la práctica".

"Por favor, cerciórense de que está en esa lista", dijo Ryan, lo que causó algunas risas entre los reporteros. "No quise decir nada con eso".

Quizás sí lo quiso decir. Los Jets fueron multados por la NFL la semana pasada por no colocar a Brett Favre en los reportes de lesionados durante el último tercio de la campaña anterior, pese a que el equipo sabía que el quarterback se había roto un tendón del biceps derecho. El club fue multado con 75.000 dólares, mientras que el gerente general Mike Tannenbaum y el ex entrenador Eric Mangini fueron sancionados con 25.000 dólares cada uno.

Muy bien.

The Oakland Raiders' home game against the Denver Broncos will be blacked out locally because the team did not sell out the game in time, the NFL said today.

Games need to be sold out 72 hours before kickoff to avoid a blackout in a 75-mile radius. The Raiders got a one-day extension to sell out their home opener against San Diego on a Monday night but were unable to avoid the blackout against the Broncos.

The Raiders have had two games blacked out each season since taking over ticket sales from Alameda County before the 2006 season. This marks the first division game blacked out during that time.

The Chargers, meanwhile, were able to avoid embarassment and got its blackout lifted, after also requesting a 24-hour extension, for their game against Miami. The game will be shown in L.A. on KCBS-Channel 2 as planned at 1 p.m.

Last week, the Chargers needed a 24-hour extension to sell enough tickets to lift the blackout for its home opener, which they lost 31-26 to Baltimore.

Both of their exhibition games were blacked out, and the team has warned that there may be regular-season blackouts. The team hasn't had a regular-season blackout since 2004.

The Detroit Lions also fell short of a sellout for their game Sunday against Washington.
More than 10,000-plus tickets were available on Wednesday. Last week, the Lions were able to sell 1,700 available tickets in time for the home game against Minnesota.

Boxing remains a relevant sport, despite with mixed martial artists (like Herschel Walker) want to have you believe.

Saturday's heavyweight title fight between Vitali Klitschko and Riverside's Chris Arreola at Staples Center has historic consequences -- Arreola could be the first Mexican-American to claim the title in this glamorous weight class.

"This one could be big depending on how it goes," said HBO analyst Larry Merchant, who we will feature in Friday's media column. "If Arreola wins, it really becomes a big deal. It could put boxing on the front page of a lot of sports sections."

That's a whole other can of Sugar Shane-coated worms. The media covering boxing has its feet planted in cable TV and the Internet. Newspapers try, but don't always succeed, in following it as loyally as they once did. Maybe it doesn't pack the same punch as it once did, and the 78-year-old Merchant understands the dynamic.

First, it needs a centerpiece, a place where people know -- this is where a big event is taking place. Las Vegas has that for the most part, but even that's pretty watered down.

Can L.A. be the place?

"I don't think there's any place where Madison Square Garden once was, or where Vegas is," said Merchant, a Santa Monica resident for the last 30-plus years. "The casinos selling tickets for the high rollers ... they'll always get the big fights. But I would say outside of Vegas, with L.A. being in the heart of what you can say is Northern Mexico, and the fact that Latinos dominate boxing these days, L.A. is as a big a place as any outside of Vegas."

From the Sports Business Daily, with our commentary in italics:

ABC's "Shaq Vs." was the most-viewed sports-based reality TV show of the summer, averaging 3.97 million viewers over five episodes.

Notice how that was couched. How many other sports-based reality TV shows were there this summer? Too many, actually.

The show's finale, which featured Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal challenging swimmer Michael Phelps in a race, was the series' most-viewed episode with 4.432 million viewers.

Or, at least a million-plus TV sets turned on to "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" but too lazy to change the channel afterward.

"Shaq Vs." showed gains its final three weeks, but no episode finished higher than 46th in the rankings among all broadcast TV primetime shows in a given week.

Shaq also ranks 46th on the Cavaliers' list of top 50 free throw shooters of all time. When he plays his first game, he'll drop off that list.

The revival of "The Superstars" on ABC was close behind Shaq's show, averaging 3.6 million viewers over six telecasts. The show's premiere drew its highest audience with 4.274 million viewers.
VH1's "The T.O. Show" scored the largest audience among sports-themed reality shows on cable, averaging 1.4 million viewers over seven episodes, good enough to have the series renewed for a second season.
Pro Football HOFer Michael Irvin's show "4th & Long" on Spike started strong with 1.175 million viewers for the premiere, but the series never again drew an audience over 1 million for its remaining nine episodes.
Animal Planet's "Jockeys," which is in the middle of its second season, is averaging 439,000 viewers. The show averaged 498,000 viewers for 12 telecasts in its first season, which ran from February 6-March 13.

For the record, Keyshawn Johnson's "Tackling Design" on A&E averaged 512,000 viewers for 11 episodes.

Now you see why.

We follow up this email today (linked here) with one from a female reader:

"I have to thank you for your article. Lot of very good, and serious female athletes that I know, or work with, were somewhat insulted that the LFL young ladies call themselves athletes.... really?!?

I am a full time coach at a D1 University, and I was a very successful athlete for over 20 years. I do understand the need to sell this project, but it shouldn't come at all cost."

The reader says she also knows Tui Suiaunoa, the defensive coordinator of the Temptation quoted in our column this week. Suiaunoa's Facebook page has the story, and "just about all of his bar buddies are ready take you down for a revenge," she writes.

That would be at this link (linked here). We refuse Facebook access. Care to convey what some of the comments that have been posted? Just in case they're needed in a court of public opinion....

According to Suiaunoa's LinkedIn.com page (linked here), he lists his occupation as a "bodyguard" for Guil-T Entertainment.

Guilty as charged....

The Kings officially announced today that Rich Hammond, who has been the Daily News' beat writer for the team the last few years, has been hired as its own beat writer/columnist for LAKings.com.

The move means that the Kings guarantee coverage of their team on a daily basis -- home and away -- but also with the understanding that, while it pays the writer, it also wants to have the editorial content be "independent" of just appearing to be a team- or fan-based slant on the day-to-day happenings of the organization.

In addition to covering the team practices, games, write feature stories, commentaries and video pieces, part of the deal is for Hammond to continue his popular "Inside the Kings" blog on the team's official website.

The move allows Hammond to travel with the team fulltime and start providing exclusive content to LAKings.com starting Oct. 1.

"In this changing world as it relates to the landscape and consumption of sports news content, we are making an organizational commitment to give our fans one place to go - LAKings.com - to satisfy their appetite for Kings news and information " said Kings president of business operations Luc Robitaille. "We feel this is a landmark step for us as Rich will have full editorial control in his new position. Kings fans deserve the best Kings coverage, and we're excited that LAKings.com will be the new home for Rich's insightful, objective and thorough reporting and analysis."

Hammond, also the Daily News sports section's deputy sports editor, leaves the paper after 10 years, covering the Kings since 2000, fulltime since 2005. The USC graduate also worked for the Orange County Register and the Daily Breeze.

Hammond announced his departure on today's InsideSoCal.com/kings blog (linked here). In his comments, he wrote:

"I understand that this will raise some immediate, significant questions ... To put it as plainly and simply as possible, I will draw a salary from the Kings, but none of the stories and/or blogs I write will be reviewed for approval by any member of the Kings' staff. ... This is not public relations. I have been told, pointedly, by the highest levels of Kings management, that I should continue to report and write as normal. ... Be certain of two things: I will not ``go easy'' on the Kings out of any fear of retribution, just as I will not take gratuitous shots at the team and the organization simply because I have retained the right to be critical. Things will continue on course. Praise and criticism, to the extent I feel either is warranted, will continue to be distributed fairly."

In response to our column on the Lingerie Football League (LFL) which has its own website (linked here) for any additional information that one may want to procuree, including a replay of Friday's Temptation-Dream game (linked here):

"I like to have the schedule games of lfl pls."

Pls, type with two hands next time.

Especially if the other hand is taking cellphone pictures up women's dresses.

The original pick for the Fox game of choice for the L.A. audience this Sunday was Atlanta-New England. That's because Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were already dispatched there as the pre-determined matchup of the Fox weekend.

But then the Michael Crabtree-less 2-0 San Francisco 49ers, coming off wins against Arizona and Seattle, decided to crash the scene by those deciding which has more local interest, with their arena-league game at the Humphrey Metrodome this Sunday morn. Fox announced this AM that the switch was official.

Quick update of the 49ers roster (linked here): Mike Singletary is the coach, not the late Bill Walsh. Frank Gore, the top offensive player, not Jerry Rice. Shaun Hill is the QB, not Steve Young, Joe Montana or John Brodie. Or Alex Smith.

And those of you dog lovers wanting to bark at the screen with Michael Vick's return to Philly, too bad. You've been Sanchezed.

Also, L.A. Raider fan has the Chargers to blame for not being able to see their team go up against rival Denver in Oakland.

Sort this out amongst yourselves:

SUNDAY:

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: Tennessee at N.Y. Jets (with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf, instead of Kansas City-Philadelphia, Cleveland-Baltimore and Jacksonville-Houston)

== 10 a.m., Channel 11: San Francisco at Minnesota (with Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan, instead of N.Y. Giants-Tampa Bay, Atlanta-New England, Green Bay-St. Louis and Washington-Detroit)

== 1 p.m., Channel 2: Miami at San Diego (with Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts, instead of Denver-Oakland and Pittsburgh-Cincinnati; Fox has Chicago-Seattle and New Orleans-Buffalo in this window)

== 5:15 p.m., Channel 4: Indianapolis at St. Louis (with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer)

MONDAY:

== 5:30 p.m., ESPN: Carolina at Dallas (with Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski)

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
The Lasorda Five: From left -- Harry, Morris, Tommy, Eddie and Smokey, at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington on Tuesday.

The real story: The Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery officially installed a painting of Tommy Lasorda on his 82nd birthday Tuesday. The Dodgers' Hall of Fame manager's portrait, measuring 5 feet by 4 feet, also corresponds with the Dodgers' annual visit to Washington D.C. to play the Nationals.

The backstory: How did Mrs. Lasorda manage to have these five characters in one lifetime (see photo above)? There's kind of a Darwinian circle of life pulldown chart waiting to be painted next based on this photo. Or, it's a before-and-after photo (with some inbetween) about the effects of Slim Fast.
And what do you we make of these two thieves making off with the portrait minutes after it was well hung and everyone left for a giant pasta reception?

The real story: Charlena Rector, the mother of banished Chicago Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley, said her son would consider returning to the team if it will have him back. The Cubs suspended Bradley on Sunday for the rest of the season for what amounted to conduct detrimental to the team, one day after he criticized the franchise in a newspaper interview. "All the people on TV keep saying, 'Oh, Milton has played his last game for the Cubs," Rector told the Chicago Sun-Times. But, she added, that won't be the case if Bradley has any say with management. "Milton eats, sleeps and drinks baseball. He loves it. That's all he wants to do," Rector said. Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said he decided to send Bradley home after learning of the player's remarks in the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald of Illinois. Bradley, who was scratched from Saturday's lineup with a sore left knee, was quoted as saying, "You understand why they haven't won in 100 years here."

The backstory: The Cubs are on the hook for two more years and $21 million with Bradley. Is this any wonder why the Tribune Company has gone bankrupt? No matter how many newspapers Milton Bradley's mom goes out to buy each morning?
For what it's worth, Rector said part of her son's problem with living in Chicago: His 3-year-old son has face racism problems in school. "When racism hit his 3-year-old baby in school, he couldn't take that," Rector said in a radio interview earlier this week, according to the Sun-Times. "Parents, teachers and their kids called him the n-word. He didn't even know it was a bad word until his mom told him." When asked why her son shared the information only with her this season, Rector said, "Milton is a quiet person. Stuff like that, he keeps to himself. He doesn't want to talk about that because he doesn't think anybody cares. It is a heartbreaking situation."

The real story: Kristin Armstrong of the United States has won the time trial race at the road cycling world championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland, this morning, likely ending her illustrious career at the top. The reigning Olympic champion timed 35 minutes, 26.09 seconds over two laps of the 16.7-mile course, defeating Noemi Cantele of Italy by 55 seconds. The 36-year-old Armstrong, who won her first time trial world title in 2006, has said she will retire after these championships.

The backstory: The last time an Armstrong retired from cycling ... don't even get us started. Why would Kristin be any different from Lance (no relation).

The real story: Manchester City soccer club is now completely owned by Sheik Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. "Manchester City can confirm that a transaction involving 10 percent of the shares of Manchester City Football Club Limited has been completed," a statement on the club's Web site said today. The 10 percent of shares, previously owned by Worldwide Investments Limited, was transferred to ADUG, the wholly owned company of Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for an undisclosed sum. "As a result of the transaction, Manchester City Football Club is now 100 percent owned by His Highness Sheik Mansour," according to the statement.
Since taking control of the club last September, Mansour's wealth has transformed expectations at the underachieving club. City spent more than $200 million on new players in the offseason in an effort to break into the Premier League's top four and qualify for the Champions League.

The back story: The headline on this story read: "Man City completely owned by Sheik," which, at face value, really wasn't any kind of news.

The real story: Mikhail Prokhorov, known around the world as Russia's richest man, has a deal to buy a controlling interest in the New Jersey Nets and nearly half of a project to build a new arena in Brooklyn. Prokhorov's Onexim Group announced the deal today with Forest City Ratner Companies and Nets Sports and Entertainment. They say they have signed a letter of intent to create a partnership for the development of the Atlantic Yards Project. According to the agreement, entities to be formed by Onexim Group will invest $200 million and make certain funding commitments to acquire 80 percent of the NBA team, 45 percent of the arena project and the right to purchase up to 20 percent of the Atlantic Yards Development Company, which will develop the non-arena real estate.
Prokhorov would be the first non-North American NBA owner.

The backstory: What a country. But buy an English soccer team and then pop off, Prokhorov.

The real story: Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes pleaded with Glendale council members Tuesday night to take a deal and let the bankrupt NHL team leave town, according to the Arizona Republic. The Glendale resident and trucking magnate used 2 1/2 minutes allotted him to plead with Mayor Elaine Scruggs and council members to take a $25 million offer from billionaire Jim Balsillie, a Canadian businessman who wants to pack up the team and move it out of Glendale. Council members were unable to respond to Moyes because his comments were not on the agenda. City spokesman Gary Husk reiterated confidence that a local owner will be found and will keep the team in Glendale.

The backstory: Refer to Gretzky's Rules of Order folks: The NHL's natural re-migration from the U.S. desert back to its roots in Canada should be encouraged. Motion approved? Second? Bang the gavel and move onto the next agenda item on tearing down the Glendale Arena.

The real story: Stephen Luecke, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., said today that the College Football Hall of Fame is moving from his city to Atlanta. Officials with the National Football Foundation, which runs the hall, told him Tuesday the hall was terminating its agreement with the city. Luecke says South Bend's agreement with the hall runs through 2010, but that he would consider closing the hall before then. The hall opened in South Bend in 1995 to take advantage of its proximity to Notre Dame. Supporters predicted it would attract more than 150,000 visitors a year, but it drew about 115,000 people the first year and about 60,000 annually after that.

The backstory: That's how a city gets things done -- it lets outsiders make the decisions for them. But Atlanta? Why not Canada?

(AP Photo/Harry L. Hall, File)
Fifty years ago -- Aug. 31, 1949 -- Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy, kneeling left, hands off a football to fleet halfback Emil Sitko, with football, as members of the squad look on during the opening day of college football practice in South Bend, Ind. Holding up the shamrock sign are the two co-captains, Leon Hart, left, and Jim Martin, right.
Notre Dame will honor the class of 1949 and all the teams of the '40s on Saturday.

Bryon Russell vs. Michael Jordan. A game of 21. In Lehi, Utah.

Brandt Andersen, owner of the Utah Jazz's NBA Development League team, has offered a $100,000 to charity if Russell, the former Utah Jazz player out of Long Beach State, takes on Jordan, according to the Associated Press.

During Jordan's recent Hall of Fame speech, he said he was motivated by Russell's trash talk toward him during his first retirement. Jordan's jumper over Russell in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA finals gave the Chicago Bulls a 4-2 series win over Utah. Jazz fans still insist Jordan pushed off Russell.

Andersen says he has spoken to Russell and left a message for Jordan through a mutual friend. Andersen's suggestion: Jordan vs. Russell during halftime of the Utah Flash's home opener.

Last week, Russell called out Jordan (linked here) to fly to Russell's home near Calabasas and play him there, with his friends and neighbors, former NBA players Mark Jackson and Mitch Richmond, having a part in it.

Highlights, from our end, of the second episode of "Joe Buck Live" on HBO, which popped on this evening on the television set (caught the East Coast version of it; it'll be on 10 p.m. West Coast time and has several replays):

By the way, it's rated TV-PG with a warning about "Adult Language" ...

Opening segment: Joe Buck walking down a New York street, reaches into his jacket, bumped by a pedestrian. He looks up and ...

It's Artie Lang.

Artie gives him the silent gesture like, "Hey, it's me ... remember me."

Buck has a stressed look on his face. He raises his eyebrows. He turns and runs through pedestrians. Artie gives chase.

The audience laughs and claps.

If you need this explained to you, you don't get the joke. (linked here)

Buck appears on stage to open the show, pretending he's winded.

"I have not run like that in years," he says.

Onto a conversation -- chummy at best -- with John Elway, Dan Marino, Joe Namath ...

Onto a conversation with Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban ... allowing the Cowboys' owner to admit he's "scared sh--less" about now owning a new huge stadium and having to pay for it ...

Onto a conversation with Curt Schilling, who "announces" that "I am not going to run for the senate seat" recently vacated by the passing of Ted Kennedy. ... "Obviously there's a million pieces" to this, Schilling said, "and I couldn't get over the first few going down that path ... no matter what support and outreach was given to me didn't make much sense."

The final segment: "I Refuse to Hyperventilate" where Buck gets to riff on (with photos to help illustrate his point):

"I refuse to hyperventilate about the perceived East Coast bias in television coverage. As a broadcaster with almost two decades of experience, let me end all the conversation right here. There IS AN EAST COAST BIAS. And why shouldn't there be?

"And by the way, Michael, if you ever do sign that contract, good luck with coach Mike Singletary's first practice. I'm sure he'll completely understand your situation."

If only Dennis Miller could have delivered it as smoothly and less snarky.

The show continues online with Schilling, Namath and Marino hanging out ... Schill ripping on Deion Sanders ... "but he is a great guy." Schill then makes fun of Joe Buck having a segment called "Buckshot" ...

"After what I went through on the first show, this is nuthin'," Buck said of the ribbing.

There was video from Week 1 of Penn State coach Joe Paterno chasing some camera man away from his players as they were stretching before a game. The camera guy laughed as he backpedaled -- all while filming.

Then there was that incident last year at the Rose Bowl, when JoePa refused to talk to Lisa Salters before the game, then headed up to the press box to watch his team get destroyed by USC. He talked to Chris Fowler afterward.

Salters was so nuts about it, the threw out the "he could be fined" for not talking to her (linked here). Then, three months later, he was quietly "punished" (linked here).

Welcome back to the World Wide Leader, Mr. 82 year old coach, (born Dec. 21, 1926) who finds his team ranked in the Top 4 of most polls, mostly because USC and Oklahoma have graciously given up their spots.

The new leader of the Big Ten has been picked to expose their shortcomings on this week's ABC/ESPN prime-time Saturday game. You can start the beer-drinking game now: How many times will Brent Musburger say "JoePa"? .....

We know of three girls who are the clubhouse leaders so far...

Swigging ahead to the rest of the otherwise modest weekend of ballplaying, some teams in recovery mode, others trying to figure out how to mess up their Top 10 rankings before their fans wake up to the fact they just don't belong there:

THE LOCALS:

==UCLA: A well-deserved rest.
==USC vs. Washington State, Saturday, 7:15 p.m., FSN West (with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Michael Eaves)

THURSDAY

== 4:30 p.m., ESPN: Mississippi at South Carolina (with Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and .... wait for it ... Erin Andrews. Maybe wearing glasses)

FRIDAY

== 6 p.m., ESPN: Missouri at Nevada (with Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore)

SATURDAY

== 7 to 9 a.m., ESPN: College GameDay from State College, Penn., with Fowler, Herbstreit, Corso and Howard.

