June 2011 Archives

ESPN could do well to orchestrate more programming like the special that will air tonight: "Difference Makers: Life Lessons with Paterno & Krzyzewski," which lands on ESPN at 5 p.m. and continues on ESPNU at 6 p.m. as a combined 90-minute special.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski taped this on June 20 at the Eisenhower Auditorium on the campus of Penn State. Guests included Matt Millen and Michael Robinson, who played for Paterno, and Jay Bilas and Jay Williams, who played for Krzyzewski.

Rece Davis, not T.J. Simers, acts as the cordial host.

Topics explored: Ethics, integrity, legacy, pressures and NCAA-related issues. Among some of the sound bites:

== Paterno on the challenges of NCAA rules compliance: "I broke a rule the other day. We have an indoor place and the kids were working out. I walk by, stood there and watched them work out. Didn't talk to anybody or anything. I go back in the office and said to the staff, you know, so-and-so looked pretty good running. (A staffer said) 'Where'd you see him? You know you broke the rule.'"

Some video (linked here)

The Associated Press

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The International Olympic Committee's rules for athletes using social media at the 2012 London Games "actively encourages" competitors to "post, blog and tweet their experiences," but warns that if rules are broken it can withdraw accreditation, shut down online operations and start legal action for damages.

Athletes can't use Twitter, Facebook or personal blogs for commercial or advertising purposes or share videos filmed at Olympic venues.

Games-time rules -- which apply from July 16-Aug. 15 -- also protect the rights of Olympic broadcasters and sponsors.

"Postings, blogs or tweets should be in a first-person, diary-type format and should not be in the role of a journalist," the IOC document stated. "Participants and other accredited persons cannot post any video and/or audio of the events, competitions or any other activities which occur at Olympic venues."

The IOC also urged athletes not to comment on their opponents or reveal confidential information, and to conform to the Olympic spirit and charter.

Posts, tweets and blogs should "be dignified and in good taste, and not contain vulgar or obscene words or images ... Apart from that, we want people to share as much as possible their personal experience of the games," the IOC said.

The IOC has drawn up the rules in the aftermath of violations during the last Winter Olympics.

At the 2010 Vancouver Games, United States alpine skier Julia Mancuso was asked to stop online merchandise sales after her double silver medal-winning performances generated interest in her official website.

"Unlike in Vancouver, where the rules were adapted to fit changed circumstances, the rules in force in London have been properly codified," the IOC said.

The new issue of Sports Illustrated plays the "Where Are They Now" card in the middle of summer -- and this time around, in addition to tracking down Mark Eaton, Roger Bannister and the '71 Pittsburgh Pirates, it's a strange trip back to the 1989 movie "Major League" and whatever Charlie Sheen can remember about it 22 years later.

Chris Nashawaty, a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly, had a two-hour interview with Sheen, as well as other members of the cast and crew, to uncover some new tidbits. Such as:

== What got Sheen to agree to come onto the project: "When I saw the script it wasn't like catnip, it was like crack. I was going to a premiere, and I had a meeting with (writer/director) David (Ward) in the morning, so I had the script in the limo, and I was late because I couldn't put it down. Then I sat in my driveway for an hour to finish it. It was probably as good a script as 'Platoon' (a movie that he and Tom Berenger also appeared together in), seriously."

== How Sheen, once a pitcher at Santa Monica High when he was known as Charlie Esteves, had some extra zip to his fastball: "Let's just say that I was enhancing my performance a little bit. It was the only time I ever did steroids. I did them for like six or eight weeks. You can print this, I don't give a f---. My fastball went from 79 to like 85."

(Sheen also adds about his Santa Monica days): "I had a great arm. I was just born with it. I played at Santa Monica High, but because of academic s---, they pulled me off the team. I used to go to this place in Missouri called the Mickey Owen Baseball School. I went to get scouted. But I looked at the talent there and knew I couldn't do it for a living. I think my baseball career would have been spent riding buses, not jets, if you know what I mean. So I figured, Hey, I'll pursue a real idiot's job instead. Acting!")

== On having women fly in to Milwaukee, where the movie was filmed: "It wasn't as bad as on 'Young Guns' (which he did a year earlier). We made that one in Santa Fe, and you would fly into Albuquerque and drive to Santa Fe on this two-lane highway. Literally, the girls that were leaving would pass the ones coming in. 'Major League' was so physically demanding that you didn't have a lot of time for that. You're lying in bed and everything [hurts], and you're thinking, I have to pitch tomorrow?! But there were certain days that we'd look at the schedule for the next day and be like, 'Gentlemen, tonight we ride.' "

== On Mitch Williams taking the "Wild Thing" personna in his major-league career: "Mitch Williams, that f------ guy never gave me credit. Come on, dude; you're coming out to the Wild Thing song... . You changed your number... . Can I get a little nod? I have to tell you, though, Major League became my all-access backstage pass to baseball. Guys like Joe Morgan and Eric Davis would tell me they carried one movie with them on planes -- 'Major League.' And I'm like, "Guys, you gotta get bored with it after a while!"

== On what Major League means to him personally: "We had this party at my place a few months ago to watch Major League. It was awesome. The beard was there--Brian Wilson, from the Giants. We had Eddie Murray and Kenny Lofton. And I got David Ward to introduce the film. Colin Farrell showed up. And when my big strikeout at the end comes on, the place goes nuts like we've never even seen the movie before. I'm in between my two girlfriends, and I look over and there's Colin Farrell giving me a thumbs-up. I reach behind me for a fist bump from Brian Wilson, who goes, 'Winning!' I'm telling you, David Ward created a baseball classic, and baseball is all that matters in the world. You know, I always wonder what I'm going to be in the middle of when I die. And I just hope it's not in the middle of the greatest f------ pennant race ever."

Here's the whole story (linked here), including this quote from former Dodger catcher Steve Yeager, on the set as the technical advisor as well as a coach for the Cleveland Indians: "I didn't have to do much for Charlie. We had him on a radar gun, and he was throwing in the mid-80s. With Tom (Berenger) we started with the basics as if we were teaching a young kid how to play. He was blocking balls. I felt sorry for him because I was beating him up pretty good."

So now you've dragged the voice of God into this.

Don't expect anyone to pull up a chair wondering if someone is about to pull it out from under them.

Frank McCourt ran off and aired his dirty laundry very early this morning in Delaware.
Where?
Because that's the earliest court open for business to start the business week?
The Dodgers' Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing -- actually listed as the Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, Los Angeles Dodgers Holding Company LLC, LA Holdco LLC, LA Real Estate Holding Company LLC, and LA Real Estate LLC -- means that if McCourt is allowed to restructure, he'll get through this upcoming June 30 payroll issue, keep the Dodgers a little longer, and buy more time to figure out how to escape with a new TV deal -- maybe from Time Warner this time around instead of Fox.
McCourt will go to court Tuesday and tell a judge he can make payments for now with $150 million on hand, reorganize, and fend off MLB Commissioner Bud Selig taking the team away.
Meanwhile, according to the document (linked here), those owed money by McCourt is spelled out quite clearly.
Embarassingly so.
Top of the list: Manny Ramirez, just shy of $20 million.
Andruw Jones: $11 million. Still owed for hitting .158 with three homers.
If only either of them were still with the team, it might be a little easier for fans to stomach.
Hiroki Kuroda ($4.48 million) and Rafael Furcal ($3.7 million) are first up as active players. There are only six active Dodgers on the list of the top 40.
The Chicago White Sox are next, at $3.5 million. That's because the Dodgers agreed to keep paying part of Juan Pierre's salary after they gave him away.
Ted Lilly ($3.4 million) and recent draft signing Zach Lee ($3.4 million).
Former Dodgers pitcher Kaz Ishii -- a name we haven't heard since 2004 -- gets $3.3 million.
Juan Uribe ($3.2 million) and Matt Guerrier ($3.09 million) are next.
Pierre shows up again, as a person: $3.05 million.
Another ex-Dodger, Marquis Grissom, at $2.7 million.
Jon Garland needs $1.2 million.
Levy Restaurants is owed $588,000. That's more than Andre Ethier ($559,000).
The list goes on the top 40 -- including KABC Radio ($273,321) ahead of Matt Kemp .
And then there's Vin Scully ($152,778).
He has to be dragged through this now? And he isn't paid more?
Agent Scott Boras isn't listed, but his clients are Ramirez and Jones.
If the MLB wants to protect any more innocent victims, it might want to act quickly.
"The Dodgers have delivered time and again since I became owner, and that's been good for baseball," McCourt said in a statment today.
"We turned the team around financially after years of annual losses before I purchased the team. We invested $150 million in the stadium. We've had excellent on-field performance, including playoff appearances four times in seven years.
"And we brought the Commissioner a media rights deal that would have solved the cash flow challenge I presented to him a year ago, when his leadership team called us a 'model franchise.'
"Yet he's turned his back on the Dodgers, treated us differently, and forced us to the point we find ourselves in today. I simply cannot allow the Commissioner to knowingly and intentionally be in a position to expose the Dodgers to financial risk any longer. It is my hope that the Chapter 11 process will create a fair and constructive environment to get done what we couldn't achieve with the Commissioner directly."
MLB had no immediate comment.

Highlights of the week ahead in sports, both here and afar:

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

Soccer: Women's World Cup: Opening round: U.S. vs. North Korea, Tuesday at 8:45 a.m., ESPN; U.S. vs. Columbia, Saturday at 8:30 a.m., ESPN:

In the American's first stop in the event, from Dresden, Germany, we're trying to figure out the mind state of U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo, still recovering from shoulder surgery, often a little cranky, maybe in need of some Jeremiah Weed premium malt beverage -- if that can even be found in Deutschland. We've checked her Twitter account (@HopeSolo) and so far, nothing caustic. Nothing crazy. Nothing at all since June 20. "First of all, I'm not outspoken," she told ESPN.com before her team's first send-off game against Japan. "Say what you want about the tweets, say what you want about 'opinionated.' I would tell you right now, people don't know me. They don't know where I came from, they make their judgments off some stupid social media thing, and I'll take my critics for what it is. Nobody really knows ... what's in my heart, why I believe in the things I believe, what I see behind the scenes and they don't see.
"Unfortunately, people think I'm negative and bitter all the time and that's not the case. It's all about perspective. I have high expectations on the U.S. team, I always push for more. And I think that's something that is our responsibility as older players. I'm 30 now, and I think that when we lost the Julie Foudys and the Mia Hamms, we lost that voice. And I think it's our responsibility to push the envelope and try to get the best that we can get to be professional athletes." OK, we got it. ESPN soccer analyst and former U.S. head coach Tony DiCicco said it about Solo's performance needed for the American team to succeed: "It's hard to win at this level, at these types of events, without a top goalkeeper, and Hope Solo right now in my opinion is the best in the world. She's a great athlete. She has a great mentality when she gets in goal. She has almost an arrogance of how she plays." By the way, DiCicco predicts a U.S. win over both Germany (in the semifinals) and Brazil (in the final). Before this U.S. opening match, catch Columbia vs. Sweden (5:45 a.m., ESPN).

