I won't pretend not to be biased in Tim Brown's favor, but the bias is well-earned. We sat side-by-side at the Daily News for a good deal of my time there. He came to the paper with a reputation for dogged reporting, and that proved true. He also had a flair for language that I always looked forward to reading. (Arrogantly, I would say to myself, "Wait a minute, I'm supposed to be the good writer here.") Later, Brown got promoted to cover the Angels, and he mentored me a bit as I served as his backup in 1991.

You may have noticed Brown, who was on the Laker beat for several years, writing a column "On Baseball" for the Times during the recently completed playoffs. I took it as a sign that he might be taking over Ross Newhan's slot on the national baseball beat, and today Brown confirmed that for me. I think it's a fine thing.

Newhan's farewell column will be coming any day now, though he may continue to write for the Times on a sporadic basis. I wish Newhan the best.