Lakers 95, Knicks 90 - Kobe Bryant had 20,019 points on 15,314 shots (plus 6,184 from the charity stripe) last night. Not bad for a guy under the age of 30 ... The Kobster was actually 14-of-28 for 39 points (plus 11 rebounds and 8 assists), but in the process became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 20,000 career points mark. Bryant raved about playing in Madison Square Garden and said the Knicks were one of four teams he would be willing to play for outside of the Lakers ... Los Angeles is 8-2 in their last 10 and just 2.5 games behind San Antonio for the top record in the West ... "The Times has learned that Kobe Bryant is now happy and committed to the Lakers forever or until they lose five in a row, whichever comes first." more ›

It took a couple of days, but it's official: Joe Torre is the new Dodger manager. The Dodgers and Torre have agreed to a three-year, $12 million contract. Torre was also negotiating to bring in bench coach Don Mattingly and third-base coach Larry Bowa which lengthened the negotiation time. Other coaches rumored to brought over are Jose Cardenal and Lee Mazzilli. The Dodgers were granted an exemption by commissioner Bud Selig from interviewing minority... more ›

According to Peter Abraham of The Journal News, Grady Little will be fired as the Dodger manager in favor of former Yankee manager Joe Torre. Don Mattingly is expected to follow Torre here to Los Angeles as bench coach. All of this can happen as soon as tomorrow. Let me just make it clear that this is still unconfirmed. Torre, 67, rejected a one-year $5 million contract from the Yankees last Monday. As most... more ›