Manny

Manny Hamelburg, 68, a retired businessman, had fought prostate cancer for years. First, he tried radiation, then a drug with side effects that nearly killed him, and finally Lupron, a drug that blocks production of testosterone, the hormone that can fuel prostate cancer. The cancer disappeared. But life was miserable. Without normal levels of testosterone, Hamelburg says, he had no energy, and "zero libido for seven years. I was like a eunuch. I was chemically castrated. Sex was just hugs."

The Grove shopping center became the unlikely battleground in the debate over gay marriage after it banned boxer Manny Pacquiao from the mall in response to an interview he gave in Los Angeles. The ban led to a day of dueling statements, denunciations and backtracking. Some news organizations erroneously quoted the boxing champion as saying gay men should "be put to death. " That prompted the management of the Grove to issue a terse statement Tuesday evening that Pacquiao was persona non grata at the L.A. shopping center despite a scheduled television interview with Extra, which regularly films at the popular outdoor mall next to the Original Farmer's Market at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue.

If it had not caught the attention of a handful of important readers, Jesmyn Ward's "Salvage the Bones" would most likely have quietly faded into obscurity; many worthy books do. Now, however, this novel about a poor Mississippi family in the weeks leading up to 2005's Hurricane Katrina has a prominent place in bookstores and boasts the gold medallion that comes with winning the 2011 National Book Award. Book awards are marvelously idiosyncratic. While major film and music awards are based on the votes of a large group - meaning there is a general consensus or popularity - book awards are frequently selected by just a few people.

Manny Pacquiao's skyrocketing popularity created chaos that no mere mortal could be expected to balance. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts) appeared more human than ever in his last fight, however. As he prepares now for his next bout June 9 against Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao and his trainer acknowledge Everyman's frailty has been his most imposing contender. "All the distractions caught up to Manny in his last fight," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said Thursday of the boxer's narrow decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

It's been a year since Manny Ramirez sat down in the Hotel Nikko here to explain himself, why he was nothing like the quitter described in Boston, the ideal free agent for teams looking to getting better. He was using Page 2, and Page 2 was more than happy to be used. It was 10 a.m., the big goof on time, serious, thoughtful and with a believable answer to every question, some might argue, whatever it took to earn another big contract. It worked, the Dodgers the happy benefactors a year ago, almost everyone in L.A. swept away by the charisma and his remarkable hitting skills.

Fortunately, the Dodgers are not run by a sportswriter with no business experience like Kurt Streeter [May 1]. Unlike Ned Colletti's past blunders, the Dodgers' contract with Manny is nothing short of brilliant. Manny has a huge incentive to tear the cover off the ball precisely because he can become a free agent again after the end of the season. Extend his contract and there will no longer be any incentive for this 37-year-old to continue his "scintillating performance." Peter Rich Los Angeles :: Manny is worth every penny.

L.A., vote no on Prop. 99. Don't let what happened in Massachusetts happen here. Matthew Thompson Chino

School: Mayfair High Sport: Football Position: Running Back Class: Senior Tafoya had 17 carries for 211 yards, one of the top rushing performances in the school's history. He scored two touchdowns on runs of 25 and 55 yards as the Monsoons won their season opener, 28-15, over La Serna. "Manny ran hard and the line did a great job of opening big holes," Coach Larry Hilliard said.

Manny Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, delivered this knee-buckling assessment for boxing fans already distraught by the failed Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. negotiations. "This could be our last fight," Roach said last week, as Pacquiao heads into the final days of training for his March 13 welterweight world title bout against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas. Roach's sobering speculation about boxing's biggest star is based on a chain of events that could occur.

Can't shake the guy. Wherever I go, there's Manny. I talk to Andruw Jones before he goes to Las Vegas, and Manny pulls up a chair. I chat with Casey Blake, and Manny interrupts, apologizing to Blake, but he needs to talk. I take a few days off and he wants to know where I've been. I'm expecting a malcontent, maybe a mope like Gary Matthews Jr. and at the very least someone distant and difficult to interview. Instead, I get an offer to sit on his lap. I argue with Jeff Kent, and suddenly I feel this tug on my arm. It's Manny, pulling me away from Kent -- Manny the peacemaker, protecting Kent in the batting order and off the field as well when he thinks I'm upsetting Kent.

