Ross Porter

Ross Porter hasn't officially said goodbye to the Dodgers, but he did say on the air Saturday night that he was possibly working his final game for a team he has been with since 1977. The Dodger broadcaster, whose contract expires Oct. 31, has not been offered a new deal by the club. Neither has fellow broadcaster Rick Monday, and there have been rumors that one or both could be gone. Most of the rumors have focused on Porter, 65.

The third sentence. A headline tenure was ended Friday in the third sentence. Twenty-eight years of service, and Ross Porter didn't even make the top of his own Dodger obituary. The news release issued by the Dodgers on Friday afternoon began by announcing the return of Vin Scully and Rick Monday, then acknowledged the future hiring of a new play-by-play announcer and analyst. Then, this: "The Dodgers also announced that Ross Porter will not rejoin the broadcast team next season." Also?

One foul morning about 20 years ago, I was speeding to work in a bad mood when I had to swerve around a driver who'd stopped his Cadillac too far in the intersection. I readied a gesture that would express my wrath, but as I drew closer, some mysterious force seized control of my body. My gesture became a waving hand, my scowl a smile. The Caddie's driver was Vin Scully. Every Dodger fan I've told this story to has agreed that they'd have reacted the same way, and none could think of another celebrity capable of evoking a similar response.

Dodger broadcaster Ross Porter was resting comfortably Saturday after surgery to correct what team Vice President Derrick Hall said was a leak of fluid between his brain and spine. Porter, who joined the Dodgers in 1977, will not return to work this season. In his absence, the Dodgers will simulcast four innings of Vin Scully's television broadcasts on radio, and Scully will join Rick Monday on radio-only broadcasts.

I've taught journalism and communications at USC and UCLA, and I don't think I've ever seen such an egregious example of "burying the lead" than in Wednesday's Sports section. If there has been a more important story to hit Los Angeles in a long time, I haven't seen it. But instead of putting this on the front page (of the entire newspaper), this vital story was buried near the end of the Sports section: Vin Scully signed for two more years! And newspapers wonder why readership has declined.

The voice was a familiar one, and it sounded as good as ever. . Ross Porter was still at UCLA Medical Center on Thursday when he took the call. "I'm feeling OK," the Dodger broadcaster said. "I should be out of here in a couple of hours." Porter, after two surgeries and eight days at the hospital, was getting ready to return home to Calabasas. The second surgery was a delicate 10-hour operation to repair a hole the size of a quarter in his right sinus.

OK, here's the pitch for what would undoubtedly be the highest-rated televised sports show in Los Angeles history: We get Donald Trump to buy the Dodgers, then televise his first meeting with Frank McCourt, Jamie McCourt and Paul DePodesta, so that Dodger fans get the sublime satisfaction of hearing those magical words, "You're fired!" Dan Douglass Woodland Hills The Red Sox finally retired "the Curse of the Bambino" after more than 80 years. I hope the Dodgers will be able to put to rest "the Curse of the McCourts" in a lot less time.

Last season we had lesbians and a starting pitcher who liked to flash his bare cheeks at female reporters. Now we have a left fielder who has been likened to Bill Clinton by Dodger Boy, which makes me wonder if one of the Dodgers' promotions this year will be a Monica Lewinsky look-alike contest. Remember when this was a nice family-run team, and the only thing you had to worry about was the local radio and TV stations bleeping out the manager's bad words.

Ross Porter is concerned. His contract with the Dodgers is up, the team has been bringing in guest analysts for tryouts, and he has heard that he would be replaced. Rick Monday's contract is up as well, but Porter, 65, seems to be the focus of most rumors. Porter, a Dodger announcer since 1977, would like to know if he figures in the Dodgers' plans. "I feel that after 28 years, I'm entitled to know before the season is over," he said.

The last time these Dodgers were knocked down, they stayed down. It was the first weekend in August, the hook thrown by Sammy Sosa, a 12th-inning home run deep into a Chicago night. When Todd Worrell threw the pitch, the Dodgers were tied for first place with the San Francisco Giants. When the ball finally landed, they were in second. Where they wandered around for 21 days.