MONDAY

MLB: Dodgers at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m., Prime:

Think Frank McCourt is being singled out? Chad Billingsley must feel like there's got a target on his back. He fired his glove against the Dodgers' dugout wall after manager Don Mattingly took him out of his last start with one out in the sixth inning -- the right-hander had logged 110 pitches already, and just walked a batter to load the bases. The fact Billingsley had a 4-1 lead against Detroit at the time may have been the clincher -- his teammates had only been giving him a little more than two runs at a time during his six losses. He ended up winning this one to improve to 6-6, but his 4.48 ERA and 40 walks (fourth worst in the NL) is hardly impressive for someone making $6.27 million this year. His next start, against a resurgent Minnesota, will be his first look at Target Field. This series includes games Tuesday (5:10 p.m., Channel 9) and Wednesday (10:10 a.m., Prime).

MLB: Angels vs. Washington, Angel Stadium, 7:05 p.m., Channel 13:

Another week, another series for the Angels facing a team with a new manager. After Nationals skipper Jim Riggleman suddenly resigned despite the team winning 11 of its last 12, former Dodgers manager Davey Johnson is now in charge. For those who show up on Tuesday (7:05 p.m., FSW), it's Dan Haren bobblehead night, although he's not scheduled to pitch in this series until Wednesday (4:05 p.m., FSW). The Angels also say every night of the series, they'll do that crazy racing presidents race like they do in D.C. If only Richard Nixon was alive to watch it.

College World Series: Florida vs. South Carolina, 5 p.m., ESPN:

The defending-champion Gamecocks (53-14), who have won an NCAA record 14 consective CSW tournament games now, took two out of three from the Gators (53-17) down in Gainesville back in March. To the winner, a post-game live interview with ESPN's Jenn "How important was is it to pick up this win today?" Brown. The best-of-three between the SEC foes continues Tuesday (5 p.m.) and if necessary on Wednesday (5 p.m.).

TUESDAY

WNBA: Sparks at Connecticut, 5 p.m., ESPN2:

Back-to-back losses to San Antonio and New York was made worse by the latest injury to Candace Parker. This is the third stop in the Sparks' seven-game road trip, and Parker is already back in L.A. getting her knee examed.

WEDNESDAY

MLB: Boston at Philadelphia, 4 p.m., ESPN2:

Red Sox starter John Lackey comes off a tough loss against San Diego: Five earned runs, four hits, four walks in 3 1/3 innings.

THURSDAY

PGA: AT&T National, first round, noon, Golf Channel:

Rory McIlroy has gone home, and the tournament from the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., that benefit Tiger Woods' foundation will go on -- even if the host isn't around to play in it. Maybe he's just resting up for the July 14 British Open at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, England, where he'll see Rory again.

FRIDAY

MLB: Dodgers vs. Angels, Angel Stadium, 7:05 p.m., Prime, FSW:

A rematch of Clayton Kershaw against Jered Weaver is set for Saturday (6:05 p.m., Channel 9, FSW). They're also on track, if it works out, to face off as starting pitchers in the MLB All-Star Game on July 12 in Phoenix. Sunday's finale (5:05 p.m.) goes to ESPN.

SATURDAY

Cycling: Tour de France, Stage 1: 5 a.m., Versus; 11 a.m., Channel 4:

The favorite will be Spain's Alberto Contador, known as the world's best climber and winner of this year's very hilly Giro d'Italia. But there's still an on-going doping investigation after he tested positive for clenbuterol at last year's Tour. Contador says it's all related to tainted beef. Maybe he'll soon join the Mexico national soccer team. Keep an eye on Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, Italy's Ivan Basso and American longshot Chris Horner. This three-week event starts here from Passage du Grois to Mont des Alouettes.

Tennis: Wimbledon women's final: 6 a.m., Channel 4:

Naw, we wouldn't be all that disappointed if Germany's Sabine Lisicki, who knocked China's Li Na out of this thing late last week and could encounter Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, was here for the final curtsies. The semifinals are Thursday at noon (delayed), the quarterfinals are Tuesday at 10 a.m. (delayed).

MLS: Chivas vs. Chicago, Home Depot Center, 7 p.m., Prime:

Couldn't have pushed this back a couple days, made it a July 4 doubleheader with the Galaxy, and all the fireworks that went with it?

Boxing: Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye, 1:45 p.m., HBO:

Klitschko, the WBO, IBF, RING and IBO heavyweight champion, is finally trying to get Haye's WBA title. They were due to fight once before, but Haye pulled out with a suspected back injury. Haye then tried talking to Wladimir's older brother, WBC champ Vitali, but backed away, then took the WBA title from Nikolai Valuev. This one in Germany will be replayed at 9:45 p.m.

SUNDAY

Tennis: Wimbledon men's final, 6 a.m., Channel 4:

You take Rafael Nadal. We've still got Roger Federer. Until further grass-stained notice. The semifinals are Friday at noon (delayed), the quarterfinals are Wednesday at 10 a.m. (delayed).

Following up from today's column (linked here) on Marshall Ulrich's plan to run again in the July 11-13 Badwater Ultramarathon through Death Valley (linked here) and then fly to Switzerland to scale both Mt. Eiger and the Matterhorn in the Alps, the author of "Running On Empty: An Ultramarathoner's Story of Love, Loss and A Record-Setting Run Across America" (linked here) about his run across America (linked here) adds some insights on how it's not all that difficult to get to a point in your life where you can consider yourself to be an athlete, too.

QUESTION: On Page 24 of your book, you go through all the things that were written about you in different running magazines -- "Trail Runners" called you "one of the legends of the trail," and "Outside" referred to you as "Endurance King," and "Adventure Sports" had you on their list of an athlete "Over Fifth and Kicking Your Butt." Your response in the book is: "Good for me. I was a badass." I'm laughing because I'm sure at the time that was the last thing you thought of yourself, as you're trying to finish this Badwater Quad, and now you were in a tough spot and couldn't figure a way out of it.
ULRICH: That was definitely tongue in cheek. I was totally humbled at that point. I never considered myself a 'bad ass.' I was just making fun of myself. I had to chuckle: 'Yeah, right, all I'm doing is trying to survive like everyone else.'

Q: Would you consider yourself some kind of freak of nature at least?
ULRICH: I don't consider myself extra ordinary, but I admit that because I've been able to do this for so long and do some remarkable things, just holding up, that's simply genetics. Some are predispositioned to have bad joints and knees. So in some respects, I lucked out. But I think a lot of what I am is learned behavior, more of a work ethic. That's just the way I grew up. I've been on some adventure races with people from New Zealand or some Aussies, and they grow up paddling and all those activities that's just a way of life for them. It's so ingrained in them, they don't have a preconceived idea about how it should be.

Q: Is the Badwater Ultramarathon still a challenge for you year after year?
ULRICH: Many things are a challenge. I just know I've done so many times and I have a good history there.

Q: What has the reception to your book been like?
ULRICH: It's been great. Some excellent reviews. It's really over the top of what I'd hoped for. There is a lot of word of mouth about it. I'm the most pleased that people find that it's not just a book about running. Some have told me it's not about running at all. There are so many elements of life, so many layers that many can relate to. Honestly, I think I did my homework and the book I wrote is exactly how I thought it would turn out. I think it speaks not just to runners, but there's a demographic of women from 40 to 60 who really seem to get it.

Q: As cathartic as the book may have been for you to write, which is easier for you: Running or writing? Can you compare the two?
ULRICH: Of course, running is much more physical, but, that's about right, this was as much of a mental challenge as running is a physical challenge for me sometimes in more difficult races. It was very emotional and kind of a healing experience also. I tried to peel all the layers back and get to the core of my issues, open up the sores, make it very honest. That's the greatest compliment I get about it.

Q: Would it have helped you years ago to read a story like this, to help you through your life struggles?
ULRICH: I think so, but so much is dependent upon how your perspective is in hearing what another person is saying. If I wrote this when I was 40 or 50, it might be more event orientated, about running achievements. With a lot of detail about those things. Instead, I take a lot of my races with a grain of salt today. It's the journey I took to get here, and it led to overall getting me to this place. The run I had across America really brought me and my family together, and I think the reason was because it also allowed them to open up. That's the key. They connected with me on a deeper level. That really caught me by surprise.

Q: What advice are you giving to those 50-plus year-old people who feel as if they're in no shape to get off the couch and attempt anything like this?
ULRICH: More than anything, they literally have to take the first step. Maybe it's swimming, or golf or tennis, riding a bike. Anything that's physical, but also something that's enjoyable. You can't force a square peg into a round hole. Then the trick is to just say you're going to do it maybe three minutes a day. You'll know it's hard. It's hard for me to convince myself to run all the time. But don't be too hard on yourself. Allow yourself the luxury of not having to do it every day.

Q: You even mention in your book that the first time your doctor suggested you run, you did it, and it was miserable.
ULRICH: I think I was just curious as to why I wasn't running. I knew there would be a point when I'd get over that uncomfortable feeling. You have to have the faith that will happen. Just take it a step at a time.

== More on Marshall Ulrich on his website: www.MarshallUlrich.com.

With a link to the CNN obituary (linked here).

And this CNN story on him back in April (linked here)

Staff Photo by Brad Graverson

From a large blue-ringed binder, Ted Ernst comes upon the black-and-white mimeographed program from the first Manhattan Beach Grand Prix cycling event.

"This is the only one we know to still be in existence," the 79-year-old says with a twinkle in his eye, carefully pulling it out of the protective plastic sleeve.

Whatever it takes to get things rolling.
It was also "authorized" by the Manhattan Beach City Council and "sanctioned" by the Amateur Bicycle League of America

"It was a legitimate, legal bike race, from that first day on," Ernst says
.
A half century later, some things may have change, but the things most important stay the same. Ernst's vision to stay the course - literally and figuratively, on Valley Drive and Ardmore Avenue between 15th Street and Pacific Avenue - has made the difference.

When the 50th Manhattan Beach Grand Prix arrives Sunday, Ernst will take modest credit for having the vision to get it started long before a majority of the participants were even born. But everyone else knows better. His photo albums and newspaper clipping portfolio have all the history right there.

An avid cyclist who started the South Bay Wheelmen club a year before the first MBGP and was inducted five years ago into U.S. Cycling Hall of Fame in Davis, Calif., for his contributions to the sport, Ernst reflected on how this special day has become a South Bay tradition:

The update came from a Charlie Sheen Twitter post:

"#NAILS warlock welcome to my pal @lennydykstra on twitter!! He's a rockstar and he's got a lot to say!! follow him cadre!! @lennydykstra."

Yes, Lenny Dykstra is sold on social media. From jail.

We'll see how far that goes before it bankrupts either one of them.

Dykstra's bio says he "Batted: Left Threw: Left New York Mets & Philadelphia Phillies" and is "forced to tweet from a jail cell, but with your support I will slide home any day! - Nails http://www.savelenny.com."

Some of the first posts from the (former?) Sherwood Country Club resident (in Wayne Gretzky's home) who has had a bit of a legal skirmish involving money and things he's owed to people, and things he's hidden from bankruptcy courts:

== 16 June: "HOW ABOUT THEM PHILLIES!!!! DOUBLE HEADER SWEEP!!!! TAKES ME WAY BACK"

== 15 June: "@MikeVick PHILLY LOVES A COME BACK....WATCH FOR MINE #7!"

== 11 June: "(with a link to a Wikipedia page): STOP THE GREEDY BANKS by educating yourself!"

== 27 May: ""THE COMEBACK" WHEN A MAN LOSES EVERYTHING HE IS CAPABLE OF ANYTHING"

== 27 May: "David Einhorn got the mets for 200M? Wow What A Bargain! If He keeps this up with the mets, he will have more steals then (sic) Mookie Wilson."

== 27 May: "This is my first tweet in a year. Why? Because the Phillies won in the 19th tonight! Motivates me to get back with my fans!!!!!"

