December 2009 Archives

What has the bigger upside for a New Year's Eve live televised disaster in L.A.: The Clippers' Staples Center game against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, or Travis Pastrana pushing a Subaru off a ramp, over 30-feet deep water, and onto a large barge in Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor?

TNT will televise tonight's Clippers contest with the 9-22 Sixers at 6:30 p.m. (with Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins Reggie Miller and Cheryl Miller). Sorry, it's public information. Just in case you needed to know.

But by about halftime, ESPN will televise Pastrana rally-car jump about the length of a football field at 8 p.m., right after that danger Chick-fil-A Bowl between (we're not sure, look it up) has concluded.

Across the street from LA Live -- a safe distance from where George Lopez is in concert at the Nokia Theatre, where the Stone Temple Pilots are playing at Club Nokia and where the Gypsi Kings are at the Conga Room, and perhaps where Steve Mason is sharing chicken strips at the ESPN Zone with Arash Markasi (who, for some reason, has a four paragraph Wikipedia entry on himself, linked here) -- you already have a vision of how this Clippers thing against the Clippers will end up. Baron Davis will get into a "contest" with "The Answer," Elton Brand will disappear in the third quarter to see if he can get some of his old Clipper gear at an LA Team Store discount, and we'll be at the Philly official team site throwing 10 bucks out on the Visa card to order the Sixers Dancer Team 2010 calendar (linked here).

We expect traffic to be usually heavy in that two-square block off Figueroa. As well as traffic on the Sixers' website.

It's up to you how daring you are at dodging cars while crossing Chick Hearn Court.

But if you can't get your head around what's going on at the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, here's a CGI attempt at what Pastrana will be attempting (possibly with a Red Bull in his right hand the whole time):

The goal is to break the 171-foot world record for the longest distance jump in a rally car. Pastrana will try to make it to 250 feet in his "street-legal" rig.

More or less.

Mostly, right on the mark.

Rescue crews are standing by.

No limits on how crazy this can all get.

Life couldn't be better in Tagliabueville Goodell Falls. Optimism stretches from ... here .... to there ....

Unless your a Colts' fan, still booing.

CBS NFL studio analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher has this to stay in a network-released statement about how the league's regular-season will finish this weekend:

"It's wonderful for a Week 17 to have as many playoff-implication games as we have, particularly in the AFC, and even still now in the NFC with a bye week riding on the final results. The NFL playoff system is as good as you're going to have it. I've always said about the National Football League, as opposed to the other professional Leagues, you can play your way into the playoffs. In a lot of other Leagues you play your way out of the playoffs. That very clearly indicates to me that the NFL has the right amount of teams in the playoffs - not too many, not too few. Nothing is more evident than what we see in Week 17 with all the possible playoff implications that still exist."

It's wonderful to be Cowher, too. Not having to explain why your team won the Super Bowl one year and has to rely on others to just return to the playoffs the next season.

Oh, and we like implications. It implies there's more to what we're watching and don't understand all the ramifications.

Like, can the Cowboys win the NFC East? Apparently so, by beating the Eagles.

Like, why did the league move Cincinnati-N.Y. Jets to the NBC Sunday night contest? Because a Carson Palmer-Mark Sanchez matchup seemed as necessary as a hot-dog eating contest?

It's been pointed out that if New England wins earlier in the day against Texas, Cincinnati has nothing to play for against the Jets and will probably rest its starters. The Jets need to win to get in -- it's the only "win or go home" contest on the docket for Sunday. So that's why it's in the prime-time spot.

Sunday's Week 17 finale to the regular season, according to your L.A. providers:

10 a.m., Channel 11: N.Y. Giants at Minnesota (with Kenny Albert, Moose Johnson and Tony Siragusa) instead of San Francisco-St. Louis, Atlanta-Tampa Bay, New Orleans-Carolina or Chicago-Detroit.

10 a.m., Channel 2: Pittsburgh at Miami (with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf) instead of Indianapolis-Buffalo, New England-Houston or Jacksonville-Cleveland.

1 p.m., Channel 2: Baltimore at Oakland (with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms) instead of Kansas City-Denver or Tennessee-Seattle.

1 p.m., Channel 11: Philadelphia at Dallas (with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman) instead of Green Bay-Arizona or Washington-San Diego.

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

Now go back up to that photo of George Bailey and see, without consulting with Uncle Billy, how big a deal it is having two former USC QBs -- Palmer or Sanchez -- sneaking a sideline hotdog in the midst of a prime-time contest.

Abby and Zac Sunderland pose with Jesse Martin, left, the Australian 16-year-old who holds the record for youngest nonstop unassisted circumnavigation, which he completed in 1999. Zac held the unofficial record for youngest assisted trip, which was unofficially broken by British teen Mike Perham a few months after Zac's return last July. Abby is preparing for a nonstop, unassisted route but could change plans before -- and after -- she launches next week. Another Australian, Jessica Watson, is in the middle of a unassisted circumnavigation.
Photo by Lisa Gizara/ GizaraArts.Com

Reaction to Tuesday's selection of Zac and Abby Sunderland as the Daily News' Sportspersons of the Year (story linked here) wasn't done as a way to generate degenerative responses to the Thousand Oaks teenagers' abilities to sail around the world solo. But it's no surprise that's what can and has happened.

Instead of celebrating their ability to follow a dream -- accomplishing it, as far as Zac goes, and planning for it, in Abby's case -- it's easier to criticize the parents from afar, without having all the facts, reacting from an emotional place of prejudgement.

Sure, we doubt we'd allow our son or daughter to go off on such a dangerous adventure. But it's because we know our kids aren't equipped for such a challenge. Zac and Abby are. They've proven it to their parents. That's all that matters.

What else do you need to know, other than all the pertinent information?

Still ...

A "disgusted" grandmother from Northridge writes:

"I think the Sunderland parents should be punished for child abuse; encouraging truancy and then should be surgically or otherwise sterilized so they cannot have anymore children (I think the piece said they had 7 kids and she is pregnant).
I don't know what the parents motivation is (but would bet there is money involved somewhere.....the stated more altruistic goals are, in my opinion, hogwash) but I am appalled at all of this and for the Daily News to name the children as sportspersons of the year is almost enough to make me cancel my subscription (but I won't because I appreciate the thorough high school sports coverage)."

She's right. She doesn't know the parents' motivation, but why stop from assuming with wild generalizations? Want to ask the parents themselves? Their motivation is nothing more than having their kids be happy, be safe and be good people.

And have faith.

From "Sheesh" in L.A.:
"Child endangerment, pure and simple, and the LADN is encouraging it with this "award." Hopefully all goes well with the upcoming trip, but there are plenty of pirates out there who would really like to meet this young lady."

Again, what you don't know: Abby won't to do the non-stop, unassisted trip if it endangers her life. She's not reckless, as her mother has said. If she has to stop, make repairs, take a different route -- she says on her blog that's what she'll do. The "record" isn't the primary motivation.

From the tail end of today's T.J. Simers' column in the L.A. Times (linked here):

"The Los Angeles Daily News named Zac and Abby Sunderland, the kid sailors, Los Angeles Sportspersons of the Year. What's next -- naming the Sunderlands' mother and father L.A.'s Parents of the Year because no one knows how to endanger the good health of their children as they do?
Abby hasn't even started her trip, and she's part of the duo named L.A.'s Sports-
persons of the Year? Ahead of Kobe Bryant, who led the Lakers to a championship?
"In announcing the newspaper's selection, reporter Tom Hoffarth likened the Sunderlands' honor to one given jointly to Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart years ago.
'Zac and Abby Sunderland, for reminding us how to dream big no matter what the obstacles,' wrote Hoffarth, 'are just as worthy dual recipients. Maybe even more so.'
What a joke. By the way, Hoffarth is known best for his humor writing."

Thanks for the shout-out all the way from Washington, D.C.
The Sunderland story inspired a column out of Simers 15 days ago (linked here), and enough reader response to fill another column space five days later (linked here). If only for that, Simers should appreciate the Sunderland's accomplishments.

One of his readers' reactions: "Say (Abby) doesn't make it and there's some tragedy at sea, is the world any worse off for losing a 16-year old girl with a zest for living AS SHE SEES FIT? I think her death would be more meaningful than most 16-ish mall rats, who you seem to admire and raise. Say she does make it, chances are she's more interesting for the rest of her life and full of life than your over-protected mall rat will ever be."

Another wrote: "These Sunderland kids, and parents, are not afraid of greatness and all greatness comes with risk. . . . they have taken life and death into their own hands and learned to value life, and learned that life is only valuable if you take some chances."

That, in a dingy, is what we are communicating. And celebrating.
And, no, I don't have any other snarky comments to add to it.

One more thing: Here's an excerpt of an email from Zac and Abby's mother, Marianne, sent to us after the story ran:

"So many times people get caught up in the danger or the drama or suspicious thoughts about Laurence and I. Abby's quote (in the story, an excerpt from her blog) brought tears to my eyes as I realized that someone finally got it! It is about encouraging dreams not only in our own kids but in anyone else who has a dream."

Abby's blog post back in July, after seeing Zac return from his 13-month journey, for those who didn't see it:

"I had begun to think that dreams are meant to be no more than dreams and that in reality dreams don't come true. Then my brother left on his trip. It was amazing to see all the support that he got from around the world and to see how everyone worked together to help make his dream reality. Watching him do this really made me believe that I could too."

Do you encourage your kids to dream, or squash them because it doesn't fit into your plans, or what others might think of you?

Do you encourage your kids to think their dreams through, or belittle them because you don't know enough about what the realities entail?

Do you love your kids enough to set them free and live their own lives, trusting they've listened to your advice, pro and con, and have the faith to follow through on a goal?

Photo by Lisa Gizara/ GizaraArts.Com
More photos by GizaraArts at Abby Sunderland's website: http://abbysunderland.com/photo-gallery.php

Following up on today's column (linked here):

== Follow Abby Sunderland as she nears the launch date of her five-month non-stop tour of the world aboard her new vessel, Wild Eyes (linked here)

== Follow Zac Sunderland as he contemplates his next trip, and takes advanced orders for a DVD documenting his around-the-world voyage (linked here)

== The June 15 ESPN Magazine cover piece on Zac's trip (linked here)

== And as to why the Sunderland family -- which includes 12-year-old Toby, 11-year-old Jessie, 6-year-old Lydia, soon-to-be 5-year-old Katherine, 2-year-old Ben and another on the way this summer -- lives, in all places, land-locked Thousand Oaks, Marianne Sunderland explains:

"We lived for a long time in Marina del Rey, but it really wasn't kid-friendly," Zac and Abby's mother explained. "We were going to church in Simi Valley and someone told us about about how nice it was to live around there. We had just sold our last boat and were looking for a fixer-upper when a house came up (in Thousand Oaks). It's great for the family. It's not so great for (husband) Lawrence, because it's a heck of a commute."

Laurence, a shipwright who repairs and delivers boats, usually takes Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu canyon to get to his working sites, which include Marina del Rey, Santa Monica and as far as Long Beach.

As for which of the Sunderland kids is the one to most worry about, Marianne didn't hesistate: "My 2-year-old (Ben) is likely to grab a hammer and run off with no fear."

Stay tuned for the 2025 Daily News Sportsperson of the Year: Ben Sunderland.

Abby and Zac Sunderland, the 2009 Daily News Sportspersons of the Year. Staff photo by John McCoy.

Who in the name of Los Angeles made the biggest impact on our sportsworld in 2009?

Kobe Bryant, for delivering the Lakers' 15th NBA title to Los Angeles? Phil Jackson, for breaking the record with his 10th world championship as an NBA coach?

Nope, and nope..

Zenyatta, for delivering an emotional victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic against a field of 11 male horses at Santa Anita to stay perfect and retire undefeated?

Close, but she's no Cigar.

Zac Sunderland did something no other human did when, at 17 years old, he sailed the world's oceans solo. The Thousand Oaks teenager left Marina del Rey in the summer of '08 and returned 11 months later, 20 pounds lighter, a bit worn for wear, but with an adventure none of his friends ever experienced. Pirates, sleep deprivation, repairs to his 36-foot Intrepid that would seem ridiculous.

It added up to Zac being co-Daily News Sportsperson of the Year.

As Chris Jones wrote when he did a piece on Zac for the covery story in the June 5 issue of ESPN The Magazine: "(Zac) discovered a new resilience, gleaned from the humidy-swollen Mark Twain collection he had stored in his cabin, with its invocations to live an extraordinary life, to believe that something larger is waiting if we just lift our fat asses off the couch."

Zac has to share the award with his 16-year-old sister, Abby.

She said she had the idea, three years ago, to sail around the world. Unassisted. And by herself. It's just that her older brother had the money saved up first to do it.

Now it's her chance.

While trying to have already left, Abby's plans have been updated to where she'll be leaving Marina del Rey sometime next week. According to her latest blog entry (linked here), she's still getting her 40-foot vessel, Wild Eyes, with the right equipment, freeze-dried food and homework books.

As if she'll really have many waking hours to dedicate to reading.

Tuesday, read more about the siblings separated by 23 months but with one big thing in common: Big dreams.

One accomplished his. The other is about to.

"I think they're pretty typical brother and sister," says their mother, Marianne. "He teases her, she teases him, but ultimately they look out for each other."

If only the Hai Karate Bowl existed -- which is probably what Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno will be wearing when their bowls go head-to-head on New Year's Day morn:

TONIGHT:

== Independence Bowl, Shreveport, Louisiana: Texas A&M vs. Georgia, 2 p.m., ESPN2, with Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jeannine Edwards

TUESDAY:

== EagleBank Bowl, Washington, D.C.: Army UCLA vs. Temple, 1:30 p.m., ESPN, with Bob Wischusen, Brian Griese and Rob Stone

== Champs Sports Bowl, Orlando, Fla.: No. 15 Miami vs. No. 25 Wisconsin, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe

WEDNESDAY:

== Humanitarian Bowl, Boise, Idaho: Bowling Green vs. Idaho, 1:30 p.m., ESPN, with Eric Collins, Brock Huard and Heather Cox

== Holiday Bowl, San Diego: No. 20 Arizona vs. No. 22 Nebraska, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Erin Andrews

THURSDAY:

== Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Tex.: Houston vs. Air Force, 9 a.m., ESPN, with Dave Lamont, J.C. Pearson and Cara Capuano

== Texas Bowl, Houston: Navy vs. Missouri, 12:30 p.m., ESPN, with Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Quint Kessenich

== Chick-fil-A Bowl, Atlanta: No. 11 Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee, 4:30 p.m., ESPN, with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe

== Sun Bowl, El Paso, Tex: No. 21 Stanford vs. Oklahoma, 1:30 p.m., Channel 2, with Craig Bolerjack, Steve Beuerlein and Sam Ryan

== Insight Bowl, Tempe, Ariz.: Iowa State vs. Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., NFL Network.

FRIDAY:

== Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla.: Northwestern vs. Auburn, 8 a.m., ESPN, with Dave Pasch, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman and Rob Stone

== Capital One Bowl, Orlando, Fla.: No. 13 Penn State vs. No. 12 LSU, 10 a.m., Channel 7, with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews

== Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla.: Florida State vs. No. 16 West Virginia, 10 a.m., Channel 2, with Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Sam Ryan.

== Rose Bowl: No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 8 Ohio State, 2 p.m., Channel 7, with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters

== Sugar Bowl, New Orleans: No. 5 Florida vs. No. 3 Cincinnati, 5:30 p.m., Channel 11, with Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick

SATURDAY:

== International Bowl, Toronto: South Florida vs. Northern Illinois, 9 a.m., ESPN2, with Mike Gleason, John Congemi and David Amber

== Papajohns.com Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.: South Carolina vs. Connecticut, 11 a.m., ESPN, with Dave Neal, Andre Ware and Cara Capuano

== Cotton Bowl, Arlington, Tex.: No. 19 Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss, 11 a.m., Channel 11

== Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn.: Arkansas vs. East Carolina, 2:30 p.m., ESPN, with Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jeannine Edwards

== Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, Tex.: Michigan State vs. Texas Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN, with Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox

Pictured, right: A bucket of scum.

Now, continue...

According to credible sources, and resources beyond our wildest dreams on the Internet machine, we have nothing new to add on the breaking news that TMZ.com has a sports site (linked here).

Others, however, want to report on it. We will allow that.

Starting with the Sports Business Daily, and linking directly to the New York Times (linked here), the headline "TMZ Site Dedicated to Sports Is Expected" seems already outdated. Again, see the TMZ link above. It's there.

The Tiger Woods story, regrettably, has pushed this need for more athletic rumor mongering. We're all trying to measure ourselves up to Tiger's game. Now we have a scoreboard.

The NYT says a TMZ spokesperson would not comment on the report that the gossip site plans to launch a new Web site dedicated to sports in the coming months.

