Pitchers acquire fame, but Yankees are famously famous

From Roy Halladay to Cliff Lee to Tim Lincecum, marquee pitchers abound, but the team that stirs the masses among baseball’s final four is the New York Yankees. …

Love them or hate them, it wouldn’t feel like October without Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and all the rest. …

The elastic Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants seem destined to suffer the same fate as the Dodgers the last two years, falling one rung short of the World Series. …

No offense to the Giants or Lee’s Texas Rangers, but one of baseball’s heavyweights — the Yankees or Halladay’s Philadelphia Phillies — should win its second title in three years. …

The Yankees have won five of their 27 titles in baseball’s wild-card era, but none as a wild card. …

Only the Yankees, not surprisingly, have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated more often than the Lakers, as chronicled in a new book, “Sports Illustrated: The Covers.” …

Tops among individual cover subjects: Michael Jordan. …

For some Lakers fans, watching Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant and Matt Barnes guard the perimeter this season might bring to mind Tom Petty’s chart-topping 1989 hit, “I Won’t Back Down.” …

Sample lyric: “No, I’ll stand my ground, won’t be turned around/And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down/gonna stand my ground … and I won’t back down.” …

Gilbert Arenas, still clueless, has stepped in it again. …

“Now that Michael Vick is injured and can’t compete on Sundays,” comedian Bill Maher suggests, “he must be put down.” …

Belying the notion that defense wins championships, the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys are reeling despite ranking fifth and eighth in the NFL in total defense while the Houston Texans and Washington Redskins share the lead in their divisions despite defenses that rank 31st and 32nd. …

While wondering why Terry Bradshaw has been so outspokenly critical of his boorish behavior, Ben Roethlisberger might want to consider this: Bradshaw is father to two daughters. …

Mark Sanchez has not had a pass intercepted this season. …

Considering that Nevada scored 52 points against California and UCLA scored seven, the Wolfpack’s pistol is to the Bruins’ pistol what Dirty Harry’s is to Barney Fife’s. …

Receiver Alshon Jeffery, who scored two touchdowns for South Carolina on Saturday in its upset of top-ranked Alabama, originally made a verbal commitment to the other USC — the one in Los Angeles — before changing his mind. …

The best place to watch a college football game, according to a Sporting News poll of coaches, former coaches and broadcasters: Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium. …

Runner-up: Notre Dame Stadium. …

The Rose Bowl ranked 10th. …

LaMichael James and Oregon have scored nine more touchdowns than any other major college team. …

In response to ex-agent Josh Luchs’ telling Sports Illustrated he paid more than 30 college players in the 1990s, Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News writes, “When I read that Luchs said one of the players he paid was ex-Bruins quarterback Ryan Fien, I realized why Luchs is a former agent.” …

For whatever reason, those newly printed 2011 Cleveland Cavaliers calendars featuring LeBron James on the cover reportedly are not selling well in Cleveland. …

Jack Johnson of the Kings, revealing what’s on his iPod, tells Sporting News Today, “Pretty much everything … theatre, country, oldies, opera. And of course — Jack Johnson!” …

The Big Ten, in aligning its divisions, came up with a model that would work in the Pac-12: Split up natural rivals but schedule them to meet annually in “crossover” matchups. …

That way, USC and UCLA could continue their rivalry without interruption — as could Oregon and Oregon State, Stanford and Cal, etc. — but still potentially meet in a conference title game. …

To the many readers who offered condolences, Brian Wilson’s beard has not died, but it does appear to be dyed. …

Noting that Apple has patented anti-sexting technology, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert suggests, “ Brett Favre, you’re going to want a Droid.”

jerry.crowe@latimes.com