To point out that there were some critics even before the launch of the website Grantland.com on June 8 would be like saying ...

We can't come up with the proper pop-culture analogy. Maybe one of the Grantland writers could do better.

These were snipers, actually. Really snarky, bitter, feisty, cynical snipers. If that's the nature of the Internet beast -- to slap down the competition, send out a bad buzz and hope it'll go away -- it's too early to tell.

But it's out there, festering.

Scared about a new form of sports journalism taking shape, invading your ADD territory? Petrified by the muscle of ESPN behind it all, giving it time to find its voice and, perhaps, actually working?

== Sam Eifling of the Columbia Journalism Review: "Simmons wouldn't be my first pick to lead a literary renaissance, even if he has managed to assemble editors resembling an Algonquin Round Table as envisioned by an airport Waldenbooks ... Grantland "likely will rise or fall on the appeal of its guiding persona. ... At best, Grantland so far is jaunty revelry for the sporting life and for culture at large. At worst, it threatens to go down as the Manhattan Project of navel-gazing."

== Nicholas Jackson, an associate editor at The Atlantic: "Bill Simmons won't keep his mouth shut. And that's probably the reason he has become one of the most successful sportswriters of all time. ... But that doesn't mean that the 41-year-old is going to make a good website editor, which is a title that he's adding to the growing list -- columnist, bestselling author, husband, father, podcaster, executive producer ... I think the new site is doomed, and I suspect ESPN's executives will recognize that in only a month or two even if they refuse to admit it until millions of dollars have been spent. ... Yes, Grantland's 'murderer's row of talent' is ('HOLY SH*T') impressive, but that's just another reason why it's going to fail. These people are way too expensive for what Simmons is trying to do."

== Tom Scocca of Slate.com: "God bless anyone who goes on an aggressive editor-and-writer hiring spree, and good luck to all involved, but really. 'Grantland.' As in Grantland Rice. What, was ErnestHemingway.com taken? ... Who is Simmons trying to win over with this? This is an actual mystery. Are the romantics who still worship Rice as the founder-saint of modern Quality Sportswriting going to appreciate the tribute, coming from a guy who carved out a niche writing about Teen Wolf and porn stars? Is the wised-up generation that sees Rice as a ponderous cornball, a huckster with a purple ribbon in his typewriter, supposed to be impressed? Outlined against a yellow-white June sky, the Three Consulting Editors rode again. In dramatic lore they are glibness, naivete, and ironic lowbrowism. Their real names are: Gladwell, Eggers, and Klosterman ..."

Deadspin.com's staff seems to be the most irritated, posting almost daily something Simmons related. But also making some points such as: "So far, the single most baffling thing about Grantland: Who cares what (a certain writer feels) ... It's like someone replaced the clear glass in the press box with a one-way mirror, pointed inward. Watch the writers watch themselves."

One reader of Deadspin.com posted a comment about the site, calling it "an elitist publication splattered with ads for Subway sandwiches and Klondike bars."

What would you read for a Klondike bar?

Kelly McBride of the Poynter Review Project, which is the defacto ombudsman for all going on at ESPN, wrote recently that while Grantland "is crafted for the 'too-school-for-cool' crowd, with a dream team of writers," it is in need of people who have to "sharpen their focus and develop some self-discipline if they want to keep the audience engaged in long(ish)-form literary journalism. At its best, Grantland is clever and funny, for smart people who want to be intellectually challenged and entertained at the same time. At its worst, it is a bunch of hyperbole and aimless columns that lack a clear focus. ..."

There are some more forgiving, understanding, open minded. Compassionate?

"Others have criticized the writing and the site itself for lacking a coherent vision," wrote Tony Manfred of BusinessInsider.com (linked here). "For them, Grantland is what happens when a collective of writers are rich and successful enough to see their half-baked ideas come to life. In the 24 hours since the website went live, one thing has become clear: Grantland is the new establishment in American sportswriting."

During a profile of Simmons in the New York Times magazine (linked here), the so-called "Sports Guy" described Grantland as "what Miramax was to Disney, a boutique division with more room for creativity. It's probably the perfect analogy, considering ESPN is owned by Disney.

We've had no problems with it so far. In fact, some of the best media-related pieces done in the last couple of months have been on this site -- starting on Day 1 with what could be the prophetic story on "The Greatest Paper that Ever Died" by Howie Kahn and Alex French , borrowing 13,909 words, or about 30 screens, to give the oral history of The National all-sports newspaper (linked here). Add to that, Charlie Pierce's remembrances of working there.

(And apparently, those yellow news racks are still for sale online ... linked here).

It was followed by Chuck Klosterman's piece on how to watch sports in today's DVR era (linked here), and Michael Weinreb's essay on how the Fox Box graphic has led to the demise of the "most ubiquitous phrase in the English language" (linked here).

That would be: What's the score?

Those keeping score of Grantland might want to wait awhile. Be fair, at least? Let it breathe. Or shouldn't we hold our breath?

That Simmons needed some 2,800-plus words to just write his intro to the site (linked here) isn't that surprising.

But then, we've almost used up 1,000 words just to get to this point and may have buried the lead.

We have questions. And Simmons, via email, has responses:

QUESTION: The first two weeks in review of Grantland, on a scale of 1-to-10? Describe the feeling of a dad seeing his kid take its first steps here.

SIMMONS: For me the launch is a big blur - the day we launched, I was on an airplane flying from Dallas to Boston for a hockey game. The first three days I wrote off three straight Finals games (two NBA, one NHL) in two different cities. I actually finished my Bruins column in the back of a cab on the way from the airport to my hotel in Dallas. So to borrow your analogy, I missed my kid's first through third steps.
I remember saying after we had been up for nine to 10 days that things had gone really well, and that we had somehow avoided that one disaster that seems to happen any time someone launch something. And then, I woke up on Father's Day and our site was being pointed to a domain service. So you can never feel safe I guess. Regardless, I'm really proud of the first two weeks of content that we posted, as well as the quality of the writers we featured. Those two weeks played out exactly as I had hoped.

QUESTION: Can a website like Deadspin effectively send out a bad vibe about Grantland so quickly that you are forced to battle against it, maybe spend too much energy on that instead of focused on bigger picture, letting things settle, and finding an audience that isn't really a Deadspin or BigLead-type of demo?

SIMMONS: We don't care what people say about us. It's a free country. We're worried putting up quality stuff every day, that's it. And by the way, we're not competing with anyone else - everyone on the internet is wasting time all day. We just want to be one of the many places where they waste time.

QUESTION: One review that I think made some sense: We have long-form sites like New Yorker, or even Slate. But will readers of sports literature on the Internet embrace this as a 'populist site' content? Can it be too 'high brow' or is that not even a direction you'd go when people ask what the tone and direction the site will go? What are the thoughts about launching a site like this when sports, for all intents and purposes, kind of take a vacation this time of year .

SIMMONS: I don't care about reviews - we've only been up for two weeks. It's like reviewing the first bite of a hot dog or something. Anyway, I would never limit the scope of the site to 'high brow' or 'long form'or any of that stuff. Once we get our two blogs going, our only goal is to have original angles and quality writing about sports and pop culture every day. That's it. We just want to be entertaining. You can be entertaining in 700 words or 7,000. As long as people come to the site every day not knowing what to expect, I'm happy.

QUESTION: Will the fall be a truer test of the site's impact when there's that jump again with a World Series, NFL, college football, NBA start, etc.?

SIMMONS: The fall will be a better representation of what the site will ultimately look like two to three years from now, but really, July and August are better tests: Those are going to be dead months, there's going to be nothing to talk about other than baseball, labor disputes and the latest round of cell phone dong photos. So we have a real chance to make an impact I think - if we keep coming up with good material when there's little to read in general, we'll gain some momentum I think.
Uh-oh, I just jinxed the two lockouts and now they're going to extend through next May... forget I mentioned this.

Be careful what you use as a bookmark, warns Richard Davies, writing a piece for the online used book seller AbeBooks.com (linked here).

Book store owners have found all kinds of things when given boxes for sale or donations. Dollar bills. A Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card. A marriage certificate from 1879.

And a golf scorecard signed by Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax.

Fred Dorsett (linked here), a bookseller in Lancaster via Texas (linked here), was the one who made that find, and contributed the note about it to Davies' story.

When we contacted Dorsett for more information, he gave us this:

"I was at a flea market and bought a book on golf for a friend. I had had it for a week or two and picked it up to take to my friend when the scorecard fell out. I hadn't noticed the card when I bought the book and idly glanced at it, immediately noticing the names, but attached no significance to them as they had been hand printed.

"This is the kind of thing that drives me nuts, but is also addictively intriguing."

Photo by the Thousand Oaks Acorn

A year ago, unfriendly rogue waves in the Indian Ocean prevented Thousand Oaks resident Abby Sunderland from sailing around the world on her solo record-setting effort.

The 17-year-old has a new plan of global attack.

"I'm going to fly around the world solo," she told the Thousand Oaks Acorn (linked here)

For the past three months, the recent home-schooled high-school graduate has been taking flight lessons in a Cessna 150 at the Santa Paula Airport with instructor Mark King. She's got 15 out of a required 40 hours logged to get a license.

"Right now I don't have a boat and I don't have a sponsor to sail around the world," she said. "I do have a good flight instructor and flight lessons and people who are going to help pull off a flight around the world, so I think I'm going to stick with that for now."

Sunderland said she got the idea from Bill Bennett, a cinematographer and amateur pilot who met the Sunderlands during her circumnavigation attempt

Her father, Laurence Sunderland, who drained much of the family savings in support of both sailing excursions, added: "She's an adventurer, but, unfortunately, if that's what she wants to do, I can't help her there. I told her, if it's the Lord's will, then go for it."

Meanwhile, Abby continues to tour schools and do public speaking with her new book, "Unsinkable" (linked here)

More than 1,100 e-signatures have been collected during the latest surge of publicity about an online petition that aims to get Vin Scully in Fox's broadcast booth to call a World Series game before he retires (linked here).

It comes from New York, not L.A. - Matt Falkenbury of The Daily 'Stache Mets blog (linked here) decided to post the petition "to have the greatest baseball announcer in the history of the game get one more shot at the big stage, to go out in style, and to crown a champion one more time before heading off into the sunset."

A year ago, a similar sentiment was posted on a Facebook.com campaign (linked here).

Will Fox listen this time? Do they have to? Who's going to nail it on their front door?

Stay tuned. This story isn't finished.

UPDATE: Scully emailed us late Wednesday: "I appreciate the honor, but the Series broadcast is none of my business."

It was at the Foxwoods' MGM Grand in Mashantucket, Conn., last Saturday night. Six members of the new Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, including Shawn Thornton, Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand, had a little party.

Here's how it went when the tab came at 2 a.m. (with a service charge of nearly $25,000 -- thanks Danielle):

The $100,000 bottle of Ace of Spades Midas Champagne really kicked things up. There are apparnetly just six of the 30-litre bottles in existence.

Now there's five.

== More background (linked here)

Nearly 200 individuals, coaches and team members have been inducted into the Los Angeles Valley College Athletic Hall of Fame since it started in 2007.

A bunch more go in on Saturday during a ceremony at Monarch Hall on the LAVC campus. According to HOF committee member and nomination chair Brick Durley, the list for the fifth anniversary class includes:

== Doug Baker: The All-State shortstop for LAVC in 1980 and '81, he went on to play at Arizona State, was a rookie on the Detroit Tigers' 1984 World Series team and ended a seven-year MLB career with Minnesota. He also has World Series rings as a scout for the Florida Marlins and Chicago White Sox.

