Closer

When Susan had breast cancer, we heard a lot of lame remarks, but our favorite came from one of Susan's colleagues. She wanted, she needed, to visit Susan after the surgery, but Susan didn't feel like having visitors, and she said so. Her colleague's response? "This isn't just about you. " "It's not?" Susan wondered. "My breast cancer is not about me? It's about you?" The same theme came up again when our friend Katie had a brain aneurysm. She was in intensive care for a long time and finally got out and into a step-down unit.

A day after Brandon League blew his second save in four opportunities, Kenley Jansen was named the Dodgers' closer. But in solving one problem, Manager Don Mattingly might have created another. The team's best reliever, Jansen was previously in a flexible role, as Mattingly deployed him in the most high-leverage situations, often in the seventh or eighth innings. That experiment was abandoned Tuesday, as Mattingly designated Jansen for ninth-inning duty to replace League, who has an earned-run average of 6.00.

You just got your new iPhone 5 and the thought of losing it is far from your mind. But statistics show that a lot of people lose their iPhones or or get it stolen as more thieves eye the popular device. You can take steps right now that can help you quickly recover your smartphone if you were ever to misplace it or someone makes off with it. First, set up a passcode for your iPhone. It can be inconvenient but it can also help your chances of recovering your phone. And make sure "location services" is turned on. You can find that in "Settings," and then at the top of "Privacy.

DENVER - Don Mattingly's best-case scenario for his bullpen Saturday had him calling in a pitcher to protect a last-inning lead. Asked who that pitcher might be, Mattingly hesitated. "The closer," he said before the Dodgers' 7-6, 10-inning loss. The Dodgers manager wasn't being cheeky, he was being honest. After watching Brandon League blow his second save in four tries Friday, Mattingly's confidence in the right-hander was clearing waning. But the next-best candidate, hard-throwing Kenley Jansen , is a pitcher Mattingly prefers to use in crucial situations in the seventh or eight innings - a strategy he thinks gives him a better chance to get to the ninth with a lead.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a conservative Republican, announced her support Sunday for a bipartisan immigration overhaul plan, lending momentum to the comprehensive measure being debated in the Senate. “Our immigration system is completely broken,” the New Hampshire lawmaker said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “This is a thoughtful, bipartisan solution to a tough problem.” Ayotte, who was elected in 2010, is the first Republican to endorse the measure apart from the four in the Senate's so-called Gang of Eight: Sens.

at St. Louis 2, Chicago 1: Brendan Ryan had an outfielder-assisted homer, and his walk-off single in the ninth reduced the Cardinals' magic number in the NL Central to four. San Diego 2, at Pittsburgh 1: In a game that had two runs score without the benefit of a hit, Henry Blanco's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning gave the Padres the win. at New York 3, Washington 2: Tim Redding pitched into the eighth inning, and the Mets ended their losing streak to six games.

Justin Verlander pitched the Detroit Tigers closer to a division title and pushed the Cleveland Indians to within one loss of matching a franchise record for futility with a 6-5 win on Thursday night. Verlander struck out 11 in seven innings and Carlos Guillen had three hits and a run batted in as the Tigers handed Cleveland its 11th loss in a row. With the win, Detroit moved three games ahead of the idle Minnesota Twins in the AL's Central Division. The Tigers, who have 10 games remaining, open a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox tonight.

More than a year ago, a group of business leaders called the Bay Area Council became so fed up with dysfunction in Sacramento that it called on California to start over. At the time, its plan struck many as a bit extreme. Sure, the state had some problems governing itself. But a constitutional convention? It sounded like a circus in the making. As the months rolled by, and party ideologues vilified lawmakers who dared to compromise, and budget deadlines passed unheeded, and the government issued IOUs, and elected officials unraveled the fabric of human services meant to protect people in need in just such hard times, and California's remarkable achievements began to look like ancient history, it became clear that the sad circus was already in progress.

