After the field of 68 college basketball teams was announced yesterday for the annual Tournament, almost on cue was the annual backlash against the committee’s decisions. They weren’t arguing about the No. 1 seeds mind you - almost universally Ohio St., Pittsburgh, Kansas and Duke were accepted as among the best four teams in the country. All of this hubbub has been saved for Virginia Tech and Colorado. more ›

Pittsburgh Pirates (1-0) defeat LA Dodgers (0-1) 11-5. Vicente Padilla’s and George Sherrill’s bad spring extended into the first game of the regular season as the Dodgers were shelled by the Pirates in a sunny Pittsburgh. Pirate’s right fielder Garrett Jones feasted on Padilla hitting two homers in his first two at-bats: the first with Akinori Iwamura on first in the first inning that landed in the Allegheny River to tie the game at 2-2... more ›

It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the Kings managed to rebound after a disastrous shutout to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday to shutout the desperate New York Islanders 1-0. more ›

With white plastic clapping noisemakers given to the sold out Staples Center crowd of 18,118, the Kings mustered all of nothing in their 3-0 shutout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s actually really difficult trying to come up with a reason for this kind of effort. The Kings hadn’t played since Sunday. The Blackhawks were down yet another defenseman after their Wednesday night game at Anaheim. The Blackhawks were using their backup goalie Antti Niemi with Cristobal Huet out with the flu. And let’s not forget: the Blackhawks played the night before. more ›

In the second round UCLA is routed by the Villanova Wildcats 89-69. The very physical game was never close, and UCLA looked softer than butter in the face of the 1-3-1 zone employed by the Wildcats. more ›

Anaheim Ducks defeat Nashville Predators 4-3 (OT). While it's a good thing the Ducks won the game, they gave the Predators a point by allowing the game to go to overtime. With the season ending the Ducks can't afford to give away points. Teemu Selanne hit the game winning goal on an assist by Chris Pronger after only 34 seconds had elapsed in overtime in a power play situation. The Ducks are only three points out of a playoff spot and have a favorable schedule down the stretch. more ›

President Obama (he's in SoCal today and tomorrow) is a known hoops fan. Taking five minutes out of his busy schedule, he offers his Presidential take on how college basketball's annual horserace may start and finish. Sorry Bruins and Trojans, he's not too kind on the Pac-10. more ›

We are counting down to the madness. One of the most exciting days in sports and the least productive work days on the calendar, the opening round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championships, is less than 24 hours away. more ›

It's March Madness, the Big Dance, what have you and now is the time where all work productivity ceases and everyone in the country fills out a bracket. We here at LAist are suckers for this, so we are holding a contest. Go to LAist's group page on Yahoo! Sports, and fill out a bracket. more ›

The Sweet Sixteen is here, and I don’t mean a bunch of whiny rich kids who cry when their parent’s give them a Lexus instead of an Escalade. Boo hoo. more ›

So the first round of the NCAA Tournament has finished, and boy was yesterday’s action quite exciting. Here are some things of note. more ›

Tomorrow begins the magical time of the year known as March Madness. Everyone including that executive assistant who doesn’t know her Gonzagas from her Dukes is filling out brackets for the office pool. more ›

The sixth-ranked Bruins demolished the Oregon State Beavers 84-49. The game was over within the first 30 seconds when Darren Collison hit a three-pointer to start the game to keep the Beavers winless in the Pac-10. more ›

I was hoping this moment wouldn’t happen so soon, but it has. Coach Bob Knight has resigned as the men’s basketball coach of Texas Tech. He hands the reins over to his son Pat who joined him as an associate head coach in 2005. Knight told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that health did not play a factor in his decision. more ›

Trojans 87, Longhorns 68 - USC earned hard court revenge against the school that ruined their bid for a third consecutive national championship on the gridiron. The Trojans trounced Texas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the sweet sixteen for the first time since their elite eight run in 2001. The upset means USC will play North Carolina this week. Lakers 109, Timberwolves 102 - Kobe almost stole the headlines... more ›

Nuggets 113, Lakers 86 - When Phil Jackson went to bed on Wednesday, he was probably looking forward to the day ahead. Things were set up nicely for a home game with Lamar Odom and Luke Walton both returning from injuries. Then his alarm clock rang. Within a few hours, the NBA dished out $100,000 in fines for his comments about a Kobe "witchhunt" and the Lakers lost for the seventh time in a row.... more ›

The most exciting college sports action is going down this weekend in Los Angeles and this time there's no pigskin involved. The Pac 10 Men's Basketball Tournament is taking place Staples Center. It's a little like that awkward moment just before the Big Dance. It can be expensive to go, you wish you were with one of those cheerleaders, somebody already got upset (big time), and somebody hopes to get lucky. Come to think... more ›

The Bruins should have been worried, walking onto a court of 11,000 hardcore WSU fans, jumping and cheering at the top of their lungs -- "should have", but they weren't. Instead they bounced back from a 23-22 halftime deficit and extinguished any notion that they did not have control. UCLA finished the game 53-45 over WSU, and clinched the Pac-10 title; meaning UCLA could become the top seed entering the NCAA Tournament. Arron Afflalo led... more ›

The win was a testament to the outstanding coaching job of Mark Trakh, who has USC women's basketball on the right track. USC has one of the most illustrious women's programs in NCAA history. But it hasn't done a damn thing since Cheryl Miller left as head coach. It's great to see Trakh bring the Trojan women together, and take them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years. And a first round rout over Louisville is indicative of just how far this team has come in one short year. more ›

While Dijon Thompson had a decent senior game, UCLA clearly needed a better performance from Jordan Farmar who was constantly frustrated and finished with a measley 3 points on 1-9 shooting. more ›

How is the 4th place team in the Pac-10 seeded 11th? How is UCLA worse than Creighton, Iowa, or St. Mary's? more ›

The loss suddenly has Bruins fans freaked out that they won't be dancing when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committe draws up its brackets on Sunday. more ›

Call us the Grinch, but LAist has never liked conference tournaments. Sure, they're fun. And it does give plenty of underdog schools a chance at the Big Dance. But the overall concept stinks. How many great seasons in mid-major conferences have been ruined by these tournaments? Tons. more ›

The win was enormous for UCLA. Going into the contest, UCLA had essentially one quality win-- a come-from-behind thriller over Washington early in the season. The Bruins desperately needed another big win, and thoroughly dominating a good Big East opponent on the road was the perfect elixir. The win also helped the entire Pac-10 conference. When the NCAA Tournament committee thinks about whether to take 5th Pac-10 team or a 6th or 7th Big East team, this game can serve as a decent barometer. more ›

Congratulations to Cal State Fullerton on winning the College World Series! more ›