Benches

Robert H. Bork, the conservative legal champion whose bitter defeat for a Supreme Court seat in 1987 politicized the confirmation process and changed the court's direction for decades, died Wednesday. He was 85. The former Yale law professor and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., from complications of heart disease, said his son Robert H. Bork Jr. A revered figure on the right, Bork inspired a generation of conservatives with his critiques of the liberal-dominated high court in the 1960s and '70s.

The federal judicial bench is dangerously understaffed: 10% of district judgeships lie vacant and 8% of appellate judgeships languish unoccupied. Meanwhile, the press of federal judicial business has become so great that the Administrative Office for the United States Courts has classified about half of existing vacancies as "judicial emergencies. " In his 2010 report on the state of the federal courts, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. underscored the "persistent problem" of judicial vacancies, emphasizing that judges in overburdened districts confront "acute difficulties" and shoulder "extraordinary caseloads.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Just go to work like you have, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro told his team Wednesday night, and you just might like the results. So, as they had done while winning their seven previous games over the last two weeks, the Clippers went to work and got No. 8, defeating the Charlotte Bobcats, 100-94, Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Afterward, Del Negro talked not only about getting 19 points each from Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and reserve Matt Barnes, but he also pointed to Jamal Crawford's eight assists, Eric Bledsoe's 13 points and eight rebounds, and Lamar Odom's nine rebounds.

As noted by The Times' Mike Bresnahan , the Lakers are "debating whether to bring Pau Gasol off the bench when he returns from knee tendinitis. " There's no question the team's forward/center and former All-Star has struggled to fit alongside Dwight Howard.  Gasol has admitted multiple times that he's more comfortable closer to the basket, but that's where the Lakers have Howard positioned. Gasol does need to play stretches at center.  That's where he'll flourish but coming off the bench doesn't achieve that.

How the Angels look BATTING ORDER Player Name; Pos.; B/T; 2012 ave.; comment 1. Mike Trout; LF; R/R ; .326; AL rookie of the year had .564 slugging, 30 HRs, 83 RBIs, 49 steals. 2. Erick Aybar; SS; R/S; .290; Hit .326 with .361 on-base % in second half. 3. Albert Pujols; 1B; R/R; .285; No homers, four RBIs last April, 30 homers, 101 RBIs over next five months. 4. Kendrys Morales; DH; R/S; .273; Solid return after missing 11/2 seasons because of broken left ankle.

After the coffee. Before getting a better agent. The Skinny: I've been watching the old movie "The Music of Chance. " Man, James Spader killed it in that flick. Anyway, Wednesday's headlines include Disney's big deal with Netflix, Ryan Seacrest buys a marketing firm and the New York Post's subway death photo causes a stir. Daily Dose: RLTV, the network aimed at the over-50 demographic is officially on Time Warner Cable. In Los Angeles, RLTV can be found on Channel 200. Fear not, that doesn't mean you have to be 200 to watch.

You remember Karl Rove: He's the Republican strategist and Fox News contributor who made television history last month when he refused to accept that President Obama had won the state of Ohio and effectively clinched the entire election, leading to a showdown between Megyn Kelly and the behind-the-scenes statisticians on the network's “Decision Desk.” If a report out Wednesday from Gabriel Sherman at New York magazine is to be believed,...

  SALT LAKE CITY - Good thing for the Clippers there are 48 minutes in an NBA game. They needed, and used, every one of them Monday night against the Utah Jazz. It's also a good thing for the Clippers that they have one of the best benches in the NBA, and that their starters know how to close out games when given a reprieve. So it all ended up good for the Clippers, a 105-104 victory over the Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena leaving L.A. with a good vibe after delivering the Jazz its first home loss of the season.

Kobe Bryant is happier now. Slightly. Maybe. He was in an angry mood at Thursday's practice, calling out his teammates for not being tough enough in games, The Times has learned. It wasn't a long rant, maybe half a minute, but he left practice in a hurry, stalking off the court toward the end of it, irritated that the first team had lost to the reserves several times. He knocked some items off a table at midcourt on his way to the locker room and did not talk to reporters who were let in after his outburst.