Los Angeles Times Columnists

BALTIMORE — Horse racing's Preakness is a place of history and a bubble of hope. If you come here with a Kentucky Derby victory under your belt, as trainer Shug McGaughey and Orb have, you have little time to appreciate that history. You are...

CHICAGO — When the Angels got Josh Hamilton following the Dodgers' signing of Zack Greinke, owner Arte Moreno emerged from hiding, took a bow and told everyone: "Think about how much fun it's going to be. Dodger fans and Angels fans get to argue...

It's beginning to look like there's nothing Wendy Greuel wouldn't do to become the next mayor of Los Angeles. Her boatload of big-money backers seems fond of trash-talking gibes so slimy, they're apt to backfire and turn voters off. -------------------...

Whatever Mike Scioscia is being paid to manage the Angels, it isn't enough. He has to watch them play every game. And as bad and disappointing as they have been, going on four years now, it's baseball. Have you tried watching it recently? Have you...

RATHOLE, Tenn. — Made it. Got a ride back to the hotel Thursday night after the Clippers' collapse, the final 10 yards covered on foot in a dash to the door. It was touch and go, but bravery won out. On Friday, there was daylight here. So I took...

AUGUSTA, Ga. — In the aftermath of Friday's controversial slow-play penalty at the Masters, there were many dueling opinions. We'll go with "Bravo, John Paramor." He is the rules official from England, affectionately (or otherwise) known as Big...

Washington's tug of war over the federal budget has many wonders, but the biggest one of all must be the lengths to which politicians and pundits will go to deprive Granny and Grandpa of $30 a month. That's the amount by which benefits for the average...

It's fun for mayoral candidates to imagine eliminating potholes or building new trains to link the Valley to the Westside. It's not hard to support a spiffed-up LAX (really, what's hard to believe is that it's taken this long) or legions of new police...

The time has come to put the Medical Board of California out of its misery. The board oversees the licensing of doctors and their discipline for misdeeds or incompetence. It also has jurisdiction over doctor-owned surgical clinics. Long ago the board...

Chris Arreola is a boxer who would wear his emotions on his sleeve. That is, if there were any room. The massive arms that the Riverside boxer hopes will carry him back into the heavyweight title picture are covered with tattoos. The muscles ripple...

The Clippers have now sold out 92 straight home games with Saturday night's playoff victory in Staples Center. I have always thought it fascinating that there are 19,060 Clippers fans in all of Southern California and every one of them goes to every home...

The complaint I hear most often about this race for mayor of Los Angeles is that the candidates, Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilman Eric Garcetti, spend too much time talking in generalities without providing details about what they'd do. But when...