Big Day

Re "Apple's profit nearly doubles," Business, April 25 The article describing the profits of Apple is but one of several such announcements of record profits in many industries that appear in newspapers regularly. This at a time when most of our citizenry is struggling to keep their heads above water. The discrepancy is so apparent that one wonders at the bewildering confusion of voters during this electoral season. Russell Blinick Encino

Long drives home and sleepless nights have become a part of Mark McGwire's life now that the former home run champion is the Dodgers' hitting coach. But McGwire said his job is everything he hoped it would be when he left the St. Louis Cardinals to accept it. His off-season home in Irvine has become his year-round home, which allowed him to catch his two sons' recent Little League game. The Dodgers' training facilities might be the best in baseball. As for the Dodgers' low-scoring offense, McGwire believes it's only a matter of time before it is "devastating.

Apple investors will soon find out whether their fears are founded, as the tech juggernaut is set to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday afternoon. [For the Record, 7:32 a.m. Jan. 23: An earlier version of this post stated that Apple was due to report its fourth-quarter earnings. It is to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings. ] Apple's stock has fallen nearly 30% since September, in a sell-off fueled by reports of waning iPhone 5 sales and questions over whether Tim Cook can lead the company through the post-Steve Jobs era. Investors also worry that Apple could be losing market share to rivals, or that profits could suffer if it makes cheaper phones and tablets.  Apple won't report its earnings until after the closing bell on Wall Street.

SACRAMENTO -- California is primed for a strong month for tax revenue after the Legislature's top budget advisor said Tuesday was among the biggest days for tax collection in state history. The state raked in $2.7 billion in income taxes Tuesday, according to the latest figures from the Legislative Analyst's Office. April is the most critical month of the year for income taxes, which are expected to supply more than 60% of general fund revenue for the current budget. So far this month, the state's income tax revenue has totaled $6.02 billion.

For all the complaining about the experiment known as Super Tuesday, the regional Southern primary produced some dramatic results. The irony is that the Democrats conceived of Super Tuesday as a means of producing a conservative-to-moderate Democratic presidential nomineewho could unite the party and carry the South to victory in the fall election. Super Tuesday seemed to produce a nominee, all right, but it was a Republican--Vice President George Bush.

By the end of the day Thursday, veteran reliever Jason Isringhausen will know whether he has secured a spot in the Angels bullpen or is headed for retirement. Isringhausen, the 39-year-old right-hander who signed a minor league contract in February, is scheduled to pitch the second of back-to-back games Thursday when the Angels face the Kansas City Royals in Tempe Diablo Stadium. After struggling with mechanics and command in two of his first four outings, Isringhausen looked sharper Wednesday when he retired the side in order in an inning against the Cincinnati Reds.

It had been 10 years since a man from anywhere but Kenya had won the Chicago Marathon -- and even longer for a runner from Ethiopia to have the fastest finish in the event. Infinitely longer. Tsegaye Kebede ended all of that Sunday when he became the first Ethiopian runner in the 35-year history of the race to win the men's event -- and he did so in record fashion. His time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 38 seconds eclipsed both the previous course record of 2:05:37 set by Kenya's Moses Mosop last year and his own prior personal best time of 2:05:18.

Editor's note: In last week's Outdoors, Sue Horton wrote about identifying 179 bird species during a one-day outing on May 1. On the same day, Todd and David Easterla, Steve Glover, Gjon Hazard and John Sterling set a Big Day record in San Diego County with 217. Here's an excerpt from their online report. We left the Silver Strand with 212 species, and added only Clapper Rail at Mission Bay (no brant, harlequin duck or little blue herons -- it was high tide). With 213, we had our last daylight at La Jolla where black-vented shearwaters and northern phalaropes flew offshore.

Before Smarty Jones tries to make history in the Belmont Stakes, owner-trainer Wesley Ward has an opportunity to win two races on the card. In the first, a $58,000 allowance at 1 1/16 miles, Lifestyle, who has won his first two starts by a combined 23 1/4 lengths, will try to remain unbeaten. Five races later, Bear Fan will aim for her fourth consecutive victory in the $150,000 Vagrancy Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs. The Vagrancy is the first leg of a pick six with a guaranteed pool of $1 million.

NEW YORK — Juan Uribe received a one-day pardon from his tortured existence on Saturday. Uribe's ninth-inning, two-run home run against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey capped a memorable day for the long-slumping third baseman and secured the Dodgers' third consecutive victory, an 8-5 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field. Uribe also doubled and drew two walks. He drove in four runs and scored three, both seasons highs. "Today, I had a good day, a beautiful day," Uribe said.