Or, yesterday.

It quotes former ESPN Ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber as believing that TMZSports.com will create additional competition for fans who crave 'celebrity scandal, sports-style.' She described how ESPN especially "would be faced with a difficult decision over how far to go to cover the unsavory side of sports.

"If another outlet caters to the celebrity approach, ESPN cedes that territory and loses eyeballs. But if they directly compete, they risk altering their own mission as a sports media entity."

The NYT also quotes Deadspin.com editor A.J. Daulerio as saying he's not worried that his site ... would be hurt by TMZ.

"I don't want to get into a bidding war with them. ... If I'm going to pay for something, it has to help our traffic in the long run," he said.

On to ESPN's Tony Kornheiser, who on the most recent "Pardon The Interruption" calls TMZSports.com a "gamechanger. ... Athletes are going to hate this. They're going to see what it's like to have been a politician or an actor or actress in this country for many, many years. The scrutiny is going to be amazing, and all their peccadilloes will be reported. ... Obviously through Tiger Woods, they know that there is a demand. They're going to send the paparazzi out."

Added Michael Wilbon: "I don't know that TMZ is going to be interested in your average lineman who wouldn't even be known outside his own city."

Who else can we steal quotes from?

Oh, on SportingNews.com, Dan Levy wrote the new site will "be fantastic."

Those are the words we were looking for.

On Deadspin.com, Daulerio wrote (linked here) under the headline: "TMZ Sports: Prepare For The Next Great 'Tabloid War' Or Something":

"Does this mean that every single person on the planet with a raunchy photo of athletes drinking or sliming over women will now run over to TMZ first because they'll offer some payment for these types of photos? Yikes. ... If I have to start being more aggressive about using this burlap sack of scuzz money I have sitting on my desk, then so be it."

Adds Brooks Melchior on SportsByBrooks.com (linked here):

"So why is (Harvey) Levin is starting TMZSports.com? If you have to ask that question, this must be your first visit to SbB.
"Look at ESPN. With the majority of our only truly national sports network's revenue derived from contractual agreements to broadcast NFL, MLB, NBA and NCAA hoops and football games, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that ESPN's news reporting operation could be compromised by those financial arrangements.

"Say a sports blog breaks an original story that portrays one of ESPN's league partners in an unflattering light. Because ESPN doesn't have to fear another national network competitor widely distributing that blog's story - because no such competitor exists - why would ESPN acknowledge the story? (Happens every single day, friends.)
"That's where TMZSports.com will come in. Harvey Levin doesn't have to worry about a college football broadcast contract worth hundreds of millions when investigating Charlie Weis' on-the-record claim that Pete Carroll was living with a grad student in Malibu. Levin doesn't have to worry about getting press credentials to future USC games, or getting access to Carroll for interviews.
"Most importantly, Levin has the desire and the ability to distribute what he finds out about Carroll's living arrangement to a large enough audience that the story will break through into the mainstream. Something independent sports blogs with huge scoops are largely incapable of."

It's the end of the sports journalism world as we know it, and I don't feel fine finally being able to say: Nice knowin' ya.

TODAY

According to those who can do the math, New York's football Giants (7-6) have some kind of shot at one of the two wild-card spots in the NFC -- even though Green Bay and Dallas, at 9-5, are looking much better now. All it would mean is that Eli Manning turns it up a notch, leads New York on a giant run and, just before anyone expects anything special, a trip back to the Super Bowl as a huge underdog against an undefeated team ... this time, Indianapolis, led by the other Manning. It could happen.
NFL: New York Giants at Washington, 5:30 p.m., ESPN.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recorded his 700th career victory when San Antonio defeated Indiana on Saturday. No. 701 should be very, very dicey. Last meeting: Spurs won, 115-90, on Dec. 13. It wasn't that close.
NBA: Clippers at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 980-AM.

TUESDAY

Coming off the stunner against Tennessee, the Trojans basketball team heads to Hawaii -- a place the football team would probably rather be -- for three games before starting the Pac-10 season. It could be worse. The Trojans hoopsters could actually be playing Western Michigan at Western Michigan.
College basketball: USC vs. Western Michigan in the Diamond Head Classic at Honolulu, 2 p.m., ESPNU, 710-AM. Also: USC plays either Northeastern or St. Mary's on Wednesday (either 1 p.m. or 3 p.m., ESPNU) and plays on Friday, TBA, on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

The loss to the Irish wasn't so bad, right?
College basketball: UCLA vs. Colorado State, Pauley Pavilion, 7:30 p.m., 570-AM, uclabruins.com

The bowl game USC could have been playing in if it lost to Oregon State during the regular season at the Coliseum ... instead, that looks like a pretty decent win against the Beavs now. To think, Oregon State would have been in the Rose Bowl had it defeated Oregon in its finale regular-season game. College football: Las Vegas Bowl: No. 18 Oregon State vs. No. 14 BYU, 5 p.m., ESPN.

Stu Lantz is back in the rotation. Should see as much, if not more, playing time at Adam Morrison did on the last road trip. And there's no snow storms in the forcast to push the tipoff back a couple of hours, or to a different city.
NBA: Lakers vs. Oklahoma City, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., FSN West, 710-AM.

Last meeting, Rockets won, 102-85, on Dec. 2. It wasn't that close.
NBA: Clippers at Houston, 5:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 980-AM.

WEDNESDAY

Another bowl game USC could have been playing in if Cal had defeated lousy Washington squad in the final Pac-10 game as schedule. How did the Huskies manage to spoil it for everyone?
College football: Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego: Cal vs. No. 23 Utah, 5 p.m., ESPN.

THURSDAY
A Christmas Eve filler: Santa hosts "SportsCenter." Not really, but you can buy this ornament from any Hallmark store. Meanwhile, ESPN has "SportsCenter: A Decade of Moments," a 90-minute retrospectice, co-hosted by Hannah Storm and Dari Nowkhah.
Special: "SportsCenter: A Decade of Moments," ESPN, 1:30 p.m.; ESPN2, 6:30 p.m.

A real Christmas Eve treat: Listen to Vin Scully call an NFL playoff game. Here's the catch: Dwight Clark makes a really good play near the end.
(If you need the broadcasting background on this CBS telecast, Wikipedia explains: It is often mistakenly assumed that Pat Summerall and John Madden handled the call on CBS ... Summerall instead handled the call of the game on CBS Radio with Jack Buck, while Vin Scully and Hank Stram (CBS' "B team" for NFL broadcasts in 1981) called the game on television. Meanwhile, John Madden was off to Detroit to prepare for his Super Bowl telecast with Summerall. Hank Stram returned to his normal position as the color analyst on CBS Radio alongside Buck for the Super Bowl, while Summerall and Madden teamed for the first of eight Super Bowls together.
NFL: 1981 NFC Championship game: San Francisco vs. Dallas, NFL Network, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

FRIDAY
This here is Angel. She's a Laker girl. Appearances by Angels on Christmas are a good thing. So is seeing Shaq bringing LeBron, frankincense and myrrh to the nationally-televised party for all the new HDTV sets.
NBA: Lakers vs. Cleveland, Staples Center, 2 p.m., Channel 7, 710-AM.

Another Christmas Day treat: Last meeting: Suns won, 109-107, on Oct. 28. It shouldn't have been that close.
NBA: Clippers at Phoenix, 5 p.m., Prime Ticket, ESPN, 980-AM.

San Diego, on a nine-game winning streak, visits Nashville to face a Titans team that started 1-6 but has won seven of its last eight and has a sniff of a wildcard spot. As long as Vince Young is still calling the signals, why not?
NFL: San Diego at Tennessee, 4:30 p.m., NFL Network.

Remember the "Tuck"?
NFL: 2001 AFC Divisional playoff game: Oakland at New England, NFL Network, 9:30 a.m.

How much time you got on your Tivo? Eighteen-plus hours? Let er rip.
MLB: All nine episodes of Ken Burns' documentary "Baseball," MLB Network, 3 a.m.

SATURDAY
What nut job would have predicted this for USC's football team at the start of the season? Aside from the fact that Joe McKnight has offered to drive as many teammates as he can fit in his ride over to Candlestick Park Pac Bell Park AT&T Park for this all-important matchup against the Eagle Scouts of Boston College, we wonder how many will also purchase this roasted, but unsalted official sweatshirt for $44.95 -- which we believe is the same cost of the remaining tickets to the actual exhibition game.
College football: Emerald Bowl: USC vs. Boston College, 5 p.m., ESPN, 710-AM.

Your Pacific-Division leading Kings are back after a nine-day break for holiday, losers in two of their last three (all on the road).
NHL: Kings at Phoenix, 6 p.m., FSN West, 1150-AM.

Paul Westphal (not Paul Westhead) has these other Kings with a respectable 12-14, with a 10-3 record at Arco Arena, or whatever they're calling that facility in the state capital.
NBA: Lakers at Sacramento, 7 p.m., Channel 9, 710-AM.

SUNDAY

The Cowboys, coming off a victory against previously-undefeated New Orleans, have a 4-9 Redskins team up next that is 0-4 against NFC East opponents.
NFL: Dallas at Washington, Channel 4, 5:15 p.m.

Again, the Giants try to stay relevant.
NFL: Carolina at N.Y. Giants, Channel 11, 10 a.m.

First meeting of the season between these storied franchises. Same old story for one. And the other. The Celtics' Eastern Conference best record so far includes a 12-1 road mark.
NBA: Clippers vs. Boston, Staples Center, 6:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 980-AM.

Somehow, this last game before the Pac-10 schedule begins didn't make the local TV lineup.
College basketball: UCLA vs. Delaware State, Pauley Pavilion, 1 p.m., 570-AM, uclabruins.com.

The best thing about this week's slate of games: The San Francisco Giants' home field gets torn up by football players. Maybe Barry Zito would be more effective with no mound drawn on the field.

It's also "Hurray for the Pac-10" week. Oregon State, Cal and USC can do them proud. Or, as proud as one conference can have with only one BCS participating team.

TUESDAY:

== Las Vegas Bowl: No. 18 Oregon State vs. No. 14 BYU, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Rece Davis, Lou Holtz, Mark May and Todd Harris

WEDNESDAY:

== Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego: Cal vs. No. 23 Utah, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox

THURSDAY:

== Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu: Nevada vs. Southern Methodist University, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Terry Gannon and David Norrie

FRIDAY

== Little Caesars Bowl, Detroit: Marshall vs. Ohio, 10 a.m., ESPN, with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley

== Meineke Car Care Bowl, Charlotte, N.C.: No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina, 1:30 p.m., ESPN, with Bob Wischusen, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman and Quint Kessenich.

SATURDAY

== Emerald Bowl, San Francisco: No. 24 USC vs. Boston College, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore and Todd Harris

SUNDAY

== Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tenn.: Kentucky vs. Clemson, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe

Chuck Ross, the managing director of TVWeek.com who, according to his bio, has been involved in the TV business ever since he sold cable TV subscriptions in Santa Monica door-to-door way back in the mid-to-late 1970s, posted a "guest" blog on the company site (linked here) that offers a new marketing approach for someone like Tiger Woods.

Sex, it seems, sells.

Writes Ross:

According to the book "Advertising in America," the rules that govern the use of sex in advertising were pretty much established by Elliott White Springs back in the late 1940s. He owned a textile company called Spring Mills. ...Springs biggest contribution to the effective use of sex in advertising was "The Tease." ... The key, here, is that for the ad to be most successful, one should NOT reveal too much.

I just don't think we'll ever again listen to Woods say how wonderful a product is and think to ourselves, "That's Grrrrrrrreat!"

More from the Media Learning Center (which used to be sponsored by Accenture, but they've stupidly pulled out, it says at the story linked here)

== Is Tiger really getting a mulligan from the networks that cover golf, or are they just trying to cover the sport as it's played on the course (linked here).

== If Tiger had been in a plane that crashed into the Twin Towers eight years ago, could it be even bigger for the New York Post? (linked here). The streak increased another day with this Friday cover:

== How ESPN's Rick Reilly mails it in, reading the closed captioning on his TV set (linked here).

== ESPN.com's Bill Simmons actually find stuff that he left out of his recent 700-page book (linked here).

== Why people in Iowa will need to drive their tractors to Miami to see the Orange Bowl, since their local TV won't be worth a dang (linked here).

== Your Week 15 NFL TV schedule in L.A.: Why the NFL Network still cares (linked here).

== Your first week of college football bowl games (3 up, 31 to go) (linked here).

== Only four more months before Donald Trump pretends to golf well on Golf Channel (linked here).

== Even as she stands in this GQ photo taken by a professional photographer in a pretend locker room, ESPN's Erin Andrews is going to fight the peepers with hotel reform (linked here). Let us know how that goes.

== AND FINALLY:

== A post on Deadspin.com (linked here):

SI "Out Of Touch" For Mocking Around The Horn, Says Newspaper Columnist Who Fears Computers

Last year on a Bob Costas HBO special, Al Michaels referred to (without naming names) ESPN's "Around the Horn" as "gasbags on parade." The L.A. Times' Bill Plashke defends the honor of the self-proclaimed "Show of Competitive Banter" a multi-Twitter post that, frankly, would have been best ignored. Because then no one would have posted this photo:

I'm honored to be one of those gasbags, and thankful that so many people allow us to parade into their lives...

More from Hot Rod Hundley, who we featured in today's media column (linked here) as he sits in for Stu Lantz on the Lakers' TV coverage this week:

== First a few "did you know" facts about him:

a) He has a 3-0 record as "coach" of the Lakers.
During his playing days with the team -- the 1957 No. 1 overall draft pick out of West Virginia was taken by the Rochester Royals but then dealt to the Minneapolis Lakers in a six-player deal on draft day -- he had to take over coaching duties when regular coach Fred Schaus was ejected. Schaus was his coach at West Virginia and trusted Hundley with the team. They won each time Schaus was kicked out -- "but all those games were on the road," Hundley wrote in his autobiography. "I always wanted Schaus to get kicked out at home once so I could have the L.A. crowd cheering me on."

b) Hundley's No. 33 has been retired by the Lakers - after it was worn by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. After '63 season he refused a trade to San Francisco because he'd just bought a house in Malibu and his first daughter was born. He would have got a bigger pension if he extended his career a couple more years but he gets a pension now that's more than when he got playing.
"I still remember that address: 2151 Seahorn Drive in Malibu, right off Sunset Terrace," said Hundley. "Bought it for $45,000. I wrote letters back to West Virginia with that Malibu address just so they knew I was doin' OK."
When Hundley first moved to L.A., he had a one bedroom apartment that he shared in the MacArthur Park area of towndown with teammate Rudy LaRusso.
"We had just the one room, with a bunkbed on San Marino Street," said Hundley. "That saved us money."

c) On working with Chick Hearn: "When the Jazz moved from New Orleans to Salt Lake City, Chick visited me and said, 'I got friends in Salt Lake City and they're telling me you're stealing some of my lines.' I told him, 'Not some of 'em, all of 'em.' I used everyone of 'em. Even putting the game in the refrigerator. He was the best, the master."

And from the rest of the sports media world this week:

== More from Stephen Colbert during his appearance on Dan Patrick's syndicated radio show Wednesday:

*On where he'd like his image to be placed among US Olympic speed skaters: "I would love to have my picture on Apolo Ohno's butt cheek. Wouldn't that be nice? You can snap a pool cue over that thing. That would make a great cover of Sports Illustrated, me snapping a pool cue over Apolo Ohno's butt."

*On what advice he'd give Tiger Woods: "Destroying his life? I think that's a bold strategy. I'm down on Accenture and Gillette for dropping him. I can understand Gillette because if you look at some of the women that he slept with, that may not be the best a man can get. But Accenture, they're a consulting firm. Tiger was just taking risks. You've got to be able to play from the rough. And clearly he's been playing rough. ... I would advise him to come on my show to talk about it. Wouldn't you advise him to come on your show to talk about it?"

*On what he thinks of Keith Olbermann, Patrick's former ESPN "SportsCenter" partner and current MSNBC left-wing pundit: "Keith's insane. Like really-dangerous-to-himself insane. Save-his-urine-in-a-jar insane. But I watch him. I watch him every night. He's hide-under-your-desk kind of crazy. That being said, I'm a big fan. I don't want him to take that the wrong way....The nice thing is he doesn't have an overblown sense of himself. He doesn't take himself too seriously, so that's what's nice. He doesn't feel like he's changing the world. That's what's nice. You know, it's the humility he brings to his job, that's what I love."

*On what he think of Glenn Beck, the Fox News Channel pundit: "Every day Glenn Beck climbs the genius tree, puts that rope around his neck and jumps right off."

