Statistics

Pau Gasol's decline Since the 2011 playoffs, when Phil Jackson slapped Pau Gasol in the chest to try to inspire him, the Lakers power forward has seen his production drop in most categories. A look at his play over the last 18 months, versus Gasol's career averages in 12 NBA seasons. Regular season Season;     FG; FGA; FG%; FT; FTA; FT%; REBS; BLKS; PTS; 2011-12;    7.1; 14.1; .501; 3.1; 4.0; .782; 10.4; 1.4; 17.4; 2012-13*;   5.4; 12.4; .434; 2.5; 3.4; .729; 9.1; 1.3; 13.4; Career;      7.0; 13.5; .519; 4.5; 6.0; .752; 9.2; 1.7; 18.6; *through 14 games Playoffs 2010-11;   4.7; 11.2; .420; 3.6; 4.5; .800; 7.8; 1.7; 13.1; 2011-12;   5.2; 11.9; .434; 2.0; 2.4; .828; 9.5; 2.1; 12.5; Career;     6.6; 12.9; .517; 4.0; 5.3; .742; 9.6; 1.9; 17.3; Source: basketball-reference.com

Where many saw tragedy for New Yorkers still homeless from Superstorm Sandy over the Thanksgiving holiday, others apparently saw opportunity. Adding to the woes of those who live on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens - where the storm killed eight people and destroyed more than 100 homes - thieves burglarized at least three residences in a Breezy Point neighborhood last week, police confirmed Saturday. Many of those who survived Sandy have been staying with friends, family or at relief shelters during the week and returning to the Rockaways on weekends to pick up what remains of their lives.

The comparisons between Kansas State's Collin Klein , a Heisman Trophy candidate, and former Florida star Tim Tebow , who won the Heisman in 2007, are not lost on people. Both are big, physical, run-first quarterbacks who aren't the prettiest of passers. They are also humble, strait-laced Christian fellows who are known as fierce competitors. Their statistics may end up similar too. In 13 games during his Heisman-winning season, Tebow passed for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns with six interceptions, completing 66.9% of his throws.

The Lakers have the worst record in the NBA at 0-3, slightly below four other teams at 0-2 (Detroit, Boston, Sacramento and Denver). Of course, the Lakers are the only team to have played in three games over the four nights of this season, a difficult task given the team's injuries. Coach Mike Brown is working in a new offense.  As a group, the Lakers have spent less time going over defense. In comparison to the rest of the league, the Lakers are 18th in points per game at 97.3 but third in field-goal percentage (49.8%)

The monopoly USC has enjoyed over UCLA at the quarterback position for the last decade - with the Trojans capitalizing on the talents of Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley - may be coming to an end. Brett Hundley, UCLA's quarterback, has numbers that stack up favorably to Barkley's this season. And better still for Bruins fans, Hundley has more time left. He's a redshirt freshman; Barkley is a senior. A look at both quarterbacks by the numbers: CategoryBarkleyHundley Yards passing 2,266 2,190 Touchdowns 25 18 Interceptions 8 8 Yards rushing -56 267 TDs rushing 0 5 Total offense 2,210 2,457 Team record 6-2 6-2

If a medical study seems too good to be true, it probably is, according to a new analysis. In a statistical analysis of nearly 230,000 trials compiled from a variety of disciplines, study results that claimed a "very large effect" rarely held up when other research teams tried to replicate them, researchers reported in Wednesday's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Assn. "The effects largely go away; they become much smaller," said Dr. John Ioannidis, the Stanford University researcher who was the report's senior author.

WASHINGTON - The number of violent crimes in the United States rose by 17% in 2011, the first year-to-year increase since 1993, according to a report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. But the report said that the jump was more a matter of returning to the norm after historically low numbers in 2010. In 2010, incidents of violent crime experienced an unexpected double-digit drop of 13%. The National Crime Victimization Survey measures rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault.

The worst drought in half a century has plagued two-thirds of the nation, devastating farms and stoking wildfires that scorched almost 9 million acres this year. Withering heat blanketed the East Coast and Midwest, killing scores of people and making July the hottest month ever recorded in the U.S. And in the Arctic this summer, polar snow and ice melted away to the smallest size ever observed by man. Extreme events like drought, heat waves, intense rainfall, flooding and fires have prompted many people to reconsider the connection between the weather and the changing climate.

SEATTLE -- When Torii Hunter reflects on Mike Trout's historic rookie season, it's not the .326 average, .399 on-base percentage, .564 slugging percentage, 30 home runs, 129 runs, 49 stolen bases, the highlight-reel catches and All-Star selection that jump out the most. "It's how humble he is," Hunter said. "He never got caught up in the limelight. It's unbelievable. It's going to help him a lot in the future because he won't expect things from people, or expect somebody to say this about him. He's just going to work and have fun and treat people the way he wants to be treated.

WAR. What is it good for? Absolutely something if you think Angels rookie Mike Trout should win the American League most valuable player award over Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera based solely on this advanced metric, which stands for Wins Above Replacement. But what is WAR, exactly? It attempts to quantify a player's overall contribution - hitting, baserunning and defense, for position players - and is expressed as the number of wins a player adds to his team by comparing his performance with that of a fictitious "replacement player," assumed to be an average triple-A call-up.