Kings still can't figure out way to beat Blackhawks

CHICAGO — Look at it this way: The Kings have about four-plus months of fine-tuning, tinkering and trying to figure out how to beat the Chicago Blackhawks.

In the playoffs.

A win against the Blackhawks, of course, in the regular season would be an important first step. That was not to be on Monday as the Blackhawks defeated the Kings, 1-0, at the United Center. It was the first career shutout for Finnish rookie goalie Antti Raanta, who faced 26 shots and stopped Kings captain Dustin Brown's penalty shot late in the second period.

BOX SCORE: Blackhawks 1, Kings 0

"We've got to be better," Kings defenseman Matt Greene said. "We've got to beat these guys if we want to get out of our conference. So we've got to start doing it right now."

The Kings have lost to the Blackhawks twice in 15 days, scoring once in those two games, both in Chicago. Monday represented a far superior effort to the game on Dec. 15, but the bigger picture is of greater concern.

They've lost three straight games in regulation for the first time all season. After starting goalie Jonathan Quick was injured on Nov. 12, they only lost two games in regulation from that point until Dec. 23.

"I don't know the stat, but we lost two regulation games in 20 or something like that and we were keeping pace," Brown said. "That's just how it is in the West. It was better, but the result is the same. It's disappointing. The way it is this year is about getting points. Now we've dropped three in a row and we've got a tough back-to-back. We've got to be ready to go in Dallas."

This one hinged on one mistake.

Or two.

Chicago scored on a two-on-one at 7 minutes 5 seconds of the first period and it appeared as though Greene had broken up the pass from Bryan Bickell to Brandon Saad. Kings center Mike Richards then had a shot at it but the puck ended up on Saad's stick and he put it past rookie goalie Martin Jones.

"I'm not really sure, to be honest with you," Richards said of the play. "I just buried my head and was trying to backcheck and the next thing you know, the puck was right there. I don't know if I missed it, hit it, he lifted my stick. The next thing you know it was on his stick and in the back of the net."

Greene held himself accountable.

"Just didn't get enough of it. Two-on-one and I've got to get a better stick on the puck," he said. "And that's it. Gave them a second opportunity and they scored."

Of additional concern was a thunderous hit taken by defenseman Drew Doughty at the hands of Brandon Bollig in the corner late in the game. Doughty did return but appeared to be shaken up by the hit and was slow to get up after it occurred.

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter indicated after the morning skate that he would go with seven defensemen, and then opted to go with the usual six, making Alec Martinez a healthy scratch for the first time since Nov. 2.

On Monday, the Kings were simply unable to convert their chances.

"We had some good looks at the net," Richards said. "You can't win in this league without scoring, that's obvious. We just have to bear down on our chances. When you're not scoring lots of goals, you have to tighten it up defensively."

Brown lamented the lost opportunity on the penalty shot, which was awarded to him at 13:22 after defenseman Brent Seabrook hooked him on a breakaway.

"I have a couple of moves," Brown said. "I tried to go low blocker, but I just didn't get it high enough."

TONIGHT

AT DALLAS

When: 5 PST.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150.

Etc.: Stars captain Jamie Benn often excels against the Kings and this season is no different. Benn has five points in two games against the Kings.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

Twitter: @reallisa

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USC Coach Steve Sarkisian adds to staff

USC's football coaching staff continued to take on a distinct Washington flavor Monday when Steve Sarkisian announced that he had hired former Huskies assistants Justin Wilcox and Marques Tuiasosopo and San Francisco 49ers assistant Tim Drevno.

Wilcox replaces Clancy Pendergast as defensive coordinator, Tuiasosopo will coach tight ends and Drevno offensive line.

"These new additions to our staff bring not only tremendous coaching expertise, but they are outstanding recruiters and good, solid people," Sarkisian said in a statement. "They are great additions to the USC football program and the Trojan Family."

Shortly after he was hired Dec. 2, Sarkisian hired Washington assistants Johnny Nansen, Keith Heyward and Peter Sirmon.

Nansen will coach running backs and special teams, Heyward defensive backs and Sirmon will coach linebackers and serve as recruiting coordinator.

Clay Helton will remain as the Trojans' offensive coordinator and Tee Martin the wide receivers coach.

The hirings leave Sarkisian with one opening on the staff: defensive line coach.

Sarkisian has said that he would reach out to Ed Orgeron, the Trojans' former defensive line coach who served as interim coach after Lane Kiffin was fired in September. Orgeron abruptly left the program after Athletic Director Pat Haden hired Sarkisian.

Several draft-eligible defensive players openly campaigned for Sarkisian to retain Pendergast, who molded the Trojans into the Pac-12 Conference's top-ranked statistical unit. USC, which did not play Oregon or Washington this season, ranks 13th nationally in total defense.

But Sarkisian chose Wilcox, 37, who has worked as defensive coordinator at Boise State, Tennessee and Washington.

Washington ranks 54th nationally and fifth in the Pac-12 in total defense.

Tuiasosopo, 34, played quarterback at Washington and was UCLA's tight ends coach in 2012 before joining Washington's staff as quarterbacks coach this season. He served as interim coach for the Huskies' Fight Hunger Bowl victory over Brigham Young on Friday.

Drevno, 44, was the 49ers' offensive line coach the last three seasons. He previously coached at Stanford, San Diego, Idaho, San Jose State, Nevada Las Vegas and Montana State.

Ivan Lewis, Washington's strength and conditioning coach for the last five seasons, also was hired by Sarkisian.

gary.klein@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimesklein

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Accused prankster pleads not guilty to recording calls to coaches

A man accused of making prank calls to several well-known sports coaches and then illegally recording them pleaded not guilty Monday to one felony count of eavesdropping.

Prosecutors have said that Kenneth Edward Tarr, 32, posed as a recruiter for pro teams and universities during calls in October and November to at least six college and professional coaches.

Court documents name victims including NBC broadcaster and Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy, who was duped about a football coaching job at USC, and recently fired Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier, who was contacted about a fake Dallas Cowboys job. Cleveland Indians President Mark Shapiro was told he was talking to Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti, according to investigators.

Tarr broke the law by not seeking the sports figures' consent before recording the calls, the L.A. County district attorney's office has said. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.

Tarr entered his plea in a downtown courthouse, where he was accompanied by his mother, father, brother and three attorneys.

Robert Sheahen, one of the attorneys, told reporters that authorities had bowed to pressure from the NFL, singling out Tarr while individuals such as actor and television producer Ashton Kutcher go unpunished for similar pranks.

"To file felony charges on a case like this is absurd," Sheahen said. "He's a performance artist and social satirist, who in pushing the bounds of social satire, ran afoul of the National Football League."

Police arrested Tarr at his Hollywood home in early December, soon after NFL security consultant Dan McNeal discussed the incidents with a Los Angeles Police Department detective. McNeal, who initially thought Tarr might be living in San Bernardino County, told the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department that the NFL wanted felony charges filed against Tarr, according to court documents.

Tarr, who has bragged about his exploits in the media, caught the attention of authorities in October when Dungy said on a radio show that he had been contacted by USC about its football team's head coaching vacancy. USC Athletic Director Pat Haden later said someone had been impersonating a university official.

Other victims named in court documents include University of Hawaii football Coach Norm Chow, San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, Golden State Warriors Coach Mark Jackson and University of Florida football Coach Will Muschamp.

Tarr remains free after posting $20,000 bail. He is due back in court Feb. 18.

paresh.dave@latimes.com

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Ducks go cold and end 10-game winning streak in 3-1 loss to Sharks

The Ducks had won 10 consecutive games but proved they are human Sunday night as the streak was ended by the San Jose Sharks.

Playing the second of back-to-back games after Saturday's overtime win against Phoenix, the Ducks reached San Jose holding a comfortable seven-point lead over their second-place Pacific Division pursuer, knowing they will meet again New Year's Eve in Anaheim.

With urgency lacking against the more desperate rival, the Ducks were immediately swarmed by the more energetic Sharks and fell, 3-1, after six straight road wins. The Ducks' 13-game points streak was also ended.

BOX SCORE: Sharks 3, Ducks 1

"It was pretty special, doesn't happen very often," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said of the winning streak. "You're going to eventually lose one."

San Jose forward Brent Burns cashed in a high shot past rookie goalie Frederik Andersen's left side just one minute, 17 seconds into the game.

The Ducks (28-8-5) didn't take a shot on Sharks goalie Antti Niemi in the first five minutes and when they had the benefit of a power play, Ryan Getzlaf's one-timer from 20 feet was grabbed in little traffic in front of the goalie.

Logan Couture then gave the Sharks (25-8-6) a 2-0 lead 10:07 into the first by beating Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin and flipping a backhand past Andersen, who had won nine of his first 10 games.

"We knew what they were going to do," Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We didn't meet their push."

"That was not OK," Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy said on Prime Ticket of the team's first-period performance. "We didn't come out with energy, they outplayed us.

"This is a team we're going to need to go through to win the Stanley Cup and we did not have the effort out there."

San Jose's lead became 3-0 when recently recalled forward Bracken Kearns, 32, scored his first career goal nearly midway through the second.

With the Ducks on an extended shift, Sharks forward Andrew Desjardins led a two-on-one by trying a wraparound that glanced in front of the goal right to a rushing Kearns.

