Basketball Player

The NBA opted for not one but two moves on the chessboard of litigation Tuesday, filing claims against the players' association with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and a separate action in federal court in New York. This came less than a day after NBA Commissioner David Stern questioned whether the players were negotiating in good faith after a nearly three-hour session Monday between the sides. It was their first official meeting since the NBA locked out its players July 1. In filings in federal district court, the league alleged Tuesday that the National Basketball Players Assn.

Katin Reinhardt started hearing it last December, when he committed to accepting a basketball scholarship from USC. Great news, Trojans fans told him, but we hope you don't transfer. It's true. Fans were talking about the possibility of his leaving before he arrived — or even had signed his letter of intent. The reason? Two words: Mater Dei. The private high school in Santa Ana perennially challenges for championships and produces players who earn scholarships from the nation's very best college basketball programs.

Thanks for the memories? The 31 players who spent only one season in college before becoming first-round NBA draft picks since the league changed its minimum-age requirements in 2005 have produced zero NCAA titles. Generating headaches for fans, coaches and teammates hasn't been quite as taxing. The unexpected departure of Jrue Holiday after one season at UCLA contributed to a rare losing season the following year for the Bruins. USC's O.J. Mayo sparked a NCAA investigation over improper benefits that led to self-imposed punishments that included a postseason ban and helped nudge coach Tim Floyd out of what he had long proclaimed would be his last job. Floyd now coaches at Texas El Paso.

Norma Zimmer Singer was Welk 'Champagne Lady' Norma Zimmer, 87, the "Champagne Lady" of television's "The Lawrence Welk Show" and a studio singer, died Tuesday at her home in Brea. Her son, Larry, did not give the cause of death. Zimmer performed on Welk's network and later syndicated show from 1960 to 1982 as the "Champagne Lady," the title Welk traditionally gave to his orchestra's lead female singer. Zimmer sang solos, sang duets with Jimmy Roberts and waltzed with Welk to the strains of his effervescent dance tunes tagged "champagne music.

UCLA and USC each announced the signing of one player Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA regular signing period for men's basketball. At UCLA, the signing marked De'End of an era. After going 23 years between noteworthy junior college transfers, the Bruins on Wednesday signed De'End Parker, a 6-foot-6 guard from City College of San Francisco who will become the second junior college player on their roster. Junior guard Lazeric Jones, a transfer from John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., averaged 9.1 points for UCLA last season and was the only player to start every game.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis of Santa Ana Mater Dei was the top-rated high school girls' basketball player on the nation's top-ranked team. And she has already signed on to play for college powerhouse Connecticut next season. So picking a favorite memory from her senior year is difficult. She recalls a time in Atlanta, when she was approached at the airport by a man who asked for her autograph. "It makes you feel special," said the 6-foot guard who was chosen by The Times as the girls' player of the year in Southern California.

From the first game to the last, 6-foot-7 Ryan Anderson of Long Beach Poly High was on a mission to keep improving. "Our coaches pushed us all season to get better every game," Anderson said. The Jackrabbits finished 31-2 and won the Southern Section Division 1AA championship, with Anderson the focus of every opponent's attention. Whether it was rebounding, blocking shots, scoring inside or outside, Anderson's ability to contribute in many areas enabled him to rise to an elite level.

One glance at the sideline was all it took. Catching sight of the scowl on his coach's face, Michael Lizarraga knew that he was about to get chewed out. It had been that kind of night for the Cal State Northridge basketball player, a step slow and a second late, struggling to keep track of his man on defense. "I tried to push myself," he said. "I just wasn't playing so good. " Now he banged with his hips and elbows, using every inch of his 6-foot-7 frame to wrestle for position under the basket.

Honestly, if he had the choice, Gary Woodland would be playing NBA basketball. Instead, he is tied for the third-round lead in the Bob Hope Classic after shooting an eight-under-par 64 on Friday. Still, the 26-year-old from Topeka, Kan., said the sports highlight in his life is having played a basketball game at storied Allen Fieldhouse, home to the University of Kansas. His Washburn University team lost to the Jayhawks and Woodland soon realized that, at 6 feet 1, the NBA was not his future.

Someone told the girl about Rucker Park in Harlem, told her that all the best players gathered there for pickup games. Harlem was two train rides and a long walk from her neighborhood in Queens, but she had fallen in love with basketball ? shooting hoops in the playground each afternoon until dark ? and nothing could keep her from having a look. Taking money from her mother's purse, she announced that she was headed for the park, neglecting to mention which park. She stuffed T-shirts into the shoulders of her coat along the way, trying to make herself look bigger.