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B2 THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021 ON THE AIR SCOREBOARD SATURDAY BASKETBALL Men’s college, Ohio St. at Rutgers Men’s college, Richmond at George Mason Men’s college, Alabama at Auburn Men’s college, Miami at NC State Men’s college, St. John’s at Creighton Men’s college, George Washington at St. Bonaventure Men’s college, Texas at West Virginia Men’s college, Mississippi St. at Vanderbilt Men’s college, Rhode Island at VCU Men’s college, Tennessee at Texas A&M Men’s college, Seton Hall at DePaul Men’s college, Fordham at Duquesne Men’s college, Baylor at TCU Men’s college, Washington at California Men’s college, Georgia at Arkansas Men’s college, Connecticut at Butler Men’s college, Texas Tech at Iowa St. Men’s college, Tulane at Houston Men’s college, UNLV at Colorado St. Men’s college, La Salle at Massachusetts Men’s college, Oklahoma at Kansas Men’s college, Kentucky at Florida Men’s college, Washington St. vs. Stanford Men’s college, Oklahoma St. at Kansas St. Men’s college, Santa Clara at Saint Mary’s (Calif.) Women’s college, Iowa at Northwestern Men’s college, USC at Arizona St. Men’s college, Georgetown at Syracuse High school, John Paul II vs. iSchool of Lewisville Men’s college, Gonzaga at Portland Men’s college, LSU at Ole Miss Men’s college, Nevada at San Diego St. Men’s college, UCLA at Arizona High school, CBC vs. Bates Fundamentals Men’s college, Oregon at Utah NBA, Portland at Sacramento FOOTBALL NFL playoffs, Indianapolis at Buffalo NFL playoffs, L.A. Rams at Seattle NFL playoffs, Tampa Bay at Washington HOCKEY College, Michigan at Michigan St. GOLF PGA Tour, Sentry Tournament of Champions Time 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. TV Big Ten CBSSN ESPN2 Root FS1 9 a.m. 10 a.m. 10 a.m. 11 a.m. 11 a.m. 11 a.m. 11 a.m. noon noon 12:30 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 5 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 6 p.m. 6 p.m. 6 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7 p.m. NBCSN ESPN SEC CBSSN ESPN2 FS1 NBCSN ESPN Pac-12 SEC CBSSN ESPN2 ESPNU FS1 NBCSN CBS ESPN Pac-12 ESPN2 CBSSN Big Ten Pac-12 ESPN FS1 Root SEC CBSSN ESPN FS1 Pac-12 NBCSNW 10:05 a.m. 1:40 p.m. 5:15 p.m. CBS FOX NBC 1:30 p.m. 3 p.m. Big Ten Golf SUNDAY SOCCER Italian Serie A, Parma vs. Lazio Mexico Primera, Santos Laguna vs. Cruz Azul BASKETBALL Men’s college, Providence at Xavier Women’s college, Davidson at Rhode Island Women’s college, Florida at Georgia Women’s college, Dayton at George Washington Women’s college, Miami at North Carolina Women’s college, Saint Joseph’s at La Salle Women’s college, Alabama at Vanderbilt Men’s college, Minnesota at Iowa Women’s college, Oregon at California Women’s college, Texas A&M at Arkansas Women’s college, Iowa St. at Texas Tech Men’s college, Cincinnati at Wichita St. Women’s college, South Carolina at Kentucky Men’s college, Indiana at Nebraska Men’s college, Colgate at Boston University Women’s college, Ole Miss at Mississippi St. Men’s college, Loyola-Chicago at Drake Men’s college, Maryland at Illinois FOOTBALL NFL, Baltimore at Tennessee NFL, Chicago at New Orleans NFL, Cleveland at Pittsburgh GOLF PGA Tour, Sentry Tournament of Champions PGA Tour, Sentry Tournament of Champions 5:55 a.m. 5 p.m. ESPN2 FS1 8 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 9 a.m. 10 a.m. 11 a.m. 11 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 5 p.m. FOX CBSSN SEC ESPNU Root CBSSN SEC Big Ten Pac-12 SEC ESPNU ESPN2 ESPN Big Ten CBSSN SEC ESPN2 Big Ten 10:05 a.m. ABC, ESPN 1:40 p.m. CBS 5:15 p.m. NBC 1 p.m. 3 p.m. NBC Golf Listings are the most accurate available. The Bulletin is not responsible for late changes made by TV stations. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Ducks fall to No. 1 Stanford BY JANIE MCCAULEY Associated Press SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Down three key players who are quarantined, road weary No. 1 Stanford needed ev- ery defensive stop down the stretch. Haley Jones had 18 points and six rebounds, and the Cardinal beat No. 11 Oregon 70-63 on Friday. Stanford was playing in Northern Califor- nia for the first time in nearly a month. Francesca Belibi’s three- point play with 17 seconds remaining in the third capped a second decisive 9-0 run that period by the short-handed Cardinal (10-0, 7-0 Pac-12). The game was played at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors’ G League affiliate. Stanford played in Northern California for the first time since Dec. 13, and the Cardi- nal haven’t been able to play or practice on campus since Santa Clara County’s restric- tions on sports came down Nov. 28 and the team left town Dec. 2. Oregon (8-2, 6-2) lost again after it fell out of the top-10 with a home defeat to UCLA that ended the Ducks’ na- tion’s best 27-game winning streak. The Ducks had won the past three against Stanford but have never beaten a top- ranked team. “I’m disappointed, quite frankly,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “I’m proud of the players for how we continued to battle. But I’m disappointed we lost the game. We’ve won this conference three times in a row. We expect to win.” Up next Stanford: Sunday’s game with Oregon State was post- poned because of COVID-19 protocols within the Beavers program. The Cardinal will play next Friday at Utah. Oregon: At Cal on Sunday. MEGA MILLIONS The numbers drawn Friday night are: 3 6 16 18 58 11 x 2 Oregon Lottery results The estimated jackpot is now $520 million. As listed at www.oregonlottery.org and individual lottery websites FOOTBALL NFL playoffs WILD CARD Saturday’s Games Indianapolis at Buffalo, 10:05 a.m. L.A. Rams at Seattle, 1:40 p.m. Tampa Bay at Washington, 5:15 p.m. Sunday’s Games Baltimore at Tennessee, 10:05 a.m. Chicago at New Orleans, 1:40 p.m. Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 5:15 p.m. College Monday’s Game College Football Championship Miami Gardens, Fla. No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 Ohio St., 5 p.m. (ESPN) America’s Line Favorite BILLS SEAHAWKS Bucs Ravens SAINTS STEELERS (Home team in CAPS) ——— NFL Open Current O/U Underdog Saturday Wild-card playoffs 6½ 6 51½ Colts 4½ 3 42½ Rams 7 8½ 44½ WASHINGTON Sunday Wild-card playoffs 3½ 3 55 TITANS 9½ 10 47½ Bears 3½ 6 47½ Browns COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF Monday Favorite Open Current O/U Underdog Alabama 7 8 75½ Ohio State GOLF PGA Tour Sentry Tournament of Champions Scores Friday at Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii Yardage: 7,596; Par: 73 Second Round Harris English 65-67—132 Daniel Berger 69-65—134 Collin Morikawa 69-65—134 Ryan Palmer 67-67—134 Justin Thomas 65-69—134 Xander Schauffele 69-66—135 Brendon Todd 68-67—135 Sungjae Im 67-68—135 Patrick Reed 67-68—135 Dustin Johnson 71-65—136 Jon Rahm 70-66—136 Scottie Scheffler 70-66—136 Bryson DeChambeau 69-67—136 Joaquin Niemann 69-67—136 Carlos Ortiz 69-67—136 Patrick Cantlay 68-68—136 Jason Kokrak, 71-66—137. Billy Horschel, 71-66—137. Webb Simpson, 70-67—137. Brian Gay, 70-67—137. Viktor Hovland, 69-68—137. Marc Leishman, 69-69—138. Richy Werenski, 69-69—138. Martin Laird, 69-69—138. Nick Tay- lor, 67-71—138. Sergio Garcia, 67-71—138. Lanto Griffin, 71-68—139. Kevin Na, 71-68—139. Cam- eron Champ, 71-68—139. Adam Scott, 68-71—139. Robert Streb, 67-72—139. Stewart Cink, 71-69—140. Cameron Smith, 70-70—140. Sebastian