Even when they got close to Niemi and had an open shot at the goalie in the second, Kyle Palmieri's stick broke and Saku Koivu and Jakob Silfverberg were denied down low by a mass of Sharks dedicated to protect the goalie.

With 8:28 left in the game, Ducks forward Patrick Maroon took a Corey Perry pass from the back of the net and beat Niemi high to his left.

"We were flat-footed the first five minutes," Maroon told Prime Ticket. "I don't think we were getting bounces like in the winning streak, but we have Tuesday to bounce back."

In the third, Boudreau shuffled lines and even briefly put center Getzlaf as a defenseman to seek a better scoring chance.

Perry also let the Sharks know there's fight remaining by getting a third-period hit-to-the-head penalty by dropping Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart to the ice.

The matchup now shifts to Anaheim. At Honda Center, the Ducks are 14-0-2 overall.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Pugmire reported from Los Angeles.

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TV set-top boxes would become more energy-efficient under new deal

SACRAMENTO — Environmental advocates, government regulators and the cable and satellite television industry have reached a landmark agreement to save an estimated $1 billion a year in energy costs by making TV set-top boxes more efficient.

The voluntary agreement aims to make an estimated 90 million boxes in people's homes as much as 45% more energy-efficient by 2017. The boxes are considered energy hogs because they always are on, even when the television is turned off.

The upgraded boxes could save enough power to run 700,000 homes, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the deal brokers.

"It's extremely significant when household names like Comcast, Motorola, DirecTV and AT&T all acknowledge that their TV set-top boxes are using billions of dollars' worth of electricity each year," said Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the council's San Francisco office.

The Consumer Electronics Assn. long has said it preferred voluntary agreements rather than mandates to quickly boost efficiency and give customers improved products.

"The expanded, voluntary set-top box energy-conservation agreement ... demonstrates our industry's commitment in leading the way to provide consumers with products that reduce energy consumption and save money," said Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the electronics association.

Both the U.S. Energy Department and the California Energy Commission have been working on their own proposed regulations. The energy commission said it would monitor the future energy savings before deciding whether there's a need for mandatory standards.

Happy motoring

Watch your driving beginning Wednesday.

A raft of new laws for motorists take effect in 2014, the California Department of Motor Vehicles warns.

Among the new regulations are the Three Feet for Safety Act, which mandates that a driver passing a bicycle stay at least three feet from the two-wheeler.

A law gives owners of hybrid, electric and other low- or no-emission vehicles an additional five years to drive in high-occupancy freeway lanes even if only one person is on board.

Under another law, teens could be cited for using smartphones while driving even when the device is connected to hands-free systems.

Payday loan settlement

After two years of enforcement actions, the state Department of Business Oversight has settled with payday loan company TIOR Capitol.

The Folsom, Calif., company agreed to effectively forfeit $1 million in outstanding loans that borrowers got over the Internet. It also said it would cease violating California law by making loans without having a state license, and it agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties, the department said.

TIOR Capitol has stopped all lending activity in California. TIOR officials could not be reached for comment, but in reaching the settlement the firm did not admit wrongdoing.

marc.lifsher@latimes.com

Twitter: @MarcLifsher

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Egypt arrests Al Jazeera journalists amid Brotherhood crackdown

CAIRO — Four journalists working for Al Jazeera have been arrested by Egyptian authorities, the pan-Arab satellite channel said on its website, in an apparent escalation of Egyptian authorities' harsh campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Qatar-based channel called for their immediate release.

The four, who were arrested late Sunday, were identified by Al Jazeera as correspondent Peter Greste, producers Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed and cameraman Mohamed Fawzy. Greste, an award-winning Australian journalist, has previously worked for Reuters, CNN and the BBC, and Fahmy serves as Al Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief, according to colleagues.

The Interior Ministry, in a statement cited by regional news outlets, said the men were accused of making reports harmful to national security and possessing Muslim Brotherhood publications. It did not identify them by name, but specified their nationalities.

The arrests came amid a concerted official crackdown on the Brotherhood, the country's largest and oldest Islamist movement. The interim military-backed government last week declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, which gives authorities sweeping powers to move against anyone connected with the group or expressing support for it.

Prohibited acts could include taking part in a demonstration in favor of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, or displaying the Brotherhood's unofficial emblem, a four-fingered salute, or posting an image of it on social media.

Brotherhood-linked media outlets were shuttered by Egyptian authorities in the wake of the popularly supported army coup against Morsi in July. In the intervening months, Al Jazeera has had repeated run-ins with Egyptian authorities.

In recent days, the channel has been actively covering ongoing protests by pro-Morsi students at Al Azhar University, which have boiled over into violent clashes with police.

ALSO:

Threat of military coup hangs over Thailand unrest

At least one dead as protest on Cairo campus turns violent

Flesh-eating fish attack swimmers in Argentine river; 70 injured

laura.king@latimes.com

Twitter: @laurakingLAT

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Bruins wait to the end to drop hammer on 'Bama

This is it. The important time of the season has begun for UCLA.

The Bruins open Pac-12 Conference play next Sunday against USC, and in the final pre-conference tuneup for new Coach Steve Alford's team Saturday night, UCLA scored the final eight points to pull out a 75-67 win over a quick and athletic Alabama team at Pauley Pavilion.

Center Tony Parker made two tiebreaking free throws with 56 seconds left after rebounding a missed three-point shot by Norman Powell, and Parker got a key rebound with 43 seconds left on a miss by Alabama guard Trevor Releford.

BOX SCORE: UCLA 75, Alabama 67

Releford had proved almost unguardable for the Bruins, scoring 34 points on 11-for-15 shooting, including six for nine from three-point range. He made a three-pointer and a layup after a steal to pull the Crimson Tide into a 67-67 tie with 1:34 left. Two minutes earlier the Bruins had led by six.

Almost as scary as the close game was sophomore Kyle Anderson's sudden departure from the game in the second half. It turned out to be cramping in his calf and he returned with about five minutes left and promptly fed Parker for a layup.

Five Bruins scored in double figures, led by Parker's 16 points. He also had five rebounds.

"He's a winner," Alford said of the sophomore center. "He won four state titles in high school."

Parker said he was confident when he stood at the free-throw line at the end. "Maybe I don't always make them in practice," he said. "But in the game, that's different. I winked at the guys on the bench when I made those. That was big."

Only one Bruin had a criticism for Parker. "He only had five rebounds. That's unacceptable," said Anderson, who finished with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Parker said he wasn't surprised by Releford's heroics. He said his father and Releford's father were friends in Kansas City. "I figured he'd make those shots at the end," Parker said. "I just expected it."

The Bruins (11-2) built a 20-9 lead with a 14-4 run in the middle of the first half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Anderson prompted Alabama Coach Anthony Grant to angrily call a timeout.

The Crimson Tide (5-7) responded to Grant's animated discussion by running off nine straight points. Releford had seven of those and during that stretch the Bruins seemed to forget that against teams from big-time conferences like the Southeastern, they need to play full speed all the time.

At halftime Alabama led, 34-33 — the first time UCLA trailed at the half all season.

It was midway through the second half when Anderson left the game because of the cramping.

The Bruins handled losing their star well enough, building a 62-55 lead. A Parker layup gave UCLA a 62-53 lead, but that was answered by a Levi Randolph jumper. Alabama called time out with 5:54 left after that score.

To the great relief of UCLA fans, Anderson returned with 5:09 left and the Bruins leading, 62-57. An Anderson assist to Parker gave the Bruins a 66-60 lead with 3:09 left.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

Twitter: @mepucin

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Looking ahead: Houston at Oklahoma City

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Houston Rockets on Sunday. (Streeter Lecka / Getty Images / December 27, 2013)

Looking ahead

HOUSTON AT OKLAHOMA CITY: Sunday, 4 p.m. PST. TV: NBA TV.

These teams last met in a roller coaster first-round playoff series. In Game 2, Rockets guard Patrick Beverley went for a steal and plowed into the Thunder's All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who suffered a torn meniscus and needed surgery on his right knee. The Thunder eliminated Houston in six games, but without Westbrook it fell to Memphis in the second round. Forget about a Westbrook-Beverley rematch, though. On Friday Westbrook had his third knee surgery and is sidelined until the All-Star break. Beverley is out with a broken hand. The Thunder will depend on Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, plus young guards Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb, who have blossomed off the bench. Meanwhile, Houston landed the big free agent of last summer, Dwight Howard, whose game has rebounded playing alongside All-Star James Harden and young, sharpshooting forward Chandler Parsons. Both are high-scoring teams. But the Thunder has been almost perfect at home this season (13-1).

—Barry Stavro

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Rocket fired from Lebanon hits northern Israel

JERUSALEM -- In the first border flareup of its kind in four months, a Katyusha rocket fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel on Sunday, triggering a heavy artillery barrage from Israeli forces in response. No casualties were immediately reported on either side of the frontier.

The United Nations force in southern Lebanon urged restraint on both sides, and said it was in contact with the Israeli and Lebanese authorities.    

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets, at least one of which struck outside the Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona. Residents reported loud explosions as the projectile landed in an open area west of town.

Israel said a total of five rocket launches in its direction were detected. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, or NNA, reported that at least two of them apparently fell short of their intended targets in Israel, landing instead in Lebanese territory, about six miles from the town of Marjayoun.

Israel fired back dozens of artillery shells, which it said were aimed at the source of the rocket launches. NNA reported that at least 20 shells fell on several southern rural farming hamlets.

