Coliseum

Since our political leaders don't want to use our tax dollars to modernize and preserve the historic Coliseum to accommodate present-day needs for the return of the NFL to our city and since they are spending so many of our tax dollars building museums in and around L.A., why not make a museum out of the Coliseum? They can charge for parking and entrance as clips of past glory days of the old landmark are shown. Now that's something political leaders would agree upon. THOMAS DIXON Whittier

A judge ruled on Thursday that The Times could not be stopped from reporting on testimony from the top manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a deposition for an open-government lawsuit. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Luis A. Lavin said that in asking the court to deny Times reporters access to the testimony and a prohibition against articles about it, the commission sought “essentially a gag order.” “This is a public matter,” Lavin said of the lawsuit brought against the commission by The Times and a 1st Amendment group, Californians Aware.

Among names of note to pop up on sales that have finally slowpoked their way into the public record is Todd DeStefano, who has sold his Pasadena house for $1.92 million. The former L.A. Coliseum events manager is charged with receiving more than $2 million in illegal payments for helping to stage raves at Coliseum properties and keeping the costs down, according to Times reports. Listed at $2.05 million in September, the two-story contemporary contains three fireplaces, five bedrooms and seven bathrooms in its 5,585 square feet of living space.

The overseers of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum concealed from the public independent reports of lax financial controls and widespread spending abuses at the taxpayer-owned stadium that included sloppy accounting of hot dog sales and excessive perks for managers, records show. Problems detailed in the reports by two independent audit and consulting firms compounded money woes that leaders of the Coliseum Commission cited as a chief reason they decided to turn over stewardship of the two-time Olympic venue to USC. The Times obtained the reports through the court as part of a pending lawsuit the news organization filed against the commission, alleging that the panel has violated the California Public Records Act and open-meetings law. The commission refused to release the reports when The Times first inquired about them in 2011.

Re "Panel OKs Coliseum lease deal," May 15 L.A. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks complains that the public has spent money on Coliseum upkeep since 1923, implying that turning it over to USC gets these government agencies no return. UCLA shared the Coliseum's occupancy for much of those 89 years. In 1982, the commission essentially contracted away all important management and scheduling issues to the brand-new Los Angeles Raiders. We had played with pro teams before, but the commission gave the Raiders the last word on all important issues.

The president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission acknowledged Tuesday that the commission failed to closely monitor its managers, a statement that comes several months after The Times disclosed that a commission events manager was also employed by a rave company that held events there. As a result, commission President David Israel said he wanted to determine if there's a better way to oversee managers of the center, which has been thrown into disarray with the resignations of the events manager, Todd DeStefano, and the longtime general manager, Patrick Lynch.

Los Angeles has the worst politicians in the country. L.A. has not had football since 1995 and we had two opportunities for a return. But thanks to Mark Ridley-Thomas and his cronies, we lost the 1999 expansion team to Houston and we will lose the downtown proposal thanks to him again. He likes the Coliseum so much that he should move his family into it. Nirpal Missan Agoura Hills

So much for Southern California hospitality. Just in time for Norm Chow's return to the Coliseum  as Hawaii's head coach, USC Coach Lane Kiffin confirmed Thursday that USC would no longer make the stadium available to visiting teams for walk-throughs the day before games.  “It shouldn't be a big deal,” Kiffin said. “We don't go to other people's stadiums.” Schools customarily make their stadiums available to visiting teams for walk-throughs. Defending Bowl Championship Series champion Alabama allows walk-throughs, a school spokesman confirmed.

Members of USC's 2001 football team remember a lot about that season, when the Trojans program began to turn around under first-year coach Pete Carroll. But several players said they were unaware that a pornographic video was shot in September 2001 at the Coliseum, where the Trojans went 4-2 during a 6-6 season. The Times reported Wednesday that the stadium was the location for the video, which included sex scenes that took place under the lights on the field. Derek Graf, a junior offensive lineman in 2001, has worked as a stuntman in more than a dozen commercials shot at the Coliseum.

