I’ve been working on the sports pages, at the International Herald Tribune the past few days, and that means I’ve seen a lot of stories about the New York Yankees. And even the Mets. You know, teams actually doing something, trying to get better. Signing C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Francisco Rodriguez, for instance. The […]

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Remember Pat Haden? If you were a fan of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1970s, you probably do. He came out of USC and finagled his way into the starting quarterback’s job as a rookie in 1976, and pretty much held it until he suffered a broken thumb halfway through the 1979 season. When […]

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Yes, things are ugly and getting uglier. Somebody (usually dozens or even hundreds of somebodies) is being laid off in print journalism every day. And with Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, filing for bankruptcy on Monday, a batch of people I know who were hoping to have a cash bridge into some […]

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A stat that hasn’t really permeated the consciousness of the average American is this: Las Vegas no longer is the world’s biggest gambling spot, in terms of collective casino revenues. Macao is. And has been since 2006. And probably will be for years to come. Las Vegas hasn’t exactly been trumpeting its “we’re No. 2!” […]

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Yes, I know. While speaking to Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt actually said, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy …” Referring to the Japanese surprise attack upon Pearl Harbor that drew the United States into World War II. However, it was Dec. 8, 1941 that was the infamous date on this […]

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Most of you are not in Hong Kong. Most of you reading this are in the States, and have access to televisions, and have already seen this. But, the other day, I made such a fuss over USC and UCLA being able to wear their home jerseys for their game this year, that I feel […]

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I have not driven a motor vehicle (hold on to your steering wheels, SoCal-ers) … For 67 consecutive days! And I do not miss it one bit. It’s an age thing, I think. Remember when you were in high school? You practically counted down the days until you were 15-and-a-half, when you could get a […]

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Have you seen the stories? This or that major city is setting up bicycle stations, where citizens can pick up and drop off basic bicycles for a small fee. Paris has done it. Barcelona has a great plan going. Other cities, too. The idea is to get people out of cars, perhaps get them some […]

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You know it’s a bad time to be in the print journalism industry … when at 10:45 p.m. EST you have to wait five minutes to get Poynter/Romenesko to load on the computer. And, more specific to the disaster of Tuesday and Wednesday … the Gannett blog  won’t load at all. I gave up on […]

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I love this story. I love it to death. USC and UCLA will revisit a grand tradition on Saturday when each team wears its home uniforms for their game at the Rose Bowl. They did this every year, for decades, the both-wear-home-unis thing, until the NCAA decided to make a rule prohibiting it. For no […]

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