A spokesperson for Israel's military called the attack "inexcusable and blatant," and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon reminded the Lebanese government that Israel holds it responsible for hostile actions originating in Lebanese territory.  

Israel filed a complaint to UNIFIL, the U.N. interim force.

In the wake of the 34-day war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah in 2006, the border has been largely quiet. The U.N., Lebanese authorities and Israel have all worked to prevent escalation of any incident.

Two weeks ago, an Israeli soldier was killed by shots fired over the border by a sniper from the Lebanese armed forces, but hostilities went no further after indications that the shooting was isolated and unauthorized. 

The mayor of Kiryat Shmona, Nissim Malka, told reporters that town officials were in touch with the Israeli military, but that residents had not been given any special security instructions, as they would be in the event of any serious attack.

ALSO:

Threat of military coup hangs over Thailand unrest

At least one dead as protest on Cairo campus turns violent

Flesh-eating fish attack swimmers in Argentine river; 70 injured

Sobelman is a news assistant in the Jerusalem bureau. Special correspondent Nabih Bulos in Amman and staff writer Laura King in Cairo contributed to this report.

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Lakers lose to lowly Utah Jazz on dunk, 105-103

SALT LAKE CITY — This was supposed to be the easy part of the Lakers' schedule.

Simple, really. Get closer to .500 with a slew of games against teams already deeply embedded in draft lottery odds.

But the Lakers might be one of those lottery teams too. They lost to the Utah Jazz, 105-103, and fell four games under .500 for the first time this season.

BOX SCORE: Jazz 105, Lakers 103

The Lakers couldn't stop anybody, as usual, letting the NBA's 27th-ranked offense blow past its average of 92.7 points before Friday.

The way the Lakers lost was a new one, a put-back dunk by Derrick Favors with 2.1 seconds left. Jordan Hill left Favors to challenge Gordon Hayward's running layup attempt, leaving the paint open for the rebound.

The final score became official after Jodie Meeks was well short on a 30-foot three-point shot at the buzzer.

Favors' dunk was only the fine point on the large-scale issues for the Lakers (13-17), who let Utah score a season-high 25 fastbreak points and lost Nick Young to foul trouble, of all things.

"It's just the respect factor," said Young, who had 21 points. "I feel we don't get the proper respect as everybody else gets when it comes to turning things out there on the court. It plays a major role. I'm not going to say it was the refs' fault or nothing. Just watch the game over and see what happened out there."

Young was called for his sixth foul with 5:45 to play after Marvin Williams fell quickly to the court on a questionable call.

"I've never fouled out during the real season," Young said, smiling. "And that's the tough part when you're in the groove like that. We just wasn't getting no calls tonight."

Young stopped short with his comments a couple of times, worried he would get fined by the NBA if he went further. And he actually fouled out earlier this season against New Orleans.

The Lakers played without Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Steve Blake, and they might be without Chris Kaman on Sunday against Milwaukee.

Kaman had 19 points and 10 rebounds but sustained a moderately sprained left ankle late in the game after stepping on the foot of a Utah player while passing the ball to Jordan Farmar.

Kaman started in place of Gasol, who stayed in Los Angeles because of an upper respiratory infection.

Kaman recently complained after being benched for a handful of games. He bristled slightly when asked Friday if he approached the game differently as a starter.

"I have no approach. I get shuffled around so when it's my turn, it's my turn," Kaman said. "It's not easy, but it's part of the job…. I'm trying to be a pro here and do the right thing. Everything changes constantly."

And some things don't change.

The Lakers let Utah score 55 points by halftime and 83 through three quarters as the Jazz (9-23) improved to 4-10 at EnergySolutions Arena. Hayward had 24 points and nine assists.

Gasol's absence wasn't a problem because Kaman had 15 points and eight rebounds by halftime. Gasol is averaging 15 and nine this season.

"It's just an infection and it'll run its course," Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Whether he can go or not, he'll decide that."

The Lakers were looking at a stretch of four winnable games before Friday's loss, followed now by home games against Philadelphia (8-20), Milwaukee (6-23) and Utah.

"I thought our guys played hard as usual and we had a good chance to win," D'Antoni said. "We've just got to get the next game."

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter: @Mike_Bresnahan

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Fryman Canyon stats

Distance: 3 miles

Duration: 11/4 hours

Difficulty: 3 on a scale of 1 to 5

Details: $3 paid parking and street parking with restrictions. Dogs on a leash are OK. On Metro bus route 218.

Comments are filtered for language and registration is required. The Times makes no guarantee of comments' factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link next to a comment. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.

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Across the Table: Grower Champagnes worth seeking out

Since the 19th century, French Champagne producers have skillfully cultivated an image of full-tilt glamour and luxury, spending millions promoting their brands. That would include sponsoring athletic competitions, society events and the $400,000 in Champagne that Perriet-Jouët supplied gratis for reality star Kim Kardashian's (first) wedding.

Champagne's Grandes Marques — Krug, Dom Pérignon, Bollinger, Pol Roger, Taittinger and about 20 more — each have their passionate adherents. But make no mistake, these are not small, family-run estates. They are huge businesses, producing hundreds of thousands of bottles each, and are owned, in many cases, by multinational conglomerates. Their luxury cuvées are just that and priced accordingly. Somebody has to pay for all that advertising. But at the low end of the scale, those same brands' non-vintage brut? Mostly boring and not worth the price.

Especially when you can find some fantastically expressive bottles in the same price range, or less, from grower Champagne houses. Affectionately dubbed "farmer fizz" by wine importer Terry Theise, who was among the first to champion Champagnes made by the farmers who cultivate the grapes, grower Champagnes make up just 3% of the market. Of the more than 15,000 growers in Champagne, fewer than 5,000 make and bottle their own sparkling wines. The rest sell their grapes to the big Champagne houses who source their grapes from all over the area.

That's why the Grandes Marques, which own only a small portion of vineyards in Champagne and have to buy most of their grapes, champion the art of blending — mixing wines from different vineyards and villages and from different vintages — to create a house style. The idea is that you should be able to buy a bottle of Veuve Clicquot or Krug one year and buy another two years or even a decade later and find the same taste. Some of those Champagnes are exquisite, but at a very high price.

Grower Champagnes can offer a different — and I would argue more compelling — experience in the more modest $40-to-$60 price range. Made on a very small scale and usually from vineyards in and around a single village, they reflect the terroir, which is why grower Champagnes have such a fascinating specificity: The differences haven't been blended out.

In Champagne, grand or premier cru status is awarded to villages rather than specific vineyards. Thirty-eight villages are premier cru, while only 17 are rated the top grand cru. Krug's famous vintage Blanc de Blancs "Clos du Mesnil" from the grand cru village Le Mesnil-sur-Oger sells for up to $700 a bottle. In contrast, the grower Pierre Peters' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs from the same village sells for about $100. Pretty package too.

For a long time, Champagnes from small producers were reserved basically for friends and family. In Paris, friends of mine would drive out to Champagne once a year to pick up their family's allotment of bottles from the cousin of a cousin. Others searched out grower Champagnes at obscure wine shops.

Then along came a generation of curious, knowledgeable and persuasive wine importers who didn't need or want huge quantities, just quality — and would hand-sell the wines. Theise was first on the scene and developed quite an amazing portfolio of grower Champagnes. Kermit Lynch has been selling Champagnes from grower Paul Bara for years. North Berkeley Imports has Pinot Noir-based Egly-Ouriet. Charles Neal represents a handful of growers too.

These and other importers recognized the handmade character of grower Champagnes and championed them to sommeliers and retailers for their wonderful diversity and value. Now more than 150 grower Champagnes are imported to this country.

This season, why not step away from Champagne-as-usual and pop the cork on some delicious grower Champagnes? They may take some searching. While you're not likely to find any at your corner liquor store, any good wine retailer should have at least a few. Look for RM on the label, which means récoltant-manipulant (harvester-manipulator), as opposed to NM for the négociant-manipulant designation of the big Champagne houses.

Take a bottle home, pop the cork and pour. It doesn't take a connoisseur to notice that this is some very good stuff.

irene.virbila@latimes.com

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Jeff Teague wins it for Hawks at buzzer

Jeff Teague never saw his winning shot bounce five times off the rim and fall through the basket Thursday night.

Fortunately, his teammates let him know the result.

Teague scored a career-high 34 points, including a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer in the second overtime, to give the visiting Atlanta Hawks a 127-125 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Teague was flat on his back after shooting over Tristan Thompson and had no idea the ball went in until he was mobbed by his teammates. Only when Kyle Korver began pounding Teague's chest did reality hit.

"I couldn't even see it, but Kyle picked me up and told me what happened," Teague said. "I'm really happy it went in."

The Hawks would never have been in a position to win the game if not for Teague's three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left that tied the score at 108-all in the first overtime.

Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 40 points, including 12 in the second overtime.

San Antonio 116, at Dallas 109: Danny Green didn't miss a shot in scoring 22 points, Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and the Spurs took advantage of the Mavericks' weakened frontcourt. Dallas centers Samuel Dalembert and Brandan Wright were fighting undisclosed illnesses and 6-foot-7 DeJuan Blair spent most of the night guarding the 6-11 Duncan, who recorded his 10th double-double this season and 768th of his career. Green was seven for seven shooting, including five for five from three-point range. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 25 points.

at Houston 100, Memphis 92: James Harden scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Rockets won for the third time in four games. Harden made only two of nine shots, but was 22 for 25 from the free-throw line. He is the first player in NBA history to score 27 points on two or fewer baskets. Houston center Dwight Howard battled foul trouble for most of the game and was held to two points and six rebounds. Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 23 points.