== The San Diego Chargers say enough tickets have been sold to lift the TV blackout for Sunday's home game against the Cincinnati Bengals, meaning it will be the 46th consecutive regular-season and postseason Chargers game to be televised live in the market -- the longest streak in team history.
As for the game (Channel 2, 1 p.m.), CBS studio analyst Boomer Esiason wonders how the Bengals will be affected by the death of receiver Chris Henry: "Can they once again find the strength, in unity, as one of their family has passed away? They did it already once this year versus Baltimore when Mike Zimmer, the defensive coordinator, lost his wife. His defensive unit probably played their best game. What will be telling here will be whether or not the Bengals come out and play an inspired first quarter? It would be understandable if they came out flat after dealing with the death of a teammate. They're going against a team in my estimation that is presently playing the best overall football in the AFC."

== ESPN is touting its Michigan-Kansas college basketball game on Saturday (9 a.m.) as a "green" contest -- there will be a bunch of recycled on-air graphics about conservation, stories about how each school is using alternative energy sources (Kansas, by the way, is using elliptical machines to generate energy for campus power and creating bio diesel fuel from the cooking fat used in dining halls), ESPN is using LED lights for lighting the on-air personalities during segments and rechargeable batteries in various equipment ... it's all pretty minor stuff, but it adds up. It beats normal ESPN treatment of a game -- where they can suck the electricity out of it for the sake of overpromotion.

== ESPN has also declared that, for its upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup race coverage in 2010, Dr. Jerry Punch will return to pit reporting and Marty Reid will replace him as the main race caller with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree.

== Chris McGee, Mike Pawalawski and Courtney Jones will call the Prime Ticket coverage tonight of the CIF state small-school division title game (Francis Parker vs. Modesto Christian) at 4 p.m., followed by the Division I championship (Oceanside vs. Bellamine Prep) at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, those three do the Division III title game (Serra vs. Marin Catholic) at noon, while Jim Kozimor, Petros Papadakis and Christine Nubla do the Division II title game (Servite vs. Rocklin, 4 p.m.) and the Open Division championship (Crenshaw vs. De La Salle, 8 p.m.)

== AND FINALLY:

== How to end the year?

HBO's "Real Sports" has a roundtable for Edition No. 153, Tuesday at 10 p.m., with Bryant Gumbel, Mary Carillo, Frank Deford, Jon Frankel, Bernard Goldberg and Andrea Kremer talking about the year that was (but mostly about the stories they covered).

Versus' 2009 Sports Soup Countup Countdown hour-long show, with host Matt Iseman plus Snoop Dogg and former Lakers guard Gary Payton, airs Sunday at 7 p.m. (repeats Tuesday at 8 p.m.). Also, a special appearance by Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp.

On the same date, same time, same one-hour window, Charles Barkley, Dennis Eckersly, Kyle Petty and Spike Lee will be helping HLN with a roundtable discussion on the biggest issues of '09 in a show called "With All Due Respect."
Already taped, the show has been leaking quotes from those involved, especially when it comes to Tiger Woods.
Barkley is crying that Woods has changed his phone number and is refusing to converse with his "famous" friends.
"I think when you have these fires in your life, as I call them, you need to talk to somebody else who is famous who [has] been through things in their life," says Barkley.
Or, you stay away from friends who got you there in the first place.
Lee believes Woods can find advice from Michael Jordan.
"If Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can't get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves," said Lee.
Already looks like a bad "Caddy Shack" sequel waiting for Ice Cube to fill our the foursome.

(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
Hot Rod Hundley acknowledges the Utah Jazz crowd before he broadcasts his final game for the team last April. The Basketball Hall of Fame play-by-play man played six years for the Lakers and then worked with Chick Hearn from 1967-69.

Four of the six games that one-time Chick Hearn sidekick Hot Rod Hundley has agreed to do as a fillin for Stu Lantz on the Lakers' TV coverage are in the books, and he's still smiling.

The 75-year-old retired with a year left on his contract after 35 years doing games for the Utah Jazz, most of them on TV. His relegation to radio calls left him discouraged -- and sent to the rafters in most NBA arenas. That, and the travel, just caught up with him.

Until the Lakers called him a week ago to see if he could sub on the KSPN-AM (710) radio broadcast for Mychal Thompson, who needed to go back to the Bahamas for the funeral of his mother, Hundley was content playing golf in Arizona. Then the Lakers called him back a day later, knowing Lantz had to miss the current five-game road trip, plus another home game, because his wife was having ankle surgery. Hundley thought it would be fun.

Until he was reminded of what NBA travel was like. He's sitting around in the Ritz Carlton Central Park in New York City today trying to kill some time before the Lakers play the Nets in New Jersey on Saturday night. The flight from Milwaukee to Newark, N.J., last night wasn't all that great, either.

"We were on our way to land for the last 10 minutes, and I was looking out the window," said Hundley. "The plane didn't seem to be landing gradually like it normally does. Then all of the sudden -- boom -- we're right on the ground. I'm looking out the window again wondering what's going on? It was a little scary, made me a little uneasy. That's one of the reasons I don't like being on the road so much any more. Sometimes those NBA trips would be 10 games over two weeks. The hard part is in between games. Especially at my age."

Especially when you consider that Hot Rod was on a Laker team flight back in 1960, going from St. Louis to Minneapolis, and had to land in a snowy cornfield because of a blizzard and the fact all the electricity went out in the plane and the backup generator of the DC3 went out as well.

We caught up with Hot Rod on Thursday at the Ritz Carlton Central Park and he says he's having fun -- for now -- and can't believe how much Kobe Bryant has grown up since the first time he saw him until now, considering he's seen him make the game-winning shot in OT in Milwaukee less than 24 hours ago.

But he also has worries on this trip -- like, he could lose his luggage.

"All the bags I have say 'Utah Jazz' all over 'em," said Hundley. "My garmet bag and my other big bag ... I gotta talk to the hotel staff and make sure they know it all goes with the bags marked 'Lakers' or else I gotta get some duck tape and put it over the Jazz logos."

Congrats to the New York Post: Thursday's photo of Tiger Woods on its cover was the 20th consecutive day the newspaper had mention of him on either its front or back page.

The previous record -- 15 consecutive front-page stories dedicated to 9/11 back in 2001.

Nice perspective on life.

From the story (linked here): "Tiger Named Best Swinger of the Decade"

He's just that good.
Tiger Woods was acknowledged yesterday for his athletic prowess - this time, outside the bedroom.
The philandering dog and world - class golfer was voted "Athelete of the Decade" by members of the Associated Press yesterday, giving Woods a pass on recent revelations -- and his own admission -- that he cheated on his wife.

The record was noted as well on TheSportsHernia.com, comparing how Tiger Woods and 9/11 have now been linked: "Two topics with about as much in common as Lyle Alzado and Stephen Hawking."

The site also reported that during the Post streak, the site CatChannel.com also had a story posted on Dec. 9 with the headline: "Tiger Undergoes Spaying."

A list of the other Tiger covers and main headlines during the streak (all linked here)

Nov. 28: Tiger's short drive (on the sports back cover)
Nov. 29: Tiger Cops out
Nov. 30: Cagey Tiger: Ducks Police 3rd day
Dec. 1: Exclusive: Tiger and Me
Dec. 2: Tiger's Birdies
Dec. 3: Tiger admits: I'm a cheetah
Dec. 4: Tiger's 'green' fees!
Dec. 5: Rachel's story
Dec. 6: Tiger in the rough
Dec. 7: Tiger's back 9
Dec. 8: Tiger's Wife Turns Tail
Dec. 9: Mistress: Tiger Paid Me
Dec. 10: Tiger's Sex Texts
Dec. 11: Ho, Tiger!
Dec. 12: Tiger Pulls Out
Dec. 13: $180m: What Tiger's Timeout will cost him: That's $15m a fling
Dec. 14: Toxic Tiger Fired: Sponsor 1st to dump damaged golf icon
Dec. 15: Exclusive: 'He's only just coping - he's on the edge' Tiger's Agony
Dec. 16: Outta Here! Tiger's wife taking kids and leaving lair
Dec. 17: Top Dog! Tiger Named Athlete of the Decade (and he golfed, too)

By Melanie S. Welte
The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa -- While the Iowa Hawkeyes prepare for their biggest bowl game in years, thousands of their fans back home may be scrambling to find a TV to watch them.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group's demand that cable company Mediacom Communications Corp. pay more to carry its stations could leave 700,000 cable subscribers in 11 states without some local channels on Jan. 1. That includes about 400,000 subscribers in Iowa, most of whom will lose the channel televising the Jan. 5 Orange Bowl between Iowa and Georgia Tech.

The cable showdown is part of a long-running national battle over what are known as carriage fees. Cable TV operators claim owners of broadcast stations and cable channels are gouging their customers by demanding ever-rising payments. Content owners respond that cable companies earn outsized profits by simply retransmitting their valuable channels.

Cable customers are caught in the crossfire.

"It's a huge outrage," said Brandon Huggins, a store clerk at a university apparel shop in Iowa City, home to the Hawkeyes. "I'd like to think they'll figure something out, or make an exception for Iowa City."

Barry Faber, executive vice president and general counsel to Hunt Valley, Md.-based Sinclair, said he's "very pessimistic" an agreement will be reached with Middletown, N.Y.-based Mediacom by Dec. 31, when the current three-year deal ends.

That means customers in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and other Iowa cities will miss the Orange Bowl unless they find a TV with a satellite connection or rely on an antenna.

We know last night the Lakers' radio play-by-play man was in Milwaukee with Mychal Thompson calling that overtime victory.

We now know he'll be in South Bend, Ind., on Saturday, doing his first college basketball gig for CBS, on UCLA-Notre Dame (Channel 2, 11 a.m.), with Greg Anthony as his partner.

We know he usually spends Sunday mornings in Culver City hosting the NFL Network's pregame show.

We also know the Lakers have a game Saturday night in New Jersey and Sunday afternoon in Detroit.

How does this work?

Dedes said in an email today that he'll have to miss the NFL Network show in Sunday, "my first one this season," as well as Saturday's Lakers-Nets game in his home state (Bill Macdonald will fly out to fill in).

The latest from ESPN's "NFL Live" show, because you can't get any better up to the second information on the league, unless you have Internet access. Or the NFL Network. Or some of those other blogs out there are pretty good.

"The Colts still won't say if they're going to try for a perfect 16-0," said ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols.

The implication: There could be a time, either in Week 15, 16 or 17, where the currently 13-0 Colts simply give up and stop trying.

Whatever happens, the NFL Network will know first. It has the Colts' game Thursday.

It also has the 13-0 New Orleans Saints' game Saturday against Dallas.

How perfect is that for the NFL Net?

"(Colts) coach Jim Caldwell has told players they are going for 14-0," Nichols continued in that sing-song voice. "There will be no healthy starters sitting (against Jacksonville) ... no punches pulled."

That must be a relief for the NFL. One team tanks it, the others just fall in line.

Pretty soon, you've got a bunch of 0-13 teams saying they are going to try for a perfect 0-16.

If only Detroit hadn't stumbled onto two wins this season. The Lions would be a perfect ... you do the math.

THURSDAY:

== Indianapolis at Jacksonville, 5:20 p.m., NFL Network (with Bob Papa and Matt Millen)

SATURDAY:

== Dallas at New Orleans, 5:20 p.m., NFL Network (with Bob Papa and Matt Millen)

SUNDAY:

== New England at Buffalo, 10 a.m., Channel 2 (with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf, instead of Miami-Tennessee, Houston-St. Louis and Cleveland-Kansas City on CBS, or San Francisco-Philadelphia, Arizona-Detroit, Chicago-Baltimore or Atlanta-New York Jets on Fox).

== Green Bay at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m., Channel 11 (with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman; instead of Tampa Bay-Seattle)

== Cincinnati at San Diego, 1 p.m., Channel 2 (with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms; instead of Oakland-Denver)

== Minnesota at Carolina, 5:20 p.m., Channel 4 (with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

MONDAY:

== New York Giants at Washington, 5:30 p.m., ESPN (with Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden).

VanityFair.com

The Golf Channel, having enough from Hank Haney trying to fix everyone's sick swing, has swung it into full-gear sellout by announcing a Donald Trump six-part show that seems to be like "Big Break" except there are supposed to be celebs involved and more exposure for his golf course ventures.

The appropriately cheesy-named "Donald J. Trump's Fabulous World of Golf" was announced today but won't launch until April, 2010. But the storyboard already laid out for this should supercede "30 Rock" as the parody hit of the season.

To wit:

"To ensure each episode brings excitement and a high-level of competition, celebrity players will face-off against others of similar handicaps. The match-ups are destined to take a series of twists and turns as Trump will present many entertaining and exciting challenges along the way, including a pre-determined hole that will be worth $10,000 for the respective charity. While the high-stakes competition is a focal point of the program, viewers also will be offered exclusive access to some of Trump's most incredible golf properties - from West Palm Beach to his top-rated courses in Scotland, New York, New Jersey and California. Off the course, in each show, fans also will catch a glimpse at how Trump brings his competitive bravado to his growing golfing empire."

The Donald's statement: "As everyone knows, golf has always been one of my greatest passions, so I'm excited to work on this new program with Golf Channel, which consists of showcasing some of my top-rated golf resorts from around the world, intriguing discussion and fierce competition with some of the biggest known celebrities of today, and my altruistic goals. I'm also looking forward to granting viewers access to the inner workings of the very successful Trump golf business."

Speaking of which: What is Trump's current handicap that he lies about? Gotta be the hair.

If you're going by what someone at ESPN.com thinks (story linked here) about the 34 potential bowls that are taking place this month and early next, the first three here rank, in order, as 30th, 27th and 28th best.

The worst: The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, which doesn't come out of the woodfire oven until the day after Christmas. The best: If you have to ask, you're not paying attention. No, it's not a game involving USC (that's No. 18, putting it in the bottom half).

Let's get this middle-school party started:

SATURDAY

== The New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque: Fresno State vs. Wyoming, ESPN, 2:30 p.m. with Terry Gannon and David Norrie

== The St. Petersburg Bowl: University of Central Florida vs. Rutgers, ESPN, 5 p.m. with Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Rob Stone

SUNDAY

== New Orleans Bowl: Southern Mississippi vs. Middle Tennessee, 5:15 p.m., ESPN, with Dave Lamont and J.C. Pearson

Stephen Colbert on the cover of Sports Illustrated ... a sign of the apocalypse?

A sign of the times.

The Dec. 21 issue, on news stands Wednesday, props go to the Comedy Central fake pundint and U.S. speedskating savior who has raised sponsor money through his "Nation" for the American squad going into the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Nearly 9,000 individual donors, kicking in an average of $30, have helped make up for a Dutch bank sponsor that pulled out, and traffic on the USS website has doubled.

For some reason, 2006 Olympic gold medalist Shani Davis called Colbert "a jerk" earlier this month -- the rest of the team love it.

Says Colbert: "They look like members of Blue Man Group, but beyond that there's nothing comedic about speedskating. These are incredible athletes. My character isn't ironically detached, he's ironically a-ttached--things are important to him. And right now we're here for speedskating."

More from the SI media issue:

== A piece on Cris Collinsworth, who replaced John Madden on NBC's "Sunday Night Football"

== A piece on Bill Simmons and how he got to the top of the New York Times bestseller spot.

== A piece on "Invictus" and the power of the sports movie (when compared to Drew Barrymore's "Whip It.")

== A piece on how Chad Ochocinco (Hachi Go) has helped Twitter go nuts.

Two players on the Chicago White Sox roster will be delivered to the Dodgers by Jan. 7 in a trade announced today for outfielder Juan Pierre.

The cheaper they come, the better.

In one sense, the Dodgers dump an expensive contract. In another, they give themselves no insurance if/when Manny Ramirez bails out in the middle of his option season for lack of interest/injury/fertility drug use.

In a large sense, they give up too much character.

You were concerned that the Dodgers were too quiet? Here's the opposite. It's time to dump payroll. Poor Juan, and his five-year, $44 million deal that had yet expired. In fact, the Dodgers will reportedly pay about $10 mil of the $18.5 mil left on the final two years of Pierre's contract.

Yes, they'll pay him to leave.

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says that "Juan always put the Dodgers first, even when it wasn't in his personal best interest. In this day, that is a rare attribute. When he and I spoke at the end of the season, we agreed that if an opportunity presented itself in which his chance to play would be enhanced, we would pursue it and that's what we've done. He deserved the chance to play more."

And Dodger fans deserve ... nothing.

In three years with the Dodgers, Pierre hit .294, stole 134 bases and had a .339 on base percentage. Last year, all he did was hit .308 in 145 games.

Which two players off the White Sox's roster should the Dodgers expect?

Jake Peavy and Paul Konerko?

Mark Buehrle and Bobby Jenks?

Think more, OMG, Brian Omogrosso and Brent Lillibridge.

Although the Chisox did just add Andruw Jones to their roster ... Does Pierre know he'll be challenging him -- again -- for playing time?

