But first - Kobe vetoed a trade!

Baseball in the Coliseum - Just after it was announced that the Red Sox will open the exhibition season against Oakland in Japan, the Dodgers confirmed that the defending World Champs would play three games against the Blue Crew. The cool part? One of the games will be in the Coliseum as part of the Dodger's 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. Yes, it can be configured that way -- and has been before. The Dodgers actually hosted an All-Star game there, not to mention won the World Series and set the single-game MLB attendance record.

A-Rod Reconciles - The only A-Rod discussions in the Southland will have to be in the Brokeback Laker locker room. It looks like Alex Rodriguez is headed back to the Yankees. He'll bonus big-time if he breaks the home run record.

* - So if A-Rod breaks the record, which one will he need to chase? Barry Bonds has been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice (full indictment in PDF available here). That could be the first step towards erasing his name from the books. Before everybody jumps to conclusions -- yes, it was obvious he was on steroids -- this will be a tough case to prove. He's not in trouble for doing illegal drugs, he's in trouble for lying about it. Bonds claims he wasn't aware, and it's unclear if they have any hard proof. We do know that Bond's personal trainer was released from prison today, presumably because he squealed. If that's the case, it's one man's word against another. Even if convicted, Bonds is not likely to face to maximum penalties being mentioned in the news. Think more like a year behind bars and/or house arrest. Even if he's found innocent, his career is over.

Ducks 6, Kings 3 - Order has been restored in Southland hockey. Anaheim won their third in a row and second over Los Angeles in three nights. Both teams had a goalie with 26 saves. Nothing unusual there. Both goalies are named Jean-Sebastien. That's a little out of the ordinary.

Elsewhere - In one fowl swoop, USC's Pac-10 hopes are alive (and even in their own hands). They could split their 6th straight league crown by winning out. The Rose Bowl, however, became less likely ... You are not as tough as this high school girl. It's cool, you don't want to be that tough if you don't have to ...The Onion asks: is the "U.S. military wasting all its victories on Notre Dame?"

Today's Action - Detroit @ Lakers (7:30pm) ... Clippers @ Golden State (7:30pm).

AP photo by Jeff Chiu.