Williams

On summer nights in the mid-1960s, while black-and-white television crackled elsewhere in his Staten Island home with news of Southern violence and Vietnam, Bobby Lasnik would stretch out in his bedroom to let the righteous soundtrack of the civil rights movement waft into his impressionable teenage soul. Tuned in to WBAI-FM, coming across the water from Manhattan, he heard baleful laments about injustice that he would carry with him for a lifetime. "Suddenly there was someone speaking a certain kind of truth to you. You'd say, 'Wow!

You can draw a straight line, in terms of architectural history, from William Randolph Hearst'ssprawling estate in San Simeon to the corner of Broadway and 11th Street in downtown Los Angeles. It was at that downtown site in 1913 that Hearst commissioned architect Julia Morgan to design a headquarters for his Los Angeles Examiner newspaper, which he'd founded in 1903. Morgan produced one of the most remarkable designs of her prolific career, a 103,500-square-foot Mission Revival building draped with Italian and Moorish touches, including domes covered in yellow and blue tile.

There are plenty of exciting, sizzling point guards in the NBA -- Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Jason Kidd among them. Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz also is considered one of the best point guards in the league. Williams has yet to make the All-Star team, but he was second-team all-NBA in 2008. In the eyes of many, Williams doesn't have to take a back seat to any of his counterparts at point guard. "It feels good to be considered one of the best in the world," Williams said before Wednesday's game against the Lakers.

The Phoenix Coyotes finally had a chance to exhale after taking it in the solar plexus the first two games of the Western Conference finals. That giddy feeling, and a 1-0 lead, lasted 2 minutes 7 seconds for those counting. Dustin Brown spotted Anze Kopitar cruising up ice and a moment later the Kings had tied the score, 1-1. It was somewhat redundant. Brown, Kopitar and linemate Justin Williams have consistently done what the Kings ask of them - play like their top line.

C.K. Williams — Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning poet — will turn 74 this year, but he clearly retains traces of the young man for whom "everything always was going too slowly, too slowly." This spring, he has two new books out: "On Whitman" (Princeton University Press; 208 pp., $19.95), a highly personal response to the self-singing colossus of American poetry, and "Wait" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 144 pp., $25), a new collection of verse. Walking through Lower Manhattan toward ground zero — a site he's referenced in key poems over the last few years — Williams describes the title of "Wait" as an aging poet's mortal plea: "Just publishing a book at this stage in my career, I'm saying, 'Wait, I'm not finished!

The news of the day is not that tennis fined Serena Williams. It is that tennis did something. For many, including this typist, the action was a shocker. Not the size of the fine, the existence of one. This is a sport that tiptoes around its superstars like lion trainers at the zoo during feeding time. Outbursts such as Williams' tirade of intimidation against a lineswoman in the semifinals of this year's U.S. Open usually send the mice in blazers scurrying to the basement. Tennis runs via a dysfunctional collection of Grand Slam officials, men's and women's tour officials, men's and women's tournament directors and players' agents.

When the writers of "30 Rock" sent Brian Williams lines earlier this fall for his latest cameo, the NBC News anchor had a couple of suggestions. A scene in which he auditioned to be on the show's fictional comedy sketch series was "too blue" for his taste. In another, in which he approached Tina Fey's Liz Lemon about trying out for the program, Williams adopted an alter ego that paid homage to his late uncle Tony Mortarulo. "I'm not saying I want to audition, but Nicky Mortarulo from Scotch Plains, N.J., might be interested," Williams said with a broad grin and his best Jersey inflection.

Harvard's lightweight eight, which shattered the Thames Cup record in the Henley Royal Regatta Thursday, followed by losing to Williams (Mass.) College Friday. Williams, which took an early half-length lead, held on through the middle of the race, when Harvard closed within three feet, then eventually eased away to win the race by three-quarters of a length. Williams' time was 7:03, 37 seconds slower than Harvard's record time the day before.

With Williams on his way as the new chief, one would hope that the old motto "to protect and serve" could once again become a truthful adage for the LAPD. Only then can Los Angeles put to rest forever the Gates era and its "we treat you like a King" credo. ROBERT LOPEZ La Puente

Visitors to the Golden Gate Bridge often pose a strange request: They want some of the bridge's International Orange paint. During construction, consulting architect Irving Morrow chose the color. He thought it would reflect nicely off the waters of the Golden Gate Strait below and blend well with the Marin headlands to the north. "I get asked all the time, 'Can I have a little bit of that paint? I want to paint the fence in front of my house,'" said Mary Currie, public affairs director for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which operates the bridge.

GLENDALE, Ariz. --  The Kings went with new media after their Game 1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs, posting, "To everyone in Canada outside BC. You're welcome," on Twitter. They appeared to go old school in delivering a message to the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday. Justin Williams employed traditional hockey social graces by barreling into Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith a little more than four minutes into the series. It provoked a similar response from Smith, who jumped Williams after the whistle and received a roughing penalty.

Roger Federer rallied to beat Tomas Berdych , 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, and win the Madrid Open for a third time on Sunday. Earlier, Serena Williams overpowered top-ranked Victoria Azarenka , 6-1, 6-3, to win the women's final. While Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had blamed the new blue-clay court for their early exits, Federer's biggest obstacle was to overcome an opponent who had beaten him in three of their previous five meetings. "It is amazing to win here again," said Federer, who will overtake Nadal as the second-ranked player behind Djokovic.

There are at least two reasons why fans might expect the U.S. to excel in the Olympic triathlon. First, this country is home to the sport's best-known race, the famed Ironman competition in Hawaii. Second, well, this is America. "When you go to the Olympics, everyone expects a medal," said Jarrod Shoemaker, who ranks among the nation's best triathletes. "You win a medal and then you get invited to the Oprah show. " But in the triathlon's relatively short Olympic history, Americans have not fared so well, especially not the men, who have yet to stand on the podium.

Justin Williams, Dustin Penner, Rob Scuderi and Colin Fraser have traveled this path before, feeling their confidence grow faster than their playoff beards as their respective teams marched to the Stanley Cup championship. Williams emerged as a scoring threat with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and added seven postseason goals in 25 games as they defeated Edmonton in the Cup finals. Penner made a splash by scoring 29 goals for the Ducks in 2007 and teamed with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry on the "Kid Line," adding size and production to a deep, dominant team.

Montel Williams is not your typical pot-smoking snowboarder. Best known as an Emmy-winning talk show host, the former Marine and decorated naval intelligence officer was also a champion boxer, bodybuilder and power-lifter. In 1999, Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and it hit him hard. After a downward slide to rock bottom, Williams decided to get his life back. Were you active in your younger years? I was extremely active. I was a martial artist.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Midway through the second half Wednesday, the Clippers bench looked like a hospital waiting room. Mo Williams was dealing with a right forearm contusion. Eric Bledsoe had a left elbow contusion. And Nick Young's right (shooting) thumb was sprained. The three of them sustained their bumps and bruises during the Clippers' 105-98 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum on Wednesday night in Game 2 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series.