Another not-so-secret benefit of having the MLB Network: Bob Costas' hour-long interview shows.

Today, it's Dick Allen , at 5, 8 and 11 p.m.

Or is it Richie Allen.

When he played for the Dodgers that one year -- 1971 -- it was Richard Anthony Allen known as ...

Rich? (That's how he autographed the team-issued photo)

"All through the '60's, we were a pretty radical bunch," Allen says in the Costas interview. "They were marching everywhere, and the next thing I know, my name is 'Richie,' not Dick here. Now it's Richie, we're at war at Vietnam, we got the hippies and we got the love people. We were a pretty radical bunch.

"The point of it is here, unless some of those rules change and we're wearing the same uniform, that's a team, hey, we're going to act like a team, let the rules be the same of all of them. So, in defiance, I'm trying to get out of there and maybe people just look at here, he's a troublemaker, I'm looking out for my own benefit."

He was a three-time NL All Star for the Phillies between '63 and '69. He had another All Star year with St. Louis in '70, but was traded to the Dodgers in '71. That season, he hit 23 homers, drove in 90 runs and hit .295 in 155 games, playing third base, first base, left field and right field.

Which made his trade to the Chicago White Sox the next season (for Tommy John) seem all that more strange. Especially when he was named AL MVP in '72.

Ask the late Walter Alston about that one -- wanting someone who probably easier to manage, like Frank Robinson, whom the Dodgers picked up the next year.

"I think the good thing was my mind was always in the ballgame," Allen says. "Win or lose, the happiest time for me was between the lines. Outside the lines were tough."

The MLB Network recently did a "Prime Nine" show on the nine players who should be in the Hall of Fame. Allen was No. 4 on the list:

This ad for the Accenture company was spotted by one reader at New York's LaGuardia Airport the other day.

"How fitting," he said.

Another reader said he saw it at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.

Talking about getting a lot of buzz for your buck.

Not any more.

Accenture was the first company to cut ties with Tiger Woods on Sunday. The global consulting firm consulted with itself and said that "after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising."

An interesting thing about golf is that no matter how badly you play, it is always possible to get worse. But you keep going back.

Golfers know about forgiveness. Ad men apparently don't.

Since Everything Tiger seems to be Everyone's Business, the business world's reaction is the next step in the step-by-step story about the Downfall of Tiger Woods. Corporate America is backing away from the putt. For now.

You're surprised? See Phelps, Michael, i.e. bong.

It seems kind of premature, actually. And hypocritical. But that's America for you. The panicked, image-conscious business world only reflects the knee-jerk reaction of the prickly, ADD consumers.

If you want to know the truth in advertising, all this only gives Tiger more street cred. If I'm a sponsor, I'm looking for a way to slip into this now at a reduced price. Travelocity, don't you see the potential? Victoria's Secret line of "Tiger's Secret" lingerie?

Just sayin' ...

The reason Tiger is able to step away and take an "indefinite break" from golf is because he's been raking in more than $100 million a year from sponsorship deals. Gillette and Gatorade have already said they're cutting back. AT&T isn't sure yet. That's their business.

Nike, meanwhile, says it's not going anywhere. Phil Knight told the Sports Business Daily that Tiger's "infidelity" is "part of the game" in signing endorsement deals with athletes.

It was just a blip, he said. And a minor one at that.

"I think he's been really great," Knight said in the interview published Monday. "When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now."

Good Knight now. Nike is the one making the most sense. Or, the most sense from a man's perspective. And when a man spends his dollars, he's more apt to put them with another man who's had the same sort of life issues as he has.

He who casts the first stone kinda stuff. Like the heads of Gatorade, Gillette or AT&T have never been in such a personal situation based on the inability to handle money, power and fame.

Tag Heuer, the watchmaker that has been with Woods since 2002, will bide its time as well with Woods. A company spokeswoman said the sponsorship is unchanged because Woods remains the world's best golfer and Tag Heuer does not care about his private life.

"We respect his performance in the sport," she said, adding that Woods' personal life is "not our business."

Wow. How much are those watches again? I may just buy one now because of that statement. And I'll put it on my Am Ex card.

What those who are dropping him now fail to see is that, when Tiger does come back, those deserting companies will only inspire him to be better, to prove people wrong. You gotta know Tiger is making a list right now of who'll be pushed aside when it comes time in 2014 for him to host "Saturday Night Live" -- the same show that spoofed PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem in a three-episode commercial spoof, showing him drinking out of a flask and justifying how the game will be OK even as sponsors keep dropping out.

"No Tiger? No problem," says Jason Sudeikis as Finchem in the first spot (linked here).
"I really want to thank our new sponsors: The Madoff Investment Group, Major League Soccer, and the movie, 'Old Dogs,'" says "Finchem" in the second spot. "The PGA Tour -- what else are you gonna do, talk to your wife?"
"The PGA Tour's back -- did I mention the golf cart races," says "Finchem" in the third spot, where he says he's on "suicide watch." "I want to thank our newest sponsors -- the Erie, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, the letter 'Q,' and seltzer."

If the PGA Tour needs an exit strategy, it'll have to pretend that it's 1994 again. Pre Tiger.

If Tiger needs an exit strategy, he should be examining Kobe Bryant, circa 2004.

When Bryant's rape allegations came out, most of this biggest sponsors -- McDonald's, Upper Deck, Coke, Spaulding, Nutella -- ran scared. Nike, who'd just signed him to a five-year, $40 million deal, didn't use his likeness in its ads or his face on TV, but it stuck by him.

Has it paid off? You can ask the Kobe and LeBron puppets you see on TV today.

What if these corporate decisions are made in part because spending ad dollars these days are a crazy proposition, no matter who endorses the product?

A year ago, in fact, Buick dropped Tiger from its campaign, a year early from his contract. General Motors had been giving him about $8 million a year since taking him on with a five-year deal back in early 2004. On the last day of '08, they cut the deal off.

Because they could see this coming? Now you gotta wonder. But you also gotta wonder about how much GM could afford to spend on its ads when it was applying for federal bailout.

Bailing out on Tiger just came a year early for 'em. But again, it didn't hurt that Tiger was driving another GM car -- the Cadillac Escallade -- when he crashed into the neighbor's tree trying to avoid the 3-iron on Thankgiving night.

Accenture has had other ads aside from the one above that it put Tiger in. One of them said: "Go on, be a Tiger."

The one they have going above seems perfect to continue. Why waste a great opportunity with all the exposure you've already received for that ad above? Seems like you're just giving up on one of the best name-recognition campaigns ever conceived for a major athlete.

Maybe you should consult with your ad men again before you accentuate your own problems.

Or then, maybe we shouldn't pass judgment on someone if we haven't walked in their Nikes.

MONDAY

Gilbert Arenas ... he seems healthier, wealthier and wiser. As for his feelings toward Shaq ... let's assume there's a 0 tolerance policy in effect. Rumors continue to swirl that Laura Govan, aka Gilbert's fiance, is entangled with Shaq in some kind of ... a ... smoochfest. We don't know to believe, or care. Except others do. Like Shaq's wife, Shaunie, who supposedly went to L.A. recently and the next day filed for legal separation from the former Lakers center. Maybe she'll be present tonight to see what's going on from the wounded people's side.
NBA: Clippers vs. Washington, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 980-AM.

Quick, check out the Winter Olympic hockey facilities while you're there.
NHL: Kings at Vancouver, 7 p.m., 1150-AM.

Good to see they still use Candlestick Park for community events.
NFL: Arizona at San Francisco, 5:30 p.m., ESPN.

TUESDAY

Kobe's avulsion fracture will warm the cockles of the Chicago Bulls' hearts. And just what is a cockle? A sand-burrowing mollusc. Sure. A wrinkle or puckering in cloth or paper. OK, fine. A weedy plant. Guess so. Actually, in this case it's an engineering term that means a small furnace or stove. So when you say .... hey wait, is that Ron Artest cracking open some Hennessey he scored from around the corner from Chicago Stadium?
NBA: Lakers at Chicago, 5 p.m., KCAL-Channel 9, 710-AM.

Another game on the road -- not on TV.
NHL: Kings at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m., 1150-AM.

The latest Jeff Sagarin ratings for USA Today, because we know you need to know: Syracuse (9-0) is No. 1 based on the fact it has beaten three Top 25 teams already; Kansas (9-0), No. 1 on most people polls, is at No. 7 because it is 0-0 against Top 25 teams so far; Mississippi State (7-2), which crushed UCLA on Saturday in Anaheim, is No. 56; Long Beach State (3-4), which crushed UCLA a couple of weeks ago, also in Anaheim and is 0-3 against Top 25 teams, is No. 95; Cal State Northridge (4-5) is No. 142; USC (4-4) is No. 170: Loyola Marymount (3-7) is No. 197; and ... UCLA, there it is, 2-6, sitting at No. 241. Out of 347. At least they're not Alcorn State (0-10). But they only have one more victory than the New Jersey Institute of Techology (1-6). Today's Bruin opponent, New Mexico State (1-5) is at No. 216. But when these two teams meet, you throw out the TV Guide ...
College basketball: UCLA vs. New Mexico State, Pauley Pavilion, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 570-AM.

WEDNESDAY

Let's see what all the fuss about Brandon Jennings is all about, and whether Hot Rod Hundley can keep up with him.
NBA: Lakers at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., KCAL-Channel 9, 710-AM.

Because we haven't seen enough of Kurt Rambis.
NBA: Clippers at Minnesota, 5 p.m., FSN West, 980-AM.

THURSDAY

If it gets to be too much of a rout, the NFL Network could re-run yesterday's episode of "The Simpsons" with Peyton Manning (and Eli) cameos. At least they got a better script than Ryan Leaf (above).
NFL: Indianapolis at Jacksonville, 5:30 p.m., NFL Network.

Another game on the road -- again, not on TV.
NHL: Kings at Calgary, 6:30 p.m., 1150-AM.

FRIDAY

The state of California welcomes some good high school football teams to Southern California in an attempt to determine a state champion. None, however, are names you'd recognize.
High school football: CIF state championship, Division I: Oceanside of San Diego vs. Bellarmine Prep of San Jose, Home Depot Center, 8 p.m., Prime Ticket. (Also: Small School Championship: Parker of San Diego vs. Modesto Christian of Sacramento, 4 p.m., Prime Ticket)

The Knicks are still paying association dues. And waiting to see if LeBron has any strong feeling about big apples.
NBA: Clippers at New York, 5 p.m., FSN West, 980-AM.

SATURDAY

Former Dallas coach and current NFL on Fox studio analyst Jimmy Johnson said it about them Cowboys on last Sunday morning's show: "There is no need for the media to beat up on Wade Phillips like that, but he's always on the defensive. He's got to look at the media and point and say, 'You listen! We're 8-4. We have a chance to win 12 games. You don't believe we're winners? I'm a winner and we've got winning football players. If you don't believe that we're a winner come on outside and I'll show you we're a winner!" Now, they have a chance to lose eight games, after Sunday's slipup against San Diego and this one against the 13-0 Saints.
NFL: Dallas at New Orleans, 5:20 p.m., NFL Network.

The state of California again welcomes some good high school football teams to Southern California in an attempt to determine a state champion. Again, we're not sure from where they come but it should be good.
High school football: CIF state championships, Open Division championship: Crewnshaw of L.A. vs. Concord De La Salle, Home Depot Center, 8 p.m., Prime Ticket. (Also: Division II Championship: Servite vs. Rocklin of Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley, 4 p.m., Prime Ticket; Division III Championship: Serra of Gardena vs. Kentfield Marin Catholic, noon, Prime Ticket)

As long as Vols basketball coach Bruce Pearl keeps his hands to himself, and doesn't take off his shirt, we'll be fine. The ninth-ranked Vols (6-1) lead the Southeastern Conference in scoring (at 86.4 a game), led by soph guard Scotty Hopson, who averages as many points a game (15.7) as the Trojans seem to average in team turnovers.
College basketball: USC vs. Tennessee, Galen Center, 1:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 710-AM.

When this game used to matter, Walton and Digger were still around.
College basketball: UCLA at Notre Dame, 2 p.m., Channel 2, 570-AM.

The Lakers discover the real "Jersey Shore." At least they'll have two things to laugh at after tonight.
NBA: Lakers at New Jersey, 5 p.m., KCAL-Channel 9, 710-AM.

Last Friday, the 76ers fell to the Houston Rockets, 96-91, at the Wachovia Center. That was their 12th loss in a row, their longest losing streak since Nov. 25 to Dec. 20, 2006. At the end of that streak, the Sixers traded Allen Iverson. During this one, they re-signed him. The Sixers play a game Monday leading into this mess, so maybe their streak will be done with.
NBA: Clippers at Philadelphia, 5 p.m., FSN West, 980-AM.

Proof again that bowling has been watered down this year, the first college football post-season festivals are brought to you courtesy of New Mexico and St. Petersburg. Oh, pinch me. No really, pinch me hard. To keep me from watching. And how cool is it that UCLA waited out a loss by one of our strongest military operations just to guarantee itself a trip to Washington DC after Christmas. Way to go Army. You've let us down again.
College football: New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. New Mexico, 1:30 p.m., ESPN; St. Petersburg Bowl: Central Florida vs. Rutgers, 5 p.m., ESPN.

SUNDAY

No network wanted to take this game away? Instead, it's planted right in the midst of NFL Week 14. Maybe to take Detroit fans' minds off the Lions.
NBA: Lakers at Detroit, 3 p.m., KCAL-Channel 9, 710-AM.

A Chargers' sellout? You'd think so.
NFL: Cincinnati at San Diego, 1 p.m., Channel 2.

A Panthers' sellout? You'd be dreaming. Even with Favre.
NFL: Minnesota at Carolina, 5:20 p.m., Channel 4.

From today's column on the skateboard art and evolution exhibit in Santa Monica (linked here):

Say hey, is that a skateboard with Willie Mays on it? Can you even imagine the San Francisco Giants star of the 1960s up on one of these things, racing a cable car up and down the hills and pulling up to a stop at Candlestick Park for a game?

That's part of the marketing culture that skateboarding companies, like Union Skate Shop in Texas, tried to use to connect with kids who were interested in sports.

Such as the wall of boards that reflected the 1960s space race, where President John Kennedy vowed to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. As a result, skateboard companies had rocket-ship themed boards.

"It's whatever kids were into," said Mike Trotter, the museum staff curator and exhibition designer. "Kids were jazzed about rockets and race cars, speed and surfing. Even Frankenstein.

"With this exhibit, I really want to show the big contrast and how not just the whole skate world but how the whole world changed. Skaters are very individualistic, they do their own thinking. They're an interesting group."

You see kids from all eras coming in. You see families with grandfathers, fathers and sons talking about skateboards together here. They can share in something like this."

Trotter says the idea for the skateboard exhibit game from doing a history of surf exhibit at the museum back in 1993. He credits Skip Enblom (Wikipedia bio here), was one of the co-founders of the Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions Surf Shop in Santa Monica and owner of the Zephyr skate team, with pushing to get the skateboard display started.

As a result, you'll see how many of first skateboards were simply box-crate scooters taken apart, then refined. A Flexing Racer model looks like what Charles Foster Kane would have been dreaming about on his deathbed if Rosebud hadn't already been in his consciousness.

There's a Zipee sidewalk surfer all pro M373 model. A Big Wheeler by the Adolph Keifer company of Northfield, Ill. A three-yellow diamond Expert X800 model by Playcraft Inc., of Portland, Ore.

The forest green "Flying Ace Road Surfer" by Moen-Patton, Inc., of Lancaster, Pan.

The ValSurf model notes its North Hollywood and Woodland Hills roots, and also has a handwritten sign attached: "Mahogany, 24", 27" -- $9.95; 30", 32", 36" -- $11.95; 40" -- $12.95)

More to find on skateboarding culture in Southern California:

== The California Heritage Museum website (linked here), across the street from a Hurley, Billabong and ZJ Boarding Store, and near the Surf Liquor store and its "world famous" surf dogs.

== The Mahaka website (with vintage T-shirts for sale) (linked here)

== The ValSurf website (linked here)

== The Hobie website (linked here)

== Provo-Utah based Epic Longboards (where I got my latest board) (linked here)

== The Rift Longboards website (linked here): In the current issue of Los Angeles Magazine, focused on where to buy L.A.-based things, Rift Longboards has a mention. Using leftover lumber from local businesses, the owners of the Real Door woodshop teammed up with CAA agent Seamus Blackley to create what they say is "jewelry for men." Said Blackley: "There are a lot of guys out there who are lapsed skateers and we want to build something really beautiful that can take people back to that."

== The ArtofSkateboarding website (linked here)

== VintageSkateboardMagazines.com (linked here)

John McCoy/Daily News Staff Photographer

The pictures of the skateboards on the wall at the California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica speak for themselves.

