Ryder

Is Winona Ryder's case of sticky fingers contagious? A day after the film star was convicted of felony grand theft and vandalism for shoplifting $5,560.40 in designer goods from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, a confidential report turned up missing from her file at the Santa Monica Courthouse. Both Santa Monica police and the Los Angeles County Probation Department are investigating the highly unusual case, according to Ken Kondo, a Probation Department spokesman.

The Kings' official Twitter account received a game misconduct penalty Tuesday … from the Kings' front office. Kevin Ryder, of KROQ's "Kevin & Bean" morning show, handled the Twitter posts for the Kings' Stanley Cup playoff game against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. He took over after the first period, with embarrassing results for the team. At one point Ryder made light of sexual assault when describing a play that happened in front of the San Jose Sharks' net when the Kings' Anze Kopitar was knocked to the ice. Complaints poured in via reply tweets.

Re "Warning, Probation for Ryder," Dec. 7: The justice system in L.A. County has finally gone insane. Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley and Deputy Dist. Atty. Ann Rundle are the people who need counseling. The Winona Ryder trial and sentencing were a vendetta. Ryder was accused of shoplifting -- not a violent crime. Rundle actually passed on a murder case to one of her colleagues so she could prosecute Ryder for what must be one of the weakest felony cases in the history of L.A. What a waste of taxpayer money!

Tom Watson, who captained the U.S. to a Ryder Cup victory the last time the U.S. won in Europe in 1993, will return as captain for the 2014 team. And he has an important supporter in his corner: Tiger Woods. “I'd like to congratulate Tom Watson on his selection as Ryder Cup captain,” Woods said in a statement. “I think he's a really good choice. Tom knows what it takes to win, and that's our ultimate goal. I hope I have the privilege of joining him on the 2014 United States Team.” The Americans have lost seven of the last nine Ryder Cups.

Thank you very much for showing that Winona Ryder "Acting as Fast as She Can," Dec. 9) is a meritorious young woman rather than a silly teen-ager. Ryder is one of the best actresses out there today. It doesn't matter if she's 19 or 40, she knows what she wants and she's getting it. VALENTINA SILVA Norwalk

Re Winona Ryder and the alleged shoplifting (Oct. 23): It seems that the real crime is that so few items could cost $6,000! Katie Shiban Pasadena

Tony Scott is a director who makes the trains run on time. Not just the specific subway cars of his efficient thriller "The Taking of Pelham 123," but the metaphorical trains of action movie pyrotechnics in general. Though he's worked somewhat in the shadow of his more thematically adventurous brother Ridley, Scott has earned his Hollywood reputation as a shooter, someone who knows how to make things move like lightning on screen. Collaborating here with stars Denzel Washington and John Travolta, Scott puts those talents to use in this crisp, effective New York subway hostage drama.

I've always liked trucks. The bigger, the better. I hauled oranges as a teenager, but none of the trips was more than 150 miles. Later, as an adult, I owned a small avocado grove. That justified buying a truck of my own, but it was only a pickup. So when my wife's parents--now well into their 90s--finally decided last fall that it was time to move to a retirement home, opportunity smiled.

Danielle Fishel is opening up about a rather awkward encounter with "Full House" patriarch Bob Saget that happened while she and others from the "T.G.I.F. " crew - ABC's '90s Friday-night lineup comedies - were en route to the Magic Kingdom. "One time we were all on a private jet going to Disney World, and my mom, dad and brother were also with me," the "Boy Meets World" actress said in a Q&A with Maxim. "We had these four seats facing each other with curtains, so we had our own little private family area.

A week out from the French Open, Serena Williams is one victory away from winning her fourth straight tournament. The top-ranked American overcame an early break of her serve to ease past Romanian qualifier Simona Halep , 6-3, 6-0, Saturday and reach the Italian Open final in Rome, extending her career-best winning run to 23 matches. Williams is coming off consecutive titles in Miami, Charleston and Madrid. In Sunday's final, Williams will face third-seeded Victoria Azarenka , who kept her concentration through two rain delays to beat seventh-seeded Sara Errani , 6-0, 7-5. On the men's side, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will renew their rivalry in the Italian Open final Sunday.

