Jonesing for some roundball action, especially the kind that could pair the Lakers and the Western Conference Finals? Well, we at SHLA 
can’t speed up time, but we can provide a little light reading to keep everyone occupied before the tip off. Here are several factors to think about while biding your time.
1) Kobe’s back: It appeared fine two days ago, but again, that was also two days, one plane ride, a weird hotel bed and “all the often subtle crap that can mess with a back” ago. Who knows how Kobe’s gonna feel come tonight’s tip? There’s no reason to be paranoid that he’ll move like a mummy during the game. But there’s also no reason to automatically assume he’s continued to heal in steady fashion. Fingers should remain crossed. Continue Reading »
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Angels vs. Dodgers: A Word on the Freeway Series
By Brian Kamenetzky | MLB, What I See, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers
I don’t mind Interleague Play. Never have. It hasn’t sullied the sanctity of the World Series, and generally speaking, fans (or at least I) enjoy the opportunity to see players they otherwise wouldn’t.
The system isn’t perfect, complaints about how it creates an unbalanced schedule certainly have some weight, and some of MLB’s “natural rivalries” are anything but. (Unless I missed something, a San Diegan can walk the streets of Seattle without fear of reprisal.) Still, I’ve never been able to work myself into a lather over it. That said, when you get outside of a few true games of interest, I’m thinking Yankees/Mets, White Sox/Cubs, and maybe Giants/A’s, it’s a stretch to call any of the matchups a true rivalry, a grudge match of the kind that fire fans up in ways that lead to fights outside the men’s room. In this, I’m absolutely including the Dodgers against the Angels, who kick off the first three games of their now-annual dust ups tonight at the Big A.
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No Foul, All Flop: Okur and Gasol in the Los Angeles Lakers Game 5 Win Over the Utah Jazz
By David Neiman | NBA Playoffs, NBA, Los Angeles LakersFor the last 48 hours, on local and national TV, pundits — for the most part — have been crying foul on Pau Gasol, whose putback in the waning seconds of the Western Conference seminfinals’ Game 5 sealed the win for Los Angeles.
The only notable exceptions to this are Henry Abbott of TrueHoop and color commentator Doug Collins of TNT, who got the call right at the time.
Two video clips follow. A few notable details about them:
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Y E S T E R D A Y…
Dodgers 7, Brewers 2: It looked like more of the same for the Blue, as Milwaukee starter Ben Sheets shut them down through seven. Then the offense came alive courtesy of some unlikely sources: Homers by (cue applause) Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent and the seldom seen Gary Bennett. In back-to-back wins, they have 21 hits and 13 runs. Looks like Joe Torre deserves praise for making the right calls.
White Sox 4, Angels 3: The Angels quickly built a 2-0 lead, but then shelved the offense until late. Not that the pitching stole the show, either. Jon Garland struggled over the course of his six innings, and Francisco Rodriguez, throwing in the rare non-save situation, gave up the go ahead run in the ninth. Manager Mike Scioscia blames injuries and a lack of continuity for the back-to-back losses. At least everyone got to wear some cool, “little a” throwback jerseys from the 70s. That should count for something. Continue Reading »
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Y E S T E R D A Y…
Jazz 104, Lakers 111: The home court held true once again for the Lake Show, who are 19-3 against the Jazz all-time at Staples. The home team has won 19 of the 20 games played in the second round thus far. Kobe’s night was nothing special, but his boys had his back — Gasol and Odom combined for 43, and all five starters scored in double figures. The series heads back to Utah on Friday for a Game 6 win-or-go-home for the Jazz.
Dodgers 6, Brewers 4: After dropping five straight, the Boys in Blue needed nothing more than a comeback win to get them off the snide. They got exactly that off of former Dodger (no, not Gagne) Guillermo Mota, who surrendered three runs in the bottom of the ninth to blow a 4-3 lead. Juan Pierre went from goat to hero in the span of 24 hours by hitting a two-run ninth inning double to put the Dodgers ahead after popping out on the first pitch to end the game Tuesday night.
