Etc...

NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT

For the sake of argument, let's say you wanted to steal a car. You probably wouldn't pick one with other people in it, though, right – especially if they were martial arts experts? But that's what a would-be thief did in Hollywood, Calif. He approached a minivan carrying members of a judo team who were in town to teach a self-defense course. First, he demanded cash, then tried to take over the vehicle. In classic understatement after the arrested suspect was led away, one of the team said, "We got into a little bit of a struggle."

File this one under How Times Have Changed: A sports memorabilia dealer in Santa Ana, Calif., is putting up for auction the baseball bat used by Babe Ruth to hit his first home run in Yankee Stadium. It was found in the residence of a California woman who got it from a talent agent. And how did the agent acquire the cudgel, which could fetch a small fortune? The late Hall of Fame slugger autographed and inscribed it with the details of his feat – and gave it to him as a prize for winning a homer-hitting contest as a youth.

TV networks are winning praise, for a change, for airing more family-friendly shows during prime-time viewing hours. In a review by the Parents Television Council, six of 10 programs on the advocacy group's latest "best" list were new last season. Four were on the WB Network. (UPN's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was named worst, for graphic depictions of sex and violence.) The council's 10 best prime-time shows for families, and their networks:

1. "Doc," Pax
2. "Touched by an Angel," CBS
3. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," WB
4. "7th Heaven," WB
5. "Baby Bob," CBS
6. "Smallville," WB
7. "Reba," WB
8. "The Ponderosa," Pax
9. "George Lopez," ABC
10. "Bernie Mac," Fox