Barry Zito struck out a season-high nine in his biggest win yet as a Giant, Juan Uribe drove in three runs and San Francisco shaved another game off Colorado's hold on the NL wild-card spot with a 10-2 win over the Rockies on Tuesday night. San Francisco won its third straight after a four-game skid and pulled to within 2 1/2 games of the wild-card-leading Rockies, who dropped their fourth in a row after an eight-game winning streak. Zito (10-12) gave up five hits and two runs in seven efficient innings, walking only one in a 93-pitch effort.

"No one is going to ever come close again. I think it's the best pitching record out there." John Smoltz, Atlanta closer, on Eric Gagne's record of 84 consecutive saves

Los Angeles International Airport landed in court again Thursday when a labor union, four local governments and a neighborhood coalition filed lawsuits challenging the latest round of construction being performed at the aging facility, including a controversial plan to relocate the northernmost runway closer to homes. The cases allege that Los Angeles World Airports, the operator of LAX, violated state laws that require thorough evaluations of the environmental effects of projects as well as measures to reduce adverse impacts.

Sometime after the Kings' season ends - and that might not be for a while - it wouldn't be surprising to hear that center Anze Kopitar had been hampered by an injury from mid-March onward. A sore shoulder, maybe. An abdominal pull. Or some other type of dreaded upper-body infirmity whose nature was more closely guarded than most national security secrets. When asked, he repeatedly said he was fine, or as fine as anyone could be during a second straight bruising playoff series.

MILWAUKEE - Asked on Tuesday who was the Dodgers' closer, Manager Don Mattingly replied, "I don't know. " Brandon League, who started the season in that role, is foundering. League has blown two saves and lost two other games in his last nine appearances. His earned-run average in that span was 7.71 and opponents batted .378 against him. But League said his problems aren't similar to the ones that cost him his job as the Seattle Mariners' closer early last season.

Perhaps you noticed it was Kenley Jansen, and not the struggling Brandon League, who came in to get the final out and the save Tuesday against the Nationals. Which naturally indicated that Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly has decided to change closers again. Unless it doesn't, because if you simply listen to Mattingly, you could think anything. The simple question was, is Jansen now the closer? “We'll see,” Mattingly said. “I don't know if I really have to set roles. We always talk about where we're at in the lineup.

By opting for surgery to remove her breasts while they were still healthy, Angelina Jolie joined a growing number of women who have used genetic testing to take control of their health. Here are answers to some common questions about how DNA influences breast cancer risk and what women can do about it. What genes are involved in breast cancer? The two primary ones are known as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Hundreds of variants of these genes have been found that make a woman - or a man - more likely to develop breast cancer.

After watching Brandon League struggle through another tough outing in the series finale with the Miami Marlins, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly was asked Monday whether the right-hander was still his closer. His answer wasn't exactly a vote of confidence. "Yeah, for now he is," Mattingly said. "I hate to say it like that. But yeah, for now. " League has given up runs in six of his last seven appearances and has just two hitless innings in the last month.

Isn't it odd how the price of gasoline keeps going down the closer we get to the election? EDAN MILTON HUGHES San Francisco

Will all those who are still in favor of legalizing assault weapons and drugs please take a closer look at Somalia. CATHERINE COVENEY Los Osos

It is always easier to be critical when you don't have a dog in the fight, so let's go ahead. The NBA playoffs are in full swing. If we think hard, we in Los Angeles can remember what that's like. People flying purple flags out car windows. The Clippers going past the first round. Close your eyes and savor. Then open them so we can take a hard look at the game and the league that has built such a ga-ga fan base. As popular as it is, the NBA keeps edging closer to pro wrestling.

OAKLAND -- A strong scent of desperation was in the air Wednesday in the Oakland Coliseum, where Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, his bullpen options limited by injury and ineffectiveness, went to extreme lengths to win a game Scioscia left starter C.J. Wilson in long enough to throw 123 pitches, a decision the left-hander rewarded by rebounding from a 36-pitch first inning to give up two runs and six hits in 61/3 innings and escape...