LA Times cutbacks extend to sports section

THE DUMBING DOWN OF THE TIMES: The latest round of cuts at the L.A. Times didn’t spare the sports section, most significantly--and most indefensibly—taking out the paper’s insightful and entertaining NBA columnist Mark Heisler, who’s one of the best in the business. Perhaps it was the prospect of a drawn-out NBA strike that led to the decision, although Heisler would’ve been the obvious guy to cover a story that will likely be generating headlines for months to come. Either way, this is a huge loss for what has long been one of the country’s best sports sections. Also laid off was columnist Jerry Crowe, who assembled the Page Two column Messages From Press Row. (8/2a)