Bob Costas

Times columnist Mike Downey has been voted California's 1992 sportswriter of the year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Assn. for the fourth time in five years. Vin Scully won as the state's top sportscaster. National winners were sportscaster Bob Costas of NBC-TV and Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated, and the 1993 Hall of Fame inductees will be Howard Cosell and Murray Olderman.

I'm tired of Ted Leitner-bashing! He is the most informative, insightful and entertaining sportscaster on television today. Yes, that includes the whole nation. He's the best, period! He must have ruffled some hockey-loving television executive's feathers along the line or we'd be watching Ted instead of Bob Costas. Ted, if you read this, do not send me your book. You're a great sportscaster but a lousy writer. CHRISTOPHER PIPER Oceanside

For the most part, NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics was dreadful. Several minutes before halftime of the U.S. men's basketball semifinal game against Lithuania, NBC stopped showing the game, with Bob Costas saying: "That's convincing enough for those of us here. We make, again, the decision to concede this one to the Dream Team, with the score, 42-21." Don't they realize that some people want to watch what perhaps might be one of Magic Johnson's last basketball games? Darren Pollock, La Canada

CBS Seeking to Sign NBC's Costas: CBS, enjoying great success with David Letterman in the late-night TV wars, is going after another NBC star, talk show host and sportscaster Bob Costas. Insiders report that CBS is negotiating with Costas to host a post-Letterman talk show that would be produced and owned by Letterman's production company.

In the third announcing switch for the game in just over three months, Bob Costas will be the play-by-play announcer for Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, NBC said today. Costas replaces Marv Albert, who will not take part in the telecast because of the death Tuesday of his mother, Alida. Albert was NBC's initial choice to call the game when NBC unveiled its NBA announcing lineup in July.

Following the murder-suicide of Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, the NFL announced that their young daughter, Zoey, will be supported by the league through college. Zoey will be a beneficiary of the collective bargaining agreement signed last year. According to NFL.com, Zoey, who is 3 months old, will receive $108,000 a year for four years. When she turns 5, she will get $48,000, then $52,000 a year until she is 18 or 23, depending on whether she goes to college.

Times columnist Mike Downey has been selected as sportswriter of the year in California by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Assn. Downey, who has been with The Times since 1985, previously was sportswriter of the year in Michigan in 1983 and 1984 while writing for the Detroit Free Press. Vin Scully, longtime voice of the Dodgers, was named California sportscaster of the year.