"Skateboard: Evolution & Art in California," a collection of boards brought together by staff curator Michael Trotter with the help of former Z-town skater Nathan Pruitt, is on display Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the converted Victorian home near the corner of Main and Ocean Park. Parking is free. Admission is $8. An 18-minute video called "Skater Dater" is included at the end which really captures the 1960s feel of the sport and culture around Southern California.

Call ahead for more questions: 310.392.8537. It'll be around until the end of May, 2010.

We've got more on everything about it in Sunday's newspaper edition. It's bitchin. Swear.

Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times has a premise -- the Tiger Woods story is changing the way sports journalism is operating.

A week late and a few bucks short, but, OK. We're listening. We agree, and we're looking for another angle to this from a fresh pair of eyes, from someone close to the epicenter of Tiger-Tiger-Land and trying to keep the story fresh for the readers of the newspaper.

Deggans caved in and did an interview with TMZ's Harvey Levin, based here in L.A., about why the gossip website even pursued the Woods story in the first place before busting a few moves to make it bigger than life.

"What we reported was a car crash, but the facts of the crash weren't adding up," Levin said (blog post linked here) "It had to do with the fact that the story didn't work. It didn't make sense. Then we started looking at the crash and then it looked like there may have been a domestic fight involved."

Then they salivated even more.

"In some ways, I think sports journalists on this one were more reticent than general media (to jump on the story)," Levin continued. "If you look at the Today show and Good Morning America, they were all over this story. It may be because this is where their bread is buttered ... if you're really dependent on getting access to the celebrities or athletes, it can really compromise your objectivity."

Thankfully, Deggans points out -- The guy with a photo feature on his Web site called "name that wedgie" is talking about journalistic objectivity?

Levin finished up: "The Associated Press is hiring cub reporters to cover clubs, it's only a matter of time before sports departments do that, too. There's a barrier that I think traditional media have ... you don't want to do a story that will upsets someone you need to sit down with some time in the future. You have to free yourself from that."

The truth will set everyone free, right? Just finding what's true is the problem.

One more take on Will Tiger Change Sports Journalism, from Will Leitch, the former Deadspin.com editor now at New York Magazine (linked here):

In an industry that has (generally) turned a calculated eye away from the (substantial) personal deficiencies of its superstars, this seems like a sea change ... The sports world isn't used to this, not at this level. That it's happening to the most private of all superstars -- a man who refused to comment past a press release about the death of his own father -- makes it that much more astounding, and surreal. ... But it is this reporter's belief that this is an isolated incident, a freak occurrence that won't lead to constant updates on every player's personal life. ...

Eventually, they will return to normalcy, and be happy to write about the games again. Tiger Woods will likely never be the same but the sports-journalism game, for better or worse, will float lithely back to hagiography and blind hero worship again. It's what we do. It's why we're here."

That's why we care.

And we move onto less mind-stressing things that we learned at the Media Learning Center (not sponsored by Gatorade's Tiger Brand of Drink Stuff):

== "The View" is apologizing to Tiger's hooker (linked here)

== CBS' Bob Scheiffer is telling Tiger how life really works:

== Why SI golf writers are teed off (linked here)

== Why the media is climbing over itself to angle for the first Tiger interview (linked here)

The other stuff:

== Your NFL Week 14 TV schedule for L.A. (linked here) And another Jacksonville NFL game blacked out? Attention L.A. NFL fans (linked here).

== The best take on Twitter we've read so far -- from ESPN Magazine (linked here)

== How Stephen A. Smith plans to return to the radio, via Fox (linked here)

== For some reason, Shaq's soon-to-be ex-wife wants to produce a show about NBA wives (linked here)

== Peter Gammons' sources confirm: Gammons going to the MLB Net (linked here) and he's written a farewell column to boot (linked here)

== Why we like "The Blind Side" (linked here)

== Apparently, that BCS Selection Show (last Sunday, Fox) continues to be less and less effective in getting the message to a captivated audience (linked here).

== NASCAR hooks up with Showtime for an "inside" show (linked here)

== What does NBC have to gain by keeping the Notre Dame football package? (linked here)

== Arnold Palmer has a "This is SportsCenter" ad, but we're not happy about who else is in it:

== SI.com's Richard Deitsch names Bob Costas the sports broadcaster of the decade, and for good reason -- it's true (but some of the other choices in other categories will make you think) (linked here).

== AND FINALLY:

Why Tiger Woods won't be giving his first interview to ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, and how the late-night talk show hosts also manages to take down a network program that's only claim to fame is giving Jesse Palmer a second career as a college football analyst:

All that fits in about 1200 words, you got today's media column (linked here).

All that didn't, lands here:

== Before we get going, a letter added to today's posting from this morning:

Very nice column today, but I would suggest the rampant growth and importance of Fantasy Sports merited its own section. Many would suggest that the fan growth of the NFL during the last decade has been largely catalyzed by Fantasy...and I would suggest that without it Baseball would become even less relevant than it has become as a televised sport. Fantasy Sports is now a multi-million dollar industry which boasts deep engagement with millions of fans. And it is fun too.
Regards,
Mark Howorth

Our take: Fantasy sports did drive a lot of the sports media to places it didn't necessarily want to go. Newspapers ran "fantasy" columns to give suggestions/tips/draft help. Online, it had plenty of its own sites. Even TV put graphics on the screen to give up to the second statistical data on players. Again, without Fantasy Football, DirecTV's "NFL Sunday Ticket" loses hundreds of subscribers.
Good call....

== Hot Rod Hundley, the former Lakers guard who retired last spring after 35 seasons as the voice of the New Orleans and Utah Jazz, replaces Stu Lantz on the Lakers' TV broadcast starting tonight and including the upcoming five-game road trip. Lantz is taking time off to spend with his wife, Linda, as she undergoes surgery in San Diego. The 75-year-old Hundley was the second of Chick Hearn's colormen - the first was Al Michaels, for 10 games. Hundley lasted four seasons (1965-69) before he left and was replaced by Lynn Shackleford. Also, Lakers radio analyst Mychal Thompson expects to miss the next two broadcasts while attending the funeral of his mother in the Bahamas, leaving injured Lakers forward Luke Walton to sit in for him with Spero Dedes on tonight's game against Minnesota and Saturday night in Utah.

== Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson call Saturday's Army-Navy game from Philadelphia (Channel 2, 11:30 a.m.). Last year CBS Sports extended its agreement to do the annual Army-Navy football game through the 2018 season, pushing it back to the second Saturday in December to end college football's regular-season.

== ESPN will finally include 1991 winner Desmond Howard with "College GameDay" colleagues Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit for the live Heisman Trophy presentation (ESPN, 5 p.m.) in New York. ESPN follows it up with its latest "30 in 30" presentation called "The U," a two-hour documentary about the University of Miami football program in the 1980s directed by alum Billy Corben .

== The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame (linked here) will next induct broadcasters Dick Enberg and Keith Jackson, along with network TV execs Barry Frank and Chuck Howard, technical innovators Garrett Brown, Steve Laxton and John Porter, plus former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman.

== A second season of the FX comedy "The League" has been ordered -- 13 episodes that will start airing next summer, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The show somehow averages 1 million viewers an episode.

== AND FINALLY:

== From The Onion Sports (linked here):

Sports Illustrated Sportsman Of The Year Award Important, Sports Illustrated Reports

NEW YORK--The Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award is a crowning life achievement for the player whom it honors, and the award's announcement is a landmark event highly anticipated by aficionados across the world of competitive athletics, Sports Illustrated magazine announced Monday.
"The SI Sportsman of the Year award is a chance for one singular performer to transcend the limitations of his sport, his league, and yes, sports itself, and be placed in the pantheon of cultural luminaries by that finest of institutions: Sports Illustrated magazine," an editorial in Monday's Sportsman of the Year issue of Sports Illustrated read in part.
"Simply put, you are not a sports enthusiast if you do not agree."
Derek Jeter, the 2009 honoree, said he had not yet read the article, although he was looking forward to the annual swimsuit issue.

Chris Berman's ego?

Nope, that was No. 11.

The Kobe-LeBron puppets? If it gives Nike something to show in absence of Tiger Woods ads.

Among the first 10, Berman's employer, ESPN, makes it. So does ESPN.com "Sports Guy" Bill Simmons. So does ESPN nemesis, Deadspin.com.

You'll have to wait to see the rest. We're still whittling it down. With a large machette.

The Associated Press reports today:

SAN JOSE -- Like any good celebrity scandal, the Tiger Woods drama has triggered a spike in traffic to Web sites offering details of his car crash and his alleged extramarital affairs. The lift will likely be fleeting, though, as the shock of the story wears off.

One of the most heavily trafficked sites has been Woods' own site, where he has posted his only public comments about his crash and admitted to "transgressions." The site got 488,000 unique visitors the week of his Nov. 27 crash, up from fewer than 11,000 the week before, according to The Nielsen Co.

The Orlando Sentinel newspaper, which serves the area of Woods' home, scored about 1.2 million unique visitors the week of the crash, more than 2½ times the number of visitors the week before, Nielsen said.

Meanwhile, visits to the entertainment site TMZ.com and sports news site Deadspin.com, which both had scoops on the Woods story, were up more than 50 percent, according to Hitwise, another Web analysis firm.

Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., which process more than 80 percent of all Internet searches in the U.S., said they've seen a leap in traffic from people looking for information on the golf superstar. Yahoo says searches for Woods' name have increased nearly 4,000-fold over the last 30 days. Neither Google nor Yahoo would provide specifics about how many more people were searching.

The traffic bump is not as pronounced as those that surrounded Michael Jackson's death in June and President Barack Obama's inauguration in January, both companies said. However, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told an investor conference in New York this week that the Woods story was "better than Michael Jackson dying" when it came to helping Yahoo make money, because it is easier to sell ads next to salacious content.

"It's kind of hard to put an ad up next to a funeral," she said.

Bartz even said Woods will "absolutely" help Yahoo achieve its financial projections this quarter, but the company now says the frequently off-color CEO was joking.

Time Warner Inc. says its Golf.com Web site, which averages 2.4 million unique viewers a month, has seen traffic jump sevenfold since the story about Woods broke. The site typically draws an audience that big only during major golf championships, said Scott Novak, spokesman for Sports Illustrated Group, which publishes Golf.com.

A lesson from earlier major news events is that Internet companies need to capitalize fast on the surge in traffic, because interest fades quickly. Google's statistics show that searches for Michael Jackson stayed strong in the days after his death but fell off dramatically after a couple of weeks.

From TV Week.com (linked here):

The top golf writers from Sports Illustrated, in a recent roundtable discussion, dissed the Tiger Woods news coming from TMZ and other celebrity sites.

Finally.

Jim Herre, the managing editor of the Sports Illustrated Golf Group: "The real eye-opener for me has been how TMZ.com and Radaronline.com have been cited as credible sources by lots of media outlets, even though the websites' sourcing is beyond flimsy. The fact is, we really don't know what's true and what's not."

Farrell Evans, a writer-reporter for Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: "There are no facts, really. All we know is that Tiger isn't in control of what's out there. We have some text messages and a voicemail, but we have no bulletproof evidence of Tiger 'knowing' any of these women in the Biblical sense. At this point perception is much more powerful than whatever the reality is."

Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: "This is why [Woods] needs to come clean. I don't know about Barbara Walters or Oprah (too staged), but you have to take control of it. Look at what Letterman did. Everything's going to come out in the end anyway, and the TMZ crowd won't stop 'til they pick every last piece of meat off the bone. You can kill all the rumors and speculation by telling the whole truth. Then, everyone can start to 'heal,' whatever that means."

As TVWeek.com notes, both the Sports Illustrated publications and TMZ are owned by Time Warner.

The roundtable is posted at golf.com (linked here; a summary of the roundtable is available at The Improper.com (linked here).

The countdown is 696 hours -- give or take a Colt McCoy miscalculation of the game clock -- to when the top two undefeated teams in college football from the 2009 championship season show up at Rose Bowl to determine the NCAA's top team.

With all is shredded and done up, either current No. 1 Alabama, by virtue of the fact that it defeated previous No. 1 Florida in the SEC championship, or current No. 2 Texas, by virtue of the fact a replay official decided there was one second left in its Big 12 Championship game against Nebraska and a face-saving field goal could be attempted, will have a wreath of roses placed around their necks by 9 p.m. January 7, 2010.

Yet, there could still be three undefeated teams left standing when all the bowls are finished.

Who ever said life, or the Bowl Championship Series, was fair?

The only really fair thing, sorta, is that after a couple of months of unproven promises, fumbled opportunities and a perfectly timed McCoy brain cramp, the current five undefeated major and pretty-major college football teams are ranked in the top six.

That's unprecidented in the 12 years of BCS fiacso. See, the BCS can always surprise you with another historic blunder.

By the team Alabama (13-0) has a date with Texas (13-0), the Fiesta Bowl will have already determined a winner between long-forgotten No. 4 Texas Christian (12-0) and who really cares No. 6 Boise State (13-0) which will, for the sake of argument, keep the whining alive. That's a matchup made in hell that they're already saying could challenge the all-time BCS low TV rating of 5.4 set by last season's Virginia Tech-Cincinnati meeting in the Orange Bowl.

But then there's No. 3 Cincinnati (12-0), where life sucks. You've made your bed, and are now told your pillows aren't fluffed enough. You've survived your schedule, got invited to play with the big boys, but you're not going to win the showcase showdown.

Your consolation prize is the BCS hoping that former No. 1 (and current No. 5, and only once-beaten team) Florida (12-1) mashes you up in the Sugar Bowl so it doesn't have to think of you -- or that Orange Bowl from a year ago -- for another eight months.

"The system works better now than it's ever worked," Mitch Dorger, the soon-to-be-departing Rose Bowl chief executive officer, was recently quoted as saying.

Better than what?

At $275 a ticket for the BCS title game -- that's face value -- it's a morally flawed, money-generating system that works depending on who ends up with the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings.

In this case, Cincinnati lmost decidedly lost the beauty pageant to far-uglier, but more historically robust Texas squad.

Those who played for the Longhorns this season may agree that their record doesn't reflect their performance, but the BCS can look at itself in the mirror and at least know that name brands sell, and Bearclaws, er, Bearcats just confuse people (is that a cross between a bear and a kitten? It just ain't natural).

Not that computer data should be the final determinant on who goes where -- but it does, so we do take it into account. The current BCS rankings has Cincinnati with an ACR (average computer ranking) of No. 2, one spot ahead of Texas. Cincinnati is ranked No. 2 by the Anderson & Hester poll, as well as by Peter Wolf poll. It's no. 3 by three others, and No. 4 by another. Throwing out the highest and lowest score, as is proceedure, the four remaining polls are added and divided by 100 to produce a Computer Rankings Percentage that declares the Bearcats worthy of a trip to Pasadena.

Not so far, my human friends.

The problem for Cincinnati was that those with financial stake in all this don't agree. The two people polls used here -- Harris and the USA Today Coaches -- have Cincinnati all the way back at No. 4. Since the two human polls are 2/3 thirds of the grade against 1/3 computer average, Cincinnati's overall ranking stablized at No. 3.

Because a Texas team that was less-than-impressive in not beating anyone ranked above No. 20 in the final polls stayed at No. 2 in both human polls, mostly because that's where it started the season and then really didn't drop anywhere during the long haul -- it edged ahead of the hard-charging Cincinnati, despite the fact that the Longhorns' ranking was below the Bearcats in four of the six computers.

So the BCS title game was humanely prevented having a Alabama-Cincinnati matchup.

Thank goodness.

If Cincinnati defeats Florida in the Sugar, the best it can hope for, by virtue of the BCS system, is a No. 2 overall ranking, behind the Texas-Alabama winner. That doesn't even factor in how TCU and Boise State will play out, with one of them left unblemished by the whole charade.

Yet, some contend this is all still a good thing.

The headline on a Wall Street Journal posting (linked here) says the "BCS computers have actually made progress."

The WSJ argument is that in 2004, when five teams were also undefeated before the bowls, the rankings didn't reflect how tighly bunched they were. USC and Oklahoma made it to the Orange Bowl to play the national title. After the Trojans won, there were four unbeatens left. No. 3 Auburn and No. 6 Utah never got a sniff of the title shot, and No. 10 Boise State was left out of all the BCS bowls.

"In college football, this marks progress," writes WJR's Carl Bialik. "Every undefeated team appears to be ranked pretty fairly, and each one got a plum bowl-game matchup. There's still no playoff, and therefore still the reality that some teams had no chance to win the national title when the season started. But two out of three ain't bad."

When we're determining national championships in the most lucurative NCAA sport by a system that "ain't bad" after all these years, it's not a kind reflection on this system of higher education. This is the kind of progress they use in measuring how long it takes your freezer to defrost these days compared to the mid-'60s.

