You Have to Go Fast to Keep Up With Him

Bouncing here and there around the Los Angeles area, while also reminding ESPN there is life west of Denver....

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I WAS on my way to Fontana and the California Speedway for the qualifying run for today’s Championship Auto Racing Teams Toyota 500 when I heard Tony Kanaan took the pole position at 232.01 mph -- only 42.01 mph faster than what my daughter had been clocked by the California Highway Patrol on Interstate 15 recently. I’ve seen the Grocery Store Bagger, so there’s no need to hurry home.

“I was only going 90 mph; not 190,” the daughter said, and she told the same thing to the CHP officer, and can’t figure out why he gave her a ticket.

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I WENT to the Clipper-Laker game Friday night at Staples Center to see how Kobe Bryant would respond to an ESPN.com story calling Bryant “uncoachable,” and came away once again impressed with Bryant’s maturity.

Charley Rosen, who wrote a book with Phil Jackson, apparently took an informal and implied off-the-record conversation with assistant coach Tex Winter and made a story out of it condemning Bryant.

Jackson called it “irresponsible journalism,” and because Rosen didn’t make an appearance at the news conference, I relayed Jackson’s comment to him.

“[Winter] still said those things,” Rosen said, and I said that doesn’t mean he’s still not a journalist being irresponsible. Rosen didn’t disagree. That was too late to save Bryant from having to defend himself, which he did with honesty, eloquence and then with one of the best on-court performances of his career.

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I ASKED Jackson if he’d be writing his next book with Rosen, and he said he’s doing it himself. I asked what he intended to call it, and he said, “Four Play.” He might have also said, “Fore Play,” or “Foreplay.” I can’t be sure because I didn’t ask him how to spell it, or who might be writing the forward in this new page turner.

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IN WHAT must be considered landmark TV for ESPN, the network has decided to acknowledge the West Coast and include a sports columnist from The Times when “Around the Horn” makes its debut Monday at 2 p.m. (ESPN rejected the idea of naming the sports rant, which features four shouting columnists and a screaming young host, “The SIMERS Show.”)

I predicted the show might be canceled after Day 1, but to prevent this, ESPN has asked The Times columnist to stay off camera Tuesday and Wednesday -- in what insiders are calling a move to maintain quality control.

This will also allow ESPN to resume regular East Coast bias programming without a West Coast presence on the screen -- making this show no different from most ESPN presentations.

ESPN, based in Connecticut, already features the “Sports Reporters,” which is based in New York featuring East Coast reporters talking about the Yankees; “Sports Reporters II,” based in New York and featuring East Coast broadcasters talking about the Yankees; “Pardon the Interruption,” based in Washington and featuring two Washington Post writers talking about Michael Jordan; and now “Around the Horn,” based in Washington featuring host Max Kellerman, who has never been farther west than Pennsylvania.

I hope to provide ESPN with a map so it can find its way to the land of champions, which already includes the Angels, Lakers, Galaxy and Sparks. I’ve got so much to say about the Sparks, but I’m being held back.

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THE TROJANS unveiled a Heisman Trophy campaign featuring Carson Palmer leading into a week in which he wasn’t playing. That’s probably a good idea.

USC’s Heisman campaign says: “The critics are raving about the Carson show,” quoting Coach Pete Carroll: “He’s got to be one of the best quarterbacks in America.” That was news to me: I had no idea Carroll had been one of his critics.

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UCLA COACH Bob Toledo has a little Steve Lavin in him -- just when you think you’ve got him down, it’s time to sing his praises.

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AS A public service, I’d like to say to anyone who wants to invite sports enthusiast and comedian George Lopez to play in a pro-am golf tournament -- don’t. Watch “The George Lopez Show” on ABC Wednesdays because it’s hilarious. Catch one of his stand-up routines. Invite him to the pro-am dinner. But do not find yourself standing in the same zip code or nearby area codes when he’s hitting a golf ball.

We played at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, and if someone’s car got hit on Verdugo Road around 11:14 a.m., “Be sure to bring your receipt from Bob’s World of Windshields if you want me to pay for it,” Lopez said. I guess he has done this before.

Lopez, who grew up a die-hard Dodger fan and who fashions himself an athlete despite the bowler’s physique, is going to appear Nov. 11 on “Best Damn Sports Show Period!” Which means it will be safe to drive down Verdugo again.

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ACTRESS SANDRA Bullock gave Lopez his big TV shot, and producer Frank Pace keeps the show running smoothly, while also playing golf with Lopez when no one else will. Pace invited Steve Garvey, Rod Carew, Jim Palmer and Joe Morgan to appear as bobblehead dolls on a recent show. I was invited to the set to watch the proceedings, so Bullock left town.

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I WENT to Santa Anita for the California Cup on Saturday to interview jockey Julie Krone, riding now after retiring three years ago, but was told I’d have to wait until she finished showering and got ready. Even though it might be a couple of days, I’ll let you know when I get the chance to talk to her.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.