One of the best NBA writers in the business, Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times, was laid off Wednesday.

Also getting the boot during this latest round of layoffs was sports columnist Jerry Crowe.

Both men had been at the Los Angeles Times for more than 20 years.

The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Targuy Ngombo with the No. 57 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Timberwolves scout Pete Philo discovered the 21-year-old from Qatar and convinced general manager David Kahn to draft him.

One problem – - Targuy Ngombo is not his real name and he’s not 21, according to SB Nation Minnesota:

Except Targuy Ngombo is actually Tanguy Alban Harrys Ngombo, a soon-to-be 27-year-old forward who apparently duped everyone on his way to hearing his name called by Adam Silver on Thursday night.

Ngombo was first brought to the mainstream’s attention by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express earlier in the week when he mentioned there was a good chance that the Congolese native could get drafted out of Qatar (stay with me now). Timberwolves scout Pete Philo apparently discovered Ngombo and convinced Kahn he was worthy of a draft pick while assuming the small forward was only 21 as it says on his NBA.com page. Read more

Rory McIlroy‘s 16-under par at the U.S. Open set a tournament record for most strokes under par and helped make the 22-year-old the youngest Open winner since Bobby Jones in 1923. But his domination of the field may have deterred viewers from tuning in to Sunday’s coverage, as NBC posted a 5.1 overnight rating for Sunday’s program, a 26 percent dip over last year’s numbers. If McIlroy had wavered on Sunday and treated fans to a replay of his Masters implosion, when he shot 80 on Sunday, perhaps more people would have tuned in. Alas, McIlroy was quite selfish and only thought of himself and winning his first major tournament.

ESPN SportsNation co-host Michelle Beadle is filling in Thursday for Kelly Ripa on the Live! with Regis & Kelly show.

Check local listings for when the syndicated show airs.

Yesterday we reported that ESPN sideline reporter Jenn Brown had gone on Twitter and announced her glee about getting the assignment to cover the College World Series, a gig that had long been the province of ESPN personality Erin Andrews.

“Guess who’s working the sidelines for the College World Series in Omaha?!? I am super psyched and can’t wait!!” Brown wrote.

If people suspected Andrews was getting snubbed by the Bristol brass in lieu of a fresher face, well, Andrews paints a different picture, saying on Twitter “Thx for all the tweets about CWS & the Bee…yes, everything is OK..It was time for me to pull back and have down time before (college football) and (college basketball).”

In reply to a question from a follower, she said of the College World Series, “sorry..been doing it for 8 yrs..time for a change..”

As Darren Rovell of CNBC reported yesterday, Rob Stone is replacing Andrews for next week’s Scripps National Spelling Bee.

During the Monday broadcast of the Reds-Phillies game on 700 WLW, Reds announcer Marty Brennaman called Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter a whiner and excuse-maker and said it’s always something with the Cardinals, whom he said might be the most disliked team in baseball. Of course this largely stems from the Albert Pujols hit-by-pitch contretemps during Sunday’s game with the Reds, when Cardinals players and coaches (most notably pitching coach Dave Duncan) took issue with Pujols getting plunked in the ninth inning, a development that put the tying run on base for the Cardinals and yet seemed nefarious to Duncan and others.

Here’s the link to the audio of Brennaman’s rant:

The MLB Network will feature live telecasts of select Triple-A games during the 2011 season along with the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 13.

Triple-A coverage on the MLB Network starts April 19 when the Rochester Wed Wings (Triple-A Minnesota Twins) travels to the Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A New York Mets) at 12:05 pm ET.

Below is the entire schedule for the 2011 season:

• Tuesday, April 19, 12:05 p.m. ET, Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A Minnesota Twins) at Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A New York Mets)
• Monday, April 25, 12:05 p.m. ET, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Triple-A Philadelphia Phillies)at Buffalo Bisons Read more

Sunday’s ESPN Sunday Night Baseball scored a 3.5 overnight rating, the network’s highest-rated MLB telecast since 2009 (3.7 rating for Yankees vs. Red Sox on Aug. 23).

Ratings were up 119 percent over last year’s comparable game (1.6 overnight rating) between St. Louis and Milwaukee.

Locally, the 4-0 Red Sox victory delivered a 17.8 metered market rating in Boston, ESPN’s highest-rated MLB regular season game in the market since Yankees vs. Red Sox on Apr. 26, 2009 (20.7 rating).

While DirecTV and the YES Network try to reach an agreement on a new deal, SNY, home to the New York Mets, is off the air on the Dish Network.

Negotiations are going on between the two sides, but it appears the New York Mets season opener Friday night against the Florida Marlins is in jeopardy.

Dish Network released the following statement:

“Regional sports channels like SportsNet NY have become one of the pay-TV industry’s fastest-growing expenditures, making our negotiations with content providers increasingly difficult. Our customers are our No. 1 priority, and they look to us to offer the most channel choices and compelling programming, all at the best value. That’s why we work hard for fair deals. Read more

Meet Andrew Belleson, the new voice of Wrigley Field.

The lifelong Cubs fan beat out 3,000 people for the position of public address announcer at Wrigley Field.

Belleson isn’t a rookie when it comes to the position. He worked five years as a public address announcer and radio broadcaster for the Rockford RiverHawks.