October 2011 Archives

"LionHeart," a coffee-table size picture book on Dan Wheldon's racing career released in 2010, has been in short supply since his death Sunday in the IRL season-ending event in Las Vegas.

Newport Beach-based photographer Michael Voorhees, who compiled the project, has said he will re-release it soon on line with proceeds going to charities that have been close to the Wheldon family. The original book sold for $59.95. Copies are being sold for much higher currently on eBay.com.

Voorhees said at the time of the book's release: "Dan and I both arrived in the IndyCar Series in 2003 and I was the lead photographer during this 2005 championship season when we won the Indy 500. I've been photographing Dan for various sponsors and personal photo shoots and we've developed a fantastic library of images that we felt his fans would really appreciate. It seemed only natural to produce a book that was very revealing and out of the ordinary for a race car driver."

== Voorhees website: http://www.voorheesphoto.com/

== A video report from an Indianapolis TV station on the book re-release plans:

Who'll be providing the audio for the football games on your TV sets this weekend, and because we have found more photos of Jenn Brown apparently rented out the Coliseum for a day last summer to do a "fashion" shoot to beef up her portfolio, we'll add more of those through this post:

College football Saturday *-unless otherwise noted:

== *UCLA at Arizona:: Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN, with Rece Davis, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Jenn Brown
== *West Virginia at Syracuse: Friday, 5 p.m., ESPN, with Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore

== USC at Notre Dame: 4:30 p.m., Channel 4, with Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock and Alex Flanagan
== Washington at Stanford: 5 p.m., Channel 7, with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Heather Cox
== Wisconsin at Michigan State: 5 p.m., ESPN, with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews (also the site of ESPN "College GameDay" at 7 a.m.)
== Oregon at Colorado: 12:30 p.m., FSW, with Joel Meyers, Brian Baldinger and Jim Knox
== Oregon State vs. Washington State in Seattle: 7:30 p.m., FSW, with Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt and Petros Papadakis
== Auburn at LSU: 12:30 p.m., Channel 2, with Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson
== Tennessee at Alabama: 4:15 p.m., ESPN2, with Mark Jones, Ed Cunningham and Jeannine Edwards
== Air Force at Boise State: 12:30 p.m., Versus, with Paul Burmeister, Shaun King and Anthony Herron
== Oklahoma State at Missouri: 9 a.m., FX, with Gus Johnson, Charles Davis and Tim Brewster

Sunday NFL:

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: San Diego at N.Y. Jets, with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms (instead of using the 1 p.m. window to show Oakland and Carson Palmer hosting Kansas City)
== 10 a.m., Channel 11: Atlanta at Detroit, with Sam Rosen and Brian Billick (instead of Chicago vs Tampa Bay in London with Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa)
== 1 p.m., Channel 11: Green Bay at Minnesota, with Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman
== 5:20 p.m., Channel 4: Indianapolis at New Orleans, with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michelle Tafoya

ESPN, Fox and NBC will find out Friday which of them has way overbid for the U.S. TV rights for the FIFA World Cups of 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.

But then, if you like watching paint dry, you can just stay here.

The three networks put in their last numbers today during a closed-door meetings at FIFA headquarters. Now they wait to find out how excited ESPN will be to win it again, bringing relieve to Fox and NBC executives.

Chuck Blazer, the American representative on FIFA's executive committee, said he was "optimistic" the U.S. will continue to be FIFA's most lucrative national market.

Not that he gets a finder's fee or anything.

"I'm very optimistic as to the results" for the two-tournament package, Blazer told The Associated Press by telephone from New York. "I have high expectations that the deal will see some record-breaking numbers."

Blazer predicted the value would rise "considerably" from the $425 million that FIFA received for U.S. rights for the 2010-2014 package. ESPN paid $100 million for English language rights and Univision bought Spanish-language rights for $325 million.

FIFA was paid $2.4 billion in broadcast sales worldwide just for the 2010 tournament played in South Africa. It was packaged with the 2014 event in Brazil, which is in a more attractive time zone for U.S. networks.

The latest deal is less friendly to American audiences. Qatar defeated the U.S. in the final round of voting in a five-bid contest last December for the 2022 Games.

FIFA announced in March that it already sold $1.7 billion worth of 2018-2022 broadcast rights to the Middle East and parts of Asia and Latin America. The deals were 90 percent more valuable than the same territories earned for 2010-2014, FIFA said.

REVISED:

Enough of those triangular graphic boxes plotting white dots off to the right of the screen during live baseball games.

Fox won't do it during the World Series when it begins its coverage tonight between the Rangers and Cardinals in St. Louis. And for a good reason.

They don't think it's accurate.

TBS might have had its PitchTrax monitor every pitch as it was delivered during its ALDS, NLDS and NLCS coverage the last few weeks.

ESPN might have had its yellow K-Zone box right next to the batters during the regular-season game coverage.

Heck, even a handful of Fox's regional networks -- including Fox Sports Midwest, covering the Cardinals, and Fox Sports Southwest, covering the Rangers -- did the live graphic off to the right side of the action during the season.

But Fox's network coverage will stick to its FoxTrax graphic only during pitch sequence replays, to illustrate to the best of its ability where balls landed in the somewhat nebulous strike zone. Knowing that nothing's perfect, and it's not about to ignite a controversy.

"The question is: What serves the viewer best?" asked Joe Buck, the network's lead play-by-play man. "That's the task. I've told our people during seminars that it drags us into an area where now all we're doing is basically grading the umpire. I think the game is really between a pitcher and a batter, and now we're taking viewers' eyes away from that matchup and looking to the bottom right after every pitch. It's just kind of superfluous in a way."

Ed Goren, Fox Sports' vice chairman and an executive producer on the network's World Series, made note that when Buck is calling an NFL game, he'll always remark that the "1st-And-Ten" yellow graphic is never 100 percent accurate either.

"It could be an inch or two off. Same thing with FoxTrax. Some may want to see it as a constant (on-air graphic). But my concern has always been: If the box shows the count of 3-and-1, and it's actually 2-and-2, it puts us in a position to constantly explain that it's just a guide. I don't think it helps to have it up there constantly. It creates more questions than benefits."

As a viewer, all you want is something that's not distracting, and is accurate.

TBS and ESPN don't satisfy either requirement. Fox, at least nationally, won't go there when going there only causes unnecessary controversy.

TBS may, in fact, have fueled a side story during its coverage of the ALDS Game 3 earlier this month when its on-air graphic seemed to show many of the pitches delivered by the Yankees' CC Sabathia hitting the strike zone despite the opinion of home plate umpire Gerry Davis.

"I actually thought he made a lot of good pitches tonight," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said at his post-game press conference after Sabathia lasted just six innings after 106 pitches in the Yankees' loss to the Tigers, "and I thought the zone was a small zone tonight. ... You throw some borderline pitches and you don't get them, it makes the innings tougher."

Buck said he had people calling him during that particular game "saying, 'that looked like a strike.' ... I don't know if it's right. The camera isn't dead-on. I don't know about you, or if I'm nuts, but there are times when I'm watching it, and the pitch looks inside, but the box shows that it's in the middle. It's just skewed in the way it's set. I think it's too confusing.

"It forces the broadcaster almost to comment on every pitch. It almost begs more time than not for a comment, when there are so many other things to talk about than whether a pitch was a ball or a strike. I don't understand the point of it. It's only to grade the umpires' consistency, but no one knows if it's Tom Hallion or Jeff Nelson behind the plate. You're tuning into listen to Tim and me, or to see who the home plate umpire is.

"There are inexact things in this game. There should be replay to determine if a guy is out or safe, if a ball is fair or foul. Those are concrete things. This, I'm not so sure. It's not exact. It's a guide. The more you treat is as if it's totally dead-on perfect and therefore mistakes are being made, then you're going down the wrong path."

Added Eric Karros, Fox's studio analyst: "Maybe it would be valuable if it could measure a home plate umpire's consistency. That gets to be a cliche, but all the batter really wants is someone who's consistent, even if it's a few inches off the plate. Can you measure consistency with technology? Can you map it out and show that, or would that take away from the telecast?"

When Fox regional network Sun Sports added the constant FoxTrax graphic to its Tampa Bay Rays games, Ned Tate, the game's executive producer, defended the move to the St. Petersburg Times in 2010.

"Fans love the bells and whistles you can put on a broadcast," said Tate. "That's how we see FoxTrax - it's a tool to add to the broadcast. It's not meant to be a measuring device on the umpire's ability to call balls and strikes. It actually has many applications that we can use to give the viewer more information."

Fox claims the location of its live strike zone graphic is accurate to within one inch, but there's no real way to confirm that.

"Even if FoxTrax says the pitch is outside the strike zone, it usually shows that it was close enough to swing at," Rays television analyst Kevin Kennedy said at the time to the newspaper. "My theory is don't leave it up to the umpire. If it's close, you need to swing at it, and FoxTrax usually shows that it's too close to take. But, sure, there are times when a batter is rung up on a pitch that should have been called a ball, and I think it's important to let the viewers know that. It's not meant to attack the ump, but to defend the player a bit."

ESPN officially debuted its K Zone on Sunday Night Baseball back in 2001, but only recently was showing the standing yellow box over the plate during games this past season.

For that matter, ESPN's toy department has been peddling a "K Zone" gadget that kids can use to play catch with on their front lawn. It sells for $59.99 on Amazon.com (linked here). But it only has one and a half stars out of five in the customer reviews.

Said one buyer: "This might be good for a younger ball player, say 4 or 5, but the calls are not accurate, says strike most of the time, even when hitting the other zones. Sometimes says strike even when you haven't done anything. Very poor product, espn should be ashamed."

ESPN, after all, started this whole fake strike zone graphic on TV in the first place. Maybe it really should be ashamed for starting all this.

And by the way, what was so wrong about the old "Pitch Back" nets with the metal pipes back in the day? The ones where you thread the ribbon through the netting to create your own strike zone to aim for?

== For a more anal analytical discussion, go to this link to see Colin Wyers' piece from 2010 in the Baseball Prospectus about why off-calibrated graphics don't mean a heck of a lot. Another BP story by Mike Fast, written earlier this year and linked here, revisits the idea that the PitchTrax isn't all that accurate.

He could have made this opinions known on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" game had someone allowed him to stay in the booth instead of booting him for John Madden/Tony Kornheiser/Jon Gruden.

Instead, comedian Dennis Miller, who doesn't want to off on a rant here, nonetheless called into "The Dino Costa Show" on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio last night and offered this take on the Jim-on-Jim crime that occurred at the end of the Detroit-San Francisco game last Sunday:

"For God sakes, are we adults or not? "Now they want to send Schwartz and Harbaugh to a re-education camp... What in the hell happened to this country? When did we become such wusses?"

And don't get him started on NFL rules ...

"It's not even football anymore," he said. "And you know what? I like the 'no launch' rule. Obviously, that makes sense. These are pool tables they are playing on now ... I like the 'crown of the helmet' thing. Nobody wants to see anybody Darryl Stingley'ed out there. But if they're going to turn this into another jagoff 9 to 5 operation that people try to escape from on the weekend, another politically correct piece of shit, where I got Ed Hoculi going into a tarp like Earl Warren with the Zapruder film to figure out if it's encroachment, then the league's going to go away eventually.

"All I know is this. The league dines out on Franco [Harris]'s 'Immaculate Reception' for 30 years now. If you watch the play, you don't see whether the ball strikes the turf or not. Everybody's stupefied that Franco caught the ball. I guarantee you that would have been ruled 'not-a-catch' on the field, they would've went to the replay and they would've said they had inconclusive evidence to overturn.

"Is that really the business the NFL wants to be in, overturning Immaculate Receptions?"

Anyone out there in need an NFL booth analyst, we've got a contact for Dennis in Santa Barbara that's still good.

Because Bryant Gumbel has the last word on HBO's "Real Sports," he threw this out for his final thoughts segment after last night's telecast concerning "Old Man River" David Stern:

"If the NBA lockout is going to be resolved any time soon, it seems likely to be done in spite of David Stern, not because of him. I say that because the NBA's infamously egocentric commissioner seems more hell-bent on demeaning the players than resolving his game's labor impasse.

"Some will, of course, cringe at that characterization, but Stern's disdain for the players is as palpable and pathetic as his motives are transparent. Yes, the NBA's business model is broken, but to fix it, maybe the league's commissioner should concern himself most with a solution, and stop being part of the problem."

Next episode, Gumbel reads aloud a chapter of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" with his own footnotes.

The Bleacher Report's Dan Levy responded with a tweet: "I can't wait until David Stern calls Bryant Gumbel 'some kind of sports media pharaoh.' #letmypeoplego

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Texas Rangers' C.J. Wilson answers a question during a news conference before practice for Game 1 of the World Series.

