Pooh Poohs

Want to lose weight? Try following the back and forth of the Great Nutrition Debate, a government-sponsored face-off Thursday of America's leading diet gurus. The exercise was guaranteed to leave you exhausted. At one end was cardiologist Robert Atkins, promoter of the wildly popular high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that lets people eat omelets, bacon and bun-less burgers. "It's easy to follow. You're never hungry," he said.

When Paul McCartney wrote his first large-scale work for orchestra and chorus, "Liverpool Oratorio," in 1991, the former Beatle took some grief for relying on another composer, Carl Davis, in the writing. With "Standing Stone," his second major work, which gets back-to-back Southland performances this weekend, the 56-year-old McCartney has done more on his own. He took took four years to create the four-movement, 75-minute work, which premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct.

The tortuous chase for control of Santa Anita Cos. took another wide turn Friday when the only bidding group with a publicly announced offer said it has pulled out of the contest. The group--consisting of real estate specialists Koll Co. of Newport Beach, Colony Capital Inc. of Los Angeles and Apollo Real Estate Advisors in New York--made good on an ultimatum in which it threatened to withdraw unless it struck a deal with Santa Anita by the close of business Friday.

Walt Disney Co. on Monday dismissed as "trivial" a lawsuit challenging the huge severance paid to Michael Ovitz, the former talent agent unable to define a role as No. 2 to Disney Chairman Michael Eisner. The suit, filed Friday in state court in Los Angeles, said Ovitz's 14-month tenure as Disney president was "undistinguished and unproductive."

Guard Pooh Richardson, who has started 152 of 158 games since he was acquired in 1994, wasn't angry after Coach Bill Fitch replaced him with Darrick Martin in the starting lineup in Friday night's loss to the Utah Jazz. "I've been in this league a long time," Richardson said. "If it's going to help the team win, I'm with it. I just want to win and whatever they ask me to do, I'll do. "You got to understand this is my eighth year in the league, I'm rich and I ain't worrying about nothing.

Vlade Divac is going to the Milwaukee Bucks. Vlade Divac is going to the Charlotte Hornets. Vlade Divac is going to . . . stay right where he is? Apparently for the time being, at least. Contrary to rumors around the league, indications are that the Lakers are not on the verge of trading their starting center to move up in today's NBA draft, or anybody for that matter. "I've talked to a lot of people," Executive Vice President Jerry West said Tuesday.

I just received my January, 1996, copy of Los Angeles Clippers Insider, which is my third-favorite publication, behind the Wall Street Journal and Minnesota Timberwolf Monthly. This issue devotes a great deal of space to Jerome "Pooh" Richardson, the fine Clipper point guard. There's Pooh here, Pooh there, Pooh all over the paper. I enjoy reading Clippers Insider because, as you know, the Clippers are my favorite athletic team in the whole, wide world.

You know that headline type used for earthquakes, riots and floods? Well, break it out today because the Clippers finally won their first game of the season after losing their first 16. One loss away from tying the NBA record for the worst start set when the expansion Miami Heat lost its first 17 games in 1988, the Clippers finally found a team they could beat, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, 96-94, in overtime Wednesday night before an announced 6,443 at the Sports Arena.

Just when you think you've had it to here with fashion, that you're going to the Gap and you're never coming back, along comes something like Romeo Gigli's fall collection. The most visually stunning event of the season, it was a sort of astral fantasy beamed into the rotunda of the Paris stock exchange. Everything seemed to be scraped from sparkling rocks, powders and dusts that Gigli had gathered on the moon.

Is it time for the San Diego Padres again, and all of you poor players who will prove to be overpaid again. A few preseason comments: --To Randy Myers, who apparently won't talk to the media. You won't earn what they're paying you. --To Benito Santiago, prove you are worth the millions you claim to be worth. --To Andy Benes, do yourself a favor and tell 'em to get lost after the season. --To Fred McGriff, the best to you. --To Tony Gwynn, too bad there are not more people like you in this world.