Ah, yes...just a few sports-centric guys sitting around getting make-up put on, talking about getting the "meat sweats." Then one of those guys--Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke--throws this humdinger out about his travels in China: "Then I went to a penis restaurant, and ate some penis." more ›

Cars.com has pulled the plug on sponsoring Penn State games on ESPN and they won't be the last. --- It's Veterans Day and there's plenty of TV about it but it used to be Armistice Day, let's have more of that. --- More news & The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan. more ›

The coldest time of the day is the immediate hours before sunrise. At least that is what we are told. I’m usually safely ensconced in the layers of bedding in various states of unconsciousness unless there is a sudden urge to evacuate my bladder. Regardless it’s a rarity that I am outdoors when it’s so cold¹, but there I was in the Saturday predawn walking towards the torch-lit Coliseum and into the condensed remains of my breath in the still dark morning. more ›

The Onion News Network returns to IFC tonight --- Ron Howard speaks about the possible return of "Arrested Development" --- Hank Williams Jr. finally gets booted from Monday Night Football --- All this plus more news & The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan more ›

Former sports commentator and columnist Jay Mariotti was charged with three counts of felony this week for stalking and assaulting an ex-girlfriend. It's apparently the same woman who had Mariotti on the ropes in the first place -- he had been on probation since pleading "no contest" to multiple misdemeanor charges stemming a domestic violence incident last August more ›

The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a sports talk radio program listened to by both its admirers and his detractors. Heard locally on KSPN 710 AM (7 a.m. to 10 a.m.,) Cowherd’s been polarizing national ESPN Radio audiences since 2003. On The Herd, Cowherd often explains that his points-of-view feature perspective free from the emotion and unwavering loyalty for which sports fans are best known. more ›

ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series moves right along with “Fernando Nation” directed by Cruz Angeles, born in Mexico City and raised in South Central Los Angeles who is now based in Brooklyn, NY. While it not only is a portrait of Fernando Valenzuela’s quick rise to the top in 1981, it is perhaps the first document of the social conditions of Latin American community during that time. more ›

Rarely, if ever, do stories exist in a vacuum. Instead, they are mere moments that capture a feeling, a scene, but never the whole scope of the issue. And oftentimes, in the shadowy bits curled up at the edge of a good tale, the most interesting, well-connected bits are waiting to be discovered. But even that part is just part of the story. more ›

Jay Mariotti, a sports journalist and on-air personality with ESPN, "was arrested overnight by Los Angeles police officers in the Pacific division," according to LA Now. Early reports from LAPD sources indicate Mariotti, 51, "allegedly got into an argument with his girlfriend at a club in Santa Monica," which resumed at the Venice home, "where some type of physical altercation allegedly occurred. Police were called to the apartment, and Marioitti was arrested." Mariotti, who appears on ESPN's "Around the Horn," is being held on $50k bail at the LAPD's 77th Street Station. more ›

The contract between Disney-owned TV networks ABC and ESPN and cable provider Time Warner Cable is set to expire in some markets, including Los Angeles, on September 2nd. What that means is that negotiations are underway, but with the public pulled in. more ›

The above video, from the 1993 ESPN Awards, features an unforgettable speech from Jim Valvano, the former North Carolina State basketball coach. "Don’t Give Up...Don’t Ever Give Up!” Shortly after, cancer took his life. (Full speech transcript.) more ›

What do the Kogi BBQ truck and the World Cup have in common? Well, if you've seen the hungry crowds that Kogi attracts, you could say it's something of a spectator sport. And both celebrate different nationalities coming together for something good. But that's where the similarities end. So, is there any way to combine these two seemingly disparate phenomena? more ›

First she was secretly videotaped in the nude, now ESPN's Erin Andrews has been the target of death threats sent via e-mail, according to an AP report published on cbs2. Andrews' attorney, Marshall Grossman, reveals the blonde sports reporter and current "Dancing With the Stars" contestant has been getting sexually explicit and threatening e-mails since September. The e-mails reference Andrews' convicted secret video-taper, Michael David Barrett, and include details about where and how the author would commit murder. Grossman says the FBI has been made aware of the threats; Andrews does not plan to leave DWTS, but "has asked ABC to beef up its security" for the show. more ›

The Chicago-area man who pleaded guilty to stalking and secretly videotaping ESPN correspondent Erin Andrews over an 18-month period was sentenced to 30 months in prison today, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced this afternoon. more ›

The TV Junkie: @aots, "Community", "Parks and Recreation", "The Office", "30 Rock", "Important Things With Demetri Martin", "The Sarah Silverman Program", "Chelsea Lately", "Watch What Happens: Live", Fallon (Michael Moore, Chris Hardwick; Broken Bells) more ›

Miami Heat defeat LA Lakers 114-111 (OT). The Lakers didn’t start their tough three game East Coast road trip on a winning note. The Lakers and the Heat played a close game with 19 ties and 31 lead changes, the most in the NBA this season. Neither team led by more than five points. Although Kobe Bryant made a jumper with three seconds left in regulation to tie the game up, there would be no heroics from Kobe for the winner in this meeting. Kobe led all scorers with 39 points seemingly working out all the kinks from his recent shooting woes. All Lakers starters scored in double digits with Lamar Odom adding 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. more ›