== Charles Lee: Set school records in the 100m and 200m when he starred for the Monarchs in 1996 and '97. Named the Valley College Athlete of the Year in '97, he transferred to USC and became an All American in 1998 and '99 in the 200m and 1600m relays, named the USC Track & Field MVP in 1999.

== The late Don McKenzie: A gold medal winner in the 100m breaststroke and the 400m medley relay in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City starred for the Monarch swim team in 1966 and '67, setting a national record in the 100 yard breaststroke (59:7), becoming the first Community College swimmer to break one minute in the event.. He later swam for the legendary swim coach Doc Councilman at Indiana University in 1968 and '69 where he was a Big Ten Champion and an All American. He is a member both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and Indiana University Athletic Hall of Fame.

== Wayne Quigley: One of the great running backs in Valley College football history, he earned All Metro, All American honors in 1967, team MVP, and set three school rushing records in the same year. He finished is college career with two years at the University of the Pacific in '68 and '69.

== Ted Calderone: Coming to Valley College from Polytechnic High in 1996, the World War II veteran coached winning programs in football, gymnastic and golf at LAVC, and was the men's Physical Education Department chair for eight years.

== George Goff: After a long career as the head football coach at Birmingham High, Goff arrived at Valley College in 1964 and spent the next 27 years as head football coach and athletic director.

== Gail Castro Malone: In 2003, she was inducted into the California Community College Committee on Athletics Hall of Fame and in 2007 was a member of the Los Angeles Valley College Hall of Fame Class as a member of the 1976 women's volleyball team. She was also a part of the 1996 Olympic beach volleyball squad.

== The 1968-70 Men's Cross Country Team: Winning three state titles, they were coached by Valley College Athletic Hall of Fame member Lazlo Tabori and George Ker.

Dick Enberg says he won't be leaving Wimbledon after five decades and a 32nd and last trip as a broadcaster with a broken heart.

He always has baseball to go back to.

"It's nice to have two loves, to have enjoyed each for her own charms, all the whole one has the time and longevity to stay the course for the rest of my useful time," Enberg said via e-mail from England on Tuesday, not long after calling Serena Williams' emotional first-round three-set victory over Aravane Rezai.

Since the 76-year-old Enberg has decided to effectively leave the life of a network broadcaster and come back starting in 2010 to call day-to-day baseball for the San Diego Padres, he's allowed himself a three-week break in the season to return to Wimbledon for ESPN's coverage. But this is it.

It was his year doing the Padres games that made the former Angels' play-by-play man that baseball was where he wanted to end his career fulltime.

"I'm inspired by the continuing success of Vin Scully and Jerry Coleman," Enberg said of the two Baseball Hall of Famers who continue to work in their 80s. "Hopefully, I can be as productive, as I move forward. Baseball, unlike any other sport, allows that.

"Nevertheless, I'll really miss Wimbledon. Without fail, it has allowed me to fall in love every time I visit. And I'll embrace that."

Enberg isn't sure yet if ESPN2 will include him calling any finals, since NBC has the live coverage for the final days. ESPN does redo matches for ESPN Classic.

Enberg is also doing about 10 vignettes, reflecting on some of his favorite matches and moments, since first arriving at Wimbledon in 1979 for the first ever live telecast to the United State - a "breakfast at Wimbledon" telecast for NBC with Bud Collins and Donald Dell, when no one was sure if anyone would wake up at 6 a.m. on the West Coast for the feed.

Now, ESPN2's coverage begins every morning at 4 a.m. PDT.

Another vignette will be on that 1979 final with Bjorn Borg and Roscoe Tanner (Dell was Tanner's agent), as well as one on the Williams' sisters dominance and the 1982 Jimmy Connors-John McEnroe final.

Enberg told the San Diego Union-Tribune last week that it was his decision to make this his final Wimbledon and "ESPN was sensitive to give me a chance to say goodbye to an event that has been my favorite."

Enberg is scheduled to come back to covering the Padres' games for San Diego's Channel 4 on July 6 in San Francisco. He will also miss 11 games in September while doing the U.S. Open for CBS, which he will also give up after this year.

UPDATE: A USA Today piece on Enberg that ran Wednesday (linked here)

Robert Sacks, one of the lawyers representing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, told the Associated Press today that commissioner Bud Selig's rejecting a request Monday to approve the Fox/Prime Ticket deal "seems to be a predetermined result to drive Frank out of baseball without a good faith basis ... This isn't going to go away quietly."

Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations, replied: "Mr. McCourt was told early on he needed an equity solution. The entire history with Mr. McCourt and baseball shows he's been given numerous exceptions that were club-specific to assist him. If anything he's been treated more favorably than other clubs."

Sacks then claimed that Selig has been ducking his client and should have given McCourt fair warning about not approving the deal.

"If the commissioner wasn't prepared to approve the transaction, he should have told Frank so he could pursue other avenues," Sacks said. "I think I would say the commissioner has put the team in a cash-flow bind and Frank is reviewing his options to address that situation as best he can given MLB's unwarranted action."

The whole AP story (linked here)

After Spero Dedes declined the Lakers' offer to step in as their new TV play-by-play man, Bill Macdonald was hired to replace Joel Meyers with just a one-year contract today.

Industry sources say that Dedes has already accepted a job as the radio and TV play-by-play man for the New York Knicks, a contract that will allow him to continue working for CBS on the NFL and college basketball. Dedes, a New Jersey native and a graduate of Fordham University in New York, is represented by Sandy Montag, an agent who has clients such as Bob Costas and John Madden.

The job effectively is replacing Mike Crispino on Knicks' radio games on ESPN Radio 1050, but would allow Dedes to move to the MSG TV side when Mike Breen leaves to do a network assignment for ESPN or ABC.

Lakers media relations director John Black said the team had a "verbal agreement with Spero to be our new TV play-by-play announcer but he had a change of heart."

Dedes did not return a phone call for immediate comment -- ironically, a radio spot for a car repair service airing on the Lakers' KSPN-AM (710) flagship station has Dedes doing the voice over identifying himself as the Lakers' radio voice.

The 31-year-old has been on the radio for six seasons, replacing Meyers, who moved from radio to TV when Paul Sunderland's contract was not renewed. Sunderland was the first to step in for Hall of Famer Chick Hearn when he fell ill and passed away in 2002.

When it came out that Meyers' contract would not be renewed, Dedes was a natural choice to take over, but Dedes insisted there were too many options at the time for him to give the Lakers' a solid confirmation and it would be presumptious to say he'd be hired.

Dedes had been doing NFL games and college basketball games for CBS and had been a host for the NFL Network and NBA TV.

HBO sends forward the closing commentary that Bryant Gumbel will present in the latest episode of "Real Sports" (tonight, 10 p.m.):

"Finally tonight, the U.S. Golf Association should be ashamed of itself.

"The same folks who like to claim they're the caretakers of the game took a national championship that has always been revered, and this past weekend, made a mockery of it. Instead of setting up a U.S. Open course, as they always have, to identify the best player. They seem to have sought only to identify the most viewers.

"Yes, the course they laid out was nominally long, but as even those who regularly shill from the game noted, they played the tees up, they thinned the rough, and they placed many of the pins in bowls that allowed many balls that were hit to a green to simply funnel to the hole from all directions.

"In no way does this discredit the impressive and likeable Open winner, Rory McIlroy. That he finished with a score of 16-under par is remarkable, but that so many made it look like a local pitch-and-putt is an embarrassment. On Sunday, 20 golfers finished this U.S. Open under par. Twenty! That's as many golfers that have finished under par in the last 12 Opens combined.

"Look, as a rule, I don't buy conspiracy theories. I don't subscribe to suspicions about Roswell, the grassy knoll, and fake lunar landings. But I do believe USGA honchos sold out this weekend. Knowing the absence of Tiger Woods would cost them audience, I believe they decided to try to make up for it by enabling anyone who teed it up to go low in the hopes that lots of birdies would mean lots of viewers. That their Open plan instead generated lousy TV ratings that were down 26 percent, suggests that karma's alive and well in the world of golf."

Maybe it's another way to keep the idea of a pro football stadium built near the L.A. Convention Center alive, and give the impression that perhaps AEG as the real underdog in all this -- a free screening of the 1993 movie "Rudy" will take place at LA Live near Staples Center on Sunday at 8 p.m., complete with bleachers, a beer garden, outdoor grills and a DJ.

The event is "presented" by Farmers Field, which doesn't exist, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Actor Sean Astin, who pre-Hobbit portrays Daniel Ruettiger in the story of the Notre Dame 5-foot-5, 165-pound walkon that got a chance to play in a game in 1975, will also be there along with "special athletic appearances."

Which translates into more athletic supporters. Watching a movie about Notre Dame football. Less than a mile from the USC campus.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Film Fest, which started last Friday and runs until this Sunday, includes several more screenings of sports-related movies.

Including:

== "Renee" (tonight, 7:40 p.m., Regal Cinema at L.A. Live), a documentary by Eric Drath about the life of the sex-changed women's tennis player Renee Richards, who used to be Dr. Richard Raskin.

== "Salaam Dunk" (tonight at 7:10 p.m., Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Friday at 7:40 p.m. at the Regal Cinema at L.A. Live), a documentary about the Iraqi women's basketball team at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani in Kurdistan.

== "Once I Was A Champion" (Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7:20 p.m. at the Regal Cinema at L.A. Live), a documentary on 2008 UFC star Evan Tanner found dead in the desert after a life of searching for meaning.

== "Senna" (tonight at 10:10 p.m. at the Regal Cinema L.A. Live), a documentary about Formula One driver Ayrton Senna.

Wasn't LeBron James' one-hour "The Decision" special on ESPN staged on a Thursday night in the 6 p.m. hour?

It's a simple coincidence that "Monday Night Football" analyst Jon Gruden will take his pre-draft film-and-grill session with top college quarterbacks and do a special with Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor that airs Thursday at 6 p.m. (reairs on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.). ESPN "SportsCenter" will start airing clips of it today to build the momentum.

ESPN said it had a crew shoot the event at Gruden's office in Tampa and at the practice facility at the University of South Florida.

Prior to Pryor's decison to skip his senior year of eligiblity, his goods-for-tattoos actions off the field forced the resignation of coach Jim Tressel and put the school under NCAA investigation. That will all be covered as well on the special.

Not by Jim Gray.

In the latest move of a legal chess match that continues to leave Dodgers fans feeling like useless pawns, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig moved closer to a potential checkmate seizure of franchise by rejecting a request by Frank and Jamie McCourt to approve a multi-billion media cable rights deal.

Making Friday's McCourt divorce decree now null and void, and with a June 30 Dodgers' payroll approaching that many say will not be met, this also sets the stage for Frank McCourt to declare bankruptcy and gather his legal team to dig in for a big-league court battle against Selig that could open up a whole new area of the chess board.

Who gets rooked the most?

Today's decision comes just one business day after the McCourts made it appear as all was on a path of resolution, hinging only on Selig's giving the OK for the Fox's Prime Ticket TV deal that they claim is worth $3 billion but the MLB values closer to $1.7 billion over 17 years. That deal would also give Frank McCourt 35 percent ownership of Prime Ticket, which he could effectively use to help shape his own TV channel.

But Selig, cloaked by his "bests interests of baseball" power, came down on the McCourt's agreement that effectively skimmed $150 million off the top of a $385 million up-front loan from Fox to take care of attorney fees, pending debt and personal use. That left about $235 million to be used toward the health of the franchise.

