I told people not to overlook the Portland Trail Blazers. Historically they have played the Lakers really tough. Even though the Blazers were 32-50 last season, they won the season series against the Lakers last season. So there they were in the first quarter being run out of the Staples Center by the Blazers down 15 points. The Blazers seemed run their offensive sets as if they were in practice, and the Lakers couldn’t get......

Lakers 111, Sonics 91 - Seattle had no chance against the surging Lake Show. Kobe was ejected in the third and it didn't matter (double technical after arguing a call -- not a huge deal). LA has won 11 of their last 13 and all but one was on the road. The Lakers got double digit contributions from seven players, led by Pau Gasol's 22. Ducks 6, Blackhawks 3 - This game was all about......

Was that a game or what? The Lakers staved off Phoenix’s charges to eventually pull out the 130-124 victory in Shaq’s Suns debut. The Lakers looked a tad bit lethargic coming off their complete sodomization of the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night. Against most teams being a bit lethargic wouldn’t be a big problem, but this is the Suns we’re talking about here. Each time the Lakers went on a run, Sun’s coach Mike D’Antoni would......

Lakers 117, Timberwolves 92 - The Lakers sent a major sign to the rest of the NBA on their long road trip, finishing with a 7-2 record, acquiring Pau Gasol, and seeing Kobe pour in 29 points last night even with a dislocated finger. Against Minnesota, the Lakers got another solid performance from Gasol, who shot 9-of-11 for 19 points and blocked three shots. The team is off through the All Star game (Sunday) and......

The Lakers aren't the only team with a new big man. The Los Angeles Times just added local icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to their roster of bloggers. Among his early advice to readers? Shoot the skyhook: "The 50-plus player can still run with a younger crowd at the park or fitness club, but it's best to avoid knocking around in the mosh pit under the basket. One trick the guys won't see coming? The skyhook .........

Lakers 106, Bobcats 97 - The Lakers are 4-1 since acquiring Pau Gasol, playing a little cat-and-mouse last night in Charlotte. After allowing the Bobcats to cut a 13 point lead to 3, Kobe put it away in the closing minutes. He had 31 points, his third game in a row over the 30 mark. Gasol contributed 26 despite a cold ... The Lakers wrap up an impressive road trip tomorrow in Minnesota. Pre-Gasol and......

Lakers 103, Washington Wizards 91 - The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. The Lakers led by 22 at halftime, and led by as much as 25 points in the third quarter. Kobe Bryant, who outscored the Wizards in the first quarter 19-15, ended up with 30 points on 10-15 shooting with eight free throws. Vladamir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf rounded out the starters with double-figure scoring, and Sasha Vujacic......

The LA Times has just confirmed the rumor that the 9 million dollar statue of Kwame Brown has just been traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, along with 2007 first round draft pick Javaris Crittenton and 2008 and 2010 first round picks. In exchange, the Lakers are picking up the way more competent Pau Gasol. This could do a lot to energize the Lakers, who lost the first of their nine games on the road......

Clippers 95, Hawks 88 - The Clips got an unexpected performance from rookie Al Thornton, who exploded for a career high 33 points the day after a major stomach virus. Los Angeles fielded their 20th different starting lineup of the year, and are currently missing Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette. Next up, a seven game road trip. That's not so bad -- the Lakers have a 9 game trip lined up. Wild 5, Ducks 1......

Dude, strange things are afoot in Lakerland. Last night, en route to the Lakers beating the Nuggets 116-99, Kobe Bryant passed the ball. He made shit happen. And then, postgame, with a smile on his face, Kobe spoke in approving terms about his team, citing the fullness of their “passion bucket”. WHO IS THIS MAN? It wasn’t just Kobe raising the bar. Taking advantage of the double team on Bryant, Derek Fisher hit 6......

Lakers 109, Hornets 80 - Two of the hottest teams in the NBA met in New Orleans, but only one of them lived up to the billing. Los Angeles thumped the Hornets despite playing on back-to-back nights and New Orleans having several days of rest. Maybe they just got cold. The Lakers bench was key, outscoring the Hornet's reserves by 42-9. It was like the reverse of a USC game. Magic 113, Clippers 106 -......

Lakers 123, Warriors 113 - We're still pretty sure this is a .500 team masquerading with an occasional good run, and now even their Phil Jackson is down on Kobe and Co. The Laker's coach told the media that a 50-win season is out of reach. His squad, however, responded by out-scoring the nation's hottest team on Sunday night. Kobe Bryant led the way with 28 and both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum hit double......

Lakers 127, Nuggets 99 - Phil Jackson signed a $24 million contract extension for two years. Two hours later, his Lakers ripped apart the Nuggets. Good day. Heck, even Sasha Vujacic had 22 points -- 19 in the 4th quarter. Luke Walton had 14 points in just 27 minutes. Both were career highs. The Lakers are 9-6 and have recently had some pretty impressive performances. Ducks 4, Flames 1 - After getting yanked in Vancouver,......

Lakers - The Lakers punished Detroit with 41 points in the 4th-quarter on Friday. Six Lakers hit double-digits in the game. They stayed hot through Sunday, when they destroyed Chicago 106-78. Five reserves hit double-digits on that night, and the bench outscored the starters 73-33. The Bull's bench, by comparison, had 31. Clippers - With their full roster back, the Warriors put together a 122-105 drubbing of the Clippers on Friday. The Clippers fell again......

Phil Jackson, Tuesday - "We call this a 'Brokeback Mountain' game, because there's so much penetration and kickouts ... It was one of those games." Phil Jackson, Wednesday - "If I've offended any horses, Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize." Lakers 93, Rockets 90 - The Lakers split their Texas two-step, taking down Houston after Tracy McGrady had to leave with an injured elbow. Kobe Bryant led the way with 30 points in a game......

