Leprechaun

How many directors does it take to screw in a star-studded piece of aggressive stupidity and call it a movie? An even dozen, and there is no punch line. Comic payoffs are MIA in the bad-taste extravaganza "Movie 43," a monumental missed opportunity of a comedy anthology that opened Friday, understandably without screening first for press. The one-joke shorts include a few successful sight gags, chief among them Dennis Quaid in boy-band hair and a hoodie. He plays a has-been filmmaker whose desperate pitch to a put-upon studio exec (Greg Kinnear)

You never forget the first time, Sydney Leroux says. In her case it came when she was just 13, after a bet with her mother over how many goals she would score in a national soccer tournament. For Shannon Boxx it happened in college - and it, too, came on a dare after she led Notre Dame to an NCAA soccer championship. Yet for both women their first and subsequent tattoos have become indelible markers of accomplishment on a road each hopes will lead to a gold medal in the London Olympics this summer.

The Lakers have their own little leprechaun that sits on the rim of the hoop. He wears Ray-Bans, shorts and thongs. GREG S. LOGAN Lomita BRIAN S. PEAY Torrance

Thanks, ABC, for "Moonlighting." The episodes have been terrific! I particularly liked the story in black and white, and the one about the leprechaun. But the Christmas story was the best. It was fantastic! With a combination of great writers and actors, how can you lose? Martha P. Rico, Montebello

Two years ago, Leprechaun Kid finished third in the Sunset Breeders' Cup Handicap, beaten by one length by the ill-fated Star Over The Bay, who was a very successful claim for trainer Mike Mitchell. A little more than a year later, Mitchell claimed Leprechaun Kid for $80,000 and won the Del Mar Handicap with the gray gelding. Mitchell also had won the race with Star Over The Bay.

The 8th annual Los Angeles County Irish Fair and Music Festival is a celebration of Celtic culture, offering eight stages of Irish music, dancing, traditional Irish food and other activities for the whole family to enjoy. There will even be an official leprechaun, stage and screen star Michael Lee Gogin, who will be available for keepsake photos. Fairplex at the Pomona Fairgrounds, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $18. www.la-irishfair.com.

The four horses and one mare scheduled to run in the $85,000 Escondido Handicap today at Del Mar have not done much winning in 2006. One Off, Runaway Dancer, Leprechaun Kid, On The Acorn and Aubonne are a combined one for 14 this year. Aubonne, a 6-year-old German-bred mare, has the lone victory. She won the La Zanzara against her own sex Jan. 27 at Santa Anita for owner Gary Tanaka and trainer Neil Drysdale, who is also scheduled to run One Off, who is 0 for 4 this year.

Gear up for St. Patrick's Day by attending the 11th Annual L.A. County Irish Fair and Music Festival. The event features nine stages of Irish entertainment and attractions including a faux ancient Irish village, shamrock rides, sheepherding demonstrations, face painting and Irish beer drinking contests. There's also Rusty O'Flatery: the World's Tallest Leprechaun. Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat. and Sun. $16. (213) 305-9653; http://www.la-irishfair.com .

When golfer Steve Stricker cruised to victory in the Western Open last weekend, his hometown fans in Edgerton, Wis., watching on cable television could barely see him. And the problem apparently stemmed from a local golfer's shot that damaged a microwave dish atop the water tower in the city that recently named a street in Stricker's honor. "Oh my gosh, we got complaints," said Scott Behn, Marcus Cable district manager. "People were able to watch him win, but the picture was fuzzy."