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......

Angels defeat Twins 9-1. Catcher Mike Napoli and first baseman Casey Kotchman had solo homers to demolish the Twins. Jon Garland pitched eight innings for the Angels giving up six hits and one earned run in the fifth on 95 pitches. 95 pitches! For today the Angels pitching gives a sigh of relief. Dodgers defeat Giants 3-2. Dodger third base coach Larry Bowa almost ate umpire Ed Montague's head off after getting thrown out......

Dodgers 5, Rockies 4 - Los Angeles must feel like they dodged a bullet after Thursday night -- not because of Colorado's attempted comeback, but because of all the pitching injuries. Brad Penny earned his 13th win, but was pulled out of the game in the seventh after an all-out sprint to earn a single. Turns out he only had a bad cramp. Takashi Saito returned after missing seven games with shoulder trouble, taking the......

Angels 7, A's 6 - Francisco Rodriguez blew a save opportunity despite a three run lead. Fortunately, he was saved by Maicer Izturis' RBI single with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Vladimir Guerrero took the day off and while the Halos generated plenty of offense without him, none of the 15 hits left the park. The team's recent home run slump coincides with Vlad's, who hasn't gone yard in 24 games despite......

Dodgers 10, Houston 2 - Los Angeles has been consistently inconsistent since the All Star break, and didn't show true dominance until going on the road. Chad Billingsly improved to 7-0 with a complete game, and even held the Astros scoreless until the final out. The Dodgers also looked good at the plate, with 3 RBIs from both Luis Gonzalez and James Loney. Jeff Kent (who scored on a wild pitch) had four hits before......

Dodgers 10, Reds 5 - All nine Dodger starters had at least one hit or run scored, giving the team moms something to be proud of. Cincinnati's Ken Griffey, Jr. didn't disappoint, either, going deep on Mother's Day for the sixth time in his career. Ducks 4, Red Wings 3, OT - The Ducks evened the Western Conference Finals against Detroit at a game each and claimed home ice advantage heading into the next two......

Yes, that's Alex Trebek. No, he hasn't lost it. The Jeopardy! College Championships are going down at the University of Southern California and it looks like he's feeling the Spirit of Troy. College students could always use some extra cash, so one smart-Alex is going to walk away with $100,000 to pay for books and Ramen a new plasma TV and Trump steaks. A potpourri of California schools have been represented on the program this......

Braves 4, Dodgers 0 - Atlanta jumped out to an early lead, which is something you don't want to give John Smoltz. The starter-turned-closer-turned-starter hurled seven shutout innings just ten days ahead of his 40th birthday. The Jones boys (Andruw and Chipper) didn't produce a hit, but combined for three walks and scored three runs. The Dodgers had ten base runners and even juiced the bases in the fourth with nobody out. Smoltz still held......

Even though Los Angeles doesn't have an NFL team, that doesn't mean this weekend's draft was irrelevant. Unless, of course, you're Mr. Irrelevant, but we'll get to that in a moment. Unlike most major cities in this country, LA is the only one that suffers a net loss of talent whenever the draft happens. The closest team is the San Diego Chargers, who didn't exactly have exciting picks. Choosing LSU wideout Craig Davis over USC's......

What happens when you're skateboarding, hit by a car, severely injured and undergo four brain surgeries? In the case of dancer Kim Hagen, tonight a bunch of artists and musicians throw a benefit to help pay off nearly a million dollars in medical bills. If your you, ten bucks gets eight hours of live music, DJ's, and registered for some nice door prizes (like wine tastings, gift certificates and a good bottle of tequila.)......

This isn't Texasist, but we were impressed by the cow fries on this high school quarterback in the state championship game. At USC, Matt Leinart freely admitted pissing in his pants, but this takes big victories with uncontrolled bodily functions to a whole new level.......

Didn't mommy tell you to stop playing with those bears? They're bound to hurt you sometime soon. Tommy Trojan, you stupid bastard. You don't even know what's coming, do you? UCLA M. Football has been gearing up for the game of the season, the age-old cross-town rivalry of epic proportions. USC and UCLA will go to battle this Saturday at 1:30pm at the Rose Bowl. This year will hopefully be more interesting than the......

The report of USC's demise was entirely exaggerated. As much talk that was going around about how the Trojans were not the same team, you would have a hard time convincing the Arkansas Razorbacks and their fans. Not unlike the behind the woodshed beating the Razorbacks received at the hands of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and LenDale White last year, this year's "less talented" team came through and managed only a 50-14 victory. New......

The NFL Draft produced the usual drama and surprises. Starting with the fall of Reggie Bush to number two after the announcement by the Houston Texans that they signed North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams to a 6 year $54 million deal...jeez. Then came the fall of Matt Leinart... man what can you say. His plan to make history kind of backfired. First he didnt repeat as Heisman Trophy winner (not that bad).......

Apparently Matt Leinart has no interest in competing for 'Golden Boy' status with Tom Brady. Still a few weeks from even being drafted, USC's Leinart has already fired his agent and, according to Nikki Finke, will join CAA as their first sports signee after the required 5-day nfl grace period ends. Leinart is in Tennessee right now working out with the Titans sans representation. He is expected to go 2nd or 3rd in the......

