Center Stage

Vin Scully says he's surprised, Joe Torre 's still in shock, the mystery that is an elusive Sandy Koufax for so many years, about to take center stage in Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. There might never be a night like the one with Scully & John Wooden sitting together for 90 minutes as they did 18 months ago, but filling those chairs Feb. 27 with Koufax & Torre has the makings of something just as special. Koufax has taken such a low profile that even though he gave his approval to the 2002 book, "Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy," he would not consent to being interviewed by the author, Jane Leavy . In his 1966 autobiography, Koufax wrote, "When I told [my mom]

BALTIMORE - Chances are, the horse racing public will get it wrong again. When Oxbow went wire-to-wire in Saturday's Preakness, again ruining a chance for a Triple Crown, it is likely to prompt hand-wringing among those who see it as the ultimate boost for a sport in need of one. Like so many great hopes since Affirmed won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1978, Orb didn't get it done. After an impressive Derby victory, he was widely hailed as Secretariat-like. It was ever thus.

Morgan Saylor is the teen with the most overworked eyebrows in the business. At a time when everyone is taking notice of Claire Danes' cry face on "Homeland," Saylor has managed to carve her own facial stamp. The 18-year-old plays Sgt. Nick Brody's (Damian Lewis) dour teenage daughter Dana on the Showtime drama. In the show's debut season, she was introduced as a pot-smoking troublemaker mad at the world -- or at least, her mom, played by Morena Baccarin. And she managed to save America from her suicide-bomber father -- all valid reasons for brow stress.

Rihanna is many things: singer, actress, fashion designer, tabloid mainstay. She's Chris Brown's on-again/off-again girlfriend, the youngest solo artist in history to top the Hot 100 a dozen times and, according to Forbes, a "social networking superstar. " One thing she's not is static. In an era of infinite entertainment options, multi-platforming is of course a key to staying in the conversation, an MO that's helped her ascend from potential one-hit wonder to global brand. But her shifting identity also reflects her youth: At 25, Rihanna, like many of the suspended adolescents in her fan base, isn't yet willing to decide which one of her many roles will define her. If anything, she revealed more of them Monday night at Staples Center, where her Diamonds World Tour touched down for a sold-out concert that felt like four smaller shows strung together with costume and set changes.

"Have you been to the loo yet?" Lana Wachowski asks just before a special screening of "Cloud Atlas" at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood begins. As we just met two minutes ago, it's a question that feels just a touch personal. Really, though, she's just looking out for her guest's best interests. "Cloud Atlas," the audacious, time-tripping, Big Idea movie Lana adapted and directed with her brother, Andy, and friend Tom Tykwer, clocks in at a sprawling 2 hours and 52 minutes.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - President Obama will be the headliner at his own show Thursday night as the Democratic National Convention wraps up with a prime-time speech from the incumbent accepting his nomination for a second term. After three days of speeches from the president's wife, his Democratic predecessor and scores of party compatriots and other validators, a national TV audience will hear Obama say in his own words why he deserves another four years in the White House despite the economic difficulties the country continues to face.

The stunning new Orange County Performing Arts Center dramatically symbolizes Orange County's coming of age, and excitement has been building throughout the county as its inauguration approaches. That includes us at the Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition. Like many others, we wanted to find our own distinctive way to mark the opening of the center. We chose to produce a magazine that would entertain as well as inform, educate as well as celebrate.

At a time when nonprofit theater in America is at a crucial crossroads, two of Southern California's most prominent regional theaters, the Geffen Playhouse and San Diego's Old Globe, are looking for new artistic leadership. Considering what's at stake culturally for the region and symbolically for nonprofit theater nationwide, the boards of directors conducting these searches haven't much room for error. The problem in a nutshell is this: Established theaters have by and large grown larger, public funding has become a monumental challenge and artistic directors have moved in an increasingly commercial direction, adopting a bottom-line mentality that has put publicity and profitability over bold and substantive choices.

It's plenty busy at the White House these days, but somebody should take a moment to light 50 candles in honor of the Situation Room, that suite in the West Wing basement that's as modest in dimension and decor as it is grand in historical significance. May marks the Situation Room's 50th birthday. Rooms are not usually given birthday parties, but if there's ever a time and place to make an exception, this is it. The "Sit Room," as insiders call it, has seen an extraordinary amount of drama over the last half a century.

Now that Wall Street knows President Obama will stay in the White House, investors' attention has returned to looming crises facing the U.S. and European economies. Major stock indexes were down more than 2% midway through the first trading session after election day. At the top of the agenda is the "fiscal cliff," the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes looming at year's end. If Obama cannot successfully resolve the crisis with a House still controlled by Republicans, economists have warned that the "cliff" could slow growth and push the U.S. back into recession.

