Big Numbers

The Great Daytime Talk Show War of 2012 is only a day old, but so far Katie Couric is in the lead.  In preliminary ratings, Monday's premiere of “Katie,” in which the “Today” veteran and former “CBS Evening News” anchor gabbed with Jessica Simpson and Sheryl Crow, drew an estimated 1.535-million viewers from the top 56 U.S. markets (overall viewership numbers, drawn from the country as a whole, are expected to be considerably higher)....

With one month in the books, staff writer Tim Hubbard looks at some of this season's biggest surprises: John Buck C | New York Mets Talk about a lack of respect, 495 players were chosen at my draft and Buck was not among them. That's what a .192 batting average in 2012 will do for you. Jump to this season and all the 32-year-old journeyman has done is lead all catchers in runs (16), home runs (10) and RBIs (29). Nate McLouth OF | Baltimore McLouth's career was in a major free fall when he was released by Pittsburgh last June.

The Lakers lost 107-102 Friday, visiting the Clippers in a game that was broadcast nationally on ESPN. The "Battle for L.A. " telecast gave the network its best NBA regular-season overnight rating (2.7) in nearly two years, according to ESPN. Locally in Los Angeles, the game posted a 5.7 rating, the second-highest-rated NBA regular-season game ever in the market. Historically, the Lakers have been a big draw, but the Clippers, who have the best overall record in the league at 27-8, are the talk of the NBA. The Lakers got 38 points out of Kobe Bryant and nearly overtook the Clippers in a fourth-quarter rally.

The Lakers lost 107-102 Friday, visiting the Clippers in a game that was broadcast nationally on ESPN. The "Battle for L.A. " telecast gave the network its best NBA regular-season overnight rating (2.7) in nearly two years, according to ESPN. Locally in Los Angeles, the game posted a 5.7 rating, the second-highest-rated NBA regular-season game ever in the market. Historically, the Lakers have been a big draw, but the Clippers, who have the best overall record in the league at 27-8, are the talk of the NBA. The Lakers got 38 points out of Kobe Bryant and nearly overtook the Clippers in a fourth-quarter rally.

In the latest wrinkle to the drama that won't end, an Italian pro basketball club is no longer entirely interested in having Kobe Bryant play 10 games. Now its owner is also offering Bryant a one-game contract for $1 million or $2 million, depending on various reports out of Italy. The catch: Bryant hasn't agreed to anything. The one-game plan is a substantial boost from Bryant's average of $307,859 per game with the Lakers this season, assuming there are any NBA games.

It's been a week of big numbers, mostly with dollar signs attached. A group led by former NBA great Magic Johnson paid $2 billion to buy the Dodgers. Which means a nice check for Frank McCourt, the guy who paid about $430 million for the team in 2004.   It also means Frank's ex-wife , Jamie, who helped him run the team into the ground, will get her $130 million, which should keep her in houses for a couple of years.   The Mega Millions jackpot has reached $500 million for Friday night's drawing.

Orange Lutheran plays its home games at Brea Olinda High, but scheduling conflicts forced a move of its first-round Division XI game against Santa Monica St. Monica to Orange Coast College Friday. "We asked them about playing Thursday night and they understandably said no," said Jim Kunau, Lancer coach and athletic director. He said he wasn't sure how much it cost to rent the 7,500-seat stadium. "But I think we should get a refund for the [non-functioning] scoreboard," Kunau said.

Less than two weeks ago, Michael Spinks' manager/promoter, Butch Lewis, was calling the management team of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson "two of the most vicious SOBs who ever lived." Wednesday, reports out of New York had it that Lewis and Tyson co-managers Jim Jacobs and Bill Cayton had all but kissed and made up. Well, not really. But it's amazing how a few million dollars can clear the air.

I am always pleased when I learn that The Times is being used in the classroom; what better tool to develop literacy in children and familiarize them with the world beyond their neighborhoods? So I am delighted to hear from Jean Lancaster of Big Bear Lake that the pupils in Caroline Green's Big Bear Middle School have found an entirely new use for the newspaper in their learning process.

