Our Work

Robyn Norwood on Curtis Brinkley's fight back to football

Robyn Norwood has this nice piece on Philly.com (Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News) about football player Curtis Brinkley and his fight to make the San Diego Chargers' roster after being shot in an apparent case of mistaken identity. From her story:

"It was tough, mentally and physically," he said. "More mentally. I would dream about me being shot, and from time to time I would hear, just the shots. It just messes with you mentally. But I'm strong. Nothing messed with me more than me losing my father. I lost my father, Curtis Brinkley Sr., in '05. November 19."

Memories of his father, who died of lymphoma, made Brinkley's close call more poignant. His son, Elijah, was born in February and lives in Philadelphia with his mother.

"Just knowing I was in a position where my son, it was a possibility he would grow up without a father," Brinkley said. "It's beautiful to have a chance to be with him."

Robyn Norwood on John Wooden's favorite breakfast spot

Our Robyn Norwood, a longtime sportswriter for the LA Times, has this piece on FoxSports.com on a visit to legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden's favorite breakfast spot in Tarzana, California. Wooden, an icon in Southern California, died this week at age 99. From her story:

They began trickling into Vip’s Family Restaurant in Tarzana before 8 a.m. Saturday, the regular customers with their canes, a lawyer in a Bruins T-shirt, a family wearing UCLA caps.

Around the time John Wooden used to sit down for breakfast at his favored Table 2, owner Paul Ma and his wife Lucy placed a vase of yellow roses, a photo of Wooden and a copy of the Los Angeles Times with news of the former UCLA coach’s passing in the booth, now a shrine to their most famous regular.

“He liked the No. 2 special: bacon, scrambled eggs, English muffin,” Ma said. “At the beginning, Coach always liked hot tea. So many memories… I always put the honey out for Coach, and I would squeeze the honey for him.

“He was a great man.”

Robyn Norwood spends a day at the races

Sports writer Robyn Norwood, who freelances regularly for ESPN.com, went to the lovely Santa Anita Park race track the other day to watch the return of a champion, Zenyatta. From her story:

The 6-year-old mare who won the Breeders' Cup Classic last fall -- the first female horse to claim it -- was racing for the first time since, only months after owners Jerry and Ann Moss said they planned to retire her, changed their minds. 

Pulling off another of her trademark last-to-first runs Saturday, Zenyatta came away a winner for the 15th time in 15 races, winning the $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational by 1¼ lengths without feeling Smith's whip.

Someone asked trainer John Shirreffs if Zenyatta was better than before. 

"That's hard to say," he said. "How can you be better than perfect?"

Robyn Norwood on Olympic medals, and the NHL stars who won them

Our Robyn Norwood has a piece in the Los Angeles Times examining the return of gold and silver Olympic hockey medalists to their regular jobs -- playing in the National Hockey League. From her story: 

 Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and forward Dustin Brown, both silver medalists on the U.S. team, stepped onto the rink at the Kings' practice facility in El Segundo Monday morning by 10 — about 19 hours after Canada won the gold in overtime in Vancouver. 

The pair rode the bus back to the Olympic Village after the game, caught a cab that took them to a car they had reserved and then rode to Bellingham, Wash., where they caught a Sunday evening flight that got them home by 11.

After practice Monday, they boarded a flight to Dallas, where the Kings play the Stars on Tuesday night. Canadian defenseman Drew Doughty — the first active King ever to win a gold medal — and U.S. defenseman Jack Johnson were meeting the team in Texas. 

"I got a chance to sleep in my bed for at least one night," said Brown, the Kings' captain. "Last night was the biggest game of my career. The outcome was not what I wanted, but it was definitely a lifetime experience for me. It's going to be difficult to flip the switch, but I'm sure I'll find a way to do it."

Scott Martelle on bicycles, and pedals as weapons

Member Scott Martelle, who works parttime as Los Angeles correspondent for Aol News, has a couple of fresh pieces revolving around bikes.

 The first is a look at efforts in Los Angeles to expand rights for cyclists after the "bike rage" incident that sent a local doctor to prison for up to five years. And the second is a short bit on a recent state Supreme Court decision. From Martelle's piece:

The California Supreme Court today struck a blow for bicyclist footrest-carriers everywhere, ruling that they are not, in fact, the same thing as a pair of brass knuckles.