What I don’t know about American jurisprudence is extensive. I took one pre-law class in college, something like “Introduction to Business Law” and was lucky to get a C. Oh, and I talk journalism law, later on. Hated that, too, but I’ve never been sued for libel … But if I’m understanding the story on […]

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A year ago, the Dodgers seemed paralyzed by the Frank/Jamie McCourt divorce. The club did almost nothing of note through the winter and went to spring training with four-fifths of a starting rotation, and one of the four was the personally and professional erratic Vicente Padilla. While Frank v Jamie continues to grind through the […]

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I am excited about the idea of the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series. And they are one game away now, with three shots at securing their first championship since 1954 — or four years before they moved to San Francisco. Growing up in Los Angeles, as a Dodgers fan … I spent decades […]

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A British colleague of mine in the newsroom at The National made an interesting observation the other day. “What is happening in the World Series,” he said, “could never happen in English football.” He was referring to the San Francisco Giants vs. the Texas Rangers. An out-of-left-field matchup that just wouldn’t fly in the English […]

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I love this World Series! San Francisco Giants vs. Texas Rangers. Somebody is going to do something spectacularly memorable.

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A franchise that has been spinning its wheels for a year made a good move today. The Dodgers signed Theodore Roosevelt “Ted” Lilly, the left-hander they picked up from the Cubs on July 31, for three years. It is a good move pending, of course, disclosure (or guestimates) of how much the veteran will be […]

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Anyone who has edited copy has pet peeves. “Ironically.” Split infinitives. “Stamping ground vs. stomping ground” and “gauntlet” vs. “gantlet.” Well, and “pet peeves” is more than a little worn, isn’t it? Many of these peeves we editors share. Some are primarily personal. One of mine: The reckless use of the word “surreal” — a […]

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I have noticed that I don’t loathe the San Francisco Giants as I once did. It could be a direct correlation of not being around their fans in any numbers for several years now. (Giants fans, en masse, are crude and declasse, not at all what we would expect from the presumably cultured crowds culled […]

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How does the expression go? “Act like you’ve been there before.” I first heard it applied, decades ago, to guys breaking into some sort of celebratory spasm when scoring touchdowns. Spiking the ball, throwing it into the stands, dancing. Whatever. The idea is, behave as if whatever you just did successfully … is not unusual. […]

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Baseball’s divisional series have become somewhat dreary. Somebody overwhelms somebody else, and it usually is based on the winner having three good starting pitchers. Consider the stat I saw today:

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