What do I know?

The rumors have been swirling on the blogoshphere for weeks. Sam Zell. Dean Singleton. The Black Press. Those are but three of the suitors who are the imminent new owners of The San Diego Union-Tribune -- if you believe what you read in the media.

But the intensity of the talk, and the concern among people associated with the paper, has picked up in recent days, and the ongoing uncertainty has been more than a bit unsettling. The most persistent discussion is that someone has bought the paper and the sale will be announced on Friday. Then the ax will fall, and a whole lotta people will be laid off.

The fact that the country is suffering through what is arguably the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression doesn't give folks who eschewed the most recent round of buyouts much confidence.

Me? As Micky Sach's father says in Hannah and Her Sisters, `What do I know? I can't even figure out how to fix this damn can opener!'

But plug on I must. I'm getting paid a decent salary to help produce three sections of the paper and manage a team of six reporters and news assistants, not to speculate on something I cannot control. And I'm pretty damn proud of my work. Perhaps, in a few weeks, Sam Zell, Dean Singleton or some other schlub will conclude the paper could do just fine without me, thank you very much, but until then, I know of only one way: never cheat your employer.

It sounds corny, and it no doubt is, but my mother always said that whatever happens, happens for the best. She said it when I separated from my first wife, and I ended up later marrying someone I love and care about more than I could ever imagine. She said it when my Lakers got beat by an inferior Celtics team in the 1984 NBA Finals, and L.A came back with a vengeance the following season, beginning a run of three championships in four years. She said it when I screwed up on my SAT, and I ended up taking the ACT instead, ranking in top percentile in the country and getting accepted, honors at entrance, at every school I applied to.

So I'm sticking with the old Russian lady's sage advice, secure in the knowledge that whatever happens, happens for the best.