By Ronald Blum
The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- The coolest person at the World Series is C.J. Wilson.

The Texas Rangers pitcher chilled out as he prepared to face the St. Louis Cardinals in Wednesday night's opener. He spent 2½ minutes in a Dallas cryotherapy chamber, where liquid nitrogen lowered the temperature to a frosty 295 degrees below zero in an effort to speed body recovery.

"So 35 degrees should be no big deal, right?" Wilson said today after examining the frigid forecast for Game 1 at Busch Stadium, where he starts against the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter.

Wearing a dark ski cap, dress shirt and vest in the interview room, Wilson said he read about the Dallas Mavericks trying out cryotherapy last season, when they won the NBA championship, and had Rangers head athletic trainer Jamie Reed check out the relatively new treatment with Casey Smith, his Mavs' counterpart.

"I'm kind of an experimental guy. I'll go for the hyperbaric chamber, drink a new type of sports drink that's supposed to keep your blood sugar regulated. I'll do whatever," said Wilson, one of baseball's best talkers.

When Frank and Jamie McCourt did a jurisprudent musical chairs routine outside a downtown L.A. courtroom last June, trying to convince everyone that they'd reached an amicable resolution in their divorce proceedings, too many things were left lying around to trip everyone up.

This time when the music stopped, there was only one chair left.

And Frank apparently gets to sit in it.

Unless Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig can pull it out from under him in two weeks.

Through Frank McCourt's spokesman, he and his former wife today said were "pleased to announce that they have settled their divorce case," and ownership of the Dodgers is no longer in question.

It's all on Frank now. Red ink and everything.

A hearing on Wednesday in L.A. is supposed to make that stick.

Next up, an Oct. 31 lawyer-up battle with Selig to see if McCourt can prevent the MLB from seizing one of the sport's most storied franchises away from him and find a new owner.

The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that Jamie has settled for a $130 million parting gift from Frank, due in the spring of 2012. If he has not paid her in full by that deadline, the agreement stipulates that he has to put the team up for sale.

That could be forced anyway by MLB in two weeks after its hearing with a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware. But if that judge allows McCourt to keep the team, how does he pay Jamie the $130 million without a media rights deal done?

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

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

MLB World Series Games 1 and 2: Texas at St. Louis, Wednesday and Thursday, 5 p.m. each night, Channel 11:

The Rangers are back for seconds in the 107th Fall Classic, and they appear to be in Cruz control. After an ALDS against Tampa Bay where he went 1-for-15 and five strikeouts in four games, Texas right fielder Nelson Cruz smacked a record six homers and drove in another record 13 runs to earn the ALCS MVP award in the six-game victory over Detroit. And he did it hitting seventh in the lineup.

"It was fun to watch," said teammate Josh Hamilton, last year's ALCS MVP. "When Nellie gets in those streaks, they can come at any time. That's what the funniest part is. Every at-bat when he's up there, it could be the at-bat where he hits another one."
The Cardinals, who may be the wildest of wildcards to have made it this far in the postseason, are the last NL team standing in the Rangers' way, with Chris Carpenter back on the mound. They somehow have a home-field advantage only because of the NL winning the All-Star Game. Seem fair? Games 3 and 4 are Saturday and Sunday in at Arlington, Tex., so if the Rangers steal the first two, this thing could effectively end without venturing into the next work week.

MONDAY

NFL: Miami at N.Y. Jets, 5:30 p.m., ESPN:

As to whether Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall (above) plans to somehow get himself ejected by picking a fight with someone, Jets coach Rex Ryan says: "If he wants to get kicked out of the game in the second quarter, I think he should. ... I'm just happy that he's not picking on me to fight him."

TUESDAY

NHL: Kings vs. St. Louis, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., FSW:

Two weekends after the season started, and after four games played in places far, far away, the home opener. Will the players, who have traveled more than 17,000 miles in the last couple of weeks, have their heads in the correct time zone for this one? We're also trying to figure out what'll be louder: The ovation that Kings' Mike Richards gets when he finally plays at Staples Center, or the reception that "Seinfield's" Michael Richards gets next time he plays a local comedy club? Unfortunately, Drew Doughty is already on the injured list.

WEDNESDAY

Golf: PGA Grand Slam of Golf, final round, TNT, 4 p.m.:

Charl Schwartzel (Masters), Rory McIlroy (U.S. Open), Darren Clarke (British Open) and Keegan Bradley (PGA Championship) qualified to represent the golf world in this two-day event from the Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda. The first round runs 4-to-7 p.m. (delayed) Tuesday.

Series: "Man V. Food Nation," 6 p.m., Travel Channel:

A NASCAR eposide taped near Watkins Glenn International in New York features driver Joey Logano taking on the "Atomic Bomb Challenge" - a three-pound bacon double cheeseburger loaded with pulled pork and the meaty Rochester hot sauce over an additional pound of fries -- at Sticky Lips BBQ.

THURSDAY

College football: UCLA at Arizona, 6 p.m., ESPN:

The Wildcats stooped to firing Mike Stoops before the Bruins could do anything about Rick Neuheisel's future. And that could make a difference. "I know that team will respond in the way that they should, meaning that they will come out and play and play as hard as they can," said Neuheisel of Arizona (1-5, 0-4 in the Pac-12) now led by interim coach Tim Kish, previously the defensive coordinator. "Whenever there is a change, whatever the reasons why, there is always kind of a fresh start ... They are going to a lot of energy when they step on to the field and we've got to match that."

Soccer: Galaxy at CD Motagua, 7 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel:

Do the Galaxy really need to be focusing on these kind of contests with the MLS Cup playoffs just around the corner? Where are their priorities? Saturday, they finish the MLS season at Houston (4 p.m., FSW).

NHL: Kings at Phoenix, 7 p.m., FSW:

Another reason to pack the bags? OK, if only for Arizona. Can we drive this time?

FRIDAY

College football: West Virginia at Syracuse, 5 p.m.; ESPN; Rutgers at Louisville, 5 p.m., ESPN2:

Another look at Mikhal Marinovich, the Syracuse defensive end.

NHL: Ducks vs. Dallas, Honda Center, 7 p.m., Prime:

Jonas Hiller looks like he's got his vision back. Now he'll see Stars dancing around him.

SATURDAY

College football: USC at Notre Dame, 4:30 p.m., Channel 4:

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick tried to rally the students with a speech last week, asking them to get so rowdy that "I want you guys on that Saturday night at least once to make USC have a false start penalty." The other thing: Don't get too rowdy. "We haven't had a night game here in a long time because people are concerned about ... the consequences it will have on our conduct. You can solve that problem. So help us on that Saturday night to make the loudest, most raucous, but safe environment in college football." So, he wants it both ways? For the 83rd edition of the rivalry, the Trojans face an Irish team that's rattled off four wins in a row. Sophomore Tommy Rees, who engineered a sloppy 20-16 win at the Coliseum over USC last year when Matt Barkley was injured, has again effectively kept the starting quarterback job once held by senior Dayne Crist (Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks).

NHL: Kings vs. Dallas, Staples Center, 7:30 p.m., FSW:

The Stars have already jumped out to a 4-1 record, with all four wins at home. They'll play the Ducks the night before this one in Anaheim.

College football: Washington at Stanford, ESPN, 5 p.m.; Auburn at LSU, 12:30 p.m., Channel 2; Oregon at Colorado, 12:30 p.m., FSW:

The Huskies and Cardinal are a combined 11-1 this season, first and second in the Pac-12 North. Washington has scored at least 30 points in each of its first six games.

SUNDAY

Rugby World Cup, final game, noon, Channel 4:

The semifinals and quarterfinals were shown live from New Zealand -- meaning they were on at about midnight. This time, there's about a 12-hour delay.

NASCAR: Sprint Cup Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega, Ala., ESPN, 11 a.m.:

Five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, who finished 34th last week after a crash with 19 laps to go at Charlotte, has dropped to eighth place and 35 points behind Carl Edwards in the Chase and looks like it'll be a huge uphill battle. There's no SI cover curse?

NFL: Indianapolis at New Orleans, 5:20 p.m., Channel 4:

During a week where Buffalo, Cincinnati, New England, Philadelphia, San Francisco and the N.Y. Giants have a bye, NBC probably should have taken one as well instead of going up against a World Series contest.

(AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Dan Wheldon smiles during driver introductions for the IndyCar League's Las Vegas Indy 300 today.

Dan Wheldon has died from injuries after his car went sailing through the air during a massive 15-car wreck early in today's Las Vegas Indy 300.

He was 33.

Drivers were told of Wheldon's death in a meeting about two hours after the fiery crash that many drivers said was the worst they had ever seen. Only 15 cars were left racing after it happened.

Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 twice, including last May.

Wheldon started 34th in the 34-car field in the final IRL event of the season, given the chance to win a $5 millin prize if he was able to come all the way to win. He had moved up to 24th place by the 11th lap.

ABC was live with an onboard camera in Wheldon's car during the telecast on the 13th lap commenting about his position when, at the top of the screen, what would be the accident that took his life began to unfold with smoke and cars spinning out.

"It looks like Dan Wheldon may be involved in it," said ABC broadcaster Marty Reid as the red flag came out to stop all racing.

Minutes later, a helicopter was flying Wheldon to a local hospital.

"Many people ask me why I always sign off, 'Til we meet again,' because 'Good bye' is always so final," said Reid as he closed today's telecast of the race, with a video of Wheldon celebrating his most recenty Indy 500 victory by drinking milk in the winner's circle.

"Good bye, Dan Wheldon."

Some of our tweets (@tomhoffarth) sent while watching the race:

At 12:35 p.m., as the race started: Dan Wheldon should have his $5 million game face on: http://tinyurl.com/3ledpgr Let's be safe out there. ...

At 1:30 p.m.: say a prayer now for dan wheldon ... how fast excitement goes to horror in IRL

At 1:45 p.m., a retweet from Ashley Judd, the wife of driver Dario Franchitti: Thanks everyone for prayers. No update on Dan yet except unconscious but vitals are good. Everyone here very scared. Pray for medical team.

At 2:30 p.m.: It's been 1 1/2 hrs since Wheldon crash and no update. Drivers in a meeting. Danica seen crying. http://tinyurl.com/6h5flpm #prayersforwheldon

At 2:45 p.m.: From today's Q-and-A with Wheldon: Can you go from back to front safely? "Absolutely" he said: http://tinyurl.com/3ledpgr #prayersforwheldon

At 3 p.m.: IRL's worst nightmare: Dan Wheldon passes away, drivers ready for a 5-lap tribute in season finale.

(AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Dan Wheldon is transported to a medical helicopter following a crash during the IndyCar Series' Las Vegas Indy 300 auto race today in Las Vegas.

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon has been seriously injured after his car went sailing through the air during in a massive 15-car wreck early in Sunday's Las Vegas Indy 300.

The Indianapolis 500 winner, in line to win $5 million had he won the race from the back of the 34-car field, was injured when he car flew over another on the Lap 12 wreck and apparently caught part of the catch fence just outside of Turn 2.

Wheldon was transported unconscious to a hospital in a helicopter.

Paul Tracy, who was involved in the wreck, said a team of doctors was working on Wheldon, but there was no word of his injuries. A helicopter lifted off from the speedway, and an IndyCar official confirmed Wheldon was onboard.

If Dan Wheldon can wheel his way to the finish first in Sunday's IndyCar Racing League World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there will be a $5 million bonus waiting for him.

Well, actually, he'll split that with a fan who entered a contest.

But then, his team owner really gets the $2.5 million. After he pays his bills, Weldon's reported 40 percent slice of that amounts to -- carry the two, adjustthe carburetor -- about $1 million.

After taxes . . .

Gadzooks, how much is it really worth it for last May's Indianapolis 500 winner to risk his neck maneuvering from the very last spot of a 34-car field to win the 200-lap season-ending race? Is it all a Vegas mirage?

"I don't really know all the intricacies about how that $5 million is split up," the 33-year-old Brit said, stopping in L.A. this week before heading to the race. "But I don't think I'm obliged to let anyone know about it either."

His only obligation: Win a ride for the 2012 IRL season. Believe it or not, he's still unattached.

Before he grabs the wheel for the No. 77 car entered by Sam Schmidt Motorsports and Bryan Herta Autosport in association with Curb Agajanian, Wheldon shifted into Q-and-A mode about his chances for success:

Q: What are you gonna buy if you win this thing, a new car?

WHELDON: I think at my age, I'll do something more sensible. The question I have: How quick will it get into my bank account? There's really nothing specific that I'd like. Honestly, since winning at Indy, it's been a very busy and hectic schedule. I've enjoyed it very much, but maybe I owe my wife a vacation.

