Politics: Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is spending the long weekend at home listening to people and messages urging him to run for Speaker of the House, but so far he’s not biting. Ryan is chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, a job he sees as a springboard to power. He has expressed no desire to become the speaker as the extreme wings of the Republican Party hunt for a candidate they can all support.

World: Iranian television is reporting that Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who’s been held for 14 months, has been convicted of espionage. Few details have been released. Both the Post and Rezaian, who is the paper’s Tehran bureau chief, have denied the accusations.

Rezaian’s case has been among the reasons cited by some politicians who are opposed to the Iran nuclear deal. They’ve objected approving an agreement with a country that would arrest a foreign journalist.

Permawar: The Turkish air force pounded Kurdish rebels yesterday, a day after twin bombs killed 95 people at a peace rally in central Ankara. Jets hit militants in southeast Turkey and just over the border in Iran.

Turkey is in turmoil heading into a November 1^st snap election. The governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its majority in June because of political gains made by the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), which was involved in Saturday’s rally that was bombed.

Play Ball: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chase Utley has been suspended for two games for what was judged to be a dirty play Saturday night that snapped the leg of Mets’ shortstop Reuben Tejada, knocking him out of post-season play.

Utley aggressively slid a little late and to the outside of the base, neatly wiping out Tejada. Major League baseball’s Joe Torre said, “I believe his slide was in violation of Official Baseball Rule 5.09(a)(13), which is designed to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base.” Oh, a violation of 5.09(a)(13)! In other words, Utley was gunning for Tejada, or not, resulting in the kind of bar room argument that baseball fans love.

Sidelined: USC football coach Steve Sarkisian has been suspended indefinitely for a drinking problem. Athletic Director Pat Haden said he called Sarkisian after the coach failed to show for practice. “It was very clear to me that he is not healthy,” Haden said. “I asked him to take an indefinite leave of absence.”

The Los Angeles Times looked into Sarkisian’s long history as a hard drinker, finding that “What emerged is a portrait of a man who favored Patron Silver tequila or Coors Light.”

Rock On: Aerosmith lead man Steven Tyler has asked Donald Trump to stop using his song “Dream On” as his entry music for campaign appearances. Tyler says it’s a copyright issue, but really, what rocker wants a man with an orange combover associated with one of his best songs?

The rock theme song has been a staple for politicians in recent years, although it never makes them cool. Bill and Hillary Clinton played Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” (“thinkin’ about tomorrow”) until you wanted to kill them, the band, or both. Ronald Reagan once cheerfully cited what he thought was the patriotism of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” not knowing it was a bitter ode about a kid sent to fight in Vietnam.

Trump is 69 years old. Maybe he thinks that Tyler, at 67, will get him the youth vote. Dream on.

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