Walter O’Malley, whose name Brooklynites utter with the same degree of loathing Jews reserve for the Nazis, was the man most responsible for moving the Dodgers to LA. And the woman most responsible was Roz Wyman, who died last Wednesday, at age 92. In 1953, when she was 22, she became the youngest person (and only the second woman), elected to the LA City Council, having based her campaign on a promise to bring major league baseball to the city. Once in office, she was crucial to the effort to convince O’Malley to move the team. O’Malley himself said “Roz did it,” and that “she deserves all the credit.” How beloved a figure is she in LA sports history? Well, she was honored with a bobblehead doll .

It’s a good likeness.

If you read Rex Parker’s daily NYT puzzle blog you will find him to be a nitpicker and curmudgeon of the highest order, albeit a lovable one. Today, in honor of Halloween, someone posted an imaginary scene between him and a 4-year-old trick-or-treater:

4YO – Trick or treat!
Rex – What are you supposed to be?
4YO – I’m a ghost.
Rex – You call that a ghost costume? The eye holes are not symmetrical and there’s a tag on it. And since when do ghosts wear Nikes?
4YO – Can I have some candy mister?
Rex – OK. But next year you better have a better costume.

The puzzle had a term that was new to me: DOOM SCROLLS, clued as “Binges on bad news, in modern slang.” It prompted commenter LMS to chat about her web “scrolling” habits, and she shared this very short video, which I dare you not to laugh out loud at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Sgw3zXzTNO8

I’m not the only one keeping a tuchas watch on the puzzle. A Rex commenter is keeping close track too, and noted that today’s grid contained SEAT, END, and ASSay. He also thought ASTOR could qualify, as in the phrase: “I got my ASTOR up pretty bad by that Rottweiler.” I posted a response, wondering if ERSE (clued as “Gaelic dialect”), could qualify, as a variant of the British “arse.” I’ll let you know if he gets back to me, or if he’s a SNOOT (“Stuck-up sort”).

Appropriate for a Monday Monday puzzle, The Mamas & The Papas made an appearance. The question as to exactly how Cass Elliot died came up recently. So let’s take a look.

Cass was born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore. All four of her grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. After The Mamas and The Papas “disbanded,” she maintained a solo career that was going well. After a successful performance in London, she celebrated for 24 hours straight at various venues (including at Mick Jagger’s home for his 32nd birthday). She eventually got to sleep at singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson’s apartment, where she died in her sleep of heart failure, at age 32.

There are two theories for how the legend grew that she died from choking on a ham sandwich. The first is that the doctor who was called to her room noticed a half-eaten ham sandwich, and speculated to the press that it might have had something to do with her death. The autopsy had not been performed yet to establish the actual cause. The second is that the sandwich story was promoted by her manager to protect her reputation fearing the actual cause was drug-related. In fact, no food was found in her windpipe and no drugs in her system.

The constructor of today’s puzzle, Emily Carroll, may have wanted to team a big man up with that big woman, because SHAQ O’Neal is also in the grid. I’m not going to dwell on him much, other than to note he’s a Jersey man, born in Newark, and that my favorite sentence in his wikipedia entry is “O’Neal came from a tall family.” Ya think?