Watching last night’s UCLA-Oregon matchup was a bit disturbing. No, it wasn’t the 47-point blowout or the complete ineptitude of UCLA - how can something be disturbing when it was expected? It was the fact that ESPN continually referred to Oregon as the No. 2 team in the nation, second to Oklahoma, that really got me angry. more ›

Today marks the first Saturday of the college football season. Millions across the country; especially here in the home of the #4 ranked USC Trojans and the recipient of seven votes in the AP Top 25 - UCLA Bruins, are excited to get the 2009 campaign kicked off. I, on the other hand, could couldn't care less. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Houston Rockets 105-100. True the Lakers can't win pretty, but who cares? With the injuries to Jordon Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton forcing Derek Fisher to log a lot of minutes on those aged wheels. Even Sun Yue had to log three minutes in this game. Lamar Odom was back in action after his bruised bone injury to score ten points in 27 minutes of play. Kobe led all scorers with 33 points. However former Laker Von Wafer had a career game scoring 23 points and seemed unstoppable for three quarters. But Kobe finally shut him down in the fourth quarter and gave the Lakers a nailbiting win in Houston. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Golden State Warriors 114-106. Pau Gasol got 33 points and tied a career high 18 rebounds as the Lakers needed an strong fourth quarter push to withstand the Warriors offensive onslaught. After getting only 10 points against the Hornets the night before, Gasol seemed make the Warriors pay for it especially in the fourth quarter. With a 28-6 record the Lakers are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA. more ›

Downstairs in the sportsbook of the Flamingo, casual fans and degenerates alike are placing their bets on Thursday's BCS Championship game between Florida and Oklahoma, two teams that aren't meeting because they knocked off foes in a playoff system to reach the championship round. Upstairs on the conference room level of the Las Vegas hotel and casino, more than 400 teams from across North America are competing in tournament for a championship. more ›

With the Dodgers postseason run, the Lakers undefeated start to their season and the election and subsequent hangover getting in the way, let’s talk some football! more ›

Tonight's episode of HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," will investigate the Reggie Bush controversy. This segment will include an interview with Lloyd Lake, the man who claims to have given Bush $291,600 in cash, living arrangements and other benefits while he was playing at USC. more ›

Ducks 5, Predators 2 - Anaheim erupted for four goals in the second period, two coming off of the power play and one on a delayed penalty. It was a welcome change of pace for a team that's been lacking on offense the past few weeks. The contributions came across the board, as not a single player was in the minus. more ›

Celtics 110, Lakers 91 - Los Angeles ran into the buzzsaw that is Boston. Apparently, the first thing to get cut were their shorts. "I felt violated, I felt naked," remarked Kobe Bryant. There are so many places we could go with that. Actually, he was referring to the throwback short-sorts the team wore as a tribute to the rivalry and Jerry West, who was the honorary captain for the game. Maybe that's why Kobe was an abysmal 6-of-25. more ›

Reaction to Final BCS Standings. more ›

The nightmares of all nightmares have happened. Ohio State will now be in the BCS Championship game by virtue of being ranked third in the BCS and both #1 Missouri losing to Oklahoma and #2 West Virginia losing to Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl. How the fuck is this happening? I thought once the Buckeyes lost to Illinois at home on November 10 they would effectively be gone from any discussion about a National... more ›

Bruins 83, Colonials 60 - UCLA (ranked #1 by ESPN/USA Today and #2 by the AP) hammered George Washington at home and got a lot of players involved. Darren Collison returned from a pre-season knee injury to score 14 and Alfred Aboya had six points despite a broken bone under his eye. Three other players scored in double digits, including highly touted freshman Kevin Love who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kings 3, Sharks... more ›

I apologize for the lack of football recaps, but I found it very hard to write about college football this season. With all the upsets it just seemed like not even the college players were all that passionate about playing the game. Look at the following lists and you’ll see what I mean. This season seven #1 and #2 ranked teams have been defeated by unranked opponents. Compare that to last season when the... more ›

One of the things that sports fans in Southern California should be grateful for as they warm up last night's left overs is the fact that ESPN.com's Eric Neel moved to LA this year from Northern Cal because now his excellent writing is being more focused on our teams. Yesterday he posted a glowing feature on the USC football head coach who appears every bit the Golden Boy that he looks in photos. In... more ›

After the Trojans' plummet in the polls following the loss to Stanford and the release of the first BCS poll, many thought the team couldn't or wouldn't drop any further. Not so, as the AP is reporting that a chartered plane with 82 players aboard, headed to Indiana for tomorrow's Notre Dame game experienced an extreme drop while flying through a severe thunderstorm. Weather was so bad that the pilot had to abandon his first... more ›

Back in 2004 when both the University of Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech defected to the ACC from the Big East conference (and Boston College the following year), critics around the country proclaimed the Big East to be a dead football conference. The Big East had the threat of losing their BCS conference status especially after they added Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida to their ranks. What a difference several years make. While the... more ›

