St. Louis Cardinals defeat LA Dodgers 9-6. Four words: Albert Pujols grand slam. That effectively shut the door on the Dodgers. Derek Lowe made his shortest outing of the season (3 1/3 innings) while giving up the most hits and runs of the season (13 hits and eight runs). In the eighth inning with Jeff Kent on deck to pinch hit, the PA announcer announced Mark Sweeney would be the pinch hitter. Joe Torre would argue to no avail. Kent would bat for Sweeney who "batted" for Pablo Ozuna. Kent would strike out, and the Dodgers would complete the game under protest. In the unlikely event the protest is upheld, the game won't necessarily be restarted at the point of protest if the league decides the screw up didn't affect the Dodger's chances of winning the game. So there you have it. more ›

Colorado Rockies defeat LA Dodgers 5-3. Dodger's starter Hiroki Kuroda came out shaky in the first three innings but eventually pulled it together in his last three innings. Unfortunately the aftermath of the first three innings was giving up five runs to the Rockies who seemed to luxuriate in hitting the Dodgers. Apart from the eight-run first inning of the first game, the Dodgers were completely outplayed in this series. The positive note: Andruw Jones got an RBI double. The Dodgers will take a day off to think about what they have done, or more appropriately what they haven't done. more ›

You didn't think LAist would let Fashion Week come and go without at least one interview with a world-renowned designer, did you? Maybe you did. Either way we got one for you. While our interviewee may not be world-renowned, he is definitely renowned among influential fashion plates like bodybuilders, professional wrestlers and football players. 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 ›

WORDS more ›

Avalanche 4, Kings 2 - The Avs buried Los Angeles with two quick goals about a minute apart in the first period, and never looked back. The Kings managed a mere 21 shots on goal, and Colorado sent them to their fourth straight loss. more ›

Reaction to Final BCS Standings. more ›

The nightmares of all nightmares have happened. Ohio State will now be in the BCS Championship game by virtue of being ranked third in the BCS and both #1 Missouri losing to Oklahoma and #2 West Virginia losing to Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl. How the fuck is this happening? I thought once the Buckeyes lost to Illinois at home on November 10 they would effectively be gone from any discussion about a National... more ›

I apologize for the lack of football recaps, but I found it very hard to write about college football this season. With all the upsets it just seemed like not even the college players were all that passionate about playing the game. Look at the following lists and you’ll see what I mean. This season seven #1 and #2 ranked teams have been defeated by unranked opponents. Compare that to last season when the... more ›

With just a little more than half of the college football season past us, it’s become evident that no team wants to play for the national championship. No, not even undefeated Ohio State whose non-conference schedule included illustrious teams such as Youngstown State, Akron and Kent State. As for the rest of college football, every other team that climbed atop of the corpses has subsequently fallen. See California and LSU last week and South... more ›

I heard a joke on the radio today that made me giggle. Q: How many batteries does it take to shock a Michigan Wolverine? A: 1 AA. Hardee har har. With that joke, I’m laughing all the way up to this week’s matchup of defeated powerhouses Michigan and Notre Dame. But more on that game later. This Saturday will tell us a lot more about the college football landscape. It will weed out the... more ›

The fallout from Appalachian State’s upset over Michigan extended beyond Michigan falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The AP announced on Thursday that lower division schools are now eligible to be included in the poll. It’s great that the Championship Subdivision (aka Division I-AA) has a chance of being ranked alongside the big boys. While I highly doubt that a team even as accomplished as Appalachian State will crack the Top... more ›

In one of the last college football games last season, the Boise State Broncos upset the Oklahoma Sooners 43-42 in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl. It was perhaps the biggest upset ever seen in college football at that point. This first week of the college football season gave us the biggest upset almost no one saw. Saturday afternoon two-time defending Division I-AA champions Appalachian State upset #5 Michigan 34-32 in front of 109,000 Wolverine... more ›

Historically the first week of the college football season is filled with boring tune-up games from the powerhouses. Take tomorrow’s matchups between Idaho at USC, Youngstown State at Ohio State and Arkansas State at Texas. BOR-ING! However here are three games that should be quite compelling to watch. UCLA at Stanford. This is probably most compelling for local reasons, but I really want to see how UCLA’s offense operates. From all accounts the offense... more ›