Mike Pringle had the winning numbers Saturday, including the one on the back of his jersey. Pringle's 213 all-purpose yards in Cal State Fullerton's 34-20 victory over Nevada Las Vegas moved him back to first in the nation in that category, although his per-game average dropped five yards to 234.8. But his numbers really came up later--in the California Lottery.

David Piland was at home watching on television as his University of Houston teammates played UCLA at the Rose Bowl two years ago. A true freshman, he was expected to redshirt that season, and learn in practice from watching record-setting Cougars quarterback Case Keenum. But just a few minutes after the game ended, Piland's cellphone started convulsing. "Coaches were texting me and calling, saying, 'We need you here tomorrow,' " Piland recalled in a phone interview Tuesday.

The Great Daytime Talk Show War of 2012 is only a day old, but so far Katie Couric is in the lead.  In preliminary ratings, Monday's premiere of “Katie,” in which the “Today” veteran and former “CBS Evening News” anchor gabbed with Jessica Simpson and Sheryl Crow, drew an estimated 1.535-million viewers from the top 56 U.S. markets (overall viewership numbers, drawn from the country as a whole, are expected to be considerably higher)....

WEST LEBANON, N.H. - Mitt Romney briefly emerged from intensive debate preparations to explicitly make the argument Wednesday that has been the subtext of his campaign for months: Americans aren't better off today than they were four years ago. During a quick stop for pizza at Lui Lui restaurant in West Lebanon, Romney told the small pool of reporters he had read the texts of a number of the first-day speeches at the Democratic National Convention and...

During the long and glorious reign of the variety show, it was fairly common to see the stars of popular Broadway musicals singing and dancing their big numbers on network television. Now, like Christmas, that opportunity comes but once a year, during the annual broadcast of the American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards. With their consistently heady yet satisfying blend of song and dance, impromptu humor and deeply felt sentiment, of theatrical lions and upstarts, the Tonys is actually as close as it gets to a variety show these days.

It's been a week of big numbers, mostly with dollar signs attached. A group led by former NBA great Magic Johnson paid $2 billion to buy the Dodgers. Which means a nice check for Frank McCourt, the guy who paid about $430 million for the team in 2004.   It also means Frank's ex-wife , Jamie, who helped him run the team into the ground, will get her $130 million, which should keep her in houses for a couple of years.   The Mega Millions jackpot has reached $500 million for Friday night's drawing.

It's Metta World Peace's turn. It's anyone's guess whether he can do the job for the Lakers. He became their third small forward to start a game, the revolving door not spitting out much production at the position through 22 games. Devin Ebanks started the first four games, then Matt Barnes got the next 16, followed by World Peace the last two games. The trio averaged a combined 14.9 points before Tuesday's game against Charlotte, or only 51% of LeBron James' scoring average for Miami (29.2 points)

These are the numbers, and as they say, they do not lie. Passing yardage against USC in five games this season: 276, 355, 284, 354, 292. Another quarterback shredded a USC secondary that is supposed to be studded with All-Americans on Saturday. This one was no Ryan Leaf, the Washington State standout. He's not even Nevada Las Vegas' Jon Denton.

Lots of heads were being scratched. Several questions were being posed. And for Kennedy High, it's usually a good sign when folks are running around the sideline asking things such as, "When was the last time we had this many . . . ?" The correct answer, in some cases, might be never. A handful of Kennedy players recorded career-best nights as the Golden Cougars buried Crenshaw, 55-12, in a nonleague game at Kennedy on Thursday night.

In the latest wrinkle to the drama that won't end, an Italian pro basketball club is no longer entirely interested in having Kobe Bryant play 10 games. Now its owner is also offering Bryant a one-game contract for $1 million or $2 million, depending on various reports out of Italy. The catch: Bryant hasn't agreed to anything. The one-game plan is a substantial boost from Bryant's average of $307,859 per game with the Lakers this season, assuming there are any NBA games.