L.A. Benched / Week 10 : Coming Soon, to a Stadium Near You?

At age 82, Lew R. Wasserman is the patriarch of Hollywood with a career that dates back to 1936 when he joined the Music Corp. of America.

A former talent agent who worked with such figures as Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg, Wasserman and colleague Sidney J. Sheinberg built MCA Inc. into one of the world’s biggest entertainment concerns that includes Universal Pictures, the Universal Studios theme parks and MCA Music.

Never one to reveal much publicly, Wasserman has kept quiet about his interest in an NFL franchise. But sources close to him suggest that one of the reasons behind his interest is that he is intrigued about going into business with his grandson, Casey, as partners in the club.

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* At 1 p.m. in Los Angeles it was 67 degrees with winds (hey, don’t forget that all important wind chill factor, folks) at seven m.p.h. out of the west, a chance of precipitation, but no chance of professional football.

* On this day in 1978, the Rams, en route to their sixth consecutive NFC Western Division title, improved their record to 8-2 with a 26-23 victory over Tampa Bay.

* The silver lining: This season, teams are 14-7 in games immediately after a bye week, and have won 70% of their games since bye weeks were first instituted. That should translate to two or three undefeated seasons for Los Angeles’ next team after these bye years end.

* During the season’s second half , The Times will profile people who could play a role in returning the NFL to Los Angeles.