White Sox 6, Angels 1: Guess who is the first AL batter to double-digit dongs? Need a hint? He’s on the ChiSox…and it’s not the ancient Jim Thome or whiff-prone Paul Konerko. Give up? Carlos Quentin. Yes, that guy who the D’Backs gave up on to make room for Chris Young, who is constantly flirting with the Mendoza line, or Justin Upton, who after a hot start, appears to need a little more seasoning. Lackey’s debut was spoiled, and the Halos were halted at home.
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Lakers vs. Jazz, Game 5: Five Things to Watch
By SportsHubLA | NBA, Los Angeles Lakers
Since the NBA-ABA merger, the “road” team has won the series only 17.5 percent of the time in best-of-7s when the home team won the first four games — seven out of 40. Five of them came in the past four years, which tricks us into thinking it’s more common than it really is: In the two decades prior, it happened only twice.
If you go by history, in fact, the odds of the Spurs, Cavs and Jazz winning their series are actually slightly worse now than they were when the series began.
In conference semifinals, the team with home-court advantage wins 79.2 percent of the time. But in best-of-7s in which the home team wins the first four games, that number improves to 82.5 percent. Continue Reading »
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Y E S T E R D A Y…
Angels 2, White Sox 0: Guess Jered Weaver’s slump is over. The Angels righty, who had been blown up like a Underdog at the Macy’s Day Parade over his last few starts, was lights out Tuesday at the Big A. Seven innings of one-hit ball, fueled by a decision to stop trying to outsmart himself and get back to pitching. Smart decision. He didn’t pick up the win, as the Halo bats were silent until the eighth, when a sac fly from Mike Napoli and a single from Robb Quinlan put the Angels on the board, but fair to say that Weaver certainly deserved it.
Brewers 5, Dodgers 3: Give it to the Blue, they know how to take the shine off a hot streak. After pushing their way to five games over .500, a five game losing streak has managed to put them back at even par (19-19) on the year. Once again, the Dodger lineup, sorely missing the injured Rafael Furcal, wasn’t all that productive. Single runs in the first, third, and fourth, then blanks from there on. They even managed to get struggling Milwaukee closer Eric Gagne back on track, leaving two on in the ninth and missing a chance to get back in the game. Continue Reading »
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Andruw Jones glided to a spot in the left centerfield gap on Friday night at the Ravine, and plucked the ball out of the sky with his usual effortless grace. But while Jones’ ability to track a fly ball is still strong, Dodger fans have more than casually been questioning his worth to a franchise paying him $36.2 million over the next two seasons.
His once explosive bat and dynamic athleticism have fizzled, and he’s hit .170 with one homer and five RBI in 36 games. Jones has always been prone to the K, but he’s currently striking out at a frightening-even-for-him rate of once every 2.9 trips to the plate. His failures have been particularly pronounced with runners in scoring position, when Jones is hitting .036. Continue Reading »
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More Mayo: USC Deserves Some Blame
By Eric Patten | O.J. Mayo, College Basketball, USC, ColumnWhen West Virginia high schooler O.J. Mayo enrolled at USC last summer, we knew two things: He was the biggest “get” in the program’s basketball history and was only sticking around for one year. While his presence and NBA-ready talent brought immediate attention to the city’s other hoops program, he also brought trouble with him.
Now, with the one-year Mayo experience officially over on the court, the Trojans are left to clean up all of his issues off it.
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Back in March, when I wrote my breakdown about who would be playing third base for the Dodgers, the person currently filling the role was not even in the discussion. Not even a blip on the radar. Then, it was a fight between Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche, and everyone else was just a spectator. That changed in one barely ten minute stretch in Spring Training, when both went down to injuries, Nomar to a bad wrist, LaRoche to thumb surgery. With Tony Abreu slow to recover from last fall’s abdominal surgery, they took a brief look at defensive whiz Chin-lung Hu at the hot corner before deciding against using him there. This left the Dodgers without much by way of options, so they called Blake DeWitt over from Minor League camp while scouring the league for potential stop-gap replacements, desperation being the mother of invention. Continue Reading »
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