Munoz, 75-66—141. Michael Thompson, 73-68—141. Abraham Ancer, 70-71—141. Andrew Landry, 70-71—141. Kevin Kisner, 70-71—141. Tony Finau, 74-68— 142. Hudson Swafford, 73-70—143. Mackenzie Hughes, 73-71—144. Hideki Matsuyama, 73-75—148. BASKETBALL Men’s college PAC-12 CONFERENCE Conference All Games W L Pct W L Pct UCLA 4 0 1.000 8 2 .800 Oregon 3 1 .750 8 2 .800 Stanford 3 1 .750 7 3 .700 Washington St. 2 1 .667 9 1 .900 Southern Cal 2 1 .667 7 2 .778 Arizona 3 2 .600 9 2 .818 Colorado 2 2 .500 8 3 .727 Arizona St. 1 1 .500 4 4 .500 Utah 1 2 .333 4 3 .571 Oregon St. 1 2 .333 5 4 .556 Washington 0 4 .000 1 8 .111 California 0 5 .000 5 7 .417 Thursday’s Late Games Washington St. 71, California 60 UCLA 81, Arizona St. 75, OT Saturday’s Games Washington at California, noon Washington St. vs. Stanford, 2 p.m. Southern Cal at Arizona St., 4 p.m. UCLA at Arizona, 6 p.m. No. 17 Oregon at Utah, 6:30 p.m. Oregon St. at Colorado, ppd. TOP 25 SCORES Friday’s Games No. 3 Villanova vs. Marquette, ppd. Purdue 55, No. 23 Michigan St. 54 Women’s college PAC-12 CONFERENCE Conference All Games W L Pct W L Pct Stanford 7 0 1.000 10 0 1.000 Arizona 6 1 .857 8 1 .889 Washington St. 4 1 .800 6 1 .857 Oregon 6 2 .750 8 2 .800 UCLA 4 2 .667 6 2 .750 Arizona St. 3 3 .500 7 3 .700 Colorado 2 4 .333 4 5 .444 Southern Cal 2 5 .286 4 5 .444 Utah 2 6 .250 3 6 .333 Oregon St. 1 3 .250 3 3 .500 Washington 1 5 .167 4 5 .444 California 0 6 .000 0 9 .000 Friday’s Games No. 1 Stanford 70, No. 11 Oregon 63 Southern Cal 60, Utah 59 Oregon St. at California, ppd. Arizona St. at Washington St., ppd. Colorado at No. 9 UCLA, ppd. No. 7 Arizona at Washington, ppd. Friday’s Boxscore No. 1 Stanford 70, No. 11 Oregon 63 OREGON (8-2) Boley 5-8 0-0 10, Sabally 5-13 0-2 10, Mikesell 3-12 0-0 6, Paopao 5-9 0-0 12, Shelley 0-3 0-0 0, Giomi 0-0 0-0 0, Chavez 1-3 3-4 6, Dugalic 1-3 0-0 2, Parrish 5-11 1-1 14, Scherr 1-4 0-0 3, Watson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 4-7 63. STANFORD (10-0) Belibi 3-9 1-1 7, Hull 1-4 0-0 2, Jones 8-18 2-2 18, Williams 3-13 8-9 14, Wilson 3-4 2-4 11, Prechtel 3-5 0-0 6, Brink 2-4 0-0 4, Van Gytenbeek 3-3 0-0 8. Totals 26-60 13-16 70. Oregon 20 13 14 16 — 63 Stanford 14 18 28 10 — 70 3-Point Goals—Oregon 7-19 (Mikesell 0-3, Paopao 2-3, Shelley 0-1, Chavez 1-2, Dugalic 0-1, Parrish 3-7, Scherr 1-2), Stanford 5-16 (Hull 0-2, Williams 0-6, Wil- son 3-4, Prechtel 0-1, Brink 0-1, Van Gytenbeek 2-2). Assists—Oregon 9 (Shelley 2), Stanford 8 (Hull 3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Oregon 37 (Sabally 4-11), Stanford 39 (Brink 3-6). Total Fouls—Oregon 18, Stanford 7. Technical Fouls—None. A—0. Sunday’s Games No. 7 Arizona at Washington St., 11 a.m. No. 11 Oregon at California, 1 p.m. Utah at No. 9 UCLA, 1 p.m. Oregon St. at No. 1 Stanford, ppd. Arizona St. at Washington, ppd. Monday’s Game Colorado at Southern Cal, noon NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct Phila. 7 2 .778 Indiana 6 2 .750 Boston 7 3 .700 Orlando 6 3 .667 Milwaukee 5 3 .625 New York 5 4 .556 Brooklyn 5 4 .556 Cleveland 5 4 .556 Atlanta 4 4 .500 Charlotte 4 5 .444 Chicago 4 5 .444 Miami 3 4 .429 Detroit 2 7 .222 Washington 2 7 .222 Toronto 1 6 .143 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct L.A. Clippers 6 3 .667 Phoenix 6 3 .667 L.A. Lakers 6 3 .667 Dallas 4 4 .500 Utah 4 4 .500 Golden State 4 4 .500 Portland 4 4 .500 San Antonio 4 4 .500 Sacramento 4 4 .500 Oklahoma City 4 4 .500 New Orleans 4 5 .444 Houston 3 4 .429 Denver 3 5 .375 Minnesota 2 6 .250 Memphis 2 6 .250 Thursday’s Late Games Portland 135, Minnesota 117 San Antonio 118, L.A. Lakers 109 Dallas 124, Denver 117, OT Friday’s Games Detroit 110, Phoenix 105, OT Oklahoma City 101, New York 89 