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Clippers lose a tough one in overtime

PORTLAND, Ore. — It was going to be a challenge for the Clippers to get past their emotional defeat Wednesday night.

The challenge was even bigger for the Clippers on Thursday because they were playing against a very good Portland Trail Blazers team on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Clippers were up to the task, but so were the Trail Blazers, who pulled out a thrilling, 116-112 overtime victory at Moda Center.

Blake Griffin had 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers and Chris Paul had 34 points and 16 assists. But Paul, who had 11 points in the fourth quarter, didn't score in the overtime.

BOX SCORE: Trail Blazers 116, Clippers 112 (OT)

LaMarcus Aldridge (32 points, 10 rebounds) scored for a 110-109 Portland lead in the overtime.

After a Griffin miss, Nicolas Batum made two free throws for a 112-109 lead with 26.5 seconds left, putting the Clippers in an uphill battle the rest of the way.

It stayed tough for the Clippers after Damian Lillard made two free throws and Jamal Crawford made only one of two with 13.4 seconds left, leaving the Clippers behind, 114-112.

Paul scored eight consecutive points for the Clippers in the fourth quarter, including a big-time jumper for a 101-98 lead with 9.3 seconds left in regulation.

But Portland wasn't done, as Batum made a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the score at 101-101 with 5.3 seconds left.

With a chance to win the game, Paul missed a 17-foot jumper over Batum, sending the game into overtime tied at 101-101.

Paul had been the man for the Clippers in the fourth quarter.

He scored to tie it at 95-95. He scored to give the Clippers a 97-96 lead and he scored to give them a 99-98 lead with 40.2 seconds left.

The Clippers played an ebb-and-flow game most of the night, getting down by double digits but always climbing back into the game.

It happened again in the fourth quarter when the Clippers trailed by 11 points, forcing Clippers Coach Doc Rivers to call two timeouts in less than two minutes.

But back-to-back three-pointers by Crawford and from Griffin from the corner in front of Portland's bench got the Clippers closer.

After Darren Collison scored to bring the Clippers to within 91-88, the Trail Blazers called a timeout with 5:55 left to stem the tide again.

But the Clippers got a defensive stop and followed that with another Crawford three-pointer to tie the score at 91-91 in the fourth.

From that point on, the Clippers and Trail Blazers went back and forth.

The Clippers had lost to the Golden State Warriors on Christmas night in a game that saw two players be ejected, three technical fouls and two flagrant fouls.

And for Griffin, who was in the middle of all that action, he had to make sure his emotions were in check because he had to face a tough opponent in Aldridge, who entered the game averaging 23.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

Aldridge was questionable before the game because he had a wisdom tooth extracted Sunday and he was still in pain.

The Trail Blazers entered the game with a 23-5 record, tied with Indiana and Oklahoma City for the best mark in the NBA.

After an exciting victory, they now stand alone at the top.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner

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Powerful explosion rocks central Beirut

A Lebanese man carries an injured woman at the scene of an explosion in central Beirut. (Bilal Hussein / Associated Press / December 27, 2013)

By Nabih Bulos This post has been corrected, as indicated below.

December 27, 2013, 12:56 a.m.

AMMAN, Jordan — A heavy blast rocked central Beirut on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring more than 70 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. A former government minister was among the dead, his political faction said.

Plumes of black smoke billowed into the air, and television footage showed scenes of blazing wreckage and scattered debris.

The dead former minister was identified as Mohamad Chatah, according to his Future Movement.

Troops and rescuers converged on the scene, which was close to downtown hotels as well as government buildings, including the parliament. Security sources said a political figure was believed to have been the target, and said the explosion was apparently caused by a car bomb.

Spillover violence from the Syrian civil war has been the suspected cause of a number of bombings and other attacks in the Lebanese capital. But previous strikes have mainly taken place in the city's Shiite-dominated southern neighborhoods, rather than in the commercial center.

Last month, a pair of bombings outside the Iranian embassy compound killed 23 people and injured more than 150.

[For the Record, 1:21 a.m. PST Dec. 27: An earlier version of this post misspelled the name of a former government minister who was killed as Mohammed Shateh. It's Mohamad Chatah.]

Bulos is a special correspondent. Staff writer Laura King in Cairo contributed to this report.

laura.king@latimes.com

@laurakingLAT

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Southland's Christmas present? Warm weather

As temperatures hovered around freezing across much of the United States on Christmas Day, Southern California basked in unseasonably warm weather as Santa Ana winds pushed hot, dry air across the region.

In Long Beach, the mercury hit 85 degrees, beating the 1972 high of 81 degrees.

In downtown Los Angeles, temperatures reached 82 degrees, making it the second warmest Christmas Day since records began in 1877 and well above the seasonal average of 67 degrees. The record was set in 1980 with a high of 85 downtown.

The hot air was being pushed offshore on winds generated by a high pressure system lingering over the Great Basin and the High Desert, said Bonnie Bartling of the National Weather Service. In the mountains, gusts reached as high as 50 miles per hour.

A wind advisory remained in place through Thursday for Los Angeles County mountains, and a red flag warning was in effect for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as the combination of low humidity and gusty winds raised concerns about fire dangers.

"If fire ignition occurs, there would be the potential for rapid spread," Bartling said.

A major power outage in Simi Valley on Wednesday morning left thousands of residents without electricity and affected traffic signals at intersections in the area. Southern California Edison attributed the power outage to the winds.

The outage occurred at 9:10 a.m. and mainly affected two circuits, said Southern California Edison spokesman Robert Villegas.

The winds are likely to weaken by late Thursday, but the above average temperatures will continue through the weekend and into next week, Bartling said.

Hot holiday seasons are not uncommon.

"There are many years where I can remember wearing shorts and a tank top on Christmas," Bartling said. "When you have these Santa Ana events, it just warms up."

But this season has been noteworthy for the sudden shifts from hot to cold temperatures.

"We've been flip-flopping a lot this winter," Bartling said.

This current hot spell could break more records before it's through. The forecast for Burbank on Thursday is 82 degrees, one degree short of the record high set in 1947.

Missing from the forecast is any sign of rain. That puts Southern California on track for a very dry year.

There has been less than an inch of rain since July 1, Bartling said. Normally the area would have close to four inches of rain by now. Last year, a dry year, about two and a half inches had fallen by Christmas Day.

jason.felch@latimes.com

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Dodgers aren't making a big splash with free agents this off-season

This has been a relatively quiet off-season for the Dodgers. They have spent nearly $80 million on free agents, but haven't added any headline acts to their star-studded roster.

That could be a reflection of the Dodgers' necessities, or lack thereof. The three players who signed nine-figure contracts with other teams — Robinson Cano, Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin-Soo Choo — play positions at which the Dodgers are set for the foreseeable future. Or, that could be an indication the formerly free-spending team is close to hitting its financial limit, self-imposed or otherwise.

The Dodgers' dealings with Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka over the next 30 days could offer some clarity.

To date, General Manager Ned Colletti hasn't said whether the Dodgers will attempt to sign the 25-year-old, who will be free to start negotiating with all 30 major league teams Thursday morning.

Other high-ranking club officials have downplayed the Dodgers' interest in Tanaka, who was 24-0 with a 1.27 earned-run average this year with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. One said the team wouldn't take a win-at-all-costs approach with him, as it did last off-season with South Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu. Another predicted Tanaka would sign with the New York Yankees.

Perhaps this is gamesmanship on the part of the Dodgers, who have nothing to gain by advertising their interest in Tanaka.

From a baseball perspective, Tanaka and the Dodgers appear to be a fit. Although the Dodgers have six high-priced starting pitchers, Chad Billingsley and Josh Beckett are recovering from major operations. Furthermore, only Zack Greinke and Ryu are signed beyond this season.

And unlike the other top-tier pitchers who are available this off-season, Tanaka would cost the Dodgers only money.

To acquire David Price in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Dodgers would presumably have to deal their top prospects, which would go against their stated goal of rebuilding their farm system.

They would be presented with a similar conflict if they went after a top free agent such as Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez. The Dodgers would forfeit their first-round pick in next year's draft if they sign either.

In other words, if the Dodgers don't sign Tanaka, it will likely be because of financial considerations.

Tanaka is widely expected to sign a deal worth more than $100 million. In addition to that, whichever team signs him would have to pay the Golden Eagles a $20-million release fee.

The Dodgers already have around $210 million in salary commitments for 2014, not counting the estimated $18 million Clayton Kershaw will earn in the arbitration process. In what has been a slow off-season by their standards, the Dodgers have still signed seven free agents, five of whom are guaranteed $10 million or more. They appear as if they will field the most expensive team in franchise history for the second consecutive season.

And it would be understandable if the Dodgers were reluctant to take on another long-term contract. The team has five players signed through the 2017 season or later. Even without Tanaka, that number could rise to seven, as the Dodgers would like to sign Kershaw and Hanley Ramirez to extensions.

