Dave Wright

They're just a couple of wild and crazy gay guys from the mid-Wilshire district who had a wild and crazy idea for a TV talk show: "Howard and Dave: Man to Man." And it worked for a while. Howard Smith and Dave Wright did live remotes from the annual West Hollywood gay pride parade and from a gay cruise on the Caribbean. Their guests included Gloria Allred, Estelle Getty, Judith Light and female impressionist Jim Bailey. They pumped up the volume when Gov.

They're just a couple of wild and crazy gay guys from the mid-Wilshire district who had a wild and crazy idea for a TV talk show: "Howard and Dave: Man to Man." And it worked for a while. Howard Smith and Dave Wright did live remotes from the annual West Hollywood gay pride parade and from a gay cruise on the Caribbean. Their guests included Gloria Allred, Estelle Getty, Judith Light and female impressionist Jim Bailey. They pumped up the volume when Gov.

In reference to your coverage in the Orange County Edition of the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade ("L.A. Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade a Study in Diversity," June 24), I am very disappointed in The Times for "burying" the story on the same page as the obituaries. Apparently, The Times must feel that it's a "dead" issue, unlike the story "Woman Drowns in Rough Surf at Three Arch Bay," which you gave front-page coverage the same day. Definitely shows me where your priorities lie, as well as what your stand on gays is. DAVE WRIGHT, Anaheim

Top-seeded Brea-Olinda came into the Division VI championship game with a 5.00 goals-against average, but Rowland Heights Rowland didn't seem too impressed. The Wildcats gave up more than that and lost to third-seeded Rowland, 11-8, Wednesday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. Brea-Olinda (25-5) was seeking its first Southern Section boys' title in six years after finishing the regular season atop the Division VI standings.

So now, all of a sudden, after virtually destroying the Dodger spring, Gary Sheffield would like to stay and is rescinding his trade request? So now, having ripped everyone from Chairman Bob Daly to equipment manager Dave Wright, he claims to have suddenly awakened to how much his cherished teammates want him in the clubhouse and need him on the field?

Marie Meyers of Newbury Park led a U. S. sweep of the top three places in Wednesday's dressage competition, the opening event of the $148,000 Stockholm International Horse Show in Sweden. The show is a dress rehearsal for next year's World Equestrian Games. Meyers, riding Dimitrius, received 1.273 points from the five judges and finished just ahead of Robert Dover on Walzertak, who had 1.271 points. Carol Lavell on Gifted was third with 1.248 points.

The St. Paul Saints, who open their independent league baseball schedule May 16, are back at it with their zany promotions. Last year, they gave away seat cushions with the likeness of Bud Selig, Major League Baseball's commissioner, on one side and Don Fehr, the players' union chief, on the other. This year, on Aug. 16, they're planning Randy Moss Hood Ornament Night. The ornament will be a generic football player -- no Viking purple, no Moss No. 84 -- but the link is clear.

Mike Hiserman's excellent March 21 story on the idiotic firing of longtime Cal State Northridge basketball Coach Pete Cassidy contained an especially interesting sentence, "Interesting logic." When discussing CSUN, and especially what is laughingly called its athletic department, "logic" is an oxymoron. This is truly the gang that can't shoot straight. Remember, this is a department that didn't fund its Division II programs to what other schools did. Cassidy had two and three full scholarships to spread over 12 players in those days, compared to 10 at some schools.

Craig Wilson, who had the most goalie saves in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, started the Barcelona Games on Saturday with 16 more saves to lead the United States to an 8-4 victory over Australia at the Bernat Picornell pool. "We had many chances to score, but the ball didn't go in," said Australian Coach Charles Turner, whose team lost to the United States by a goal at last year's World Championships in Perth, Australia.

Investment advisers in the state of California face tough new rules governing the "fair, equitable and ethical" treatment of their investors. The regulations took effect June 11, but many financial planners and other independent money managers say they aren't aware of them. They'd better get aware, though: In its effort to protect individuals from investment fraud and abuse, the state has gotten very specific about what advisers must say and do where clients are concerned.

From the left-field pavilion you could see it, a jet, soaring through the dusk high above Dodger Stadium. Sitting on a cracked bleacher with his wife and three young children Monday night, Jerry Guzman craned his neck. "You look at that plane now and you wonder, what if it makes a U-turn?" he said. He looked back down. He shook his head. "You can't do it, you just can't do it," he said. "You cannot live your life afraid."