Baseball

Dressed impeccably in tie and sport coat, the Panama hat on his head, a cigar in his mouth and the Stalker radar gun raised in his right hand and pointed at the mound from a position directly behind the home-plate screen, Mike Brito was as much a part of the Dodger Stadium landscape as palm trees and congested concession lines. He provided radar readings for 20 years before yielding to the redesigned luxury seats and an automatic radar system.

Seems like old times. For years, season-ending series between Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State almost annually determined the Big West Conference baseball title, including three times when the rivals met as the top teams. UC Irvine's emergence as a power and a lull at Long Beach State put that tradition on hold, but it will be renewed for the first time since 2008 when Long Beach plays host to Fullerton in a three-game series that starts Friday at Blair Field. "The energy and the atmosphere should really be something," said Troy Buckley, a former Long Beach assistant who is in his second season as the 49ers head coach.

The distinguished gentleman stood in a Beverly Hills hotel lobby, wearing a suit and a baseball cap, sharing his stories late into the evening. He spoke of pride and prejudice. He spoke of Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. He spoke with humility, not bitterness, about serving a country that denied him the opportunity to pursue his career at the highest levels. He spoke so late into this Saturday evening that he finally excused himself.

Left-handed complements A look at some of baseball's best left-handed trios of starters: 2003 Oakland Athletics Mark Mulder; 15-9; 3.13 Barry Zito; 14-12; 3.30 Ted Lilly; 12-10; 4.34 1997 Seattle Mariners Randy Johnson; 20-4; 2.28 Jeff Fassero; 16-9; 3.61 Jamie Moyer; 17-5; 3.86 1993 Atlanta Braves Tom Glavine; 22-6; 3.20 Steve Avery; 18-6; 2.94...

Circuit Judge R. James Stroker cited baseball's exemption from federal antitrust laws, ruling the National League does not have to comply with the demand for documents by Attorney General Bob Butterworth of Florida. Butterworth sought to investigate baseball's decision not to allow the San Francisco Giants to move to St. Petersburg.

John Grisham is to literature what Cheerios are to a rushed breakfast, something you buy in bulk and consume without too much thought. Honestly, I'm relieved when a new Grisham book doesn't weigh more than I do. Yet his newest work, "Calico Joe," is as slender as a Dodgers shortstop. Coming in at under 200 pages, it is a breezy little baseball novel that will probably appeal to many men the way Nicholas Sparks' stories appeal to that other sex. Strangely, considering the subject matter, it is amazingly unevocative of the game itself.

One problem with talk about the A's relocating is there is no obvious market for MLB to move into. Charlotte and Las Vegas are possibilities but the most viable is probably Portland. There's less talk about a third New York team with the Mets sorting through financial difficulties ? Miguel Cabrera was expected to be a monster with Prince Fielder behind him but has inexplicably expanded his strike zone. He recently went 17 games in a row without a walk, the longest stretch of his career ?

The Dodgers' new owners could reap hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits from the confidential terms of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court settlement between former owner Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball. The terms can be enforced for up to 40 years, with final authority over distribution of the Dodgers' television revenue granted to the court rather than to MLB, according to two people familiar with the sale process but not authorized to discuss it. As a result, the Dodgers' new owners could retain millions each year that otherwise would be shared with other teams.

Rank, School (Record) Division 1. ORANGE LUTHERAN (22-3) SS1 2. MATER DEI (21-5) SS1 3. EL TORO (25-5) SS1 4. PACIFICA (23-5) SS2 5. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (23-4-1) SS2 6. LONG BEACH POLY (24-6) SS1 7. RIVERSIDE NORTH (24-5) SS1 8. BONITA (26-2) SS3 9. CYPRESS (24-6) SS2 10. LAKEWOOD (25-6) SS1 11. AGOURA (22-4-1) SS1 12. ALEMANY (21-6-1) SS1 13. LONG BEACH WILSON (23-7) SS1 14. REDLANDS (22-5)

Of all the indignities visited upon Frank McCourt over the last couple years - fan boycotts, pickets outside Dodger Stadium, "Frankrupt" T-shirts - McCourt never had to pick up a copy of the Los Angeles Times and stare at a full-page advertisement in which fans demanded he mind his manners or sell the Dodgers. But, hundreds of miles to the north, another fed-up fan base had its say last week. In a full-page ad in the Oakland Tribune, under the headline "An Open Letter to John Fisher, Majority Owner of theOakland A's," Fisher was urged to commit to a new stadium in Oakland or sell the team to someone who would.

Making their first official appearance on a gray morning in a nearly empty stadium, new Dodgers owners lighted up the place Wednesday with raucous promise, defiant hope and only one certainty. Hang on to your blue, because it's going to be a wild ride. Magic Johnson wept. Stan Kasten scolded. Mark Walter dodged. There was cheering. There was booing. There was groaning. There were several Dodgers greats who were sentimentally honored and one who, despite sitting right in front of the podium, was completely forgotten.

Frank McCourt officially surrendered ownership of the Dodgers on Tuesday, closing a turbulent chapter in the history of one of baseball's most historic franchises. The new owners wired the final payment on the record $2.15-billion purchase price Tuesday, closing the transaction that ended the McCourt era and ushering in Guggenheim Baseball as the Dodgers' third owner since the O'Malley family sold the team in 1998. A teary-eyed McCourt thanked the Dodgers' employees at a morning meeting, according to several people in attendance.