Gary Bennett

Police Cmdr. Gary Bennett, who was among the finalists for the chief's job two years ago, will retire from the department in June to work for the U.S. Department of Justice in Bosnia. Bennett, 49, a commander for 12 years, is in charge of the department's investigations division. Beginning in July, he will head a team helping the Bosnian federation create a police force, he said.

MILWAUKEE -- Gary Bennett didn't find out he'd be playing Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers until less than 15 minutes before the first pitch. Which might have been a lucky break since it gave him little time to worry about the fact he'd be facing unbeaten right-hander Ben Sheets, who has been extremely difficult on everyday players, much less guys making their fifth start of the year. "Sheets is definitely not an easy task," Bennett said.

For most of his career, Gary Bennett has been a low-profile backup catcher. Not this weekend. Bennett won a game for St. Louis with two out in the ninth for the second straight day, hitting a grand slam Sunday night to give the Cardinals a 10-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs. "It's 4 years old on Christmas morning, that's the feeling," Bennett said. "You're rounding third and you see everybody jumping up and down. Other than the World Series.... I guess that would feel better."

PHOENIX -- For the first eight days of the season, the most action Gary Bennett experienced was in the bullpen, where bullpen catchers Rob Flippo and Mike Borzello threw him balls in the dirt. Tuesday, Bennett was asked to start in place of catcher Russell Martin, making him the last player on the Dodgers' active roster to play in a game.

MILWAUKEE -- Gary Bennett didn't find out he'd be playing Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers until less than 15 minutes before the first pitch. Which might have been a lucky break since it gave him little time to worry about the fact he'd be facing unbeaten right-hander Ben Sheets, who has been extremely difficult on everyday players, much less guys making their fifth start of the year. "Sheets is definitely not an easy task," Bennett said.

PHOENIX -- For the first eight days of the season, the most action Gary Bennett experienced was in the bullpen, where bullpen catchers Rob Flippo and Mike Borzello threw him balls in the dirt. Tuesday, Bennett was asked to start in place of catcher Russell Martin, making him the last player on the Dodgers' active roster to play in a game.

Frank McCourt and the Dodgers seem to have redefined the concept of morality. It no longer means what's right or decent. It's what's convenient and expedient. In a statement issued hours after the Mitchell Report was released Thursday, the Dodgers' owner placed himself firmly on the side of the angels -- with a small "a."

The Dodgers became the first team to sign a player named in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on performance-enhancing drugs since it was released last week, as backup catcher Gary Bennett on Monday agreed to a one-year contract with an option for a second season. Bennett admitted to using human growth hormone, but like Andy Pettitte and Fernando Vina, who were also included in Mitchell's report, he said he did so only to recover from an injury.

The men of B Company were in a dangerous state of mind. They had lost five men in a firefight the day before. The morning of Feb. 8, 1968, brought unwelcome orders to resume their sweep of the countryside, a green patchwork of rice paddies along Vietnam's central coast. They met no resistance as they entered a nondescript settlement in Quang Nam province. So Jamie Henry, a 20-year-old medic, set his rifle down in a hut, unfastened his bandoliers and lighted a cigarette.

Mike Piazza has not set foot in Dodger Stadium since his retirement. When the Dodgers offered to honor him with a bobblehead night last season, Piazza declined. "He doesn't want to come back because he thinks the fans will boo ," former Dodgers Manager Tom Lasorda, the godfather to Piazza's brother, told The Times last month. Piazza did himself no favors on that score in his new book, "Long Shot. " In the book, he blames iconic Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully for turning fans against him during the contract stalemate that preceded his trade to the Florida Marlins in 1998.

Frank McCourt and the Dodgers seem to have redefined the concept of morality. It no longer means what's right or decent. It's what's convenient and expedient. In a statement issued hours after the Mitchell Report was released Thursday, the Dodgers' owner placed himself firmly on the side of the angels -- with a small "a."

The Dodgers became the first team to sign a player named in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on performance-enhancing drugs since it was released last week, as backup catcher Gary Bennett on Monday agreed to a one-year contract with an option for a second season. Bennett admitted to using human growth hormone, but like Andy Pettitte and Fernando Vina, who were also included in Mitchell's report, he said he did so only to recover from an injury.

For most of his career, Gary Bennett has been a low-profile backup catcher. Not this weekend. Bennett won a game for St. Louis with two out in the ninth for the second straight day, hitting a grand slam Sunday night to give the Cardinals a 10-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs. "It's 4 years old on Christmas morning, that's the feeling," Bennett said. "You're rounding third and you see everybody jumping up and down. Other than the World Series.... I guess that would feel better."

Police Cmdr. Gary Bennett, who was among the finalists for the chief's job two years ago, will retire from the department in June to work for the U.S. Department of Justice in Bosnia. Bennett, 49, a commander for 12 years, is in charge of the department's investigations division. Beginning in July, he will head a team helping the Bosnian federation create a police force, he said.

One of hundreds of hot-air balloons in an Albuquerque festival tipped after snagging a utility line, sending a woman plummeting at least 70 feet to her death. Rosemary Wooley Phillips, 60, of Oceanside, Calif., was pronounced dead at a hospital. Three other women in the gondola were hospitalized -- two with broken legs -- after the balloon crash-landed.

A worker at a Hawthorne company was killed after he apparently was caught in a machine used to mix chemicals for soap manufacturing, police said Saturday. The worker, identified as Oswaldo Mijangos, 29, died about 8:15 p.m. Friday at Chemrite Corp. in the 12000 block of Daphne Avenue. The owner of the chemical firm, Gary Bennett, said details were sketchy and he did not know how Mijangos, who had worked at the company for three years, got caught in the machine.