Those who obtained a degree from a major university have to look at this system and wonder: Are we missing something? How did this get so dumbed down? Where's Billy Packer to at least show some outrage?

If I'm a graduate of the University of Cincinnati right now, considering booking a trip to New Orleans to celebrate the possibility of an unbeaten season but no realistic chance at a payoff for it, why bother?

The logic is just as flawed as everything else related to this BCS structure. You get caught up in paying $1,000 for a trip, ticket and hotel stay -- and for what? For the chance to claim No. 2?

In this set, there are the saints. And the sinners. And then there's Cincy.

Susie Cincinnati we thought you were a winner
Susie Cincinnati, city's number one sinner
== The Beach Boys

Peter Gammons, the Baseball Hall of Fame journalist, former Boston Globe writer and a fixture on ESPN's baseball coverage for the last 20 years, signed on to join the MLB Network and MLB Advanced Media today.

On the TV side, he will report on breaking news, trades, winter meetings and the postseason. Online, he'll start a new column and post stories.

As part of his departure from ESPN, which begins after the current winter meetings in Indianapolis, Gammons also signed a deal with NESN as a studio analyst and reporter.

On the MLB Network, Gammons will be seen in about 54 million cable and satellite homes -- about half of what the ESPN reach.

So what, he says.

"My decision to leave ESPN and move on at this point in my life has been conflicted," the 64-year-old Gammons said in an MLB release. "I owe a great deal of my professional life to ESPN, having spent more than half of my 40 years in journalism working for the network, and the choice to move on was made with nothing but the strongest feelings for the people with whom I worked. ESPN gave me a great deal more than I gave it, and will always be a huge part of who I am.

"I will forever be joined at the hip with John Walsh, who hired me as an ink-stained wretch, plunked me on TV and has always been a guiding spirit. Understand how the people who run ESPN treat people: when I was felled by a severe aneurysm in 2006, George Bodenheimer, John Skipper, Norby Williamson, my former Boston Globe boss Vince Doria and everyone made certain that my family and I had the best care and support, far, far beyond any reasonable expectation. My ESPN life has been lined with foxhole people whom I'll never forget.

"I've been able to work with my closest and oldest friends, like Jayson Stark, Tim Kurkjian, Buster Olney, Peter Pascarelli, Jerry Crasnick and Charlie Moynihan. I spent three seasons doing games with a producer, Tom Archer, who is among the most revered leaders I've ever met. I told everyone last October that the team baseball coordinating producer Jay Levy put together with Mark Preisler and Marc Carman was the most creative in my 20 years on the show. I apologize to hundreds of people I owe for all these years for not mentioning their names.

"You would have had to be there for 20 years to know how hard so many good people sweated in anonymity to make all of us look as if we knew what we were doing.

"My friend Tom Rush - who taught James Taylor and me our first guitar chords - once wrote how strange it seems to walk away alone. With no regrets."

John Walsh, ESPN executive vice president and executive editor, said Gammons "was the best and the brightest in making the transition from print to video. For ESPN, he contributed 21 Hall of Fame years as a journalist and, throughout, set the standard for others to reach for."

Gammons began his journalism career as a reporter for the Boston Globe in 1969, also working at Sports Illustrated for two stints (1976-78, 1986-90).

"It's hard to imagine a reporter who is more deeply associated with a sport than Peter is with Major League Baseball," said Tony Petitti, President and Chief Executive Officer of MLB Network. "Having Peter associated with MLB Network is an incredible opportunity and another great step for MLB Network as we head into our second year on January 1."

If there's any question that the NESN gig has any influence in Gammons' breaking away from the grips of ESPN, it's evident in this other statement he gave in an NESN press release:

"I'm a New Englander who wanted to be Jackie Jensen," said Peter Gammons. "I started out at the Boston Globe and wrote about Jerry Remy when he was at Somerset High School. I was lucky enough to be there for the Munson-Fisk fight in 1973 and The Sixth Game and the '78 playoff, and when my local cable company wouldn't put NESN on our system I signed the override petitions."

"NESN has given me the opportunity to come back to my roots and once again be part of my neighborhood, and I am truly excited about it. During the 2007 World Series, Matt Holliday said that what differentiated Fenway Park from any other stadium is that fans don't react, they anticipated, and that creates a tension unlike any other audience in sports. It is a great feeling to be back with that audience."

Especially, to a place like Costco. Or Best Buy. Or Fred's Giant Screen TV Barn. Places where they have giant flat screens, where you can sit and watch while the rest of the family tries to figure out what you really need.

When you know all along, what you need is a giant flat screen TV. And a La-Z-Boy. And everyone else to just shut up. Especially those with the Tiger Woods Breaking News updates.

And it would be nice of the league's two undefeated teams might be shown in L.A. ... naw... not when Favre's available ...

THURSDAY

== 5:20 p.m., NFL Network: Pittsburgh at Cleveland, with Bob Papa and Matt Millen

SUNDAY:

== 10 a.m., Channel 11: New Orleans at Atlanta with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (instead of Carolina-New England, Detroit-Baltimore, Green Bay-Chicago or Seattle-Houston).

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: Cincinnati at Minnesota, with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf (instead of Denver-Indianapolis, Miami-Jacksonville, N.Y. Jets-Tampa Bay or Buffalo-Kansas City)

== 1:15 p.m., Channel 2: San Diego at Dallas with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms (as opposed to what Fox has: Washington-Oakland and St. Louis-Tennessee)

== 5:20 p.m., Channel 4: Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer

MONDAY:

== 5:30 p.m., ESPN: Arizona at San Francisco with Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski.

By Dennis Passa
The Associated Press

COOLUM, Australia -- Now that John Daly has his weight problem sorted out, he figures a movie about his up-and-down career -- and life -- might not be far behind.

Just before heading out to the revamped Hyatt Regency resort course for a practice round ahead of the Australian PGA, the slimmed-down Daly, who has lost 115 pounds, entertained an early morning news conference Tuesday with his cinematic plans based on a new book he would write himself.

He nominated "King of Queens" star Kevin James as the actor who might play him before his weight loss, and ahead of February's lap-band surgery.

And who'd play the now-185 pound Daly?

"I just saw Matt Damon, how he swung a golf club, and I thought if I ever made a movie, I want him to be me," Daly said. "The tough part is who would play me at 290 pounds. Now Kevin James, he's my bud, but he'd be good."

When asked what the main storyline might be, he said: "It would just be the life, it would be the whole thing. the guts of it all."

"The problem is who is going to play all the ex-wives?" added Daly, who has four ex-wives.

The most recent book about his life, "John Daly, My Life in and Out of the Rough," was published in 2006.

The Associated Press

OREM, Utah -- An NBA Development League team owner is apologizing for misleading fans who thought Michael Jordan would play in a charity game at the Utah Flash's home opener.

Flash owner Brandt Andersen acknowledged sending a Jordan lookalike around town Monday, when supposed "Jordan" sightings and an Internet video of the impostor eating at a local restaurant created buzz that Jordan really was in town. More than 7,500 fans showed up hoping to see Jordan play 1-on-1 against former Utah Jazz guard Bryon Russell at halftime.

The Flash had been pitching the Jordan-Russell rematch since September despite never hearing from Jordan after Andersen issued the first challenge.

Andersen maintained he held out hope that Jordan would agree to be part of Monday's promotion.

"This was done in fun," Andersen wrote on his blog after the game. "If you did not see it as fun or you feel we went over the top I am sorry."

Andersen that he had always planned to send out a lookalike, complete with bodyguards, into the community.

"We wanted to test the strength and effectiveness of viral media by putting him out in Provo with bodyguards, and some hype," he said. "I always assumed it would be uncovered very quickly that it was a hoax."

Fans caught on when the impostor trotted on to the court at halftime and started booing, then leaving.

Andersen had offered a $100,000 to the charity of the winner's choice if he could get Jordan and Russell to play a game of 21.

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.

During Jordan's Hall of Fame speech, he said he was motivated by Russell's trash talk toward him during his first retirement.

As part of his apology, Andersen is offering tickets for a future Flash game for fans with tickets from Monday night's game.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Our new favorite story: Eddie Matz writes in the latest issue of ESPN's magazine about his assignment to be part of the top 100 stories of 2009.

Namely, he was given the task of writing about how Twitter has made athletes their personal mouthpiece.

If we could link to it, we would. Just not sure how much of this we can reproduce without getting ourselves or anyone else in trouble -- you gotta buy the mag to see the whole thing -- but coming in at Story No. 28, right after Mark Buehrle's July 23 perfect game and right before that March 12 game at Madison Square Garden between Syracuse and UConn -- six OTs during the Big East tournament -- is the Twitter examination. For which Matz starts off with:

I hate Twitter. There, I said it. I hate Twitter because I fear one day it will render my job obsolete. I hate Twitter because everybody talks and nobody listens; there is little dialogue and a whole lot of monologue. ... I hate Twitter because it breeds vanity, narcissism, geo-centrism and every other self-serving neurosis. I hate Twitter because it reaches the masses like Facebook on steroids. I hate Facebook. And steroids.

Matz goes on to deftly explain why, having said that, he hates having to write about it, but will anyway because, well, that's his job. Funny, then, when he tries to contact those athletes who Twitter, to talk about the experience. He tried contacting them through their Twitter accounts. Very few of the 1,173 pro athletes listed on twitter-athletes.com responded.

You can actually see Matz's attempt to contact them at http://twitter.com/ESPNeddiematz. Yes, you can watch a journalist at work. Getting worked over by the medium he's supposed to be reporting on.

And that bothers me, because it feeds my deepest issue with Twitter: Everybody's more than happy to talk at you but nobody wants to talk with you. Even Twitter execs follow this rule. Two e-mails to company headquarters requesting an interview go unanswered. ... I'd pick up the telephone (call me old-fashion) but there is no working number to be found. ... I tweet company creator Jack Dorsey and CEO Even Williams. Surely they'll respond, I think. I am playing by their rules. But I never hear back.

Full disclosure: We recently hopped on with a Twitter account, just to see what happened (www.twitter.com/tomhoffarth). We've used it only to announce a recent blog or column posting that may be of interest to some. Right away, we were given a shout-out by SI's Arash Markazi (who not only has http://twitter.com/Arashmarkazi but his own Wikipedia entry worth noting at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arash_Markazi) and SportsByBrooks.com creator Brooks Melchior (http://twitter.com/SPORTSbyBROOKS) and we started getting all kinds of emails saying people are following me.

Why? Why not. It's how it works. I guess.

The Associated Press

A reality series that promises an inside look at the lives of NBA players' wives and girlfriends is set to air early next year.

VHI said Monday that "Basketball Wives" will debut March 15 and show the upside of the women's lives -- big homes, designer clothes and jewelry -- and the drawbacks, including worries about whether their husbands are being faithful on roadtrips.

Shaquille O'Neal's wife, Shaunie, will be featured and is an executive producer. Others taking part are Eric Williams' wife, Jennifer, and Mesha O'Neal, married to Jermaine O'Neal.

That's all well and good, but isn't Shaunie and Shaq separated? Seems we read that again very recently (linked here). She actually flew to L.A., claimed to be a California resident, and the next day filed the paperwork so that she could get a better settlement? And this mess all started years ago when she got involved with the gardener? Yeah, wives worry about husbands cheaing all the time...

HBO has already been snubbed in the "Get Tiger On Camera" pursuit, but ESPN and/or Golf Channel seem to be best positioned to land the first post-accident Tiger Woods Interview, according to those scrambling to find out such things.

A blog post on today's Golf.com website (linked here) reports only on what USA Today is reporting (linked here), then adding its own four cents.

That dutifully reported, "60 Minutes" could be in the mix, "Oprah" is on the radar, since she was on the Tiger-Elin wedding guest list back in '04, and ... National Enquirer?

So let's speculate more, because that's what we happily do in the media these days without concern of repercussions, hoping to open a non-sensical dialogue that really means nothing in the grand scheme of the world's rotation but fills five more seconds of dead time:

Our list of the best and worst Woods interview scenarios:

Best:
1. Bob Costas, for NBC: Makes the most sense, NBC does golf, although NBC also does "Saturday Night Live" (see a clip from last Saturday's episode). If Costas could distance himself from that, maybe. Costas would also make this a bigger coup if he pulled it over the MLB Network.
2. Dan Patrick, for syndicated radio: He can use the velvet glove to get the story but also show some perspective.
3. Jim Rome, for Fox Sports Radio: He wouldn't softpeddle anything.

4. James Brown, for CBS: If Tiger's first golf appearance in 2010 falls on a CBS broadcast, it could work. Also: Jim Nantz or David Feherty, but not likely.
5. Jeremy Schaap, for ESPN: He'd know how to handle it.

Worst:
1. Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer: Seriously?
2. Jim Gray, Jimmy Roberts, Craig Sager, Jim Gray (yes, we know we already mentioned him), Matt Lauer, Whoopie Goldberg, Regis Philbin, Chris Myers, Roy Firestone, Scott Van Pelt, Chris Connelly, Chris Berman, Tom Rinaldi or Jim Gray: Individually, or collectively, like on a group pannel of "The View." Just because. Because, because, because, because, because.
3. Katie Couric, Charles Gibson or Brian Williams, for CBS, ABC or NBC: Fire up the pretend hard questioning, soft lighting, and start the Emmy push for their biggest "get" of the year outside a woman with eight babies.
4. "Oprah": She'd likely have the couple on together, polished and with their stories straight, with a less-than-sympathetic audience ready to pound on him with their purses. Too controlled -- which is probably how Tiger envisions things, but gets his message out.
5. Bryant Gumbel, for HBO: A "Real Sports" live event that would be more on Bryant and less on Tiger.

Most likely, if we were to get into his head:
1. Tiger does a live webcast on his website, picks his own interviewer (Rich Lerner, Feherty or Christiane Amanpour), draws millions of visitors, and the rights to the video have the TW watermark on them so when they're rebroadcast on the networks, there's the advertisement.

Frankly, if we were Tiger, we'd do our first interview with a Japanese TV crew, and then claim we were misquoted.

Fox Sports Radio, which just announced the signing of Stephen A. Smith as a host for its network lineup, has no place to put him. Yet.

The former ESPN Radio voice who has recently regained his spot as a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist will join the Fox Radio Net as a host starting Jan. 4. But there are no further details.

Smith is a regular fill-in for the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show, but that probably won't preclude Fox from putting him the very early AM slot (6 to 9 a.m.) to start things off. In L.A., it would not be heard -- Dan Patrick's show runs in the same time slot and has been well entrenched, as the lead-in to the Jim Rome Show (9 a.m. to noon) on KLAC-AM 570.

FSR has Steve Hartman and Chris Myers in the noon to 4 p.m. spot, and Petros Papadakis and Matt "Money" Smith in the 4-to-7 p.m. spot. That's the jump into the night with with the recently re-established Tony Bruno Show (7 to 10 p.m.), which pushed J.T. The Brick (10 p.m. to 3 a.m.) even further into the darkness.

So where does Stephen A. fit?

Qute frankly, that noon to 4 p.m. spot will likely be his -- with or without Hartman as his sidekick -- when Chris Myers' contract ends. That's also where Smith did most of his radio work back in his ESPN days could use the biggest boost in the FSR lineup.

"I can't begin to convey how excited I am to be with Fox Sports Radio," Smith said in a release. "I've thoroughly missed being on the airwaves expressing myself, my thoughts and my passions. I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to the folks at Fox Sports Radio for this tremendous opportunity. I'm hyped, psyched and ready to go. Buckle up and let's get this party started."

Don Martin, the Fox Sports Radio VP/GM based in L.A., adds: "His broadcast experience and industry connections, combined with his tell-it-like-it-is style, will make a great addition to the top-quality, sports entertainment programming we deliver to our audience."

MONDAY

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the emergence of "The Blind Side" to the No. 1 spot on the box office list this weekend, and having amassed $129.3 million in just 17 days, means it surpassed "Rocky IV" as the highest-grossing sports drama on record (although it is a far cry in terms of attendance). Among football-themed movies, only the Adam Sandler comedies "The Waterboy" and "The Longest Yard" made more, and "The Blind Side" will soon overtake them as well. It should also get more pub on tonight's "Monday Night Football" -- that's Michael Oher, starting left guard, Baltimore Ravens. The story's been told a few times in a few ways (see video above), but it never gets old.
NFL: Baltimore at Green Bay, 5:30 p.m., ESPN.

Did you get your Luc bobblehead at Saturday afternoon's game? Sorry. Maybe the concession stand has some leftovers, for 20 bucks a shot (get it .... that was Luc's number). This is also the first of four games the Kings play this week, three at home, one quick trip to San Jose. They hope not to go down in flames against the ... well, you know...
NHL: Kings vs. Calgary, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., FSN West, 1150-AM.