After their bid at history fell short against the Longhorns of Texas, life at USC has moved on. Part of that process would inevitably involve change of players. Although the loss to graduation of key seniors Matt Leinart, Taitusi "Deuce" Lutui, and Tom Malone were unavoidable, as was the loss of Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush to the NFL inevitable. The loss of other key juniors puts the Trojan squad in a new situation.......

All the hype, glitz, media, and talk that led up to the National Championship game finally came to a head this past Wednesday night, and unless you've been living under a rock since then, you know how it came down. What you might not know is what it felt like to be a dyed-in-the-wool Longhorns fan. Not just these past few days, but all season long. Whenever Texas would beat a team with a......

5 Reasons You Will LOVE the Bruins This Season 1. Third Time’s the Charm - Ben Howland is in his third season and that can only mean good things for the Bruins. Let’s check the history… He won only 16 games at Northern Arizona his first two seasons combined but then in his third season, he led the Lumberjacks to 21 victories and the Big Sky regular-season championship. In his first two seasons at......

The greatest weekend of college football in recent memory was built around a single epicenter – another legendary addition to the USC-Notre Dame rivalry. USC’s victory over Notre Dame was lots of things. It was Reggie Bush’s rise to Heisman front-runner (sorry Vince, tearing up Colorado isn’t exactly on the same level), it was both teams rising up to the biggest challenge they’ll have all year and it was the first time a game......

USC did what it had to do in its quest for a third straight national championship. The Trojans 63-17 victory over Hawaii met expectations, as Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and co. showed few signs of rust. While Leinart is the Trojan making the most headlines after his highly-publicized decision to stay in school, LAist thinks Bush is the key the Trojans offense. We like his chances to win the Heisman Trophy this year. His......

As everyone expected, USC was voted No. 1 in the preseason AP poll. About the only surprise was Louisville getting one first-place vote. So what does this mean? Usually absolutely nothing. Except for last year it meant the national championship. USC began 2004 as a preseason No. 1, and without a single loss they held onto to the top spot straight through to the BCS Title Game. Some college football pundits were openly saying......

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart. First he shocks the sports world by announcing that he will return for his senior year as the undisputed leader of the 2-time defending national champion Trojan football team. Today’s edition of the Los Angeles Times brings the announcement of a long-rumored elbow surgery. Performed yesterday by USC team doctor James Tibone, “"The surgery went fine, and there......

While most of Trojan LA was rejoicing over Matt Leinart's announcement that he will return, Eric Sondeimer, the great high school sports wirter for the LA Times, saw the full picture and considered the Trojans' other great quarterbacks. USC has stockpiled a ridiculous amount of talent at every position, and quarterback is no exception. But while USC can always switch off between a LenDale White and a Reggie Bush, or rotate linemen in and......

USC quarterback Matt Leinart is staying in school. "I will be coming back for my fifth year," Leinart said. "I realize I have the opportunity to support my family by going to the pros early," but he added that "being with friends is more satisfying than any amount of money could make someone happy." Who knew that the opinions of LAist had such power over important decisions?......

Like Paris Hilton at a new club opening, today’s dastardly deadline came and went with nary a decision from USC’s Mighty Matt Leinart. Will he succumb to the NFL’s promise of riches, fame and glory? Or can USC pay him enough under the table to stay in college one more year? We kid, we kid. At any rate, it appears that Trojan football fans everywhere are going to have one more long, earnest night......

Tomorrow is an epic day for all of you fans of Troy. No, LAist speaks not of the cumbersome, homo-erotic, overlong and overhyped Brad Pitt fiasco from this past summer, but rather of a certain press conference occurring within the holy walls of the University of Southern California. There, one Matt Leinart, better known as the quarterbacking heartthrob of your national champion football Trojans, will answer the question that has been on the tip......

USC left absolutely no doubt. The Trojans are the best team in all of college football. National Champions of 2004. Admittedly, LAist is surprised that USC was able to roll over Oklahoma so easily 55-19. The Sooners have looked like a great team all year, and for them to play so porous was a surprise. But the Trojans just have more talent than everyone else, Auburn and Utah included. Pete Carroll has cleaned up......

After his 400 yard performance in USC's 41-10 thrashing of Notre Dame, some pundits are now calling Matt Leinart the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. Sure. Why not? There is nothing more overrated in sports than the Heisman Trophy--an award whose definition seems to change annually. Matt Leinart is not the best quarterback in the country. Not even close. Instead he is a very good QB, who makes few mistakes, but is complimented by......

If you believe in superstition, USC Football caught a break this week. The Trojans were not the lone team featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The SI cover jinx, which has plagued past hopeful seasons for teams like Arizona, Oregon, and Penn State is not unfamilar to USC. Just before the 1995 season, SI placed Keyshawn Johnson on the cover and proclaimed USC was No. 1. A promising Trojan season was soon wrought......

The Pac-10 media poll was revealed yesterday and USC is number one. If you're a Trojan fan who believes in more than just coincidences, then take heart in knowing that the media poll has accurately predicted the last four conference champions. Meanwhile college football on the other side of town continues to sag as UCLA was picked 8th. In case you forgot (and most people in Westwood have already), the Bruins are coming off......