Results tagged “sports”

The world of horse racing is still a bit sexist. The girls don’t really have a place with the boys, or so they say. Hopefully five-year old Zenyatta will prove them all wrong in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic tomorrow at Santa Anita Park to become the first filly or mare to win the Classic since its inception in 1984. Winner of the last two Lady’s Secret Stakes and last year’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, she has won all 13 races with a total purse of over $2.7 million.

LA Lakers defeat Houston Rockets 103-102 (OT). Kobe Bryant scored 41 points, his 98th career game with over 40 points and Andrew Bynum scored 17 points and 17 rebounds as the Lakers clung on for the win. As in the playoffs last season, the Lakers allowed the Rockets easy points in the paint. However they managed to play good defense at the end of the overtime period to take out the Rockets. This was the first game for Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza facing their former teams. Both scored 15 points. Here's a very telling stat for the Lakers that should be of concern. Derek Fisher in 34 minutes scored 0 points going 0-for-5 from the field. Now for some good news. Pau Gasol could return to the starting lineup on Friday in Memphis.

Let me channel my inner Vic the Brick. "Trojan fans! One word: UY!" In a Saturday where all of the excitement was contained to the margins (Southern Miss-Houston; Miami (FL)-Wake Forest; Cal-Arizona State; Rutgers-UConn), all eyes were on USC and Oregon. And in the spotlight, the Trojan defense withered.

MLB announced today that Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier was named 2009 MLB Clutch Performer of the Year. The award voted on by fans recognizes the player who performed the best when the game was on the line.

What a memorable year it has been for L.A. area soccer fans. It all started back in February with the will he/won't he? (stay in Italy) saga of David Beckham. Attention would once again be drawn to him upon his return to MLS in July, but in between, Chivas USA and the Galaxy were busy making their own headlines.

Sport Illustrated's Jon Heyman is reporting that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has fired his soon-to-be ex-wife Jamie McCourt as CEO of the team in the last two days. Both are expected to fight long and hard for control of the team. The first shots of the divorce has now commenced. Let's get the popcorn ready.

For the second consecutive season, the Dodgers fall to the Phillies in the NLCS in five games. All that remains of a season filled with promise and optimism is a pool of disappointment.

One stinking out. That’s all the Dodgers needed. The Dodgers had closer Jonathan Broxton who has been one of the more reliable players they had to hold a slim 4-3 lead. He came in the eighth inning to get out of a two-on, two-out jam and got Jayson Werth to fly out to right field. Good going so far.

The office supply store, which first purchased the naming rights to the Staples Center in 1997, has scored a deal with AEG to keep their name on LA's busiest arena in perpetuity. The original agreement was $100 million for a mere 20 years. Exact terms of the new arrangement have not been disclosed. It's the first time a major-market arena has inked a lifetime deal.

Cliff Lee started. Cliff Lee pitched. Cliff Lee conquered. On the upside the Dodgers didn't waste a good start by a starting pitcher. Phillies lead 2-1 in the NLCS, and the sky isn't falling.

All of us who care about college football here in the marble-lined halls of the LAist headquarters always have a case of head-explody once the BCS rankings come out. "Oh hell no," some say. "EAST COAST BIAS," others yell in pure hackneyed apoplectic shock.

For seven innings, game two of the National League Championship Series was a game played to Renoir-esque beauty. For the players in the game and the diehard fans, the beauty of this pitcher’s duel couldn’t fully be appreciated. But from afar it was a complete piece of art. But the Dodgers stayed persistent and used the ugly strokes painted by the Phillies reliever and defense to come away with a 2-1 victory tying up the series 1-1.

The Dodgers walked seven Phillies, four of which would end up scoring. Offensively the Dodgers went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 runners on base while the Phillies went 3-for-5 with RISP with five runners left of base. Mistakes hurt teams more in the postseason. All of that was evident in the Phillies 8-6 victory over the Dodgers in the game one slugfest of the National League Championship Series.

Good Day LA’s Steve Edwards is a huge Dodger fan. He’s also an honest Dodger fan. While 3,000,000 confirmed they were at Dodger Stadium on that fateful night Kirk Gibson hit his iconic home run exactly 21 years ago today, Edwards admits the truth. “You know that shot of when he hits it you see the parking lights of the cars go on in the parking lot,” Edwards asks. “I was already out of the ballpark. I was in my car the moment it happened.

t’s a rematch in the National League Championship Series! It’s the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies! Last year the Phillies came to the series being the cock of the walk physically intimidating the young Dodgers by pitching inside. While Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda shot back in game three, the tone had been set. The Phillies were going to take the pennant, and the Dodgers could do nothing but stand there.