Vin Scully is luring us back to the Dodgers with wonderful old stories and the promise of a new season, and the Angels will introduce new acquisition Josh Hamilton to their home fans Tuesday, but winter sports haven't relaxed their hold on us just yet. Sunday is rivalry day in Southern California, a gift from the schedule makers of the NBA and the NHL. It's enough to keep us indoors when summer sports are trying to draw us out into the sunshine....

AUSTIN, Texas - A San Francisco start-up that created a tiny motion-sensing device is making a big splash at South by Southwest, overshadowing major tech brands and scores of new apps with its promise of changing how consumers interact with their computers. In its debut appearance at the conference known more as a music and film festival, Leap Motion Inc. wowed attendees with its "Minority Report"-style gesture-recognition controller, which enables users to manipulate what's on their screens with a wave of the hand or lift of a finger.

Los Angeles indie rock band Barnaby Saints, Boston rock group Gentleman Hall and Baltimore R&B singer Phillip Magnus Hartley are the first three winners of the Recording Academy's new program connecting aspiring musicians with Grammy-winning recording artists, Center Stage . The program has been created to help fill the gap left by diminished or vanished artists-and-repertoire operations at many record companies, the divisions historically charged...

Western Federal Corporate Credit Union in San Dimas was once the largest credit union in the nation.  But in 2009, regulators took it over after it incurred nearly $7 billion in losses from its investments in mortgage-backed securities -- the bonds packed with subprime loans that helped fuel the mortgage bubble before it collapsed and helped plunge the financial system into crisis. The Justice Department's case against credit rating firm Standard & Poor's cites WesCorp, as the credit union was known, as a victim of the toxic mortgage bonds that got overly high marks from S&P. The feds filed the 119-page civil fraud case against S&P in Los Angeles late Monday and formally announced the case Tuesday.

LAS VEGAS - For a corpse, the International Consumer Electronics Show was pretty lively. The 2013 trade show, which ended a four-day run Friday, attracted a record 3,250 exhibitors and was on pace to match last year's 156,000 in attendance despite being pronounced all but dead before it started. The reason for the grim diagnosis by some pundits and analysts was simple: Many of the most influential tech companies in the world didn't officially participate: Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc. Although this year's show won't be remembered for any ground-shaking innovations or jaw-dropping product launches, it did highlight several ways the global technology industry has evolved.

Morgan Saylor is the teen with the most overworked eyebrows in the business. At a time when everyone is taking notice of Claire Danes' cry face on "Homeland," Saylor has managed to carve her own facial stamp. The 18-year-old plays Sgt. Nick Brody's (Damian Lewis) dour teenage daughter Dana on the Showtime drama. In the show's debut season, she was introduced as a pot-smoking troublemaker mad at the world -- or at least, her mom, played by Morena Baccarin. And she managed to save America from her suicide-bomber father -- all valid reasons for brow stress.

World rankings in parentheses: Venus Williams (3) vs. Ana Ivanovic (12), Serbia In advance of this starry matchup between former No. 1s, Williams has won an astounding 29 consecutive sets at Wimbledon dating to 2007. This has presented a major problem to opponents as time has proved it's very hard to beat the other player if you cannot win any sets. -- Serena Williams (2) vs. Daniela Hantuchova (32), Slovakia As she passed career Grand Slam match No.

Western Federal Corporate Credit Union in San Dimas was once the largest credit union in the nation.  But in 2009, regulators took it over after it incurred nearly $7 billion in losses from its investments in mortgage-backed securities -- the bonds packed with subprime loans that helped fuel the mortgage bubble before it collapsed and helped plunge the financial system into crisis. The Justice Department's case against credit rating firm Standard & Poor's cites WesCorp, as the credit union was known, as a victim of the toxic mortgage bonds that got overly high marks from S&P. The feds filed the 119-page civil fraud case against S&P in Los Angeles late Monday and formally announced the case Tuesday.

Now that Wall Street knows President Obama will stay in the White House, investors' attention has returned to looming crises facing the U.S. and European economies. Major stock indexes were down more than 2% midway through the first trading session after election day. At the top of the agenda is the "fiscal cliff," the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes looming at year's end. If Obama cannot successfully resolve the crisis with a House still controlled by Republicans, economists have warned that the "cliff" could slow growth and push the U.S. back into recession.

Bob Baffert is flat on his back and hears those around him saying he has the "widow maker," like he doesn't already know his chest is killing him. He's in Dubai this past March. He's 59 and figures he's doomed. "It was like, 'oh man, this is it.' I'm just waiting for them to turn out the lights," he says. Because he makes his living training horses, in his business people expect the worst and hope for the best. He gives his wife, Jill, a verbal last will and testament, telling her to "keep this, sell that and here's what you need to do when I'm gone.