== 9 a.m., ESPN: Michigan State at Wisconsin (with Dave Pasch, Bob Griese and Chris Spielman)
== 9 a.m., ESPN2: Indiana at Michigan (with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley)
== 9 a.m., ESPNU: South Florida at Florida State (with Clay Matvick and David Diaz-Infante)
== 9 a.m., FSN West: Southern Miss at Kansas (with Joel Meyers, Dave Lapham and Jim Knox)
== 9 a.m., Big Ten Network: Minnesota at Northwestern (with Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin and our Charissa Thompson)
== 10 a.m., ESPN360.com: TCU at Clemson (with Dave Weekley and Danny Kanell)
== 11 a.m., MNT: San Diego State at Air Force (with Ari Wolfe and Blaine Fowler)
== 11 a.m., ESPN360.com: Wake Forest at Boston College (with Ryan Rose and Jeff Genyk)
== 12:30 p.m., Channel 2: Arkansas at Alabama (with Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson)
== 12:30 p.m., Channel 7: Cal at Oregon, (with Terry Gannon and David Norrie)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPN: Illinois at Ohio State (with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPN PPV: Miami at Virginia Tech (with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe)
== 12:30 p.m., FSN West: UTEP at Texas (with Bill Land, Gary Reasons and Emily Jones)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPNU: Pittsburgh at North Carolina State (with Todd Harris and Charles Arbuckle)
== 12:30 p.m., CBS College Sports: Western Kentucky at Navy (with Craig Bolerjack and Randy Cross)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPN360.com: Rutgers at Maryland (with Jim Barbar and Jeremy Bloom)
== 3 p.m., ESPN2: Florida at Kentucky (with Mark Jones and, Bob Davie)
== 3 p.m., MTN: Colorado State at BYU (with James Bates, Todd Christensen and Sammy Linebaugh)
== 4 p.m., ESPNU: Arizona State at Georgia (with Eric Collins and Brock Huard)
== 4:30 p.m., Versus: Arizona at Oregon State (with Ron Thulin, Kelly Stouffer and Lewis Johnson)
== 4:30 p.m., CBS College Sports: Louisville at Utah (with Tom Hart and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila)

== 5 p.m., Channel 7: Iowa at Penn State (with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters)
== 5 p.m., ESPN: Notre Dame at Purdue (with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews)
== 6:15 p.m., ESPN2: Texas Tech at Houston (with Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox)
== 7 p.m., MTN: New Mexico State at New Mexico (with Dan Gutowsky and Robert Griffith)

A highlight from Tuesday's Dan Patrick radio (570-AM)/TV (DirecTV channel 101) show:

== Patrick to Fox analyst and former NFL coach Brian Billick: How would you police Twittering?

Billick: "Well you can't stop players giving their opinions no matter how inane or idiotic they are. ... It can't happen on game day. If one of these knuckleheads Twitters at halftime: My ankle's hurt, I'm not coming in the second half. And that goes public.. .and the gambling aspect ... the whole nine yards.

== Patrick then asks about how to disicpline a player for having opinions contrary to the team:

Billick: "You better be careful there when you discipline a player because of his radio show, his Twitter, his My Face, My Space, My SpaceFace, whatever it is, he wants to criticize a coach, an organization ... you're going down a path I'm not sure you want to go. I'm talking more about those things being done in the workplace. We all have jobs ... and certain rights when you're being a professional. I don't want my pilot on my flight to Detroit this week to be Facebooking and Twittering simply because he has the right of free expression. You know, why don't we wait 'til we land and you do your job."

Post script: Later in the conversation, Billick exercised his freedom of expression. He used the "making chicken salad out of chicken sh-- reference" during an answer to a Patrick question. It was dumped on the Fox Radio Network feed. It went live on DirecTV. Patrick apologized for Billick going potty mouth. On the DirecTV 101 replay (from 9 to noon), it was also dumped there.

The beer commercial with the pseudo infomercial pitch man comes on, loudly, dazzling the audience with all these fantasy tailgate items that one could ever need (or imagine).

Like the barbeque that doubles as a cooler -- the Grooler. The harness you put on a dog to carry around the spatacula and other junk (like, your beers) -- The Tailgate Companion.

The fake grass can -- the Coozie. The giant blue foam finger that also has a beer-can holder -- the Foozie. Both are a doozie (sorry, couldn't resist).

The 24-pack bottle box that's really a speaker for your tunes. A 3-in-one condiment gun that looks like a converted device you'd use to caulk your bathtub.

Unfortuntately, it's real. And for sale.

The BBQ-Cooler is, according to the site (linked here) sold out. It was running at $125. Apparenly its a run-away best seller.

Fake-grass can: 6 for $11.99. Foam-finger beer holder: 2 for $9.99.

Tailgate companion: $4.99 (dog not included; made by Petfinder.com)

The speaker: "Now available in stores." Not the ones I shop in.

The one-of-a-kind condiment gun goes up for auction starting in November. I may bid on it, just to say I have it. Or, I may go in the garage and make my own. I can caulk.

When all the looking was done, we realized we had nothing in our cart. Good for us.

When we wrote about it on this blog, we also realized we'd never mentioned the product. Even better for you, bud.

Dang it.

Now, you want crazy, creative and distruptive? Pop open a high octane energy drink instead, and see if you have Saturday afternoon free. They're running the soap box derby in downtown L.A. (linked here). It should be pretty bitchin'.

Herschel Walker, the former Heisman Trophy winner from Georgia and NFL running back whose most recent revelation in an autobiography is that he battles with multiple personality disorder, has ordered up a new career -- mixed martial arts performer -- with a multi-fight contract already signed.

Strikeforce announced today that the 47-year-old Walker, who has a fifth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has trained in Muay Thai and Keppo, will start a 12-week training program in San Jose's American Kickboxing Academy.

"I've been training for several years," said Walker in a press release. "I would play college football games on Saturday and then compete in martial arts tournaments on Sunday after church. I'm now looking forward to opening up another chapter in my life and to competing in MMA."

"I flew to L.A. last month to watch Herschel train and was surprised to see his advanced wrestling and striking abilities," said Strikeforce founder and CEO Scott Coker, a martial arts promoter of over 25 years. "He's got work ahead of him, but he's committed to training at one of the most notable gyms in the sport of MMA so it will be very interesting to watch him progress."

MMA probably fits into Walker's personalities.

Remember, he left after his junior year at Georgia to join the new USFL. After a 12-year NFL career with four teams (and two Pro Bowls), he finished seventh in the 1992 Winter Olympics two-man bobsled competition. He nearly made the Olympic sprint relay team.

"I will go in there and test myself against any 20 year old," said Walker. "I know there will be naysayers and I'm fine with that. I want to prove to people who sit on a couch and don't do anything but criticize other people that, if you're a true athlete or martial artist, you're not old until you can't get up and walk around anymore. MMA fighters are said to be some of the best athletes in the world, my plan at the age of 47 is to show the world I am still one of the best athletes as well."

If all goes as planned, expect to see Walker on an upcoming CBS MMA presentation. Last March, Strikeforce signed a deal with Viacom's Showtime to provide MMA events, with some of them available on CBS (such as one planned for Nov. 7).

UPDATED:

TODAY

What do you call your house? On Fox, it's actually called "House," the season six debut tonight, two hours long, where we find the grumpy dude in a mental hospital. In Miami, the home field of them Miami Dolphins is it's called Land Shark Stadium, enough to send Joe Robbie to a mental hospital if he were around to see this happen. What's inside, a giant Jimmy Buffett buffet of beer and "Saturday Night Live" videos? NFL: Indianapolis at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ESPN.

The hits that Derek Jeter get against Angels' pitching this series is added to his franchise-leading totals, right? Meaning, he's passed Lou Gehrig, someone whose career was cut short by that annoying illness, and he's got no one in his way en route to 3,000 career knocks. Start building the statue to him now, Yankee faithful. By the way, the Yanks were swept by the Halos last time they ventured to Anaheim before the All-Star break. Angels vs. Yankees at Angels Stadium, 7 p.m., Fox Sports Net West (also Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon)

TUESDAY

It's late September, and the Dodgers visit the nation's capital, and the Steel City, on their way to clinching the NL West title. Somehow, there's a crazy road map in place here. Dodgers at Washington, Channel 9, 4 p.m. (also Wednesday and Thursday)

WEDNESDAY

And keep an eye on those giant-armed Giants, especially after last week's uneven performance in L.A. San Francisco at Arizona, ESPN, 7 p.m.

Your Sparks live to see another WNBA playoff series, one more to go before they're back in the championship round. Western Conference finals: Game 1: Phoenix vs. Sparks at Pauley Pavilion, 7 p.m., ESPN2 (at Phoenix on Friday and Saturday).

THURSDAY

Your last shot at watching the PGA Tour when it means something for the season. And there's a big trophy to give out. Probably to Tiger Woods. Again. Unless ... The Tour Championship first round, Golf Channel, 10 a.m to 5:30 p.m. (round two airs on Golf Channel, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; round three airs on NBC, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; round three airs on NBC, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

FRIDAY

The record shows the Dodgers have lost only eight games in Pittsburgh over the last nine seasons. Is that going back to pre-Jim Rooker? Dodgers at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m., Prime Ticket (also Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Sept. 28)

SATURDAY

Last week, Washington. This week, Washington State. A year ago, after the Trojans defeated the Cougars 69-0 in Pullman, Wash., in Week 6, Daily News staff writer Scott Wolf gave the team an overall grade performance of "B" (linked here). Could it get even uglier this time? Wolf gave USC a D-plus for its performance in Seattle. College football: USC vs. Washington State, 7:15 p.m., Fox Sports Net West (UCLA has a bye week).

SUNDAY

Another game of national exposure for the Peyton Manning. As if he needs it. Have another Oreo cookie, sit back, and enjoy the show. Indianapolis at Arizona, Channel 4, 5:20 p.m. Also: Miami at San Diego, Channel 2, 1 p.m.; Tennessee at N.Y. Jets, Channel 2, 10 a.m.

Also: Episode 2 in the new "Curb Your Enthusiasm" season is called: "Vehicular Fellatio," HBO, 9 p.m.

If only Vin Scully could have a departure from the game as well as Ernie Harwell did this week.

The Hall of Famer, who once did Brooklyn Dodger games with Red Barber and could have changed the course of L.A. baseball history if he'd decided to stay with the team in 1950 instead of leave to join the New York Giants, Harwell addressed the Tigers' home crowd to basically give his own eulogy.

The almost 92-year-old, who joined the Tigers in 1960, has inoperable cancer, and there's a good chance he won't be around for next season's opening day.

"I really feel lucky to be here," Harwell tells the crowd, which if that doesn't give you Gehrig-sized goosebumps, nothing will. "The Good Lord has blessed me with a great journey. And the blessed part of that journey is that it's going to end in the great state of Michigan. ... Thank you very much, and God bless you."

What a unique voice. With that Southern accent that hasn't left him. Still. And what an ovation.

I've had the pleasure of meeting him, interviewing him, having him even sign a baseball for me. It's one of my great treasures.

If we learned anything from that this week, it's how to go out with class, dignity and a big thank you.

The rest we learned:

== Your L.A. Week 3 College Football Schedule, complete with a USC visit to Washington and UCLA hosting Kansas State (linked here)

== Your L.A. Week 2 NFL schedule (linked here)

== Why Joe Paterno's on our side in this sports newspaper section vs. "whatever they call it, computers" (linked here)

== Is it OK if your DirecTV doesn't have Saturday's BYU-Florida State contest, because it's still feuding with Versus? (linked here).

== ESPN's ombudsman is cool with a three-man booth on NFL games -- especially ESPN's three guys. (linked here)

== Would ESPN's ombudsman now like to comment on the new FoxSports.net lineup? (linked here)

== Why Tim McCarver needs you to hear him sing "This Will Be My Shining Hour." (linked here)

== If John Krakauer wants to write about Pat Tillman, we're in (linked here)

== Barry Bonds once was nice to a sportswriter (scroll past the first page; linked here)

== It's Showtime for the AFL (linked here)

== Lots of folk watched ESPN's version of USC-Ohio State in 2D, too (linked here). As for the 3D reviews ... (linked here)

== Don't confuse Derrin Horton with Damon Andrews at KTLA-Channel 5 (linked here)

== Don't confuse Cris Collinsworth, the jokester at NBC, with the one who was on ABC 25 years ago (linked here)

== Don't confuse the digital show from Fox's Jay Glazer with ESPN's Kenny Mayne (linked here)

== Don't confuse Kevin Price with Kevin Prince, Erin (linked here)

== Define what a whole season of HD means with the Kings (linked here)

== Ray Romano has next with Hank Haney on Golf Channel (linked here)

== Who's Keyshawn Johnson calling a bum? (linked here)

== Why did it take us this long to realize Norman Chad's "Couch Slouch" columns were running on SI.com? (linked here)

== ESPN found two suckers willing to play a 6 a.m. EDT basketball game (linked here)

== AND FINALLY:

== Suzy Kolber can catch Tom Brady and drag him for a loss if she wanted to (linked here) ... but why did it have to look like the final scene of "Heaven Can Wait"?

From today's Sports Business Daily, by Brian Helfrich:

FoxSports.com Thursday afternoon launched the premiere episode of "Cubed," a weekly online show that appears will have little -- if anything -- to do with sports.

Upon announcing the show on September 9, FoxSports.com vowed "nothing is off limits as this show plans to push the line as far as it will go." Well, that was one release that told the truth.

The debut episode kicks off with a warning that the video contains nudity and graphic language, then takes little time living up to its promise to provide "shock" by including a naked woman in the opening credits after less than 25 seconds.

Immediately following the introduction, the opening segment of the Webisode features three young professionals sitting at adjoined cubicles debating the question, "Would you rather watch the WNBA or gay porn?"

The characters proceed to take several jabs at WNBA athletes, as well as at the league over its lack of fan support.

The ad-free clip, which in total runs just over 16 minutes, goes on to discuss such topics as online dating, sex tapes and overweight celebrities, in addition to showing random videos of bikini-clad women.

As the episode winds down, it introduces the final segment: "Naked activity of the week." The clip shows 15 seconds of a naked woman brushing her teeth, footage accompanied by no commentary or sound bytes.

This show is one of five new Webisodes offered by FoxSports.com that will update weekly under the marketing banner "Lunch w/ Benefits.:

It goes on to report:
== SportsMediaWatch.blogspot.com wrote "Cubed" "may have been more suited for 3 AM on premium cable than a mainstream sports site."
== TheBigLead.com wrote: "Is this like a low-budget Sports Nation, minus the feedback?"

Months, years ... at least a few more days.

In reality, we have no clue how long the newspaper sports section will last. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, which we tried to explain earlier this week (linked here) and expanded upon in today's media column (linked here).

Please respond, here or at the story entry point online, about your connection to the daily newspaper sports section. How do you read it? Why do you read it? What do you want from it that's different from other media sources?

For those who still want the news, in byte-sized pieces:

== In light of the fact KTLA-Channel 5 is doing this weekend's final AVP tour stop from Las Vegas, play-by-play and MC man Chris "Geeter" McGee says that the future of a consistent beach volleyball broadcast luring in the casual fan will hopefully shake out by the start of next season.

"I think they're doing a great job with AVP.com, so at least a lot of people know where to go to watch, but those are the diehards," said McGee. "To reach the other fans, the local coverage is key. That's why KTLA works in this situation, and they've put the resources behind it. When we're in Cincinnati, for example, we're all over the local news and that's why so many people get out there. Chicago is always amazing as well."

Before the 2009 season, AVP sources thought there was a deal in place with ESPN to carry many of the events this season. After commissioner Leonard Armato left, the AVP bought time on Versus (a channel still AWOL from DirecTV's lineup) but only for tour-stop replays. NBC did three live events this summer. The rest are hit and miss with the local customers.

KTLA did the Manhattan Beach Open as a local, live telecast for Southern California two months ago and with former old Prime Ticket boss Don Corsini calling the shots at the local channel, this could be a sign of more local sports coming back to the station that once was famous for its UCLA basketball late-night replays, boxing, Angels, Dodgers and Clippers coverage.

== Time Warner Cable has its own "High School Sports Rewind" half-hour show, hosted by Randy Kerdoon, that attempts to cover all in-season sports throughout Southern California and beyond. It will air every Tuesday at 7 and 10 p.m. on Channel 101 of Time Warner Cable systems, as well as stay on Video on Demand.

== One of the features planned for CBS' NFL pregame show (Sunday, 9 a.m.) is former Jets QB Boomer Esiason chatting it up with new Jets QB Mark Sanchez. ESPN's NFL pregame also has a piece on Sanchez, if you can find it amongst the noise.

== New recording artist Tim McCarver (you didn't hear? it's linked here), who may not have worked a baseball game with Joe Buck since last year's World Series, is with Josh Lewin on the Cubs-Cardinals game Saturday, going to nearly 60 percent of the country. Chris Rose and Eric Karros do the Giants-Dodgers game from Dodger Stadium at 1 p.m. (21 percent of the country, Channel 11). Detroit-Minnesota goes to the other 20 percent.

== ESPN's lineup for its second annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon -- back-to-back-to back-to-back-to-back (etc.) live games -- has 12 games over a 24-hour period starting late Monday, Nov. 16 at 9 p.m. with UCLA hosting Cal State Fullerton. Every two hours, another game.
They hit five time zones in 14 states and two women's games.
Here's how it goes after the Bruins open it up on ESPN:

11 p.m.: San Diego State at St. Mary's, ESPN
1 a.m. (11 p.m. local time): Northern Colorado at Hawaii, ESPN
3 a.m. (6 a.m. local time) Monmouth at St. Peter's, ESPN
5 a.m. (8 a.m. local time) Drexel at Niagara, ESPN
9 a.m. (noon local time) Northeastern at Siena, ESPN
11 a.m. (2 p.m. local time) Arkansas Little-Rock at Tulsa, ESPN
1 p.m. (4 p.m. local time) Temple at Georgetown, ESPN
2:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. local time) Binghamton at Pittsburgh, ESPN2
3 p.m. (6 p.m. local time) NIT from Durham, N.C. (featuring Duke), ESPN
4 p.m. (7 p.m. local time) Women's game: Tennessee vs. Texas Tech, ESPNU
4:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. local time) Arkansas vs. Louisville (from St. Louis), ESPN2
5 p.m. (8 p.m. local time) Gonzaga at Michigan State, ESPN
6 p.m. (8 p.m. local time) Duquesne at Iowa. ESPNU
6:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. local time) Women's game: Connecticut vs. Texas (from San Antonio), ESPN2
7 p.m. (9 p.m. local time): Memphis vs. Kansas (from St. Louis), ESPN
8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. local time) NIT from Tempe, Ariz. (featuring Arizona State), ESPN2

== Fox College Sports Pacific has a half-hour show called "Pepperdine Pipeline," focused on Waves' sports, debuting tonight at 7:30 p.m. It is produced and co-hosted by Kira Elste.

== AND FINALLY:

== Al Michaels said it on the NBC telecast of the Tennessee-Pittsburgh NFL opener last week, after none of us could figure out what some of the players were saying -- including the pronunciation of their name and what university they attended:

"Maybe we can get subtitles next time."

Same could -- SHOULD -- apply to the CBS "NFL Today" crew when Shannon Sharpe is asked - or maybe forced - to do halftime highlights. As well as with Manny Ramirez in his radio spots on a secondary-ticket service called VIP Tickets. Or is it "BIP"? Oh, yea ...

The Associated Press

LeBron James is leaving Cleveland for Hollywood.

The Cavaliers superstar and reigning NBA MVP will make his feature film debut by playing himself in an upcoming comedy.

James will appear in "Fantasy Basketball Camp" by Universal Pictures. The movie is about five guys from different backgrounds who come to Las Vegas to live out their fantasy by attending James' basketball camp. Production will begin next summer, when James can become a free agent.

James is experienced in front of the camera. Along with appearing in numerous TV commercials, he has hosted "Saturday Night Live" and ESPN's ESPY Awards.

Producer Brian Grazer is convinced the All-Star forward can make the transition to the big screen, as rapper Eminem did in "8 Mile." Grazer also produced that picture.

"I initially sought LeBron out because my 8-year-old son, Thomas, and I were just dying to meet him," Grazer said. "But I felt that beyond being one of the world's great superstar athletes, here was someone so relaxed and comfortable with himself that he would have the capability to be that way on screen. Later, when I watched him host 'Saturday Night Live,' and saw his advertising work, it was clear he can do this."

James will be an executive producer on the project along with his business manager, Maverick Carter.