Apple investors will soon find out whether their fears are founded, as the tech juggernaut is set to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday afternoon. [For the Record, 7:32 a.m. Jan. 23: An earlier version of this post stated that Apple was due to report its fourth-quarter earnings. It is to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings. ] Apple's stock has fallen nearly 30% since September, in a sell-off fueled by reports of waning iPhone 5 sales and questions over whether Tim Cook can lead the company through the post-Steve Jobs era. Investors also worry that Apple could be losing market share to rivals, or that profits could suffer if it makes cheaper phones and tablets.  Apple won't report its earnings until after the closing bell on Wall Street.

It was a night of history for the Cal State Northridge women's basketball program. The Matadors beat No. 12 UCLA, 77-72, on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion, the first time they've defeated a ranked team in their Division I history. And it was their first victory against UCLA, having lost nine previous times to the Bruins. In fact, it was the Matadors' first victory against a Pac-12 conference team since 1996. "We knew this was going to be like a Super Bowl to them," UCLA Coach Cori Close said.

It's 8 a.m. Sunday and John Palyok, general manager of a Best Buy store in Burbank, is brandishing a $19.99 Dynex HDMI cable like a battle standard. A group of 50 employees, mostly in their 20s, gather around him, gulping coffee and nodding slowly. "It's about speed, velocity and execution," bellowed Palyok, his voice echoing through the store's cavernous, 45,000-square-foot interior. "They, need, need this HDMI cable," Palyok said, slicing the thin blue box through the air like a battle-ax.

It had been 10 years since a man from anywhere but Kenya had won the Chicago Marathon -- and even longer for a runner from Ethiopia to have the fastest finish in the event. Infinitely longer. Tsegaye Kebede ended all of that Sunday when he became the first Ethiopian runner in the 35-year history of the race to win the men's event -- and he did so in record fashion. His time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 38 seconds eclipsed both the previous course record of 2:05:37 set by Kenya's Moses Mosop last year and his own prior personal best time of 2:05:18.

Allyson Felix's running style is so elegant, it's easy for her to lapse into floating like a butterfly when she should sting like a bee. "It's a gift and a curse because it looks very fluid," she said. "It's nice, but sometimes you have to get into an aggressive mode. " It took the Los Angeles native until her third Olympics to develop that edge, an odyssey that included silver medals in the 200 meters at Athens and Beijing and a fifth-place finish in the 100 meters last week. When it all clicked in her mind Wednesday, she hunted down her dream instead of gliding toward it and finally realized her golden vision.

NEW YORK — Juan Uribe received a one-day pardon from his tortured existence on Saturday. Uribe's ninth-inning, two-run home run against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey capped a memorable day for the long-slumping third baseman and secured the Dodgers' third consecutive victory, an 8-5 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field. Uribe also doubled and drew two walks. He drove in four runs and scored three, both seasons highs. "Today, I had a good day, a beautiful day," Uribe said.

"I don't think my agents tell me when plays come up," jokes Helen Slater, who's taking a break from her busy film and TV schedule to play nervous bride Moey Bowes in Douglas McGrath's new comedy, "The Big Day," opening next Sunday at the Pasadena Playhouse. "I get to fall apart and be emotional," says the actress, 26, who's married in real life to film editor Rob Watzke. "There's also a big surprise, but I'm not allowed to talk about it." Slater's other projects are less secretive.

Big Day Coming Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock Jesse Jarnow Gotham Books: 362 pp., $18 This is as scintillating as it gets: The opening and closing anecdotes of "Big Day Coming" revolve around typos. Shockingly, promoters and newspapers have had a chronic habit of misspelling the name of Yo La Tengo, the 26-year-old Hoboken, N.J., band whose members are the book's reluctant antiheroes. "Yo La Tango," "Wo La Tengo," "Yo Lo Tengo" - Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and their multiple bassists have suffered through an endless stream of typos by writers who apparently don't speak Spanish.

Re "Apple's profit nearly doubles," Business, April 25 The article describing the profits of Apple is but one of several such announcements of record profits in many industries that appear in newspapers regularly. This at a time when most of our citizenry is struggling to keep their heads above water. The discrepancy is so apparent that one wonders at the bewildering confusion of voters during this electoral season. Russell Blinick Encino