Fans

Lakers fans aren't letting the recession rein in their parade. Los Angeles sports retailers are reporting record sales as adoring fans snap up championship T-shirts, hats and flags. The outpouring of pride is more than welcome for business owners, who have been fighting a down economy for months. "Winning a championship seems to be curing a lot of people's blues," said Sean Ryan, vice president of merchandise for Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner and operator of Staples Center.

This summer at Dearly Departed Tours, business has never been better -- and that was before Michael Jackson's sudden death. In the days since, the company that drives tour buses to spots where celebrities have met their end has added a stop at the rented Holmby Hills mansion where the pop star collapsed. People are so fascinated with Hollywood's history of death and crime that Dearly Departed has added 100 tours a month compared with a year ago, said owner Scott Michaels.

As South Africa gears up to host next year's soccer World Cup, there are plenty of doomsayers predicting the worst. If transportation shortages don't ruin the event, crime will. The beer will run out. Or the stadiums will be half empty. But no one expected an ugly plastic trumpet to dominate the controversy.

Super Bowl Sunday arrived in China's capital at daybreak Monday, but by kickoff it was standing room only at the Goose 'n' Duck, a British-style sports pub near sprawling Chaoyang Park in east Beijing. The vast majority of the nearly 350 football fans who braved the frigid morning temperatures were expatriate Americans, many already with beer in hand despite the hour.

Some of the actors on NBC's drama "Heroes" are among those in Hollywood who may have the superpowers to help Twitter break into prime time. Greg Grunberg, who plays a Los Angeles cop with the ability to hear people's thoughts, pulls out his iPhone nearly everywhere, including between takes on the studio lot, to tap out the short Twitter messages known as tweets. He broadcasts them to the more than 20,000 friends and fans following him.

The full blaze of the midday sun shone down on Dodger Stadium, and heat waves danced on the infield dirt. But the Dodgers weren't poised to take the field. In fact, the only Dodger present was Andre Ethier, and he was sprawled on a yoga mat in pigeon pose. All around him, about 100 fans were similarly contorted -- having paid $100 a pop for the privilege. In the brave new world of sports marketing, it's not always enough to sell game tickets or offer high-priced trips to spring training.

Jam band Phish isn't forgetting about fans who can't attend any of its sold-out reunion shows this weekend in Hampton, Va. The group will make high-quality MP3 downloads of each performance available free the following day. "We really wanted to show our gratitude to all the Phish fans for their support and the overwhelming response they've had to these shows," lead guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio said in a statement issued Wednesday. "We only wish everybody could be there."

Having allowed fans to decide how much its latest album is worth, Radiohead is now allowing them to shape how its new single, "Nude," will sound. The British band, which let fans name their price for downloading "In Rainbows" last fall, is posting five component tracks, or "stems," from the single for purchase on iTunes. That will let them remix the stems, add beats, instruments or audio effects of their choosing. Fans then upload finished remixes to www.radioheadremix.com, where other Radiohead fans can listen and vote for a favorite.

Desiree Crossley, her two daughters and a friend left Lancaster in their PT Cruiser at 1 a.m. Wednesday to be among the first in line for what they thought would be a public memorial for Michael Jackson at his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County. About 5 a.m., they began pitching their tent on the side of Figueroa Mountain Road, taking turns hammering in stakes and trying to keep warm. They packed a portable toilet, heater and plenty of food and water to last them. But at 2:30 p.m.

The Lakers just won the NBA championship, and Southern California celebrated with them, with hundreds of thousands of fans attracted to a parade down Figueroa Street and a rally at the Coliseum. There are 122 teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball. And Southern California is home to the team that best repays its fans "for all the emotion, money and time fans invest," according to an ESPN study to be unveiled today. That team is not the Lakers. That team is the Angels.