Highlights of the week ahead in sports, both here and afar:

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

MLB: Dodgers vs. Angels, Dodger Stadium, Friday (7:10 p.m., Prime, Channel 13), Saturday (1:10 p.m., Channel 11) and Sunday (1:10 p.m., Prime, Channel 13):

Since 2005, when owner Arte Moreno decided his Orange County-based team would be officially called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in hopes of broadening their geographic appeal, the "LAA" and the "LAD" have had to make the necessary distinctions in their abbreviations. And we've just lived with it. Just when we thought that running joke had run its course, Nike came out this past winter with new $19.95 T-shirts for sale that had not just the "L.A." logo on the back, but the words "The Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles" on the front. Too little too late? The product description:

"Adoring sports fans across the nation always find a certain way to personalize their love for whichever team they follow. The Local tee from Nike is the perfect way to show off your dedication to the Dodgers with a tailored statement of team spirit made just for L.A. enthusiasts like you. It features a full team name in large, bold print across the front to mock their home city rivals, and an equally striking team logo across the back for an unquestionable testament to your team pride. It's the ultimate piece of equipment for any diehard fan that's ready to steal home for their favorite team!" When shown on several Angel blogs what the shirts looked like, one fan countered: "Why don't we have shirts that read: The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles -- It Wasn't Our Idea." Great idea. And wear that with the retro "L.A." caps that the Angels have been sporting at times this season to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Rubby De La Rosa, who gave up five runs in a loss to Houston last time out, is scheduled to start the series opener against Dan Haren

MONDAY

Tennis: Wimbledon, first round matches, 4 a.m., ESPN2:

MLB: Dodgers vs. Detroit, Dodger Stadium, 7 p.m., Channel 9:

Tigers ace Justin Verlander will miss his turn throwing against the Dodgers in this series, but Brad Penny won't. The former Dodgers ace, with a modest 5-5 record and 4.93 ERA, pitches for his fourth team since leaving L.A. after the 2008 season. The Tigers pitcher that L.A. fans might want to keep an eye on: Reliever Al Albuquerque. Sounds like a guy who the Dodgers just brought up from Triple-A to help fill a roster spot after the latest injury. The series moves on with games Tuesday (7 p.m., Channel 9m a beach towel giveaway on the first official day of summer) and Wednesday afternoon (12:10 p.m., Prime, half-priced food and drink).

MLB: Angels at Florida, 4:10 p.m., FSW:

The resignation of Edwin Rodriguez as the Marlins' manager as the team has gone 1-for-June so far comes as the Angels have won four of six and upped their interleague record to a baseball-best 53-25 since 2007. The Angels get two more in Miami, on Tuesday and Wednesday (4:10 p.m., FSW).

Baseball: College World Series: North Carolina vs. Texas, 11 a.m.; Vanderbilt vs. Florida, 4 p.m., ESPN:

Either Texas or North Carolina is two and done at the end of the day. By the end of the week, two teams will be left -- Cal, Virginia, Texas A&M and defending champ South Carolina are in the mix as well - for the finals.

TUESDAY

WNBA: Sparks vs. New York, Staples Center, 7 p.m., ESPN2:

Fifteen years to the day of the league's first game between the Sparks and Liberty -- L.A. vs. N.Y. -- they've arranged to have them play each other again. During the telecast the WNBA will present the 30 nominees for the top 15 players in WNBA history.

WEDNESDAY

MLB: Philadelphia at St. Louis, 4 p.m., ESPN:

The latest rumors of having one NL team move to the AL to create two 15-team divisions would eliminate the need to have one NL game played, like this one, in the middle of interleague play.

Soccer: CONCACAF Golf Cup semifinals: U.S. vs. Panama, 4 p.m.; Honduras vs. Mexico, 7 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel:

As the semis move to Houston, Bob Bradley may have to rethink things. Maybe the future of the American team works best with Landon Donovan coming off the bench.

THURSDAY

NBA draft, 4:30 p.m., ESPN:

From all mocked drafts we've read, the Cavs (not the Clippers) will capture 19-year-old point guard Kyrie Irving from Duke with the No. 1 overall pick. Then the Timberwolves nab 20-year-old forward Derrick Williams from Arizona. The Jazz pass on Jimmer Fredette (don't worry, they'll get him later) and choose 19-year-old Brandon Knight from Kentucky. Enes Kanter, the former Stoneridge Prep of Simi Valley kid? UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee? USC's Nikola Vucevic, Washington's Justin Holiday (Jrue's little brother from Campbell Hall) or Washington State's Klay Thompson? They'll have to wait their turn. The Lakers have no first-round pick (they gave it to New Jersey), but four in the second (numbers 41, 46, 56 and 58). The Clippers, who gave away what ended up as the No. 1 overall pick to Cleveland, have picks 47 and 57.

Golf: LPGA Championship, first round, 9:30 a.m., Golf Channel:

Christie Kerr defeated Song-Hee Kim by 12 strokes to run away at last year's event -- and she hasn't won a tournament since. This event is back at the Locust Hill Country Club outside of Rochester, N.Y.

FRIDAY

NHL draft, 8:30 a.m., NHL Network:

The hockey experts who'll gather in St. Paul, Minn., for this one agree that with the No. 1 pick, the Edmonton Oilers will select 6-foot-4 Canadian center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Kings don't have a first-round pick -- they gave it away to Edmonton, at No. 19, in the deal late last season to get Dustin Penner. Oh, well. The first Kings' pick is at No. 49, followed by Nos. 80, 110, 140, 170 and 200. The Ducks are on the clock with the 22nd choice.

SATURDAY

MLS: Galaxy at San Jose, 3:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel; Chivas at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m., Prime:

The Galaxy (9-2-7) is the only team in the league with five road wins. With or without their full roster.

Soccer: CONCACAF Gold Cup final, Rose Bowl, 6 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel and Univision:

Pasadena's landmark facility hosts the Gold Cup on its 20th anniversary, having also had it there in 2002, won by the U.S.

SUNDAY

Soccer: FIFA Women's World Cup: Germany vs. Canada, 8:30 a.m., ESPN:

Let the girls begin. Germany is the two-time defending champ, and Berlin is home to the quadrennial kickball tournament. The first appearance by the Americans, who have finished third the last two events, comes up next Tuesday against North Korea. The finale: July 17.

From ESPNBoston.com site (linked here), in preparation for today's Stanley Cup victory parade for the Bruins:

BOSTON -- It has been a whirlwind two days for the Bruins since they hoisted the Stanley Cup in Vancouver. They're tired and weary, but ready to party with the city of Boston with their duck boat victory parade Saturday morning.

"I'm a little blurry, I won't lie to you," joked veteran winger Shawn Thornton, who also won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007. "It's going to be awesome. I'm so excited. All my friends are in town and even people I thought didn't really give a damn, they're going to be here. So it's going to be awesome."

Thornton said he thought this parade would be more of a draw than the one he participated in with the Ducks in Anaheim.

"This is going to be a little bit bigger, yeah," Thornton said with a laugh. "Not to take anything away from the people of Anaheim, they were awesome, too. We had 25,000 to 30,000 people in the parking lot, but I'm assuming this will be a step up.

"We had the Cup out the other day at Tia's and Stella's and a couple of other places but compared to Anaheim ... we had it on the beach in Newport and there was like 20 people looking at it and they thought it was a rec league trophy, nobody knew the difference. But having helicopters over the top of Tia's was a little bit different."

UPDATED AT 11:30 a.m.:

A one-day trial on August 4 in L.A. Superior Court will apparently determine whether or not Frank and Jamie McCourt have to split up ownership of the Dodgers after the two announced an agreement this morning in their divorce settlement that took 10 lawyers and five pages to explain it all.

But before that happens, both parties now say they'd like Major League Baseball to finally approve a 17-year, $3 billion TV contract between the Dodgers and Fox Sports, which would give Frank some $385 million up front, effectively allowing him to meet the June 30 payroll and move forward.

Whether that happens or not is up to interpretation, but many believe it's not a guarantee if MLB officials -- particularly commissioner Bud Seligusing his "best interest of baseball" powers -- are trying to eventually force the sale of the team from either McCourt party.

For example, if Selig approved the TV deal and it was later ruled that the Dodgers were community property, forcing the sale of the team, would the new team owner be stuck with the existing long-term contract?

The divorce agreement reached today stipulates that "if MLB does not (approve the Fox transaction), then this term sheet is null and void." The term sheet also says that if Frank McCourt loses the Aug. 4 hearing, the "assets shall be sold by the parties in an orderly manner" with net proceeds split 50/50. The estimates sale of the team could reach some $800 million.

Frank McCourt, who continues to give Jamie $650,000 a month in alimony, would have to pay her $100 million if he is determined to be the sole owner.

"This is a huge milestone, a huge step forward today," said Frank McCourt outside the courthouse this morning. "I believe this puts the Dodgers on sound financial footing for the next 20 years, never mind the next 20 days.

"The MLB has taken the position that before they approve the transaction they wanted to see either a settlement of the divorce, or Jamie's consent, or an order from the judge, and today they received all three. So I fully expect they'll be good to their word."

Frank McCourt also said he believes a judge will determine him to be the sole owner of the team.

"Title to the Dodgers is in my name," he said. "It's in my name for a reason. I expect we will prevail at that trial."

If he loses that Aug. 4 decision and is forced to sell the team?

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he said. "We will meet all our obligations as we always have. We don't anticipate losing."

Jamie McCourt's attorney, Dennis Wasser, said he hoped the MLB would approve the deal by Monday or Tuesday of next week.

"The parties have agree that the Fox transaction is appropriate and now we're going to wait for MLB, and we're very hopeful," said Wasser. "I think it's a good day for Los Angeles because we can make some progress and we can have some certainty with respect to our baseball team."

"I'm just hoping for resolution and I'm hoping this is a step toward resolution," Jamie McCourt said. "The most important thing to my family, my children, and certainly the fans, and baseball, is resolution, which we are trying to accomplish over the past two years.

MLB spokesman Pat Courtney declined comment. Among the biggest reason MLB could deny approving the Fox deal is laid out in the distribution of $385 million that Fox will give the McCourts immediately upon approval.

The two parties agree that the $385 million, deemed a loan, will be divided up as such -- $5 million goes for attorney fees and costs; $5 million goes to each party as "she and he desires," $80 million is used to pay off some other debts, $50 million is put into a court escrow, and the other $235 goes to the team, including Frank repaying money advanced to him earlier this year.

The McCourts' lawyers had spent several sessions in front of Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon to reach an agreement and they worked throughout the night before striking a deal shortly before this morning's hearing began. The judge was ready to declare an impasse.

In December, Gordon deemed invalid a postnuptial marital agreement which gave Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers. That cleared the way for Jamie McCourt to seek half the team under California's community property law.

Jamie McCourt had asked Gordon to order the sale of the team.

In April, Major League Baseball took the extraordinary step of assuming control of the troubled franchise. Former Texas Rangers President Tom Schieffer was appointed to monitor the team on behalf of commissioner Selig, who said he took the action because he was concerned about the team's finances and how the Dodgers are being run.

Despite Frank McCourt's earlier pledge that none of the upfront money would be used toward his divorce, the settlement terms show otherwise in paperwork released by the courts this morning.

About $50 million will be placed in an account subject to Gordon's orders, while another $10 million would be used for attorneys' fees, the agreement said. About $80 million will go toward paying off debt and the majority of the remaining funds would be used for the Dodgers.

