The three teams who call STAPLES Center home departed on long road trips because of a culturally irrelevant award show happening next Sunday. For all three it will test the mettle as they try and solidify their playoff credentials. And for those three, there were three different results. more ›

It’s easy to think nothing is wrong with the NBA from our vantage point in Los Angeles. After all it was announced that four of the starting five players for the Western Conference in the All Star Game would be comprised of players from the Lakers (Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum) and the Clippers (Blake Griffin, Chris Paul). more ›

That was as close to a walk-off in regulation for the Kings in their 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at home. As the final seconds were ticking off ready to send the game to the inevitable overtime period, Drew Doughty got the fortunate bounce during a power-play and shot the puck past Columbus goaltender Curtis Sanford as the clock hit 0.3 remaining. more ›

Along with Ken Hitchcock of the St. Louis Blues, the only other head coaching change of the seven in the NHL this season that has worked out is Darryl Sutter with the Kings. Along with the Kings’ 3-2 road shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night, the Kings are now 8-1-5 since Sutter took over the reins on December 20. more ›

Here in Los Angeles, our love for the Lakers has recently earned us the distinction of being "starfuckers." But when it comes to stars and the purple and gold Lake Show, the legacy runs deep. Case in point: April 5, 1984 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scoring "the 31,420th point of his career, breaking the NBA's all-time scoring record, which had been held by Wilt Chamberlain," explains History. more ›

USC Trojans defeat Arizona State Sun Devils 34-33. A failed extra point was the difference in this game. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 111-96. After a first quarter where both teams felt each other out, the Lakers had enough and sealed off everything for the Jazz. Not one Jazz player entered the paint without being harassed, and all the passing lanes were closed off leading to a total of eight Jazz first-half turnovers... more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 111-103. While the Jazz got to within four points of the Lakers in the fourth quarter, the Lakers did not break in their win over the Jazz. The Lakers used their height advantage throughout out the game with Pau Gasol scoring 22 points with 15 rebounds and Andrew Bynum adding 17 points and 14 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points while dishing the ball eight times. And was the Lamar Odom that we all saw with 11 points and 15 rebounds? It was nothing cute, nothing fancy. Just a dominating win. The Lakers now head up to Utah to see if they can pull off a sweep. more ›

A caller named Israel on the Jim Rome radio show diagnosed the Laker bench perfectly. The bench is awful because they like being on the bench while most other teams’ benches want to be in the starting lineup. Given an eight-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter the bench decided the paint was too much to handle and settled for jump shots missing all of them while the Jazz came up with two important steals. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 104-99. In Game 1 of the first round, the Lakers got out to a big lead in the first quarter then coasted to a victory over the Thunder. In Game 1 of this series, the Lakers got out to a big lead in the first quarter, but had to fight and scrape their way to victor. The Lakers had an eight point lead going into the fourth quarter, but the bench would blow the lead. The starters came in with 7:32 left and the Jazz continued... more ›

LA Clippers defeat Utah Jazz 108-104. The Clippers after losing the first game of a back-to-back in Sacramento Sunday night came out against the Jazz with their hair on fire. The Clips inexplicably outmuscled the Jazz jumping out to a 14 point lead in the first quarter. After leading by 10 at halftime, the Clippers fought off every... more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 96-81. For three games the Lakers were without the services of Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. And in those three games they not only won against playoff contenders, but they held their opponents to under 90 points. Against the Jazz, the Lakers looked like the aggressors at times which is very unlike a Jerry Sloan coached Jazz team. For the second consecutive game Pau Gasol was one rebound shy of a 20-20 game having scored 22 points. Lamar Odom had 25 points and 11 rebounds while Shannon Brown added 11 points as a starter and Jordan Farmar had 18 points off the bench. Now we all rest for the All Star Break. Woo hoo! more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 107-96. When the Lakers led by 22 points, it really did look like the Lakers would shut the door on the Jazz. But it wouldn't be a Laker win without the opponent making a comeback, wouldn't it? The Jazz's second unit made a strong comeback in the fourth quarter cutting it down to six points late the in quarter mostly due to the effort of backup guard Ronnie Price. Well that and the Lakers refusal to play defense down the stretch. But once the starters came back in with five minutes left in the game, they clamped down a gave the Lakers the victory. Kobe Bryant was his usual self with 31 points and Lamar Odom was a complete beast with 26 points and 15 rebounds. The Lakers win the series four games to one and will face the winner of the Houston Rockets - Portland Trail Blazers series. more ›

Utah Jazz defeat LA Lakers 88-86. Everyone knew it was going to be ugly, and boy was it. The Lakers couldn't score in the first quarter, and Carlos Boozer just ate up rebounds. In fact Boozer tied a franchise playoff record getting 22 rebounds. Trailing by as many as 10 in the first quarter the Lakers came back to trail by only four at the half. But the third quarter was all Lakers as they came back and led by as many as 13. But the Jazz started to chip away trading the lead with the Lakers in the final minutes. The Lakers would tie the game leaving 11 seconds on the clock which would give Deron Williams plenty of time to make the winning jumper with two seconds. Andrew Bynum who came into the game complaining about pain in his knee would foul out in the third quarter scoring only four points in seven minutes. Kobe Bryant started out ice cold but would eventually score 18 points while Lamar Odom was a monster posting a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. I expected the Lakers to lose this game, but they will rebound on Saturday to win game four. more ›