Team President Stan Kasten has acknowledged the Dodgers acquired several high-priced players over the last two years in part to win back fans who grew disenchanted when Frank McCourt owned the team. Now that those fans are back, this could be the time for the Dodgers to start scaling back their spending.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

Twitter: @dylanohernandez

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Bomb blast hits bus near university in Egypt capital

Egyptian students of al-Azhar University who support the Muslim Brotherhood raise their hands during a Cairo protest to show the four-finger sign associated with supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. (Khaled Kamel, AFP/Getty Images / December 10, 2013)

By Amro Hassan

December 26, 2013, 12:39 a.m.

CAIRO — An explosive device went off Thursday outside a university campus in the Egyptian capital, injuring at least four people on a passing bus, witnesses said.

A short time later, another small blast went off in the area. Officials said the devices appeared to be homemade bombs.

The first blast, which was loud but relatively small, took place in a roadway near student dormitories at Al-Azhar University in the Nasr City district of Cairo, according to the bus driver and passers-by. There was little damage other than to the bus.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police quickly converged on the scene and cordoned off the area.

Al-Azhar has been a venue for near-daily protests by students demanding the reinstatement of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, deposed by a popularly supported military coup in July. Pro-Morsi demonstrations at the campus have resulted in frequent clashes between students and police.

Bombings in Cairo have so far not been a feature of the ongoing confrontation between security forces and Morsi's supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood. The explosion came one day after Egypt's government designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, and two days after a bombing at a police headquarter in northern Egypt killed at least 15 people.

A militant group mainly active in the Sinai peninsula claimed responsibility for that attack in Mansoura, in the Nile Delta north of Cairo.

ALSO:

PHOTOS: Christmas around the world

Edward Snowden breaks silence to declare his mission accomplished

Code breaker Alan Turing granted royal pardon for gay-sex conviction

Hassan is a special correspondent. Staff writer Laura King contributed to this report.

laura.king@latimes.com

Twitter: @laurakingLAT

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Official says Obamacare enrollment effort to stretch past deadline

WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials said that even after Tuesday's extended deadline, they will try to arrange coverage starting Jan. 1 for people who have had trouble getting through the government's sometimes-balky enrollment website.

"Our highest priority is making sure that everyone who wants to enroll to have healthcare coverage by Jan. 1 is able to do so, particularly since consumers had a hard time accessing HealthCare.gov in October and November," administration spokeswoman Julie Bataille said.

"As such, we are making sure we can provide information directly to consumers if and when they have questions about their particular situation, and if they are covered as of Jan. 1," Bataille said in a statement.

"Consumers who tried to enroll prior to today and had problems with the system should contact the marketplace call center for individual assistance" starting Thursday, the statement said. Administration officials said they would work with insurance companies on a case-by-case basis in an effort to keep people from going without coverage.

Stretching the deadline affects consumers in 36 states who use the federal website to sign up for health coverage. Deadlines vary in California, 13 other states and the District of Columbia, which use their own websites.

The announcement was the latest move by the administration to deal with problems caused by the collapse of the federal enrollment website in October. The original deadline was Dec. 15. Last month, the White House extended the deadline to Monday. On that day it was extended until Tuesday.

How many people have signed up for coverage under the new law remains undetermined. President Obama said Friday that roughly 1 million Americans had signed up using either the federal or state websites. But the sites have seen heavy traffic over the weekend and through Tuesday.

Officials said HealthCare.gov had some 2 million site visits Monday, and an additional 250,000 people contacted the system's call centers. Because of heavy volume, 129,000 people were placed in the system's waiting queue, in which people are contacted by email when the website is less busy.

Several states have reported notable increases in enrollment in the last several days. In Colorado, for example, more than 5,000 people signed up Monday, bringing that state's total to 43,000, officials said.

In Connecticut, officials said, more than 6,700 people had enrolled Monday, bringing the state's total to 62,153. New York reported 25,531 enrollments Monday, bringing its total to 214,077.

Republicans have criticized the administration's repeated deadline extensions, saying the administration is stretching the law to make enrollment numbers in the new year look at large as possible. President Obama has said the changes are simply "common sense" efforts to make sure that people aren't frozen out of coverage.

The political squabble has limited practical effect, however, since this month's deadline is far from the last opportunity to sign up. Instead, it's just the last chance to sign up for coverage that will take effect Jan. 1, which is primarily important to people with health problems who can't afford a gap in coverage.

Open enrollment for health benefits under the law extends through the end of March. Consumers still need to pay their initial premiums to be covered. Insurance industry officials have said most health plans will accept payment through Jan. 10.

david.lauter@latimes.com

Twitter: @DavidLauter

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Tongue-in-cheek holiday ads shake off the sugarcoating

The hottest holiday commercials this season have ditched the heartwarming, home-for-the-holidays scenes to strike a dramatically different chord.

Advertising executives have instead chosen sly humor over sentiment, as major marketers including American Honda Motor Co., Netflix and K-Mart are betting that tongue-in-cheek sells.

Perhaps for good reason: U.S. consumers are tired of sugarcoated Christmas commercials, according to a recent online survey of more than 2,000 consumers.

"We were surprised that a majority of Americans said they like to see Scrooge-like themes, or the naughtier side of things, in holiday ads," said Becky Jones, vice president of marketing and research at Viamedia, the Kentucky-based cable advertising sales firm that conducted the study.

K-Mart rolled out this season's most controversial commercial. In a spot called "Jingle Balls," K-Mart's "bell choir" features six male models, in holiday-themed Joe Boxer shorts, thrusting their hips to the well-known holiday tune.

"You would not expect an ad like this from K-Mart," said Ed Russell, an advertising professor at Syracuse University. "In the past, K-Mart hasn't had much personality. But this represents a huge move for them, and has made K-Mart a more interesting place to shop."

Some K-Mart shoppers complained, calling the commercial inappropriate. Others, however, applauded the audacity of the ad.

Competitor J.C. Penney sent K-Mart a Twitter message that said: "We noticed you could use some pants. So here's a 15% off coupon."

For marketers, advertisements that go viral like "Jingle Balls" can be a gift that keeps on giving.

Brands increasingly are striving to break through the cluttered marketplace to get attention for their products. Advertisers say the best way to get the attention of consumers, distracted by a flood of messages, is to create an element of surprise or intrigue.

"You have to reward the viewer, who in reality doesn't really want to hear from you," one ad executive said.

That's what prompted ad agency RPA of Santa Monica to enlist 1990s crooner Michael Bolton to charge up commercials for Honda's "Happy Honda Days" year-end sales event.

In the ads, shot in Santa Ana and Puente Hills, Bolton suddenly appears on Honda car lots to sing in his trademark style as potential car buyers mill around.

"People expect to be surprised and amazed," said Jason Sperling, RPA's executive creative director. "We picked Michael Bolton because we knew he would help us create ads that were irreverent, a little tongue-in-cheek and fun. And he took advantage of the cheesiness."

Susie Rossick, a Honda senior manager, said the marketing team was inspired by a Bolton video from two years ago that has been watched on YouTube more than 117 million times. In the spoof, Bolton sings about his pretend devotion to Capt. Jack Sparrow, the character played by Johnny Depp in the Walt Disney Co. "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

As a tie-in to the Honda TV commercials, Bolton spent a day last month recording musical greeting cards, personalized for fans who sent messages on Twitter, using the hashtag #XOXOBolton.

"You can't just rely on television anymore," Rossick said. "We needed something that would really break through the clutter. And Michael, who still has such an amazing voice, had fun with it."

This fall, video service Netflix hired Deutsch LA, which is based near Playa Vista, to handle its advertising. The firm created a holiday-themed commercial to encourage new customers to sign up for the service in advance of the holidays — a big time for family movie watching.

"Red ribbons always seem to be the holiday theme, and ads that are served up sugary sweet," said Pete Favat, the recently hired chief creative officer at Deutsch LA. "But we wanted to make a film that was heartfelt and an appreciation of all the things that can go wrong when families come together. We wanted to create something that was closer to reality."

The Netflix commercial, called "Tree Topper," unfolds as an eerie narrative told by a porcelain tree topper bought decades ago at a hardware store. The ad was shot near Chicago.

Lorraine Bracco, who played the psychiatrist in "The Sopranos," voices the world-weary tree topper who watches as rambunctious kids nearly destroy the house, and an aunt, baking yams, lights it on fire.

"The family historian as a tree topper was a charming way to introduce a family coming together for the holidays," said Jennifer Johnson, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota. "The way it was shot, with that vintage filter, gave it a 1970s basement look. The ad felt like it belongs in a family scrapbook."

That was entirely intentional. "We said, 'Let's use a little bit of the family dysfunction and the chaos to serve as the antagonist of the film,'" Favat said. "If you do 'edge' around the holidays, it is going to stand out."

Last week, as an encore to its "Jingle Balls," K-Mart trotted out a Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol"-inspired message called "Ship My Trousers," which features 19th century characters shopping at K-Mart.

The commercial was a sequel to K-Mart's hugely popular spot from earlier this year, "Ship My Pants," which promoted the retailer's free shipping policy. In its first two weeks, K-Mart's "Ship My Trousers" commercial — created by the Chicago agency Draftfcb — has notched nearly 3 million online views.

"We are using humor to be disruptive — and engaging," said Jamie Stein, a K-Mart representative. "Relevancy is important, and people are talking about us."

meg.james@latimes.com

ON LOCATION: People and places behind what's onscreen

PHOTOS: On the set: movies and TV

PHOTOS: Celebrity production companies

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Tongue-in-cheek holiday ads shake off the sugarcoating

The hottest holiday commercials this season have ditched the heartwarming, home-for-the-holidays scenes to strike a dramatically different chord.

