On-the-field trouble isn’t the worst part for Dodgers

You know it’s a one-of-a-kind season in Dodgerdom when the club’s falling into last place is the least of fans’ worries. ...

The music played at the end of the telecast Wednesday was Matt Hires’ “State Lines,� which includes the lyric, “Yeah, it’s feeling like a freefall now,/Nobody’s gonna slow us down.� ...

The Beatles’ “I’m a Loser� would have been too obvious. ...

T-shirts and sweatshirts expressing fan frustration with Frank McCourt are available at frankrupt.com. ...

“Last year,� reader Hans Ghaffari of Venice wonders, “who would have thought Cal baseball would be on a more sound financial footing than the Dodgers?� ...

A fundraising effort saved the Bears from extinction. ...

Hope Solo and the U.S. women’s soccer team are off to a flying start in the opening round of the Women’s World Cup -- or, as it’s known in North Korea, the lightning round. ...

No one can say that Sasha Vujacic didn’t make the most of his time in Los Angeles: He won two rings with the Lakers and presented a third to fiancee Maria Sharapova. ...

Slowly fading Roger Federer has played his last Grand Slam event before turning 30 in August. ...

Matt Barnes, coincidentally appearing at Sacramento International Airport last week as Sacramento Kings fans awaited the arrival of draft picks Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas, was greeted by chants of “Beat L.A.� ...

No cowbells? ...

Fredette, facing high expectations, is the No. 2 pick for rookie of the year, according to odds posted at bodog.com. ...

Derrick Williams is the favorite. ...

After the Philadelphia 76ers made USC’s Nikola Vucevic a first-round draft pick, Coach Doug Collins told reporters he’d watched “every offensive possession he had the whole year.� ...

Obviously, he liked what he saw. ...

A looming lockout reminds that the last time the NBA endured a work stoppage, in 1999, Patrick Ewing famously noted, “Sure, we make a lot of money, but we spend a lot too.� ...

The Philadelphia Daily News called the Flyers’ trade of captain Mike Richards to the Kings a “Broad Street Bombshell.� ...

The Kings called it a coup. ...

Teemu Selanne might be turning 41 this weekend, but that didn’t stop the Sporting News from ranking the high-scoring winger the No. 2 unrestricted free agent on the market. ...

South Carolina’s winning consecutive College World Series championships reminds that USC and the late Rod Dedeaux won a record five in a row from 1970 to 1974. ...

Six Americans -- Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Nick Watney -- rank higher than No. 17 Tiger Woods in the world golf rankings. ...

Woods, 35, on his chances of winning four more major championships to match Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18: “He won when he was 46, right? I’ve still got some time.� ...

Kentucky’s John Calipari, after signing a contract extension, reportedly will be paid an annual salary that’s nearly $1.2 million higher than the average for an NBA coach. ...

Calipari, in two-plus NBA seasons, was 72-112. ...

Al LaMacchia, the late scout who pushed the Dodgers to acquire Andre Ethier, had his name added Wednesday to the Wall of Fame at Nelson Stadium in San Antonio. ...

Noting that Alex Rodriguez says he suffered a recent knee injury while pivoting, humorist Janice Hough asks, “Wonder which mirror he was in front of at the time?� ...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. might be opposed to it, but isn’t it about time that NASCAR added a road course to its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship? ...

In conjunction with next week’s Society for American Baseball Research convention in Long Beach, the local SABR chapter is hosting a July 9 bus tour of former L.A. baseball park sites. ...

Information: (602) 343-6450. ...

Trivia question from SABR.org: Which two pitchers struck out five consecutive batters in an All-Star game? ...

Trivia answer: Carl Hubbell and Fernando Valenzuela. ...

Jack McKeon is “the oldest man working in baseball,� Conan O’Brien says of the Florida Marlins’ recently hired 80-year-old manager, “and the youngest man working in Florida.�

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