Boston 116, Washington 107 Charlotte 118, New Orleans 110 Houston 132, Orlando 90 Brooklyn at Memphis, late Utah at Milwaukee, late Chicago at L.A. Lakers, late L.A. Clippers at Golden State, late Toronto at Sacramento, late GB — ½ ½ 1 1½ 2 2 2 2½ 3 3 3 5 5 5 GB — — — 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 2 2 2½ 3½ 3½ Seahawks Getting better Whether or not Goff plays, Lasorda Continued from B1 “When people are in the cemetery visiting their loved ones, they’ll say, ‘Let’s go to Lasorda’s grave and see if the Dodgers are playing today.’” Fans will have to wait a few months to do that, but Lasor- da’s tombstone figures to be a popular gathering place before games. He was true Dodger royalty and, along with Vin Scully, one of the last remaining bridges between Ebbets Field and Dodger Stadium. Now he’s gone, even as Vinny mourns the passing of his wife earlier in the week. “There will never be any- body like Tommy Lasorda,’’ said Steve Brener, the public re- lations director for the Dodgers during Lasorda’s reign. ”He was like a second father to me.’’ If, in the end, the measure of a man’s life may be found in the number of stories told about him, Lasorda lived a life way beyond his 93 years. He fought the Phillie Phan- atic on the field after the mas- cot dared to disparage his be- loved Dodgers, and traded punches with the hated Giants Thursday’s Late Boxscore Trail Blazers 135, Timberwolves 117 MINNESOTA (117) Culver 3-6 0-0 7, Hernangomez 3-8 4-4 12, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Beasley 3-13 3-4 12, Russell 9-16 5-6 26, Layman 2-4 0-0 4, McDaniels 1-3 0-0 3, Reid 4-7 4-7 13, Vanderbilt 4-7 2-3 10, Edwards 9-21 5-7 26, Nowell 1-3 0-0 2, Rubio 0-4 2-2 2. Totals 39-93 25-33 117. PORTLAND (135) Covington 1-4 0-0 3, Jones Jr. 3-4 2-2 9, Nurkic 8-10 1-2 17, Lillard 13-21 6-7 39, McCollum 6-14 4-4 20, Anthony 4-9 0-0 9, Giles III 1-3 0-0 3, Elleby 1-1 2-2 4, Hood 1-6 0-0 2, Little 1-1 0-0 2, Trent Jr. 2-7 3-4 9, Kanter 5-5 0-0 10, Blevins 0-0 0-0 0, Simons 3-5 1-2 8. Totals 49-90 19-23 135. Minnesota 29 27 24 37 — 117 Portland 28 47 36 24 — 135 3-Point Goals—Minnesota 14-41 (Beasley 3-6, Rus- sell 3-7, Edwards 3-10, Hernangomez 2-5, Culver 1-3, McDaniels 1-3, Reid 1-3, Layman 0-2), Portland 18-41 (Lillard 7-12, McCollum 4-9, Trent Jr. 2-5, Jones Jr. 1-2, Simons 1-2, Covington 1-3, Anthony 1-4, Hood 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Minnesota 48 (Van- derbilt 10), Portland 44 (Kanter, Lillard, Nurkic 7). As- sists—Minnesota 24 (Rubio 10), Portland 25 (Lillard 7). Total Fouls—Minnesota 19, Portland 23. DEALS Transactions BASEBALL Major League Baseball American League SEATTLE MARINERS — Agreed to terms with LHP Roenis Elias, 3B Jantzen Witte and RHP Paul Sewald to minor league contracts. FOOTBALL National Football League BUFFALO BILLS — Promoted WR Duke Williams and OL Jordan Devey to the active roster. CLEVELAND BROWNS — Placed S Jovante Moffatt on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Activated C Javon Patterson from the practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list. DENVER BRONCOS — Claimed LB Natrez Patrick off waivers from LA Rams. GREEN BAY PACKERS — Signed WR Chris Blair, S Innis Gaines and LB Ray Wilborn to reserve/future contracts for the 2021 season. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Promoted OT Jared Veldheer and RB Darius Anderson to the active roster. LOS ANGELES RAMS — Activated DL Michael Brockers from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Placed RB Raymond Calais on injured reserve. MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Announced the contract of senior defensive assistant Dom Capers will not be renewed. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Activated S C.J. Gard- ner-Johnson from the reserve/COVID-19 list. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Signed CB Kevon Seymour to a reserve/futures contract for the 2021 season. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Promoted RB Alex Collins to the active roster. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Promoted CB Herb Miller, DL Benning Potoa’e, LB Deone Bucannon and OL Ted Larson to the active roster. Waived LB Chapelle Russell. WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Promoted WR Don- trelle Inman to the active roster. “I miss the stadium shaking literally on the field while you’re standing there,” Wilson said. Continued from B1 Seattle (12-4) will be hosting a playoff game for the first time since January 2017, the last time the Seahawks claimed the NFC West title. They were carried to the division title this season not by an otherworldly season from Russell Wilson, although he was very good. But it was Seattle’s defense making a 180-degree flip from the beginning of the season that led the Seahawks’ late charge. Seattle allowed just 16 points per game over the final eight games, the best in the league. The Seahawks had 37 of their 46 sacks for the season over the final 10 games. If Seattle is going to make a run in the postseason, Wilson will play his role. But how long the Seahawks stay around will be determined by Jamal Adams, Bobby Wagner and others. “We’ve got to make it our mission to do the same thing,” Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright said. “We had a great game against them two weeks ago and so we’ve got to make it our mis- sion to repeat that and have an- other successful game.” Saturday’s Games Denver at Phila., noon Atlanta at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Miami at Washington, 4 p.m. Phoenix at Indiana, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. San Antonio at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Orlando at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Portland at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Ross D. Franklin/AP Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright (50) and defensive end L.J. Col- lier (91) celebrate a stop against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona. Getting defensive The Rams’ defense was the best in the NFL by most statisti- cal measures this season, finish- ing tops in both total yards al- lowed and points allowed while boasting the No. 1 pass defense as well. Those numbers aren’t tremendous comfort against the Seahawks, who have already seen this defense twice. The Se- ahawks are averaging 27 points per game in the Rams’ last three visits to Seattle. the Rams should be getting even more help for their flag- ging offense, which hasn’t scored a touchdown in two games. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth plans to return af- ter being out since he tore lig- aments in his knee during the Seahawks’ visit two months ago. Cooper Kupp, the Rams’ leader in receptions and yards receiving, also should be back in the lineup after missing last week’s game on the reserve/ COVID-19 list. Whitworth could provide a boost to an of- fensive line that struggled in the run game last week. Home-field advantage? Seattle has won 10 straight home playoff games. Its last home postseason loss came in 2004 when the Seahawks fell to the Rams 27-20 in a wild-card game. But this will be a playoff game unlike any of the rest, with Seattle’s notorious home fans absent due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Seahawks have played the entire home slate without fans and went 7-1, their best home record since 2016. Seattle