This summer, James has been promoting "More Than a Game," a documentary which chronicles how he and four childhood friends achieved their dream of winning a high school national championship. The film opens Oct. 2.

Story: Buffalo Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin is so far willing to forgive and forget after two male teens admitted to police that they defaced the player's front lawn. Hamburg police Sgt. Thomas Best said Wednesday night that McKelvin is refusing to press charges against two 16-year-olds, who said they were the ones who spray-painted a message and an obscenity across the grass in front of the player's home shortly after the Bills' season-opening 25-24 loss at New England on Monday night.
After the Patriots scored to cut Buffalo's lead to 24-19, McKelvin was faulted for not taking a knee in the end zone on the ensuing kickoff. Instead, he ran the ball out and had the ball stripped from his hands. The Patriots recovered at the Bills' 31 and scored the decisive touchdown three plays later.

Reaction: Officer Best, the best way to handle this is force the kids to attend Bills games for the rest of the season. Sitting next to Terrell Owens.

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Story: Gilbert Arenas says he's back to his explosive self but is wondering if it's the Wizards' fault that it has taken him so long to get back to normal. Arenas, who worked with trainer Tim Grover in Chicago this summer, told The Washington Times that his injuries are in the past. ...
But While Arenas praised Grover for saving his career, he blamed the Wizards for giving him too much control over his failed comebacks from surgery the past two seasons.
"If you have a kid that loves basketball, that eats, sleeps, drinks and thinks basketball and all he knows is basketball and he gets hurt and he's your franchise player, you need to hold him back from himself," Arenas told the newspaper. "If I'm saying I feel good and you know it's supposed to take six months, instead of letting me at four months run ... they should have held me back. Rather than saying, 'Let's let this guy do what he wants and use him to sell tickets' -- sometimes you have to protect players from themselves. I don't feel like I got that type of protection. But, I don't judge them for that. Some things just happen. I told them I felt OK because I wanted to play, and they did what they did."

Reaction: Just blog about it next time, Gil. We miss the blogging.

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Story: The New York Jets' defenders are talking big for their Week 2 matchup against the New England Patriots. Earlier this week, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins called this game the Jets' "Super Bowl" and on Wednesday, free safety Kerry Rhodes said he wanted to "embarrass" the Patriots.
The Patriots (1-0) have owned the Jets (1-0) since Bill Belichick became their coach in 2000, going 13-6, including one playoff game, against New York. Tom Brady and Co. have won the past eight games played against the Jets at the Meadowlands.
"You go out from the first quarter on, from the first play on, and try to embarrass them," Rhodes said, according to the New York Daily News. "Not just go out there and try to win, try to embarrass them. Try to make them feel bad when they leave here. We don't want to just beat them. We want to send a message to them, 'We're not backing down from you and we expect to win this game, and it's not going to be luck, it's not going to be a mistake.' "

Reaction: No pressure, Sanchez -- aka, the San-chise. Now go out and embarass Tom Brady in the second game of your professional career.

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Story: Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Charles Rogers has been arrested on a drunken-driving charge. Police say the 28-year-old Rogers was arrested Wednesday afternoon after he refused a Breathalyzer test. Results of a blood test are pending.
Rogers was arraigned Thursday on charges of operating while intoxicated and operating without a valid license. He was ordered held on $50,000 bond and didn't have an attorney on record with the court. A pretrial conference is set for Monday.
The second overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft served a 30-day jail sentence, with credit for 15 days, earlier this year instead of staying in an intensive counseling program after violating probation in a domestic violence case.

Reaction: Once again, Rogers couldn't outrun the coverage.

Rapper Ice Cube poses with fans (and hand gestures) before the Raiders' home game against San Diego last Monday night.
AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez

Mark Sanchez's second NFL regular-season appearance, against Tom Brady and the New England Patroits, squeezed Oakland Raiders' fans out of the picture as far as CBS and its local affiliate, Channel 2, was concerned for this weekend's local TV coverage.

Later, the Chargers' home opener could bring some San Diego folks up here if it doesn't sell out in time.

The rest of the weekend for NFL in L.A.:

SUNDAY:

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: New England at N.Y. Jets (with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf; instead of Houston-Tennessee, Oakland-Kansas City or Cincinnati-Green Bay)

== 10 a.m., Channel 11: New Orleans at Philadelphia (with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver, instead of Arizona-Jacksonville, Minnesota-Detroit, St. Louis-Washington or Carolina-Atlanta)

== 1 p.m., Channel 2: Baltimore at San Diego (with Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts, instead of Pittsburgh-Chicago or Cleveland-Denver)

== 5:15 p.m., Channel 4: N.Y. Giants at Dallas (with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer)

MONDAY:

== 5:30 p.m., ESPN: Indianapolis at Miami (with Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski)

The Associated Press

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Toledo kicker Andrew (middle name not Lloyd) Weber is in Sports Illustrated this week -- but not for his kicking.

Weber, a walk-on for the Rockets, shot a two-page photo spread for the "Up Front" section of the latest issue of the weekly magazine, which hit newsstands Wednesday.

The Perrysburg native is a photojournalism major.

He was at the Rockets' 54-38 upset over Colorado on Friday night, then worked as a photo stringer on Saturday night at the game between No. 3 USC and No. 8 Ohio State about two hours away in Columbus. USC won 18-15, and Weber's picture shows Stafon Johnson scoring the winning touchdown with 1:05 left in the game

The sophomore is working out with the Rockets this week and will dress for Saturday's game against the Buckeyes at noon Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

== More info:

--At Weber's official website of his work (linked here)

--At Weber's Toledo bio page (linked here)

Fox baseball analyst Tim McCarver has a new album titled, "Tim McCarver Sings Selections from the Great American Songbook."

The 14-song playlist:

"On A Clear Day"
"This Will Be My Shining Hour "
"Two For The Road"
"There Used To Be A Ballpark"
"Gone With The Wind"
"Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You"
"Change Partners"
"One for My Baby (And One More For The Road)"
"A Nigtingale Sang In Berkeley Square"
"I'll Remember April"
"I Wish I Didn't Love You So"
"Then I'll Be Tired Of You"
"I Wish I Were In Love Again"
"Day By Day"

No kidding. McCarver promoted it during last week's Fox regional Phillies-Mets telecast.

In one of those "talk-as-singing" styles, McCarver's entry is on Amazon.com (linked here) but says it's out of stock, even though it was released last week. It's listed as being ranked No. 1,915 in amazon.com's music selections.

(Photo from EverettRaymondKinstler.com, linked here)

The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has more than 20,000 paintings, sculptures, photograhs, drawings and new media dedicated to telling the history of America. To be included in the gallery's permanent collection, someone must be of "national significance," approved by the Gallery's curators and historians, the director and deputy director, and then voted on by the commission.

Kind of like getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but without the $15,000 under-the-table entrance fee.

After Sept. 22, Tommy Lasorda will be part of that Smithsonian story telling wing. Without Lasorda doing the actual story telling.

The Dodgers' Hall of Fame former manager will have his commissioned portrait put on display in a Sept. 22 ceremony -- the day of his 82nd birthday -- the team announced today.

"I am proud and honored by this very special recognition," said Lasorda in a statement. "I have been honored many times in the past, and am appreciative of them all, but to be included in the National Portrait Gallery is very special, and very humbling."

The 60-by-50 inch painting of Lasorda by Everett Raymond Kinstler will be on display in the museum's "New Arrivals" section. Kinstler (official website linked here) has cranked out more than 1,200 portraits, and the gallery's collection includes his works of people such as Katharine Hepburn, Tony Bennett, Richard Nixon, Norman Rockwell and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Lasorda sat for the portrait at Kinstler's National Arts Club studio in New York City last June.

Thankfully, it wasn't a nude sitting, which Kinstler does seem to enjoy from time to time (based on a search of his workstuff).

But, considering Lasorda's current ... status ... why wouldn't Kinstler just do some kind of charcoal sketch of him from his glory days? Maybe when Kinstler returns to his spot on the Santa Monica pier do to those cartoons of different tourists he'll have some time to carve out.

Known who else is in this gallery? Plenty o' former Dodgers.

There are photographs of Don Drysdale (1962), Leo Durocher (1947 & '63), Walter Alston (in a gelatin silver print with Casey Stengel and Dwight Eisenhower, 1956 and with Casey Stengel, 1956), Sandy Koufax (1963), Gil Hodges (with John Reardon, Ed Fitzgerald and Charles Edwards, 1947), Branch Rickey (1945), Jackie Robinson (1947, '49, & '83), Wilbert Robinson (1930), and the 1955 Dodgers team photo (1955).

No Vin Scully? Now there's a national treasure that needs some recognition.

The latest spin on the intense life and controversial death of Pat Tillman comes from author Jon Krakauer in the new book "Where Men Win Glory" ($27.95, Doubleday, 383 pages), released to stores Tuesday.

Krakauer, whose 1996 book "Into Thin Air" chronicled the tragic events of a miscalculated Mount Everest climb and assigned all kinds of blame for what went wrong, tries to do the same as he blitzes what happened before and after the former Arizona Cardinals safety was killed in duty as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan in 2004.

The government's misrepresentation of the events that caused his death -- the result of taking a hit from his own troop during a battle with Taliban insurgents - inspired a tribute book five years ago from his mother, Mary ("Boots On The Ground by Dusk").

With that information and more reporting, Krakauer tries to tie everything together. Yet explaining the "real" Tillman is never an easy task, as former Kansas City Star sports columnist Jonathan Rand discovered in his book on Tillman called "Fields Of Honor" in '04.

As complete as Krakauer tries to be, a recent New York Times review of the book complains that the book's "biggest problem" is that nearly all the drama is "saved for the last hundred pages."

We'll take it. And we can handle the truth.

By the way: The Tillman family told Krakauer that his 1997 book on extreme mountain climbing, "Eiger Dreams," was found in Tillman's backpack when he was killed, but Krakauer didn't include that fact in this book because he said "it seemed self-serving and didn't really add anything."

It adds a lot to us. It reinforces why Tillman's story should be told by Krakauer.

In 1970, the famed Motown group The Temptations (which, by then, had several impostors) recorded a song called "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)".

Spin that forward on your 45 record player nearly 40 years.

Your Los Angeles Temptation (official website linked here) open their regular season Friday, against the Denver Dream. At a place called Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. If the players, officials and fans can actually find it.

Their home opener at the L.A. Sports Arena -- a place abandoned by even the worst of L.A. franchises and is used more for commercial shoots, rap concerts and emergency triage formation during earthquake drills -- isn't until Nov. 27 against the Seattle Mist. That's a team name -- not a soft drink, a deviant fantasy or a form of climitia.

The Women's Arena Football League? They haven't manned-up that well yet. The AFL is dead, for all genders.

Grab onto the Lingerie Football League, you boob.

Embrace it, in a long, wet kiss. Then step away and take a cold shower.

They call it the "True Fantasy Football." They're a perfect 10 teams. Only one game played per week, starting Sept. 4 and (after a Nov. 20 bye week for Thanksgiving and Dec. 25 bye week for ... whatever) ending Jan. 29.

And then, if the best-laid plans of mice and dirty old men play out, there's the Lingerie Bowl. If it's not canceled. Again.

Full contact, as advertised. Full pads, as if they're needed. Full-figured women need not apply.

With a hair stylist, make-up artist and tanning supervisor on hand, and used much more, than someone with medical expertise.

We'd advised that you don't be tempted to watch these Tempations, but that's like your mom telling you that she and your dad are going out of town to Pala Casino this weekend and you're not to watch The Playboy Channel. Or else.

Or else, you'd never see a naked woman?

At the official LFL site, we've tried to expose more information to the general public, just in case they were curious. We're lucky our Norton Virus software wasn't suddenly activated and seized up our screen with a flashing warning -- proceed at your own risk. And wear a Trojan.

A profile pops up of someone named Lauren Jenkins -- with the blonde hair and eye black that makes her look like some hot stripper at a former XFL after-party. Not that we'd know.

Lauren -- or is it Jenkins? -- is a 5-foot-9, 129 pound offensive linewoman. She's 21, and listed as a "two-year veteran." She's sweaty, looks mean, stands cool and appears to be hot at the same time.

Back up a sec.... There's not a great track record here. Kinda like that crazy girl you see at the strip club, but with a rap sheet that explains why a pair of fuzzy handcuffs are hooked onto her garter.

The first Lingerie Bowl was at the famed L.A. Coliseum in 2004. Your Los Angeles Dream -- that's what they were called back then -- shut down the New York Euphoria, 6-0 in a pay-per-view event shown at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII. But that halftime show was made more famous by Janet Jackson's exposed breast.

Somehow, the Lingerie Bowl was upstaged by an alleged wardrobe malfunction.

Subsequent Lingerie Bowls were hit and miss. Mostly a miss, after the local community petitioned to have it go away. It may have been played, but you couldn't see it.

This year, it's billed as a full-on league, with an Eastern and Western Division. With odds posted on who'll win it all (linked here). On a 50-yard field, without punts, field goals, kickoff or, as one writer added, dignity.

The first game of the season, between the Chicago Bliss and the Miami Caliente, must have been played, because there's plenty of photographic evidence. Just no final score really posted anywhere. The league got more exposure from the fact there were several players who had their tops and/or bottoms ripped. It just goes to show how serious the players are about this. Or seriously duped into thinking they're athletes.

Oh, wait. We found a score. The Bliss won, 29-19.

"(Miami) had a couple of wardrobe malfunctions," Bliss cornerback Danielle Moinet told the Chicago Sun-Times. "That must be really troublesome. The top comes off, and it throws you off. I can't imagine that happening to me and me going back out."

The league also got some great pub last month when Jasmine Fiore's name popped up in the news. She's the former model (who posed in this '06 Lingerie Bowl promotion, linked here) found murdered in Buena Park, the victim of her ex-husband, the reality show guy who later off'd himself in Canada... What a mess.

Uglier than the LFL, but not by much.

If the Lingerie Football League wants to be taken seriously -- and it seems to be trying -- it's not going to happen this year. Probably not the next either. No matter that there's already an iPhone app being put out there for all your important LFL information.

We'd like to tell you the L.A. Temptations have the hottest quarterback in the city, but even that's not true. We don't even know the poor girl's name. And don't get us started on the tight end.

As a business model, the LFL is not Maidenform for long-term success. Even when you strip it down to the bare essentials.

It's short-term, 22/6 newscycle eye candy, off the radar almost as quickly as it's on it. Unless there's a YouTube clip that catches the nation's fancy and draws regular attention to it for something more than just bra slippage, it's doomed from the start, and another poor reflection of our values beynold idle curiosity.

There's no "there" there. Most of us don't even know how to spell "lingerie," let alone know how it works.

It's like jock itch. We see it, we scratch, we get in more trouble.

That's the LFL. Laughoutloud Funny League. Watch it for yourself. The Temptation's first game is on TV, on KDOC (Channel 56), Friday at 8 p.m. (in between a rerun of "Frasier" and an infomercial). The league bought the local TV time. We can't wait to see what advertisements are in there to support it.

It's not like the Temptations that we know and still listen to.

By the way, the same Temptations had their first hit song in 1965. "My Girl."

Hey, hey, hey.

From a Steve Perry fan site
Steve Perry, second from right, poses with Chicago White Sox players Joe Crede, Aaron Rowand and A.J. Pierzynski in 2005.

From Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (linked here):

Steve Perry, the former lead singer for Journey, says he'll be at Dodger Stadium wearing his San Francisco Giants cap as usual when the team plays there this weekend -- and he will leave before the eighth inning, as usual.

But not to beat the traffic.

Late last season, the Dodgers started playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " before the bottom of the eighth inning every night as a rally song, and Perry leaves before they do.

"I have to," he said. "I don't want to hear it."

Why? Because Perry is a diehard Giants fan who cannot stand the fact that the Dodgers "hijacked it first" and use it to win games.

Perry has friends on the Dodgers. He admitted it was "amazing" the first time he heard the entire stadium singing along with his voice and finds it appropriate the song is used by sports teams. Still, he said: "It tweaks me to know they're using the song as a rally song. I really wish we'd have hijacked it first. I think the song is about hope and power, and it's working for them, damn it."

Perry became a Giants fan in 2002 and became friends with many Chicago White Sox players, including Aaron Rowand, who grew up in Glendora, when they played "Don't Stop Believin' " in their clubhouse every night on the way to winning a World Series.

As a co-writer of the song, Perry gets a royalty every time the Dodgers play it, but said, "It's not enough to get me a latte at Starbucks."

And to think, it seems like only yesterday when former Daily News owner Jack Kent Cooke ran the show in D.C. ... now that was offensive:

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A group of American Indians who find the Washington Redskins' name offensive wants the Supreme Court to take up the matter.

The group late Monday asked the justices to review a lower court decision that favored the NFL team on a legal technicality.

The seven Native Americans have been working through the court system since 1992 to have the Redskins trademarks declared invalid. A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office panel ruled in their favor in 1999, but they've since suffered a series of defeats from judges who ruled that the plaintiffs waited too long to bring their suit in the first place.

A lawyer for the group says he'd like to see the court decide once and for all whether the Redskins name defames Native Americans.

Check out those retro Raiders, Chargers, Bills and Patroits jerseys last night. And those made-for-TV unis changed them over the years ... why?

The colorful, crazy and Ron Mix-ed up history of the American Football League, celebrating its 50th season of existence, is documented in a five-part series called "Full Color Football," produced from the NFL Films archives, that'll start airing on Showtime on Wednesday (8 p.m.) and continuing at the same time each week through Oct. 14.

It leads into the series, "Inside the NFL," which many may not remember is also Showtime property. Since CBS' Viacom owns this whole mess, perhaps the over-the-air net will figure out a way to not only promote this, but eventually air it before it heads to DVD down the road.

"The AFL is one of the great American success stories," says NFL Films president Steve Sabol, "and it's a story with a lot of colorful characters. In this project, we celebrate the AFL while also debunking myths about why the league succeeded."

It wasn't because of Al Davis' iron will?

Davis, John Madden and Joe Namath are among the many interviewed and included to talk about how the league came about after Lamar Hunt was refused admission into the NFL. He started his own team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Take that.

The Los Angeles Chargers were also part of that 1960 launch, but moved south a year later. Why? Maybe we find out here. Did Paris Hilton's great grandma have anything to do with it?

The first episode, "The New Frontier," discusses Hunt's idea born on an airplane and goes through the 1962 AFL championship, a double OT game.

And he looks so calm through all this ...

At right, workers Jose Cruz, Max Hernandez and Abel Gallegos level the Tom Landry Statue as they prepare to install it at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex., on Tuesday. The Landry statue stood at Texas Stadium's entrance for eight years before it was moved to the new Cowboys Stadium.
AP Photo/Donna McWilliams

ESPN says its Saturday night coverage of USC's 18-15 win at Ohio State averaged 7,243,000 households, which translates to 10.5 million viewers, which results in a 7.3 rating -- making it the network's most-viewed college football game, both in regular season and bowl games.

Just not the highest rated.

The 7.3 rating is the highest for a college football game in 15 years, but doesn't surpass the 7.7 that Florida State-Miami averaged on October 8, 1994.

Last Monday's Florida State-Miami game on Labor Day was seen by 8.4 million total viewers (5.8 million homes) and had a 5.9 rating.

ESPN also says its ESPN360.com had its best single-day viewing. It simulcast the USC-Ohio State game and still had its highest traffic. The game also had the most traffic on ESPN's Mobile Web site (8 million page views).

THIS JUST IN: From the Associated Press, and we're not sure how it relates to the Ohio State loss:

LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Lawyer says Ohio execution on hold temporarily as team has trouble accessing veins.

Without Jerry Dior of Edison, N.J., there's no red, white and blue iconic MLB logo.

OK, so ...

The logo that debuted in 1969, as part of baseball's celebration of its 100th anniversary, has an anniversary itself. Before Wednesday's Yankees-Blue Games game at Yankee Stadium, and Friday's Mets-Nationals game at Citi Field, Dior will be recognized in an on-field ceremony.

"Jerry Dior created a symbol that has stood the test of time," said MLB boss Bud Selig in a statement. "Forty years after its introduction, the 'silhouetted batter' is instantly recognized worldwide as the official emblem of Major League Baseball. I'm glad that we have been able to acknowledge Mr. Dior's contribution to our national pastime."

We have more questions than answers here.

First, who was the player used as the silhouette for the MLB logo? Just something out of Dior's imagination?

