Rough Week for the Gov.: First Dissed by Voters, Then by ESPN

As the Sacramento Kings were being routed 107-91 by the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, an ESPN broadcaster observed that there hadn’t “been a beating this bad in Sacramento since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s last night.”

Take me out to the Fox promo: Columnist David Allen reports that, on a “Simpsons” episode about the World Series, an electronic sign behind the batter showed the Fox logo and the word “Pomona.” The game commentator said: “And next week on Fox, check out the new ‘O.C.’ spinoff, ‘Pomona.’ It’s even hotter away from the beach!”

“It sure is,” Allen commented in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

“Smoggier, too.”

The show was parodying the practice of its parent Fox network of making World Series commentators promote Fox programming.

I dunno, maybe “Pomona” would be a hit, though. Remember when Carol Burnett starred in the miniseries “Fresno”?

Or maybe Pomona isn’t ready for the big time: A viewer told the media website ronfineman.com that during the on-air auditions of KTLA-TV Channel 5 for a new weatherperson, he heard two people mispronounce Pomona as “Ponoma.”

Meanwhile, in the O.C.: Karl Pagel of Anaheim noticed that a local company that sells “treats” was, in a manner of speaking, tricked by whoever printed up the labels on its bags of cashews (see accompanying).

I beg your pardon! An awkward juxtaposition of signs caught the eye of Jim Armstrong of Placentia (see photo).

And farther south: “Reserved parking for drivers under 5,” Phil Pryde of San Diego captioned a shot he took at Point Loma Nazarene University (see photo).

Professional driver -- don’t try this yourself: The Los Alamitos News-Enterprise’s crime log said a La Palma resident complained “that a driver had run over a flower bed and then parked in their driveway. It turned out to be a pizza delivery person who was lost.”

miscelLAny: For our Duh! item of the day, Marilyn Stein of Pacific Palisades found this helpful hint on a yard tool: “To achieve the best performance from your shrub rake, place the head of the rake in front of the debris and always pull toward you.”

Study those instructions, readers. You’ll be tested on them next week.

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, 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.