Williams

Often considered the most popular entertainer of the 20th century--his extravagant performances set still-unchallenged attendance records--Liberace (dubbed "Mr. Showman" in tribute to his flashy theatricality) sued a London columnist in 1956 for implying he was gay. He won.

Frozen yogurt. That's the reward 15-year-old sophomore Marissa Williams of Palisades plans to give herself after turning in the greatest performance by a girls' distance runner in City Section history Wednesday night at the City track and field championships at Birmingham. Records that were established in 1979 in the 1,600 meters and 1983 in the 3,200 were shattered by Williams, who won with times of 4:56.60 and 10:37.33, respectively. Her 3,200 time was 10 seconds better than the previous record.

Michele and Russell Poland's credit was shot, but they managed to buy their suburban dream home anyway. After a business bankruptcy and a home foreclosure, they turned to a rare option in this era of tightfisted banking - a subprime loan. The Polands paid nearly $10,000 in upfront fees for the privilege of securing a mortgage at 10.9% interest. And they had to raid their retirement account for a 35% down payment. Most borrowers would balk at such stiff terms. But with prices rising, the Polands wanted to snag a four-bedroom home in Temecula near top-rated schools for their 5-year-old son. By later this year, they figure, they'll be able to refinance into a standard loan.

The Angels broke out the disco ball in the clubhouse, and why not? That was quite a party. Mike Trout, the guest of honor, became the youngest player in American League history to hit for the cycle. Josh Hamilton, the birthday boy, enjoyed two rounds of serenades from the crowd. The Angels posted their most lopsided victory of the season, a 12-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners. The fans even went home with party favors - Mike Trout pint glasses, in honor of a player of legal drinking age for all of nine months.

Keegan Bradley had no thoughts about a course record, or the possibility of a 59, after consecutive bogeys in the middle of his opening round in the Byron Nelson Championship at Irving, Texas. Until his 136-yard wedge shot on his final hole Thursday. "It was going right at it. [A 59] crossed my mind for a second, and it would be unbelievable if I buried this," Bradley said. "But I had three feet to shoot 60. I was actually very nervous, uncomfortable over it and thank God I made it. " Bradley shot 10-under-par 60, completed by that short birdie at the 428-yard ninth hole, to break the TPC Four Seasons course record and match the best round ever at the Nelson.

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.

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.

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.

A week out from the French Open, Serena Williams is one victory away from winning her fourth straight tournament. The top-ranked American overcame an early break of her serve to ease past Romanian qualifier Simona Halep , 6-3, 6-0, Saturday and reach the Italian Open final in Rome, extending her career-best winning run to 23 matches. Williams is coming off consecutive titles in Miami, Charleston and Madrid. In Sunday's final, Williams will face third-seeded Victoria Azarenka , who kept her concentration through two rain delays to beat seventh-seeded Sara Errani , 6-0, 7-5. On the men's side, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will renew their rivalry in the Italian Open final Sunday.

Anze Kopitar was doing his best work with crutches, not a hockey stick, and teammate Justin Williams was courageously trying to do his best on the ice, nursing a separated shoulder. The big two? More like a battered two the last time the Kings met San Jose in the NHL playoffs, two long and winding years ago, a first-round series the Sharks won in six games. "It wasn't great," Kopitar said. That was the first thing Kopitar remembered — well, who is ever going to forget a fractured ankle?

Serena Williams kept the No. 1, and added No. 50. Williams beat Maria Sharapova , 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open Sunday to retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title. And Rafael Nadal eased by Stanislas Wawrinka , 6-2, 6-4, for his fifth title since returning from a knee injury. The second-ranked Sharapova would have overtaken the top ranking with a win, but Williams stormed out to an early lead as Sharapova struggled with her serve. Despite Sharapova briefly recovering her poise in the second set, Williams' form never dipped as she eased to the title.

CHICAGO - What's that thing called when you score more runs than the other team for a few days in a row? Oh yeah, a winning streak. The Angels reacquainted themselves with the concept Saturday night with a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox in U.S. Cellular Field to extend their winning streak to three, matching a season high. Jerome Williams survived a five-hit second inning to throw 6 2/3 strong innings, giving up two runs and seven hits; Mike Trout hit a two-run home run in the first, and the bullpen combined for 21/3 innings, as the Angels won their first road series of the year.

Making history has become routine for the Kings. Last spring they became the first No. 8 seed to win the Stanley Cup, upsetting the 1-2-3 teams in the West before defeating the New Jersey Devils in the final. After opening their title defense by dismissing the fourth-seeded St. Louis Blues, the Kings appear to have picked up where they left off. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the fifth-seeded Kings are the first NHL team to win five consecutive playoff series despite playing Game 1 on the road in each series.

The Kings' offense, dormant through the first three games of their opening-round playoff series against the St. Louis Blues, awoke Monday in time to prolong their season and their reign as Stanley Cup champions. Justin Williams completed a two-goal rally in the third period with a deflection that withstood a video review, as the Kings barged past the Blues for a 4-3 victory at Staples Center and evened the series at two games each. "Now it's all tied up and best of three," said center Anze Kopitar, whose first goal in 20 games, off a feed from a hard-digging Dustin Brown, had brought the Kings even at 7 minutes 14 seconds of the third period.

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

William C. Cox Jr., the patriarch of the Bancroft clan that controlled Dow Jones & Co. for 105 years and sold it to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in a decision sparking a family feud, died Wednesday at his home in Hobe Sound, Fla., according to his daughter, Ann Bartram. He was 82. The cause was complications from diabetes. Cox was at the center of a protracted family dispute that ultimately led to the sale of New York-based Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, to News Corp.

In normal circumstances, it's the bullpen that comes to the aid of a starting pitcher. But there's nothing normal about the circumstances surrounding the Angels' pitching staff these days. So Manager Mike Scioscia said Friday he'll try to right the staff with the second-highest earned-run average in baseball by using one of his starters to bail out his ailing relief corps, moving right-hander Garrett Richards from the rotation to the back of the bullpen. Right-handed Jerome Williams will start in Richards' place Sunday.