Also, if he did that in '69, when the NBA start using Jerry West's silhouette for its logo?

Has Dior made any residuals for this, considering it's been copied for almost any other sport in existence?

UPDATED: And now more answers from MLB business PR man Jeff Heckelman:
= While many think it's Harmon Killebrew (including Killebrew himself), it is in fact no one... The logo was drawn to be intentionally ambiguous... not right-handed or left-handed, black or white, a catcher or an outfielder...
== The MLB logo debuted before the NBA logo; in fact, the NBA commissioned Jerry's firm to do the NBA logo, and specifically asked for it to be similar to the MLB logo.
== Jerry was an employee of a design firm commissioned by MLB to design the logo, and of course was compensated through his salary at the firm.

And more links:
==From USA Today (linked here)
==From MLB.com (linked here)

Here's Jerry, for the record and in all his logo glory:

At 28 1/2 points, Florida is a favorite to whip the whiskey out of Tennessee on Saturday.

Urban Meyer, finally, your chance to meet Lane Kiffin.

At 21 points, USC is a favorite to stomp the apple core out of Washington on Saturday.

Pete Carroll, here's Steve Sarkisian. OK, stop hugging him.

Only Oklahoma State (31 1/2 points, over Rice), Penn State (29 1/2 over Temple), LSU (26 points over Louisiana Lafayette) and Michigan (24 over Eastern Michigan) have similar point spreads, but that's because of the scheduling of patsies. The other Division I-A teams (or whatever they call 'em now) scheduled against the sub division II-AAAA teams (or whatever they call 'em) aren't given point spreads. It's just not right.

Those two matchups mentioned earlier are required conference foes, two teams with a strong football history ... all of them, at one time or another, national champions.

If only the Vols or the Huskies had the problems facing the Wisconsin Badgers. They're dealing with a flu outbreak -- 40 players.

IVs will be ready for everyone. And blood donors may be required for Kiffin and Sark -- the two former USC offensive coordinators who, because of their up-and-coming status, were keepers by Carroll, which is why he eventually let Norm Chow take a walk (first to Nashville, then to Westwood).

Look how far everyone's come from that point.

THE LOCALS:

== USC at Washington, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7 (with Terry Gannon, David Norrie and Quint Kessinich)

== UCLA vs. Kansas State, 7:15 p.m., Prime Ticket (with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Michael Eaves)

THURSDAY:

== Georgia Tech at Miami, ESPN, 4:30 p.m. (with Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Erin Andrews)

== Howard at Florida A&M, ESPNU, 4:30 p.m. (with Charlie Neal and Jay Walker)

FRIDAY

== Boise State at Fresno State, 6 p.m., ESPN (with Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore)

SATURDAY:

== "College GameDay, 7-to-9 a.m., ESPN: From Austin, Texas (site of Texas Tech-Texas later that night) with Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. Look for signs in the crowd that take the letters from "TEXAS" and, you know ...

== Cal at Minnesota, ESPN, 9 a.m. (with Dave Pasch, Chris Spielman and Bob Griese)

== East Carolina at North Carolina, ESPN2, 9 a.m. (with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley)

== Louisville at Kentucky, ESPNU, 9 a.m. (with Clay Matvick and David Diaz-Infante)

== Duke at Kansas, Versus, 9 a.m. (with Ron Thulin, Kelly Stouffer and Lewis Johnson)

== Ball State at Army, CBS College Sports, 9 a.m. (with Dave Ryan and Jason Sehorn)

== Ohio State vs. Toledo (from Cleveland), ESPN360.com, 9 a.m. (with Michael Reghi and Doug Chapman)

== Eastern Michigan at Michigan, Big Ten Network, 9 a.m. (with Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin and Charissa Thompson; or Temple at Penn State with Ari Wolfe, Anthony Herron and Kenny Jackson; or Northern Illinois at Purdue with Craig Coshun, Rod Woodson and Larra Overton; or Wofford at Wisconsin, with Matt Devlin, Glen Mason and Jay Wilson)

== Tennessee at Florida, Channel 2, 12:30 p.m. (with Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson)

== Michigan State at Notre Dame, Channel 4, 12:30 p.m. (with Tom Hammond, Pat Haden and Alex Flanagan)

== Tulsa at Oklahoma, FSN West, 12:30 p.m. (with Joel Meyers, Dave Lapham and Jim Knox)

== Nebraska at Virginia Tech, ESPN PPV, 12:30 p.m. (with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe)

== Arizona at Iowa, ESPN2, 12:30 p.m. (with Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox)

== Utah at Oregon, ESPN, 12:30 p.m. (with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham)

== Indiana at Akron, ESPNU, 12:30 p.m. (with Todd Harris and Charles Arbuckle)

== Middle Tennessee at Maryland, ESPN360.com, 12:30 p.m. (with Frank Giardina and Jeremy Bloom)

== Virginia at Southern Mississippi, CBS College Sports, 12:30 p.m. (with Jason Knapp and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila)

== Navy at Pittsburgh, ESPN360.com, 3 p.m. (with John Sanders and Drew Haddad)

== Cincinnati at Oregon State, FSN West, 3:45 p.m. (with Rich Burk and Steve Preece)

== Florida State at Brigham Young, Versus, 4 p.m. (with Joe Beninati, Glenn Parker and Lindy Thackson)

== Louisiana-Lafayette at LSU, ESPNU, 4 p.m. (with Eric Collins and Brock Huard)

== Iowa State at Kent State, ESPN360.com, 4 p.m. (with Dave Weekley and Jerod Cherry)

== Air Force at New Mexico, CBS College Sports, 4:30 p.m. (with Tom Hart and Aaron Taylor)

== Georgia at Arkansas, ESPN, 4:45 p.m. (with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews)

== West Virginia at Auburn, ESPN2, 4:45 p.m. (with Mark Jones and Bob Davie)

== Texas Tech at Texas, ESPN, 5 p.m. (with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters)

== Hampton at North Carolina A&T, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU (delayed, with Carter Blackburn and Eddie Robinson)

== Hawaii at UNLV, CBS College Sports, 8 p.m. (with James Bates, Todd Christensen and Toby Christensen)

Frank Deford is leaning on a newspaper street rack -- one that has an issue of the old National Sports Daily in the window. It must be in Deford's den, since that piece of equipment hasn't been seen in years.

Deford, the esteemed Sports Illustrated writer, author and Clark Gable look-alike, was the editor of the publication that lasted just 18 months in the early '90s. It was a fantastic attempt at a daily sports-only newspaper, with some of the top writers in the country belching out some of the most thought provoking and elegant prose you'd want to see this business produce.

Then, it bleeded out, red in debt (losing $150 million). Those of us in sports journalism suffered a blow to the stomach as well. We wanted it to live. We wanted a beacon, a daily reference.

But then came the last 10 years. Particularily the last three. The punching we've been taking to the gut, jaw, knees and throat is more personal.

Yet, Deford continues to lick his wounds from 1991.

"No one knows the difficulties that newspapers face better than I," Deford says to open a piece that will air on tonight's episode of HBO's "Real Sports" (starts at 10 p.m., with several repeats).

Wait, is that even proper grammar? Go to that Internet thing, a site called WordQuery.com (linked here) for this explanation:

A: Because "than" is a preposition as well as a conjunction, either construction is technically possible. However "better than I," where "than" is classed as a conjunction, sounds old-fashioned and formal: the fuller form "better than I am" is more acceptable. The form "better than me," where "than" is classed as a preposition, is much more common nowadays and the norm in conversation and informal writing (You're better at it than me). It is still frowned upon sometimes in formal writing, where "You're better at it than I am" is preferred.

So there you go. When you need immediate information, you don't wait for someone to throw it up on your driveway tomorrow. You seek it out now. Ten minutes from now is 11 minutes too late. The Internet is our driving information force, source and resource.

And there's the essence of Deford's piece -- even though he really didn't have anything to do with the fact the paper that he edited folded. The product was fantastic; the distribution was the downfall. Money killed it.

If only the Internet existed back then. A "National" website could have looked like what today's Sporting News has evolved into (linked here).

We digress .... again.

Derrin Horton, the former KCAL-Channel 9 sportscaster whose spent the last few years bouncing around at the NFL Network, ESPN, Fox Sports Net and on Versus' "Pros Vs. Joes," will start his first night at KTLA-Channel 5 as the sports anchor.

He fills a spot that's been open at the station since last February when Damon Andrews left to take a job in the Bay Area.

Horton's sports segments will go 15 minutes long on Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- a return to the expanded sports highlights that the station once had in the past. KTLA general manager Don Corsini not only brought in Horton to do sports, but has hired Micah Olhman and Victoria Recano to replace Emmett Miller and Leila Feinstein.

Thanks to AMartinez, during his "A-List" segment on today's Mason and Ireland show (KSPN-AM 710), for referencing this:

It's current NBC NFL game analyst Cris Collinsworth, featured in a 1984 "Monday Night Football" halftime piece on how single players in the league operated with the females.

The clip somehow made it over the weekend on YouTube with the headline: "Cris Collinsworth Is a Creep."

The blog WithLeather.com found the clip, Deadspin.com ran it through the ringer, and others have been playing it, with comments, since. Including this one from Will Brinson on Fanhouse (linked here) calling it a great example of the current media shift.

Writes Brinson:

"And, yeah, sometimes it sucks that our lives are so tied to technology but you know what? Welcome to the rest of your life, everyone."

The fact that hockey is advertised as the greatest sport for high-definition, and Fox Sports Net West has been less than committed toward putting the resources forward to give the Kings as many HD broadcasts as possible, the official decision today that the team's entire TV slate will be in HDTV comes as a welcome relief to most fans -- especially those who find they can't afford to pay for the season seats any long as are committed toward home viewing for the time being.

A year ago, it was just 10 HD telecasts on FSN West. Now it's 68 of the 82 games.

Coverage starts with the first 16 games on FSN West, starting with the regular-season opener on Oct. 3 at Staples Center against Phoenix. Several times during the season, Prime Ticket will have the game instead of FSN West, including three where the Ducks' home-team broadcast will carry the game to Southern California.

None of the Kings' seven exhibition games (starting Tuesday) are on TV.

Only three Kings games are slated for national telecasts, including Nov. 9 at Chicago (Versus).

Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Miller returns for his 37th season, with Jim Fox back for his 20th season as the analyst. Steven "Hoover" Dorfman (a Montclair Prep grad) starts his first year producing the game telecasts, with Mike Hassan as the director. Heidi Androl is back as a reporter, along with Patrick O'Neal.

More on the Kings' TV schedule (linked here).

Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame acceptance speech Friday turned into what some call a reverse roast -- the former Chicago Bulls star took the opportunity to trash former coaches, teammates and media who got in his way and fueled his fire.

Some have been trashing MJ for using that opportunity to make himself look like such a spoiled sport. One of 'em is Bryon Russell.

The former Utah Jazz guard, who just this past summer played for the Thousand Oaks-based Los Angeles Lightning of the International Basketball League, was called out by Jordan during his speech. He said Russell, the former Long Beach State standout in his rookie season with the Jazz, saw Jordan at a practice in 1994, during the time Jordan retired from the game -- the first time, and took up baseball -- and said: 'Why'd you quit? You know I could guard you. If I ever see you in a pair of shorts..."

Jordan unretired in 1995.

Utah met the Chicago in a 1996 game.

"I'm at the center circle and Bryon Russell is standing next to me. I said, 'You remember the [comments] you made in 1994 about, 'I think I can guard you, I can shut you down, I would love to play against you? Well, you're about to get your chance'," Jordan said during his speech.

In the 1998 NBA finals, Utah played Chicago. Of course, there's that freeze frame of Jordan hitting the game-winning shot in Game 6 -- after faking Russell out in the process.

"From this day forward," Jordan said in his speech, "if I ever see him in shorts, I'm coming at him."

The quote was run back to Russell. He responded in a story by former Daily News NBA writer Marc Spears in Yahoo!Sports (linked here):

"I'll play his ass right now. This is a call-out for him to come play me. He can come out here in his private jet and come play. He's got millions of dollars. He can pay for the jet. He can meet me at the Recreation Center in Calabasas. We can have Mark Jackson do the commentating. We can have Mitch Richmond do the officiating. We can put it on TV and see if Michael's still got it."

Russell, Jackson and Richmond regularily play pickup games near their Calabasas home.

Instead, the tardiness of this is inexcusable:

The Baseball Reliquary has a special screening tonight -- the world premiere of Jon Leonoudakis' 30-minute documentary, "5:04 p.m.: A First Person Account of the 1989 World Series Earthquake Game.

It's 7 p.m., Burbank Central Library Auditorium (110 N. Glenoaks Blvd.) Admission is free.

The Baseball Reliquary synopsis:

This is the story of the 1989 World Series Earthquake Game, a first-hand account from Leonoudakis, a die-hard fan of the San Francisco Giants. A native of The City and a filmmaker by trade, Leonoudakis set out to document his once-in-a-lifetime experience at the World Series with a VHS camcorder and a still camera.

The tale starts out as a provincial experience involving two local baseball teams in the sport's penultimate contest, as Leonoudakis interviews fans in the parking lot before the game. Then, in fifteen seconds, the story takes a radical left turn into chaos and tragedy, and explodes into an historical and international event.

And standing in the middle of it all is a baseball fan with a camera.

Twenty years later, Leonoudakis revisits the story with his own no-frills perspective as one who participated in the entire experience, from the pre-game excitement of October 17, 1989, the earthquake at the stadium, the intervening ten days before the game was resumed, and a return to Game Three on October 27.

Leonoudakis tells the story using his original video and stills along with local and national television news reports and photographs, taking viewers on a visceral journey back in time to the fateful day.

Here's a week's advanced notice on the next Baseball Reliquary event:

== Title: "Love To Hate: The Dodgers-Giants Rivalry"
== When: Monday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m.
== Where: Burbank Central Library Audition
== Guest pannel: Ross Porter, Arnold Hano and Jean Hastings Ardell.

Porter, the former Dodgers broadcaster, and Hano, a noted author, will share their recollections of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, with Ardell as the moderator. Admission is free and open to the public.

Hano grew up in New York and graduated from Long Island University in 1941 with a degree in English and Journalism. He worked for the New York Daily News until his enlistment in the Army. After World War II, Hano's prolific writing career moved into high gear, highlighted by biographies of Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, and Roberto Clemente and many marvelous baseball stories and portraits published in Sport magazine. Hano's "A Day in the Bleachers," his classic book about the first game of the 1954 World Series between the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians, is considered one of the masterpieces of baseball literature and has been in print almost continuously for six decades.

Porter, ranked as one of baseball's 60 all-time best announcers and is a member of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame after 38 uninterrupted years on the air in Los Angeles, did Dodgers games for 28 seasons ('77-'04).

You seen Charles Barkley's golf swing lately? Neither have we. He must be still working all the stuff Hank Haney taught him on that Golf Channel reality series last summer... Or isn't.

Golf Channel announced today that the Season 2 of the series known as "The Haney Project" will next focus on someone much more funny, intentionally -- Ray Romano.

It will debut in spring, 2010, as the two start working together this fall (and will likely include Romano's annual appearance at the PGA event at Pebble Beach).

Romano claims to have a 13 handicap and wants to break 80 -- who doesn't?

"I followed Charles' progress week in and out during the first season and I realized that Hank Haney was the guy who could finally get me to the next level in my golf game," said Romano. "I've tried many ways to improve over the years, and I thought, 'why not work with the best coach around?' I told my wife about the project, and while she doesn't know anything about golf, she does like the idea that after 21 years it's someone else's job to try and fix me."

This might play into the latest role for the former star of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Romano's next TV project starts in December, when he will executive produce and star in the TNT show, "Men of a Certain Age." He plays, according to the network: A friendly, slightly neurotic, divorced father of two who had dreams of being a professional golfer but instead owns and runs a party store.

And then probably sells beer to Barkley.

AP file photo

As we pretty much inferred -- and you were left to imply -- we bailed out on attending the 3D screening at USC's Galen Center of the Trojans' game Saturday afternoon and early evening against Ohio State.

We sampled a few high placed industry people -- anonymous, to protect their interests, but trust me, they're people whose opinions matter -- to get their take on this ESPN experiment, trying to get them to separate the quality of the game from the quality of the presentation, and, if they choose, rate it on a scale of 1 (being worst) to 10 (as it should be implimented now):

Person A: "I'd give it an 8. Here's why:
1) Great game. If it were a dog and thr crowd didn't care it wouldn't have been as cool.
2) The novelty. It felt like you were doing something cool first. Like being the first one with a new iphone or some other gadget.
3) Great pictures. When the right camera was on live, like behind a kick returner as the coverage was approaching, it was unlike anything you've seen.
4) The bad. We missed some plays that happened on the far side of the field and the director sometimes stayed on a tight crowd shot to show dimension and would miss the beginning of a play. That will obviously change but we saw the same people in their crowd shots 50 times! The camera positions were obviously not too mobile. We didn't get to listen to Musburger and Herbstreit (we got Mark Jones and Bob Davies) so it wasn't as good an announce crew. And we never really saw a replay of the potential USC TD that was called incomplete and wasn't reviewed .
Overall, a fun day with a great game.
I only saw highlights of the Raiders-Chargers game (on 3D last year) so I really can't compare. I did see the NBA All-Star Saturday 3D show at Mann's Chinese. That was cool but this was a lot better. More produced, real graphics, the feel of a 'real' show as opposed to a skeleton production. This one had the feel of an evolved experience that was much better than the NBA's first go at it.
It was absolutely the next best thing to being at a game. When the play occurred near the camera, it was fantastic but when a play happened on the other side of the field, (the 3D cams are much lower than traditional game cameras so that you can see the depth), oftentimes you couldn't see the play. Very frustrating. The graphics look cool but sometimes it's tough to focus on the play and on the yellow first down line. It looks blurry a little bit.
The 3D glasses aren't annoying either. We also got very few commercials and they were for 3D movies like Alice in Wonderland, and Toy Story 3. Overall, very cool. Very impressed with ESPN to make the investment."

Person B from his iPhone: "It was a very interesting and very cool look at the game. Because of fewer cameras and different camera angles than we are accustomed to, it made following the game (and sometimes the ball) more difficult and tho it seems counterintuitve the depth perception sometimes was more difficult. I watched the game again on regular HDTV when I got home and replays and camera angles wer better, but mainly due to more cameras. The 3D definitely gave you times when you felt you were standing right on the field or sideline. I think we will see more in the future."

Person C: "Concept was good...but I tended to lose the ball up in the air...cameras are down low and I don't think it gets balls that are thrown high down field...I tended to lose the ball...announcers were not good...would have rather had the game announcers that were on TV...they went to an interview with Santonio Holmes and there was action on the field...bad camera work...seems like when they went to interviews down on the field, they couldn't show the action and do their interview at the same time...it was the first step and it can grow from here...probably at a 5 taking into account everything."

Person D: "Overall it was a good experience; the action coming at you is the best shot. But I would not go out of my way to watch it again. There were plenty of cameras and the coverage was good, the environment helped tremendously.
The Pros: Good camera angles with 8 cameras, the presentation of commercials (movie trailers) and the atmosphere.
The Cons: Too many gimmicks to showcase 3D with sideline reporter and guests (reaching out to the camera lens); missed a few key replays (I don't know if they were not ready for them or if they did not have good replay views), glasses need to be improved on (too distracting with light coming in through sides), the better view is right in front of screen; off to either side you lose perspective.
I don't see it working on home televisions as well."

A new/old feature we'll attempt to revive: Once upon a time, it was a Monday staple to your sports section (remember the one that opened like a magazine ...)

We kinda miss it too. Especially with so much stuff going on these days.

Like the latest news alert by the Associated Press from Kiev: A Ukrainian family minister says Elton John cannot adopt child because adopters must be married. The fear: It would look like that kid above. A poor reflection on the adoption process, not as much as the fact Sir Elton has no female companion in this situation.

Man, this world is messed up. But we got sports:

Like (not starting with Jay Leno's new show):

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Actress Charlize Theron and boyfriend Stuart Townsend attend the semifinals match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on Sunday.

TODAY:

==As the tennis world turns: The mens' final of today's rain-delayed U.S. Open puts the matchup we all thought would happen ... unless you had Juan Martin Del Potro knocking out Raffy Nadal along the way. Del Potro finds Roger Federer on center court today instead, knocking out the regularly scheduled soap opera "As The World Turns" and giving another sucker punch to the "Guiding Light." Oh, well. Channel 2, 1 p.m.

