ESPN and ABC has coverage again Thursday and Friday of the National Spelling Bee, which puts kids in the precarious position of having to sound out exotic words with a camera in their face -- at least Little Leaguers don't have to go through such an ordeal.
The ESPN Zone in Anaheim can put you through a much tougher ordeal.
Can you spell the last name of the Duke basketball coach?
A Sports Spelling Bee at the restaurant in the Downtown Disney plaza is looking for competitors on Wednesday, age 21 and over. Fifty contestants will be picked.
"ESPN Zone is a veritable playground for sports fans - we have patrons who can answer any trivia question in the book about their favorite player or team," said Christine Baum, national marketing manager for ESPN Zone. "We created Sports Spelling Bee to appeal not just to sports fans who are trivia brainiacs but also those who have a deep-seeded passion for any sports-themed event, no matter the challenge."
Each Sports Spelling Bee competitor will have 30 seconds to correctly spell the given name of a current or past player, coach of manager, which can include a first or last name. The first round will kick off with local names; the second round will include national names; and the third round and beyond will include both local and national names. Contestants are only allowed to ask what team the athlete/coach is/was associated with, as well as one repeat of the name.
More info: Send an email to SportsSpellingBee@espnzone.com and include name, address, phone number, year of birth and the ESPN Zone in Anaheim as the place they'd like to compete.

After all the credits roll by at end of the documentary "Surfwise," which comes out Friday in L.A. at the Nuart Theatre in Santa Monica, then-85-year-old legendary surfer Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz talks about how the ultimate way to die would be to eaten by a shark.

It's a little disconcerting, but at that age, why not think about those things. He's already lived a life that many would consider pretty extreme.

As we touched on in the story in today's Daily News, "Surfwise" covers the way Paskowitz and his third wife, Julliette, raised their nine kids in a 24-foot camper while driving across the country living a self-exploratory existence based on all healthy foods and surfing.

The kids -- David (born in '59), Jonathan ('61), Abraham ('62), Israel, aka Izzy ('63), Moses ('64), Adam ('66), Salvador ('67), Navah ('69) and Joshua ('74) -- had many problems adjusting to "normal" life once they outgrew the camper and went out into the world. That's the most interesting story line in the documentary, and finding out how it caused several rifts in the family before they all came together in the end for a reunion in Hawaii.

Laird Hamilton doesn't say "dude."
The groundbreaking big-wave surfer prefers not to be associated with the image that word projects. There is much else about the image of surfing that he proudly shares with the world -- and that appeals to folks who have never ridden a wave.
This fascination with the culture of surfing has allowed Hamilton to transcend his sport.
"The massiveness of the ocean, the power of the water -- something inside of everybody can relate to it," he said. "It's something very tangible and understandable. You could be from the middle of the country and never have even seen the ocean, but when you see a human on a giant wave, it just evokes a feeling.
"Maybe you're scared for them. Maybe you're in awe that there's waves that big. It evokes a feeling in every person no matter what shape, color or size."
Hamilton's current venture is his own clothing line at New York's Steve & Barry's, the chain famous for selling apparel for under $10. It's the latest company to embrace Hamilton and his surfer image.
"Surfing offers a sense of freedom, a sense of no rules," Hamilton said before the official launch of the line, Wonderwall. "And of course where we are (in Hawaii), it's all about nature. It's the ocean, it's an island, it's a beach."

By JEFF BARNARD
Associated Press Writer

BEND, Ore. -- Dan Weiland is hoping to beat two-time winner Marshall Greene to the finish.

To do it he needs to be in top shape, make his transitions from skis to bike to trail to kayak cleanly, and not get a flat tire or flip his boat.

Meanwhile, Eric Smith is trying to convince one of his
McLovin teammates to be drunk and wearing a loincloth for the final sprint.

It must be Pole, Pedal, Paddle time again.

Today, nearly 3,000 people -- a mix of elite racers, aging athletes and party animals dressed in clown wigs and tutus -- will make their way down Mt. Bachelor via snow-covered slopes, paved roads, trails and the Deschutes River to be crowned the big dogs of outdoor sport in Central Oregon.