Fox Sport's baseball insider Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt have already started divorce proceedings. He also reports that the separation is not amicable. A source told Rosenthal, "They've already 'lawyered' up. They're trashing each other terribly. It's going to be World War III."

ESPN's hall-of-fame baseball analyst Peter Gammons went on The Michael Kay Show based in New York City to talk about postseason baseball. What came out of his mouth at the end of the interview was both shocking yet not surprising.

Arguably the best coach in sports history, former UCLA men's basketball head coach John Wooden turns the big 99 today. Born on October 14, 1910 in the tiny town of Hall, Indiana, his family would move to Martinsville, IN where he would play in the state high school championships for the Martinsville High School basketball team 1926-1928 winning only once in 1927 against Muncie Central 26-23.

With all the troubles the Kings have had in penalty killing at home, no one would have said last season that they could shoot their way past their problems. The Kings have ratcheted up the offense scoring 19 goals in five games thanks in large part to a retooled No. 1 line.

The NFL and Los Angeles has been a topic ever since the Rams and Raiders up and left town in 1995. Plans to turn the Coliseum and Rose Bowl into NFL stadiums came and fell through. Building a new Downtown LA stadium was laughable. A stadium by Dodger Stadium was counted out. A site on top of a landfill in Carson had the most legs, but in the end proved to be too costly to be practical.

The Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies will meet in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year. Last year the Dodgers fell to the eventual World Series champion Phillies in five games. Game one will be on Thursday at Dodger Stadium at 5:07 pm. All games of the NLCS will be broadcast on TBS with Chip Caray doing play-by-play and Ron Darling and Buck Martinez doing commentary. Of course everyone can listen to AM 790 KABC with Vin Scully calling the game from innings 1-3 and 7-the end of the game with Charley Steiner and Rick Monday covering innings 4-6.

The Dodgers and MLB have released an additional 4,500 NLCS tickets to Dodger fans. Tickets are as low as $51 and can be purchase online or by calling 866-DODGERS. The Dodgers are in back-to-back NLCS for the first time since 1977-1978. The NLCS starts at Dodger Stadium on Thursday against either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Colorado Rockies. The Phillies currently lead two games to one in their NLDS.

According to Chris Myers on Fox Sports Radio on the "Myers and Hartman Show", Myers spoke with NFL insiders saying the Oakland Raiders are the front-runners for moving to Los Angeles. With the proposed Los Angeles Stadium going through the final hurdles before becoming a reality, talk of the NFL returning to Los Angeles after a 15-year absence is starting to be more than rumors. But the Raiders? Make of that what you will.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre made sure that his team would not suffer a letdown after their miraculous 3-2 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals in game two of the National League Divisional Series.

For the second consecutive season the Dodgers sweep an NL Central team in the National League Divisional Series - this season the Cardinals played the role of the victim losing 5-1 in game three. Although Matt Kemp had a golden sombrero (four strikeouts), Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier went 3-for-5 each. Manny knocked in two RBI while Ethier was a single short of the cycle, hitting a two-run homer in the second inning. Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla threw a gem of a game shutting out the Cardinals for seven innings giving up only four hits and a walk while striking out four. The Dodgers now face the winner of the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies series.

Sports Ed. note: With USC taking a week off, our guest writer Zack Jerome takes a look at this supposed rivalry.

After the stunning conclusion of Game 2 of the NLDS yesterday at Chavez Ravine, Cardinals’ shortstop Brendan Ryan told the St. Louis Dispatch "It makes me sick, absolutely sick to my stomach." Moments before Mark Loretta sent a looping liner into center field for a walk off winner, I knew how Ryan felt. Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright had been tying Dodger hitters in knots for eight innings. It was a slow death he was dealing us.

Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird and the undefeated mare Zenyatta will be in action tomorrow at Oak Tree's Breeders Cup Challenge Day at Santa Anita. The Challenge will include four races, three Grade I races and one Grade II race, in which the winner will automatically qualify for a starting spot in the Breeders' Cup World Championships held at Santa Anita on November 6 and 7.

A Dodger video featuring the smallest member of Snoop Dogg's possee.

Four hours after the Dodgers improbable 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals to give them a stout 2-0 lead in the National League Divisional Series, euphoria is still running through my veins. The Cardinals had the game won. All left fielder Matt Holliday needed to do was make sure James Loney’s line drive got into his glove. Instead he lost the ball which hit him right in the gut. Whether he lost it in the lights or in the swirling white rally towels the fans were waving around is irrelevant.