== Don't wienie out -- a real (non-grilled, likely soggy) Dodger Dog who whoever gets out to Dodger Stadium tonight to see: Dodgers vs. Pittsburgh, Prime Ticket, 7 p.m.

==An ALCS preview? Sure, if the Red Sox aren't in anyone's path: Angels at New York Yankees, FSN West, 4 p.m.

==Not football'd out yet? Buffalo at New England, ESPN, 4 p.m.; San Diego at Oakland, ESPN, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY

== As we were saying about them Red Sox ... Last time John Lackey threw at Fenway, he took a no-no into the ninth (and that was almost the last game Manny Ramirez played in Boston last July). Kazmir faces them in the third game on Thursday. Angels at Boston, FSN West, 4 p.m. (also: Wednesday on FSN West and ESPN and Thursday on FSN West).

WEDNESDAY

== The Sparks (18-16) start the WNBA postseason not as the champions of the Western Conference. Or the No. 2 team. Try, No. 3. In Lisa Leslie's final drive to a title, here's where the path begins: WNBA playoffs: Game 1: Sparks vs. Seattle, ESPN2, 7 p.m. (Games 2 and 3 are in Seattle on Friday and Sunday).

THURSDAY

== The season-premiere of "The Office" is guaranteed to be TiVo'd. Yet, we'll be searching the TV for this Kings' exhibition. ... maybe it's on some Canadian channel ... oh, wait, that's a different Ontario. The Inland Empire hosts this, then some pro rodeo events and some graduation ceremonies for the University of Phoenix (linked here): NHL exhibition: Kings vs. San Jose at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY

== That Montana QB clone is on display to the rest of the world ... or, at least those with a good cable channel package. Oaks Christian is ranked No. 6 in ESPN's latest poll; Skyline is ranked No. 9. Oaks Christian running back Malcolm Jones and Skyline QB Jake Heaps are among the top-ranked recruits in the nation as well. Justin Kutcher and Tom Luginbill are on the call. Oaks Christian at Skyline, Wash., ESPNU, 7 p.m.; also: Crespi vs. Servite, FSN West, 8 p.m. (delayed)

SATURDAY

==Brad Penny vs. the Dodgers in a do over at Dodger Stadium: Dodgers vs. Giants, Channel 11, 1 p.m.

==Pete Carroll vs. Steve Sarkisian, Chapter 1 at U-Dub -- prediction ... pain: USC at Washington, Channel 7, 12:30 p.m.

==That No. 14 UCLA QB -- Tom Ramsey, naw, it's Kevin Prince (or Price, if you're Erin Andrews) -- has to sit with a broken jaw. So guess who's back in the dance? Kevin Craft: UCLA vs. Kansas State, FSN West, 7:15 p.m.

SUNDAY

== The guys in the cars are still chasing something ... wait, this one is important: Sylvania 300, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Channel 7, 10 a.m.

== The NFL Week 2 heads over to the new parking garage in Texas: New York Giants at Dallas, Channel 4, 5:15 p.m.

FYI TV comment of the week:

NBC says last night's Chicago-Green Bay telecast did a 13.4 overnight rating, crushing ABC, CBS and Fox combined. Yes, even better than the series finale of "King of the Hill." The top 10 TV markets for the Bears-Packers last night (with rating/share):
1. Chicago, 34.8/53
2. Milwaukee, 34.7/54
3. Denver, 22.1/34
4. Minneapolis, 19.8/33
5. Albuquerque, 15.4/23
6. New Orleans, 15.1/21
7. San Diego, 14.3/24
8. Pittsburgh, 14.0/21
T9. Oklahoma City, 13.9/20
T9. Buffalo, 13.9/22

Unlike those who cut and paste their way to delivering news as it pops into their mailbox, maybe we didn't grasp the concept at first, but we're quickly getting up to speed on this new Fox Sports five-days-a-week midday Internet only shows that will launch today (10 a.m., linked here) with the idea that it's something to do on your lunch break.

That is, if you take lunch this early on the West Coast.

Backtrack a bit: Last July, FoxSports.com on MSN merged with the Fox Networks Group and came under David Hill's watch. This is so they could generate new stuff for the Fox Sports Digital Entertainment division.

"Original programming on the Internet is set to explode as the Web transitions from being controlled by engineers to being run by producers, much the same way television did in the 1950s," said Hill in a statement. "We've established Fox Sports Digital Entertainment to develop a variety of programs that appeal to hardcore sports fans, many of whom turn to their computers for entertainment and information as they lunch. Not every show is going to click its first time out, but we're going probe and push to see where we can go, and how far."

Since Fox research shows that most of its sports people come to the site between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. (EDT) on weekdays, here's the push, with the slogan: "Lunchtime is the new Prime Time."

It's gotta be better than Kenny Mayne's "Main Street."

== "The Afterparty with Jay Glazer" starts today, focused on him gathering more information and keeping Sunday game vibe going.

== "CoachSpeak with Brian Billick" is on Tuesdays, where the former NFL coach collects a bunch of other coaches to talk Xs and Os. Guest will likely include Jack Del Rio, John Fox, John Harbaugh, Wade Phillips, Rex Ryan, Jim Zorn and Mike Singletary.

== "The College Experiment" is supposed to be an "irreverent, non-traditional college football review and preview show" on Wednesdays.

== "Cubed" is the pop-culture sports show for Thursday, best described by Fox as "The Office" meets shock-jock radio.

== "Inside Call" on Fridays is where Fox writers and NFL studio guys do a conference call to talk about stuff going on in the league, a prep for their Sunday show.

One of those awkward halftime meetings, with everyone looking on, as Erin Andrews approaches UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel for some nonsensical blather heading into the locker room as his team managed to hang onto a 10-10 tie at the break against Tennessee today (although the Bruins could have had a 13-10 lead, but the field goal was wide right as time expired).

Brad Nessler, throw it down to EA Sportie:

EA: "He (Neuheisel) is asking me how I'm doing ... (giggle) ... How are you doing!?!"

RN: "I'm havin' a blast ..."

Big smile from EA ...

More blather .... some question about maturity ... finally, from EA: "What's the biggest thing you'll stress to Kevin Price in the locker room?"

RN, looking down at the ground: "Kevin Prince just needs ..."

EA, moving the mike back toward her mouth: "Sorry ..."

RN: "...to relax ..."

And so does EA.

Relax. Figure out what the names of the players are before axing the question. Don't get flustered. RN is trying to make you relax. You're on his playground. Relax ...

And Ricky, don't lose that number.

By Don Babwin
The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The kid pleading with Shoeless Joe Jackson to "say it ain't so" is one of the most fabled stories in baseball, right up there with Lou Gehrig telling a packed Yankee Stadium he was "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

Two Chicago attorneys have combed through the papers of the late Eliot Asinof, whose book "Eight Men Out" portrayed Jackson as a cheat who helped the White Sox throw the 1919 World Series.

Their conclusion?

It ain't so.

Not the allegations that got Jackson banished from baseball and locked out of the Hall of Fame.

Not even the kid who reportedly tugged at Jackson's sleeve and uttered the famous phrase that appeared in the Chicago Herald and Examiner.

The lawyers found no evidence he existed.

From The Associated Press

A multimillion dollar collection of Andy Warhol portraits that include Kareem Abdul Jabbar, O.J. Simpson and Muhammad Ali and other sports superstars was stolen from a West L.A. home, police said today.

The 11 color screenprints were taken from businessman Richard Weisman's home sometime between Sept. 2 and 3, said Detective Mark Sommer of the Los Angeles Police Department's art theft detail.

Ten of the 40-inch-square portraits feature famous athletes of the 1970s, including golfer Jack Nicklaus, soccer star Pele, figure skater Dorothy Hamill, NHL player Rod Gilbert, jockey Willie Shoemaker, baseball pitcher Tom Seaver and tennis star Chris Evert. The other is of Weisman, likely a commissioned portrait.

A $1 million reward was being offered for information leading to the return of the artwork.

The original prints were on display in Weisman's dining room and his house was locked up. It wasn't clear exactly when the silk screen paintings were taken or how the thieves got into the home.

The theft was discovered by the family's longtime nanny who arrived at the home to find the large prints missing from the walls. She immediately went to a neighbor's home to call police, Sommer said.

"This was a very clean crime," Sommer said. "(The home) wasn't ransacked."

It wasn't known exactly how much the prints were worth but Weisman tried to sell the
collection in 2002 for $3 million.

We'll get right to it, the kind of stuff they just don't try anymore to teach at the DeVry University:

== Please check out this YouTube clip of the 3-year-old (now 4) from Torrance who knows all the Lakers' player by number because it keeps his mind off other bigger issues (and thanks to KSPN's John Ireland for bringing this story to more light) (linked here)

== Crayola markers and colored pencils has a cool 3D football game for you, if you're not up for USC-Ohio State with Mark Jones screwing up the call on Saturday, among your college football Week 2 viewing lineup (linked here).

== You, along with Phil Simms, will see Mark Sanchez' Jets debut on your NFL TV on Sunday, plus more! (linked here)

== What was Mark Whicker thinking? Or those who are supposed to check his work after it's turned in? (linked here)

== Those pushing the USOC network aren't going away so fast (linked here).

== ESPN's Lou Holtz still has it ... as a motivational speaker, if he's trying to get Ohio State players to laugh so much they lose to USC (linked here).

== Comparing NFL TV apples to oranges to kumquats (linked here)

== Just because it says "sports" in the title doesn't make it a sports TV event, OK? (linked here)

== What does SI.com have against that bikini burger-eatin' Partridge girlie (linked here)

== How does one measure the life cycle of an ESPN-watching fan? (linked here)

== More on the passing of Buddy Blattner, the former Angels' broadcaster (1962-'68), last week at age 89 (linked here)

== Wheelchair tennis at the U.S. Open on TV -- bring it on (linked here) Does this have to do with the fact Bud Collins won't be back at ESPN after this U.S. Open? You sure?

== How ESPN's new city websites keep taking the best talent (linked here)

== Why the Washington Post gave Mike Wilbon a "World Wide Wilbon" blog to do instead his regular columns (linked here).

== How Stephen A. Smith got some vindication. However, he still doesn't have a writing job (linked here). But he does have a fine-looking podcast/website (linked here).

== Yup, your WNBA playoffs start next week on ESPN2 and NBA TV (and sometimes, on no TV) (linked here)

== We think of the new movie, "Big Fan," when we see this Onion sports story (linked here). Sorry, Bartman. We also think of some Dodgers fans who may not believe this could actually be true (in a false kind of way) (linked here). Thankfully, The Onion Sports also has this headline up: "No One On 'Baseball Tonight' Staff Recalls Hiring Dave Winfield"

== You won't find a more complete roster of talent for the NFL TV season than what Richard Deitsch threw together on SI.com (linked here). We almost wish we were are consumed with being that detailed, but then realized, hey, it's just a game on TV.

== Watch the first episode of ESPN "SportsCenter" from 30 years ago (linked here), although ESPN Classic had the whole thing on the other day. Maybe it was the first infomercial.

== What does Reggie Bush have against Petros Papadakis that a Twitter account won't resolve? (linked here and linked here)

AND FINALLY:

== Newspaper correction/boner of the week, stated from the Sept. 8 issue of the Los Angeles Times:

USC and UCLA openers: An item at the top of Sunday's front page referring readers to Sports' college football coverage said, "Trojans rout San Jose, 56-3; Bruins top San Diego, 33-14." It should have said San Jose State and San Diego State.

Today's Sports Business Journal (a subscription service) offers a look at how some in the sports media view what's offered by the NFL as a TV product.

Without getting in trouble, we'll give you some excerpts:

The pannel: Newsday's Neil Best, the San Diego Union-Tribune's Jay Posner, SportingNews.com's Dan Levy, The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre and FangsBites.com's Ken Fang :

Lloyd Bridges, as Mike Nelson, swimming around underwater like Aquaman, protecting everyone from the evils of squid ink and dolphin projectile vomiting.

Man, that would have been something. The sport of sport fishing would no doubt be a booming business. Who wouldn't want to see SI's top models dressed in some kind of Body Glove wear with a big tank on their back, searching for lost jewelry along the coast of America's finest resorts.

Instead, we get more experimentation of 3D football -- this time, with the USC-Ohio State contest from Columbus, Ohio, where more than 25,000 folks at three venues will see it in the optional illusion of a better picture than the high def they could be watching at home.

Bring the Advil to keep the room from spinning. This is just an ESPN experiment. The version you'll see from the comfort of your living room will be much easier to digest. In other words, you aren't missing anything.

We hope we made a compelling argument for that in today's column (linked here), although we'll allow you to be the judge. Let us know (as well as ESPN) what you think.
There's time. It's not as if 3D TVs are going to be government mandated, like digital broadcasts, and force the little people out of the picture.

"It could move fast or slow, I don't have the answer for that," Andrew Bailey, ESPN's VP of emerging technologies, said about the future of home 3D viewing. "We have no plans for it right now."

The coolest thing about 3D football, Bailey agrees, is "putting you in the best seat in the house for that area of the field. We believe people will be wowed by some of the shots and hopefully they'll get enough of the game to get them to understand what's going on."

Therein lies the problem, which we went over already. For a boxing match, this would be incredible. For a football game, you may have less vertigo watching from the Met Life blimp.

A year ago, it was a pretty cool thing to see Google Earth produce a 3D, 360-degree view of your favorite football stadium. So you know this 3D thing won't go away.

ESPN has been pushing this 3D USC-Ohio State thing as well on all its platformsl - the day the news came out, an ESPN.com Pac-10 blogger posted an item with the headline: "3D broadcast? How could that not be cool?"

Perhaps.

So, how soon before a 3D TV in your casa?

"Today, 3D is clearly on its way to the mass market," Sony Corporation of America chairman and CEO Howard Stringer said this week at a tech trade show in Berlin. "The 3D train is on the track, and we at Sony are ready to drive it home."

Sony and Panasonic should have more large-screen, high-def TV sets next year for the people, but 3D HD Blu-ray players and camcorders will come later, experts say.

Here, the difference ESPN has with this over what companies that did the NFL and BCS games in the past is a new vender -- Fusion 3D, with a software developed by Vince Pace. Sony HDC-500G HD camera will also be used. A NEP truck with a Sony MVS 8000 switcher will be used to compress the HD signals into 3D viewing.

In case you needed to know all that.

By the way, 3D SI swimsuit models have been tried already. Remember?

Now for other stuff you may want to know:

== After ESPN's "College GameDay" converging outside the Columbus Horseshoe for its Saturday morning presentation (7:30 to 9 a.m.) with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso, it'll be Brent Musburger, Herbstreit and Lisa Salters on that night's USC-Ohio State game (ESPN, 5 p.m., bumped from ABC because of a NASCAR telecast). At the lead-in, Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews converge on UCLA's game at Tennessee (ESPN, 1 p.m.)

== A segment of "GameDay" will focus on how the USC team rallied around 18-year-old linebacker Marquis Simmons , who had to stand before his peers and sing a song in a freshman rite of passage. The song, "Lean On Me," got the other players joining in, and -- only in Hollywood -- Pete Carroll invited the song's creator, Bill Withers, to a team meeting to watch them sing it. An excerpt:

==The men's doubles final -- without the Bryan Brothers -- preceed the women's semifinals on CBS' coverage of the U.S. Open today starting at 9:30 a.m. and going until 3 p.m. Saturday's coverage (men's semifinals, followed by the women's final) starts at 9 a.m. (until 3, then coming back at 5 p.m.) and Sunday's coveage (men's final, 1 p.m.) wraps it all up, with Dick Enberg, Mary Carillo and John McEnroe.

== NBC seems fortunate to have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in its field -- along with No. 1 Steve Stricker (really?) -- among the 70 left competing for the BMW Championship from Lemont, Ill., in round three of the four-event PGA Tour playoff for the FedEx Cup. Saturday (noon to 3) and Sunday (11 a.m. to 3) coverage uses Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Gary Koch, Bob Murphy, Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing and Dottie Pepper, plus Jimmy Roberts chirping in.

== NBA TV and NBA.com figure to have the best coverage of the Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremonies from Springfield, Mass., this weekend, capped with the induction of Michael Jordan today starting at 2:30 p.m. NBA.com has more at its site (linked here). Yes, ESPN has its own live coverage, starting at 3:30 p.m., allowing Stuart Scott and Michael Wilbon to give Jordan a hug. Mike Breen hosts the whole show.

== Frank Deford to the rescue: Highlights from the next episode of HBO's "Real Sports" (launches Tuesday at 10 p.m.): Deford has a piece called "Paper Cuts," about how newspapers are struggling with circulation and how some of the top sportswriters are leaving print for digital media. Also: A piece on high school football concussions, by Bryant Gumbel; the lack of top African-American swimmers from the U.S. pool of talent, by Mary Carillo.

== Jeremy Schapp, the ESPN hard-nosed reporter, will start a weekly show on ESPN Radio called "The Sporting Life" starting tonight at 7 p.m., a one-hour program that has more indepth profiles and story coverage. Yes, Jeremy's late father, Dick Schaap, had a Sunday morning ESPN Radio show by the same name long ago. We hope KSPN-AM (710) chooses to carry it.

"On a more personal level, it means a lot to me that The Sporting Life -- which my father hosted and I regularly co-hosted -- is being revived, albeit in a different format," Schaap said. "I am hoping that sports fans who appreciate the in-depth stories they see on Outside the Lines and E:60 will make a point of listening to The Sporting Life on ESPN Radio."

== Yes, that was Rick Reilly co-hosting the L.A. edition of "SportsCenter" last night, and he'll do so again today with Neil Everett.

== The AVP has struck another partnership deal with KTLA-Channel 5 to carry the final of the Tour's Best of the Beach competition from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas next Saturday (Sept. 19) at 7 p.m. (women's final) and 8:30 p.m. (men's final). KTLA carried the Manhattan Beach Open last July -- seemed kinda strange since Fox once upon a time had such a great relationship with the AVP and almost all their events, but now it's gone over to buying tape-delays on Versus.

==VH1, for some reason, renewed "The T.O. Show" quasi-reality series for a second season after it drew an average of 1.5 million viewers per episode this summer. A press release quotes VH1 executive VP of Original Programming and Production Jeff Olde: "(He is) a compelling figure to watch both on and off the field." You were watching the same show we were, right? Would DirecTV like to bounce this channel as well?

AND FINALLY:

== Spike TV -- we still get that on DirecTV, right? -- has a lot to crow about. It says it is the "exclusive American television home" for the 2009 National Rugby League playoffs and championship game, starting tonight (11 p.m.) and ending with the Grand Final on Oct. 4. The games from Australia air on Spike TV same day, tape-delayed. Why we care: Russell Crowe owns the NRL's South Sydney Rabbitohs. That ought to punch things up.

That was Jim Tressel, the snappily attired Ohio State coach, asking the question during ESPN's halftime segment of tonight's Georgia Tech-Clemson game.

Switch to Lou Holtz, in a white OSU shirt and red cap, standing in a pretend locker room, giving one of his famed pep talks between his set of teeth that appear to fully purchased but losing adhesive by the second, demonstrating, for fun, how he'd fired up the Buckeyes players before their home game Saturday against USC:

"Men, I'm excited, we're gonna play the University of Spoiled Children ... better known as USC," Holtz started, with notecard in hand.

More?

"We have a tradition of winning here at Ohio State but that tradition's been tarnished recently as we've lost five straight games to teams ranked in the Top 5. I'm not going to document our disappointing performance of each game, but that has to change and it will change today.

"The one thing we will not do is be intimidated by any opponent or any situation, whether it be in football or whether it be in life. I learned that from Woody Hayes."

Who? Did he come before or after Kirk Herbstreit?

"We're playing Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl for the national championship. They had a back by the name of O.J. Simpson."

Now, it's gonna get ugly.

"I coached the defensive backs, and Woody Hayes told me, 'He better not score a touchdown.' In the second quarter, O.J. takes a handoff on their own 20 yard line and goes 80 yards for a touchdown. I'm up in the press box, Woody Hayes is on the sideline. I go in the locker room at halftime, the first thing that happened, he came running up to me, strategically placed his left hand on my jugular vein and squeezed my eyes about that big."

O.J., responsible for another homicide ...

"Now you really gotta understand coach Hayes, he really meant me no physical harm. He just wanted to make sure he had my undivided attention. And he hollered: 'Why'd O.J. go 80 yards?' I said, 'Coach, that's all he needed. If the ball was on the 10, he woulda gone 90.'"