Q: What kind of car would someone like you drive around town anyway?

A: Right now, I just have an Acura RL (which generally cost $50,000 new). Honda takes pretty good care of me. Besides, I rarely drive. When I'm home in St. Petersburg, which is quite rare, I'm just relaxing.

Q: How fast can you get it going?

A: Whatever the speed limit says.

Q: Helio Castroneves holds the present-day IZOD IndyCar Series record for winning from the farthest back starting position -- he was 27th at Chicagoland Speedway in 2008. Is it more difficult three years later to do something like that?

A: Much harder. The depth of the field, it's far more competitive than it was back then. But it's still very possible. You've just got to have good pit stops. Don't count me out.

Q: And you can do it safely?

A: Absolutely.

Q: Then what's the strategy? Weave a lot? Lay back and wait for an opening? Be patient?

A: Honestly, you get to the front as quickly as possible. You can't afford to sit back and wait. Take the direct route. Run fast, stay out of the danger zone, and once you're up there, it allows your guys to be more flexible with their strategy.

Q: You could also just wait for guys to crash their own cars, like JR Hildebrand did on the last lap of the 500?

A: To me, that's not the best way to win. I did speak with JR afterward and asked why he did what he did. He was extremely concerned that he was running out of fuel, and if he got behind a car, he'd have to ease off the gas, then get back on the gas, but that would have sucked up a lot of fuel. He didn't have enough to even do that. It's one of the things that can happen, but ...

Q: Yeah, but his crash won your team $2.7 million. That isn't bad.

A: I think unfortunately no one is going to let him ever forget that one.

Q: During a test run a couple of weeks ago in Kentucky, you finished 14th after starting 28th. That didn't impress you?

A: It wasn't what we wanted. We thought we should have been more competitive. We understand now why it happened. It's obviously important to us that we learned a lot from that race and won't have the same problems in Vegas. It's not something I was happy about but it was a prep race, and hopefully we get the bugs out of the car now.

Q: This being Vegas, you're listed with 15-to-1 odds from MGM to win the race. How does that sound? Would you bet on yourself?

A: No, it's not legal for any driver to bet on himself in the series. But 15-to-1 . . . it's one of those things that's hard to judge. Honestly, do I think I have a shot? Absolutely. The team has given me a car that will be fine, no doubt. But you've seen the way races go - everything has to go right. I'll tell you the truth: I'll be going for it, with everything in my power to finish the season with an exclamation point. I'm not going to undermine how talented the field is either.

Q: And you've apparently pulled off this trick before?

A: Yeah, when I was at Richmond in 2004, I was last and won it. And it's probably a similar distance here. Maybe a little shorter track. The speedway in Las Vegas definitely bodes for a fast car to get to the front.

Q: So you've gone the whole season without a regular ride, even after winning the Indy 500 for the second time? What's the problem? Are you too high maintenance?

A: (Laughing) After this offseason, we'll just have to wait and see.

Q: Heck, Danica Patrick is leaving the IRL after this race. She can't just give you her spot with Andretti's team?

A: Until a deal (with Andretti) is signed, you can't say you're 100 percent confident. Certainly, this year put me in a stronger position than last year. You just never know

Q: Can you stay sharp playing racing video games?

A: I have a relationship with Simraceway, and the simulators are increasingly popular. With the fact that IndyCar has cut back on track testing, it does allow you to keep in rhythm, but you can never beat being on the track. I've used the simulator, and it'll be launched (online) toward the end of November, and it'll be fun to see how the consumers use it. There's a lot of stuff I have done prior to Simraceway, but I'd say for the profession, there are a lot of racing games now adays that can duplicate the tracks very realistic, but there's still that feel of the car that's missing.

Q: As far as Danica goes: What did she mean to the IRL during her stay?

A: I think she's done a huge job for the IndyCar series, and a great job at that. She attracted the mainstream media as well as the regular race media. She arrived at a point in the series where it someone like her, and she handled herself very well. She was a great ambassador and NASCAR should be proud to have her. She's positioned herself very well.

Q: Do you consider her track record in IRL - one win in 150-some races over some seven years - impressive enough?

A: Maybe you're a better judge looking from the outside, but she did win, and that's not easy. It's very hard to win any IndyCar race. Name all the drivers who we consider very good who haven't even done that.

Q: One last thing: Are you worried that if you win, you'll have to do a steamy GoDaddy commercial, since they're putting all the bonus money up?

A: Judging by the popularity of them, it's probably not a bad thing. You were asking about replacing Danica - that would be a step in the right direction.

Q: Even if they ask you to take your shirt off?

A: That'll be between me and them to discuss.

There aren't enough John Wooden books to fill an entire library. Yet.

So, having come across the latest -- celebrating what would have been his 101st birthday -- we decided it was worth getting the word out.

The UCLA Today faculty and staff news website gives all the background on "John Wooden: Basketball and Beyond -- The Official UCLA Retrospective," released by ASUCLA and UCLA Athletics (linked here)

Dick Enberg writes the introduction. Denny Crum has the forward. Rich Hoffer took care of the text for what's ultimately a large photo book.

Nan and Jim Wooden, his son and daughter, said of it: "We feel it's a fitting tribute to our father and his legacy to have this first book chronicling his time coaching at UCLA. The book documents what was the most personally and professionally rewarding era of our father's life that we feel should be celebrated and shared with as many as possible. It is also especially meaningful that it is being released today on what would have been his 101st birthday."

For a limited time, the book will be at the UCLA Store for $30. Order it at this link. That's 25 percent off the list price ($40) when it in retail stores on Nov. 1. Amazon has it linked here.

The final MLB awards as voted upon by the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America:

== American League Rookie of the Year:
1st : Mark Trumbo, Angels, and Ivan Nova, N.Y. Yankees (tie)
3rd: Eric Hosmer, KC

== National League Rookie of the Year:
1st: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta
2nd: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta
3rd: Danny Espinosa, Washington

== American League Comeback Player of the Year:
1st: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston
2nd: Melky Cabrera, Kansas City, and Casey Kotchman, Tampa Bay (tie)

== National League Comeback Player of the Year:
1st: Lance Berkman, St Louis
2nd: Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco
3rd: Carlos Beltran, N.Y. Mets/San Francisco

== American League Manager of the Year:
1st: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay
2nd: Jim Leyland, Detroit
3rd: Ron Washington, Texas

== National League Manager of the Year:
1st: Kirk Gibson, Arizona
2nd: Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee
3rd: Fredi Gonzalez, Atlanta

== American League Executive of the Year:
1st: Andrew Friedman, Tampa Bay
2nd: Dave Dombrowski, Detroit
3rd: Jon Daniels, Texas

== National League Executive of the Year:
1st: Doug Melvin, Milwaukee
2nd: Kevin Towers, Arizona
3rd: Ruben Amaro, Philadelphia

== American League "Rollie Fingers" Top Relief PItcher:

1st: Jose Valverde, Detroit
2nd: Mariano Rivera, N.Y. Yankees
3rd: Jonathan Papelbon, Boston

== National League "Hoyt Wilhelm" Top Relief Pitcher:

1st: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta
2nd: John Axford, Milwaukee
3rd: J.J. Putz, Arizona

What today's media column (linked here) covers: The new Charles Conlon baseball photography book, "The Big Show," with an interview featuring author Neal McCabe.

What isn't there: More McCabe mojo. We'll try to make up for it here:

"I like to think of this project as my 'Smile' album after coming out with the 'Pet Sounds' of baseball books," said McCabe, a huge fan of the Beach Boys. "Thank God I lived to see it."

God only knows what would have happened if the Conlon negatives had fallen into the wrong hands.

Look into the intense dark pupils of Donie Bush's eyes from the 1912 Tigers. There's a silhouette of Conlon taking the shot. Simply magnificent.

George Grantham, a member of the 1929 Pittsburgh Pirates and '32 Cincinnati Reds, looks like Orel Hershiser.

The immortal Fred Merkel ages dramatically from page 188 to 189, between the years of the 1912 New York Giants and 1925 New York Yankees.

"He wasn't an insider, but he wasn't an outsider either," McCabe said of Conlon. "There's a photo in 1924 of all the great baseball photographers once taken like a high school photo. There are 30 guys there. Conlon isn't there. He just had this weird little niche and didn't care of he got recognized.

"He was just like a gardner who grew beautiful flowers. He did everything with the right intentions. It was like a zen thing. And his story is like a zen meditation on morality. The most famous guys he photographed as as dead now as the most obscure are. We're all equal in the end."

==More on challenges doing the book: "There were really two parts. The players were either really famous, or really obscure. In both cases, I wasn't going to write that he had 23 home runs and knocked in 48 runs and hit .242 for his career. I was looking at him in the photo. Does he look upset? Friendly? I went through the Library of Congress, newspaper archives, for any kind of tidbits. I didn't want it to be like every other book. It's designed to be opened at random."

==Any desire to do a third book: "Not really. Maybe if I had every photo he ever took to look through. If we had all of them, there'd be 10 books and they'd all be just as good. His standards were very high. They weren't treated and made slick. They weren't blurry trying to be artistic. And Conlon didn't discriminate. He was absolutely fascinating. Some of his contemporaries, like George Burke, had a lot of photos for sale, signed by players. But they're fuzzy. Conlon knew how to 'improve' his photographs by doing things that weren't considered interesting at the time.There's a certain sameness to them all. And a picture that Conlon took of Billy Gilbert of the 1904 New York Giants looks as sharp as if it was taken today."

==McCabe on his most favorite discovery: "Kent Greenfield. I saw the photo and it was, wow, how beautiful, but he looks so sad and depressed. I looked up the guy. Nothing. Encyclopedias. Nothing. Hall of Fame archives. Nothing. All the other standard reference works. Nothing of interest. The problem now is, he's in the book. But I don't know what to say about him. Now, I'm at the UCLA research library, and there's a biography of Robert Penn Warren, a big fat book. The first U.S. Poet Laureate. And in this one book is Kent Greenfield's baseball card. Turns out, he was his best friend growing up. And he wrote poems about Greenfield. It turned out his life was as a miserable alcoholic. But he connected with Warren from childhood in Kentucky. And Kent said he always kept something that Warren gave him as a child. It was a picture of him that Warren wrote: 'Kent Greenfield, good boy.' Does that have anything to do with baseball? No. But that's what makes it transcent material. Some of these guys are something special."

==McCabe writes in his own bio on the book flap that "his lifelong fascination with baseball history was sparked by the hypnotic storytelling of Dodger announcer Vin Scully."

"My mom grew up in Venice and was a big baseball fan," said McCabe. "She'd take us to games on the Lions Club bus a few times in the '60s. I never associated her with baseball. One day I was going through a family trunk and found a baseball program from Fenway Park -- the 1946 All Star game. She tried to keep score. I asked her, 'Why didn't you ever tell me you went to this game?' I knew it was the one where Ted Williams hit the famous ephes pitch homer. She said: 'You never asked.'"

As a result, McCabe made it a point to attend an "important game" in his life. That turned out to be Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Called by Scully. Who now has a copy of McCabe's book, since McCabe sent him one recently.

== More on the Conlon Collection photos for sale: www.theconloncollection.com

== A new, reissued version of the 1993 "Baseball's Golden Age" ($35) is out to accompany "The Big Show" and includes a new text by Roger Angell.

== The books: "Major League Baseball Profiles: 1871-1900," volumes 1 and 2
== The author: Compiled and edited by David Nemec, with writing also from David Ball, Jeffrey Kittel, Brian McKenna, Eric Miklich, Peter Morris, Lyle Spatz, John Thorn, Dick Thompson, Frank Vaccaro and Philip Von Borres
== The background info: University of Nebraska Press, $39.95 each, 660 and 550 pages

== The scoop: Volumn one is focused on, position by position, the "Ballplayers who Built the Game," with the eccentric followup shining a light on "The Hall of Famers and Memorable Personalities who Shaped the Game," including those who died mysterious deaths, scandals, rogues, ethnic firsts, and notable one-game players.
Got a few hundred hours? Enjoy reading the telephone book? Then take the phone off the hook and hunker down. This could take awhile.
All for the good.
But with no pictures. Sorry.