TUESDAY

There's nothing magic about this.
NBA: Clippers vs. Orlando, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 980-AM.

Compared to Nebraska, Texas and Georgia Tech, Sac State is a welcome sight to Trojan basketball fans.
College basketball: USC vs. Sacramento State, Galen Center, 7:30 p.m., 710-AM.

WEDNESDAY

The Jazz present a problem. Finally. The Lakers nine-game win streak looks to be finally challenged -- oh, maybe with another Kobe 3-point bankshot at the buzzer.
NBA: Lakers vs. Utah, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., FSN West, 710-AM.

The Sharks always present a problem.Not like the shark over at the Monterey Aquarium that had to be let go because it was eating all his friends. At least it wasn't as bad as this clip above.
NHL: Kings at San Jose, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 1150-AM.

THURSDAY

Coyotes can bite, too, when you're not paying attention.
NHL: Kings vs. Phoenix, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., FSN West, 1150-AM.

FRIDAY

No, Mr. Rambis, you need to go to that other locker room. Sorry. And take that big ring with you.
NBA: Lakers vs. Minnesota, Staples Center. 7:30 p.m., FSN West, 710-AM.

Idaho State might want to schedule a game against UCLA at Pauely as well, maybe earlier in the day, as the opener of a potential doubleheader sweep.
College basketball: USC vs. Idaho State, Galen Center, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

It's where we hope, again, for another healthy sighting of John Wooden, and maybe his not-so-great great grandson will finally get some playing time.
College basketball: UCLA vs. Mississippi State at the Wooden Classic, Honda Center in Anaheim, 1:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, 570-AM.

But before the Bruins take the basketball court, their athletic program will be glued to this football game to see if they need to arrange for a trip to the East Coast for something called the EagleBank Bowl (didn't they go under?) against Temple (they have a football team?). Go Navy. (A reminder: You can get some good holiday gift ideas at Old Navy. Or the Salvation Army.)
College football: Army vs. Navy, 11:30 a.m., Channel 2

The first of a five-game road trip (and seven of the next nine away from home) should be a nice test after so many pop quizzes over the last couple of weeks. And this could be an opportunity to clean up after their previous meeting earlier this week.
NBA: Lakers at Utah, 6 p.m., Channel 9, 710-AM.

At last, a Saturday night contest. Star quality.
NHL: Kings vs. Dallas, 7:30 p.m., Staples Center, FSN West, 1150-AM.

SUNDAY

Perhaps, the first Eva Longoria Parker sighting of the year, leading into another "Desperate Housewives" episode. And maybe she'll touch your hand and ask you to please pass over a Heineken Light.
NBA: Clippers vs. San Antonio, Staples Center, 6:30 p.m., 980-AM.

And some outtakes:

No. 74 is No. 1.

In reference to today's column on the audience word-of-mouth buzz about "The Blind Side" (linked here), based on the life of current Baltimore Ravens left tackle Michael Oher and the Tuohy family of Memphis, the latest numbers from those who measure box office attendance is that this movie jumped past "Twilight: New Moon" into the top spot on the charts.

BoxOfficeMojo.com reported today that "The Blind Side," in its third week of distribution, had $20.4 million in weekend gross at 3,326 theatres, pushing it past the No. 1 movie for the last two weeks, "New Moon," which had momentum from its large opening weekend and finally dropped off to $15.4 million (in 4,124 theatres).

In talking about the flick to executive producer Molly Smith, we were amused to find out that the Sandra Bullock portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy was even more toned down than the way she is in real life.

"You can't write a character like that," said Smith of Tuohy. "That's her. That's even a somewhat subdued version. She's just a woman who everyone's business is her business, and she cares in the most honest and brutal way. It's to neat to see her relationship with Michael. It touches so many people in such a simple way."

Smith said producer and writer John Lee Hancock "spent a long time with the family, and he really captured (Leigh Anne). It was an interesting experience. It's not as if we're telling a story that's 10 years ago. It's a story that keeps writing itself better by the minute. Having known the family growing up, I was very protective of the way it came out and wanted to make sure Michael was proud of it. We just wanted to show how someone like Michael can inspire other people, as a humble, genuine person."

In an interview last Sunday with Bob Costas before NBC's "Sunday Night Football" game, Oher said he doesn't think the movie will make him any kind of special celebrity.

"I really don't see it that way," he said. "When I'm going to get something to eat, people don't recognize me. I feel like a regular person."

A regular 6-foot-4, 307-pounder, played in the movie by the 6-foot-8, 380-pound Quinton Aaron, who is actually three years older than the 21-year-old Oher. And it must be told: Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis actually auditioned for the role.

One other interesting fact about the flick: None of the coaches who played themselves in the movie recruing Oher back in 2004 and '05 -- Nick Saban, Houston Nutt, Tommy Tubberville, Phillip Fulmer, Ed Orgeron and Lou Holtz -- are at the same school any longer. Saban moved from LSU to the Miami Dolphins and now at Alabama; Nutt was fired from Arkansas and ended up coaching Oher in his senior season at Mississippi, Tubberville was fired from Auburn and Fulmer was canned from Tennessee, and Holtz left South Carolina to join ESPN. Orgeron, the former USC assistant, only lasted three years at Ole Miss, landing Oher almost by default because of the fact the Tuohys attended the school.

Also, if you wonder about situations like the Tuohys adopting a minority kid from the projects, Sports Illustrated points out in a recent story about Oher that Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl linebacker Keith Bulluck, Dallas defensive end Marcus Dixon and Philadelphia rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin also were in similar situations when white families took them in.

And while we're on the subject of learning new things (weren't we?): One of the cool scenes of the movie is when Michael's dad, Sean (played by Tim McGraw) helps him figure out an essay to do for his literature class. Sean starts reciting the lines of the Alfred Lord Tennyson poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," equating it to why LSU has named its stadium "Death Valley" and equating it to a game they were playing against Ole Miss.

Works for us.

So we're watching NBC's "Today" show, as we normally do to get the news about the latest NBA news and today's NHL games ... check out the scroll in the clip above ... and all of the sudden, Michael J. Fox's mom admits she's gay.

Maybe that explains no more Meredith Baxter Birney. Or why Meredith Viera didn't do the Q-and-A -- to avoid confusion over who was really admitting such things.

That's why I watch the "Today" show. Not for my Tiger Woods news.

That said, we learned a lot more about Tiger, etc., etc., Woods, etc., etc.... and whatever else fit into the school of hard knocks, media department:

== The Miami Herald's Dan LeBatard on how the media rules have changed (linked here) "The media used to exist at least in part to expose the wrong/illegal. But now we're more comfortable than ever uncovering the wrong/immoral."

== From Jason Whitlock, from FoxSports.net and the Kansas City Star, on how the media seems to relish going after Woods (linked here).

== How does bad news drive out good news? (linked here)

== How the Onion peels back the information on all this (linked here).

Meanwhile ...

== Why Dick Enberg will give up his NFL fall and winter (but not his Wimbledon) for a Padres' spring and summer (linked here) and why he says he still has "something on my fastball" (linked here)
== Your L.A. NFL TV schedule for Week 13, heavy on the Chargers now that this Toronto thing is finished (linked here).

== The 14th week of the college football season brings, to the L.A. TV market, another USC game (linked here).

== Scully's back, at least one more time (linked here) and check out this video clips to honor his 82nd birthday (linked here); meanwhile, Chip Caray's gone, finally (linked here).

== How the "new" NBC will fit into Comcast's ownership plans (linked here) and how the deal came together (linked here).

== People who once worked at the National Sports Daily still exist, and let us sit at their knee? (linked here)

== More cuts at the Washington Times (linked here)

== Stop being disorderly during ESPN "College GameDay" visits -- and that includes student journalists (linked here)

== Wanna see a picture of O.J. Simpson in the Buffalo Bills locker room at Shea Stadium in 1973 after he broke the NFL record for 2,000 rushing yards in a season? Did we mention he's naked? (linked here)

== And more on the passing of Mike Penner/Christine Daniels (linked here) along with the Times listing some of his best writing (linked here).

Danielle Dotzenrod, a model and actress. And host of a new Tennis Chanel series, "Fit to Hit," starting Monday at 4 p.m. with many, many replays.

She never picked up a tennis racquet until two years ago, the TC PR folks say, but now she's OK at it.

Danielle, the former main squeeze (and Angelia Jolie rebound) of Billy Bob Thornton, talks about stuff like the latest trends in tennis science and equipment, aerobic threshold and endurance, injury prevention, wellness, mental strategies, best nutritional practices and training techniques from elite instructors throughout the sport.

"Even Tennis Channel viewers who rarely play tennis or don't play at all will find something in Fit to Hit that they can apply to their lives," Dotzenrod supposedly said in a press release. "This sport is one of the most enjoyable ways that a person can stay in shape for a lifetime, but there are also some tennis-minded exercises and activities that are fun as well and can keep you fit and healthy, and improve your game. I'm excited to share these with everyone who tunes into Fit to Hit."

In the first episode, she's at the USTA training facility in Carson, next to Home Depot center, which has the largest tennis-specific gym in the U.S.

More info: www.tennischannel.com/fit2hit

From today's media column (linked here), some responses:

== From Dan Durbin, the USC Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism professor whose brain we picked earlier this week for a media take on the Tiger situation (linked here):

You accurately explain the problem when news (and "news") sources simply draw on each other for evidence without independent fact checking. This is not the first time this has happened and, of course, won't be the last. This is likely to escalate as new media outlets create a wider and wider flow of information (true or untrue).

And Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson, and Brian Williams are now chasers, following the lead of sources with bigger audiences and faster production (even if the speed of production seriously impinges on the reliability of the story). Where have you gone, David Brinkley?

== Spencer Shiffman, reader from Calabasas:

Thank you. No, THANK YOU! Your words today are exactly how this guy feels about all of this media hype surrounding the car accident gone bad for Tiger. I would also like to add, Harvey Levin and his TMZ show is exactly why most of our media has gone straight down the tubes! Certainly the National Enquirer and other rags have been a nasty example of smut, but for a network to allow a TV show to go out and exploit stories like this, is a pure tragedy!

I hope more people acknowledge your writing today! Again, thank you!

(By the way: This is a photo posted on Exposarazzi blogspot is supposed to be of Harvey Levin with his boyfriend ... under the headline "Here's the Happy Couple.")

== From a reader who saw it in the Long Beach Press Telegram:

Why should this suprise you? This type of media reporting is rampant during political campaigns. It was especially bad during the past two presidential campaigns. Look what the media tried to do, and continues to do, to Sarah Palin and her family. All the false statements made. Also what is troubling, is the media's purposeful ommissions of truth to protect their candidate and to ensure no negative light is shed on them.

== From a public relations company rep:

Due to all the coverage in the Daily News this week on Tiger Woods I thought your readers might enjoy "Golfer's Getaway", a quirky free online game that debuted this morning on Candystand.com. Fans who hoped to see Tiger in the Thousand Oaks Classic this weekend might enjoy this fun game that lets users take control!

Check out the game here: http://www.candystand.com/play/golfers-getaway

Seize the moment, apparently ...

Spinning off today's column and sidebar on the Tiger Woods mess (linked here), some more things to shovel dirt upon that weren't quite up to making an appearence in the print form:

== More from Dan Durbin, the USC Annenberg School of Communications & Journalism professor who specializes in the sports media and pop culture who we caught up with earlier on the week (linked here), on how to decipher what's real and what isn't about the Tiger Woods story the last week:
"Blurring the line is a difficult and complicated problem for classic news. When someone goes online for news, there is so much space to fill, it's literally limitless. When you're doing a story for the mainstream media, you have to draw on our sources and a less limited space. The moment you draw on a TMZ, you blur the line, but then, if they have the best photo available, that authorizes TMZ as a legitimate. As this massive swift changing media occurs, it's difficult for classic news to deal with it."

== CBS' "60 Minutes" has former NBA referee Tim Donaghy on (Sunday, 7 p.m.) to talk about how the mob used to torment him and his family, even though they were just paying him $2,000 on the games he used to work. Donaghy says he bet on the outcomes of NBA games based on what he said he knew were referees' attitudes that could affect their calls.
"I knew there were certain relationships that existed between referees and players, referees and coaches and referees and owners that influence the point spreads in games," he says.
Donaghy will likely say the same sort of stuff when he's interviewed by ESPN's Mark Schwarz in what will air on that family of networks on Monday morning.

== Beth Mowins and Cat Whitehill call the UCLA-Stanford semifinal of the NCAA women's soccer tournament (today, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2 and ESPNU). The Bruins could be in position to win another national championship, facing the winner of the Notre Dame-North Carolina semifinal (today, 5 p.m., ESPNU) in Sunday's title game (10 a.m., ESPN2).

== Moving up plans from an original 2010 spring launch, the ESPNLosAngeles.com sports site will come to light on Dec. 21, in time for the network to promote it on the Lakers-Cavaliers' Christmas Day NBA game on ABC. Speaking at a media gathering in New York earlier this week, ESPN/ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer said that following the launching of ESPN-related sports sites in Boston, Chicago and Dallas, the L.A. site will come ahead of one planned for New York and up to 20 other cities will be included in the project.

== ESPN sends the A-team -- Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Doris Burke -- to Staples Center for its coverage of the Lakers-Miami Heat contest tonight at 7:30 p.m., which follows the Chicago-Cleveland game at 5 p.m. (with Dan Shulman and Hubie Brown).

== Episode three of "Joe Buck Live" (HBO, Tuesday at 10 p.m.) brings Pedro Martinez, Brian Urlacher, Brian Westbrook, Michael Strahan and Floyd Mayweather into the New York studio for a chit-chat about this and that.

== Tennis Channel has coverage of the Spain-Czech Republic Davis Cup final from Barcelona, starting with the singles competition today at 7 a.m., replayed at 5 p.m.

== In what it could advertise as much as being the real national college football championship as anything played next month, CBSSports.com and CBS Sports Mobile will have live streaming video of the CBS Sports broadcast SEC title game between No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama (Saturday, 1 p.m.) using the call from Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson. Mobile customers subscribing to the MediaFLO service can view it live and for free on CBS Sports Mobile. It's also accessable on iPhone or iPod Touch by downloading the "CBS Sports: Live College Games" app from the Apple iTunes App Store for $4.99.

== AND FINALLY:

== There is no word yet on any kind of memorial service for Los Angeles Times sports writer Mike Penner, who died last weekend. He was 52.

Some of the tributes that have been written about him include:

== Blog postings by Times collegues Robyn Norwood (linked here), Chris Foster (linked here) and Ross Newhan (linked here), plus more from Times obituary staffer and former sports copy desk star Claire Noland (linked here).
== A story of remembrance from those who knew him from Cal State Fullerton, written by the Daily Titan (linked here)
== From San Jose Mercury News sports columnist Tim Kawakami (linked here).
== From Mediate.com (linked here).
== From The Washington City Paper, wondering if we should remember this person as Mike Penner or Christine Daniels (linked here)
== On Buzzbands.com (linked here).

A close friend of Mike's explained to me how "sadness is such a fitting word" to how Penner/Daniels played out. "What is difficult is that over the last few years, so many people he had touched in various walks of life -- journalism, soccer, music, transgender -- had reached out to him, but so few -- anybody? -- were able to reach him."

Personally, we had a chance to jot down our immediate thoughts and post them the day we found out (linked here). That led to this email response:

Dear Mr. Hoffarth,

Thank you so much for writing such a candid and sensitive story regarding the passing of Mike Penner/Christine Daniels. As a long time therapist and friend of the transgender community, I know that her story is an all too common one. Despair, rejection and confusion about how to resolve the transgender feelings keeps many in great pain for most of their life. I also have had great success with many who have found support in the company of people such as you. Thank you for being a kind and caring friend to Ms. Daniels during the brief time that she attempted to reach out to the world. Her name will be read next year at hundreds of Transgender Day of Remembrance memorials on Nov. 20.

The Associated Press

CALGARY, Alberta -- Stephen Colbert's Canadian-bashing isn't sitting well with at least one American speedskating star.

"He's a jerk," Shani Davis said Thursday when asked for his take on the comedian's criticism of Canadians. "You can put that in the paper."

Davis declined to elaborate, making the comment while vetting potential questions from The Canadian Press before rejecting an interview request and walking away.

Davis has ties to Canada from training out of Calgary in the past, and has also had past differences with U.S. Speedskating, which is now being sponsored by the comedian who hosts the "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central.

Publicists for Colbert did not respond to requests for comment.

Colbert stepped into a void for the American skaters after the team was left with a $300,000 shortfall when Dutch bank DSB declared bankruptcy and pulled out of its sponsorship. He put up a fundraising link on his Web site -- a similar plan helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for wounded American soldiers and their families -- in exchange for becoming the skating body's primary sponsor.