There's a point to this ...

"We were down 10-0," Holtz continued. "But we would not be intimidated. We came back to win the national championship, 27-16."

And that applies to 2009 how?

"Men, tenacious defense, and a will to win, a man refused to be bought cannot be bought, Justin Bourne and I could hold any man down in this room, the two of us. But if you go into an insane asylum, a guy goes berserk, it takes seven attendants to put a wild man in a straight jacket. I'm not a great mathematician, but if we had 11 wild men on defense, they need 77 people on offense in order to block us."

He's playing the crazy card ... watch out...

"You have to ask yourself: If not me, who? If not here, where? If not now, when?"

Or ask, if I turn this off now, why?

"You've got to persevere. We all know about Abraham Lincoln and the trials and tribulations he overcame. And we all know about Thomas Edison and how he persevered. And we all know how Ben Franklin refused to lose. And you ask me, 'What about Victor McManus?' Who's he? HE'S A GUY THAT QUIT THAT'S WHY NOBODY EVER HEARD OF HIM!'"

Wait. There's more. Catch you breath .... OK, go ...

"We aren't gonna quit. We are gonna persevere. And we're gonna whip the University of Spoiled Children today, let's go!"

A tagline: Mark May, in the ESPN studio, has predicted a three-TD victory for USC. ... Holtz is beside himself.

I don't make monkeys, I just train 'em: Mark Whicker, Melanie Oudin's tennis coach and those who make decision about NFL blackouts.

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

And you'll be sorry Pee-wee Herman. Someday.

Those three things (minus Mr. Herman) are linked only in the sports world today because fans are subjected to some unnecessary head-shaking, wondering if Bizarro world had come upon us on 09/09/09.

The day after, we still wonder what happened.

In brief:

== Mark Whicker, the Orange County Register columnist for the last 20-plus years and frequent guest on ESPN's "Jim Rome Is Burning," wrote a piece for Tuesday's paper about ... you know, we're not even going to go there. Even in our warped mind, we never made a connection between a kid abducted at 11, raped for 18 years and suddenly found, and the sports world she missed. The reaction to it was swift and painful. His apology for it was at first bewilderment at such a backlash, then the realization that he probably disconnected from his audience.

*The original column (linked here)

*The apology (linked here)

They say in the news biz that if you can get a reaction out of the audience -- good or bad -- you've done your job. Congrats to Mark on this one. He broke the bank.

The real curious thing is: How did editors let this get into print and online? The desk crew at the newspaper is something of a luxury to those bloggers who are self-propelled idiots capable of shooting themselves in the mouth repeatedly because of the lack of an outside filter that helps decide what's in good taste and what isn't (and I take this moment to thank all of those over the years who've done this for me -- you know who you are).

Why this even made it past some supposed clear-minded editors is another example of perhaps cutting corners in the newspaper world leads to these kind of problems. Just read the list of "corrections" in the newspaper front section each day. It's almost comical how the checks and balances departments just aren' there as more and more news get shoveled into the paper and online without proper roadblocks to prevent embarassment.

It's on the writer for producing such a flamable subject matter to try to incorporate into a sports column. It's up to the editors for stopping it before it becomes an unnecessary firestorm.

Pass the hose and call in the planes dropping that red stuff. There's a mess to clean up in the O.C.

And thanks to Fang's Bites for bringing this story, and more reaction, to the surface (linked here).

== Melanie Oudin is the 17-year-old who sprinted through the U.S. Open women's draw before finally losing Wednesday. Then SI.com reported that more than a year ago, her father filed for divorce from her mother because she had an affair with her coach.

The Los Angeles Times has a poll up now on its staff blog site:
Does the public have the right to know about this? Vote in today's poll, then leave a comment letting us know why you voted the way you did. An overwhelming majority have voted "no" to this.

Maybe the better question is: Does the public have a need to know? It puts into context, in some crazy way, just how crazy her performance was, considering all the stress this must have put on her. It's public records, this divorce proceeding. Scandal for scandal's sake isn't beneficial for society. In this case -- and you really have to take these on a case-by-case basis -- the backstory really does make the accomplish all that more newsworthy.

We just wonder if SI.com had been waiting to drop that news, or would it have held it another day or two if she had kept winning. There's the angle of the story we want.
Sorry we had to bring that up. Would have loved to hear how mom and dad explained this one to the kid.

== NFL blackouts are going to be a problem this season. The economy, supposedly, is to blame.

Sorry, that excuse is lame-o lame.

Reports a while back that at least 12 teams are in serious problems selling games out so that the local TV market can see the game live raised some eyebrows, but because L.A. has no such problems any more -- hurray for us -- this is one of those "other guy's" problems. This is the benefit, we've learned, of living in a non-NFL town.
The San Diego Chargers, for example, could go the whole season without selling out a game, the league worries. And L.A. doesn't.

But there are teams, in cities such as Pittsburgh and New England, that don't seem affected by this "economy" thing. They've figured out how to fill the stands, even if ticket prices are ridiculous in other parts of the country.

We're not buying this economical "economy" excuse, although we are painfully aware of its repercussions.

The NFL needs to be a little more forgiving in its blackout policy this season, especially with all the home openers. That 72-hour rule that starts to smack teams today will likely be pushed and pushed until the opening kickoff scramble to get it resolved.

The NFL Network's RedZone channel, and DirecTV's RedZone Channel that used to be connected to it's pricey "NFL Sunday Ticket" but now stands alone because of recent tug-o-war proceedings from cable companies, has live in-game reports on all the contests. But that's really not enough.

The NFL announced today that games blacked out in home markets will be available on NFL.com in their entirety -- but only on a delayed basis, starting at midnight on the day of the game, and they're only available for 72 hours.

How does that fix the stress of fan disconnect?

"We understand that the economy is limiting some families and corporations from buying as many game tickets as they had previously," said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement. "These free re-broadcasts on NFL.com will allow our fans that can't get to a blacked-out game an opportunity to see the entire game."

Thanks for the cold left-overs and the fake Band-Aid on this one. We'll just get the 2-minutes worth of highlights on the 11 o'clock news.

And to toast the occasion, Arnold Palmer's all around (you know, iced tea and lemonade ... add your own distilled beverage of choice).

Of all the things Palmer has done in his golf life, the one we benefit most from is his co-founding Golf Channel. The Orlando, Fla.-based net has been airing salutes to "The King" this week -- in fact, it has been doing an "80 Days to Arnold Palmer's 80 Birthday" countdown that comes to an end.

Today, he throws out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates game (that's his hometown team). On today's "Golf Central," Inga Hammond does an interview with Palmer to reflect on, well, himself.

Some more on Palmer's legacy, with the Golf Channel providing it:

== Today, 10:30 a.m.: The 1964 Masters, where he won his fourth green jacket.
== Tonight, 9:30 p.m.: The 1960 Masters, where he beat Ken Venturi by one stroke.

More: GolfChannel.com/arnoldpalmer

The other thing we're grateful for Mr. Palmer: The book he released in 2000 called "Arnold Palmer: Playing By the Rules" (Pocket Books, $27, 241 pages). Even though the official rules of golf are revised every four years, this book never gets outdated and is a refreshing reference to instances where Palmer himself broke a rule and had to pay the price.

The best lesson we've learned from this book is on the back jacket: "The third section of Rule 1 -- Rule 1-3 -- is probably the most broken rule in the entire book. It reads: Players shall not agree to exclude the operation of any Rule or to waive any penalty incurred. That means you can't agree ahead of time to break the rules, which everyone does at some point."

With that, I'm going to check to see if I really have 14 clubs in my bag, or if it's closer to 80 -- in Arnie's honor.

While USA Today reports (linked here) on ESPN's heated up bidding already on future Olympics, we came across this:

By Nancy Armour
The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The U.S. Olympic Committee isn't giving up the idea of its own television network.

Though it's "on pause" for now, acting CEO Stephanie Streeter said on Wednesday she still believes a network would help Olympic sports that get little -- if any -- attention between games.

"I continue to believe -- as does the IOC, I think -- that a properly planned and structured U.S. Olympic Network will deliver great benefits to the entire Olympic and Paralympic movement, and to all of you," Streeter said in a keynote address to the U.S. Olympic Assembly. "And I'm looking forward to engaging in that dialogue in full partnership with the IOC in the future."

USOC leaders touted the network as a way to increase interest in the Olympic movement and as a complement to NBC. But it dropped the idea last month after a very harsh reception by the International Olympic Committee, which worried about offending NBC, the network that provides the IOC's largest chunk of revenue with a $2.2 billion deal to broadcast the 2010 and 2012 Olympics. NBC also has the rights to the U.S. Olympic trials for both games and is committed to bidding for the 2014 and 2016 TV rights.

The dispute threatened to harm Chicago's bid for the 2016 Games, coming just weeks before the IOC's Oct. 2 vote on a host city.

Sure, you're gonna say they spent too much time promoting their new CD, and not enough time playing tennis.

Bob and Mike Bryan might be thinking that right now.

Earlier today, in the first match of the session from Arthur Ashe Stadium, the men's No. 1-ranked doubles pair from Camarillo was unceremoniously knocked out of the U.S. Open, as fourth-seeded Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India pulled off the 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) semifinal victory. Dlouhy and Paes, this year's French Open winners, ended the defending champs' run at their eighth Grand Slam and third U.S. Open title.

The Bryans came back from an 0-5 deficit in the third set tie breaker to level it at 6-6, but Dlouhy/Paes held their next service point and took the match.

If you check out Bob Bryans' Twitter account (Bryanbros, linked here, which is on their official website, bobandmike.com) you'd find this Tweet posted about an hour ago:

"Luckily I don't own a gun or I would have been dead 2 hours ago. Might go check out the Empire State Building later...maybe I can jump off?"

It was followed up by one about a half hour later:

"Just kidding, guys.To quote 3 wise women: "I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up, I'm not gon' stop, I'm gonna work harder, I'm a survivor!"

The reference is to the Destiny's Child song, "Survivor" (linked here).

The Bryan Bros Band's new EP "Let It Rip," which you can now find on iTunes, is also available for a listen on their new website (linked here). At least the four songs were played in Arthur Ashe Stadium during the match.

"It was kind of hard to concentrate," Mike joked. "I was listening to the songs on the
changeovers, like, 'OK, I could've done a better fill there'."

The brothers are working on another track for the EP with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray each singing a short verse.

Watch how they recorded it at a Van Nuys studio earlier this summer:

By the Associated Press

He lost and won.

A New York judge denied a filmmaker's request Wednesday to shoot video of wheelchair division tennis matches at the U.S. Open in New York. But the filmmaker later learned at least some of the matches will be televised anyway.

Alan Rich, a Brooklyn attorney and freelance journalist, argued that since CBS, ESPN and the Tennis Channel don't usually air matches from the wheelchair tournament, he should be granted access. A judge denied that request.

But USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said some of the wheelchair matches will air after all. He said a decision on when matches would be aired was pending.

The wheelchair division, featuring 20 of the top players, begins competition Thursday and ends Sunday.

Rich is making a film about the wheelchair players.

Thursday:

== 5 p.m., Channel 4: Tennessee at Pittsburgh (with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Sunday:

==10 a.m., Channel 2: N.Y. Jets at Houston (with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, instead of Miami-Atlanta, Denver-Cincinnati, Kansas City-Baltimore or Jacksonville-Indiana)

== 10 a.m., Channel 11: Minnesota at Cleveland (with Thom Brennamen and Brian Billick, instead of Philadelphia-Carolina, Dallas-Tampa Bay or Detroit-New Orleans)

== 1 p.m., Channel 11: Washington at N.Y. Giants (with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, instead of San Francisco-Arizona or St. Louis-Seattle)

== 5 p.m., Channel 4: Chicago at Green Bay (with Michaels and Collinsworth)

Monday:

== 4 p.m., ESPN: Buffalo at New England (with Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski)

== 7:15 p.m., ESPN: San Diego at Oakland (with Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Steve Young)

Bye week:

== John Madden. Technically. Sirius XM announced today that he'd return for a sixth season as a commentator on Sirius NFL Radio (Channel 124) every Friday at 8:30 a.m. He starts the season Thursday with Adam Schein on Thursday (also 8:30 a.m.) to talk about the league opener.

It's in the title, so it must be sports worthy. Therefore, we're expected to watch.

Just ask those who endured all those years on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period."

The other day, we pulled up the DirecTV grid in search of a title. It had "sports" in it. And it made us realize that "sports" doesn't always sell a sports show like some who name them may think they do.

Listed in between SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon and Springtime for Hipsters on the Playboy Channel, we found maybe a dozen or so shows with the word "sports" in their title.

If we weren't familiar with them, we checked them out. If we knew them, we watched again. With that, we have them ranked, in order of when we come across 'em, we stop to watch:

THE TOP FIVE:

1. "Sports Challenge"

The ultimate campy quiz show we used to watch as a kid on KTLA Channel 5 but now catch enough on either ESPN Classic or the Game Show Network. The older the episode, the better. There's been nothing like it since. The timecapsule that Dick Enberg hosted (often wearing a white sport coat and white shoes) and is replayed often is only outdated in the facts have changed since it last aired in the late '70s. You watch for many reasons: Which of the contestants have passed away? Which one has O.J. Simpson on as the special "shadow" final guessing game? Here's an episode from the other day: The Boston Red Sox, with Fred Lynn, Bill Lee (wearing his lucky Hawaiian shirt) and manager Darrell Johnson are playing the California Angels, with Bobby Bonds, manager Dick Williams and Frank Tanana. That "Sports Challenge" logo is one of the all time classics as well. And Enberg just mentioned there are records for sale with Sports Challenge great moments. They've got to be on eBay somewhere.

Wrote Arash Markazi on SI.com about this photo of Audrina Partridge being allowed to heave the ceremonial first pitch at a recent Dodger game:

If Dodgers fans are looking for a reason their team is fading at the end of the season, look no further than inexplicably allowing reality show "stars" like Audrina Partridge to throw out the first pitch at games. It would be one thing if the team didn't play in Hollywood, but you think they could get better celebrities to throw out the first pitch than the entire cast of "The Hills."

Yes, they definitely could go deeper into the Hollywood rotation. Way deeper. But this Partridge family product ain't so hard on the eyes, now is she?

And, if you're wondering, yes, she's in the new flick, "Sorority Row" -- spoiler alert: She's the first one killed -- she has her own reality show coming up next year, and ....

The 24-year-old is that dang girl in the bikini eating the Carl's Jr. Teriyaki hamburger, so next time you're at the Dodger Stadium concession stand and can't figure out why you just ordered one of them from a longtime team sponsor instead of another Dodger Dog, here it is:

At the ESPN Media Workship -- and when we get further clarification what that exactly is, we'll pass it on -- some studying was done to measure the life cycle of a sports fan (linked here), using some biometric responses and survey questions.

Glenn Enoch, the VP of integrated media research, was trying to figure out how sports fans prioritize, consume, allot time and pick how and with whom they share TV space with during the course of a event.

They decided:

== Boys and girls start out watching sporting events with an adult. They don't watch much sports TV yet (about an hour a week).

== Male teens have the greatest sports avidity. Participation is a key reason, as is the fact that sports are used as social currency. Female teens are big fans of sports, mostly through participation.

==College-age males remain big sports fans. They average more than three hours of national sports TV per week and are at the peak of their sports news and information viewing.

==Males aged 25 to 34 are increasing their sports events viewing. They are also the peak users of Internet video. Sports avidity and participation drop sharply for females after age 18 and women are at their lowest avidity between the ages of 25-34.

== Men aged 35 to 49 have more things to think about (career, family, etc.) This group has the highest percent of sports Web users and also they spend time viewing events with their children. (And this starts the life cycle over again.) For females, sports avidity and viewing begin to grow after age 35. Most is co-viewing with adult males and their families.

== Older men (aged 50 plus) have lower sports avidity but watch the most sports on TV. This is the time when college sports play an increasing role in viewing sports events. Older women account for nearly a third of all sports viewing within their age group.

How do we analyze the data? Since we don't know how it was determined, only that it was obtained, that's kind of restrictive in how we interpret such things.

Bottom line: Nothing there is very surprising. Except, when compared to how we started watching sports on TV, it really wasn't because of an adult.

Because Disney's ad people were also involved in this, it no doubt reinforces some of the themes from "The Lion King." But we won't get too deep into that.

You find anything interesting from this info?

There's USC-Ohio State regular, and USC-Ohio State super-duper offered this weekend. We suggest the gimmick-free version, available on all your home TV screens.

Kirk Herbstreit is joined by Brent Musburger on the "regular" USC-Ohio State telecast Saturday night on ESPN at 5 p.m. Somehow, Mark Jones, Ed Cunningham and Bob Davie also have a booth at the Horseshoe. That alone should be reason enough to not pack up the kids and crank up the car to head out to USC's Galen Center, where about 8,000 folks are expected to watch a "special" 3D telecast of the game.

Here's Week 2 of the collge football TV schedule for L.A. eyes only:

THE LOCALS:

== UCLA at Tennessee, 1 p.m., ESPN, ESPN360.com and ESPN mobile: , (with Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge; repeated at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN2)

== USC at Ohio State, 5 p.m., ESPN, ESPN360.com and ESPN mobile: (with Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit; 3D telecast at Galen Center with Mark Jones, Ed Cunningham and Bob Davie; repeated on ESPN at 12:30 a.m.)

THE REST:

THURSDAY:

== Clemson at Georgia Tech, 4:30 p.m., ESPN (with Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Erin Andrews)

== Florida A&M at Winston Salem State, 4:30 p.m., ESPNU (with Charlie Neal and Jay Walker)

FRIDAY:

== Colorado at Toledo, 6 p.m., ESPN (with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham)

SATURDAY:

== ESPN "College GameDay," 7 to 9 a.m., from Columbus, Ohio, with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso.

== Iowa at Iowa State, 9 a.m., FSN West (with Joel Meyers and Dave Lapham)

== Syracuse at Penn State, 9 a.m., Big Ten Network (with Craig Coshun and Glen Mason)

== Fresno State at Wisconson, 9 a.m., ESPN (with Dave Pasch, Bob Griese and Chris Speilman)

== Central Michigan at Michigan State, 9 a.m., ESPN2 (with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley)

== North Carolina at Connecticut, 9 a.m., ESPNU (with Clay Matvick and David Diaz-Infante)

== Marshall at Virginia Tech, 10:30 a.m., ESPN360.com (with Sam Smith and Sonny Randle)

== Kent State at Boston College, 11:30 a.m., ESPN360.com (with Paul Severino and Drew Haddard)

== Houston at Oklahoma State, 12:30 p.m., FSN West (with Bill Land and Gary Reasons)

== Notre Dame at Michigan, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7 (with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe)

== BYU vs. Tulane in New Orleans, 12:30 p.m., ESPN2 (with Terry Gannon and David Norrie)

== TCU at Virginia, 12:30 p.m., ESPNU (with Todd Harris and Charles Arbuckle)

== East Carolina at West Virginia, 12:30 p.m., ESPN360.com (with John Sanders and Rene Nadeau)

== Texas at Wyoming, 12:30 p.m., Versus (with Joe Beninati and Glenn Parker)

== Louisiana Tech at Navy, 12:30 p.m., CBS College Sports (with Pete Medhurst and Randy Cross)

== Jacksonville State at Florida State, 3 p.m., ESPN360.com (with Frank Giardina and Danny Kanell)

== James Madison at Maryland, 3 p.m., ESPN360 (with Bob Picozzi and Jerod Cherry)

== Air Force at Minnesota, 4 p.m., Big Ten Network (with Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin and Charissa Thompson)

== Mississippi State at Auburn, 4 p.m., FSN West (with Bob Rathbun and Dave Archer)

== South Carolina at Georgia, 4 p.m., ESPN2, (with Mike Patrick and Craig James)

== Vanderbilt at LSU, 4 p.m., ESPNU (with Eric Collins and Brock Huard)

== Kansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette, 4 p.m., ESPN360.com (with Trey Bender and Jay Taylor)

== Kansas at UTEP, 4:30 p.m., CBS College Sports (with Tom Hart and Aaron Taylor)

== Tulsa at New Mexico, 5 p.m., MTN (with James Bates and Todd Christensen)

== Purdue at Oregon, FSN West, 7:15 p.m. (with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Michael Eaves)

== Utah at San Jose State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 (with Carter Blackburn and JC Pearson)

==Oregon State at UNLV, 8 p.m., CBS College Sports (with Jason Knapp and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila)

== Western Michigan at Indiana, 10 p.m., Big Ten Network (delayed, with Matt Devlin and Anthony Herron)

Jeff Gritchen/Long Beach Press-Telegram staff photographer

Jon Wilhite throws out the first pitch as the Long Beach Armada faced the Orange County Flyers at Blair Field in Long Beach on June 27.