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Now that the real NBA season has started, those Laker flowers have started to bloom. At the Dodger game Friday night the evidence of the germination was seen as several cars were seen with the Laker flags flying. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 125-112. All day the talk had been whether the Lakers should tank the game so as to try and avoid the Jazz in the first round. All of that was put to rest as the Lakers made a statement against the short-handed Jazz with a flurry of assists. The 39 assists was the most by a Lakers team at the Staples Center. The starters looked great, the bench looked great. It was just a great showing for a team getting ready for the real season to start. The Lakers 65 wins in the regular season is the third best in franchise history tied with the 1986-1987 team that went on to defeat the Boston Celtics four games to two in the NBA Finals. The Lakers will face the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. more ›

Before I start the recaps, Monday was another sad day for baseball. First word came out that legendary Phillies play-by-play broadcaster Harry Kalas passed away after collapsing in the broadcasting booth in Washington, DC while preparing for the Phillies game against the Nationals. Starting in 1965 as the voice of the Houston Astros, Kalas joined the Phillies in 1971. He also was the narrator of NFL Films since 1975 and did voiceover for "Inside the NFL" from 1977 to 2008. Kalas' deep baritone voice called the biggest moments in Phillies history culminating in Brad Lidge's final strikeout in the World Series last season. Kalas was 73. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 108-105. After leading by 19 points at halftime and 16 points at the end of the third quarter, I thought the Lakers would roll through easily to the Western Conference Finals. But with the Lakers playing sloppy on the offensive end turning the ball over seven times in the final frame and the Jazz shooting threes like they were going out style, the Jazz had the chance to send the game to overtime in the final seconds. Mehmet Okur and Darren Williams both missed threes after getting good looks, and the Lakers become just the second team in the second round of the playoffs to win on the road. The Detroit Pistons, the other team to win on the road at Orlando, are also in their conference final. The Lakers host the winner of game seven between the New Orleans Hornets and defending champions San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 111-104. Kobe Bryant, sore back and all, and the Lakers held off the Jazz to win game five of the series. The fourth quarter started with an 81-81 tie and something happened that didn't happen in overtime in game four: Kobe Bryant attempted no shots. Instead he relied on his other four teammates to make the open shots. The best one came 21 seconds left in the game with the Lakers leading 105-102. Sasha Vujacic missed a three pointer and Pau Gasol came up with the offensive rebound and smashes it into the bucket. The Lakers lead the series 3-2 and will play Friday night at Utah. more ›

Utah Jazz over LA Lakers 123-115 (OT). With Kobe Bryant visibly affected by a strained back, the Lakers managed to tie the game at the end of regulation after being down by 12 with four minutes to go. But come overtime, the Lakers could not ride that momentum. The Jazz in a complete role reversal got to the line 45 times as opposed to 25 by the Lakers. The series is now tied 2-2 and returns to the Staples Center on Wednesday. more ›

Utah Jazz defeats LA Lakers 104-99. There was a Carlos Boozer sighting in Salt Lake City. After being ineffective in the first two games at the Staples Center, Boozer woke up scoring 27 points with 20 rebounds while leading the way after the Lakers made a 6-0 run to get within three points at the end of the game. While the Jazz out-rebounded the Lakers yet again, the problem for the Lakers was turnovers. Giving the ball up 18 times is not going to win playoff games no matter who you are. It should be noted the Dodger crowd booed when highlights of the game were shown. In the second round of the playoffs the home team has won every game so far. The Lakers still lead the series two games to one. more ›

LA Lakers over Utah Jazz 120-110. The same script from game one followed in game two. The Lakers pulled away from the Jazz in the second quarter, but the Jazz made it close with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Lakers woke up and snatched the win convincingly in the final minutes. The biggest difference was in this game Kobe Bryant received his MVP trophy before the game and played like he needed to prove he deserved the award. Kobe led all scorers with 38 points but also notched eight rebounds and six assists. Before we get too excited remember a playoff series doesn't start until the visiting team beats the home team. The Lakers will try to step on the throats of the Jazz on Friday night. more ›

LA Lakers over Utah Jazz 109-98. MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers showed that a six-day layoff wouldn't decrease their intensity as they spanked the Jazz Sunday afternoon. Before the sold-out crowd at Staples, the Jazz looked gassed in the fourth quarter from having played six tough games against the Houston Rockets in the first round. The MVP scored 38 points and went to the free-throw line a playoff career high 23 times only missing his last two attempts. The one point of concern for the Lakers was their job on the defensive boards. Utah grabbed 25 offensive rebounds, and if the Lakers hope to make this another short series they need to box out better. The Lakers have now won five straight playoff games. more ›

Pittsburgh Pirates defeat LA Dodgers 6-4. The Dodgers were leading 4-3 in the top of the ninth, and I had just finished writing this blurb. Dodger closer Takashi Saito gave up two singles then the Earl Weaver to the Pirates Nate McClouth. This was a rough loss despite a good outing by Hiroki Kuroda who gave up three runs on six innings. Andruw Jones hit a triple and look to resemble the hitter we thought he was going to be. And of course there was Vin Scully butchering Pirates first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz's name. more ›

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 came off the bench with 12 points (contract year anyone?). more ›

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... more ›

At some point during the third quarter of last night’s Laker game, I was asking myself the same question that Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was asking himself: Is there anything Kobe Bryant can’t do? more ›

Tonight the Lakers face the Utah Jazz on a Charles Barkley-approved national broadcast — a face off of two surprising first-place teams. So it begs the question: Can these teams stay on top for an entire season? In the case of talented and now healthy Utah, it’s pretty easy to answer yes. For the Lakers, well, they get a qualified yes — if they start playing some defense. Most Laker fans have been feeling... more ›

Just what do we know about this season’s Lakers after nine games? We know they can win with Kobe dragging one leg behind him (although he looked better Friday night against Toronto, to the point that Phil Jackson benched him for “imposing his will” on the game and ignoring teammates). We know that young guys like Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf can take on more than maybe we thought. We know Luke Walton is developing into quite a player. more ›