LA Lakers defeat Dallas Mavericks 112-108. The Lakers broke Lawler's Law by defeating the Mavericks even though the Mavericks got to 100 points first. Lamar Odom has a season high 31 points while Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol got 25 points each. The Lakers join the New Orleans Hornets as the only two teams in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spot. With six games left to go, their only tough games are......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is......