Ducks 4, Kings 3, SO - Southern California's teams are getting to know each other pretty well. After opening the season with two games in London, they now face each other in three of their next six games. Last night in Anaheim the Ducks showed signs of life, but blew a two goal lead in the third period. The eventually beat Los Angeles 2-0 in a shoot-out. Spurs 107, Lakers 92 - The Lakers are......

Los Angeles seems to have a love/hate relationship with the Lakers right now. The games still sell out (and at the ">highest prices in the league) and there are more people walking around wearing Lakers gear than there are writers picketing out in front of Fox. But in every sports bar in the city there are loudmouths saying to nobody in particular, “Kobe is selfish and ruining this team.” The loudmouth sports columnists in......

Hornets 118, Lakers 104 - The Lakers will have 41 opportunities this season to be a .500 team. So far they're 2-for-2. Peja Stojakovic drained ten 3-pointers, and Chris Paul added 21 assists to bury Los Angeles on Tuesday ... There was a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples, paying an average of $89.24 (highest in the league). Their opponent, New Orleans, gets a league-low $24.58 per seat. Clippers 97, Bulls 91 - Los Angeles......

Lakers 119, Jazz 109 - The Lakers may have won their second straight game against a division champ. Kobe may be playing team ball (and even blocked a dunk, for cryin' out loud). We're still not buying it ... Derek Fisher was 0-for-7 in the first half against his former team, but finished with 19 points ... The Lakers removed press row from courtside, adding 15 more seats which are going for $2,300 per game.......

On June 19, 2000 I was staying at the Radisson Hotel across the street from USC, visiting campus for my freshman orientation. About two miles north on Figueroa Street that night, Kobe Bryant was winning his first championship with the Lakers. I didn't get much sleep. The impromptu parade of cars (Benzos, Civics, low riders, it didn't matter) made my hotel their turnaround point before they looped back to the Staples Center. I've lived in......

The Dan Patrick radio show recently debuted in Southern California (check 570 KLAC in the mornings), but this isn't what he meant by "En Fuego." While often immune to the real world, local sports have been impacted by the disaster in several ways. Of course, let's keep this all in perspective ... the real losses are to the families and the real heroes are the firefighters. - The San Diego Chargers are practicing in Arizona......

Jazz 102, Lakers 81 - This game looked bad on the scoreboard but it was even worse on the court. Los Angeles was 3-of-19 in the first quarter, and Kobe missed his first eight shots overall. They were down 21 at halftime. By the final buzzer, three different Utah players reached double-digits in rebounds. Fortunately, it's just the preseason ... A bad omen of things to come, Lamar Odom is out for a little longer......

Even with LeBron leading his Cavs to much needed victory in the Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday night, the biggest story in the NBA is a team who has not played a game in exactly four weeks. The Lakers offseason has just been too wildly entertaining to take a backseat to the actual action on the court. And it just got better. Early Tuesday, team owner Jerry Buss was arrested in Carlsbad for suspicion of drunk......

B-Dizzle Up-Dizzle - LA's last hope is out of the NBA playoffs. The Utah Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors 100-87 and took the series in five games. It was a battle until the end, and we mean battle.  There were 50 personal fouls, 31 against the Warriors. Several were flagrants and technicals. Ducks 5, Red Wings 0 - After stealing home ice advantage with a split in Hockeytown, USA, the Ducks were cooked when they......

"Do something and do it now. Personally for me, it’s beyond frustration — three years and still being at ground zero. This summer’s a big summer. We have to see what direction we want to take as an organization and make those steps and make them now." --Kobe Bryant Wednesday night Kobe Bryant is frustrated. He should be. When the Kobe/Shaq feud reached the point that one of them had to go three years ago......

The Lakers head into a must win game tonight in Phoenix (7:30 on KCAL 9 or TNT) with many fans and pundits thinking this is more a nationally televised execution than a playoff game. Look at the reports from yesterday’s Laker practice and the same feeling seems to have washed over the team. Not to worry though Laker fans, you’ve got Phil Jackson’s amazing motivational tools: “I did tell them that they had the brainpower......

Suns 113, Lakers 100 - The Laker's season could be down to one game. The Suns outshone Los Angeles and took a 3-1 series lead thanks to huge performances from Steve Nash (23 assists, 17 points) and Amare Stoudemire (27 points, 21 rebounds). Nash's assist total was one shy off the all time playoff record, held by Magic Johnson (who was in the stands) and John Stockton. Not bad company. On the other side of......

Hornets 86, Clippers 83 - Sports fans talk about "meaningless games" towards the end of the regular season. Those are contests held after a team is already in or out of the playoffs and seeding isn't a major issue. It's a common indicator of an exciting team in baseball. In this year's NBA playoff chase, the Clippers didn't play a single meaningless game. They did play roughly one meaningless quarter. Despite taking a solid lead......

Dodgers 9, Padres 3 - If there was ever a day the Dodgers were supposed to win, it was Sunday. The Boys in Blue delivered on Jackie Robinson Day, honoring one of our nation's heroes with five stolen bases, thirteen hits, and nine runs. On the 60th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier, the entire Dodgers team wore #42. In fact, over 200 players and managers throughout the country donned Jackie's old number. The......

There was a strange look in Kobe Bryant’s face during Friday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns: It was a look of defeat. Kobe seemed tired and listless, playing only 17 points in their 93-85 loss. We shouldn’t waste too much sympathy on a multi-millionaire, but it’s been hard not to feel for Kobe, who has been playing some of the best basketball of his career without getting any consistent help from the rest......