Advertising executives have instead chosen sly humor over sentiment, as major marketers including American Honda Motor Co., Netflix and K-Mart are betting that tongue-in-cheek sells.

Perhaps for good reason: U.S. consumers are tired of sugarcoated Christmas commercials, according to a recent online survey of more than 2,000 consumers.

"We were surprised that a majority of Americans said they like to see Scrooge-like themes, or the naughtier side of things, in holiday ads," said Becky Jones, vice president of marketing and research at Viamedia, the Kentucky-based cable advertising sales firm that conducted the study.

K-Mart rolled out this season's most controversial commercial. In a spot called "Jingle Balls," K-Mart's "bell choir" features six male models, in holiday-themed Joe Boxer shorts, thrusting their hips to the well-known holiday tune.

"You would not expect an ad like this from K-Mart," said Ed Russell, an advertising professor at Syracuse University. "In the past, K-Mart hasn't had much personality. But this represents a huge move for them, and has made K-Mart a more interesting place to shop."

Some K-Mart shoppers complained, calling the commercial inappropriate. Others, however, applauded the audacity of the ad.

Competitor J.C. Penney sent K-Mart a Twitter message that said: "We noticed you could use some pants. So here's a 15% off coupon."

For marketers, advertisements that go viral like "Jingle Balls" can be a gift that keeps on giving.

Brands increasingly are striving to break through the cluttered marketplace to get attention for their products. Advertisers say the best way to get the attention of consumers, distracted by a flood of messages, is to create an element of surprise or intrigue.

"You have to reward the viewer, who in reality doesn't really want to hear from you," one ad executive said.

That's what prompted ad agency RPA of Santa Monica to enlist 1990s crooner Michael Bolton to charge up commercials for Honda's "Happy Honda Days" year-end sales event.

In the ads, shot in Santa Ana and Puente Hills, Bolton suddenly appears on Honda car lots to sing in his trademark style as potential car buyers mill around.

"People expect to be surprised and amazed," said Jason Sperling, RPA's executive creative director. "We picked Michael Bolton because we knew he would help us create ads that were irreverent, a little tongue-in-cheek and fun. And he took advantage of the cheesiness."

Susie Rossick, a Honda senior manager, said the marketing team was inspired by a Bolton video from two years ago that has been watched on YouTube more than 117 million times. In the spoof, Bolton sings about his pretend devotion to Capt. Jack Sparrow, the character played by Johnny Depp in the Walt Disney Co. "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

As a tie-in to the Honda TV commercials, Bolton spent a day last month recording musical greeting cards, personalized for fans who sent messages on Twitter, using the hashtag #XOXOBolton.

"You can't just rely on television anymore," Rossick said. "We needed something that would really break through the clutter. And Michael, who still has such an amazing voice, had fun with it."

This fall, video service Netflix hired Deutsch LA, which is based near Playa Vista, to handle its advertising. The firm created a holiday-themed commercial to encourage new customers to sign up for the service in advance of the holidays — a big time for family movie watching.

"Red ribbons always seem to be the holiday theme, and ads that are served up sugary sweet," said Pete Favat, the recently hired chief creative officer at Deutsch LA. "But we wanted to make a film that was heartfelt and an appreciation of all the things that can go wrong when families come together. We wanted to create something that was closer to reality."

The Netflix commercial, called "Tree Topper," unfolds as an eerie narrative told by a porcelain tree topper bought decades ago at a hardware store. The ad was shot near Chicago.

Lorraine Bracco, who played the psychiatrist in "The Sopranos," voices the world-weary tree topper who watches as rambunctious kids nearly destroy the house, and an aunt, baking yams, lights it on fire.

"The family historian as a tree topper was a charming way to introduce a family coming together for the holidays," said Jennifer Johnson, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota. "The way it was shot, with that vintage filter, gave it a 1970s basement look. The ad felt like it belongs in a family scrapbook."

That was entirely intentional. "We said, 'Let's use a little bit of the family dysfunction and the chaos to serve as the antagonist of the film,'" Favat said. "If you do 'edge' around the holidays, it is going to stand out."

Last week, as an encore to its "Jingle Balls," K-Mart trotted out a Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol"-inspired message called "Ship My Trousers," which features 19th century characters shopping at K-Mart.

The commercial was a sequel to K-Mart's hugely popular spot from earlier this year, "Ship My Pants," which promoted the retailer's free shipping policy. In its first two weeks, K-Mart's "Ship My Trousers" commercial — created by the Chicago agency Draftfcb — has notched nearly 3 million online views.

"We are using humor to be disruptive — and engaging," said Jamie Stein, a K-Mart representative. "Relevancy is important, and people are talking about us."

meg.james@latimes.com

ON LOCATION: People and places behind what's onscreen

PHOTOS: On the set: movies and TV

PHOTOS: Celebrity production companies

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Duarte shooting probably gang-related, police say

Malcolm Mency decided to walk home from work Sunday to save his girlfriend the mile-long drive to pick him up.

"Don't, that's stupid," Labreonna Moore, 19, told him. "He said, 'I know. I love you, and I'll call you when I get home.'"

Minutes passed and Mency never called. Then Moore's phone rang with news: "Malcolm got shot."

Mency — an 18-year-old black man — was probably shot by a Latino gang member who assumed he was a rival, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Howard Cooper.

"It's the kind of story you hate ... where you have a person who was headed in the right direction," Cooper said. "He was simply walking home."

Mency, a new father to 1-month-old Malcolm Jr., got off work at Sonic Burger about two hours early. He was shot around the corner from his house in an unincorporated section of Duarte.

"Whoever did this is truly a coward. They shot him in the back," said Shalonda Lockhart, 29, the oldest of his nine siblings. "He was doing everything right. He was so determined to be the best father he could be. He was so excited."

Moore, who lives about a block from Mency's house, said she heard the gunshots the night he was killed. At first, she thought it was fireworks, until her calls to his phone went unanswered.

She ran down Broderick Avenue after his family called her. An ambulance had already rushed him away; his blood stained the sidewalk.

On Monday morning, she recalled their plans for Christmas. She planned to bring Malcolm Jr. — whom Mency liked to call "M2" — to spend the night before at Mency's house.

"He wanted to wake up with his family and be the first thing he sees on Christmas morning," she said, looking at her son, asleep in a stroller. "He got robbed of the opportunity."

The couple met at Duarte High School. He was a receiver on the football team, and Moore gave water to players during practice. He asked her out, but she was afraid to say yes, she recalled Monday at the site of his shooting.

"Then I surrendered," she said with a tearful laugh.

Mency's shooting is the type of incident that one 45-year resident said happens all too often in this section of Duarte, near the Monrovia border.

"It seems like they want to hurt the other side's family," said the neighbor, looking at Mency's candlelight vigil from his front yard. He asked to have his name withheld out of fear of retaliation by local gangs.

"It always seems to happen around the holidays," he said.

The neighbor said he warned a lot of local kids to stay out of trouble, but Mency "was about the only one who listened. He was a good kid who was trying to do something with his life."

Mency's family said he had graduated from high school in three years and was completing a medical internship. He hoped to become a nurse.

Just hours after Mency was shot, Sheriff's Department officials say a young Latino man was shot and wounded by two black men who were seen leaving in a dark vehicle. Authorities believe the two men were gang members, and that the second shooting could have been the result of a "ping-pong effect" of retaliatory shootings among rival black and Latino gangs, Cooper said.

The description of Mency's shooter is vague, Cooper said. He is described as Latino, in his 20s, with a shaved head.

No weapon was recovered at the scene and no bullet casings were found.

"We have nothing," Cooper said.

Anyone with information about Mency's killing is asked to call the Sheriff's Department homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500 or the sheriff's Temple Station at (626) 285-7171. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

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Sailors home from the sea in time for Christmas

SAN DIEGO — As the Navy ship Freedom passed under the Coronado Bay Bridge and came into view of the families gathered Monday at Naval Base San Diego, Gina Smith sighed with relief and anticipation.

"Yes," she said. "It's over. It's really over."

Smith's husband, Michael, 38, is a senior chief petty officer. Smith, 40, has been through the stress of the stay-at-home spouse on previous deployments. It never gets routine.

But it is particularly arduous at Christmastime. Children ask why their mother or father isn't home to help decorate the tree or take them to see Santa.

True, there is email on modern ships but an absent spouse is not there to help with the myriad details of what should be a festive family holiday.

"He's been asking about his father since the day he left," Erika Macias, 36, said of her 4-year-old son, Austin. "With Christmas coming, he was getting worried his father wouldn't be here."

The initial plans were for the Freedom to return Dec. 31 from its first deployment.

But mindful of the importance of holidays to maintaining the morale of sailors and their families, brass at San Diego-based 3rd Fleet changed the mission to get the ship back to San Diego before Dec. 25, said Cmdr. Dale Heinken, the ship's captain.

The coming and going of Navy ships is an iconic part of San Diego, integral to what makes this region unique from the rest of Southern California.

The scenes rarely change, tears of anxiety from family members as the ships sail away, tears of joy as they return. At holiday season, the homecomings are particularly poignant.

Two weeks ago, it was an aircraft carrier and its air squadrons. Last week, a submarine. On Monday, it was the Freedom, the first of a new class of ship.