The court report also says that if Frank McCourt prevails in the Aug. 4 trial, he would continue to pay $650,000 per month for support until Jamie receives the first $55 million payment.

The former couple's lavish lifestyle was exposed in court documents where it was revealed that they took out more than $100 million in loans from Dodgers-related businesses. Their spending habits were likened to using the money from the team as though it was their personal ATM or credit card.

Another judge in November declared an impasse after the McCourts and their attorneys could not reach an agreement.

Frank McCourt told reporters this morning that he agrees this divorce proceeding has "dragged out far too long" and he apologized, "but I'm really pleased and relieved today we can move forward and go play and win baseball games."

Wasser, who said the parties worked until midnight last night and resumed talks at 5 a.m. this morning on finalizing the divorce settlement, indicated that if the judge in August rules that the McCourts share ownership, there "are several alternatives" as to what could happen next.

"Between now and Aug. 4 we have to see if the MLB approves the Fox transaction," he said. "If it does not approve the Fox transaction, then there are other issues. I don't think anyone is sure about that. But let's be optimistic."

Jamie McCourt says that, like Frank, she has not spoken to Selig, but "I have a great deal of respect for the commissioner and he'll let me know when he wants to talk."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- A University of New Mexico football player who was arrested after wearing saggy pants onto a plane at the San Francisco airport says he felt the flight crew was harassing him.

DeShon Marman told KGO Thursday that he pulled his pants up, as a boarding agent had requested, when he got to his seat Wednesday. But by then, he says a flight attendant was telling him to leave the plane.

Marman, a San Francisco native, was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, battery of a police officer and obstruction. He posted bail on Thursday.

Prosecutors have until July 18 to charge him.

The 20-year-old Marman said he eventually agreed to get off the aircraft. Police have said Marman refused to pull up his pants and leave the plane.

What's $2,500 to the Dodgers?

Just enough to pay the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for repairs to Vin Scully's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, instead of a fan trying to organize a fund raiser from Chicago.

Assuming owner Frank McCourt can foot the bill, the team has informed Glenn Mingay, a Southern California native who set up a website in hopes of raising money to fix a crack in Scully's star outside the Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Blvd., that it would now pick up the tab.

Dodgers vice president of communications Josh Rawitch sent an email to Robert Baly of www.VinScullyIsMyHomeboy.com (linked here). Baly discovered the repairs needed in the first place last month.

Rawitch's email said: "When the Dodgers learned of the project, we approached Vin with our plans to pay for it and he was very grateful because he simply did not want fans to spend their hard earned money on repairing the star. That said, he is aware of the campaign and extremely humbled and appreciative of the efforts of Glenn and others."

On Mingay's website www.SaveVinsStar.com, he posted this note:

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

Mr. Scully we Dodgers fans appreciate all that you have given to us over the years. We have grown up to your tales about players for the Dodgers and the opposing team. You always find a way to make things interesting no matter what the score of the game is. You simply are a legend, and we thank you so very much!

Ana Martinez, vice president of media relations for the chamber, told Mingay she would try to coordinate the repairs with his visit to L.A. in July.

The Congressional Country Club has nothing on River View Golf Course.

No matter how much the world's best golfers may complain about the toughness built into the track they're using for this weekend's U.S. Open golf championship near our nation's capital, just be glad they're not at a place that's once been called "America's Worst Course."

It was from a magazine story written more than 10 years ago about River View Golf Course in Santa Ana that used that headline. Don't even go looking for the publication any more -- "Schwing!," which tabbed itself as an "alternative golf magazine" for the radical Gen X readers who were part of the links craze at that time, has already signed its card and disappeared.

River View, a place that the reviewer noted had neither a river nor a view, is like the cockroach that can't be killed off.

Technically, a river does run through it. But that depends on your point of view.

It is, for all utilitarian functions, a somewhat grassy flood-control channel that separates two branches of the Santa Ana River/sewer, one end that eventually empties into the Pacific about six miles south between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, and the other possibly carrying debris from the parking lot at Angel Stadium.

Geometry and gravity dictate unplayable lies and balls that roll unnecessarily into the ditch, unless you're fortunate enough to have a drive plop down in a mud puddle that's often situated in the middle of a fairway. It's the perfect definition of a duffer's dilemma -- there's usually two options on every shot, none of which are particularly enjoyable.

Short on distance (6,100 yards from the tips if you're lucky), just a par 70 (unless a par 5 is washed out and shortened to a 3, so there's math involved), and unnecessarily freeway close (at the Orange Crush, where the 5, 57 and 22 collide into a rush-hour mess), this has all the makings of a messy few hours.

All these years later, could this piece of sacred land not far from the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral really be worthy of the label "worst" in the entire country? And if so, did River View maintain its reputation poorly enough to keep the title?

Reviews posted online by some recent customers piqued our interest.

Japen G of Anaheim: "Their (sic) is a reason that there are always good deals to play this course. ... Be prepared to play a ridiculously crazy layout."

Kione E. of Fullerton: "Ghetto, I thought to myself as I rolled into the parking lot. Oh well, I'm here and I already paid for this."

Kunney T. of Costa Mesa: "This place is a dump! ... When it's a non-drought season, the ugly ditches are actually river beds. ... all you see is dead dirt and rocks. However, it does make it easier because technically a lot of the areas are 'grounds under repair.' Woohoo, free drop. When all is said and done, this place is still a dump."

Randy G. of Paso Robles: "I have never heard 'fore' yelled as much as I heard it yesterday."

Audra R. of Orange County: "Last time there we saw a bum dancing naked in the river bed ... kinda funny, kinda horrible."

Where do we book a tee time?

Fathom Events has announced the airing of both the men's and women's final at Wimbledon airing in 3D at select theaters around Southern California.

The $15 tickets (unless otherwise noted) to watch the women's final (Saturday, July 2, 6 a.m.) and the men's final (Sunday, July 3, 6 a.m.) with 3D glasses can be purchased at the theater box offices for five locations through Southern California: Santa Anita's IMAX (400 S. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia), Puente Hills 20 with IMAX (1560 S. Azusa Ave., City of Industry), Huntington Beach 20 (7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach, $18), Long Beach 26 with IMAX (7501 Carson Blvd., Long Beach, $18) and at Rave 18 (formerly the Hughes Center theaters, 6081 Center Dr., L.A., $18). Tickets can also be purchased at www.FathomEvents.com.

The eighth season of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," a 10-episode series starting July 10, finds Larry David facing more moral dilemmas.

Such as in the first episode, No. 71 in the series, titled "The Divorce." The plot given by HBO: "Larry learns his lawyer isn't kosher, and rescinds a cookie order from the Girl Scout daughter of a beleaguered sports owner."

Back in episode 36, during the fourth season, Larry used a hooker to get him into the car pool lane so he wouldn't be late to a game at Dodger Stadium (linked here). But since most of the episodes this season are being taped in New York instead of L.A., so perhaps the "beleaguered" boss in this case has nothing to do with Frank McCourt and the Dodgers.

HBO also announced the new season's guest stars include Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson -- two focal points of the Mets' 1986 World Series Game 6 come-from-behind victory over the Red Sox.

Westlake Village-based Universal Sports Network, one of NBC's primary cable channels to carry Olympic-related sports programming, will have a home on DirecTV's satellite dish menu starting in August.

In a multi-year, multi-platform distribution announcement, the two companies said Universal Sports will be part of the DirecTV "Sprots Pack" as well as other packages on Oct. 1, after it is offered as a free preview starting in late August, and will be available on DirecTV's new Internet, mobile devices and tablets coming soon.

NBC will likely use Universal Sports Network as a channel in its 2012 London Summer Olympics package. DirecTV is available to 19.4 million customers. More info: UniversalSports.com.

Would you call Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott "one of the most influential persons in college sports -- ever."

CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd has, writing a bio about the man who just got the new Pac-12 conference a hefty 12-year, $3 billion deal with ESPN and Fox, enough to vault him to the No. 1 spot on the website's new list of the College Football Top 100 (linked here).

Dodd writes: This is about a guy who sees to and beyond the Pacific Rim to revenue streams in China. Scott has determined that, for some reason, the Chinese love UCLA, to the point that there are 100 Bruins merchandise stores in the communist stronghold. Uck-luh the natives call it, pronouncing it phonetically.

"It's an aspiration brand to the Chinese," said Scott, relaxing on a couch of his office, which provides a three-sided view of the Northern California landscape north of San Francisco. "They have this kind of fantasy notion of the California lifestyle and U.S. academia."

More entries from the list:

UPDATED: Tuesday, 2 p.m., with Saturday's College World Series pairings:

Highlights of the week ahead in sports, both here and afar:

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

Golf: U.S. Open Championship, final round, Sunday, Channel 4, 10:30 a.m.:

Who won't be seen around the bunker-heavy Congressional Country Club near Washington, D.C. this weekend? Aside from the not-so-Congressional Anthony Weiner? Tiger Woods, of course, missing the U.S. Open for the first time in 17 years because of what he says are a "mild" left knee sprain and a "mild" sprain of his left Achilles' tendon. Throw in a bruised ego. "This really opens up the field to a great number of players," says ESPN golf analyst Curtis Strange. "It will certainly have somewhat of an impact on the casual fan, as we have seen throughout the years. There is no way of getting around that. There is always a buzz when Tiger plays. But there is always a buzz at the U.S. Open as well. But the way I look at it, when that first tee shot is hit Thursday morning, his name won't be mentioned." At least not for five minutes.
So, who will be there? Five-time runner-up Phil Mickelson. He holds the record for that distinction. Defending champ Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, the first Euro in 40 years to win the title.

But there's also 18-year-old Patrick Cantlay (right), who just completed his freshman season at UCLA and was a finalist for the 2011 Ben Hogan Award, given to the top player in college golf. The recent NCAA tournament runner-up who finished the season ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, and qualified here as an amateur. Sam Saunders, the 23-year-old grandson of 1960 Open champ Arnold Palmer, also made it in. Add Steve Irwin, the 36-year-old son of three-time Open champ Hale Irwin, who was one of three amateurs to make it through a five-spot qualifier at the Oakmont Country Club in Glendale. That'll be nothing like the test presented at the par-71, 7,574 yard Congressional, host to the U.S. Open in 1964 and 1997, since this event is known famously as the toughest test in golf -- narrowed fairways, thicker rough, firmed-up greens, and shooting par is seen as an achievement -- four of the last six U.S. Opens have been won at even par or worse. "I hear so many guys say that his golf course doesn't suit them," says Jack Nicklaus. "It's not supposed to. The whole idea of why they move to different places is so that you can adjust your golf game to suit the venue. And that's the secret to the game." If there's a tie, we go to 18 holes on Monday. ESPN has the first two rounds Thursday and Friday (7 a.m. to noon, 2-to-4 p.m.), while NBC takes over the last two (Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). If there's a tie, we go to 18 holes on Monday.