A bio at random: Page 147 of Volume 2:

Taylor, George J.
Managed 109 games, won 40, lost 64. 0 Pennants.
Born: 11/22/1852, New York.
Died: 10/28/1911
Teams: 1884 Brooklyn A
"A writer with a handlebar mustache and an unhealthy complexion, George Taylor was the visionary who gave Brooklyn the team that became the Dodgers. ... (with a journalism degree) he worked for the New York Herald. For years he advocated a professional club for Brooklyn and finally dipped into his own pocket to set up Brooklyn's entry in the 1883 Interstate Association. ... Taylor insisted on managing 'for health's sake' because his journalism career kept him cooped up in small offices. Nonetheless, he would often smoke a box of cigarettes during a game. Quiet and unobtrusive, Taylor usually piloted from the scorer's table. He designed the team's pokla-dot uniform and made Wednesday 'Ladies' Day.' ... on January 12, 1884, Taylor made his first appearance with the American Association entry when he led one half of the team then under contract to the Brooklyns in a game at Brooklyn's Washington Park against the other half of the team, which was managed by Henry Chadwick. The game was played on ice skates, with Sam Kimber pitching for Taylor's nine, final score unknown ..."
Can you top that?

The dedication of $8.9 million William Rolland Stadium and Gallery of Fine Art on the Cal Lutheran campus in Thousand Oaks is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, prior to the Kingsmen's 1 p.m. football game against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

The multi-purpose field (football, soccer, commencement ceremonies) that has a signature 70-foot clock tower has 2,000 seats but can expand and has been built to NCAA standards so that it can accomodate playoff games -- meaning, lights and a top-quality permanent artificial turf, along with home team locker rooms, coaches' offices, meeting rooms and a press box.

The previous CLU field on campus, Mount Clef Stadium, was used since 1963 as a football-only field, once a summer camp for the Dallas Cowboys that did not have lights.

Inside the 6,000-square-foot facility, the art gallery will initially house pieces of donor William Rolland's extensive and eclectic collection of bronze statuary, paintings and high-performance race cars. Rolland is a real estate developer and one of the founding residents of Westlake Village, making a donation for more than half of the total cost of the new field.

The stadium is located on the north side of Olsen Road between Campus Drive and Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus, near the Sparky Anderson baseball field.

== The book: "A Moment in Time: An American Story of Baseball, Heartbreak and Grace"
== The author: Ralph Branca, with David Ritz
== The background info: Scribner, $25, 223 pages

== The scoop: "Baseball is the reason I am writing this book, the reason I've led a life worth reexamining and dissecting," he says in the intro.
Then from the last chapter: "In spite of my abiding Catholic faith, I had planned to be true to the vindictive piason within me and conclude with this thought: In 1951, the Giants didn't win the pennant; the Giants stole the pennant.' Now, though, I have some reservations. I'm feeling that I should strive for a higher sentiment. The better part of me wants to forgive the Giants and their scheme. Forgiving them is the right things to do. I'm trying, but it looks like it's going to take me a couple of more years to get there."
In between, it's a man struggling with the truth, and how to handle it. Sixty years later.
From a man who pitched 12 big-league seasons, and won 88 games, but is best known for, well, you know, and his connection to, well, you know.
Branca and Bobby Thomson became more friendly in later years. But it wasn't easy.
There's a lot for Branca to get off his chest -- most stemming from the fact that it's been well publicized now from the 2008 book "The Echoing Green" (linked here) that the New York Giants stole signs and flashed signals to the batters about pitches coming in the 1951 season.
In the Branca chapter, "One Wollensack Telescope," there's this conversation with a teammate he had down the road with the Detroit Tigers:
"He knew you were going to throw him a fastball."
"You mean he guessed."
"No, he knew. They were stealing the signs . . . Listen to me Ralph, I'm not talking about on-the-field sign stealing. Everyone does that. I'm talking aobut a World War II telescope called the Wollensak that lets you see a fly on a chimney 300 feet away. . ."
Giants third baseman Hank Schenz, a backup they picked up from Chicago in '51, was in the Navy and had the telescope. He told coach Herman Franks. He told manager Leo Durocher.

How did Branca eventually get over it? It didn't hurt that 10 years ago, on the event's 50th anniversary, he and Thompson began to profit mightly from their connection at trade shows and collection conventions.
The minor downside to this:
We trust Branca's memory, but there is one paragraph that makes us kind of cringe, though, as Branca relives his bottom of the ninth immortality in the historic game against the New York Giants on Oct. 3, 1951.
The Dodgers had a 4-1 lead. Alvin Dark singled. Don Mueller singled. Whitey Lockman doubled. Now it's 4-2.
"Two on, no out. Tying run at the plate," Branca writes on page 150 as he watched from the bullpen as Don Newcomb struggling with Monte Irvin coming up.
Just one problem: Despite Branca's description, Irvin actually represented the winning run. He could have been the real hero.
But Irvin popped up for the first out.
"Now it was Bobby Thomson coming to the plate, representing the winning run," Branca writes. "Newk was out and I was in."
Now that we're back on track ..

As if that isn't unsettling enough, Branca also writes in the next chapter about returning to Dodgers' spring training the next year, and having his No. 13 replaced with No. 12.
While having a chat with Pee Wee Reese, Branca describes how he was about to sit down in a chair that slid out from him.
"I landed right on top of a Coke bottle . . . I took a direct hit just to the left of the coccyx . . . The funny part was that I had no pain, but when I went to change for bed, the blood had coagulated on my shorts."
TMI? Maybe.
But if that's what Branca wants to get out there, it's a load off his shoulders. And his trousers.

The baseball books that we've been reading the last month or so, getting our mind prepped for a World Series that apparently no one seems fully prepared to watch outside of the Central Time Zone since the top three spending teams -- Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox -- apparently didn't spend enough:

== The book: "Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure"
== The author: Craig Robinson
== The background info: Bloomsbury, $25, 154 pages

== The scoop: A collection of the best of Robinson's flipflopflyball.com website, up since 2009, looking at the sport as if the Onion created those colorful graphics for USA Today.
Or, according to Deadspin.com, "what you'd get if you mated Edward Tufte with Bill James." Look it up. It'll make sense.
The charts are quirky, quantitative and qualitative, without question. They're bold and subtle at the same time. They take the colorless numbers and make them dance - even with stats that are even more boring than they should be.
The fact that Robinson, who describes himself as "a bearded, myopic, Englishman who (for the time being, at least) lives in Mexico City," is even less enthralled with the game as most Americans probably makes it easier to draw upon his dry wit and talent to pick the right fonts, neon hues and thick-enough bar charts to show things in a whole new way.
He has, for example, taken that Buzzie Bavasi line about how two 8-7 pitchers could have replaced the 16-14 Nolan Ryan with the Angels in 1979 and mapped it out. Dang, in some cases, it holds true. Unless you want strike outs and innings pitched.
Two pages later, he's making a graphic case for why centaurs wouldn't make a good third baseman - except when tagging up from third on a fly ball in the bottom of the ninth with one out representing the winning run.
This is the man who has given us an actual name for the Dodger Stadium scoreboard in right and left field (before the later changed to rounded corners): "It's kind of a hexagonal lozenge or something. Very beautiful, though."
It's part of the masthead on his website.
How nutty were we about this book? We tracked down Robinson's prevous books online (a children's tome called "Fun Fun Fun: 30 Ways to Have Fun" and "Minipops") and bought them for a couple of bucks. They're not as technically savvy as this one, but they're the germs that made this one blossom. it's like finding computer-generated Rembrants that someday will be worth far more than they are now.

Jerry West's first mention of the late Lakers Hall of Fame broadcaster Chick Hearn isn't until rather deep into his new autobiography, "West By West: My Charmed, Tormented Life" (Little, Brown and Company, $27.99, 338 pages, linked here).

But it's worth waiting for. And apparently, it was done that way intentionally.

The book, scheduled for release on Oct. 19, devotes some nice passages about Hearn between pages 218 and 270. The highlights:

"The real reason for the spike (in attendance during the 1961 playoffs at the Sports Arena) had less to do with our performance on the court than with the hiring of Chick Hearn to do the play-by-playin March of 1961, right in the middle of our playoff series against the St. Louis Hawks. Before you knew it, four thousand became fifteen thousand, and we slowly made our way to the front page . . .

"I haven't said much about Chick Hearn so far because I've been saving the best for last, as the saying goes, for near the end. There is no question that Chick had so much to do with enriching the image of the Lakres, but he was also responsible for further elevating Elgin Baylor's career and helping enormously to make mine. Even if Elgin Baylor was the one who came up with Zeke from Cabin Creek -- I say if because I have never been entirely sure --- Chick was the one to give it currency. He was definitely the first one to call me 'Mr. Clutch.' And he was the one who said he had never seen a player take a loss harder or allow it to linger longer.

"He was as loved, if not more loved, than any player who ever played for the Lakers.
"'He truly was a celebrity,' I told Marge.
"She was quiet for a moment, then said, 'It's such a shame he never knew that.'
"'He didn't want to know that,' I said. 'He didn't think of himself that way.'"

Who'll be providing the audio for the football games on your TV sets this weekend:

College football Saturday *-unless otherwise noted:

== *USC at Cal:: 6 p.m., ESPN, Thursday, with Rece Davis, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Jenn Brown
== *San Diego State at Air Force: 5 p.m., CBS Sports Network, Thursday, with James Bates, Aaron Taylor and Brooke Collins.

== Arizona State at Oregon: 7:15 p.m., ESPN, with Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews (ESPN "College GameDay" also originates from Eugene, Ore.)
== Michigan at Michigan State: 9 a.m., ESPN, with Dave Pasch, Chris Spielman, Urban Meyer and Quint Kessenich
== Oklahoma State at Texas: 12:30 p.m., Channel 7, with Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Longhorn Network reporter Samantha Steele
== Ohio State at Illinois: 12:30 p.m., ESPN, with Bob Wischusen, Bob Davie and Heather Cox
== LSU at Tennessee: 12:30 p.m., Channel 2, with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson with Tracy Wolfson.
== Florida at Auburn: 4 p.m., ESPN, with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe
==Oklahoma at Kansas: 6:15 p.m., ESPN2, with Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard and Shelley Smith

Sunday NFL:

== 10 a.m., Channel 2: Buffalo at N.Y. Giants, with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
== 10 a.m., Channel 11: San Francisco at Detroit, with Kenny Albert, Darryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa
== 1 p.m., Channel 11: Dallas at New England, with Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman
== 5:20 p.m., Channel 4: Minnesota at Chicago, with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michelle Tafoya

The Associated Press

Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo has apologized to the presidents and ADs of the Atlantic Coast Conference for saying in a newspaper interview that ESPN told the league to add Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

Boston College released DeFilippo's short letter today, where he apologizes for "any negative effects caused by my recent interview with a Boston Globe reporter."

He adds that he "spoke inappropriately and erroneously regarding ESPN's role in conference expansion."

Last month, Syracuse and Pitt announced they will leave the Big East to join the ACC, pushing membership in that conference to 14 and leaving the Big East scrambling to replace two of its oldest members.

In the Boston Globe article, DeFilippo said: "We always keep our television partners close to us. You don't get extra money for basketball. It's 85 percent football money. TV -- ESPN -- is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball."

DeFilippo also said in the story that Boston College worked to keep UConn from being invited to the ACC.

"We didn't want them in," he told the Globe. "It was a matter of turf. We wanted to be the New England team."

When Boston College left the Big East for the ACC after the 2005 season, UConn was among the remaining conference members that sued BC.

In the letter dated Oct. 11, DeFilippo acknowledged that "while I harbor some ill feelings toward the University of Connecticut regarding the lawsuit, depositions and derogatory comments from UConn officials when we announced our decision to join the ACC, it was inappropriate to express personal feelings that might have been construed as the position of Boston College or the Atlantic Coast Conference."

He added: "I regret any misunderstandings or negative fallout my actions may have caused."

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

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

IRL: World Championships at Las Vegas, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7:

As if you needed a reason to take a Vegas weekender, the climax to the IndyCar Racing League hits the desert -- or, about as close as its going to get to L.A. IndyCar had held it's season-ending race at Chicagoland from 2006-08 and then Homestead-Miami Speedway the last two years. Both tracks have been dropped from the schedule. So here we are. The MGM is offering the hotel packages with comped general admission seats to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandalay Bay has the fan zone. They're going to shut down the Strip on Thursday night for the first time and have the cars parade up Las Vegas Blvd., allowed to go 60 mph for a couple of block stretch. There's the season-ending awards show. Dario Franchitti is trying to hold off Will Power in the point standings to capture his fourth open wheel racing trophy, to go along with his trophy wife, Ashley Judd, and trophy dog.

Oh, and its Danica Patrick kissing off the IRL before she jumps to NASCAR and competes with Dale Earnhardt Jr., as the most popular racer never to win (she's ironically also racing with his JR team as a full-time NASCAR Nationwide driver). She's 10th in the current IRL standings, without a finish better than fifth this year.