Navy decision-makers see the Freedom as the medium-sized vessel of the future — a littoral combat ship, sleek, fast, able to operate in shallow-water trouble spots, like the Persian Gulf, and equipped to take part in such diverse missions as combat and disaster relief.

But to the families on the dock, the dimensions and capabilities of the ship were secondary: Their loved ones were coming home.

As Ezekiel Hernandez, 9, waited for his father, gunner's mate Joel Hernandez, 32, he held a sign aloft: "Our Ohana Is Complete,'' using a Hawaiian term for family.

"It's Christmas now for us," Ezekiel's mother, Marcie, 32, said as the ship was pushed into position by a tugboat.

The Freedom left San Diego in March. In late July, a new crew flew to Singapore to "swap out" with the initial crew. It's a strategy that the Navy hopes will allow ships to stay deployed longer.

The crew that arrived Monday helped deliver food and other supplies to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. There also were exercises with friendly navies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kristin, 30, and Sean Patten, 28, were married two days before he left for Singapore. She was on the dock, increasingly anxious as the minutes before Freedom's scheduled arrival seemed to drag on.

Andrew Taylor, 33, a Navy corpsman, was waiting with flowers for his wife, Blair Taylor, 27, who is also a corpsman.

"It's always hard being a military spouse, but this time of year, it's a bit harder," he said.

With Lt. Jonathan Alston, 28, deployed, his partner, Josh Weitz, 26, bought a home for the couple in San Diego after sending pictures to him via email for approval. There's a Christmas tree at the home but not a lot of presents.

"We have our presents," Weitz said with a large smile. "He gets the house. I get him."

Even with the ship back at its home port, there is still work to be done.

Giovanna Villa, 22, awaited her husband, Anthony Villa, 24, with a sign: "Welcome Home Anthony, My Love."

The couple will have all day Tuesday together. But on Christmas morning, he is due back on the ship at 6 a.m. to stand a 24-hour watch.

tony.perry@latimes.com

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Race for California tax board gets unusually personal

SACRAMENTO — Contests for seats on the state tax board are typically low-profile affairs, but a battle between two lawmakers for one of the posts is shaping up as an ugly fight.

Assemblywoman Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point) and state Sen. Mark Wyland (R-Escondido) both say their business and finance backgrounds are the basis for their campaigns for the Board of Equalization, a five-member panel that collects a third of the state's tax revenue.

But the race, to be decided in next year's election, has increasingly focused on the legal troubles of Dan Harkey, the assemblywoman's husband, and the digs between the candidates are getting personal.

The dispute even moved, briefly, to the courts. In September, Harkey filed a defamation suit against Wyland, who had talked about her husband's problems in a speech to a local tea party group. She dropped the suit in November, but her campaign vowed to continue the fight in "the court of public opinion."

"You can look at a lot of campaigns, and mostly it's back and forth about policy, positions," Wyland said. "This is something very, very different. This goes straight to someone's qualifications to hold office on an ethical and moral basis."

Harkey countered that making an issue of litigation involving her husband is "beyond the pale."

At the heart of the matter is a lawsuit regarding Point Center Financial, a real estate investment firm run by Dan Harkey. In 2009, a group of clients, some of them retirees, sued the company for fraud. The assemblywoman was originally named as a defendant in the suit but was later dropped.

In July, a jury awarded the plaintiffs $10 million in damages after finding that the company acted with "malice, oppression or fraud" in breaching its fiduciary duties.

Wyland said the court case should be fair game in the campaign, even though Diane Harkey was dismissed from the suit.

"She has personally benefited from the retirement money of these victims — in an opulent lifestyle, in funding campaigns," Wyland said. "To me, the only moral thing to do is to apologize to these victims and use her resources, which are from them, to make them whole."

Harkey said the claim that her husband's earnings have boosted her political career is sexist. She said she and her husband have long kept their finances separate and that she earned her own income from a banking career that preceded her entry into politics.

"We've had separate agreements as to who owns what," she said. Wyland's assertion "is a very chauvinistic, typical male assumption, and I think he's out of line."

The candidates have traded jabs in their campaign literature and on blogs such as the Flash Report, run by Jon Fleischman, a former state GOP official.

Fleischman said there was an "unusually high level of acrimony" in this campaign — a result, he said, of the candidates needing to differentiate themselves from one another.

"There is not a lick of difference between them on the issues," said Fleischman, noting they were two of the four California lawmakers to get a 100% rating this year from the American Conservative Union, a political advocacy group.

Both lawmakers have had their eye on the Board of Equalization seat since 2011. Harkey's endorsements includes incumbent Board of Equalization member Michelle Steel and U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona). Wyland's supporters include former Gov. Pete Wilson and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The district they're vying to represent encompasses Orange, Riverside, Imperial and San Diego counties. And the contest is expected to be costly.

Wyland has raised about $300,000 for his campaign. Harkey has brought in about $250,000 and has just over $100,000 in a Senate campaign account that can be transferred to next year's run. Each candidate has also poured $100,000 in personal funds into the race.

A third candidate, former Assemblyman Van Tran, a Republican from Orange, entered the race in October and has not yet filed a campaign finance report.

melanie.mason@latimes.com

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Marcel Hirscher wins, Ted Ligety struggles in World Cup giant slalom

Two-time defending overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher won the challenging giant slalom on the Gran Risa course at Alta Badia, Italy, with two solid runs Sunday and attributed his victory to a fixed screw in his equipment setup.

Favorite Ted Ligety finished third at the site of one of his most memorable victories and suddenly no longer looks dominant with the Sochi Olympics less than 50 days away.

Hirscher, an Austrian, clocked a two-run combined time of 2 minutes 37.45 seconds for his second consecutive GS win after a victory in Val d'Isere, France, last weekend.

Alexis Pinturault of France finished second, 0.35 of a second behind, and Ligety, the American who won by a massive margin last year, was 0.41 back.

Ligety struggled with the soft conditions — a sharp change from past seasons when the Gran Risa was extremely icy — and dropped 60 points behind Hirscher in the giant slalom standings.

===

World Cup leader Tina Wierather of Liechtenstein protected her lead from the first run to win the first giant slalom race of her career, at Val d'Isere, her second victory of the season and third of her fast-improving career.

Wierather leads overall with 595 points, ahead of Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535).

Julia Mancuso

After winning a super-G race at St. Moritz, Switzerland, last weekend, the 24-year-old Wierather secured her 13th podium finish with an overall time of 2 minutes 24.10 seconds.

Wierather was 0.75 of a second clear of Gut, who was third after the first run, and 0.95 ahead of Sweden's Maria Pietilae-Holmner, who had been second.

ETC.

Notre Dame loses leading scorer Grant

Notre Dame's basketball team will be without leading scorer Jerian Grant for the rest of the season because of an academic problem.

The university posted a statement from Grant on its website Sunday evening that said he is no longer enrolled in the school because of an academic matter he didn't handle properly. He says he takes responsibility for his lack of good judgment and the poor decision he made.

Grant, the son of former NBA player Harvey Grant, was averaging 19 points a game. The news comes a day after the Irish (8-4) squandered an eight-point lead in the final 50 seconds in a loss to No. 3 Ohio State.

===

Teenage golf star Lydia Ko has split with the only coach she has had since she took up the sport as a 5-year-old.

Guy Wilson, who had worked with the 16-year-old Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was "incredibly disappointed" the partnership is over. Ko has not publicly commented on the decision.

Ko won five professional tournaments — four as an amateur — while coached by Wilson.

===

Former Colorado offensive lineman Alex Lewis pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for his role in a fight in May that left an Air Force Academy cadet unconscious.

The Daily Camera of Boulder, Colo., reported that the 21-year-old, who transferred to Nebraska, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor Friday as part of a deal with prosecutors. Four other charges were dropped, including two felony counts of second-degree assault.

Boulder police arrested Lewis and Colorado quarterback Jordan Webb on May 11 after witnesses said the men were involved in a fight with 22-year-old cadet Lee Bussey.

Webb, who originally was charged with second-degree assault, struck a deal in September and pleaded guilty to third-degree assault.

===

Former major leaguer Alex Cabrera broke a three-decade-old Venezuelan record for most home runs in a season.

Cabrera hit his 21st home run on Sunday, a grand slam that soared into the left-field bleachers and surpassed the tally set in 1980 by former big league catcher Bo Diaz.

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Clippers refuse to give in to Timberwolves and win in overtime, 120-116

The Clippers displayed a lack of composure that led to technical fouls on Coach Doc Rivers and DeAndre Jordan and to the ejection of Matt Barnes.

That meant the Clippers had to play through their faults and an inspired Minnesota team Sunday night at Staples Center.

And somehow the Clippers did, showing the resolve to overcome all the challenges before them to pull out a 120-116 overtime victory over the Timberwolves.

BOX SCORE: Clippers 120, Timberwolves 116 (OT)

"Everybody lost their composure," Rivers said. "Everybody. We kept gathering ourselves and I thought that was very important. There were a lot of times in that game where we could have just given in, and we didn't."

The Clippers didn't give in when trailing by five points with 1 minute 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter. They didn't give in to Kevin Love, who pounded them for 45 points and 19 rebounds or to Nikola Pekovic, who pounded them inside for 34 points and 14 rebounds.

The Clippers didn't give when Blake Griffin (32 points) fouled out with 4:08 left in overtime.

The Clippers didn't give in because Chris Paul came up big. Paul got a steal in the fourth quarter that led to a Jamal Crawford basket to tie the score at 106-106 with seven seconds left.