USC concluded spring practice Saturday with a Coliseum scrimmage devoid of tackling. This time, however, it was by executive order, not defensive shortcomings. With 20 players sidelined because of injuries, and the Trojans especially thin at tight end and receiver, Coach Lane Kiffin said "there just weren't enough bodies out there. " So fans in the stadium and those watching on television saw the Trojans finish workouts with what amounted to a glorified passing drill designed to avoid injuries.

The competition to replace Matt Barkley as USC's starting quarterback will not end Saturday in the Trojans' final spring scrimmage at the Coliseum. But Max Wittek, Cody Kessler and Max Browne are looking forward to making lasting impressions. Trojans Coach Lane Kiffin has not classified them in any order - "They're all in there," he said - and no major change is expected when Kiffin releases a depth chart Monday. Still, the quarterbacks' performances will enable USC fans to begin forming opinions as the Trojans head into summer.

The top manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum refused to answer questions Wednesday after his lawyer objected to the presence of Los Angeles Times reporters at a deposition in an open-government lawsuit against the stadium's overseers. Interim General Manager John Sandbrook walked out of the deposition in the suit brought by The Times and a 1st Amendment group. The Times would not agree to exclude the two reporters or prohibit them from publishing Sandbrook's sworn answers before they are introduced as evidence in a trial.

Jack Beasley died. You might say "Who?" and I wouldn't disagree. I knew him like I do so many people: To say hello, chat a little, laugh a little, so I really didn't know him at all. But you probably saw him, a regular part of your life maybe on some Saturdays, or at the very least you looked through him. He was the guy standing on the concourse monitoring access to the press box elevator, a fixture at the Coliseum since 1967. He worked hundreds of football and basketball games and saw none of them.

There will be big doings for USC athletics Saturday at the Coliseum. And no, Matt Barkley did not get another year of eligibility. This has to do with lacrosse, which brings to mind one of two things for most of us: a medium-sized city in Wisconsin or a sport with sticks. Sticks it will be. Also, a beginning. USC will play its first-ever NCAA game, at 3 p.m., in a sport that is a big deal in the East and barely on the radar in these parts. It will be women's lacrosse, 12 scholarships spread among 26 student athletes.

The financially strapped Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission has failed to pay $500,000 in rent to the state of California. The board of the California Science Center, which owns the land where the Coliseum sits, has asked the state attorney general's office to assess its legal options, Jeffrey Rudolph, the center's president, said Friday. The Coliseum is in deep financial difficulty. Officials there said this week that they may not have enough money to pay employees by the end of March.

Please say it ain't so, Mr. (Pete) Dalis. Say you're not really considering returning to the Coliseum. They haven't improved it for the Raiders. The Coliseum Commission is a collection of political hacks. The parking situation is horrendous. Besides, it's the damn Trojans' home. HENRY MENDOZA South Pasadena If UCLA football moves to the Coliseum, I'll move from the Rose Bowl to the TV. DICK THIES Long Beach The Coliseum is a nice place to visit every other November, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Re "NFL Picks Coliseum for L.A. Team," April 21: So, now the Coliseum will be renovated to prepare for our new football team at a reported cost of $350 million! Who will be watching out for the taxpayers of Los Angeles to make sure that not one cent comes from the public's money to pay for this? ROGER GILMORE Topanga There's been much written and much talk about the question of Los Angeles community support of an NFL team. The Rams left, the Raiders left--and what will happen if we get another team?

USC will play a traffic-jam-inducing Thursday night game against Arizona at the Coliseum, UCLA a traffic-snarled Friday night game at the Rose Bowl against Washington. UCLA plays back-breaking road games at Stanford and Oregon on consecutive October weekends, and USC skips Oregon and Washington. Those scenarios and others were revealed Thursday when the Pac-12 Conference released its 2013 football schedule. USC will play 13 regular-season games because its Aug. 29 opener is at Hawaii.