Hits Needed

Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken has a chance to reach a career milestone of 3,000 hits this season.Career hits: 2,980Hits needed: 20Season: 102 hitsGames remaining: 20

HOLLYWOOD - Jeff Blake, the vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, summed it up this way: "The summer did not work out the way we hoped." Although he was talking about his own studio, his statement applied to the rest of Hollywood as well. Summer's not officially over, but much of the industry has written off what is traditionally one of the busiest stretches of the year: Despite a decades-long upward trend, the season's attendance is off about 10 percent from last year, and is at its lowest level since 2000.

Banished baseball star Pete Rose appears to be nearing reinstatement, though several conditions still have to be met before baseball commissioner Bud Selig lifts the lifetime ban that was imposed on Rose in 1989 for gambling on baseball. Selig is expected to require Rose to admit that he bet on baseball when he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Rose has steadfastly maintained that he bet only on other sports, though the investigative report commissioned by Major League Baseball in 1989 cited gambling slips and phone records from Rose's office at Riverfront Stadium as proof that he repeatedly violated baseball rules by placing bets with bookies.

The Orioles' Cal Ripken has a chance to reach a career milestone of 3,000 hits.Career hits: 2,991Hits needed: 9Last night: 1-for-4Season: 113 hitsGames remaining: 13