Lakers' Odom gives back to community

Lamar Odom, known among his teammates as a caring and giving person, reached out to the local community Monday after Lakers practice, visiting the City of Hope in Duarte.

Odom, along with his wife, reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, visited a children's cancer unit in Duarte and passed out toys and passed along the holiday spirit.

Odom did the event through his charity, Cathy's Kids Foundation, which he has dedicated to underprivileged youth and to cancer research.

Odom started the foundation in 2004 in memory of his mother, Cathy Mercer, who died from cancer when he was 12.

-- Broderick Turner

Photo: Lamar Odom and wife Khloe Kardashian arrive for a benefit in Los Angeles last month. Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Tim Floyd says, 'Security!'

Former USC basketball coach Tim Floyd jumped into a casino food court melee and broke up a fight last Friday. His Good Samaritan efforts were recorded and widely distributed via YouTube.

In an interview today, Floyd told me that when the fists started flying he "waited 20 or 25 seconds for security to come but no one came. I just thought somebody needed to step in and stop things."

Since the video clip went public, Floyd said, "Friends have been calling suggesting I start applying for jobs as a security guard. That was more physical than anything I saw in the Pac-10."

For the full story, jump to my sports media column at latimes.com/sports. Floyd, by the way, settles the question as to whether the man who prevented a woman from hitting Floyd with a chair was indeed Henry Bibby, as Jim Rome has said.

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Tim Floyd from earlier this year. Credit: Spencer AWeiner / Los Angeles Times

Not that they'll admit it but Fox honchos would love Phillies to beat Yankees tonight

Depending on how many pitching changes there are, the Fox network can earn as much as $130 million  from advertising sales for each of the Yankees-Phillies World Series games. So what do you think? Does Fox want the Phillies to win tonight and extend this Series at least to a sixth game in New York?

Well, we wouldn't even ask because, well, of course the answer would be yes. And for more reasons than extra advertising.

This series has been a ratings hit. Game 4 ratings from Sunday showed that an average of 22.8 million watched the Yankees win and take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup. It was the most-watched Game 4 since 2004 (Red Sox-Cardinals).

So far, the Yanks and Phils are up 45% in ratings over last year's Tampa Bay-Philadelphia series (what, you mean the Yankees draw more eyes than the Rays?)

The World Series has also helped Fox to a No. 1 spot in prime-time viewership in that most-coveted of categories -- ages 18 to 49. Any of you who don't fall into that demographic? It apparently doesn't matter what you're watching. Tonight that might be the "Monday Night Football" game on ESPN between Atlanta and New Orleans. Or you could combine NFL and entertainment by catching ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," where the so-far underprepared Michael Irvin keeps getting judges' criticisms but lots of fan votes to keep him dancing. There's other stuff on too I imagine. But there's only so much channel-changing a person can handle.

And, yes, we are aware there is a Kings-Phoenix hockey game on Fox Sports West and a Clippers-Timberwolves game on Fox Sports Prime. But November in the NHL? And Clippers without Blake Griffin and the Wolves without Kevin Love? Even the sublime Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler can't make this game attractive considering the alternatives.

But it will be interesting to see the NFL ratings (on a cable channel) versus the World Series ratings (on over-the-air free television) tomorrow.

-- Diane Pucin

Addition, subtraction for NBA studio shows

ESPN announced Monday that analyst Bill Walton would not return to the cable network though he has one year left on his contract, and NBA TV announced that two-time NBA champion Brent Barry is becoming a studio analyst for the NBA GameTime show on Monday nights. Barry will join host Andre Aldridge and analyst Eric Snow. Among Barry's NBA stops was the Los Angeles Clippers (where he did not win an NBA championship).

NBA TV will take the court for its first week of Tuesday Fan Night with the Lakers @ Thunder match-up, as voted upon by fans on NBA.com. The game will air tomorrow at 5 p.m. with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Chris Webber and Kevin McHale on-hand for studio coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. 

Walton missed portions of the last two season after undergoing surgeries to correct back problems. In a statement released by ESPN, Walton said: "As I return after a grueling multi-year, life-threatening, life-changing ordeal with back problems, it is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service." 