Always a voyeur but never a buyer? Maybe Art for Autism this weekend will change your mind. The Santa Monica Music Center this weekend is featuring art from 3 artists with 25% of all proceeds going to the Cure Autism Now Foundation. more ›

Gators 76, Bruins 66 - Florida spoiled UCLA's championship hopes a round earlier than last year. After a low scoring first half, the Gators opened up fast in the second. The Bruins couldn't maintain the pace and were barely averaging a point per minute well into the second. All American Arron Afflalo was scoreless in the first half and finished with 17. Afflalo fouled out, as did Lorenzo Mata and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.... more ›

Lakers 115, Warriors 113 - Kobe joked about having an "off-night" after scoring 43 against Golden State, the first time in five games that he failed to reach the 50 mark. The Lakers have won all five of those games to recover from a seven game losing streak that was the worst of Phil Jackson's career. Kobe also had nine rebounds in the winning effort, but contributed seven turnovers to the Laker's season high 24.... more ›

I’ve loved sports since I was 11 years old. No one else in my family was interested in sports, but I independently developed an obsessive love for the Chicago Bulls, who promptly won six championships in the next eight seasons, enough to cement a life-long affair. I grew to love all Chicago teams and then, when I started college at Michigan, found a school just as much in love with its football, hockey and... more ›

Clippers 100, Hornets 90 - Sam Cassell came back from injury in a big way, scoring 10 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to bury New Orleans (currently playing in Oklahoma City). The healthy Clippers took advantage of a not-so-healthy Hornets, who were missing three starters and were swept on their four game home stand. Oilers 2, Kings 1, OT - Los Angeles had an unexpected hero but Edmonton responded with one of... more ›

A Word or 39-ish: So whadyathinkof "the Apprentice: LA"? Was it LA-flavored enough for you or did it perpetuate the idiotic stereotypes all over again? It might have been better if they had manage to quarantine that thing to the East coast. Tonight - Monday - January 8th, 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Florida Gators (FOX, 5:30 p.m.) This is it, the "BCS National Championship" football game Oilers @ Kings (Fox Sports, 7:30... more ›

There's only one question: where does your allegiance lie? The Bruins were slaughtered by the Trojans 66-19 last year with what was considered the best UCLA men's football program in years. What is important to realize however is that last year's USC men's football program was also considered its best in years. While USC lacks the star power of last year's team, Pete Carroll has managed to take this year's additions and turn them... more ›

Nuggets 103, Clippers 88 - For the second night in a row, as Sam Cassell went so went the Clip Show. Last night the eldest Clipper sprained his ankle in the second half and the team fell apart. The Nuggets won their sixth straight behind 33 from Mello. Meanwhile the Clips lost their fourth straight and are now sole residents of the cellar. Lakers 99, Nets 93 - Kobe and Lamar combined for a... more ›

Dodgers: Nomar signs for two more years with the Blue Crew Lakers: Andrew Bynum had a double-double against Big Ben, Lamar Odom also had a double squared and the team cruised to an 82-72 win over Da Bulls and improved to 7-3. Clippers Even after playing pretty crappy for most of the game, the Clipshow went into OT versus the Chris Webber-less 76ers and pulled it out 103-97, and are now 6-2. Angels: Justin... more ›

USC football is back. Not that it really went away. Early struggles in Saturday's hot rivalry game against Cal mirrored the fan's inconsistent start this season. But just like Troy's lock-down defense and explosive offense did against the Bears, the fans have come roaring back to the Los Angeles Coliseum. USC now owns a record five consecutive Pac 10 Championships and the worst they can do this season is play in the Rose Bowl.... more ›

TV commentators are hyping Ohio State vs. Michigan as yet another “game of the century," and celebrities are scrambling to find tickets. It's only the third time the top two ranked teams have faced each other in the history of 2006 (and it will happen again on January 8). Sub-headlines are going to traditional rivalries like Pit vs. West Virginia (a/k/a the Backyard Brawl) and Auburn vs. Alabama (college football + deep south =... more ›

India and Pakistan. Ohio State and Michigan. Leno and Letterman. These rivalries pale in comparison to mascot battles royales. Plus, we know how this one started. For more classic mascot moments, Sports Illustrated has a great blog entry going. more ›

Spending the holidays in Northeast Ohio is, in a very real sense, like spending time in a different world than LA. It's quiet. Peaceful. Rustic. Cold. more ›