Jimmy Bramlett

The Dodgers unveiled their upgrades to Dodger Stadium to us unsavory media types today. Something about the renovations left me scratching my head.

This weekend provided us some very unexpected results that were alternately great and frustrating. From the NBA to World Junior Hockey to the NHL, they demanded to be noticed from the juggernaut that is the NFL playoffs.

Poor Pau Gasol. The Spaniard big man for the Lakers have suffered the humiliation of this 15-18 Laker season. He's averaging a career-low 12 points per game. He's been told by Kobe Bryant to put on his "big boy pants." His knees are shot. He's been turned into a jump shooter. His teammates won't give him the damn ball.

The Clippers found the magic pill that cures a basketball existential crisis: play the Lakers. The Clippers beat the Lakers 107-102

The Clippers finally lost. In a lackluster performance in Denver, the Clippers lost to the Nuggets 92-78 and with it their 17-game winning streak. Now after losing to the Golden State Warriors 115-94, the Clippers have hit their first rough patch since late November when their streak began.

We've suffered the disappointment of the apocalypse not happening. We've had to endure a traumatic meal with our family both extended and nuclear. Thanks to the folks at Santa Anita, they are helping us all in Southern California avoid a third-strike trauma of dealing with after-Christmas sales and shoppers.

It's easy to do a "Top 10 LA Sports Moments of 2012" list or something equally asinine, although I won't say that I won't do the same exact thing in the final weeks we have in 2012. So I decided to do a top-five list of the sexiest sports writers in Los Angeles.

The folks at KPCC allowed me to pollute their airwaves this morning traveling at 89.3 megahertz through the Los Angeles skies this morning. In the final segment of "Take Two" the suave A. Martinez and I discussed whether what the Angels and the Clippers are doing will make a dent in the Dodgers and Lakers hegemony.

As if Ryu Hyun-Jin and Zack Greinke weren't enough, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reported that the Dodgers have traded for St. Louis Cardinals outfielder and second baseman Skip Schumaker pending a physical. According to Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness the Dodgers will be sending minor league shortstop Jake Lemmerman in exchange.

Sayeth Magic Johnson at Dodger Stadium on Monday, "We have got to get back to playing solid defense. That will make the offense go." It wasn't the Dodgers he was talk about either.