Ian Poulter won the HSBC Champions on Sunday for his first victory of the season, overcoming a four-stroke deficit with a seven-under-par 65 at Shenzen, China. The English Ryder Cup star finished at 21-under 267 on Mission Hills' Olazabal Course for a two-stroke victory. The victory was his second in World Golf Championship play, following the 2010 Accenture Match Play Championship. Phil Mickelson (68), Jason Dufner (64), Scott Piercy (65) and Ernie Els (67) tied for second. :: Tom Lehman won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship to become the first Champions Tour player to win the season points title two straight years.

MEDINAH, Ill. - Hold off on that red, white and blue party. Throw a little more ice on that champagne. And for goodness sake, don't get Ian Poulter stirred up. The Americans might yet win back this Ryder Cup, but the Europeans aren't going down without a fight. Poulter and Luke Donald defiantly kept the transatlantic clash from turning into a runaway, raining down European birdies on Medinah's back nine during Saturday's four-balls to hold off a pair of American rallies and stay within striking distance of a miracle.

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Luke Donald put the hammer down on Bubba Watson. Rory McIlroy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stifled Keegan Bradley. Paul Lawrie - 13 years after his only other Ryder Cup appearance - took down the FedEx Cup champion. In time, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose ripped points from U.S. hands. The European train was gathering steam. And the Americans didn't have enough to stop the momentum. It ended with Martin Kaymer jumping into the arms of his teammates, the singsong "Ole, ole, ole, ole" echoing across Medinah Country Club, and the Ryder Cup headed back across the Atlantic.

MEDINAH, Ill. - U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III will take some flak for benching Team Terrific (Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley) in favor of Team Tiger (Woods and Steve Stricker). The Terrifics are 3-0 and made such quick work of Lee Westwood and Luke Donald in morning foursomes, they were finished by brunch. The Tigers - despite Woods' electric back nines - have had as much success together as Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries. But before you go hating on Love, keep this in mind: Mickelson asked out. Asked if he considered putting The Terrifics out Saturday afternoon, Love replied from behind the 14th green: "There was a thought.

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Maybe it had something to do with Bubba Watson encouraging fans to hoot and holler as loudly as possible while he piped his first drive. Pretty soon, partner Webb Simpson rolled home a four-foot birdie putt. Two holes later, Watson drained a 25-foot steamer. Simpson birdied the next two. Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley caught the fever, dropping birdies on their first three holes. Even Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, so shaky in their opening match, had a birdie/birdie start to their afternoon.

Writers from around Tribune Co. discuss the Ryder Cup, which starts Friday at Medinah Country Club near Chicago. Check back throughout the day for more of their responses and join the conversation by voting in the poll and leaving a comment of your own. Jeff Shain, Orlando Sentinel Predicting Sunday's final score at Medinah might be easier than picking the winner. Let's call it 14 1/2 to 13 1/2, same as two years ago in Wales. Yes, it'll be that close. The underdog almost always plays above its rank in these matches - and with every golfer among the world's 35 best, there's no true underdog.

Andrew Bynum still has pain in his left knee that has kept him from making his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers. Bynum is in pain when he walks or attempts even light physical activity, except for swimming. He had been recovering from a bone bruise in his right knee and injured his left knee while bowling last month. The 7-foot center will have his knees examined again Dec. 20 and did not know whether he would need an MRI exam. "Worst-case scenario, it's another month," he said Monday night.

"Zombie apocalypse," voodoo curses and a potent street drug called "bath salts. " Those are just a few of the angles the media have pursued after the bizarre case of a naked man shot and killed by Miami police as he was eating the face of another man. A less sensational angle? The long, sad journey that awaits the  homeless victim, Ronald Poppo, 65, who is believed to have lost about 80% of his face -- including one eye -- in the gruesome daylight attack. Poppo is not likely to get a face transplant, experts say. Such procedures are extremely rare.

MEDINAH, Ill. - On what a PGA of America official described as a "beautiful chamber of commerce" day in Chicago's western suburbs, Ryder Cup captains Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal arrived at Medinah Country Club for what organizers deem the biggest sporting event in the history of Illinois. About 40,000 people will flock to Medinah each day to watch 24 of the world's top 35 players. The 4,229 volunteers represent 45 states and 14 countries. More than 1,000 media members will cover the matches, which begin Friday morning.

Michael Phelps, the most-decorated Olympian in history, is turning his attention to golf now that his swimming days are behind him. The owner of 18 gold medals, and 22 overall, will join David Feherty on Golf Channel's "Feherty Live" in advance of the Ryder Cup. The show will be taped live and air Wednesday, two days before the international match-play competition at Medinah Country Club that pits the top U.S. players against their rivals from...