UCLA Rids Its Demons in Blow Out Over Stanford

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Arron Afflalo scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half and No. 11 UCLA beat Stanford 71-54 on Thursday night, snapping two losing streaks to the Cardinal in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

The Bruins had lost eight straight at home to Stanford and six in a row overall. The win was the eighth straight for UCLA, which is off to its best start since the national championship season of 1994-95.

UCLA (11-1) opened the game with an 18-1 run, capped by a jumper from Ryan Wright with 14:23 to play. Stanford never got back within single digits.

The Cardinal (4-5) missed their first 12 shots from the field and didn't get their first field goal until nearly 9 minutes into the game.

Stanford shot 20 percent in the first half while UCLA was at 60 percent.

Afflalo went 6-for-7 from the field in the first half and made all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished 7-for-11 from the field overall and 3-for-5 from 3-point range.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins and Josh Shipp added 11 points.

Warning: Bowling Can Be Harmful To Your Health

PORTAGE, Mich. -- A bowler collapsed and died at a bowling alley shortly after rolling the third perfect game of his life.

Ed Lorenz, 69, bowled a 300 on Wednesday in his first league game of the night at Airway Lanes. When the retiree got up to bowl in the fifth frame of his second game, he clutched his chest and fell over, and efforts to revive him failed. The cause of death wasn't immediately known.

"If he could have written a way to go out, this would be it," said Johnny D Masters, who was bowling with Lorenz.

Friends said Lorenz started bowling in 1957 and ended last season with a 223 average. He rolled his first two 300 games over a one-week period in 2004.

In May, Lorenz was inducted into the Kalamazoo Metro Bowling Association Hall of Fame.

Lakers Draft Pick Now Training in CBA for the NBA

Ronny Turiaf, the former Gonzaga Bulldogs star who had open-heart surgery just over six months ago, has signed a contract to play for the Yakama Sun Kings as part of his rehabilitation.

Turiaf brings new status to the Continental Basketball Association team, whose fans tracked his stellar career at Gonzaga, just three hours east in Spokane.

"From a selfish standpoint, for me, he's a great basketball player. But for the franchise, and for everything Ronny has done in this state, it's the biggest one we've ever had," coach Paul Woolpert said of the signing Wednesday. "And he hasn't even stepped on the floor yet."

Turiaf, a 6-foot-9 forward, was chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 35th pick in June's NBA draft. During a subsequent physical, doctors detected a heart problem, and Turiaf underwent surgery July 26 to repair an enlarged aortic root.

The Lakers voided the contract but retained the rights to Turiaf for three years. He has no timetable for joining the NBA team.

"I'm not physically healthy enough to endure practice and training for an NBA schedule," Turiaf said at a Wednesday news conference. "I'm using Yakama as training. As long as I'm here, I will work hard and I will try to make this team better."

Kings Score 4 Goals in 3rd & Win 4th Straight

Jeff Giuliano's first NHL goal was far more important than it was pretty.

Giuliano scored the game-winner and Mike Cammalleri scored twice as the Los Angeles Kings used a four-goal third period to beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Cammalleri tied it at 2 on the power play, sweeping a low shot past Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Kings took their first lead of the night 27 seconds later, when a harmless looking shot from the blue-line by Tom Kostopoulos was redirected by Giuliano as the rookie left-winger cruised through the slot.

"I was by myself and Tommy shot it at the net and I just deflected it and it went in," said Giuliano, playing his 14th NHL game. "It sure feels nice to get that first one."

Los Angeles went up two goals at 13:37 when Pavol Demitra converted Alexander Frolov's centering pass.

With the Kings down three key centers -- Craig Conroy (flu), Jeremy Roenick (finger), and Eric Belanger (groin) -- Giuliano chipped in some much-needed offense.

"You have to love his effort, his determination," Kings coach Andy Murray said. "He was dogging the puck all night and battling. It wasn't the prettiest goal in the world, but it was from our eyes."

Cammalleri said it was a confidence booster to win with the depleted lineup. Los Angeles has won four straight.

"It's important for us to go out there and get two points because it shows that we're a team and when we win, we play well as a team and it's not because individuals do it," said Cammalleri.

Daymond Langkow and Jarome Iginla scored for Calgary. Iginla's goal was his 14th of the season but only his third in 14 games.

Finally Someone Else Gets Steve Finley. SF Rids of Fonzy

The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder Steve Finley from the Los Angeles Angels for third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo on Wednesday in a swap of former All-Stars who dropped off dramatically last season.

The 40-year-old Finley batted a career-worst .222 with 12 home runs and 54 RBI in 112 games for the Angels, who won the AL West for the second straight year.

"We were hoping for a better season from him, and I'm sure the Giants were hoping for a better season from Alfonzo as well. Neither had career years," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said. "I talked to Steve and I know he's working as hard as ever."

Alfonzo played in only 109 games last season, batting .277 with two home runs and 43 RBI.

The Giants have been interested in Finley for some time, pursuing him twice previously in free agency -- including last winter before he joined the Angels. San Francisco wound up signing Moises Alou.