The fallout from Appalachian State’s upset over Michigan extended beyond Michigan falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The AP announced on Thursday that lower division schools are now eligible to be included in the poll. It’s great that the Championship Subdivision (aka Division I-AA) has a chance of being ranked alongside the big boys. While I highly doubt that a team even as accomplished as Appalachian State will crack the Top... more ›

In one of the last college football games last season, the Boise State Broncos upset the Oklahoma Sooners 43-42 in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl. It was perhaps the biggest upset ever seen in college football at that point. This first week of the college football season gave us the biggest upset almost no one saw. Saturday afternoon two-time defending Division I-AA champions Appalachian State upset #5 Michigan 34-32 in front of 109,000 Wolverine... more ›

Brewers 7, Dodgers 1 - Ben Sheets hurled a complete game two hitter, facing about as many batters in 9 innings as Dodger starter Derek Lowe did in 4. Read the highly optimistic LAist take here. Angels 4, Rangers 1 - It's not that Texas didn't have any opportunitites, it's just that Anaheim didn't let them capitalize. The Angels allowed eight men to reach scoring position, four on third base, but none of them made... more ›

Clippers 100, Hornets 90 - Sam Cassell came back from injury in a big way, scoring 10 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to bury New Orleans (currently playing in Oklahoma City). The healthy Clippers took advantage of a not-so-healthy Hornets, who were missing three starters and were swept on their four game home stand. Oilers 2, Kings 1, OT - Los Angeles had an unexpected hero but Edmonton responded with one of... more ›

A Word or 39-ish: So whadyathinkof "the Apprentice: LA"? Was it LA-flavored enough for you or did it perpetuate the idiotic stereotypes all over again? It might have been better if they had manage to quarantine that thing to the East coast. Tonight - Monday - January 8th, 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Florida Gators (FOX, 5:30 p.m.) This is it, the "BCS National Championship" football game Oilers @ Kings (Fox Sports, 7:30... more ›

Clippers 101, Heat 97 - The Clippers edged out Miami behind 33 points and 17 rebounds from Elton Brand. Dwane Wade also had 33, but missed a crucial layup in the final minute. Shaq didn't show up for a Staples homecoming because of recent knee surgery. Dodgers 1, Everybody Else 2 - Two Dodger stars are leaving for greener pastures. JD Drew will go to Boston for 5 years and $70 million, while Greg... more ›

There's only one question: where does your allegiance lie? The Bruins were slaughtered by the Trojans 66-19 last year with what was considered the best UCLA men's football program in years. What is important to realize however is that last year's USC men's football program was also considered its best in years. While USC lacks the star power of last year's team, Pete Carroll has managed to take this year's additions and turn them... more ›

Nuggets 103, Clippers 88 - For the second night in a row, as Sam Cassell went so went the Clip Show. Last night the eldest Clipper sprained his ankle in the second half and the team fell apart. The Nuggets won their sixth straight behind 33 from Mello. Meanwhile the Clips lost their fourth straight and are now sole residents of the cellar. Lakers 99, Nets 93 - Kobe and Lamar combined for a... more ›

Dodgers: Nomar signs for two more years with the Blue Crew Lakers: Andrew Bynum had a double-double against Big Ben, Lamar Odom also had a double squared and the team cruised to an 82-72 win over Da Bulls and improved to 7-3. Clippers Even after playing pretty crappy for most of the game, the Clipshow went into OT versus the Chris Webber-less 76ers and pulled it out 103-97, and are now 6-2. Angels: Justin... more ›

Two great teams put on one great show at the Rose Bowl. USC and Texas went toe-to-toe in a fitting end to a great BCS Bowl Series. Although the Trojan's bid for a historic third championship in a row fell short 41-38, they can look back with pride at all they accomplished: 34 straight victories, 16 consecutive wins against top 25 teams (a NCAA record), 3 Heisman Trophy winners, and 2 straight National Championships. more ›

more ›

What kind of City Council says "no" to $500 million to fix up a facility that loses $2 million a year? The Rose Bowl is a gorgeous stadium, a true historical landmark, but it's also in need of a facelift. Hosting 5-6 UCLA football games a year, plus a Bowl game with a future that's tied to the questionable BCS, won't keep the Rose Bowl sustainable much longer. more ›

We're not bitter that the Texas Longhorns marched into Pasadena yesterday and walked away with a thrilling Rose Bowl victory at the end of a great game. We're not bitter that it was so cold in the arena that we were more obsessed with wind chill and frozen toes in the stands than we were with Vince Young's Michael Vick impersonation on the field or Lloyd Carr's decision to save his timeouts to ice the kicker rather use them to keep time on the clock and give his offense a chance to get on the field. more ›

And now the controversy can begin all over again. more ›