MINI-PLAYOFF: After a week off, the Los...

MINI-PLAYOFF: After a week off, the Los Angeles Rams return to action today against somebody they don’t see very often: the Denver Broncos. The two teams, both in danger of falling completely out of playoff contention with 3-5 records, have played only six times. Denver won their first meeting in 1972, in Los Angeles, and their last, in 1988, at Mile High Stadium. . . . Today is a rubber match of sorts; the series is tied at three victories apiece.

THE VOTING WALL: While most voters may be thinking about Proposition 187, or the gubernatorial or Senate races, in tiny Rossmoor, near Seal Beach, they’ve got to worry about their wall. The high wall surrounding the unincorporated community is suffering from serious earthquake damage. . . . Problem is, no one seems to know which government entity should be responsible for repairing it. Rossmoor voters will decide Tuesday whether to assign the task to their own community services district, plus whether to bump their taxes up $15 a year for wall repairs and maintenance.

CHALLENGING: Don’t try to tell Chapman University professor Mark Maier that the Challenger space shuttle explosion eight years ago was an accident. Maier, whose expertise is leadership organization, is the producer of a video documentary on the disaster now used worldwide at 600 institutions. . . . “It could and should have been prevented,” he says. “There were warning signs dating back years.” Maier talks about it at a free event on campus Thursday night.

BABY RUNNER: Alex Nackoul of Santa Ana has never run a marathon. The South County mortgage banker figures he’ll start with the biggest of all--so he’s in Manhattan today for the 25th New York City Marathon. He’s been training since March. . . . His reason: “My wife and I are awaiting our first child and it dawned on me that I’d better get in shape, so I can keep pace.” Another reason: His wife Karen signed him up without telling him.