"The IndyCar Series is not just me running around," said Patrick, racing in the No. 7 Andretti car. "If it was, it would be extremely boring. It takes personalities and story lines to maintain interest. NASCAR has been very successful without me. Just because I'm going there now doesn't mean it's going to succeed or fail because of me. The same goes for the IndyCar Series." Patrick has won an IRL event only once in 115 tries. What are the odds of her pulling off a Hollywood finish? She finished fourth at the Vegas track back in March during a NASCAR Nationwide event -- the highest placement of a female driver in a NASCAR stock-car series race ever. The MGM has given her 60-to-1 odds to win, versus 8-to-1 for the field.

Meanwhile, IRL CEO Randy Bernard put up a $5 million reward if anyone from outside the IRL could come in and win this race. He got only Scott Speed to sorta accept the challenge. Instead, Bernard set up a deal with Dan Wheldon -- the surprise Indy 500 winner will have to start at the back of the record 34-car pack and, if he wins, he'll split the $5 million with a fan. Wheldon, who hasn't raced in IndyCar since that Indy victory in May, will drive the No. 77 car jointly entered by Sam Schmidt Motorsports and Bryan Herta Autosport. The MGM has the odds of a Wheldon win at 15-to-1. We'll take that wager.

MONDAY

MLB: AL Championship Series Game 2: Detroit at Texas, 1:30 p.m., Channel 11:

The Tigers should be accustomed to all this rain-delay stuff messing with their post-season pitching rotation. They'll try Game 2 again today before taking this series, without an off day, back to Detroit, where rain doesn't seem to be an issue. Game 3 is set for Tuesday (5 p.m., Channel 11), with Games 4 and 5 (if necessary) are in the daytime Wednesday and Thursday at 1 p.m.; a Game 6 would be Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and a Game 7 is set for Sunday at 4:30 p.m., all on Fox.

MLB: NL Championship Series Game 2: St. Louis at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., TBS:

Admit it: You're getting hooked on "Monsters, Inc." growling and Nyjer Morgan's "Tony Plush" alter-ego heroics. Ex-Dodger Edwin Jackson gets the near-impossible task of trying to squash the Ryan Braun brawlers tonight. After a night off, games 3, 4 and maybe 5 are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in St. Louis at 5 p.m., with a Game 6 set for Sunday back in Milwaukee at 1 p.m., all on TBS.

NFL: Chicago at Detroit, 5:30 p.m., ESPN:

With or without Hank Williams Jr., the country should be properly inebriated to watch the 4-0 Lions through their beer glasses. Wait, is that Erik Kramer back at QB?

THURSDAY

College football: USC vs. Cal in San Francisco, 6 p.m., ESPN:

It's not Thursday night baseball from the home of the defending World Series champs, just a football game on a field where the Giants call their home. They're here as a result of Cal's protests finally being heard -- Memorial Stadium was getting too messy, so now they're fixing it up. Last year, USC's Matt Barkley threw five TD passes in a 48-14 win that wasn't even that close. ESPN has Rece Davis, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Jenn Brown on the broadcast.

NHL: Kings at New Jersey, 4 p.m., FSW:

As long as they're trekking back from Europe, might as well stop off in Jersey and knock out another mandatory schedule requirement. Even though the Kings were the designated home team in the games played last week in Stockholm and Berlin, eight of the Kings' first 11 games are actually away from home. Snookie on this one.

FRIDAY

Tennis: HSBC Tennis Cup Champions Series, 7:30 p.m., Staples Center:

What would you pay to see Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier goof around in some kind of quasi-tournament? Seats near the net in this one go for $400 apiece; up in the rafters, it's $35. Two of them play each other in the prelims (first to six wins), and the winners face off in the title match (first to eight). Pulled hamstrings optional. Agassi comes in the freshest -- the night before, all but him (Michael Chang is part of that foursome) are doing this in Seattle. on Saturday, Agassi takes Chang, McEnroe and Sampras play in his hometown of Vegas. More info: ChampionsSeriesTennis.com

NHL: Ducks vs. San Jose, Honda Center, 7 p.m., FSW:

Back home from Stockholm with a 1-1 mark, the Ducks have four of their first five in Anaheim. Just in time for one of the preseason Western Conference favorites.

SATURDAY

Boxing: Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson, Staples Center, 6 p.m., pay per view:

Same old story: The 46-year-old Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs) is trying to use the 29-year-old Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs) as a way to extend his legacy as the oldest boxer to hold a major championship. It happened in Montreal last May after Hopkins knocked off Jean Pascal for the WBC light-heavyweight title. "I want Chad Dawson to see I have gray hair," said Hopkins. " I want to look like his father. ... That age difference is appropriate for me to look like I'm gray, and I have gray, because realistically, if you do the math, he could be my son."
More intriguing on the undercard: Dewey Bozella, a 52-year-old released from Sing Sing after serving 26 years wrongfully accused of murder in 1983, recently got his boxing license with Hopkins' help and will make his one-and-only pro fight against a to-be-determined cruiserweight. Bozella gave an inspirational speech at the ESPY Awards last July, sparking Golden Boy Productions to reach out to him and see if he'd like to fulfill his dream. "It was that one-in-a-million chance, because that just doesn't happen," said Bozella. "It's the gift. To never give up." This fight card will cost your credit card $59.95 HD/$49.95 regular. Tickets range from $25 to $300 face value.

NHL: Kings at Philadelphia, 4 p.m., FSW:

You think Mike Richards has something to prove to the Flyers, who traded their captain to L.A. in the offseason, not because they were particularily interested in adding Wayne Simmonds?

NASCAR: Bank of America 500, from Concord, N.C., 4:30 p.m., Channel 7:

We just dropped BofA as our principal home mortage lender, and took the credit union route from here. Hey, better rates. Why else? Maybe because Bank of America decided it would be the first to charge $5 a month just to use your ATM card at the grocery store. See how that goes when spectators at Charlotte Motor Speedway swipe their plastic at the souvenir shop.

College football: Michigan at Michigan State, 9 a.m., ESPN; Florida at Auburn, ESPN, 4 p.m.; Oklahoma State at Texas, Channel 7, 12:30 p.m.; LSU at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m., Channel 2; Arizona State at Oregon, 7:15 p.m., ESPN:

UCLA has the week off. Check out your options. ESPN sends out Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit to the ASU-Oregon game, starting with the 7 a.m. GameDay.

SUNDAY

MLS: Galaxy at Chivas USA, Home Depot Center, 6 p.m., ESPN:

We've stopped counting how many goals Juan Pablo Angel has scored with Chivas since the Galaxy gave him away. In the grant scheme, they don't count for much. The Galaxy have secured the league's best record, and are playing for the first time after a 12-day break in the SuperClasico/L.A. Derby.

NFL: Minnesota at Chicago, 5:20 p.m., Channel 4:

The Bears get their second prime-time exposure in less than a week. If the entire game boiled down to the Vikings constantly punting to Devon Hester, that'd be worth tuning in.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Oakland Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell (8) is joined in the huddle with teammates with a decal on their helmets to honor the team's late owner Al Davis in today's game in Houston.

This time, they stayed.

How come? Apparently, because they now can.

Instead of flipping over to the start of the San Diego Chargers' 1:15 p.m. game at Denver this afternoon as the NFL maintains it is contractually obligated to do, KCBS-Channel 2 stayed with the conclusion of the Raiders' 25-20 victory at Houston, and then switched over.

The victory was particularly poignant for the Raiders' franchise coming a day after owner Al Davis died at the age of 82.

On Sept. 18, KCBS insisted it was obligated to leave the Raiders' game at Buffalo with 27 seconds to play. The Raiders led 35-31, but the Bills were driving toward would be a game-winning touchdown. At 1:14 p.m., KCBS left to join the kickoff of the Chargers' game in New England. The bottom line: L.A. has been established as a secondary TV market for San Diego and thus had to be shown the game from the start.

NFL policy is also to stay with any game until its conclusion -- unless there's a contractual alignment. Except this week, it seems as if that rule can be bent without anyone getting in trouble.

NFL spokesman Dan Masonson reitereated today a stance he told the Daily News that the league's decision-makers would take in the aftermath of the Sept. 18 non-switch: "We said that moving forward we would take this type of situation into account for secondary markets. In this case, the outcome of a game was in doubt, so we did not require CBS to take the L.A. market away from the game. If the outcome of the early game (Oakland-Houston in this case) was not in doubt, Los Angeles, as a secondary market of San Diego's, as usual would have seen the start of the Chargers game."

The policy also seems to affect those who have invested in DirecTV's "NFL Sunday Ticket," as games blacked out on their service because they are televised by a local station don't always re-appear after contractual games are switched over.

At 1:14 p.m. today, with the Raiders leading the Texans 25-17 and 3:43 left in the fourth quarter, the scroll on the screen told viewers: "We will be going to the Chargers/Broncos game immeidately following the conclusion of the Raiders/Texans game." Houston has the ball inside the 15 yard line and a first-and-10 situation.

At 1:35 p.m., the Raiders-Texans game, which began at 10 a.m., reached a dramatic conclusion -- Raiders safety Michael Huff intercepted Texans quarterback Matt Schaub's pass in the end zone as time ran out and Houston trying to win on the final play. After showing the Raiders' celebrattion, and a replay, KCBS went to 90 seconds of local commercial spots and, at 1:38 p.m., picked up the Chargers-Broncos game as Denver led, 7-3, with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter and the Chargers in possession on their own 31 yard line.

Twice during the extra time with the Raiders-Texans game, viewers were updated on the CBS score scroll that the Chargers went up 3-0 with 8:37 in the first quarter, and then Denver lead 7-3 with 5:58 left on a 55-yard intereception return.

The NFL has for years maintained that its policy for the Los Angeles market involving the Chargers' games was a non-negotiable rule. Because KCBS-Channel 2's signal reaches within 75 miles of the Chargers' home field at Qualcomm Stadium, L.A. is deemed to be a secondary market for the team and subject to restrictions involving showing all Chargers' road games. KCBS is not obligated to show Chargers home games.

During this morning's NFL on Fox pregame show, studio analyst Howie Long, who played 13 season with the Raiders, said it about Al Davis, the Raiders owner who died Saturday at the age of 82:

"Back in 1980 as a senior at Villanova I had missed a couple of games because of, let's say, an off campus misunderstanding. For some teams I'm sure that might have been a red flag, but for the Raiders and Al Davis, it was less of a concern. Going from Villanova, where there was a priest on every floor, to the Raiders locker room was, needless to say, a culture shock. One thing that became very apparent was that the Raiders' mindset and the mystique of the football team, was defined by one man, Al Davis.

"He was omnipresent and being a Raider was all about one thing - winning. It was something Al Davis was consumed by 24/7 and as a player you knew that there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to give you the best possible chance to succeed.

"You were now part of a team, an organization that was an island onto itself. Putting on that helmet meant something to generations of players and if you weren't part of it, you were the enemy. In many ways it was the Ellis Island of the NFL, players from schools like Texas A & I, Colgate and Maryland Eastern Shore or players that had been written off as done and yes, some players with a checkered past.

"But regardless of where you were from or what had happened in your past, once you put on that helmet you were a Raider and the only thing expected of you was to play and to win.

"There are many from this generation who will judge Al Davis by the last 10-plus years or by his many legal battles with the league. But what I would want today's generation to know is that yesterday the NFL lost a titan, a man who more than any other helped shape the league and the game you see played today.

"He was an AFL maverick, forcing the NFL-AFL merger as commissioner, a successful owner and coach with the Raiders, winning three Super Bowl titles and an AFL Championship. He was also a pioneer, hiring the league's first modern era African-American head coach in Art Shell and also the league's first Latino head coach in Tom Flores.

"Yesterday, Al Davis lost the one battle he knew he could never win, the battle with time. There's never been anyone like him and I'm confident in saying there will never be anyone like him in the future."

If there's ever going to be an NHL Winter Classic somewhere in Southern California, John Collins will make it happen.

The NHL's puckish chief operations officer, going into his fifth season with the league, has been the primary fulcrum into making outdoor hockey one of the sport's most anticipated events of the year, a New Year's Day celebration crosschecking its way into college football day of bowl games.

The 49-year-old marketing man with 15 years experience in the NFL has a brain that's worth picking about where hockey can go as the league starts its 95th season this weekend. He made the trek to Helsinki and Stockholm to watch the four teams open in Europe -- including the Kings and Ducks -- but before he left, he did some forward-thinking talking:

Question: In an interview you did recently with Ad Age magazine, you said that you're the one in charge of making the NHL think bigger and push envelopes . . . and that includes, you said, making the Stanley Cup playoffs as big as March Madness from a TV ratings and advertising standpoint. Is that mad?

