Sink

At long last, you can talk about: Vampire Weekend's "Contra" You've heard -- and loved -- "Cousins" by now. And if you did that, you've probably already listened to the Ivy Leaguers' entire second album on their MySpace page. So I'm guessing you already know that the "Horchata" rhyming (horchata and balaclava!) is superb, "Run" rocks rock-meets-reggaeton and "White Sky" and "California English" are just plain awesome. It's worth repeating either way. (Tuesday) Speaking of things nerdtastic, it's also time to talk about: "Chuck" If you bought a Subway sandwich to help keep this show on the air last year, you'll be glad you did. At the outset of Season 3, our once hapless hero is now a willing, kung fu-fighting spy pumped with more mojo than ever.

Breanna Stewart put on quite a show to help Connecticut finally vanquish Notre Dame. The stellar freshman scored a career-high 29 points to go with four blocks, leading the Huskies to the women's national championship game with an 83-65 win over Notre Dame on Sunday night at New Orleans. The Huskies will face Louisville in the championship game Tuesday night in an all-Big East final after the Cardinals rallied to beat California, 64-57, in the other NCAA semifinal. Connecticut will be going for its eighth national championship to match Tennessee for the most in women's basketball.

This is the first Sunday I have left breakfast dishes in the sink. Your Traveling in Style magazine has relived my memories and expanded my education. This new issue is more comfortable to read. I am thrilled that I can pick up the issue or put it aside at a convenient place (a whole newspaper section, no). I never knew the scary things a pilot had to be concerned with about our safety. I agree we do applaud the landings, but of the other very important uncertainties I was ignorant.

Lululemon Athletica Inc.'s problem isn't just that a batch of its black yoga pants were made too sheer and had to be recalled - the popular retailer is now downgrading its financial predictions and watching its stock do a downward dog. The Vancouver, B.C., company said late Monday that it pulled the women's pants from its stores and e-commerce sites over the weekend after learning that the material was too revealing. The Luon fabric is produced in Vietnam and Taiwan and made with a mix of nylon and Lycra spandex fibers.

The Dow Jones industrial average is closing in on 10,000 -- from the wrong direction. Stock markets around the world plunged Thursday on concern over the mounting debt problems of several European governments as well as an unexpected rise in U.S. jobless claims. The Dow tumbled more than 250 points -- coming within three points of closing below the 10,000 mark that it retook in October during its long climb back from the financial crisis. In the final minutes of trading, the blue-chip gauge was briefly below 10,000, falling as low as 9,998.

Yahoo Inc. co-founder Jerry Yang has lost about a half-billion dollars on paper after failing to regain investor confidence since taking over as the Internet company's chief executive in June. Yang, the fifth-biggest Yahoo shareholder with about 4% of its shares outstanding, has seen the value of his stake sink by about a third to $1 billion in the last seven months. Shares of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo sank $1.76, or 8.5%, to $19.05 on Wednesday after the company late Tuesday reported an eighth straight quarter of declining profit, announced 1,000 job cuts and issued a sales forecast that fell short of analysts' expectations.

Whether it is "Women and children first" or "Every man for himself" in a shipwreck may depend on how long it takes the ship to sink, researchers said Monday. When the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915, it sank in 18 minutes and the bulk of survivors were young men and women who responded immediately to their powerful survival instincts. But when the Titanic struck an iceberg in 1912, it took three hours to go down, allowing time for more civilized instincts to take control.

Your Sept. 21 Science File story about astronomers finding an enormous black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy confirms my thought that spiral galaxies are the equivalent of the water going around in the sink before it washes down the black hole of the drain. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it. MIKE KILGORE Los Angeles

We're hearing way too much about the Titanic--the movie and in general. Pass the Dramamine and let's sink it again! SHARON KARP Los Angeles

Re "MTA Hunts for Leak Buckling Hollywood Blvd.," Aug. 22: Just when you thought it wasn't possible for Hollywood Boulevard to sink any lower. V. JOSEPH PICA Los Angeles

There's no Little League-like rule in high school basketball requiring every player on a team to make an appearance, so would someone explain why Coach Ed Azzam of 11-time City Section champion Westchester keeps using as many as 13 players in the first half of playoff games? Substitutions are made in waves every four or five minutes, a five-in-and-five-out pattern that would make any ice hockey fan smile. (It's called a massive line change in the NHL). Several rival coaches earlier this season were shaking their heads in bemusement while wondering if using so many players might hurt continuity and prevent the Comets from reaching their potential.