"There are former Olympians in Bend less well-known than the people who win the Pole,
Pedal, Paddle," said Greene, a 26-year-old who cross country skied for Middlebury
College in Vermont and joined the XC Oregon team here with hopes of one day making the Olympics. He works in a local bike shop.

It's just one more example of why Dodger fans should appreciate any time Vin Scully is calling a game, even by himself.
We tuned in for maybe 20 minutes of Tuesday's FSN Prime broadcast of the Dodgers' game in Milwaukee, catching caught Charley Steiner and Steve Lyons in a conversation first about the Sausage Race, while the Brewers had a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Then, a shot of relief pitcher Yhency Brazoban warming up in the bullpen.
Steiner: "You know what they're calling Yhency now in the clubhouse? Braz-obama."
Lyons: "What?"
Steiner: "Braz-obama."
(Long pause)
Lyons: "Why's that?"
Steiner: (A bit exasperated): "There's a guy who's running for president ..."
Meanwhile, Brad Penny has made a pitch to Brewers' pinch hitter Gabe Kapler for a strike. Kapler squares around to bunt on the second pitch, and as he fouls it away, Steiner finally tells the viewers that Kapler has come to bat, and now has an 0-1 count.
Thanks, but we're bailing out at this point and choose to follow online. Even if it means we don't get to see the new "Psycho-strator" feature where the camera is behind Lyons' head and he points to things on the field like some dude sitting in front of you in the stands acting as if he's got all the answers to what's going on out in the field that you can see just as well as he can -- but now can't because he's in the way.
If Steiner and Lyons repeated any of their "Hu's On First"-quality routine during Wednesday's or Thursday's broadcast, we couldn't tell you since we decided, to preserve some sanity, we'd abstain from watching and wait until this weekend's series against the Angels.

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
First, the old unis, which makes Angels starter Jon Garland look as if he's Andy Hassler.

Not that anyone should be wanting to beat this "Spygate" story with any more exposure, but HBO has added an interview that Andrea Kremer did with New England Patriots videoguy Matt Walsh for its' "Real Sports" show that will air Friday (8 to 9 p.m.).
HBO sent out what appears to be a complete transcript, and includes this information that doesn't look so good for a certain Notre Dame head football coach, and may make college football fans wonder how the Irish have turned do pitiful in recent years:

Walsh says that knowledge of and participation in the video spying/signal stealing operation began at the top levels of the coaching staff -- and extended to the team itself. He recalls a conversation he had with a Patriots player after the first game of the 2000 regular season. At the time, Patriots were not an elite team and Tampa Bay was on its way to the playoffs.

WALSH: "I had spoken with one of our quarterbacks, uh, that said, he was called into Coach Belichick's office shortly before the Tampa Bay game. In the office was Ernie Adams, Charlie Weis and Coach Belichick. They closed the door, Charlie said to him, "You know, we've got tape of the Buccaneer's coaches defensive signals. What we're going to do is have you learn this, then we're going to have you next to Charlie on the sideline, when he's calling in the play to Drew (Bledsoe, the starting quarterback), over the coach to quarterback communication system. Drew's got the, the earpiece in the helmet, and you're going to tell Charlie the defense that's being called, and we're going to relay the information, or use that in calling the play into Drew." Um, the quarterback, you know, later told me that within two to three seconds of when (Tampa Bay defensive coordinator) Monte Kiffin sent a play call into [Tampa Bay safety] John Lynch, Drew Bledsoe had it in his helmet."
"After the first game when we played the Buccaneers in the first season, after the tapes would have already been utilized, and I went up to one of our quarterbacks, because, you know, running the offense, I figured the quarterback might know something about this. I said, you know, was this, was the footage that I shot of the opposing coaches' signals, you know, any use for you guys? Did it help at all? And one of the quarterbacks told me, he said, probably about seventy-five percent of the time Tampa Bay ran the defense that we thought they were going to run."