Answer: Look, that's a high bar. But we think when we look at brand research, not just among hockey fans but among all sports fans, the Stanley Cup is up there with the Super Bowl and World Series and March Madness as one of the biggest events in sports, and it has that brand equity. It doesn't come right now with that size of TV ratings, but as part of the recent U.S. TV negotiations (with NBC and Versus, expanding the partnership for the next 10 years), we felt that we wanted to stress with our TV partner a plan that guarantees every game through the playoffs be nationally televised in its entirety - and that's a big change. Last year, 40 percent of the first two rounds weren't aired nationally. Go back two years to the Flyers and Blackhawks in the finals - none of the Flyers games in the first two rounds were on nationally. You never know who'll end up in the finals, so we want to tell the stories as early as possible to expose fans to those teams. To have the opportunity to take things to the next level, one of our big announcements was a sponsorship deal with Coors. That's a big piece of it. When I worked at the NFL, they did a phenomenal job at promoting that league and taking it to bars and restaurants and tailgates. That's a big hook for the Stanley Cup playoffs, to elevate the playoffs as a unifying force and get people together with friends watching games.

Q: There are a couple of great L.A. gathering places to watch hockey in L.A. -- we frequent the Redondo Beach Cafe, which is a huge Kings hangout, as well as the Canadiens. You can see more people in L.A. flocking to bars and restaurants watching Stanley Cup playoffs?

Collins: We did a lot of focus group work on L.A. over the summer, and I think we learned a lot of things. They feel good about hockey and we need to make it more a part of their lives. NBC-Universal will help, and the Kings, along with Tim Leiweke and his boys will do their part.

The actual Bill Buckner ball, signed by Mookie Wilson on the night it was retrieved, as it appears on Seth Swirsky's website, www.seth.com

Seth Swirsky ain't no sucker. He has a sweet deal to sell you on.

Wouldn't that be enough to curb your enthusiasm for wanting the Buckner ball now?

== A letter that former Boston Red Sox manager John McNamara wrote to Seth Swirsky that appears on Swirsky's website, www.Seth.com:

Surely, in her world travels, Angela Ruggiero knocked the puck around before in Italy.

Hopefully, that being part of her resume could have counted for something as the Simi Valley native, four-time U.S. women's hockey Olympic team member and current International Olympic Committee board member will be inducted into the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will be Oct. 22 in Chicago. Bring a big red checkered bib.

The 33rd induction class will include former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, former baseball player/manager Ken Aspromonte and former baseball star Bob Aspromonte.

Previous inductees you may recognize with So Cal ties include (do we really need to guess on this?): Tommy Lasorda (who has his own wing, seriously, linked here), Mike Piazza, Louis Zamperini, Joe Torre, Mike Scioscia, Sonny Vaccaro, Bobby Valentine, Joey Amalfitano, Cami Granato (not Tony) ... you can figure out the other obvious ones.

What does it take to be elected into this Hall? The rules state:

A. A nominee must have either parent born of Italian heritage.
B. A nominee must have been an active participant in their sport, either professional or amateur, in the United States of America.
C. A nominee must have made an outstanding contribution to a given sport over a period of years and has shown good sportsmanship and character together with excellent achievements in his or her career.

The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America agreed that the fourth of its 14 annual awards was all Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander for the 2011 AL Cy Young Award.

The vote:
1st Place: Justin Verlander, Detroit
2nd Place: Jered Weaver, Angels
3rd Place: CC Sabathia, N.Y. Yankees
4th Place: James Shields, Tampa Bay
5th Place: Dan Haren, Angels

For more info on the IBWAA, please visit BaseballSavvy.com,

We cover more on the Hank Williams Jr./ESPN deal in today's media column (linked here), plus stuff on the NHL season, an ESPN documentary about sports agents from Morgan Spurlock and what CBS defines as "spectacular."

What we didn't cover: Another sports agent story -- Drew Rosenhaus appears on "60 Minutes" this weekend (7 p.m.) and tells Scott Pelley that the NFL would surely "fall apart without me. That may sound cocky, that may sound arrogant, but I am telling you the truth."

We also didn't mention: Golf Channel will mike up Rocco Mediate during his play today in the Frys.com Open. What if the mike cuts out? Can we get a new one at Fry's?

And we just found out: Barry Sanders replaces the HWJr. intro for this Monday's game in a format "we'll likely use the remainder of the season," says ESPN. "We haven't made any decisions beyond that." (linked here). And here's David Zirin's official take on the Hank Williams Jr. firing from his EdgeofSports.com site (linked here).

UPDATED: 3 p.m. THURSDAY

Honestly, we didn't even realize Hank Williams Jr. was alive until this past Monday afternoon.

When the Bocephusly-challenged country western star showed up on the Fox Channel's "Fox And Friends" the other day, specifically to "weigh in" on the 2012 Republican presidential field, our DVR must have automatically spit it into the delete file.

Unfortunately, the Internet keeps these things alive, and archived.

So sporting his University of Alabama baseball cap and covered up by his sunglasses, Hammerin' Hank spoketh. Or, maybe it was Jack Daniels doing the talking.

Any entertainer trying to channel his inner Ted Nugent to talk politics is walking into a trap. But when you go further off topic about something you know absolutely nothing about - like golf - it apparently can get messier.

Making a warbled, inflammatory analogy that somehow links Barack Obama to Adolph Hitler, and then referring to the president and vice president Joe Biden as "the enemy" is apparently not benign enough any longer.

At ESPN, it's duck-n-cover as the giant bag of ferret fertilizer hits the fanhouse.

After taking a couple of days to measure which way the winds of change were blowing, ESPN declared Thursday that its "Monday Night Football" property would officially secede from any union with Williams. Thus, a partnership ends that began in 1989 - a 22-year run that's longer than what Howard Cosell ever had.

Williams, who on his own website tried to apologize the other day for what he said, now claims he was the one who surrendered here: "After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."

Wake the neighbors and phone the kids, Hank Williams Jr. is on the loose.

Jeepers, who coulda seen this one coming? Or, more to the point: How did it not happen sooner?

ESPN, the network that once confusingly hired and then fired Rush Limbaugh from its NFL studio show after the political pundit made comments construed as racially insensitive and threatened a staff mutiny, must have had one employee who actually heard a Williams' CDs.

This bearded bellower was a Campanis-like, Imus-infected implosion waiting to happen.

So now the damage control begins. ESPN self-servingly devoted what became a spirited discussion on Thursday's "Outside the Lines" midday show about whether "free speech" and football are allowed to intersect.

Panelist and author David Zirin called the network's decision forced by Williams' comments that were "profoundly offensive." But he wasn't about to let ESPN off the hook.

"If you lent Lindsay Lohan your car and (she) got a DUI, is that her fault or your fault?" he asked.

Robert Thompson, the oft-quoted professor of TV and pop culture from Syracuse, said ESPN "made the right decision" and can rationalize its methods. But he also pointed out that Williams' analogy was probably misconstrued by those who weren't looking at it rationally.

"Any comparison to Hitler is almost always ridiculous hyperbole," he said. "People ought to just knock it off."

That's the line you apparently still can't cross in the media, sports or otherwise. Even when referencing Michael Jordan's new mustache?

Panelist and radio host Paul Finebaum argued that ESPN could have suspended Williams for a week and sent the same message. In fact, that could have guaranteed a bigger viewership for the upcoming "MNF" game between Chicago and Detroit.

In the end, ESPN cut its losses. Again. It's only because of its erratic track record in the punishment department, likely determined by Disney shareholders, that we can't be sure week to week how someone like Williams could be justly treated without letting emotions cloud things. First Amendment toes or not.

Prior to Thursday's announcement, the absurdly of it all led us to conclude that perhaps the only network able to put this into its proper context was Comedy Central.

Stephen Colbert, on his "Colbert Report," and Jon Stewart, on "The Daily Show," each pointed out that Williams' metaphoric track record included songs he recorded that dealt with the size of female breasts ("Big Top Women") and how the country would be better if the Civil War ended differently ("If the South Woulda Won (We'd A Had It Made.")

Colbert called it "tragic" that ESPN "caved to the 'we shouldn't compare the President to Hitler'-estapo." Added Stewart after he rewound the Williams-Fox interview for his audience: "I'm not even sure I understood what he just said."

Steward also offered a just punishment: Make him go to "ESPN4" and sing "Are You Ready for Actual Football" before a soccer match: "Hands aren't allowed, and the pitch is just right, Arsenal's playing Manchester United tonight! Are you ready for a game that will probably end in a tie!"

Now, if only the whiskey-bent and hell-bound Williams, who once released a song "Red, White and Pink-Sleep Blues," can find some good ol' American redemption.

Circle back to your friends at Fox, Junior.

Maybe the "NFL on Fox" needs a new pregame show intro. Would you consider a duet with Terry Bradshaw?

Hee haw.

Strike while you're hot. And apparently still living and breathing hot air.

(Watch Bradshaw sing this Hank Williams Sr. classic, back in 1976):

ESPN officially announced this morning (linked here) that it has "decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue."

Junior, thought, said in a statement on his website that he was the one who quit, based on the reaction ESPN had to comments he made on the Fox Network last week somehow linking President Obama to Hitler (depending on your drunken intepretation). ESPN pulled his "All My Rowdy Friends" song before the Bucs-Colts game last Monday.

"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."

More to come. Unfortunately.

College football on Saturday:

== UCLA vs. Washington State, Rose Bowl, Prime Ticket, 7:30 p.m.: With Joel Meyers, Brian Baldinger and Jim Knox
== Oklahoma vs. Texas from Dallas, Channel 7, 9 a.m.: With Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews
== Florida at LSU, Channel 2, 12:30 p.m.: With Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson
== Arizona State at Utah, FSW, 12:30 p.m.: With Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt and Petros Papadakis
== Stanford at Colorado, Versus, 4:30 p.m., with Ted Robinson, Glenn Parker and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila.
== Auburn at Arkansas, ESPN, 4 p.m.: With Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe
== Ohio State at Nebraska, Channel 7, 5 p.m.: With Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Heather Cox
== Air Force at Notre Dame, Channel 4, 12:30 p.m.: With Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock and Alex Flanagan

The NFL on Sunday:
== Philadelphia at Buffalo, Channel 11, 10 a.m.: With Sam Rosen and Brian Billick (instead of New Orleans-Carolina, Arizona-Minnesota or Seattle-N.Y. Giants)
== Oakland at Houston, Channel 2, 10 a.m.: With Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts
== San Diego at Denver, Channel 2, 1:15 p.m.: With Marv Albert and Rich Gannon
== Green Bay at Atlanta, Channel 4, 5:20 p.m.: With Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michelle Tafoya

A late switch by KCBS-Channel 2 last week: Instead of showing Los Angeles the Chargers-Dolphins game from San Diego in the 1 p.m. slot last week, it swapped out the Raiders-Patroits game from Oakland.

Turns out, it had no choice. The Chargers-Dolphins were blacked out. Didn't sell enough tickets. Didn't even ask for a 24-hour delay. In L.A., we could not have received the Chargers-Dolphins because of that blackout. We're covered by that secondary-market policy rule.

In the NFL's latest deconstruction of the TV ratings from last week (Sept. 26 through Oct. 2), it notes that "locally, NFL games topped the ratings in 26" NFL markets (out of 30 that cover 32 teams). And: "Through the first quarter of the 2011 season, NFL games topped the local ratings 93 percent of the time - matching the record through Week 4 which was set last year."

In 25 of the 26 markets, it was an NFL game involving the local team that won the ratings. In San Diego, it was the Jets-Ravens Sunday night contest -- a 16.5 rating and 25 share. Had the Chargers-Dolphins game been televised, it would have easily surpassed that mark.

Meanwhile, the Raiders' local ratings are up 40 percent compared to last year at this time - tops in the league - followed by the Lions (up 17 percent) and Bills (up 12 percent).

Here's the chart (with TV market, game, rating/share; all games played on 10/2 unless noted):

Tim McCarver is having what Fox calls a "minor heart-related proceedure" later this week that will force him out of the network's ALCS Games 1 and 2 on Saturday and Sunday.

McCarver, who turns 70 on Oct. 16, is expeted to return for the ALCS Game 3 on Tuesday.

Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona will take McCarver's place next to play-by play man Joe Buck.

Earlier today, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced that McCarver was again one of the 10 finalists for the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award, which honors excellence in baseball broadcasting.

The other nine: The Dodgers' former Spanish-language broadcaster Rene Cardenas, Skip Caray, Ken Coleman, Jacques Doucet, Bill King, Graham McNamee, Mike Shannon, Tom Cheek and Eric Nadel. The last three were the top vote-getters in an online poll by the Hall of Fame.

McCarver, Shannon (St. Louis Cardinals radio) and Nadel (Texas Rangers radio) are the active broadcasters on the ballot. Cardenas and Doucet are the only other living candidates among the finalists.

The winner will be announced Dec. 6 at the Baseball Winter Meetings.

