A weekly program focusing on the arts and entertainment

Arts and Entertainment Editor Bob Sokolsky says the message was not surprising, but the messenger was. It turned out to Vin Skully, the broadcast voice of the Dodgers for the last 59 years.

Skully was in the booth covering the Dodgers' exhibition game with the Milwaukee Brewers when he was handed a bulletin announcing North Korea's launching of a ballistic missile. He quickly set aside his scorebook to deliver the report with a brief clear explanation of what it could mean.

Sokolsky says a scan along the TV dial indicated Skully was the first to get that report to viewers. CNN, he declares was up with a special newscast three minutes later, complete with logos and expert commentators. However, he points out, they were basically providing the same information Skully had already supplied, minus all the bells and whistles.

Surprisingly, Sokolsky notes, there has been very little comment about Skully's news beat. Perhaps, he adds, that's because Skully has been so reliable for so long that he is just taken for granted.

In this case, he adds, that was probably a good thing because who else could have given us such important information in such a short time and then seamlessly brought us back to the then needed comfort of "the old ball game"?