LAst Night's Action: Local Teams Suffer Vengeance

Mavericks 114, Lakers 95 - Coming into the game, Dallas had won 18 of their last 19. The loss? Lakers. The revenge? Resounding. The Mavericks were up by as many as 28 and got double digit performances from six players. They did just about everything, including performing the national anthem before the game. Dallas is midway through the season and holds the best record in the league. They look to exact more revenge on Sunday when they devour, um, play a struggling Miami squad that beat them in the NBA Finals last year. The Lakers will lick their wounds until Saturday when they play New Orleans in Oklahoma City.

Blues 3, Kings 1 - Former King's coach Andy Murray returned to Los Angeles and did the same thing he used to do -- he won. This time he was on the bench for St. Louis, who got two goals within about two and a half minutes from Dallas Drake and never looked back. Murray led Los Angeles for seven years and set a franchise record with 215 wins. He was fired just under a year ago despite a winning record that season. Since leaving, his new Blues are 3-0 against his old Kings, who sit securely in the cellar of the Western Conference. Maybe it'll help if they hire an old guy.

Oilers 4, Ducks 1 - A sellout Edmonton crowd came prepared to boo Chris Pronger, who led the team deep into the playoffs last year before asking for a trade (winding up in Anaheim). Unfortunately for them, Pronger was out with a broken foot. Fortunately for them, Pronger was one of several key injuries that have caused the Ducks to slump. The team has won just 2 of their last 10 games, but thanks to a strong start is still leading the Pacific Division and are only a point away from the best record in the West.

Beckham Watch - You, too, could play with the great one. This is a rare opportunity in professional sports, and Mark Wahlberg might play you in a movie.

Elsewhere - USC men's basketball continues to be giant killers, knocking off #11 Arizona for their fourth win against a top 25 team this season. They also fell one point shy of beating UCLA, ranked #3 ... Speaking of Bruins basketball, they easily handled Arizona State ... There are some big, um, perks to being the quarterback for the National Champion Florida Gators ... and some haters.

AP photo by Donna McWilliam.