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." If you have a suggestion for a future Seven Questions subject send us an email. more ›

Last month we had the chance to talk to Bill, who has been signing his 700 page long NBA book in cities like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego and of course, Boston. "LA signings are weird. They had the lowest turnout of any city," said Simmons over the phone when we spoke with him just days before hitting the road for his book tour. "I think it’s because there’s so many celebrities out here that I’m like Z-list. I’m on whatever list the guys from "The Ruins" are on. If I go to Providence or somewhere like that, it seems like a much bigger deal." more ›

Bill Simmons is simply known by many as "The Sports Guy." But anyone who's ever read his columns on ESPN.com or heard an episode of his podcast, The B.S. Report, knows his interests extend far beyond the field. A Simmons column will take you from Kobe Bryant to Karate Kid, theories about Knicks' centers to jokes about late-night Cinemax starlets, Mike Dunleavy to Las Vegas travel tips. more ›

The Illinois man accused of taking nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and uploading them to the web will have to appear in a Los Angeles U.S. District Court later this month. Michael David Barrett, 48, was arrested Friday night at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for allegedly taking video of Andrews in the nude through a peephole in a Nashville hotel room and then posting it on the internet after failing to sell the footage to TMZ. more ›

The 48-year-old was sitting with his wife and one of their young sons in a small theater at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills. Both of the boys looked fidgety. On screen was the U.S. premier of "Kings Ransom," a documentary scheduled to air on ESPN next week as part of a series celebrating the network's 30th anniversary. Future releases include a look at the relationship between the NFL's Raiders and gangster rap culture, directed by Ice Cube. more ›

Sometimes I wish I had a job at ESPN. This wish stems from the hope of saving something I love. I grew up with ESPN. I watched it evolve from amateur hour. Remember Charlie Steiner being a Sportscenter host long before calling games for the Yankees and Dodgers? Remember how he’d spontaneously burst into uncontrollable laughter sometimes like Adam Sandler did during SNL skits with Chris Farley? more ›

Today marks the first Saturday of the college football season. Millions across the country; especially here in the home of the #4 ranked USC Trojans and the recipient of seven votes in the AP Top 25 - UCLA Bruins, are excited to get the 2009 campaign kicked off. I, on the other hand, could couldn't care less. more ›

Quentin Tarantino roared back into prominence as his World War Two revenge flick, Inglourious Basterds, uh, roared to the top of the weekend box office, earning a way-above expectations $37.2M. Last week's champ, District 9 had a reasonable hold and earned an additional $18.9M ($73.4M). After that it was the sort of okay G.I.Joe ($12.5M | $120.5M), the weepy Time Traveler's Wife ($10M | 37.4M) and the winning Julie & Julia ($9M | $59.2M). Kids commanded the next three slots: the lame Shorts debuted to $6.6M followed by the odd G-Force ($4.2M | $107.3M) and the super Harry Potter 6: Harry Battles Voldemort! ($3.5M | $290.2M) more ›

If you were in downtown Los Angeles this week and saw a bunch of large men coming out of the Standard Hotel with duffel bags full of loot, don't worry ... it wasn't a stickup. A lot of goodies were handed out at ESPN The Magazine's "ESPY Style Studio," primarily to famous athletes and actors. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers), Kurt Warner (Cardinals), Terrell Owens (Bills), Matt Leinart (Cardinals), Shannon Brown (Lakers) more ›

Commence humming the theme to ESPN's beloved SportsCenter...NOW. more ›

The franchise destroyer that is Isiah Thomas has been in talks with the Clippers about joining the team's front office. ESPN.com reports that Thomas, whose resume includes running the CBA into bankruptcy and taking the New York Knicks from a perennial playoff team to perennial punchline, talked to "Clippers owner Donald Sterling in a meeting arranged by current coach/general manager Mike Dunleavy," back in February. more ›

Late night radio isn't typically where you'll find an energetic sportstalker -- much less one who would easily reference Brett Favre's retirement to the ‘80s movie “Can’t Buy Me Love.” ESPN radio host Jason Smith does that five nights a week (Sunday through Thursday.) Heard locally on 710AM, from 10:00 at night to 2:00, All Night with Jason Smith is high quality radio at an hour where most station's broadcast as though their audience is half-dead. more ›

Just hours after saying goodbye to his quaterback, Mark Sanchez, USC football head coach Pete Carroll walked the red carpet at the grand opening of ESPN Zone at LA Live. ESPN Zone was already open, in fact, that night the place was packed with Kings and Red Wings fans grabbing a bite prior to the game, but that's what they call a "soft opening." Thursday night was the grand opening with the red carpet, bright lights and celebrities. more ›

In 2004, ESPN launched a network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day in the Spanish language - ESPN Deportes. To celebrate the its five year anniversary, the network recently announced the launch of ESPN Deportes Replay, a multimedia campaign that will give fans the opportunity to program the network for three consecutive weeks. more ›