Kobe Bryant is the ultimate cleanup hitter for the Lakers

Cool, calm and consistently at his best in the clutch, Kobe Bryant is the Andre Ethier of the Lakers. . . .

Or maybe it’s the other way around? . . .

Spring training only just started and already Frank McCourt and the Dodgers are hyping the New York Yankees’ June 25-27 visit to Dodger Stadium, signposts on Southland bus stops proclaiming it “the rivalry renewed” and the Dodgers making tickets available only to fans who shell out for at least 13 other games. . . .

Actually, Mike Scioscia and the Angels in recent years have had a more interesting rivalry with Derek Jeter & Co., whose regular visits to Angel Stadium have included three in October. . . .

If the Dodgers fall flat this season, Manny Ramirez might not be around past the trading deadline, much less next year. . . .

The Angels last season were the only team in the majors that did not hit a grand slam, and none of Hideki Matsui’s 28 homers with the Yankees came with the bases loaded either. . . .

Mediocrity in the Pacific 10 Conference might be a blessing in disguise for next month’s conference tournament at Staples Center: The annual event actually means something this time, with only the winner assured of reaching the NCAA tournament. . . .

Since point guard Mike Gerrity became eligible in mid-December, USC’s RPI has jumped from 185 to 77. . . .

Transfers Drew Viney and Vernon Teel have sparked a remarkable turnaround at Loyola Marymount, where the Lions are 15-13 with victories over USC, Notre Dame and Gonzaga after winning only three of 31 games a season ago. . . .

Nobody saw this coming: John Daly, underwear model. . . .

The San Diego Chargers owned the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL draft, traded it to the Atlanta Falcons for a package that included the No. 5 pick and used the lower pick to draft LaDainian Tomlinson. . . .

The Falcons took Michael Vick. . . .

LT, by the way, was a sophomore backup on the Texas Christian team that upset Carson Palmer and USC in the 1998 Sun Bowl. . . .

Dan Levy of the Sporting News, on the Golf Writers Assn. of America’s boycotting of Tiger Woods’ tightly controlled, no-questions-allowed news conference: “Are the members of the GWAA so fed up with one guy thinking he runs their sport that they lost sight of the fact that he actually does?” . . .

Even the National Enquirer is caught up in the hype surrounding Danica Patrick, claiming in a story this week that the NASCAR neophyte and mentor Dale Earnhardt Jr. are feuding. . . .

Perhaps more surprising than two Penn State graduates paying $9,000 at a charity auction for Joe Paterno’s signature thick-rimmed glasses is that Paterno, after surgery to correct his nearsightedness, no longer needs them. . . .

Twenty-five years ago this week, Jim Kelly of the Houston Gamblers passed for a USFL-record 574 yards in a victory over the Los Angeles Express at the Coliseum, the same stadium where Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams passed for a still-standing NFL record of 554 yards in 1951. . . .

Shaun White, asked by comedian Stephen Colbert why figure skaters, unlike snowboarders, often burst into tears when their scores are announced, “I imagine that they’ve got to be sit-

ting there like, ‘I wore this outfit and I still didn’t win?’ ” . . .

Apolo Anton Ohno is no Eric Heiden, whose five gold medals at the 1980 Lake Placid Games may never be topped. . . .

Former UCLA catcher and Dodgers infielder Todd Zeile was born in Van Nuys on Sept. 9, 1965, the same day Sandy Koufax pitched his perfect game at Dodger Stadium. . . .

Bob Costas ranks Al Michaels’ memorable line -- “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” -- among the top three calls in sports broadcasting history along with Russ Hodges’ “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” and Jack Buck’s description of Kirk Gibson’s famous World Series home run, “I don’t believe what I just saw.” . . .

Locally, many favor Vin Scully’s call of the Gibson homer: “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.” . . .

Reader thoughts are welcome.

jerome.crowe@latimes.com