Cardenas, who helped create the first Spanish-language baseball broadcast in 1958 with the Dodgers and worked 38 years for the Dodgers, Astros and Rangers, was on last year's ballot along with McCarver, Cheek, Doucet, King, McNamee and Nadel. Dave Van Horne , the former radio voice of the Montreal Expos and now with the Florida Marlins, was named the winner in 2010.

(Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America announced the third of its 14 annual awards today, naming the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw as its 2011 Cy Young Award winner.

The voting:
1st Place: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
2nd Place: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia
3rd Place: Ian Kennedy, Arizona
4th Place: Cliff Lee, Philadelphia
5th Place: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta

My ballot had Kershaw and Halladay first and second, followed by Lee, Kennedy and Cole Hammels of Philadelphia.

My reasoning: It wasn't just because Kershaw racked up the Triple Crown numbers, or that the eight others who did the same since the first Cy Young was given out 55 years ago also won the award, too, nearly unanimously. That's too easy.

All the "new" numbers support him as well. Kershaw was also first in WHIP (0.98), in opponent's batting average (.207), and his run-support average (5.52) was a bit tougher to deal with than what was provided to Ian Kennedy (6.12) and Roy Halladay (5.89).

Plus, a new standard has been established the last three years - Felix Hernandez, Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum won the Cy in 2010, 2009 and 2008 on teams that finished under .500, with far less dazzling stats. And check it out: the 2011 Dodgers were actually above .500.

Mike Petriello, of MikeSciosciasTragicIllness.com, explained his vote: "The NL Cy Young is really a complete toss-up between Kershaw (233.1 IP, 66 R), Halladay (233.2 IP, 65 R) and Lee (232.2 IP, 66 R), particularly since Baseball Prospectus has the Dodgers and Phillies defenses behind them essentially tied in effectiveness. A vote for any of the three would be completely defensible. From this viewpoint, Kershaw gets the slight edge simply because he was the most dominating, even in the somewhat more forgiving Dodger Stadium. He finished second in MLB (behind Justin Verlander) in strikeouts and second again (behind Zack Greinke) in K%. Only Verlander allowed a lower batting average to his opponents, and Kershaw's swinging strike percentage topped both of his Philadelphia competitors. Even with a slightly higher walk rate than Halladay or Lee, Kershaw held opposing batters to the lowest OPS of anybody in baseball, topping even Verlander."

Add Ron Kaplan, Features Editor at NJ Jewish News: "Kershaw has enjoyed one of the best pitching seasons in several years. Despite playing for an underperforming Dodgers team and faced with a most distracting situation not of his own making with the team's troubles this year, he managed to lead the NL in wins, strikeouts, and ERA - the pitcher's 'Triple Crown' - while allowing fewer than one hit/walk per inning. One can only imagine how much worse Los Angeles fans would have had it without Kershaw and Matt Kemp as the bright lights in an otherwise dismal campaign."

IBWAA AL Cy Young results will be announced Friday, with Rookie, Manager, Comeback, Executive and Relievers of the Year to follow next week.

"I want to apologize if I'm a little 'off' tonight," Stephen Colbert said on last night's "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central.

He was speaking, of course, of what Hank Williams Jr. told the Fox Channel about ... well, you know. Comparisons of President Obama to Hitler. Calling Obama and vice president Joe Biden "the enemy ... are you kiddin? The "Three Stooges."

You do the math.

"Even the 'Fox and Friends' were taken aback," said Colbert. "They're not used to hearing that sort of thing from people who don't work for the network."

That Williams' usual "Are You Ready For Some Football" song and dance intro to ESPN's "Monday Night Football" game was then curiously pulled by the network prior to Monday's otherwise off-the-radar Indianapolis-Tampa Bay game made news has become the news itself.

"Tragically, ESPN caved to the 'we shouldn't compare the president to Hitler'-estapo," said Colbert. "So last night's 'Monday Night Football' did not begin with Hank Williams Jr. asking the eternal question, 'Are you ready for some football!?'

"And nation, not hearing that song left me dangerously unprepared for some football.

"I'm in my living room innocently watching a Chevy Silverado ad. Suddenly, a bunch of gigantic, angry men in shiny tights start hitting each other, hurling and kicking a weird leather oblique spheroid. It was hours before I realized it was some football and needless to say, I was not ready for it.

"Well, I'm sorry ESPN, you can disagree with a man's politics but you have no right to rob the American people of the proper procedures of football preparation. ... What about RSVPs from my rowdy friends? Might all of them not come over tonight?

"Last night, we were robbed of that as a nation. And why?"

Because it was a way for ESPN to better promote a game that no one was going to watch anyway, so that they'd tune in not to see the opening that no one wants to see anyway?

Makes too much sense.

Thank goodness we finally found the new book "Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure" by British native Craig Robinson, and haven't been able to put it down since. Seriously. Slept with it last night with a light under the covers. Even with the very small type.

Apparently the book's been out a couple of months. They've either been hiding it, or it's been selling out at our local bookstore.

More on it in Friday's media column.

Without giving too much away, here's a recent entry that Robinson put on his website flipflopflyball.com: What if the Dodgers moved to San Francisco and the Giants to Los Angeles in 1958? What would their logos look like?

After that is digested, the comments made are even more hilarious:

"I feel like my mom just told me she was a dude."
"You sick freak."
"It hurts my eyes and my feelings."
"AHHH!!!"

Our reaction: You know, that's just crazy enough to work.

Now, try to remember every baseball cap you've worn since May, 2009, and chart it out (linked here).

Get the NBC/Versus NHL analysts talking about the Kings' 2011-12 prospects, and it's put-up or shut-up time.

For them, and for the team. Maybe we hit a nerve during a conference call Monday with some of the TV talking heads.

Pierre McGuire, for example, said it about the Kings' Dustin Penner (left, after a rare goal last season): "One guy that better step up is Dustin Penner. He was a bust last year. And if they're going to improve on their power play -- it was 21st in the league last year -- Penner is the guy that's going to have to help them out. I mean, they paid a huge bounty to get him from the Edmonton Oilers. And he won Stanley Cup in '07 in Anaheim, where he was a huge factor for that team. The one guy who's got to alleviate a lot of the pressure on Dustin Brown is Dustin Penner. And if he doesn't do it then he's got to look at himself in the mirror because he's been taking a lot of money for a long time and not producing."

Eddie Olczyk, a one-time Kings player: "I really think that the Kings are on the verge of really taking that next step. I think the biggest question mark that I've had in the past is that,: Who can help Anze Kopitar? This guy is a sensational two-way hockey player. And when you bring in a guy like Mike Richards -- I don't want to say it lessens the load, but it gives a little bit more support. And when you have a guy that can play in every situation like Mike Richards, it makes everybody that much better and that much more accountable as far as, you know, the way that you play and what he can do and play in any situation.
"I love Dustin Brown. But, you know, do they have that guy to be able to be another clutch goal scorer to give them a little bit more depth? They've gotten a top six forward in Mike Richards. But to me is if they can find a guy like Simon Gagne, probably on the outside looking in, when you talk top six, realistically. But, you know, sometimes you have to be forced into that situation and play. And can he do it? Yes because he's a unique player.
"I would be really disappointed if (the Kings) didn't take that next step. And I think they're one team not a lot of people are talking about. So to me, I think that they're one of those teams in the Western Conference that has really a legitimate chance to get to the Western Conference final this season."

Studio analyst Mike Milbury: "I'm with Ed on this one a lot. But probably even more so. Mike Richards (not the one pictured right) was supposed to be the Bobby Clarke in Philadelphia, and many nights he was. This is a guy that's got an Olympic Gold medal and plays tough as nails. And now his pride is wounded. A team that he thought he'd be with for his whole career now has quit on him and traded him for whatever variety of reasons. But I think you're going to get a committed, enthusiastic leader in your locker room. A guy that can play under pressure and play to the big scene in Los Angeles I think this is going to be a great year for Mike Richards assuming he stays healthy.
"I think the Kings are definitely a team in the Western Conference that would, in my opinion, it would be disappointing if they're not top four."

The Kings' European launch to the NHL season starts in Stockholm, Sweden (Friday vs. the N.Y. Rangers, 10 a.m., Versus) and in Berlin, Germany on Saturday (vs. Buffalo, 11 a.m., FSW).

Versus will use the NHL's world feed Saturday and have Mike Emrick and McGuire call it from the network's Stamford, Conn., studio watching the video. Milbury, Keith Jones and Liam McHugh are on the pregame, intermissions and postgame. Saturday, the Kings' Bob Miller and Jim Fox will do a similar setup -- calling the action off the world feed from the Fox Sports West studio in downtown L.A.

Nick Nickson and Darryl Evans are on the trip and will call both games on KTLK-AM (1150) radio.

Fox, starting his 22nd season with the team in the booth next to Miller, said on the Prime Ticket "Kings Live" preview show that's been airing this week that San Jose and Chicago are his best bets to win the Western Conference. While Patrick O'Neal pointed out that many Vegas oddsmakers put the Kings now at about 16-to-1 to win the Stanley Cup -- meaning they'll at least be one of the 16 to make the playoffs -- Fox gave his assessment of the team's chances:

"The way I like to describe things: If everything goes normal -- nothing really bad, nothing real great -- they're a playoff team. No big deal? If you make the playoffs in the Western Conference, you are a good team. The Kings are not favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but if at the end of the season they end up winning it all, I would not be surprised. I think they have the necessary elements."

And the weird stat of the week: The last three Stanley Cup winners all started their regular season with trips to Europe -- Boston (the 2011 champs) started with two games against Vancouver in Prague, Czech Republic; Chicago (2010) started with two games against Carolina in Helsinki, Finland; Pittsburgh (2009) played Ottawa twice in Stockholm. Prior to that: The Kings and Ducks played each other twice in London. You know that didn't end well.

"There's a lot to be said about the bonding thing," said McGuire. "You can bring your guys together pretty quickly on those trips."

Added Olczyk: "You do have a lot of new players, so to speak, veteran guys that have been around the block , then young players that are coming into the mix. As a coach, you've got to be able to learn to control your guys whether it's over in Europe or on the ice back here in North America. And I think that if you can get them knowing each other and knowing the system, they come together a lot quicker. When you do hit that rough spot at some point which I think that all teams go through sometimes, they're just, they're camouflaged a little bit more because of how well you may be playing or where you are in the standings."

By ESPN.com

The Hank Williams Jr. song that has opened Monday Night Football for 20 years was not part of the opening of this week's Indianapolis-Tampa Bay game after Williams made controversial comments about President Barack Obama.

Williams compared Obama to Adolf Hitler on Fox News Channel's "Fox and Friends" show Monday morning.

ESPN, in a statement, said: "While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."

Some voted Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander first in the AL MVP voting by the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. Some left him off the top 10 all together.

How can that happen?

Perhaps, because more felt that New York Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson deserved it more; thus, he's the winner on this final list:

1st Place: Curtis Granderson, N.Y. Yankees
2nd Place: Adrian Gonzalez, Boston
3rd Place: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston
4th Place: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit
5th Place: Robinson Cano, N. Y. Yankees
6th Place: Jose Bautista, Toronto
7th Place: Justin Verlander, Detroit
8th Place: Michael Young, Texas
9th Place: Dustin Pedroia, Boston
10th Place: Adrian Beltre, Texas

My ballot had Gonzalez first, with Granderson second, followed by Bautista, Verlander, Ellsbury, Cano, Cabrera, Young, Kansas City's Melky Cabrera,, and Beltre.

Interesting how former Tigers teammates Granderson and Verlander are tied together here, facing each other now in the ALDS, with Verlander, the probably AL Cy Young Award winner who pitched a no-hitter on May 7, throwing tonight. Even more interesting how Granderson came to the Yankees in the offseason in a three-team trade that sent now-NL Cy Young candidate Ian Kennedy from the Yankees to Arizona through Detroit, and Arizona sending starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who won Game 2 for the Tigers on Sunday, and reliever Daniel Schlereth to Detroit. As a result, the Yankees let go of Johnny Damon, now part of the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays.

Times' baseball writer and IBWAA member Kevin Baxter, explains his Granderson vote: "There was not a more complete player in the American League than Curtis Granderson. Certainly the Yankees' deep lineup provided him protection but from runs scored to home runs, from total bases to stolen bases, Granderson was near the top of every list. And almost forgotten is the fact he solidified the Yankee defense by playing an excellent center field."

David Pinto of BaseballMusings.com, having voted differently, shares this perspective: "Justin Verlander turned in a memorable season, with his win total being his least impressive accomplishment. His ability to go deep in games while maintaining velocity, and holding opponents to a .191 BA despite an average defense made him the outstanding player of 2011 in the American League."

