Clippers 97, Suns 90 - LA picked up their second win in the past 12 games and snapped a 4 game losing streak on the back of Sam Cassell, who scored 32 ... In their previous three meetings, Phoenix won by an average of 15 ... The Clippers are the lowest-scoring team in the NBA (92.6 points per game) while the Suns are the highest (110.3 ppg). Ducks 4, Stars 2 - Scott Niedermayer notched......

Sports Illustrated busted with a sweet and comprehensive look at current-day NHL goalies and their colorful helmets. Sadly our local boys did not fare very well in comparison with some of the monsters that emboss a few of the masks, like the one above of Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars. They weren't embarrassingly bad, like some, but they're pretty near the bottom of the barrel. The Kings' Jason LaBarbera seems to have Metallica......

After stumbling out of the gate, your Los Angeles Kings have won 4 in a row, and suddenly find themselves back to .500 with a not-too embarrassing record of 6-6. A lot of credit for the recent surge goes to the solid play of goalie Jason LaBarbera. People in LA might not have noticed, but the good folks who run the NHL have, and consequently, today they named LaBarbera as the league’s #1 star......

Jazz 102, Lakers 81 - This game looked bad on the scoreboard but it was even worse on the court. Los Angeles was 3-of-19 in the first quarter, and Kobe missed his first eight shots overall. They were down 21 at halftime. By the final buzzer, three different Utah players reached double-digits in rebounds. Fortunately, it's just the preseason ... A bad omen of things to come, Lamar Odom is out for a little longer......

AP photo by Jae C. Hong When the best moves made by an organization in the off season are in the front office, you can probably bet that it isn't going to be a stellar year on the ice. However, new GM Dean Lombardi was instrumental in turning San Jose into a legit contender. And new coach Marc Crawford is a flat-out winner. He coached the Avs to a championship in 1996. The previous......