LAS VEGAS — At the end of a tough, long night, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was left staring at a June 1 jail sentence and a boxing landscape that he seems to believe cannot deliver another quality opponent. The unbeaten 35-year-old champion late Saturday said he's leaning "80-20" toward retirement. "If it was my last fight, I gave them a bang," Mayweather (43-0) said after his unanimous-decision (118-110, 117-111, 117-111) triumph over Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto (37-3) at the MGM Grand.

LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. told The Times he is not among those who believe the long-awaited showdown against Manny Pacquiao is likely to happen in the fall. "No, I don't think it's going to happen," Mayweather said of a Pacquiao fight. "It's because of [Pacquiao promoter] Bob Arum. It's not my fault. " Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, and even Mayweather's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, have speculated recently that Mayweather and Pacquiao will fight in November, should Mayweather defeat Miguel Cotto (May 5)

San Francisco Giants 8, Dodgers 4 AT THE PLATE: Andre Ethier hit his first home run of the spring. Juan Uribe, who batted .204 in his first season with the Dodgers last year, reached base in both of his plate appearances. Uribe singled to left in the second inning and drew a walk in the fourth. Leadoff hitter Dee Gordon demonstrated his speed in the first inning when he hit a grounder to first baseman Brett Pill but beat pitcher Barry Zito to first base for an infield hit. ON THE MOUND: Ted Lilly served up two towering home runs in the first inning, including one to leadoff hitter Melky Cabrera that went out of the ballpark.

Tired of being disappointed because there isn't a Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight? Miguel Cotto is here to try to slug out your frustrations. "I didn't care about hearing one more thing about that," Cotto said Thursday, appearing in Hollywood to promote his May 5 bout against the unbeaten Mayweather. "My next step is Mayweather. If people want to see that [Mayweather-Pacquiao] fight, they have to wait until I beat Mayweather. " Cotto (37-2, 30 knockouts), the World Boxing Assn.

They served lunch Tuesday at a Manny Pacquiao news conference. That was quickly followed by some real food for thought. The official fanfare was for the announcement of Pacquiao's next fight, a June 9 Las Vegas matchup with Tim Bradley of Palm Springs. That was not news. Everybody who cares knows everything about Pacquiao the Top Rank Promotion machine is willing to make public. Its job is to hype and sell, and seldom has a promotional firm had more to work with than the likable, recently unbeatable boxing congressman from the Philippines.

Oakland A'sManager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle  that Manny Ramirez, who agreed to a deal with the team on Monday and is expected to report to spring training on Friday, is just “one more guy. He's not going to come in and get every DH at-bat.” If he makes the team, Ramirez will have to sit out the first 50 games of the season for violating baseball's drug policy. But Melvin said that they should be able to evaluate Ramirez during spring training and determine if he can help the team or not. Melvin, though, seems to think Ramirez will have little trouble making the team.

Manny Pacquiao is back in town. Boxing is like phases of the moon, and Pacquiao is in the training phase. There will be a fight, all right. But not the one the world wanted, nor Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach. "I wanted Mayweather bad, real bad," Roach says. "I'm not angry at Floyd," Pacquiao says. "I just feel disappointed in his allegations." It is a Monday afternoon at Roach's Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. The air is stale, the noise often deafening and the entire place decorum-challenged, unless you are into wrinkled 1972 boxing posters.

Manny Ramirez shouted in Spanish across the clubhouse to Angel Berroa. "I told them I'm not coming back next year!" Ramirez told Berroa, pulling his head back as he laughed. Nearby was a group of reporters he had spoken to earlier Monday, after arriving at the Dodgers' spring-training complex three days before position players were obligated to do so. Perhaps Ramirez was amused that he could still make headlines by simply verbalizing widely held assumptions -- in this case, that this season would be his last with the Dodgers.

Manny Ramirez found a taker in Oakland — at a bargain price. The suspended slugger agreed to a minor league contract Monday with the Athletics that is worth about $500,000 if he's added to the big league roster. The A's announced the deal and said Ramirez is expected to report to spring training by the end of the week, in time for Oakland's first full-squad workout Saturday. He is a non-roster invitee. The 12-time All-Star is due to serve a 50-game suspension for his second positive drug test before he can play for the A's. Barring rainouts, his first game could be May 30 -- on his 40th birthday.

Timothy Bradley agreed in principle Thursday to fight Manny Pacquiao on June 9 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, fulfilling a lifetime ambition for the unbeaten, Cathedral City-based world junior-welterweight champion. "This is about being the No. 1 fighter in the world, and that's what my goal has been for as long as I can remember," Bradley said. Bradley declined to reveal terms of his agreement, which he said could be signed as early as Friday, but his guarantee is believed to be more than $5 million.