MONDAY

NHL Stanley Cup finals, Game 6: Vancouver at Boston, 5 p.m., Channel 4:

When an opponent takes at least 35 shots against him, Boston Bruins 37-year-old goaltender Tim Thomas has a 9-1 record during these Stanley Cup playoffs. Less than 35 shots, and he's a mere 5-7 -- which proved again to be the case in Vancouver's 1-0 victory in Game 5, when the Canucks got off only 25 shots. In Games 3 and 4, both won by the Bruins, Thomas faced 79 shots. Just one got past him. With the home team winning every game of this series, the Bruins need to keep that going or else the Canucks, who have scored just six goals in the five games so far, will take their first Stanley Cup victory in their 40th year of existence. "I don't know how to explain it," Boston forward Milan Lucic said. "Especially in a series where you don't have home-ice advantage, you've got to find a way to win at least one game on the road if you want to come out on top, and for some reason we haven't been able to." Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo has struggled in two road games in Boston with a save percentage under .800. A Game 7 would be Wednesday back in Vancouver (5 p.m., Channel 4).

MLB: Dodgers vs. Cincinnati, Dodger Stadium, 7 p.m., Prime:

Last sighting of Hong-Chih Kuo wasn't pretty. The Dodgers' reliever has been on the disabled list with performance anxiety issues. Good thing, then, that he may not be around when the team brings him back. Sort of. It'll hand out a bobblehead in his honor for all who show up to Tuesday night's game (7 p.m., Channel 9). The series, which begins a two-week homestand, ends Wednesday afternoon (12:10 p.m., Prime) with the half-priced food and drinks (no beer) promotion, and the new(er) throw-back Brooklyn light-blue uniforms. The Dodgers won two of three in their most recent series at Cincinnati, thanks to Matt Kemp's bat, and the team scoring five in the eighth and four in the 11th to pull out a victory in the middle game of the set.

MLB: Angels at Seattle, 7 p.m., Channel 13:

The start of a two-week,12-game road trip takes the Angels to the Northwest, the Northeast, the Southeast, and then back to Southern California, mixing it up against the AL West, NL East and NL West. Seattle's top two pitchers -- Felix Hernandez, and rookie Michael Pineda -- appear to be missing their turn in the rotation in this series, which continues Tuesday and Wednesday (7 p.m., Channel 13).

TUESDAY

Soccer: U.S. vs. Guadelope, CONCACAF Gold Cup, 6 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel:

No tainted beef on the American's menu, but they still must feel queezy after losing to Panama last week. They smell an easier path to the tournament's finale after five players from the Mexican squad were sent home for testing positive for a banned substance. The quarterfinals for the U.S. will most likely be Sunday at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.

WEDNESDAY

MLB: Texas at N.Y. Yankees, 4 p.m., ESPN:

The Rangers' scheduled starter, 24-year-old Derek Holland (5-1), suffered his only loss on April 16.

THURSDAY

MLB: Boston at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m., MLB Network:

The Rays took two from the Red Sox in their only previous meeting this season, including a 16-5 decision on April 11 against Daisuke Matsuzaka.

FRIDAY

MLB: Dodgers vs. Houston, Dodger Stadium, 7 p.m., Prime:

Once upon a time, the Dodgers used to sell these aprons that apparently those who were tired of housework could wear to proclaim they were heading out to see a baseball game instead (this one hangs in Gary Cypres' Sports Museum of Los Angeles). For this series that concludes with a Father's Day game on Sunday (1 p.m., Prime), the team is giving away these more standard aprons for dad to use while on the grill. A bit more politically correct, and sponsored by Farmer John. So while the other 28 MLB teams are involved in interactive interleague play, these two stay on the NL schedule, reunited a month after the Astros somehow took two of three in Houston. J.R. Towles's walk-off single in the bottom of ninth clinched the series finale, 2-1. The middle game of this set is Saturday (7 p.m., Prime).

MLB: Angels at New York Mets, 4:10 p.m., FSW:

Once upon a time, Terry Collins was in line to succeed Jim Tracy as the Dodgers manager, but that plan came apart when Paul DePodesta was pushed out as general manager during the managerial interview process. A year ago, DePodesta joined general manager Sandy Alderson's staff with the New York Mets as vice president of player development and amateur scouting -- and was probably responsible for pushing for hiring Collins as the Mets manager this last off season.
The 62-year-old Collins, whose last big-league job before this was managing the Angels from 1997 to 1999, hasn't had all that joyous a time in New York so far, and his fiery approach has come under some scrutiny. "I am who I am," Collins told The New York Times. "I think I've matured through the years in being able to control things a little better. But make no mistake about it, if we play Ping-Pong, I'm going to try to kick your butt. That competitiveness is still there, my desire to win, what I expect of my teams, is still there. That fire still burns inside, or I wouldn't be here." The series continues Saturday (4:10 p.m.) and Sunday (10:10 a.m.) on FSW.

SATURDAY

Baseball: College World Series, at Omaha, Neb.: Vanderbilt vs. North Carolina, 11 a.m., ESPN; Texas vs. Florida, 4 p.m., ESPN:

Five Pac-10 teams had a shot of making the final eight, but only Cal survived the super regionals, over Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon State, not to mention UC Irvine. The tournament continues with the other four teams playing Sunday -- Cal vs. Virginia, 11 a.m. on ESPN, and Texas A&M vs. defending champion South Carolina, 4 p.m. on ESPN2 -- leading up to the final two in the double-elimination bracket playing in a best-of-three starting Monday, June 27.

MLS: Galaxy at Colorado, 6 p.m. (delayed on FSW at 8 p.m.); Chivas vs. FC Dallas, Home Depot Center, 7:30 p.m.:

The Rapids ended an MLS-record streak of six consecutive draws with a 1-0 win in extra time at Portland, but they've also got a nine-game unbeaten streak, going back to the end of April. Meanwhile, Dallas just had a nine-game unbeaten streak snapped with a loss last weekend to Kansas City.

SUNDAY

NASCAR: Sprint Cup Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Brooklyn, Mich., 10 a.m., TNT:

What ever dad craves on Father's Day: A sour cream dip that's so good, he's almost cursing.

IndyCar: Milwaukee 225, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7:

Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who has been on "Late Night with David Letterman" and the Country Music Awards since his latest achievement on Memorial Day weekend, still doesn't have a ride for the rest of the season. He could be hanging out in the pits here, pounding down some Old Milwaukee, waiting for someone to call him in as a last-minute sub.

WNBA: Sparks vs. Seattle, Staples Center, 5:30 p.m., Prime:

Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Swin Cash and the defending WNBA champs, who started last year's post-season title run with a sweep of the Sparks (who had knocked them out of the playoffs every time they previously met), storm back into L.A.

We could find out Sunday.

The Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating circuit comes to the South Bay for a contest that will declare a male and female division winner at the California Hot Dog Eating Champion and an automatic qualifer for the annual Fourth of July event at Coney Island, N.Y., televised by ESPN.

The Nathan's stand at 5050 W. Rosecranz in Hawthorne, off the 405 Freeway, will host the competition at 2 p.m.

Christine Kitchenmaster, listed as a former beauty pageant winner from Simi Valley, is among the female competitors. She finished second in a qualifier last April in Las Vegas.

Kitchenmaster, 49, is a stand-up comedian who swam at Cleveland High in Reseda and was once apart of the Hollywood Starlets, a Harlem Globetrotters-type women's
softball team that played exhibition fund-raising games against men's teams.

Matt Stonie, a 120-pounder from Sann Jose -- the hometown of five-time winner and world record holder Joey Chestnut -- comes in as the men's favorite after winning several events in the Major League Eating competition. Damon Wells of Orange and Kevin Ross of Temecula, both ranked in the top 30, will also be in the mix.

From VinScullyIsMyHomeboy.com blog (linked here).

Pull away the plywood and carpet and . . . Vin Scully's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame isn't what it was cracked up to be.

"My wife is looking at me now like I'm some kind of idiot, but it struck a chord with me," Mingay said. "I rarely get involved in anything like this. You've just got to love sports, and Vin, to do this. He's such a gentleman and such a big part of everyone's life. I just want to give back to the man who has given me so much. And I hope other fans feel the same way."

== More on the Scully star from last Friday's blog (linked here and linked here).

From TheWirk.com (linked here)

Two losses and a tie.

Fifty years ago today -- which happened to be the day I was born, June 8, 1961 - the two L.A. pro baseball teams combined for those three outcomes.

The Dodgers lost a game at the Coliseum to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2. Despite making three errors, the Pirates shut down the Dodgers behind Bob Friend. Bob Skinner and Bill Mazeroski hit a pair of two-run homers off the Dodgers' Stan Williams in the fourth inning to account for the damage. Willie Davis' solo homer in the sixth only made it look closer.
But the crazy thing about that game, according to the box score and description on Retrosheet.org -- they actually staffed five umpires. There were the usual four, one behind the plate, and three on the bases. And there was Mel Steiner, assigned to left field.

I can't find an instance of that happening before, or after, that game.

Just 17,599 attended. I like to think I could have made it an even 17,600.

Meanwhile, my Angels played a doubleheader in Boston -- the first of five games in three days at Fenway Park. The next day would also be a double header.

Think things back then were different.

But on June 8, the Angels neither swept, split nor got swept in this twinbill. That would be too easy.

SportsIllustated.com

The way Shawn Green found peace and harmony in the batter's box during his 15-year major-league career was by getting out of his own way.

The cover of his new book that comes out today, "The Way of Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 MPH" (with Gordon McAlpine, Simon & Schuster, 208 pages, $24), gives a strong hint about that secret. The Zen brushstroke of the "enso," which symbolizes staying in the moment when the mind is empty yet alert, poised for creativity and flow, is wrapped around the drawing of a baseball.

Despite how famously Green may be remembered during his years with the Dodgers (2000-04) as the most recognized Jewish player in the big leagues - he sat out a games in observance of Yom Kippur, once a head-to-head meeting against San Francisco in '04 when the teams were fighting for the NL West lead in late September - his exploration of Zen and meditation could have made him the perfect Phil Jackson student.

For Green, it goes back to his days with the Toronto Blue Jays, frustrated about a lack of playing time, refocused on working out his aggressions on a hitting tee. That's where he found solitude, a repetitive mantra that got him out of his head and into a zone.

"Most of us go our whole lives with our awareness trapped in the mind," the former Dodgers All-Star writes on page 32. "We believe we are our thoughts and egos and nothing more. I always suspected there was more to my true essence than my incessant and repetitive thoughts and the insatiable desire of my ego. I had been searching for that greater part of me via the exploration of Zen and meditations, but it wasn't until that work took root in my swing that I truly began to disconnect my thoughts and connect with my deeper of being."

The 38-year-old Green, out of baseball and living with his wife in two daughters in Newport Beach since retiring after the 2007 season with the New York Mets, still has several records in Dodgers' lore that may never be matched.

His four-homer game in 2002 at Milwaukee was part of a 6-for-6 day that saw him set the major-league record with 19 total bases in one game. He's also got the Dodgers' franchise record for most homers in a season - 49, in 2002.

At the time of his retirement, he was one of only four active players with at least 300 home runs, 1,000 runs, 1,000 RBIs, 400 doubles, a .280 average and 150 stolen bases.

Yet it was a different set of numbers -- a six-year, $84 million contract extension he signed with the Dodgers after he was traded to L.A. before the 2000 season for Raul Mondesi -- that knocked Green sideways.

He admits in the book that his ego got the best of him, trying to prove that he could replicate the statistics in a steroid-suspicious era that he put up with the Blue Jays for the first four years of his career and justify his salary to Southern California fans.

In a Q-and-A, Green goes more behind the numbers and into the meditative approach to life that can work on many levels:

Already in the CBS/TNT mix for the men's college basketball tournament, Marv Albert will be part of CBS' NFL coverage this fall, the network announced today.

Albert will stay on as the lead NBA play-by-play man for Thursday night TNT games.