Lee Jenkins has a story in the upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated that focuses on the comeback of Jon Wilhite, the line survivor of the car accident that took the life of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two other friends.

Wilhite, a Manhattan Beach native and former catcher at Cal State Fullerton, was given a 5 percent chance of surviving the April accident and miniscule odds of completely recovering because of the fact his skull separated from his spinal chord.

Wilhite visited the team this past Father's Day, as Jenkins recounts:

"When (Torii) Hunter noticed Wilhite by the Angels dugout before the game, he hugged him. So did pitchers Jered Weaver and Justin Speier, as well as the pitching coach who had been at the hospital on April 9, Mike Butcher. 'You're a true blessing,' Hunter told Wilhite. 'I want you to know that.' Wilhite preferred to be one of the guys. 'They weren't ready for me in heaven,' he said. 'It was just like my baseball career--no one wanted me.' Everybody laughed."

Wilhite admits that he was a Dodgers fan who wore No. 14 because Mike Scioscia was his favorite player -- both were lefty-hitting catchers.

"You're not one of those Dodgers fans are you?'," Scioscia asked Wilhite during a recent visit.

"I am a Dodgers fan," Wilhite admited to Jenkins, "but because of what's happened, I'm connected to the Angels for life."

The App Store (www.itunes.com/appstore) has a $6.99 product that you probably can do without: Live coverage of all Notre Dame home football games (on NBC, includling Oct. 17 vs. USC) through the new Notre Dame Central App.

"Fans of Notre Dame football now have an app that will let them follow college football's most storied program while they're on the go," said Perkins Miller, senior vice president, Digital Media, NBC Sports, in a digitized statement. "We're thrilled to extend the viewing experience to this fiercely loyal fan base and bring live games and other rich, interactive video options to iPhone and iPod touch."

Now, just get the iBeer app, and get yourself virtually drunk over this news, you Irish followers.

To help bolster appeal for their new all-encompasing ESPNBoston.com sports website, the World Wide Leader says that recently retired New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi will join the team to provie NFL analysis. They will, of course, also squeeze appearances of him on "NFL Live," "SportsCenter," ESPN Radio and whatever else isn't moving.

ESPNBoston.com launches next Monday, Sept. 14 -- the day the Patriots open their season, against Buffalo.

There is already an ESPNChicago.com in place, an ESPNDallas coming in a couple of weeks (coinciding with the Cowboys' home opener), and coming next year, ESPNLosAngeles.com and ESPNNewYork.com. The later two will likely launch with the start of the 2010 MLB seasons.

The Chicago site has already passed up viewership of the sports sites on the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.

The business model for these ESPN-filtered sports sites seems to first, already have a radio presence (in L.A., it's 710-AM KSPN), and then make a splash by hiring some of the top local sports media talent in each city and then tapping into the other websites and news gathering entities that already exist in the city. Boston's website last week lassoed Mike Reiss, the Boston Globe and Boston.com's top NFL writer. The site will also use Peter Gammons and Bill Simmons.

It would hardly be surprising if the L.A. site tried to hire away someone already with an ESPN presence -- such as the Times' Bill Plaschke -- to go with J.A. Adande and Magic Johnson (who also have ESPN deals) and the talent at 710-AM.

From Sept. 7, 1979:

While patiently awaiting the kickoff of tonight's Miami-Florida State contest ...

The Sports Illustrated college football preview issue arrived in the mailslot, what was it, just last week? August 17, sorry. Just finally getting around to reading it. It was buried under ... never mind.

Cover: Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli, C Jordan Holmes. Headline: "PARTY CRASHERS: The Ducks have the firepower to shake up the BCS," by Austin Murphy. A Top 20 list, with Oregon at No. 11.

Inside: A two-page photo shows Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount leaping over an Oklahoma State defender, with the caption: "Oregon's Blount, who hurdled a defender on a 29-yard touchdown run in the 2008 Holiday Bowl, will be the featured back in an offense that could wreak havoc in the Pac-10."

A few pages later, a piece on Oregon, and Blount: "A vexing blend of speed and power, the 6'2'', 240-pound senior from East Mississippi Community College rushed for 1,002 yards last season (7.3 yards per carry) as a backup to Jeremiah Johnson. Accelerating into the secondary on one play, Blount hurdles an Oklahoma State safety en route to the end zone. Another Blount highlight, this one from Oregon's 65-38 Civil War beatdown of Oregon State: He uses just enough wiggle to elude a linebacker on his way to a 46-yard pickup. "I threw the stiff-arm too early," says Blount, critiquing himself. "You ain't even got a stiffarm," says tight end Ed Dickerson ..."

No, apparently Blount has a nice right cross instead.

And Oregon is 0-1 and sinking fast.

And this whole Year of the Pre-Game Handshake has been sucker punched. We didn't even get to see enough Erin Andrews in her first game of the season, hours before Boise State punked Oregon in the nightcap. By then, EA Sportie Spice must have been back at the hotel, all tucked in.

Maybe the SI jinx has a hand this Oregon debacle (although, to be fair, the magazine did its usual bet hedging by having the QB and C of Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Penn State as its other regional covers ... covering their own rear ends).

While those last three had nothing really to apologize for after Week 1 of the collegiate football aptitude test, the Ducks ... well ... the rest of the weekend was the Blount Apology Tour (linked here), apparently the first rehabilitative step toward getting his degree, but not his football letterman's jacket for his senior year. The professional scouts will have to come by the school to see him in the gym, because he won't be tormenting Pac-10 foes the rest of the season, if we are to believe whomever is coaching the Ducks this season.

Some believe, rightfully so, that Blount's punishment was too excessive -- it's ESPN's fault for televising the game (linked here). See how that one holds up in the court of public disinterest. And Boise State would be the first to welcome him if he decided to transfer.

Oklahoma, No. 3 on many preseason polls, is also 0-1. That gives the Ducks and Sooners one thing to latch onto: Losing earlier, rather than losing later, is a good thing.

Ohio State, in the top 10 in many preseason polls, didn't even have the pleasure of losing early. It had to bail water to get past Navy in its opener, and only lost because the Midshipmen offensive coordinator decided to pass on a two-point conversion. Roger Staubach was not in the backfield. This is why the U.S. armed forces drive the rest of the world crazy. Our Navy has stayed in the game because of its ground attack, and now wants to go to the air. Interception. Return. Game over. Bring on the Trojans for a national TV crew that has fewer storylines to latch onto.

To Reggie Bush's non-Kardashian pleasure, Petros Papadakis won't be calling that ESPN game. Instead, RB Reggie has to think he wasn't really smart to fire off a Tweet criticizing PP's work on the Fox Sports Net telecast of the USC-San Jose State tilt (linked here).

If we cared more about Twitter, and its future as a reliable means of transmitting sports information, we'd get into this one a little more. But, alas, we care less and less as the seconds tick by. It just makes for an interesting visual, thanks to SportsByBrooks.com technlogy.

The attention should really be on Tennessee-UCLA for their Week 2 matchup. Lane Kiffin, put your tools on the table against Norm Chow. May the smarter dude win. If that were the only criteria, we'd pick a Bruin upset.

And, while Trojan and Bruin fans will be making their first road tailgate parties of the season -- having to endure sweltering conditions on Saturday in L.A. that we just inhumane -- take notice of this list of Top 10 Tailgating tips provided by Sports Pickle (linked here), and see how many of them apply to your cornhole-playing friends who just don't get it:

1. Cool it with the football. Hey. Great. You brought a football to the tailgate. I might throw it around with you. A few times. Maybe. But I'm here to have some drinks and load up on food and hang out with people. That's really the entirety of my plans. I didn't bring my cleats. You see, I came here to watch football. Not play football. Seriously. Relax with the football, guy! No, I will not play two-hand touch. No, I will definitely not go long. Under any circumstances. If you wanted to play football today, you should have made the team. Go away, you drunk moron.

2. Relax about your the chili. Your chili is not famous. It's just not. So stop saying that it is. See everyone here? They all know you. They all enjoy your chili. At least most of them do. Now, see the people one spot over at the other tailgate? I just asked them and they have never heard of you. More importantly, they have never heard of your chili. So there you have it: your chili is not famous. And, really, it's not that hard to make good chili. You mix a bunch of stuff together. Then you make sure it's spicy. Boom. Good chili. You should really try to find something else in your life to be proud about. Everyone kind of pities you.

3. Don't invite Kevin. Every tailgate has a Kevin. He's annoying. Whoever is responsible for inviting him all the time, please don't do it again.

4. Remember you're not coaching. We all like football or we probably wouldn't be here. But this is not the set of Edge NFL Match-Up. I don't know if Right Trap 38 Hitch-Over Falcon or whatever it was you just said is the key to solving Alabama's defense in the red zone. Nor do I really care. Hey, look! The burgers are ready.

5. No one cares what you want on your burger. They will ask you want you want on it. But it's just to be polite. And to be polite back, you should say: "I don't care. Whatever." This is not a gourmet restaurant. Someone just made you free food. Don't be picky. Just eat it.

6. Girls, wear football jerseys. Look, I get the awkward psychology of it. It's like guys are somehow attracted to the football players they root for and want to have sex with them. I don't know. Maybe. Whatever. You look hot. So put on that football jersey and I'll drink until I don't care about the awkward psychology of it.

7. Let's not be too anal. That's what she said. (Come on, that's funny at a tailgate after four beers.) What I mean is, basically this: I'm not following your stupid rule and writing my name on my red cup. If I lose my red cup when I get there, I will just grab another new one out of the bag. If this ruins you financially, here is a dollar. But put that Sharpie away. Save the ink for writing messages on people when they pass out.

8. Kids are a risk. It's okay to bring along your kids or your little brother or sister. But understand that they're going to be spending the day around a bunch of adults, most of whom will be drunk. These people will not self-edit. And junior is going to see and hear everything. Chances are on Monday he comes home from school with detention for telling his teacher he loves her in belch-talk.

9. Get off your cellphone. You're supposed to talk to the people at the tailgate when you're at a tailgate. So get off the phone. Stop texting. Stop doing whatever it is that you're doing on your iPhone. Whoa! You have an iPhone app that can get live scoring updates from every game in the country? Okay, you can keep the cellphone. Everyone else ... away.

10. Girls, don't make-out with Kevin. I don't care how much you had to drink. He's really annoying. Now we're never going to get rid of him. What are you doing?! Stop! No, don't say you think you're in love. It's Kevin!

AP Photo/Francis Specker

Former El Camino Real High and Pepperdine standout Randy Wolf earned the victory in the Dodgers' 7-4 win tonight against San Diego, giving him 100 career major-league wins.

Here's a list of former San Fernando Valley high school stars with at least 100 victories in their major league career (*-left handed):

209: Don Drysdale (Van Nuys High), 14 seasons with Brooklyn and L.A. Dodgers (1956-'69)

169: Kevin Appier (Antelope Valley High), 16 seasons with Kansas City (1989-'99), Oakland ('99-2000), N.Y. Mets ('01), Angels ('02-'03) and Kansas City ('03-'04)

167: Bret Saberhagen (Cleveland High), 16 seasons with Kansas City (1984-'91), N.Y. Mets ('92-95), Colorado ('95) and Boston ('97-2001).

139: Larry Dierker (Taft High), 14 seasons with Houston (1964-'76) and St. Louis ('77).

134: Jeff Suppan (Crespi High), 15 seasons with Boston (1995-'98), Arizona ('98), Kansas City ('98-2002), Pittsburgh ('03), Boston ('03), St. Louis ('04-'06) and Milwaukee ('06-'09)

127: Jack McDowell (Notre Dame High), 12 seasons with (1987-'94), N.Y. Yankees ('95), Cleveland ('96-'97) and Angels ('98-
'99).

115: Jon Garland (Kennedy High), 10 seasons with Chicago White Sox (2000-'07), Angels ('08), Arizona ('09) and Dodgers ('09)

113: Russ Ortiz (Montclair Prep), 12 seasons with San Francisco (1998-2002), Atlanta ('03-'04), Arizona ('05-'06), Baltimore ('06), San Francisco ('07) and Houston ('09).

105: Bob Walk (Hart High), 14 seasons with Philadelphia (1980), Atlanta ('81-'83) and Pittsburgh ('84-'93)

100: Randy Wolf* (El Camino Real High), 11 seasons with Philadelphia (1999-'06); Dodgers ('07); San Diego ('08); Houston ('08) and Dodgers ('09).

UP NEXT:

99: Jeff Weaver (Simi Valley High), 10 seasons with Detroit (1999-2002); N.Y. Yankees ('02-'03); Dodgers ('04-'05); Angels ('06); St. Louis ('06); Seattle ('07) and Dodgers ('09).

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News staff photographer

The Lancaster JetHawks, despite sitting last in the California League, had at one point a chance to make the post-season, but too many one-run losses and blown leads in the late innings came back to haunt them.

Only once did this 2009 group put together a three-game winning streak. Recently, they snapped a nine-game losing streak.

A roller coaster existence is often expected in minor-league production, but first-year manager Wes Clements doesn't feel as he was taken for a ride.

"What is it your mom says, it's never going to be easy," said the 51-year-old Hawthorne High grad and former College World Series standout at the University of Arizona (a teammate of Terry Francona) who never played a day of baseball while in high school but spent 11 years in the minor leagues and Mexican Leagues during the 1980s and early '90s, amassing more than 170 homers and driving in more than 650 runs.

"If I was selfish about it, maybe I wish we could have won 100 games -- but this kind of season was fruitful for many reasons. It's probably the youngest team in the league, and this being high A-ball, there's a lot of teaching. But if there was one characteristic from the start, it was that they played hard, as hard as they could, until the ump said to stop playing.

"To me, there's no sense in playing unless you play all out. That's our jobs."

Clements, a former assistant coach at Calabasas High, calls this "the best baseball year of my life." Not just because he's been able to play some golf with Roger Clemens -- the former major-leaguer's son, Koby, has been one of the stars on this year's JetHawks, leading the league in RBI and game-winning walk-off homers with an OPS above 1.000.

Clemens, a catcher, had to play behind one of the Houston Astros' top prospects, Stanford grad Jason Castro, whom Clements says will likely be in the big leagues very soon. As a result, Clemens did a lot of DHing and some play in the outfield. The 22-year-old expects to be playing Double-A ball next season, along with outfielder Jon Gaston, who led the league with 33 homers (setting a JetHawks' single-season mark) and several other players from Clements' roster.

Some of these guys, you'll be hearing more about in the years to come. A move from Lancaster to the big leagues doesn't always have to be a long one. Current Arizona Diamondbacks slugging third baseman Mark Reynolds, second in the NL with 40 homers, was in Lancaster just three seasons ago.

The satisfaction Clements has found in his rookie season reflects on the performance of his young players, and that's what we'll get into with Sunday's column.

One of the latest things Clements has done with his team -- take them on a trip to visit the ailing children at Antelope Valley Hospital Pediatrics Ward. That was on Saturday before their 7 p.m. game. (press release linked here)

"This is the most important thing we can do," said Clements. "It's something I did as a player and I never forgot it. We can sometimes get caught up in the competition we face every day, but to step back and spend time with these children puts everything in perspective. We want them to know that we are always thinking about them, and hope it will be a day the kids will always remember."

== Clements' bio on the JetHawks' website (linked here)

== Clements' minor-league stats (linked here and linked here)

== More about Clements in the Astros' organization (linked here)

This has had more than 50,000 views on YouTube since Jarrett Kageyama's dad, Eric, put it up about a month ago, and then the Lakers' Lamar Odom and Jeanne Buss discovered it and Twittered about it.

The rest of Southern California found out much about it this afternoon when John Ireland and Steve Mason had Eric on their KSPN-AM (710) radio show to explain the backstory.

Jarrett, who just turned 4 the other day, knows all the Lakers' players by number, and there's a reason -- it keeps his mind distracted from the fact he suffers from an immune disorder and severe allergies that has manifested into a painful case of eczema -- you'd know it if you had it, dry skin and rashes that make you want to scratch and itch all the time. Eric says Jarrett takes topical creams to help ease the discomfort, but the doctors say there's no cure for it.

Eric says Jarrett already was a Lakers fan because he watched games on the home big-screen and could go up to the TV and say, "Who's that?" That was when he was 2. His dad started grilling him on which number belonged to which player. Jarrett caught on quickly.

"It could have been anything, not just learning Lakers players numbers," to keep him preoccupied, said Eric in the radio interview, "but the Lakers are part of his everyday life."

In fact, Eric says that each night when Jarrett brushes his teeth, the game is to do it as many times as the Laker player he tells him. For example, if dad tells him to do Josh Powell, then Jarrett brushes 21 times.

Something they call the "Kobe Cream" is "not the hated steroid cream that I reluctantly put on Jarrett, it's actually an organic cream that helps ease the itching they use to treat him," said Eric.

And the most recent Lakers' championship DVD that came out helps Jarrett pass the time during the night when he wakes up in pain and then asks if he can watch "the Laker movie" on the TV.

"After about 10 minutes, he'll go back to sleep," said Eric. "We do this almost every night. It's become a regular routine."

Jarrett has been to two Lakers games in person at Staples Center, sitting on his dad's lap, and paying attention to the action the entire time -- without being distracted by the allergies.

Eric thanked Ireland and Mason for having him on the show to bring up this situation that is found in preschools among the list of all the allergies that parents have to be aware of these days. He also thanked Odom for finding the video and Tweeting about it.

In an email to Ireland, Eric added:

Eczema is a huge problem with our children, and it only seems to be getting worse. Safe and viable medical solutions are slow in coming. Many kids grow out of it in the early stages of their lives, and too often it's dismissed with a "they'll grow out of it." But what about the 24 hour torture these children have to endure for months and even years? I just hope society and people of influence soon recognize we have a growing problem that only seems to be getting worse.

Meanwhile, we've also found this hot-shot 3-year-old named Jack who seems to know his Laker 1-2-3's as well:

Those at The Big Lead asked the question recently to media reporters (linked here): Who's the most thin-skinned sports TV person you've had to deal with?

The top five:
1. Keith Olbermann
2. Bob Costas
3. Mike Lupica
4. Tony Kornheiser
5. Chris Berman

From our experience, three of those five are all good on that list. From our experience, put No. 2 in the No. 1 spot, move No. 1 to the No. 5 spot and elevate No. 5 to the No. 2 slot.

If any of them were ever to be spoofed on "Saturday Night Live" -- and I'm thinking of Ben Affleck's portrayal of Olbermann (and Miss Precious Perfect) and his "Countdown" show -- they'd try to laugh it off on the outside but it would simply tear them apart on the inside.

Carrying this further, we have another two-week gap to speed through on what we learned heading into the new school year:

== With Vin Scully, the Wall Street Journal says he uses too many words -- and maybe we value that in L.A. (linked here)

== Did you hear the latest gaff that Eric Collins had during a Dodger broadcast (linked here, scroll down past the lead item)

== Fewer, and fewer ... and fewer ... are watching "Shaq Vs." (linked here)

== Will Michael Irvin (late of ESPN and CBS) be newsworthy enough get you to watch the NFL Net? (linked here)

== At least a dozen NFL teams (including your San Diego Chargers) are already fearing local TV blackouts due to the lack of sellouts -- and the economy is to blame? (linked here)

== Was that Erin Andrews who's confessing on Oprah, or a different blonde lady? (linked here)

== Stacey Dales is in, and Lindsay Soto seems to be out, at the NFL Network's Sunday AM program with Spero Dedes (linked here).

== Another cool job for newspaper sportswriters to seguey to: University PR departments (linked here).

== Do you quiver in fear at the sight of Tony Kornheiser? (linked here)

== Virtually, a eye-teasing game played by ESPN (linked here).

== The MLB already has its post-season schedule mapped out between TBS and Fox ... it starts Wednesday, Oct. 7 and could finish on Thursday, Nov. 5 (linked here) Yup, the World Series begins Oct. 28 -- the latest in history.