There are so many NBA voices on the air now -- too many it seems sometimes. Whom to listen to? For me, it's been Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on TNT because they're funny, opinionated and informed. Not every game of an almost 10-month season (including playoffs) is important, and they get that. NBA TV seems to have corralled every ex-player with a good suit and an opinion, but standouts? Can't find any yet.

And ESPN just seems to have everybody who can spell NBA on its various shows. Standouts? Um, uh, not anymore. Because Walton was it

Was he a goofball sometimes? Absolutely. But Walton never tried to be cool and trendy. He substituted strong opinions and boundless enthusiasm. He truly loved what he was doing, and his love of the game showed. When I'd call him about something college-related (he was, after all, a rather talented center for UCLA), the conversation would always somehow amble to the (in his mind) superiority of the NBA brand of basketball. It wasn't just a sales pitch. It was Walton's passion. He will be missed.

Still too many voices. But not the right one to lose.

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Bill Walton. Credit: Garrett Elwood, Getty Images.

Don't worry, you haven't missed UCLA football on TV

Because Oregon State wanted its football game against UCLA today in Corvallis to begin at 1 p.m., and because the Pac-10 has a contract with ABC, which chose the California-Arizona State game for its exclusive 12:30-3:30 p.m. schedule window, the Bruins and the Beavers have just begun on Fox Prime Ticket. Even though the game really did begin at 1 p.m.

So while your on-screen cable guide, at least the Cox one, says "New," it's more like "Almost new." And if it is new for you, we'll offer no spoilers here. Watch at your own peril.

-- Diane Pucin

Steve Phillips 'off,' Letterman still working

Apparently ESPN is much tougher on its male employees who mess around with (much younger) female employees than is CBS.

For example David Letterman is still on the air and making Sarah Palin jokes even as news continues to trickle out about his affairs with several female employees of either CBS, which is home to his late-night talk show, or Worldwide Pants, which is Letterman's production company.

Today ESPN baseball analyst and former New York Mets general manager Steve Phillips took a leave of absence from ESPN after the New York Post broke news of Phillips' affair with a young ESPN production assistant who reportedly was repeatedly harassing Phillips' wife and trying to make contact with Phillips' son via Facebook.

According to an ESPN statement, Phillips said, "I am deeply sorry that I have put my family and colleagues through this. It is a personal matter that I will not comment on further. I have, however, asked for a leave of absence to address this with my family and to avoid any unnecessary distractions through the balance of the baseball playoffs."

Baseball ratings up all around

With two teams from the Los Angeles area plus the New York, Boston and Philadelphia markets and baseball-crazy St. Louis in the mix, it's not a surprise that the early television ratings for the 2009 MLB Division Series on TBS are up 15%, according to the Nielsen numbers.

Interestingly, the second game of the Dodgers-Cardinals series earned an 18.3 rating in the St. Louis market and a 6.5 rating in the Los Angeles market. Game 1 of the Angels-Red Sox series had a 13.2 rating in the Boston market and an 8.0 rating in the Los Angeles market.

-- Diane Pucin

Some good camerawork in Dodgers-Cards game

Nice piece of descriptive camerawork on Ronnie Belliard's scoop single to right in the bottom of the fifth.

You could see Chris Carpenter's breaking ball tailing away from Belliard from a center field camera; you could almost immediately see Belliard going with a pitch away from him and take that ball right where it was pitched, to right field. And then a switch to an outfield camera that showed immediately that Cards' right fielder Ryan Ludwick would not get to the ball in time.

-- Diane Pucin

Um, Dodger Stadium wasn't full, Bob

Bob Brenly just spoke glowingly about how this was the first time he's seen Dodger Stadium full at the time of the first pitch.

Except it really wasn't. And it's not even full now, at the top of the fourth inning. Without moving your eyes you could see 14 empty seats behind home plate. So hyperbole doesn't quite work when our high-definition televisions show something else.

Not that anyone should want those low-hanging seats. But even the bleachers aren't full.

-- Diane Pucin

Stop with the barking dogs cliche

Enough already with the barking dogs cliche, please.

Both Bob Brenly and Dick Stockton have talked about "barking dogs" because of a baseball hitting a player's foot in this  Dodgers-St. Louis Cardinals game. The first reference was kind of cringe-inducing. The second? Caused some shouting at the television.

Let's not have a third, guys. It's still only the third inning.

-- Diane Pucin