His most recent NFL work was on Westwood One Radio's Monday Night Football broadcasts, from 2002-2009, with Boomer Esiason. He did the NFL for 19 seasons at NBC (1977-97) with partners Cris Collinsworth, Sam Wyche, Bill Parcells and Paul Maguire.

How does it affect Spero Dedes' future? The Lakers' radio play-by-play man is the prime candidate to take over as the lead TV broadcaster, but Dedes has also been working on CBS NFL and college basketball broadcasts. A spot on CBS' NFL roster opened recently when it did not renew the contract of Gus Johnson.

Highlights of the week ahead in sports, both here and afar:

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET:

MLB: First-year player draft, today at 4 p.m., MLB Network:

ESPN's Keith Law wrote a piece the other day, justifying the Pittsburgh Pirates taking UCLA 6-foot-4 junior pitcher Gerrit Cole with the No. 1 overall pick.

"His size, athleticism and delivery cemented his status as the top college arm in this draft . . . he compares favorably to Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals . . . and his changeup is better than Strasburg's breaking ball was at the time he was drafted." Never mind that Cole has posted a 6-8 record with a 3.31 ERA this season, losing in the Bruins' NCAA regional tournament opener against San Francisco. The Yankees' first-round pick in 2008 (28th overall), Cole opted for college instead. Now, will it pay off? Teammate Trevor Bauer (13-2, 1.25 ERA, Pac-10 record 203 strike outs), the Collegiate Baseball magazine's player of the year, could also steal some thunder. "(Bauer's stuff) is not Cole stuff but it is pretty good," said Baseball America executive editor Jim Callis said. "He has added velocity every year. These two guys are facing the same opponents every week so it is a good comparison." The Dodgers and Angels go back-to-back at Nos. 16 and 17. MLB.com has video streaming of the draft as it continues on Tuesday and Wednesday.

MONDAY

NHL Stanley Cup finals, Game 3: Vancouver at Boston, 5 p.m., Versus:

Luongo story short -- The Canucks win two more, and they're champs. No more finger pointing. Or biting. Game 4 stays in Boston (Wednesday, 5 p.m., Versus), but if more is needed, it's 2,508 miles back to Vancouver for Game 5 (Friday, 5 p.m., Channel 4)

MLB: Dodgers at Philadelphia, 4 p.m., Channel 9:

Here's the rub: 22-year-old Rubby De La Rosa, fresh out of Double-A ball, is on the radar to take the injured Jon Garland's spot in the Dodgers' rotation on Tuesday, facing Roy Oswalt. Before that, it's Cliff Lee. After that, it's Cole Hammels. Andre Ethier is a combined 4-for-30 against those three Phillies' starters lifetime (while going 5-for-7 against Roy Halladay). Matt Kemp is 0-for-8 against Oswalt with four strikeouts.

MLB: Angels vs. Tampa Bay, Angel Stadium, 7 p.m., FSW:

Joel Pineiro, winless in his last four attempts to pick up his 100th career victory, gives it another shot. Rays All-Star David Price draws the other starting assignment. The series continues with a plaid newsboy cap giveaway on Tuesday (7 p.m., FSW), where former Hart High of Newhall standout James Shields starts for Tampa. The finale is Wednesday (7 p.m., FSW).

TUESDAY

NBA Finals Game 4: Miami at Dallas, 6 p.m., Channel 7:

Sorry, but even after a Game 2 meltdown, Miami and LeBron James are sitting pretty. The Heat's win on Sunday in Dallas has some history behind it -- the Game 3 winner in a tied finals has won the championship all 11 times since the 2-3-2 format began in 1985. The older Mavs have only one day of rest before this one, and that's not in their favor either. With one more at home in Game 5 (Thursday, 6 p.m., Channel 7), Dallas can only hope to go back to Miami a Game 6 (Sunday, 5 p.m., Channel 7) with a 3-2 lead.

MLB: Boston at N.Y. Yankees, 4 p.m., MLB Network:

There aren't enough days in the season to televise all the meetings between these two, but we'll try. Their game Wednesday is also televised (ESPN, 4 p.m.) before this latest series ends Thursday.

Soccer: CONCACAF Gold Cup: U.S. vs. Canada in Detroit, 5 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel:

Bob Bradley's roster includes Galaxy star Landon Donovan, who leads all U.S. players in Gold Cup scoring with 12. His appearance in this tournament opener will give him 23, tying Kasey Keller for the most by a U.S. player. The U.S. moves on to face Panama on Saturday in Tampa, Fla., (4:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel) while Home Depot Center plays host to two games on Monday: Grenada vs. Jamaica (6 p.m.) and Guatemala vs. Honduras (8 p.m.)

WEDNESDAY

MLB: Chicago at Cincinnati, 9:30 a.m., MLB Network:

Wake up and smell the Votto.

THURSDAY

MLB: Dodgers at Colorado, 5:40 p.m., Prime:

Troy Tulowitzki, who for some reason had watched his batting slump below the .250 mark, went 4-for-12 with two doubles against the Dodgers in a recent three-game series to get back on track -- even though the Rockies lost two of them. Ty Wiggington was 3-for-9 with a pair of homers. This four-game series includes Friday (5:40 p.m., Prime), Saturday (5:10 p.m., Channel 9) and Sunday (12:10 p.m., Prime).

FRIDAY

MLB: Angels vs. Kansas City, Angel Stadium, 7 p.m., FSW:

The Angels, who won two of three against the Royals last week in K.C., fire up their first summer concert music series with "International pop sensation" (according to some reports) Taio Cruz performing in a postgame concert at Angel Stadium after Saturday night's game (6 p.m., FSW). The two teams have their own encore Sunday (12:35 p.m., FSW).

WNBA: Sparks vs. Phoenix, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m.:

At least it doesn't conflict with a possible Lakers' finals game.

SATURDAY

Horse racing: Belmont Stakes, 3:36 p.m., Channel 4:

How macho is it to wear glue-on shoes in a Triple Crown race? Mucho. But Mucho Macho Man, who lost his right front shoe at the Preakness a couple weeks ago and finished sixth -- after a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby -- has reportedly found a new blacksmith and new style of shoes for this event. Trainer Kathy Ritvo told ESPN she had to make the change to the synthetic sticky shoe. "If anything does the trick," she said, "this is going to do the trick." Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, which finished runner-up to Shackleford at the Belmont, should be back for the 143rd edition of this race. Versus coverage starts at noon and has a wrap-up show from 4-4:30 p.m. NBC's window runs from 2-4 p.m.

MLS: Galaxy vs. Toronto, Home Depot Center, 7:30 p.m., Prime:

The Western Conference leading Galaxy (8-2-6), with a league-best 20 goals, face a FC team from the Great White North that hasn't won a game since May 7 - two losses and four ties since then. They've given up 10 more goals than they've scored. These two played to a 0-0 draw back in April in Toronto.

MLS: Chivas at Houston, 5:30 p.m., Prime:

The Rojiblancos (4-4-5) face a squad of Dynamo (3-5-6) that's hardly been dynamic.

SUNDAY

NASCAR: Pocono 500, 10 a.m., TNT:

The first of two stops at the tri-oval track in Long Pond, Pa., starts the first of six consecutive weeks of coverage by TNT.

UCLA junior kicker Jeff Locke helps a special-needs athlete tie his shoe, with a middle-school-aged "coach" sitting nearby, before the start of the Prime Time Games on Saturday at UCLA's Spaulding Field.

Johnathan Franklin sat with a couple of kids at Palms Middle School the other day, soaking in Greek mythology.

== More information: www.TeamPrimeTime.org

Steve Spurrier should feel guilty.

== Is it premature to celebrate the Miami Heat's demise in the 2011 NBA Finals?

After years of stalled attempts to get an updated biopix done on Jackie Robinson -- with Spike Lee the one most attached to it -- Burbank's Legendary Pictures announced a deal with Warner Bros., to get together with Robinson's widow, Rachel, to finally launch a big-screen project together.

According to a press release by the studio, Brian Helgeland ("Mystic River," "L.A. Confidential") will write the script and direct the film, Legendary Pictures owner Thomas Tull will produce it, and Jon Jashni will be an executive producer, as will Dick Cook, the former Disney Studios chairman.

Nearly 20 years ago, before the 50th anniversary of Robinson breaking the Major League Baseball color line with the Dodgers in 1947 brought some renewed interest in his life story, rumors circulated about the production of a new movie on his life -- updating the one where Robinson starred in as himself in 1950 (linked here).

Lee told us in 1997 that despite script foul-ups, financial setbacks and failed promises, he was "confident the film will get made . . . it's in limbo now." He had targeted Denzel Washington as Robinson.

Rachel Robinson said that Lee's option on the rights for her husband's life story ran out in Sept., 1996.

A few months ago, it was reported that Hegleland was going to work with Robert Redford on a movie about the life of Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, with Redford owning the starring role about the man who picked Robinson for "The Great Experiment." That project still may be alive, but now, comes this.

"My family and I are thrilled to have this important film on Jack produced by Legendary Pictures. We are proud of his lasting impact on our society, and we know that the legacy he left is inspiring and worth preserving," said Rachel Robinson in a statement released by the production company.

Helgeland said: "There are few opportunities that come along as a filmmaker that allow the opportunity to share a true story with your audience, let alone one as powerful and inspiring as that of Jackie Robinson's. I believe that with the support of Rachel Robinson we have a unique opportunity to bring one of the most famed stories in American culture and baseball to the screen."

With Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures has been involved in making "The Hangover," "The Hangover Part II," "Inception," "Clash of the Titans" and "The Dark Knight."

Thanks again to Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who emailed this upon visiting the Walk of Fame star of Vin Scully this morning, now that the DWP plywood and Vogue Theatre red carpeting seems to be gone (now, does anyone have a Brillo pad to do a little clean-up?):

The short of it: Vin Scully's star at 6675 Hollywood Blvd., in front of the Vogue Theatre, is buried under mystery. And plywood.

When Vin Scully's Hollywood Walk of Fame star disappears, in front of a theatre on Hollywood Boulevard with known paranormal activity, it's too good not to investigate.

If there is something there burying his fame, he said, "I just wish it were a blue carpet."

Lance Armstrong demanded an apology and retraction from CBS' "60 Minutes" based on its report two Sunday's ago, outing him as a cheater.

Attorney Eliot Peters, on behalf of Armstrong, sent a letter to CBS today accusing the newsmagazine show of shoddy journalism for a May 22 segment (linked here), after Armstrong's camp criticized the network earlier for an "unpardonable zeal to smear" him." They even set up a website (www.facts4lance.com) to deny the charges.

CBS responded this afternoon in a statement issued by Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and executive producer of "60 Minutes":

"'60 Minutes' stands by its story as truthful, accurate and fair. Lance Armstrong and his lawyers were given numerous opportunities to respond to every detail of our reporting for weeks prior to the broadcast and their written responses were fairly and accurately included in the story. Mr. Armstrong still has not addressed charges by teammates Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie that he used performance enhancing drugs with them.

"David Howman, managing director of the World Anti-Doping Agency, told '60 Minutes' that any meeting between Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Brunyeel and the Swiss lab director, Dr. Saugy, would be 'highly unusual' and 'inappropriate.'"

In the segment, former teammate Tyler Hamilton said that Armstrong spoke of using endurance-boosting substance EPO and that cycling officials helped him hide a positive test result at the Swiss competition, which is a lead up to the Tour de France.

Martial Saugy, who heads up Switzerland's anti-doping laboratory, denied last week that Armstrong tested positive for drugs in 2001.