The IBWAA Cy Young results will be announced Wednesday and Friday, with Rookie, Manager, Comeback, Executive and Relievers of the Year to follow. More info: http://www.baseballsavvy.com/internetbaseballwriters.html

The Dodgers' deal with Clear Channel Communications to move their radio flagship home to KLAC-AM (570) starting next season became official today.

The three year deal through 2014 ends a four-year run with the team had with on KABC-AM (790).

The Daily News first reported the agreement 11 days ago (linked here), as it was pending approval by Major League Baseball.

"We are extremely pleased that this partnership takes Dodger broadcasts to one of the best sports radio stations in the country, AM 570 Fox Sports L.A.," said the Dodgers' Chief Revenue Officer Michael Young said in a statement.

"Clear Channel's all-sports format will elevate the Dodgers in terms of coverage and significantly enhance our fans' engagement with the club. Through this strategic partnership, the Dodgers will now have the opportunity to connect with the millions of listeners that tune into Clear Channel's wide-reaching AM and FM stations."

The post-game "DodgerTalk" will continue to be part of the package, but no hosts have been named. Josh Suchon and Joe Block hosted the show last season, with Ken Levine being part of the package as well.

And now, a word from your sponsor:

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

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

NHL regular-season openers, Friday: Kings vs. New York Rangers in Stockholm, Sweden, 10 a.m. Versus; Ducks vs. Buffalo in Helsinki, Finland, 10 a.m.:

Frack! The NHL apparently redeemed a coupon from Ikea, and the furniture store was given instructions to assemble the start of its 2011-12 schedule.

Step One: Grab your hex wrench. Step Two: Send the two Southern California teams more than 5,000 miles from their ektorps to spread the good will of pucks in Scandinavia. Step three: Meatballs, anyone? Tighten, right. Loosen, left.

The Rangers have the real home-ice advantage here -- goalie Henrik Lundqvist (as in LUHND-kvihst) is from Are, Sweden (if that's not confusing enough) and the painfully handsome Olympic gold-medal winning goalie for his country at the 2006, who also minded the nets in the 2010 Games, will be our tourguide for the weekend. The Rangers' Sean Avery may also claim to be from Sweden, but Kings players know not to listen to him any more. Outside of Anze Kopitar (from Slovenia), no one from the Kings' roster is from anywhere outside Canada or the U.S. that we can tell. In fact, Drew Doughty better show up with the right passport of the Kings could be in trouble. After these two openers, the dance partners flip on Saturday -- the Kings' European vacation continues some 600 miles south to Berlin to meet up with the Sabres (11 a.m., FSW) while the Rangers stay put and wait for the Ducks to arrive in Stockholm (10 a.m., Versus). Then, its homeward bound, where we should have enough time to blow up the giant inflatable Stanley Cup that finally arrived from nhl.com (linked here).

MONDAY

MLB playoffs: ALDS Game 3s: Texas at Tampa Bay, 2 p.m., and N.Y. Yankees at Detroit, 5:30 p.m., TBS:

Battles of the Aces, Take Two: It'll look like CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander are going on two days rest, since both started Game 1. Not to rain on any more parades, but since they only went one inning prior to the wet weather, they should be vacuum sealed for freshness. Verlander, who says he volunteered to pitch Game 2 Saturday, actually had a better road mark than at home during his probably AL Cy Young campaign: 14-2 with 133 strike outs in 18 starts away from home, versus 10-3 at home in 16 starts. The two Game 4s will be Tuesday in Tampa (11 a.m., TBS) and Detroit (5:30 p.m., TBS) with Game 5s, if needed, on Thursday back in Texas and New York.

NFL: Indianapolis at Tampa Bay, 5:30 p.m., ESPN:

After going 227 games in a row with Peyton Manning, the Colts have their second starting QB as many weeks. Curtis Painter? With Dan Orlovsky as the backup? You sure they couldn't do a deal right now with Carolina and see if Jimmy Clausen was available in trade? Jimmy Fallon?

TUESDAY

MLB playoffs: NLDS Game 3s: Philadelphia at St. Louis, 2 p.m., TBS; Milwaukee at Arizona, 6:30 p.m., TNT:

We all know the Phillies have so much pitching depth, this could be a seven-game series and they'd be able to send someone new to the mound each time. Here, it's Cole Hamels' turn as the series moves to Atlanta St. Louis. He was 0-1 against the Cards this year with a 5.14 ERA. If Game 4s in either series are needed, they'd be Wednesday in St. Louis (3 p.m., TBS, Roy Oswalt against Edwin Jackson) and Arizona (6:30 p.m., TBS, where the Brewers plan to use former El Camino Real and Pepperdine standout Randy Wolf against Joe Saunders) while Game 5s would be Friday in Philadelphia and Milwaukee with all the Game 1 starters back to throw.

MLS: Galaxy at N.Y. Red Bulls, 5 p.m., ESPN2:

No bull: When Hurricane Irene got all crazy last August, this one was postponed and rebooked for tonight. Check the energy level at the stadium. Robbie Keane has already said this presents a double-booking problem for him -- he's back in Ireland to join the national team for two Euor '12 qualifiers.

WEDNESDAY

WNBA Finals: Atlanta at Minnesota, Game 2, 5 p.m, ESPN2:

The last pro basketball you may see until Christmas. The best-of-five continues with Game 3 (Friday, 5 p.m., ESPN2) and maybe Game 4 (Sunday, 1 p.m., ESPN2).

THURSDAY

NHL: Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m., Versus; Pittsburgh at Vancouver, 7 p.m, Versus:

Pick the current Stanley Cup champ, and the Western Conference champ from a season ago out of these four teams playing in the first domestic NHL games of the season. Not so easy, is it? Except, maybe that Vancouver is the only Western Conference team in this bunch. Three are 100 regular-season games on NBC and Versus, the later of which will be renamed NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2

Golf: Frys.com Open, first round, 1 p.m., Golf Channel:

Tiger Woods, officially out of the Top 50 world rankings for the first time since 1996, needs to set foot into the "fall season" as a warmup to justify his inclusion in the Presidents Cup next month. Frys has always done him well by promoting his video games. So why not play in the Frys.com Open at the CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, just a bit south of San Jose off the 101? There's gotta be a sweet sponsors goodie bag with some discount coupons (like a device that might erase cellphone answer machine messages from anywhere in the U.S.?) Plus, Rocco Mediate is back to defend his title, so maybe there's some deja vu U.S. Open mojo working here. "Any time Rocco is in the field, it's always fun," said Woods, who is without a tour win since the 2009 BMW Championships. For a guy who has just two top-10s in eight starts this past PGA season, he's still doing pretty good drawing a crowd.

College football: Cal at Oregon, 6 p.m., ESPN:

After four games, Cal is second in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (only two TDs allowed, and 78.2 yards allowed a game). After four games, Oregon leads the Pac-12 in rushing offense (13 TDs, a tick below 300 yards a game), led by LaMarcus James (65 carries, 613 yards, 153 a game).

Series: "The League," season debut, 7:30 p.m., FX:

The third season of the almost funny cable series (linked here) created by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Schaffer and Jackie Marcus Schaffer moves along into TV land with our full endorsement -- as long as Leslie Bibb has a recurring role. The five guys (and one of the guy's wife) are all about duping the other owners as they go after the Shiva Cup (named after one of the players' ex-girl friend). Chad Ochocinco (above, endorsing his own condom), Antonio Gates, Josh Cribbs, Terrell Suggs and Terry Bradshaw have made cameo appearances in the past. All to help the Fox family.

FRIDAY

Movie: "Real Steel," PG-13, in theatres:

The posters say: "Human boxing is dead. Now it's a whole different game." Hugh Jackman toggling with moster-sized Rock 'em-Sock 'em Robots beating the WD-40 out of each other is how this plays out.

SATURDAY

College football: Washington State at UCLA, Rose Bowl, 7:30 p.m., FSN:

The Cougars' victory over Colorado last Saturday caused a few ripples in the conference. Quarterback Marshall Lobbestael has the Pac-12's third-best passer rating (168.3) and is averaging 333 yards throwing a game. The Bruins may not have an answer.

College football: Ohio State at Nebraska, 5 p.m., Channel 7; TCU at San Diego State, 7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network:

USC has a bye week. Take a choice from the limited buffet.

MLB: ALCS Game 1: 4:30 p.m., Channel 11:

When the Rangers outlasted the Yankees in six games during last year's ALCS, it didn't hurt by having Cliff Lee on the staff. Or Josh Hamilton hitting four home runs. See if that works out again -- this time, the Yankees would have home-field advantage. The series continues Sunday after the NFL afternoon games at 4:30 p.m., then moves venues.

SUNDAY

MLB: NLCS Game 1: 1 p.m., TBS:

If the Phillies get here with a five-game win in the NLDS, Cliff Lee is the probable starter here in Game 1. Funny, eh?

NASCAR: Chase for the Sprint Cup Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway, 11 a.m., ESPN:

Not to be confused with the Hollywood Park Casino, this chain that takes Hollywood as its name apparently is an operation the Midwest -- including one built into the Kansas Speedway -- that likes to give the appearance that it's all about glitz and glamor. The only Hollywood Casino we were aware of was one in Joliet, Ill., after a couple sued the place after finding bed bugs in their room and were not sufficiently compensated after "doctor visits, lost property and a ruined weekend." That couldn't possibly happen at the Kansas Speedway facility. The high-octane content in the air would have killed the bugs long before you got into bed with them So don't think it's such a crap shoot.

NFL: San Diego at Denver, 1:15 p.m., Channel 2:

Not only does the L.A. market get force-fed this game instead of New England hosting the N.Y. Jets, but it's more than likely that the Raiders' 10 a.m. game against Houston at 1 p.m., will lead into it. Just hope there's no nail-biter in the early contest, because you already know how that'll end on the TV screen -- poorly.

NFL: Green Bay at Atlanta, 5:20 p.m., Channel 4:

The Cowboys are one of six teams with a bye this week -- with the Ravens, Browns, Dolphins, Rams and Redskins. But as you watch Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan play here, keep in mind the essay that Bob Costas gave at halftime of the Jets-Ravens game on this very network, an ode to Tony Romo: "

The question of the week is this: is there any marquee player in the NFL who is alternatively as electrifying and exasperating as Tony Romo? Here's a guy who see-saws between hero's laurels and goat horns, seemingly game to game. And today, it was half to half. Romo had three TD throws in the first 33 minutes against the undefeated Lions, but then, three picks - two of them returned for touchdowns.
"This has been the pattern of Romo's season, and, as it's shaping up, his career. At any moment he is apt to rescue his team with feats of daring do, often showing the presence of mind to improvise his way out of one crisis after another. And then, the next week, or maybe the next moment, he'll turn in a performance or make a decision that sends Cowboys fans to the ledge.
"This season started in disaster against the Jets, with a late fumble and interception that cost Dallas a game they appeared to have won. But that was followed by gritty efforts with broken ribs against the 49ers and Redskins.
"And then came (Sunday's) misadventures against Detroit, as a 27-3 lead somehow went up in smoke. Don Banks of Sports Illustrated has tabbed Romo the NFL's MPP- Most Pivotal Player. A guy who seems just as likely to singlehandedly pull a game out or give it away. As Banks correctly notes, you could make a case that without Romo, the Cowboys might be 0-4 or maybe 4-0. What that averages out to is 2-2, which is where they are right now heading into their bye week, which is followed by a trip to New England and a date with the Patriots.
"So, there will be plenty for the newspapers to dissect and debate over the next two weeks. It's all very interesting and all very entertaining, provided you don't have a rooting interest. But for those who do, this sort of topsy turvy ride that winds up in the neighborhood of .500 is not what Jerry Jones, Tony Romo or legions of Cowboys fans had in mind."

Here's a reach: Mike Leach just so happened to be landing at LAX on Saturday night, conveniently while the college football team from Westwood was out of town, for some stealth negotiations regarding a potential coaching vacancy.

Or, the former Texas Tech coach is just in town for a book signing.

That's a double-edge sword he's swinging these days.

"It's difficult for me to say anything because there is no vacancy, but you know, they have a good staff in place right now, they just need to do the best they can this season," the 50-year-old said from his home in the Florida Keys, asked hypothetically if UCLA would ever be on his list of destination schools now that he's in a job hunt.

"Coming to Los Angeles, a major media center, the real reason I'm coming is for the book."

And that's the New York Times bestseller produced this last summer with the help of writer Bruce Feldman called "Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life" (Diversion Books, $25.95, 260 pages), which he'll sign at a Barnes and Noble in Manhattan Beach on Monday night.

Armed with a degree from Pepperdine Law School and a divergent sense of humor, Leach operates more these days out of the option offense as far as his career goals are concerned. He explains: