Lockers

Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Rypien was suspended indefinitely Wednesday pending a hearing for grabbing a fan while heading to the locker room in a game against Minnesota. Rypien was on the way to the visiting locker room in Minnesota on Tuesday night after being assessed a double minor for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct in the second period. Rypien reached up and shoved a Wild fan who was applauding at the railing. He was pulled away by teammate Manny Malhotra and the fan was removed from the area.

The Kings were listless and the crowd had fallen silent. The home opener Tuesday night against the Atlanta Thrashers was in desperate need of a spark. Then it came. Ryan Smyth slapped in a rebound to tie the score, then center Jarret Stoll took a pass from Smyth and slammed the puck toward the Atlanta goal, getting a timely deflection off the stick of a Thrashers defender for a score. Suddenly, the Kings were alive and the sellout crowd was ecstatic. "It could be a fight, it could be a great shift, a couple big hits, whatever," Stoll said.

Finally, we have documented proof that boxing has totally lost its mind. And that's not a big step. Thursday, Top Rank Boxing announced that a TV reporter named Ines Sainz had been "signed" to provide "fresh and insightful reports" from the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito fight Nov. 13 in Dallas. First, there will be no "fresh and insightful reports. " It's boxing and she's not George Plimpton. Second, this is the woman who was in the center of the hubbub a month ago in New York, when she walked into the Jets locker room to interview Mark Sanchez and there were lots of derogatory remarks tossed her way from several members of the pro football team who, stunningly, did not achieve Phi Beta Kappa status at their universities prior to signing on in the National Football League.

It qualifies as college football's closest, if not the most popular, social network. USC Coach Lane Kiffin and Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian matured together as assistants under Pete Carroll and are part of a coaching tree that extends into both staffs. Those relationships produced text messages and other light-hearted communiques throughout the week and lots of pregame handshakes and hugs before kickoff Saturday night at the Coliseum. But when the game was over, Sarkisian posted a status update straight from the in-your-face book.

USC defensive end Wes Horton is almost certainly sidelined after getting kicked in the back. An ankle sprain continues to limit end Nick Perry. And versatile Armond Armstead is playing with a sore shoulder that forced him to miss last week's game at Washington State. Even defensive line coach Ed Orgeron is on crutches after foot surgery this week. So, it's probably not the best time for USC's front four to face Washington's Jake Locker. After four games against undermanned opponents, the 18th-ranked Trojans enter the heart of their schedule Saturday evening at the Coliseum against a dual-purpose quarterback who entered the season projected by some as the possible No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

After defeating four mostly faceless opponents, USC will go up against a marquee player Saturday when Washington quarterback Jake Locker visits the Coliseum. USC Coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday night that Locker was the best player USC will have faced this season and that the 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior was worthy of projections as the possible No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Locker struggled mightily in his last game, a 56-21 defeat by Nebraska on Sept. 18. He completed four of 20 passes with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Four years ago, a controversial British film called "Death of a President" stormed into the Toronto International Film Festival. The media was abuzz about its premise, which imagined that George W. Bush had been assassinated and Dick Cheney had ascended to the presidency. It became the hottest ticket of the festival that year and inspired intense debate about the limits of artistic and political expression — before fizzling in commercial release. Toronto, the preeminent North American gathering for top-tier filmmakers that starts Thursday and runs through next weekend, generates more heat and contention than almost any other festival.

The Times' Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time. No. 25 Washington To think something from Washington could hold down a top-25 ranking in anything other than Cabernet is the reason we continue to believe in sports as the last unscripted drama. Two years ago Washington's football program was 0-12 and only happy because it wasn't Washington State, which was probably a worse team overall except it actually defeated Washington, 16-13, in triple overtime, to record its only victory over a school that wasn't named Portland State.

Reporting from Boston -- Jeff Van Gundy is the brother of Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy and one of the wittiest voices in the NBA. But broadcasting trumped brotherhood during the Boston Celtics' Game 3 dismantling of the Magic, prompting Jeff to humorously wonder why Monday's Game 4 should even be played given Orlando's woeful effort on Saturday. Here's why: Magic 96, Celtics 92. In overtime. On the road. Anyone questioning the Magic's heart now? "If you don't think you can win the series, then it's just too easy to let go," Stan Van Gundy said.

The Dodgers' clubhouse, long known as one of baseball's most cramped and outdated, got nipped, tucked and made over while the team was away for spring training, as per the request of the Dodgers' front office. Among the changes: wider lockers with higher shelves and cubbyholes for players to store bats and fan mail, four new flat-screen televisions, placards commemorating the franchise's six World Series titles, new carpeting, new lighting, a new coat of gray paint and quotes from former Dodgers greats written above each locker.