Makes You Wonder What They Have for Sale at the 76 Cents Only Store

Earlier this week, several readers asserted that a 99 Cents Only ad (see accompanying) was redundant, pointing out that a broom is obviously perfect for sweeping.

I suspect they were not sports fans and therefore were unfamiliar with the term “sweep”--meaning, for one team to win a series without losing a game.

Of course, inasmuch as the Lakers succumbed ingloriously to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first game of the NBA finals, the joke in the ad has been rendered inoperative.

Unless . . .

The ambiguous language could be interpreted in a different way--that the Lakers will be swept by the 76ers.

The $1 Only Candidate: With Mayor Riordan out of office, L.A. is going to take a financial hit in one respect.

You’ll recall that Riordan, the millionaire businessman, served at City Hall for $1 a year. His successor, James K. Hahn, will have the other $153,999 of the salary restored to the paycheck.

When I first phoned Hahn’s office to ask whether he’d continue the $1-a-year tradition, one staffer scoffed: “If he had $100 million, he might.”

Time for a recount: Not to quibble, but Riordan, in the manner of politicians, was exaggerating when he said he worked for a buck per annum.

As the enclosed statement shows, he made 4 cents per pay period--or $1.04 a year (see accompanying).

You’ll notice also that his entire salary was eaten up in federal taxes.

OK, can you tell me what day it is? I was charmed to see that in his new book, “The 101 Best Bars of Los Angeles,” author Frank Mulvey uses an anecdote about a stuffy waiter that appeared in this column.

Years ago, when a diner at Musso and Frank, the landmark Hollywood eatery, “asked a passing garcon for the time, the waiter responded, ‘Sorry, you’re not my table.’ ”

Acting like a baby: The police log of the Los Alamitos News-Enterprise reported that “a 911 call revealed faint background noises, baby sounds and the phone being banged around as if it had been accidentally dialed by the infant.”

Say no more: The police log also carried a complaint about a resident who was allegedly “slamming doors and intentionally causing his dogs to bark under a neighbor’s bedroom window. But the neighbor feared the man ‘because he is a postal worker.’ ”

miscelLAny:

I must praise the spirit of those fans who have Laker flags attached to their vehicles.

Since the team’s crushing loss to Philadelphia, I haven’t seen one flag hanging at half-mast.

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.