was a com- bined 14-10 at home between 2017-19. Catching on While DK Metcalf and Ty- ler Lockett had a record-setting season for Seattle, neither has found much success against the Rams. The pair each had a combined eight catches over the two games against LA this sea- son. Going back to last season after cornerback Jalen Ramsey was acquired, neither receiver has found the end zone in three games. Wilson’s only TD pass against the Rams since Ramsey’s arrival came in the fourth quarter two weeks ago when he hit tight end Jacob Hollister, a graduate of Bend’s Mountain View High, for the clinching score. at Candlestick Park. He won one World Series with a ragtag team that probably didn’t even deserve to be in it, then sum- moned Gibson out of the club- house to help him win a second. In between he engaged in clubhouse rants, feasted on la- sagna in his office with Frank Sinatra and gave his opinion to anyone who asked — and even those who didn’t. The tapes of his postgame rants about Kurt Bevacqua and Dave Kingman are underground classics that will live in baseball lore forever. So, Tommy, what did you think about Kingman hitting three home runs against the Dodgers? “What’s my opinion of King- man’s performance? What the (expletive) do you think my opinion is of it? I think it was (expletive). Put that in I don’t (expletive) care,’’ he said. “What’s my opinion of his per- formance? (expletive). He beat us with three (expletive) home runs. What the (expletive) do you mean? What is my opin- ion of his performance? How can you ask me a question like that?” Lasorda spent 71 seasons with the Dodgers, earning his first World Series ring in 1955 as a pitcher in Brooklyn. He was a better manager than a pitcher, leading the Dodgers to four World Series and win- ning two of them. For the last 14 years of his life he was a spe- cial adviser to the team, sitting in his seat next to the Dodger dugout at every home game, of- ten with Don Newcombe and others beside him. Brener, who talked on the phone to Lasorda’s wife, Jo, on Thursday before he suffered his fatal heart attack, remembered him as both a master motiva- tor and a masterful promoter who reveled in the celebrity scene around him. The Hol- lywood elite loved him back, making a path toward Lasorda’s clubhouse office at Dodger Sta- dium, where there was always plenty of food to go along with the laughs. Sinatra was a pal and prom- ised Lasorda he would sing the national anthem at opening day if he got the Dodger mana- gerial job. Sure enough, Sinatra was at home plate delivering the tune when the Dodgers opened in 1977. “Nobody has to tell Frank Sinatra he is a good singer and nobody has to tell me that I am a good manager,’’ Lasorda said. But it wasn’t all about win- ning games and hanging out with Sinatra, Dean Martin and Don Rickles after the games. Lasorda had time for everyone. Brener recalled going to a hospital in San Francisco once with Lasorda, who had gotten a letter from a family whose son was in a coma. “The parents are there and Tommy goes in and starts mo- tivating the kid, telling him to wake up and that he was going to be the bat boy for the Dodg- ers,’’ Brener said. ”Well, this kid came out of the coma and the next year Tommy introduces me to the kid at Candlestick Park and says this is the kid I talked to in the hospital. The kid rebounded and was our batboy. It was the most incredi- ble thing I had ever seen.’’ If the stories are legendary, so was the manager. He was faith- ful to his team, and always true to himself even if he didn’t suf- fer fools easily. Still, even those who didn’t see things so Blue will agree on this: For 71 years baseball was a better game because Tommy Lasorda was in it.