Uniforms

When the Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez, they inherited a contract that binds him to the team through 2018 at a cost of $125 million. That will give him plenty of chances to make his mark in team history, and he will do so wearing a number that has left its mark in team history. By the end of his career, where might Gonzalez rank on the list of Dodgers to wear uniform No. 23? For now, here's how they rank, according to Times staff writer Bill Shaikin: 1: Kirk Gibson (1988-90)

Two years after taking the first tentative steps toward establishing common guidelines for fan behavior at local sports events, Los Angeles sports, government and law enforcement officials are scheduled Monday to announce the adoption of a uniform Southern California Fan Code of Conduct. The 10-point code, intended to promote fans' enjoyment and safety, will be applied at every major pro and college venue in the area. Every professional sports league has a fan code of conduct and teams have their own policies, and the new Southern California code will not replace those.

Penn State's iconic no-frills football uniforms -- once a symbol of discipline, unity and team over individualism -- will undergo major changes for the upcoming season. For the first time, player names will be displayed on the backs of the jerseys and the uniform will feature a blue ribbon, the symbol  for child abuse awareness. Months ago, new Coach Bill O'Brien said the school's uniforms wouldn't change from the design favored by Joe Paterno for much of his 46 years as head coach.

NAPA, Calif. — There was a time when Matt Leinart thought he'd wind up with the Oakland Raiders, but he never dreamed he would take the kind of roundabout path he has taken to get here. The former USC star and Heisman Trophy winner is backing up Carson Palmer with the Raiders — a flashback to their days with the Trojans — and Leinart, once widely projected to make a splash in the pros and possibly be a draft pick of the Raiders, is now grateful to be on a roster. "I don't listen to the people who say I'm a bust," said Leinart, 29, the 10th overall pick by Arizona in 2006 who was released by Houston after two seasons.

Forget the medal count. In the first competition of the 2012 London Olympics -- the global runway show known as the opening ceremony's parade of nations -- it looks like Team Switzerland did it right. Over the weekend, a couple of All the Rage readers were anything but neutral about their feelings for that country's gray-and-red ensembles. After bashing Team Canada's uniforms (described here ), a reader from Montreal posted a comment Friday evening declaring: "For two weeks I am purely Swiss.

DALIAN, China - If Horatio Alger had spoken Mandarin he would have loved the rags-to-riches tale of garment maker Li Guilian. A farmer's daughter who got her start stitching aprons in the countryside, she has built a $300-million company that's listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Now 66, Li employs 10,000 workers sewing fine clothing for some of the world's most famous brands and powerful people. Chinese President Hu Jintao and fellow Politburo members are loyal customers of her firm, Dayang Trands.

SAN DIEGO - Led by a Marine sergeant wearing her dress blue uniform and bearing the American flag aloft, several hundred members of the military marched in the city's LGBT Pride parade Saturday, marking the first time the Department of Defense has permitted personnel to wear their uniforms in a gay festival parade. A crowd estimated at 200,000 whistled, waved, cheered and applauded as the service members walked the parade route through the city's largely gay neighborhood of Hillcrest, ending at the western extension of Balboa Park.

There is much to fret over these days. DirecTV has dumped Nickelodeon. Katie has dumped Tom. Ann Curry is out. Jeff Daniels, with almost no anchor experience, is suddenly in. Despite all our best efforts, the world remains a shifty place. There was this sentence in the paper the other day ... our paper, a great paper still, because it contains this level of journalistic detail: "[Judge] Revel had previously overseen the criminal cases of Wu-Tang Clan rapperOl' Dirty Bastardand Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Flesh-N-Bone....

SAN DIEGO - Gay military personnel can wear their uniforms in San Diego's LGBT Pride Festival and parade, the Pentagon said Thursday. An announcement from the office of the deputy assistant secretary of Defense said that wearing their uniforms is permitted "provided service members participate in their personal capacity and ensure the adherence to military service standards of appearance and wear of the military uniform. " The decision marks the first time that gay personnel will be allowed to wear their uniforms in a gay parade.

Starting next month, Virgin America 's in-flight crew members will sport a new look. The airline, which turns 5 on Aug. 8, plans to roll out new uniforms designed by Banana Republic, with creative input gleaned from a design competition and suggestions from flight crew members too. The buzzwords designers use in describing the wardrobe change: "utility chic. " (Here's a photo gallery of the new look.) The new uniforms are combinations of red, white and black.