Color Commentator

George Ratterman, 80, a former quarterback for Notre Dame and the Cleveland Browns who later became a color commentator on pro football broadcasts in the 1960s and '70s, died Saturday of complications from Alzheimer's disease in Centennial, Colo. He was 80. A native of Cincinnati, Ratterman lettered in football, basketball, baseball and tennis at Notre Dame, one of only a handful of people to letter in four sports at the school, said John Heisler, Notre Dame's senior associate athletic director.

Choose any significant soccer event in Southern California over the last 38 years, and chances are Ralph Perez was there. The 1984 Olympic Games? He worked as a statistician "just so I could get to the games. " The World Cup a decade later? He was a technical advisor. Major League Soccer? He was with the league from the start and even helped coach the Galaxy to two MLS Cup wins. He also founded programs at Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State San Bernardino, ran teams at Cal State Fullerton and Whittier College and might be the only man in history to coach teams in all three divisions of NCAA play, the MLS, the Olympics and the World Cup. All of that won him a lifetime achievement award last month at the National Soccer Coaches Assn.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, will be the color commentator for the Mighty Ducks radio broadcasts, the team announced Thursday. Eliot will be teamed with Brian Hamilton on the KRLA broadcasts. Eliot replaces Pat Conacher. Eliot played for the Kings, Detroit and the Buffalo in five seasons in the NHL from 1984 to 1989. * Joni Easterly-Colburn has been hired as the girls' varsity basketball coach at Irvine High, the school announced.

Reporting from Oakland Stu Lantz is staying. The longtime color commentator for televised Lakers games is expected to return for a 25th season, multiple NBA and entertainment officials said Wednesday. Lantz's broadcast partner since 2005, Joel Meyers , will not be back after this season. Meyers will be done after the first round of the playoffs. Neither FS West nor KCAL has broadcast rights past that point. Spero Dedes , 32, will be the third TV voice of the Lakers since Chick Hearn died in August 2002.

David Norrie no longer calls plays for the UCLA football team, but the former Bruin quarterback is making a name for himself with his descriptions and insights about them. Norrie, who led UCLA to the 1986 Rose Bowl, is in his third season as the color commentator for Bruin radio broadcasts. A novice when he was hired in 1991 by KMPC-710, Norrie has learned and improved quickly. His experience as a player is evident in his analysis.

Chick Hearn is to be appreciated as a basketball announcer, he is probably pretty good as a basketball coach, he is darn good as a color commentator, he would undoubtedly make an excellent referee and he does a very good job on commercials. But he can't do all five at one time! It's time to put Chick in the refrigerator. VIC E. HARRIS Altadena

Carter played only one season in Los Angeles, 1991, but he got into 101 games while platooning with fellow catcher Mike Scioscia. The former three-sport standout at Sunny Hills High in Fullerton was signed as a free agent the next year by Montreal--where he had begun his career in 1974--and retired at the end of the 1992 season having caught more games, 2,056, than any other player in National League history. Carter, 40, lives in Florida and is the color commentator on the Marlins' telecasts.

Frank Gifford, who was reportedly discussing a switch to another network, will stay with ABC and continue on Monday Night Football broadcasts as color commentator, the network announced today. ABC Sports President Dennis Swanson announced that Gifford, a 16-year veteran of Monday Night Football, will be teamed with Al Michaels who will handle play-by-play duties. Michaels took over that assignment when Gifford was demoted from play-by-play, and the network bounced O. J.

Prime Ticket will televise three high school football championship games this weekend, one in the City and two in the Southern Section. Friday night's City 4-A game between Wilmington Banning and Carson at East Los Angeles College will be shown Saturday at 11 p.m. and Monday at 6 p.m. Geoff Witcher and former Ram receiver Jack Snow are the announcers. Gil Stratton and Mike Garrett will call the game live on KDAY radio. The Big Five Conference final Friday night at Anaheim Stadium between St.

A San Diego County Superior Court judge has agreed to resign after being censured by the Commission on Judicial Performance for a pattern of intemperate behavior toward lawyers and defendants. Judge DeAnn M. Salcido agreed to resign immediately to avoid formal proceedings against her that could have led to her ouster. The resignation becomes effective within five days, according to an agreement signed by the judge and lawyers for the commission. Salcido was appointed to the bench in 2002 by then-Gov.

The rain ended just in time, perhaps knowing it could never stop Chick Hearn in his days as a Lakers broadcaster, so why cause an issue at the unveiling of his bronze statue Tuesday outside Staples Center. The man who once called 3,338 consecutive Lakers games — getting there every time despite rain, snow or otherwise — is shown sitting at a table while wearing a headset, looking like he's midsentence while calling a game. A chair next to him remains open, allowing fans to take photographs in it. Hearn's widow, Marge, was the first to sit in the chair after the 45-minute ceremony in front of a crowd of about 500. She kissed her right hand and then placed it gently on the cheek of her husband's statue.

George Ratterman, 80, a former quarterback for Notre Dame and the Cleveland Browns who later became a color commentator on pro football broadcasts in the 1960s and '70s, died Saturday of complications from Alzheimer's disease in Centennial, Colo. He was 80. A native of Cincinnati, Ratterman lettered in football, basketball, baseball and tennis at Notre Dame, one of only a handful of people to letter in four sports at the school, said John Heisler, Notre Dame's senior associate athletic director.

Heywood Hale Broun, the sports commentator known for his handlebar mustache and prose as colorful as his sport coats, has died at 83. Broun died Wednesday at Kingston Hospital. The cause of death was not released. The son of newspaper columnist Heywood Broun, he had lived in nearby Woodstock since 1948. His television work included essays on top sports events, with his mustache bobbing and the garish plaid of his coat filling the screen.

Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh may be returning to television. He recently auditioned for a job as color commentator on ABC-TV's "Monday Night Football." The tryout followed weeks of self-promotion by the self-styled "truth detector" to the millions who listen daily to his syndicated radio show on about 600 stations. Limbaugh's audition is stirring controversy.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, will be the color commentator for the Mighty Ducks radio broadcasts, the team announced Thursday. Eliot will be teamed with Brian Hamilton on the KRLA broadcasts. Eliot replaces Pat Conacher. Eliot played for the Kings, Detroit and the Buffalo in five seasons in the NHL from 1984 to 1989. * Joni Easterly-Colburn has been hired as the girls' varsity basketball coach at Irvine High, the school announced.

Carter played only one season in Los Angeles, 1991, but he got into 101 games while platooning with fellow catcher Mike Scioscia. The former three-sport standout at Sunny Hills High in Fullerton was signed as a free agent the next year by Montreal--where he had begun his career in 1974--and retired at the end of the 1992 season having caught more games, 2,056, than any other player in National League history. Carter, 40, lives in Florida and is the color commentator on the Marlins' telecasts.

David Norrie no longer calls plays for the UCLA football team, but the former Bruin quarterback is making a name for himself with his descriptions and insights about them. Norrie, who led UCLA to the 1986 Rose Bowl, is in his third season as the color commentator for Bruin radio broadcasts. A novice when he was hired in 1991 by KMPC-710, Norrie has learned and improved quickly. His experience as a player is evident in his analysis.