Jimmy Bramlett

After the Kings game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, it was clear goaltender Martin Jones was the story. He just became the first King goalie to win his first six starts with the team, and he was the third goaltender in NHL history to have three shutouts in his first six starts.

Already down three point guards, the Lakers announced that Kobe Bryant is out for six weeks with a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau fracture in his left knee.

It would have been understandable if the Clippers suffered a letdown at home against the New Orleans Pelicans. They capitalized on the San Antonio Spurs 22 turnovers on Monday night to run away with a 115-92 win.

Martin Jones has done something no King has ever done. With a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers, he became the first Kings goaltender to win his first six games with the club.

The holidays are such a miserable time. There's a myth that people enjoy being reunited with the family. Perhaps that is a good myth to be comforted by. The television commercials make it seem wonderful. The only problem is that it's a bloody lie.

The heavens looked down upon Kobe Bryant and smiled. On Friday Kobe announced his return for tonight against the team he scored 81 points, only second to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in NBA lore. The gods didn't even frown on the hubris of the embarrassingly melodramatic video that accompanied the announcement.

Because the Kings are honoring one of their greats in Larry Murphy, they thought it would be appropriate to wear those horrible ugly purple sweaters that would be better served relegated to a five-year-old's pajama set. Since the game against the New York Islanders was a stinker, let's talk about Murphy.

It wasn't the first game of the season. It wasn't Thanksgiving. It wasn't Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers. It's not tonight in Sacramento. Kobe Bryant will return to the Lakers on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.

The Kings needed this 3-2 win against the St. Louis Blues. "We got away from our game the last couple of games," Tyler Toffoli said. You could say the Kings have been reeling a bit. Despite having an 11-game streak of not losing in regulation broken on Saturday with a 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, the Kings have lost four of their five games.

USC has hired Washington Huskies head coach and former Trojan assistant coach Steve Sarkisian as their new head coach.