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Y E S T E R D A Y…

Angels 5, Twins 4: Big day for the Angels all around.  Torii Hunter hit his first homer as an Angel- that it came in Minnesota makes it his first irony laced homer for O.C. as well- while Ervin Santana, he of the major road woes in 2007, pitched six strong frames to help the Halos take three straight from Minnesota after dropping the opener.   

Kings 110, Clippers 98: Day two of the grand return of Elton Brand was okay for EB (15/9, plus two blocks in 27 minutes off the bench), but the Clippers once again found themselves on the wrong end of the final score.  Maybe they lacked the element of surprise?  Corey Maggette led all scorers with 28, but it wasn’t enough to give the Clippers a sweep of Sacto on the season, as the Kings pushed out to a big lead in the third and didn’t give it up.

Galaxy 2, Earthquakes 0: Gooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaallllllllll!!!!!! Beckham gets his first in MLS play, as the Galaxy take care of business against San Jose in their 2008 home opener after getting crushed in Colorado to kick off the season.  Landon Donovan also scored for LA, who controlled play throughout and made happy all 27K in attendance.

Kings 4, Sharks 2: LA generally skunked the city of San Jose as a whole Thursday night, and a solid effort from the crowned ones made it happen.  Two goals by Anze Kopitar over the last 5:28 put the Kings ahead, helping them simultaneously give the Sharks their first non-OT loss in 21 games, and lift themselves into a tie with Tampa Bay for the lowest point total in the league.  Nobody likes finishing last.

T O D A Y…

Angels vs. Rangers (7:05 pm, FSN PRIME): Get your red out, people, because it’s home opener time at the Big A!  And like a college that schedules Duke for its homecoming game during football season, there isn’t a better team to see than the Rangers, who are already 1-3, with very little hope of improving much over 2008.  Dustin Moseley gets the start for LAA.

Dodgers at Padres (7:05 pm, KCAL): Get your Blue out, people, it’s time for… wait, it’s actually the Dodgers’ road opener.  Oh well.  Hop in the car, get down the 5, and see if you can score some tix.  Hiroki Kuroda makes his regular season debut for LA.  Opposing hitters could be a problem, but communication isn’t.  Russell Martin and the Blue’s newest import are communicating just fine, despite the language barrier.

Lakers vs. Mavericks (7:30 pm, FSN): It looked like Dirk Nowitzki might be out for a while with ankle and knee issues, and with it Dallas’ playoff hopes.  Instead, the Big German returned to action mach schnell (my apologies to German speakers) and will be on the court for tonight for Big D.  Fortunately for LA, Pau Gasol will be out there, too, after experiencing no ill-effects from his game on Wednesday night and practicing fully again on Thursday.

N E W S W O R T H Y…

• As the Bruins roll into the Final Four, it might be time to clear up some K-Love fiction.
• Memphis is tough, no doubt, but the Bruins have plenty of Final Four seasoning, and that means something.
• Rest isn’t usually what teams get heading into the playoffs, which is why the Ducks can enjoy their five day layoff even more than they otherwise might.
• USC linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, as well as safety Taylor Mays, were named to Playboy’s preseason all-America team.
  
• Spring football practice kicked off at UCLA on Thursday, and new coach Rick Neuheisel is happy to be off and running.
  
• K-Rod’s velocity is down for the Angels.

C O L U M N S…

• The PE’s Jeff Eisenberg takes a look at Ben Howland, and how his exacting, unending, obsessive attention to detail has made him one of the country’s best coaches, and helped build a dominant program nationally.
• Steve Dilbeck of the Daily News notes that Memphis has all the tools necessary to take down Westwood on Saturday, and quite frankly, he’s got a bad feeling about the whole thing.
• SportsHubLA.com Column of the Day: While most are looking at the here and now with Kevin Love- maybe an eye on the future as well?- Kurt Streeter of the LAT takes a look back at the history of Love’s family, and the ties they have to LA and Southern California generally.  Music, unrest, family.  All play a role in shaping the people that shaped UCLA’s freshman star.

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