LA Lakers defeat Atlanta Hawks 96-83. Well it wasn't exactly just like the first half for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant scored a season-low 10 points in the rout of the Hawks. However Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar more than made up for it. Gasol got his third career triple-double with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while Lamar Odom scored 15 points while securing a season high 20 rebounds. Farmar cleaned things up for the second unit scoring 10 points. The only negative for the Lakers in the game was they gave up 23 turnovers. 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 ›

LAist's look at this week's must-read LA sports stories from around the web. more ›

The Dodgers finished their disappointing season with a loss to eventual division champs San Diego Padres and closed the books on what was their worst season in over 10 years. We don’t know what was more frustrating, the fact that the Dodgers, just before the post season was to start last year, watched their first place team melt away under the misguided general management of the since fired Paul DePodesta. Or that the team that was brought in to replace it this season was mainly on the bench injured while unproven youngsters took the bulk of the innings as well as the bulk of the losses. LAist never thought that DePodesta’s “Moneyball” system was going to work in LA bringing in new players with stats but not taking into regard the chemistry of the clubhouse (see future Hall of Famer and clubhouse cancer Jeff Kent). Then to add insult to the injuries (sorry that was too easy) manager Jim Tracy, a master at making the most of what he was given, was let go. more ›

In an otherwise hectic offseason, it's reassuring to know that Gagne and his ugly goatee will grace the Chavez Ravine mound for at least two more seasons. Paul DePodesta hates salary arbitration, and even though the Dodgers have an arbitration-dynamo in Kim Ng, some things are better left avoided. The last thing LA needed was a hearing where Ng would bring every negative instnace in Gagne's history to light, in an effort to save a few bucks. more ›