== Remember ESPN's mini series, "The Bronx Is Burning"? Reggie Jackson does ... go ahead, ask him about it. (linked here)

== As someone named "The Ruckmaker" says: "So newspaper columnists are irrelevant because their thoughts get published on paper, but online columnists are more relevant because their thoughts are published online. Is that it?" (linked here)

== Sportswriters gamble? What are the odds of that happening? (linked here)

== AND FINALLY:

= What if the NHL bailed out on Versus and signed up with ... The Food Network (linked here). Have another Tim Horton's donut.

Amy Sancetta/Associated Press
Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia returns to Chang Kai-Chen of Taiwan during Wednesday's play at the U.S. Open.

The follow up to today's media column (linked here) on how the Tennis Channel is covering New York's U.S. Open from its L.A. studios -- or covering up the fact it has no real set -- with more doublefaults on our part:

== While Fox sends 64 percent of the country see Kenny Albert, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal on the Red Sox-White Sox game, the L.A. market (and 22 percent) will get Dick Stockton and Eric Karros doing San Francisco's game at Milwaukee (Saturday, 1 p.m.)

== The Lancaster Jethawks, the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, have created an internet radio station that will allow nearly 200 games and thousands of hours of local sports talk coverage around the Antelope Valley. Going by the name "Community Sports Network @ JetHawks.com," the free service will stream live 24 hours a day with local coverage, including live play-by-play of the JetHawks' games, Antelope Valley College football and basketball, plus a high school football and basketball game of the week, all accessible through www.JetHawks.com. It launches Saturday at 6 p.m. with a pre-game show leading into the JetHawks-Inland Empire game, plus the Antelope Valley footblal opener at College of the Canyons. JetHawks GM Larry Thornhill, who was in the local broadcasting business at Clear Channel before joining the team, said: "AV sports fans are very supportive of their teams and the JetHawks are glad to provide a place for our local high school and college athletes to get the coverage they deserve."
In addition, local high schools have been offered the opportunity to create their own talk shows to feature their student athletes and be hosted by student journalists.

== Despite a format change starting Tuesday that abandons the all-news lineup and brings a mishmash of news, general doctor talk and Clippers games, the immediate plans for KFWB-AM (980) seem to be keeping regular sports anchors Bill Seward, Bret Lewis and Ted Sobel, despite at least 20-some staff layoffs. The three are actually paid by the Metro Traffic Network.

== A partnership between CBSSports.com, MaxPrep.com andh SportsIllustrated.com will merge content among Internet and print platforms, the companies announced this week. As a result, high school online sports provider MaxPreps.com will be in SI.com's High School section front and push content for SI's "Faces in the Crowd" feature. SI writers, including David Feherty and Seth Davis, will also be featured on CBSSports.com.

== The first seven entries to an ESPN Films "30 for 30" documentary series will launch Oct. 6 and airi on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. through Nov. 10. As part of ESPN's celebration of its 30th anniversary, it has hired well-known filmmakers to create documentaries centered on the last 30 years in sports.
Peter Berg's film called "Kings Ransom," on the trade of Wayne Gretzky to the Kings in 1988 starts the series. On Oct. 20, a Mike Tollin film on "Who Killed the USFL?" airs. The remaining 23 films in the ESPN Films "30 for 30" project will be aired throughout 2010.

Watch Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl halftime in NFL  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

== The NFL Network airs "Working on a Dream: A Super Bowl Journal" where Bruce Springsteen spends an hour narrating a documentary on how he and the E Street Band pulled off last February's Super Bowl XLII halftime show. It launches Monday at 5 p.m. with several replays.

== HBO has targeted Tuesday, Sept. 22 for episode two of "Joe Buck Live," scheduled to include a gathering of former NFL quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw, Dan Marino, John Elway and Joe Namath.

== Tom Hammond, Pat Haden and Alex Flanagan return, with full pay, to do the home-season coverage of Notre Dame football games for NBC, starting with Saturday's opener against Nevada (Channel 4, 12:30 p.m.)
"I anticipate this to be a much different Irish team than we have seen the past two years -- better, more talented, more confident," said Haden in a statement. "The Irish have not had the depth that they possess this year in any year I have covered them for NBC." The NBC-Notre Dame marriage, which began in 1991, runs at least through 2015. Future NBC Irish games include Oct. 17 against USC.

== AND FINALLY:

This was then:

== With Monday marking the 30th anniversary of ESPN's arrival on the sports TV landscape - and it's all good after that, right? - a very special 90-minute "SportsCenter" airs Sunday (ESPN, 8:30 p.m., following the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage) with Chris Berman, Bob Ley and John Saunders co-hosting. It reairs late Sunday (1:30 a.m. Monday) as well as five more times on Labor Day through 9 a.m. It's the usual array of news getting pushed out of the way for segments on the anchors' most memorable moments, bloopers, pontificating reflections about the change in the sports landscape, what was cool in 1979 and Robin Roberts (a former ESPN anchor now working at ABC's "Good Morning America") chatting with another ex-ESPNer Gayle Gardner. Ley joined ESPN two days after its launch; Berman arrived in October, '79, and Saunders joined in 1986. Not because of this - mostly because of the Sprint Cup race - the Dodgers' home game against San Diego on Sunday night (5 p.m.) airs on ESPN2 with Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips.

That is now (or, at least five years ago):

For the L.A. market, we've got on free or cable TV, right after "Care Bears: Adventures in Care-A-Lot" on Channel 2:

Thursday, Sept. 11:

== 5 p.m., Channel 4: Tennessee at Pittsburgh

Sunday, Sept. 13:

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: N.Y. Jets at Houston (instead of Miami-Atlanta, Denver-Cincinnati, Kansas City-Baltimore or Jacksonville-Indiana)
== 10 a.m., Channel 11: Minnesota at Cleveland (instead of Philadelphia-Carolina, Dallas-Tampa Bay or Detroit-New Orleans)
== 1 p.m., Channel 11: Washington at N.Y. Giants (instead of San Francisco-Arizona or St. Louis-Seattle)
== 5 p.m., Channel 4: Chicago at Green Bay

Monday, Sept. 14:

== 4 p.m., ESPN: Buffalo at New England
== 7:15 p.m., ESPN: San Diego at Oakland

Who is baseball's "chattiest" broadcaster, the Wall Street Journal demands to know.

Why, Vin Scully. Why?

And is this in a good way, or a bad one? The story (linked here) makes no value judgement, which seems kind of ironic.

Writer David Biderman said he listened to the first scoreless inning of every team's home broadcast last Friday with a hand-held counter to calculate how many words they uttered per minute.

Scully was by far the winner: 143.51. The chart the WSJ used also included this asterisk notation: "Mr. Scully is the only announcer in the Dodgers' broadcast booth."

Second was St. Louis' Dan McLaughlin (109.9 words). The Angels' Steve Physioc was fifth from the bottom (68.26) -- but consider he sits next to Rex Hudler. Last was the Giants' Duane Kuiper (55.44).

The reason for this story seems to be that many in New York and Chicago believe the Yankees' Michael Kay or the White Sox's Ken Harrelson never shut up. Maybe so, but all this seemed to prove is they're both second-division wordusers.

If only they would have tried this when Rick Monday was doing an inning of play-by-play. It'd be off the charts.

This impressive studio set you see above? It doesn't exist.

The Tennis Channel, at its Culver City studios, created this on computers and project it on the TV screen behind live anchors such as Lindsay Davenport, Kevin Frazier and Jill Arrington (yes, this is what's happened to her) so they look like they're enjoying all the benefits of a brick wall, wood panneling and a blue tennis court. But they really aren't.

Chroma key is the key word. Like a local TV weatherperson can show you a map of the Southland one second, the list of temperatures and then some crazy wind pattern over a map of the U.S., that's all done on computers projected into a green screen that allows a live person to interact with it on camera.

Here, at Tennis Channel, the whole studio set behind the anchors are fake. Well, they're not real. They're real. Sorta. We'll try to explain it more in Friday's media column without getting too technical, but it looks like if a company is trying to look classy but stay under budget, all the investment really needed is in this special colored floursent green paint and some good technical guys with computer vitrual reality skills. It's where TV is going.

Meanwhile, the rising star of the "real" people on the set has been the new kid in town Lindsay Davenport, the former U.S. Open champ who is at a career crossroads. The 33-year Palos Verdes Estates native now living in Laguna Beach had her second child three months ago. Her first arrived two years earlier, but she rebounded to continue playing. Now she's not sure how much incentive she has to compete as a pro again -- and this TV gig is kind of fun in the meantime.

Much of the storylines coming into the U.S. Open involved kids -- not young tennis proteges, but the fact Roger Federer is now the father of twins, and Kim Clijsters is making a comeback after having a baby recently. Davenport is one of the few in the game who can lend some credible analysis on the subject.

"Everyone in Hollywood loves the kid stories, don't they?" said Davenport during a break in her "U.S. Open Tonight" segment. "Everyone even wants to know about Tiger Woods' new family, or any actress who takes time off for a baby.

"When I took time off to have my first child (Jagger, in June, '07 ... that's him above), it wasn't that common in tennis to come back. I had been with my husband married six years before we decided to start our family, because we kept putting it off. Now they seem to want to have the family earlier and come back quicker."

Davenport, 33, and Clijsters, 26, also share a birthday as well baby pictures (linked here).

Put the spy surveilence equipment away. Erin Andrews , who has already told her latest life story to Oprah for an episode that won't air until that dreaded Sept. 11 date, is in North Carolina tonight. And you can see her. Legally, and nicely, from 4 p.m. until your TiVo runs out.

Andrews is on the ESPN team with Sean McDonough, Craig James and Jesse Palmer (aka, The Bachelor) during the coverage of South Carolina at N.C. State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

As for her hotel accomodations, she'll be staying at ...

(As for the Oprah chat, excerpts say that Andrews getting back to work is "really going to help me heal my wounds.")

Between tonight and Monday there will be ... gobs of mediocre and slightly interesting games to watch as the college football season begins. The ESPN/ABC family of networks has 28 games over Labor Day weekend (but that includes ESPN360.com and other platforms aside from the obvious.

Andrews will actually start and end your holiday weekend. She's also on the Miami-Florida State game Monday night.

The "barnburner" will be Alabama against Virginia Tech in Atlanta (Saturday, 5 p.m., Channel 7, Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters). ESPN's College GameDay starts season No. 23 with Fowler/Corso/Herbstreit and Howard from Atlanta.

In Pac-10-ville, pay attention to Oregon taking on defending WAC champ Boise State, which beat the Ducks last season. That's a 7:15 p.m. game tonight on ESPN (Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Heather Cox).

What else to keep track of:

THE LOCALS:

== San Jose State at USC: Fox Sports West, 12:30 p.m., with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Michael Eaves, pre and post with with Lindsay Soto, Paul Sunderland and John Jackson

== San Diego State at UCLA: Fox Sports West, 4:30 p.m., with Bill Macdonald, James Washington and Brooke Olzendam, pre and post with Olzendam, Sunderland and Danny Farmer)

THE REST:

TODAY:

=Eastern Kentucky at Indiana: Big Ten Network, 5 p.m., with Ari Wolfe, Charles Davis and Larra Overton
=Utah State at Utah: mtn Network, 6 p.m. with James Bates, Todd Christensen and\, Sammy Linebaugh

SATURDAY

== Navy at Ohio State: ESPN, 9 a.m., with Dave Pasch, Bob Griese and Chris Spielman
== Minnesota at Syracuse: ESPN2, 9 a.m. with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley
== Akron at Penn State: Big Ten Network, 9 a.m., with Matt Devlin, Glen Mason and Kenny Jackson (or, Northern Iowa at Iowa, Montana State at Michigan State, Towson at Northwestern or Toledo at Purdue)
== Georgia at Oklahoma State: Channel 7, 12:30 p.m. with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe (other regional games in this window are Western Michigan at Michigan and Baylor at Wake Forest)
== Nevada at Notre Dame: Channel 4, 12:30 p.m. with Tom Hammond, Pat Haden and Alex Flanagan
== BYU vs. Oklahoma in Dallas: ESPN, 4 p.m. with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Heather Cox
== Louisiana Tech at Auburn: ESPNU, 4 p.m. with Eric Collins and Brock Huard
== Northern Illinois at Wisconsin: Big Ten Network, 4 p.m. with Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin and Charissa Thompson
== Maryland at Cal: ESPN2, 7 p.m. with Terry Gannon and David Norrie
== LSU at Washington: ESPN, 7:30 p.m. with Mark Jones and Bob Davie

SUNDAY:

== Mississippi at Memphis: ESPN, 12:30 p.m. with Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore
== Colorado State at Colorado: FSN West, 4 p.m. with Joel Meyers, Dave Lapham and Jim Knox

MONDAY:

== Cincinnati at Rutgers: ESPN, 1 p.m. with Bob Wischusen and Bob Griese
== Miami at Florida State, ESPN, 5 p.m. with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews

On the day ABC announced that Diane Sawyer would replace the retiring anchor Charles Gibson on "World News" starting in January -- another boon to NBC as it sticks with Brian Williams in fending off anything CBS tried to accomplish with Katie Couric -- CBS' Sports guys announced that Lesley Visser will be an NFL game analyst.

You hadn't heard? No worry. It's only one game. For just the fourth quarter. Of anotherwise unwatchable exhibition. On a local affiliate. So you won't be able to see it. In fact, hardly anyone will.

Can we qualify this any more downhill?

When Miami CBS affiliate WFOR-TV (Channel 4) carries Thursday's Dophins-Saints exhibition game, Visser will be allowed on the Dolphins' telecast that includes Craig Bolerjack on play-by-play and former Dolphins Bob Griese and Nat Moore as the analysts.

"Having had many challenges in my career, I am especially excited about this one," said Visser, who was the NFL's first female beat writer in 1976 when she covered the New England Patriots for the Boston Globe and then was the first female color analyst on radio when she worked selected Monday Night Football games for Westwood One with Howard David and Boomer Esiason in 2002.

Here's what we assume is also going on here: Griese probably needs to high-tail it out of Miami ASAP to catch a flight to Columbus, Ohio, where he'll be on a Saturday morning (noon kickoff locally) telecast of the Ohio State-Navy telecast on ESPN. Visser will probably slide into his warm seat and, with all that important stuff going in any fourth quarter of an exhibition game, be able to lend her expertise. And laugh a little.

Visser, the only non-male recepient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio and Television Award, is in her 36th year of NFL coverage.

Now, if only ABC had decided Visser was worthy of replacing Gibson in a couple of months. That'd be some news.

Other live NFL practice games on TV this weekend:
== Philadelphia vs. N.Y. Jets, 4 p.m., NFL Network, Thursday
== Oakland vs. Seattle, 7 p.m., NFL Network and KTLA-Channel 5, Thursday (repeated at 1 a.m. on Ch. 5)
== Dallas vs. Minnesota, 5 p.m., NFL Network, Friday
== San Francisco vs. San Diego, 7 p.m., KCBS-Channel 2, Friday

Tough call. Or not.

Will you find, in the sweltering conditions that'll be apparent at the Coliseum or Rose Bowl, a certain delight in watching the Spartans shredded by USC, or the Aztecs fall on their own sword against UCLA on Saturday for the launch of the local college football season?

Which do you fear for most?

It depends, likely, on your rooting interest in either the Cardinal and gold or the True Blue and gold.

And, if you're not a student or a grad of either USC or UCLA, how did you decide which football program you'd follow -- even if you went to Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, Cal Lutheran, Occidental, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Cal State L.A. or even L.A. Trade Tech?

That's what we'll look into with a story in the college football special section that launches Thursday.

Here's a sample response of those who we've been able to contact ... if you have a story, let us know:

== Marcus Vanderberg, 26, went to Cal State Northridge from 2001-03. He was one of those CSUN students that wore his USC gear around campus.

"Yeah, that was me," Vanderberg said. "I had my SC gear. During USC-UCLA week, I had a bear in my room tied to a noose. I liked Northridge, but Northridge didn't have much school spirit. Any other campus if you would've worn another shirt, people could've said something."

Vanderberg's Godmother is an assistant dean at USC, so his first interest was in attending school there. For a long time, his email address was "uscwannabe01." He didn't get in to USC, but he's still a diehard Trojans fan. Vanderberg transferred to Hofstra in New York and followed the Trojans. In May, he moved back to Los Angeles and he'll be back at the Coliseum for Saturday's season opener.

"In high school, I went to games with my Godmother," Vanderberg said. "At first, I was just getting a good vibe for college. Then I had an obsession about going to SC. I had season tickets at SC and those were in the poor SC days."

== Al Sanders, an operations employee of El Segundo-based DirecTV, graduated from the University of Northern Iowa -- the same school that produced Kurt Warner.

But growing up in Pasadena, Sanders' Bruin allegiance sprouted in the late '60s because he lived down the street from Kermit Johnson -- half of the famous "Blair Pair" with James McAlister who'd go on to star at UCLA.

"I loved that blue and gold," said Sanders, who also coached football in the Inland Empire and has had season seats for UCLA the last several years, despite living in Riverside. "I'm an L.A. type of guy, but when it's head to head, I definitely go with UCLA. I'm not a bandwaggoner."

The scene is from "Office Space," when Peter Gibbons is brought in to talk to some consultants who are interviewing employees about their experiences with the company.

Ummmmmmm, yeah...

The Versus channel, which we still mistake as the Outdoors Channel, has gone missing from the DirecTV lineup, starting late last night.

But I wouldn't say we were missing it.

When you got to Channel 603 on the DirecTV grid, the screen graphic says:

Versus is no longer available on this channel.
Comcast, which owns Versus, has forced us to take down the channel because we will not submit to their unfair and outrageous demands.
For more information, go to www.directv.com/versus.

"Outrageous"? That's pretty pointed.

At that link, DirecTV -- which, by the way, provides Versus with 24 million subscribers that otherwise might not even care -- continues to explain:

"Comcast, the largest cable company in the U.S., owns Versus. They regularly try to charge us amounts well in excess of what is fair and reasonable to carry the programming they own. Their reason is obvious: they want to stifle competition from DIRECTV. Comcast's unfair terms undermines DIRECTV's ability to offer our customers the best possible value. If we simply accept these terms, we would have to absorb the unreasonable costs Comcast wants to charge us, and in turn we will be forced to increase the rates our customers pay. We do not want this to happen. In fact, Comcast has forced us to remove Versus because we would not accept the terms they demanded.
We are currently in contract negotiations and will continue to work with Comcast until the matter is resolved. Rest assured that we are making every effort to ensure that you continue to be satisfied with your service."

How does that NHL deal with Versus look now?

On the Versus website, there's no explanation about what's going on. Like we need one.

In a subsequent Q-and-A, DirecTV also has figured out what you're going to ask, with a ready-made answer:

Should I switch to DISH or cable?

No. There's no need to consider switching providers. DIRECTV has the best variety of exclusive and premium content available anywhere and we have similar programming on other channels. If you are concerned about NHL, we still have time to negotiate with Comcast before the start of the NHL season. For PBR fans, we offered to carry PBR programming, but PBR events are exclusive to Versus and cannot be made available to DIRECTV.

Is this all just so DIRECTV can save money?

Not at all, this is about DIRECTV getting treated fairly and not wanting to pass on high programming fees to our customers.

Bottom line for us: You haven't taken away anything that's going to change our lives much one way or another. If this drags onto into the Pac-10 football season, we could miss a game or two. We aren't going to miss any of the NHL contests that are all teams we don't really care about until the playoffs start. There are a couple shows we regularily TiVo but will consider them to be on hiatus.

Other than that, I wouldn't say we were really missing anything.... Except the 10 minutes we just took to explain all this.

Meanwhile, over at Cablevision (he wrote in a fist-shaking manner):

Cablevision isn't carrying the Tennis Channel at a time when the network is steaming hot property for the U.S. Open coverage in New York.

The Tennis Channel's statement:

Cablevision has taken a step that raises serious problems for all cable programmers. We are sorting out these issues and will decide what steps to take when we are ready to do so. They are too important to the future of cable programming to be governed by the immediacy of the US Open, as much as we would like to help people see it. Cablevision's decision to wait until just before the US Open began to demand carriage under the NCTC agreement makes it responsible for this situation; it could have given us notice of its intention to do so well before now, so that the questions could have been addressed and resolved in advance.

What's wrong with the visionaries at Cablevision?

We now resume our regular-scheduled cable channels already in progress. Wake us up with the greedy bastards are done urinating on each other. And thank goodness Cablevision isn't in line to run national health care.