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Y E S T E R D A Y. . .

Lakers 88, Bobcats 77: Kobe Bryant cheered teammates from the Lakers bench while resting his “sore” knee. Pau Gasol led the way on the court, scoring 13 points in the team’s second to last preseason game.

T O D A Y. . .

Ducks at Senators (4:00 p.m. PST, KDOC): Don’t expect to relive the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. With Anaheim struggling to find the net, they’ve played average hockey at best. Ottawa hasn’t fared much better, losing three of the first four games during this most recent home stand.

Kings at Blues (5:30 p.m. PST, FSN): The Blues are off to their best start since ‘97-98, but the Kings have showed surprising improvement from last year. In five skates, they’ve killed off all 23 of their penalties (a stat they ranked as worst in the NHL last year).

Nuggets at Clippers (7:30 p.m. PST): It’s the Clips preseason finale, and they’re not likely to show much.  Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Tim Thomas and Chris Kaman are not expected to play. Evidence that this game might not matter: It ain’t televised. They play Denver again for real on Halloween.

Thunder at Lakers (7:30 p.m. PST, KCAL):The Lake Show wrap up the fake games against the undermanned OKC. Kobe is likely out, but Sasha Vujacic, who also missed last night’s game, is hoping to get a little run before next week’s regular season opener versus Portland. Reason to watch: It may be the last time you see Sun Yue play extended minutes this year.

N E W S W O R T H Y. . .

• USC running back Joe McKnight insists he’ll be ready to play in Tucson on Saturday, his coaches are a little less optimistic.
• The offseason of Manny-ness has already started. Dodgers officials are refuting reports that they would offer top-dollar (upwards of $27 million per season), but would not sign their life away. Meanwhile, the Giants, Mariners, Yankees, Angels, Mets, Packers, Manchester United and Toronto Argonauts may also be dealing with similar erroneous, pending offers for the invaluable slugger.
• Terrence Austin is a Bruin, but he admits he grew up dreaming of a bear that’s a little more golden.
• The Ducks signed free agent defenseman Bret Hedican to help provide an offensive boost. Or it’s because he’s married to Kristi Yamaguchi.
• Check out pics of the Clippers new training facility. It looks much nicer than wrapping up 5-on-5 drills at an El Segundo health club with some sweaty dude named Larry rocking Dolphin shorts on the treadmill next door.
• Great news for all mediocre or worse NFL teams searching for an answer at quarterback…  Daunte Culpepper has ended his retirement and is ready to strap it up again.

I N  T H E  B L O G S. . .

• Andrew Perloff from Sports Illustrated’s “On The Record” argues that the NFL is trying to legislate violence out of an inherently violent game. “This is the NFL. Not FIFA. We’re not in France,” Perloff writes. “Let them play football–the kind with blood and mud and real passion.”
• Forum Blue and Gold appeases the stat geek in all of us with an in-depth look at the PER (player efficiency rating) projections for the Lakers season.

O N  S P O R T S H U B L A. . .

• It’s not quite Varsity Blues (because no one, I mean no one, can live up to a baller like J. Van Der Beek playing QB in West Texas). But there will be a whole lot of football coverage today. Eric Patten previews the Bruins v. Bears in Berkeley, then with Chargers/Saints and Raiders/Ravens soon to follow.

C O L U M N S. . .

• “Brett Favre, New York Jets quarterback, Green Bay Packers traitor, fast-leaking legend, should’ve quit when he said he was quitting,” writes Bill Plaschke from the LA Times. The critically acclaimed columnist explicates the gory details of Favre’s fall from legend to liar.
• Former LA Times editor Bill Dwyre tells the story of Curlin, a horse purchased under unusual circumstances during Super Bowl week two years ago. The 2007 Preakness winner has emerged as the odds-on favorite to win Saturday’s Breeder’s Cup at Santa Anita.
• SportsHubLA Column of the Day:The Trojans have ridden two straight shutouts back into the national championship race. Sitting at No. 5 in the BCS standings, USC still needs a little help. But according to Billy Witz from FOX Sports.com, the best way to help themselves is to keep throwing those goose eggs on the opponent’s side of the scoreboard.

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