Maybe Kevin Love's distinct talents won't translate into NBA stardom, but the UCLA center is a terrific college player and a favorite to become only the second freshman to be named Pacific 10 Conference player of the year. . . .
The first was California's Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who in 1996 headed an all-conference team that included Washington State's Mark Hendrickson, later a struggling Dodgers left-hander, and Stanford's Brevin Knight, later an NBA journeyman and Clippers reserve. . . .
Love, if he won, would beat out a much deeper field. . . .
Abdur-Rahim, by the way, turned pro after his one college season, as Love is expected to do, and was the third pick in the 1996 NBA draft. . . .
Cash Warren, a Yale-educated producer and former Santa Monica Crossroads High basketball player better known as actress Jessica Alba's fiance, is a son of former UCLA All-American Mike Warren. . . .
The younger Warren played with Baron Davis at Crossroads. . . .
Reader Mike Casey of Temecula notes that Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, the highest-scoring team in NFL history, obviously do not miss former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. . . .
Would Notre Dame? . . .
Archie Manning, nervously preparing to watch a son play in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, never reached the playoffs nor even played for a winning team during his 13 NFL seasons. . . .
So abysmal were the New Orleans Saints during Manning's tenure that after lifting the perennial losers to a better-than-usual 7-9 record in 1978, the former Mississippi quarterback was named NFC player of the year. . . .
Eli Manning, all but eclipsed by older brother Peyton as a commercial pitchman, still makes about $5 million annually from endorsements, USA Today reports. . . .
That figure will climb if the New York Giants win Sunday. . . .
One of the interesting things about the Dodgers playing an exhibition at the Coliseum next month is that perhaps the most memorable event in the club's four seasons at the stadium was a game that didn't count. . . .
It may not have affected the standings, but an emotional 93,103 turned out to see the Dodgers play the New York Yankees on May 7, 1959, "Roy Campanella Night," still the largest crowd to ever attend a Major League Baseball game. . . .