Paul made five of six free throws in the final 19.2 seconds of the game and finished with 19 points, despite missing 13 of 19 shots. He also had 13 assists.

The Clippers didn't give in and won their season-best fifth consecutive game because Jared Dudley stayed the course when his shot was betraying him.

Dudley missed his first six three-pointers, but he still stepped up with confidence and knocked down a three off a pass from Paul that gave the Clippers a 115-114 lead with 38.6 seconds left.

"You got to make those ones, especially when you get that wide open in that clutch situation," said Dudley, who made six of 14 shots and scored 15 points.

Barnes, in his second game back after missing 16 recovering from left eye surgery to repair a torn retina, was called for a flagrant foul two on Love and ejected from the game with 56.8 seconds left in the third.

Barnes yelled at referee Marc Davis and had to be restrained by teammates Stephen Jackson and Willie Green, both of whom escorted Barnes off the court.

Barnes, who has played in just 10 games all season, has been ejected from two games.

"First of all, it wasn't a flagrant two," Rivers said. "I didn't think it was a flagrant one. He got mostly ball and he swung at it."

Griffin was also elbowed in the left temple by Love that drew blood, but Love was only called for a foul.

But the Clippers played through all of that to beat the Timberwolves for the eighth straight time.

"I got a chance to be the one to tell everybody to calm down. Let's just win the game," Paul said. "I kept saying that in the huddle. Regardless of this stuff that's going on, let's just win the game."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner

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Peyton Manning sets TD record on otherwise crazy Sunday

On another bizarre NFL Sunday, when Seattle lost at home for the first time in two years, Carolina secured its first playoff berth in five years, and a bunch of left-for-dead teams somehow maintained a postseason pulse, something very typical happened:

Peyton Manning threw touchdown passes.

The Denver quarterback threw four of them in a 37-13 rout of Houston, setting an NFL record with his 51st touchdown pass of the season, eclipsing by one the mark set by New England's Tom Brady in 2007.

But put down the chisel. Manning figures he's only renting the record.

"Brady will probably break it next year," he said.

No matter. Manning wasn't looking for records as much as wins, and Sunday's victory was a big one. The Broncos emerged from the weekend as the only team with a guaranteed first-round bye, although they also lost All-Pro linebacker Von Miller to a knee injury, reportedly a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Seattle had a chance to clinch its division, but the Seahawks were stunned at home by Arizona, 17-10.

With one week remaining, both the Broncos and Seahawks remain on track for the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences, although they have teams hot on their heels.

All four division titles have been claimed in the AFC, by Denver, New England, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

But the NFC has yet to crown a division winner.

If San Francisco were to lose at home Monday night to Atlanta, a relative longshot, the Seahawks would win the NFC West. Otherwise, Seattle can win it by beating St. Louis at home.

There are two winner-take-all finales in the conference: Philadelphia at Dallas and Green Bay at Chicago. The winners of those will play host to a first-round playoff game, while the losers are done for the season.

No team in either conference is an overwhelming Super Bowl favorite. Every division winner or leader has lost at least once in the last three weeks.

New England, which clobbered the Ravens in Baltimore, 41-7, is one game behind the Broncos for the top seed in the AFC.

Carolina, which held off New Orleans at home, 17-13, is a game behind the Seahawks.

Among the teams still alive in the playoff picture are San Diego and Pittsburgh, although both would need plenty of help to make it.

Meanwhile, Carolina reminded everyone of an NFL truism: It's not how you start, but how you finish. The Panthers lost three of their first four games, and Ron Rivera's coaching chair was roughly equivalent to the surface of the sun.

"When we were 1-3 there was a lot of what-ifs, a lot of people that were jumping off the bandwagon," Carolina quarterback Cam Newton said. "It was a lot of finger-pointing and saying, 'I told you so.' But as a team we stuck together and didn't veer off, and had faith in each other."

People seldom have faith in the Cardinals, who have made the playoffs just four times in 34 years, dating to their years in St. Louis.

But Arizona has won seven of eight under first-year Coach Bruce Arians, and Sunday became the first visiting team to win at Seattle since December 2011, snapping Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson's 14-0 streak at home.

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After 11 years in prison for murder he didn't commit, L.A. man is free

DeAndre Howard spent more than a decade in prison for a murder he knew he didn't commit. After years of fighting for his innocence from behind bars, a federal judge had finally granted him an appeal. Prosecutors, he said, gave him a choice.

He could plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and get out in time for a Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Or he could go back to trial and risk spending the rest of his life in prison.

He chose trial. That felt final. It felt right.

"There was no need to compromise your integrity just so you can go free," he said. "I felt that's something you have to hold firm to even if your life is on the line."

On Friday, after 11 years behind bars, Howard, 31, walked out of a courtroom in downtown Los Angeles a free man after a jury acquitted him of murder and attempted murder.

Dressed in a black jumpsuit from county jail, he had trouble finding a pay phone. Someone let him borrow a cellphone. He made several calls to relatives who weren't expecting his release until several days later. A cousin picked him up at a bus stop near the courthouse.

"I was looking at all the buildings and breathing the nice cold air," he said. "This was freedom."

The wrongful arrest in 2002, he says, came just as troubles in his life were compounding.

Growing up in South L.A., his grandmother was the force of stability. But after she was killed in a shooting in the late 1980s, he said, his life began to unravel. He spent his time scrimping together change to buy hot dogs and diapers for his siblings. Eventually, they landed in the foster care system. At 18, he set a goal for himself: If he didn't sign up for school or get a job in a year, he'd join the Army or the Navy.

But that never happened. In 1999 he was arrested for selling crack. The next year he did prison time on a forgery charge. He was released in February 2002, five months before the summer evening that changed his life.

On July 8, an employee at a liquor store at 42nd and Hoover streets had just started his break when he heard what he thought were firecrackers. He turned and saw a man firing a gun at two others, later identified as Mark Freeman, who was killed, and Arthur Ragland. The shooter got back into a white vehicle and drove off, court documents say.

The crux of the case was whether Howard was that shooter.

Although the liquor store employee and Freeman's former girlfriend, who had seen the shooting from down the street, initially picked Howard's face out of a photo lineup, court documents say the woman later testified that she had seen the shooter's profile and couldn't tell who it was.

Howard maintained his innocence and, according to court documents, urged his attorney to contact Ragland, the surviving victim. That never happened, according to the records.

At trial, the jury initially deadlocked. The judge asked jurors to continue deliberating, and they eventually found Howard guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced to 75 years to life, plus a consecutive life term.

From behind bars, Howard fought for his innocence. He began filing a flurry of appeals, which hinged on his belief that his trial lawyer hadn't properly defended him. His main point of concern was that his lawyer had never interviewed Ragland. He said his position was bolstered in 2004 when Ragland sent a letter to Howard's appellate attorney saying that Howard wasn't the gunman.

"The truth remains DeAndre Howard never attempted to murder me," Ragland stated in a declaration. "Neither did he murder victim Mark Anthony Freeman."

A U.S. magistrate judge, nonetheless, denied Howard's request to overturn the conviction in 2007. Howard appealed again. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately ruled that the fact that Howard's attorney hadn't interviewed Ragland was significant.

"One would normally expect the surviving victim to be a star witness for the prosecution," the court wrote. "A reasonable attorney would therefore have attempted to interview Ragland to prepare for trial."

The 2010 appeals court decision remanded it back to the lower court to test the merits of Howard's allegations.

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Colorado high school shooting victim dies

Claire Davis, the 17-year-old who was shot in the head by a classmate at a Colorado high school earlier this month, died Saturday afternoon, hospital officials said.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share that at 4:29 p.m. this afternoon, Claire Davis passed away, with her family at her side," Littleton Adventist Hospital wrote on its Facebook page.

"Despite the best efforts of our physicians and nursing staff, and Claire's fighting spirit, her injuries were too severe and the most advanced medical treatments could not prevent this tragic loss of life."

Davis was shot at point-blank range Dec. 13 by Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, who moments later turned the gun on himself. Both were students at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo. Pierson reportedly had been searching for his debate coach when he entered the school with weapons including a 12-gauge shotgun, a machete and three incendiary devices.

"Although we have lost our precious daughter, we will always be grateful for the indelible journey she took us on over the last 17 years — we were truly blessed to be Claire's parents," the Davis family wrote in a statement to the Denver Post on Saturday evening.

"The grace, laughter and light she brought to this world will not be extinguished by her death; to the contrary, it will only get stronger."

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said at a news conference last week that Davis had been in "the wrong place at the wrong time."

"She was an innocent victim of an evil act of violence," he said.

Since the shooting, the community has rallied around Davis, with Twitter users taking up the hashtag #PrayForClaire. About 500 students held a candlelight vigil last weekend for Davis outside the school, where they had inserted flowers into a chain-link fence to form the message "4 CLAIRE."

Some friends used social media to get the attention of boy band One Direction, reportedly one of Davis' favorite artists, using the hashtag #Get1DtoClaire.

The band sent a video message for Davis that was uploaded to YouTube on Thursday.

The announcement of Davis' death comes just days after students were allowed back on campus for the first time since the shooting to retrieve belongings.

According to the hospital's Facebook page, a public celebration of Claire's life will be announced later.

The hospital will continue to accept cards for the Davis family.

saba.hamedy@latimes.com

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