Star Power

Re “ Jack Klugman, 1922-2012 ,” Obituary, Dec. 25 Jack Klugman was on my flight years ago when I was a flight attendant. I told him: “I've never asked for an autograph, but I couldn't go home without asking for my nephew, who idolizes you.” He signed the autograph and arranged tickets to a taping of his show for my two nephews and me. Afterward, he came over and shook hands with both boys. Needless to say, he had three fans for the rest of his life. B.J. Peterson Big Bear Lake, Calif.

Ronda Rousey said making her debut as the first Ultimate Fighting Championship women's champion at Anaheim's Honda Center is beyond her wildest imagination. “If someone said you could write down a list of everything you ever wanted, I'd say, 'Win all my fights. Be in the UFC. Have it at home. And have a kick-[rear] undercard.' People's dreams aren't supposed to come true like that.” Yet, the unbeaten Rousey will have that date, defending her new belt against Liz Carmouche on Feb. 23. Tickets go on sale Friday for the card, which will include a light-heavyweight fight between Temecula's Dan Henderson and Brazil's Lyoto Machida.

The Lakers (9-13) visit the New York Knicks (16-5) on Thursday night, hoping to shake a three-game losing streak as they face the first-place team in the Eastern Conference. New York has been a revelation this season, despite playing without Amare Stoudemire (knee).  It has already beaten the Miami Heat twice, won in San Antonio and has yet to lose at home in eight tries. The Lakers have been in a tailspin, struggling without Steve Nash (leg), Pau Gasol (knees) and Steve Blake (abdominal strain)

Brad Pitt's "Killing Them Softly" suffered the kind of deadly hit at the box office this weekend that its protagonist might have admired. A wide opening from The Weinstein Co. yielded a paltry $7 million, barely enough for seventh place in a crowd of holdovers. It was one of the lowest-ever wide openings for Pitt, and could wind up as his second-lowest grosser in nearly 20 years. If dismal attendance wasn't enough, the people who did come out to "Killing" wanted to whack it: The movie averaged a rock-bottom "F" CinemaScore.

David Beckham walked off the field at the Home Depot Center with a smile on his face and an American flag draped around his shoulders, leaping to high-five one last fan as he ended his most excellent MLS playing adventure with a powerful performance. Beckham didn't score in the 3-1 victory over Houston that secured the Galaxy's second straight MLS Cup championship, but he was a strong presence with his trademark curving free kicks and dynamic leadership. The Galaxy had been forced to rally all season, and he would not let its playoff journey end Saturday without a bounce-back triumph.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jon Tester was among the most endangered Democrats in the Senate, but he pulled through after a tough challenge from Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg. Tester had a surprise victory for Democrats six years ago, but returning to the Senate would prove difficult in the Republican state without the political wave that favored Democrats in 2006. Tester won with 48.6% of the vote to Rehberg's 44.8%. Libertarian Dan Cox took 6.5% of the vote. "It has been an honor to serve the people of Montana," Rehberg said in a statement Wednesday morning.

CINCINNATI -- President Obama isn't just running a campaign these days, he's staging a touring music fest. Dave Matthews performed in Bristow, Va., and later in Aurora, Colo. Jason Mraz is all over Ohio. John Mellencamp will be opening for the vice president in Richmond. Katy Perry was in Milwaukee. Pitbull was in Hollywood, Fla. Stevie Wonder in Cincinnati. For the grand finale Monday night, Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z in Columbus, Ohio. Oh, and the president will be there, too. Obama's reelection hasn't garnered anything like the pop culture and celebrity buzz of his first bid. For most of this long slog of a campaign, the most reliable musical fixture on the stump for Obama was will.i.am, singing his songs written about the 2008 campaign.

Creating high-energy dance songs for female pop stars is a crowded business in 2012, one dominated by professional hit makers such as Diplo, Max Martin and Dr. Luke. So you can understand why the Scottish writer-producer Calvin Harris, who broke through in the U.S. last year with Rihanna's chart-topping "We Found Love," diversifies his attack on "18 Months. " The third album he's released under his own name, it contains relatively grimy collaborations with English rappers ("Here 2 China," featuring Dizzee Rascal)

Lamar Odom said Tuesday that he will not sit out the Clippers' season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Staples Center. “Yeah, I'm playing,” Odom said. “And don't call it a comeback, either. I'll be ready to play.” Odom had sat out two weeks of practice because of a bone bruise in his left foot. He sat out the last five exhibition games. He last played Oct. 14, against the Miami Heat in Shanghai. Odom was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks to be the primary backup big man for starters Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

In 2008, five years after the close of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," four years after the end of "Angel," and the year before "Dollhouse," their creator Joss Whedon took it upon himself to make a short series for the Web, the three-act musical tragicomedy, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. " Widely available these four years online and on home video, it finally comes to television Tuesday, as Whedon may have hoped all along - it is conveniently about the length of an hour of television, with the commercials taken out - on the CW, the network that undoubtedly would have been the home of "Buffy" and "Angel" had it existed when those shows were on, or those shows existed now. But let me return from that parallel universe.