Soon after, Colbert used his show to aim some pointed barbs north of the border, while picking up on complaints that Vancouver Olympic officials have been limiting international athletes' access to facilities for the 2010 Winter Games.

"Those syrup-suckers won't let us practice at their Olympic venues," Colbert said. "At the Salt Lake Games, we let the Canadian luge team take 100 practice runs."

The San Diego Padres offiically named Dick Enberg as their TV play-by-play man on about 120 games for Cox-owned Channel 4 games, but the move means he won't be doing any more NFL games for CBS.

Enberg, who turns 75 in early January, will continue his tennis coverage of the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon (for ESPN) and the U.S. Open (for CBS). He is scheduled to be in Kansas City this Sunday covering the Broncos-Chiefs contest.

Enberg's Southern California roots go deep -- he grew up in the San Fernando Valley, was a former baseball coach at Valley State (now Cal State Northridge) and made his mark as a up-and-coming broadcaster at KTLA-Channel 5 in doing the Rams and UCLA basketball before jumping to the Angels, starting in 1965 as the radio and TV voice.

"Over my many years behind the microphone, my love for baseball has never waned," said Enberg. "As a San Diego resident for 26 years, I have followed the Padres with keen interest and sincerely thank Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel for the opportunity to broadcast for my hometown major-league team.

"I treasure the time I've spent calling baseball and find that it is the most demanding and yet most intimate sport to broadcast. Baseball is made for good story telling and I think that is what I've always done best."

"Throughout his storied broadcasting career, including the past 10 years with CBS Sports, Dick Enberg has been the ultimate gentleman and consummate professional. He remains a true legend in every sense of the word," said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports.

"It is with a touch of sadness from his family at CBS Sports, but mostly great joy for Dick that he will be returning to broadcasting one of his great passions, baseball, with the San Diego Padres. All of us realize that this truly is an opportunity that he could not pass up and look forward to finding ways to continue working with Dick."

In his network broadcasting career, Enberg has done 42 NFL seasons, 10 Super Bowls, nine Rose Bowls, six Orange Bowls, four Olympic Games, six Australian Opens, 23 French Opens, 26 Wimbledons, 10 U.S. Open Tennis Championships, three Ryder Cups, three MLB playoffs, the World Series, three heavyweight boxing championships, 14 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships, the NBA playoffs and the NBA All-Star Game. He's also done gymnastics, figure skating, Breeder's Cup horse racing and track-and-field.

Just 14 Emmy Awards, nine Sportscaster of the Year Awards, the Ronald Reagan Media Award and the Victor Award, recognizing the top sportscaster of the past 40 years. And a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Not for a bare-assed Tiger Woods. For the mainstream media?

Having to rely on TMZ.com, the National Enquirer and US magazine for all that is Tiger newsworthy seems to be a stretch on one hand. But it's laziness on the other to let those kinds of media organizations do the dirty work the mainstream media, and then have them referrenced as the source of information. Good, bad or unverified.

A Q-and-A on Tiger Woods' website last month included a fan asking why he rarely is photographed in the gossip magazines. He said they "avoided a lot of media attention because we're kind of boring." He said his home life was more spent on rented videos and playing video games with friends.

He forgot backing the car into a fire hydrant.

See what you think of all this in Friday's newspaper edition.

A powerful five paragraph statement of "profound apology" by Tiger Woods on his website this morning (linked here) will be picked up and discussed throughout the day, so be prepared.

"Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions," he writes.

Apology for crashing his car? Asking a neighbor to call 911? How is that a sin?

Oh, there's more ... apparently. If you read other than those who you can trust about news.

Mainstream media apparently sees this now as a chance to run with all the garbage that's been circulate, apparently, reading between the lines and referring to other outlet reports of personal transgressions that have been alledged the last few days.

When ABCNews.com (linked here), amidst entertainment headlines that report "Cindy Crawford Admits to Botox" and "Meredith Baxter: I'm Gay," throws up a headline that names a 24-year-old cocktail waitress who claims to have had an affair to US Weekly, how is that showing any kind of restraint?

ABC is trusting US Weekly as a news source. Wow. Look where we've come.

It sorta has to, right? It can justify in its news meetings -- CNN is out there as well trying to keep pace with a story that has its own bullet of strength based on water cooler conversation and some sort of need to know more than the facts presented. They are credible. It must have been decided it's OK to jump in the cesspool here.

When the story on CNN.com (linked here) says: "Tiger Woods apologizes as gossip magazine reports affair," how is that showing any restraint or respect for his personal life when it reports things that "sources" at "other" media outlets are throwing out there?

CNN also refers to that bastion of credibility, US Weekly, and a voice message that the woman has that says:

"Hey, it's Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. So if you can, please take your name off that. ... What do you call it? Just have it as a number on the voice mail. Just have it as your telephone number. That's it, OK? You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. All right. Bye."

The next sentence: "CNN could not independently confirm that the voice on the recording was Woods."

Then why run the quote?

Why are we running it as well? To prove that the mainstream media here has lost its compass. Hey, we're just as guilty. Today's golf column by the Daily News' Jill Painter also refers to the US Weekly story and names the woman. Apparently, it's just too good to pass up. We must give credit to those who deserve it.

How utterly disappointing. Not just that Tiger is missing his own event in Thousand Oaks because of all this, but that he won't personally address it aside from hiding behind another web statement.

In trying to still get our heads around this latest news, we're watching the Dan Patrick syndicated radio show this morning (on DirecTV Channel 101) and listening to his interpretation of what's happening and why he's only going to report on the "sports" part of all this:

"People think we know Tiger .... We don't know him. And Tiger wants to control everything. That's where this is going to come back to hurt him. It already had.
"He wants to control the media. Well, in his world, he can control the (mainstream) media. This 'other' media that's out there - National Enquirer, TMZ - they don't care. They don't want to be your friend. They're trying to get a story so people will buy their magazine.

"I think (there's more to the story), but what if it was something as simple as what he said? You can go about it in the right way - they waited awhile to get the story out there, and there's some cracks in it - but he controls his world. But you can't control this other world that's attacked him now. And the more you try to control it, the more they're going to go after all these other alleged mistresses, text messages, phone messages, photos and everything."

After reading Tiger's latest web release on his show, Patrick continued:

"What happens when you try to control a situation, that forces others to try to take that control away and what you find is that from these tabloids and websites, they want to show Tiger that they're controlling this, not him. 'Oh, you're going to do this to us? We're going after you now.'

"I don't think it's over. These girls are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame, someone will probably pose for Playboy, I don't think it's over just because of this press release by Tiger.

"With Tiger there's a certain amount of privacy he should be awarded. The other stuff, if it affects his golfing career, then I want to know that.

"The media that covers him now is the media he never sees. He doesn't know these people. CBS covers a golf event, he can say, 'I want Peter Kostis to interview me.' NBC, 'I don't want Jimmy Roberts to interview me.' He can control that. He can't say, 'I don't want TMZ covering me. . . . I don't want Deadspin covering me. I don't want SportsbyBrooks doing something on me. I don't want the National Enquirer in my neighborhood.' The only way he can control it, he puts out this email to say 'Here, you got me. You happy? Now let me go back and try to mend this.'"

From Jim Rome later this morning on his syndicated radio show:

"Don't blame the media for choices you made. Especially if you're world-wide famous and iconic. They'll knock you down as fast as they've built you up. ... Don't blame the media for reporting your transgressions. ... There's a basic right to privacy here? Not if you're that guy. He can't leverage this media coverage."

Abby Sunderland, the 16-year-old younger sister of Thousand Oaks record-breaking sailor Zac Sunderland, is on a training session that started in Rhode Island and continues through Mexico as she points toward a solo trip around the world later this month.

Less than a year after Zac became the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo, Abby will set out in Wild Eyes, a Category 0 Open 20 sailboat, to make her own sailing history -- trying to be the youngest person in history to circumnavigate the globe unassisted and without stopping. Jesse Martin of Australia holds the record, accomplished more than 10 years ago.

"My brother, friends, family and even several letters from strangers have made me aware of the power and dangers of the oceans, but I'm up for the task," said Abby in a release announcing her plan las month. "I've been sailing my whole life and am just as prepared to do this as many adults. It is doubly reassuring that Wild Eyes has sailed around the world before. She is built for circumnavigation and has made it around just fine. There will be tearful and restless nights for sure, but we will make it through."

A 30-week trip is expected to start in Marina del Rey and end there as well in spring, 2010.

Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old from Australia, has already started on her solo non-stop trip, leaving Sydney Harbor in late October (linked here). According to her site (linked here), Watson is heading toward French Polynesia in her pink vessel.

Abby, Zac and their father, Laurence, have been sailing Wild Eyes along the Eastern seaboard. When they return through Mexico to Marina del Rey -- they are expected to reach Ensenada by Friday -- they will outfit the boat with new sails, hopping to attract sponsorships.

Follow Abby on her blog (linked here) on her website (linked here) for the latest update on her trial run. Monday, Abby reported that she met with Kristy Morrell, a dietitian who advises USC's athletic department, on different menus for the trip.

Ah, Canada in the fall.

Did you hear about how the Canadian Football League title game ended last Sunday?

Someone named Damon Duval kicked a 33-yard field goal with no time left -- after getting a second chance because of a Saskatchewan penalty -- in the Grey Cup to give the Montreal Alouettes a 28-27 victory over the Roughriders. Duval missed moments earlier from 43 yards, but the Roughriders were penalized for having 13 men on the field.

That's rough, Roughriders. But in CFL rules, is 13 on the field too many or two few?

Now that it's over, the American footballers come to Toronto with their own brand -- the Jets and Bills of New York.

And good news for Buffalo residents: The game sold out at 52,000-seat Rogers Centre so it'll be televised locally, even though it's on the NFL Network.

Now that the United Football League's schedule is also over -- the Las Vegas Locos won in OT when another dude named Graham Gano kicked a 33-yard field goal to snuff out the Florida Tuskers before a reported 14,801 at Sam Boyd Stadium -- Locos QB and former Bills starter JP Losman is available.

Losman completed 21 of 35 passes for 193 yards in the game -- not as sparkling as the Tuskers' Brooke Bollinger, who was 22 of 45 for 306 yards with two touchdowns.

Our prediction on Jets-Bills: Someone wins on a 33-yard field goal. Somehow, that's stuck in our frozen brain.

Otherwise, the rest of the Americanized schedule, with L.A. locked into a Charger afternoon contest in crappy Cleveland rather than much better offerings in the early CBS window:

THURSDAY:

== 5:30 p.m., NFL Network: New York Jets vs. Buffalo in Toronto (with Bob Papa and Matt Millen)

SUNDAY:

== 10 a.m., Channel 11: On Monday morning, it was Philadelphia at Atlanta, but after the Monday night victory over New England, it's now New Orleans going to Washington (with Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan and Nischelle Turner, instead of St. Louis at Chicago, Tampa Bay at Carolina and Detroit at Cincinnati. The L.A. market also does not get any of the early CBS games -- Tennessee at Indiana, New England at Miami, Oakland at Pittsburgh, Denver at Kansas City or Houston at Jacksonville)

== 1 p.m., Channel 11: Dallas at New York Giants (with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman), instead of San Francisco at Seattle.

== 1 p.m., Channel 2: San Diego at Cleveland (with Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots, most likely going to less than 3 percent of the entire country)

== 5:20 p.m., Channel 4: Minnesota at Arizona (with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kramer).

MONDAY:

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

The Dodgers made official Monday what Vin Scully has said was going to happen -- he'll do play-by-play for the 2010 season, meaning he's on board for a 61st season.

Beyond that, it'll be decided after that season ends.

Scully, who turned 82 on Sunday, will have the same broadcasting set up -- all home games that aren't taken by a network (Fox or ESPN), and road games this side of Denver.

"We have had two exciting seasons consecutively -- getting into the second round of the playoffs -- and when you get that close, you look to the next year as perhaps the one that you go all the way," Scully said on the Dodgers' website. "I'm very excited and optimistic about 2010 and the direction we're heading and we'll take it year-to-year after that."

Said Dodger owner Frank McCourt: "For six decades, Dodger fans have been truly blessed to have Vin Scully on the air and we are honored that he will be back in the booth again next season. He has been the one constant over the years and I know that our fans will cherish every game he calls."

There's even a mention of the Dodgers planning to honor Scully at a game next season.

Jamie McCourt was not quoted in the press release.

We've also been alerted to, from Jon Weisman's Dodger Thoughts blog via Rob McMillin at 6-4-2, a link exists for some of Scully's most famous calls at Archive.org (linked here). The collection includes highlights of Scully calling a steal of home plate by Jackie Robinson, two final outs from Sandy Koufax no-hitters, Hank Aaron's 715th home run, Rick Monday saving the American Flag, "The Catch" from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark (when he was doing the NFL for CBS), the Mets Game 6 come back in 1986, Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run, and the Twins, Braves, and Yankees winning World Series in the 90's.

It won't be until episode 2 of "Sports Jobs with Junior Seau" that the former USC linebacker and San Diego Chargers star sports a Dodger uniform and acts as a bat boy and equipment guy for the team during his reality show series on Versus that debuts Wednesday (7 p.m., with various replays).

Now having actually found a real job -- he's out of semi-retirement again and playing with the New England Patroits -- Seau sits down the left-field foul line shagging foul balls during a Dodger game against Milwaukee during the most recent regular season, ends up playing catch between innings with Manny Ramirez, and finishes by washing Matt Kemp's car.

It's just like Think Blue promotion.

Along the way, he'll do everything in sports except try to be America's next top chef. In the first episode, the newly resigned New England Patroits defensive end will work on a construction crew building the new Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey. Later, he'll work a corner in a UFC fight, on an arena clean-up crew and on an NHL equipment team.

Let's see if he can call an inning of minor-league baseball or work the sideline microphone at a college football game.

Or, go into the Versus board room and see if he can negotiate a new deal with DirecTV.

More info: http://www.versus.com:80/sportsjobs

What's the problem? USC didn't go for two after it scored on a 48-yard TD pass in the closing seconds against UCLA last Saturday night. So ....

USC's regular-season finale against Arizona has ramifications. But not the ones Trojans fans expected when the 2009 college season started with that classic matchup against San Jose State in the Coliseum way back when.

At stake .... the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco? Sun Bowl in El Paso? The Denny's Grand Slam Bowl in Temecula?

Depends on how the rest of the Pac-10 schedule plays out this weekend on the last day of the regular season. One of them isn't televised nationally. So why play it? No. 19 Cal finishes its season at Washington on Fox Sports Northwest.

Oregon-Oregon State determines the Rose Bowl invite and Pac-10 title. Loser likely is set for the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. After that, it's lose, and pick and choose. Step over UCLA along the way if you must.

It all climaxes with the BCS selection show on Sunday ... on Fox. A week before the Army-Navy game is decided? OK, you live with that.

THURSDAY

== 6 p.m., ESPN: No. 13 Oregon State at No. 7 Oregon (with Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Erin Andrews)

FRIDAY

== 5 p.m., ESPN2: MAC Championship: Ohio vs. Central Michigan (with Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore)

SATURDAY:

== 7 to 9 a.m., ESPN: "College GameDay" at Atlanta, site of the SEC Championship matchup of No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Alabama, with Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard.

== 9 a.m., Channel 7: Big East Championship: No. 5 Cincinnati at No. 14 Pittsburgh (with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Holly Rowe)
== 9 a.m., ESPN: No. 24 West Virginia at Rutgers (with Dave Pasch, Bob Griese and Chris Spielman)
== 9 a.m., ESPN2: C-USA Championship: No. 18 Houston at East Carolina (with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham)
== 9:30 a.m., Big Ten Network: Fresno State at Illinois (with Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin and Charissa Thompson)
== Noon, ESPN360.com: New Mexico State at No. 6 Boise State
== 12:30 p.m., Channel 7: Arizona at No. 20 USC (with Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox)
== 12:30 p.m., ESPN: NCAA Division II Semifinal: Carson-Newman vs. Grand Valley State (with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley)
== 1 p.m., Channel 2: SEC Championship: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Alabama (with Vern Lundquist and Gary Danielson)
== 5 p.m., Channel 7: Big 12 Championship: No. 3 Texas vs. No. 21 Nebraska (with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters)
== 5 p.m., ESPN: ACC Championship: No. 12 Georgia Tech vs. No. 25 Clemson (with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews)
== 5 p.m., ESPN2: South Florida at Connecticut (with Mark Jones and Bob Davie)
== 8:30 p.m., ESPN2: Wisconsin at Hawaii (with Terry Gannon and David Norrie)

SUNDAY

== 5 p.m., Channel 11: The BCS selection show, right after Fox's coverage of Dallas-New York Giants, and just before KTTV fires up another "I Love Lucy" rerun.