LAst Night's Action: Kobe Plays the Jazz

Lakers 132, Jazz 102 - A few years ago, it wouldn't be a big surprise to see the Lakers dump the Jazz and Kobe score more than 50 points. Back then, Kyra Sedgwick was Behind The Red Door. But this is 2006; Utah is in first place and Kobe has knee problems. None of that mattered tonight, as Kobe slammed the door on the Jazz by going 9-for-9 from the floor and 10-for-10 from the line ... in just the third quarter. Most pros would love to have 30 points in a game, but his 12 minute stretch was just a part of 52 overall. Tonight, he was The Closer. In his own words, "It feels like I'm playing Play Station or something."

Coyotes 7, Kings 4 - The Kings struggled from behind for most of the game against the team coached by their former superstar. Coach Gretzky (we love typing that) had benched Ladislav Nagy the game before, and he responded by passing the puck for three assists and dumping in a goal of his own.

Ducks 2, Canucks 1 - Ryan Getzlaf scored his second consecutive game winning goal with less than 8 minutes to play on a two man power play, and the Ducks held onto the best record in the NHL. His last one was a little more dramatic (OT comeback against Edmonton), but as they say ... if you can't score with a two man advantage, you don't deserve to win.

Elsewhere - If you don't get the Kyra references, you haven't been reading your LAist (in particular, Kurt Helin's Lakers-Jazz preview) ... Sports Illustrated ranks UCLA #1 in basketball and #2 in all sports. Football? Not so much.