The stock market suffered its worst drubbing of the year as investors grew worried about deepening fiscal gridlock in Washington and renewed political instability in Europe. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 216 points, a sign that the market's strong advance early in the year is giving way to doubts about whether stock prices got ahead of economic underpinnings. It is an abrupt change from last week, when investors were expecting the stock market to hit record highs.

The Ducks' dedication to pressuring the opposing goaltender is an asset that can help them overcome defensive lapses, a goalie's rough night and other blemishes. Such was the case Saturday night when that relentlessness led to three goals within a two-minute span in the second period. That comfort around the crease then paid the additional dividend of an extended shootout victory, delivering a 6-5 road victory over the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. The Ducks (8-2-1) claimed the shootout victory, 4-3, when Nick Bonino briefly pulled back the puck while gliding toward goaltender Brian Elliott, then slid it through Elliott's legs on what was his first career shootout attempt.

The character of Fantine in Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables" is a prostitute who is so poor that she resorts to selling her teeth for money. Actress Anne Hathaway, who plays Fantine in the movie version of the stage musical, notified the world on Sunday that she is grateful -- thrilled, even -- to have dental insurance, courtesy of the Screen Actors Guild. Hathaway won a supporting actress SAG Award on Sunday for her role in "Les Misérables. " In her acceptance speech, the actress enthused, "I'm just so thrilled I have dental" before thanking her mother and "everyone at CAA," her talent agency.

When: 5 PST. Where: FedEx Forum. On the air: TV: TWC SportsNet, TWC Deportes; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 17-24, Grizzlies 26-14. Record vs. Grizzlies: 0-1. Update: The Lakers are 9½ games behind the fourth-place Grizzlies in the Western Conference standings. Pau Gasol was benched in the fourth quarter the last time the Lakers played Memphis, a 106-98 Grizzlies victory in November. Rudy Gay is averaging 17.5 points but shooting only 41.3% as trade rumors have increased involving the Grizzlies' well-paid small forward.

Brian Gay, who has a soul patch and spiky blond hair, does not have his birthdate listed in the massive PGA Media Guide. One tour official said that was on purpose. Gay denied any age fear and said he is 41. Maybe age truly is only a number when you shoot a final-round 63 and then calmly sink a five-and-a-half-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole. That's what Gay did Sunday to win the Humana Challenge tournament at the PGA West-Palmer course in La Quinta. Gay triumphed after being part of a three-man playoff that included Charles Howell III and David Lingmerth but not third-round leader Scott Stallings.

An 82-year-old Hollywood man was charged with murder Friday in the fatal shooting this week of an apartment building handyman who was fixing his sink. Nattie Kennebrew Jr. pleaded not guilty Friday. He allegedly shot handyman Gerald Ramos on Wednesday in a second-floor apartment in the 7500 block of Fountain Avenue in Hollywood. Authorities said Ramos was working on a sink in the defendant's apartment when he was shot to death. He was hit multiple times. Kennebrew also attempted to assault several other people in the building when they came to the scene of the shooting, officials said.

Having followed the Pac-10 since it was the Pac-8, it is sad to see USC sink this far. It is sadder to see The Times sink to printing Larry Smith's whining about Cal running up the score. Larry, unfortunately for you, the Trojans kicked every hurtin' Golden Bear, Duck, Cougar and Beaver they could find for a long time. If things don't change, you may pay the price for that for a long time. MICHAEL ANDERSON Santa Ana

Monday, Apple's stock slipped below $500 per share for just the briefest of moments before climbing back above the psychologically important barrier.  But today, the stock fell straight through $500 and just kept on going. In midday trading, the stock was down $14.35, or 2.86%, to $ 487.40.  Update:  The stock finished the day down $15.83 or 3.15% to $ 485.92. In my story on the anxiety surrounding the stock, I noted that the stakes for Apple's earnings report on Jan. 23 seemed to be growing by the day.  QUIZ: Test your Apple knowledge Echoing that sentiment Tuesday was a research note from Barclay's titled "Preparing for the Most Important Conference Call in Years.

For a musician, there are probably more flattering movie roles to be offered than that of a guy who single-handedly ruins a record label with his dismal sales. Fortunately for British rocker Graham Parker, who plays such a character in the new Judd Apatow comedy "This Is 40," his decades in the music business have left him with a thick skin and a good sense of humor. In this clip from the Envelope Screening Series with The Times' Rebecca Keegan, Parker talks about his real-life reunion with his band the Rumour after 31 years and how they got involved in Apatow's film.