National sample day is what McDonald's is calling an event Thursday, when it rolls out a new Southern Style Chicken breakfast biscuit sandwich (480 calories) from 7 to 10:30 a.m., and then debuts a Southern Style chicken sandwich (420 calories) after breakfast until 7 p.m. And ... It's a freebie.*
(with the purchase of any medium or large beverage at participating restaurants while supplies last. please consult a physican before trying any fast food that contains what it advertised as parts of chickens.)
It all sounds McNugget-riffic. And McDonald's expects to give out more than one million breakfast sandwiches and five million chicken sandwiches nationwide.
Or, maybe all at the McDonald's on 101 W. Manchester in L.A. (that's East of the Harbor freeway, a bit north of Watts). Because that where the Sparks' Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker and other team members will be camped out from 8 to 9 a.m. to help promote this giveaway.
The Sparks open the season Saturday in Phoenix. Let's not get too greedy with the greasy Southern-style food. Save some for the folks who really need it for their existence.

==A piece on the Lakers' "Bench Mob" of Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf -- "a foursome of feisty (and variously coiffed) players who embrace their role as a backup act is the key to the Lakers' championship title hopes."

==A story on the Sparks owners Carla Chistofferson and Kathy Goodman, who "represent what might be a minitrend for the sport: independent female owners:
"They bring an energy and passion that's been missing," says longtime season-ticket holder Deb Anderson. "I've seen Carla and Kathy at community events, and it's like they are campaigning for president. They are shaking hands and establishing relationships with people and suggesting that others become a part of it. That wasn't how the Lakers' organization did things."

==Michael Avery, the 6-foot-4, 15-year-old eighth-grader from Ascension Lutheran School in Thousand Oaks who made a verbal committment to the University of Kentucky, "would have appeared in SI as this week's Sign of the Apocalypse. Now it borders on business as usual," the SI promo reads. "As the pressure to win increases and competition for the top prospects grows fiercer, coaches are trying to lock down prized recruits as early as possible - even if it means making commitments when the recruits are barely old enough to be prized.
"How many parents of eighth-graders, if they were to be offered a scholarship for their child to get a free education at the college of their choice, would say, 'No, I'll wait until he's a senior to make that decision?'" the elder Avery says. "When that kind of offer comes along, I don't care if the kid's in third grade, the eight grade or the 12th grade, you take it."

More background, hit the Thousand Oaks Acorn, which is all over this story.
Avery is also quite the fodder for comedic ranting...

At one point during Monday's round at Torrey Pines' South course, home of the U.S. Open next month, I put my pitching wedge down off the green so I could go putt. I came back to the spot where I thought I left it, only to have to search around a bit before I spotted it.
Buried in the rough.
Here's a shot of what the camera looked at when it was placed in the rough next to the 12th fairway.
Count Floyd-like scary, isn't it?
Mike Davis, the USGA Senior Director of Rules and Competition, briefed the media Monday on all the kinds of stuff that'll be going on during the June 12-15 event just south of Del Mar. And the grass factor was a big part of the discussion about how the course will be groomed for those trying to win America's national championship of golf playing.
Davis explained how a combination of rye, kikuya (most famous for its presence at Riviera Country Club) and that real stubborn poana has been mixed together to form a real test of any golfer's patience.
The kikuya, that rough stuff that is durable but acts like a Brillo pad, is what lines the fairways now. When the warmer summer months come, it will grow even thicker and tougher.
Davis said the first cut off the fairway at 15-feet wise could be cut to 2 1/4 inches. The second could would be in the 3 1/2-inch range, although Monday it was closer to 4-to-4 1/2.

"We want a stern test of golf, from putting to driving to the ability to recover," Davis said.
Put it this way, those who hit in the rough will have a rough time. Stern will turn to a slow burn for some who don't stay on the fairway.
A few other photos we'll pass along from a trip around the 18 on Monday that was far shorter than the 7,643 yards that will be made available to the PGA Tour champions and other wanna-bes who tangle with it next month: