NEW DEFENSE? Those flu shots for the...

NEW DEFENSE? Those flu shots for the Mighty Ducks players brought a small heap of publicity to the Visiting Nurse Assn. of Orange County. The same nurses are back with their needles again--on Thursday they’ll immunize the entire Rams football team. . . . Fans needn’t worry about any players on the Rams, who play in New Orleans today (C2), having a bad reaction to the shots. The Rams--with their bye week the next Sunday--don’t play again until Nov. 6.

LATE-INNING STRETCH: Who says major league baseball players aren’t playing ball? There’s a game Saturday, Nov. 5, on the spacious grounds at Anaheim Hills’ Canyon Acres Residential Center for troubled youth. And playing with the youngsters at a dedication event for a new building there: Jim Abbott, the former California Angels pitcher now with the New York Yankees. . . . Abbott was highly active in charity events here before being traded two years ago. Also playing: former Angel shortstop Rick Burleson.

WINE INCLUDED: Silent auctions often produce unique offers. At a major cancer fund-raiser for the Wellness Community tonight at Antonello Ristorante in Santa Ana, bachelor Antonio Cagnolo offers up . . . himself. Top bidder wins a date with Cagnolo on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. . . . There is an added perk: He’ll take you to dinner at one of the county’s best-known Italian restaurants, Antonello--which he happens to own.

BETTER READING: The country’s magazine publishers begin four days of fun and idea-trading at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Dana Point today. And they have no shortage of household names to help them do it. . . . Monday it’s entertainment mogul Barry Diller. Tuesday’s lineup includes O.J. Simpson lawyer Johnnie Cochran--pending court matters--plus author and former columnist Anna Quindlen. . . . And Wednesday’s grand finale: Warren Beatty, scheduled to talk about Hollywood and the media.