UCLA Almosts Chokes as Wagner Loses by 2

Unheralded Wagner College gave No. 12 UCLA all it could handle, and Bruins coach Ben Howland said it was no fluke.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored from underneath with 14 seconds remaining Wednesday night, lifting UCLA to a hard-fought 74-72 victory.

"I'm glad we got that win. That's a tough, hard-nosed team that came in determined to beat us on our home court," Howland said. "We were fortunate to come away with a victory."

Mbah a Moute made his only field goal of the second half after Jordan Farmar found him alone under the basket.

"It was an isolation for me," Farmar said. "I saw a man run at me. He was wide open, and I got him the ball."

Said Mbah a Moute: "I knew it was coming. I just got ready and finished it. And it was a great pass by Jordan."

Wagner was unable to get a shot off after that thanks to UCLA's hard-nosed defense. Mark Porter's wild 3-pointer from about 30 feet came after the final buzzer sounded, and wasn't close.

"Give them credit, they did a good job defensively on the last possession," Wagner coach Mike Deane said. "I thought we played well enough to win. It was a very disappointing loss, but they made the plays they needed to make in the last 30 seconds and we didn't.

"To be in position to win this game, that's a good statement. We were equal with UCLA tonight. For us as a program to compete at UCLA, it's a testament of how far our team has come as a program."

The win was the sixth straight for UCLA and its ninth consecutive victory at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins (9-1) are off to their best start in eight years.

Wagner (6-2) is off to its best start since the 1979-80 season. The Seahawks, members of the Northeast Conference, had their four-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the fourth time in 21 games dating to last January.

10 Teams a Charm Dodgers Sign lofton to Play Centerfield

The Los Angeles Dodgers think they added new dimensions to their roster by signing Kenny Lofton.

Kenny Lofton
Center Field
Los Angeles Dodgers

Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
GM HR RBI R OBP AVG
110 2 36 67 .392 .335


"His ability to get on base and score runs, combined with his speed and defense, are great additions to our club,'' Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.

Lofton indeed has proven multitalented over his long major league career. He has a .299 career batting average, his 567 steals are the most of any current major leaguer, and he's a four-time Gold Glove winner.

"I've always been a guy who can impact the team in so many aspects: defensively, offensively, on the base paths, in the dugout. As long as I'm out there I feel good about it,'' Lofton said Tuesday after the Dodgers announced their agreement with the 38-year-old outfielder, who received a $3.85 million, one-year deal.

He figures to be the Dodgers' regular center fielder, a spot left open when Los Angeles traded Milton Bradley to Oakland last week.

Lofton's skills have not been overly diminished by age. The six-time All-Star hit .335 in 110 games for Philadelphia last year, the NL's highest average among players with 350 or more at-bats. He had a .392 on-base percentage and hit .330 with runners in scoring position.

"His skills are very similar to earlier in his career,'' Colletti said. "He knows how to play, how to win.''

Lofton gets a $350,000 signing bonus, a $3.5 million salary and the chance to earn $150,000 in performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.

Kobe Goes Off for 62 Sits 4th Quarter - Lakers Crush Mavs

Two nights after a most annoying loss, Kobe Bryant took out his anger and frustration on the poor Dallas Mavericks.

Bryant was at his incredible best Tuesday night, scoring a career-high 62 points in just three quarters to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-90 victory over the Mavericks.

The 27-year-old Bryant, who brought a 31.3-point average into the game, shot 18-of-31, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, and made 22 of 25 foul shots while playing only 33 minutes.

When he left the game, he had outscored the Mavericks by himself, 62-61.

"I was so frustrated by the loss the other night I was going to will us to victory," Bryant said, referring to a 76-74 loss to the Houston Rockets. Bryant scored 24 points in that game -- a total he matched in the first 16½ minutes against the Mavericks.

"I was very angry, I felt like I wanted to come out and send a message, that we're going to dominate at home," he said. "We're going to hit you, we're going to bring it to you. I wanted to send that message."

Message received.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year Begins Tonight

2004 New Orleans Bowl winner Southern Miss is making a return trip. Arkansas State is making its first Division I-A bowl appearance. The Golden Eagles will have have the edge in experience and talent against the Indians

Don't sleep on Arkansas State running back Antonio Warren, a 3,000-yard career rusher who has had eight 100-yard rushing efforts in nine games played this season. He'll be trying to evade Southern Miss linebacker Kevis Coley, whose 13.2 tackles per game ranks fourth in the nation.

What to watch - First, it will be interesting to see how the New Orleans Bowl plays in Lafayette, La. Second, it will be interesting to see how Arkansas State plays in its first bowl game since something called the Pecan Bowl. (The Indians finally wrested the Sun Belt Conference title from the formerly iron grasp of good old North Texas.) Southern Miss is at the opposite end of the bowl-experience spectrum, playing in its eighth in the last nine years. The Sun Belt has won just one of four New Orleans Bowls, including North Texas' three-touchdown loss last year to Southern Miss. Considering that Arkansas State lost by four touchdowns to Army, the Belt figures to be an underdog again this year.

Why to watch - Because if you don't see the first one, you can't see all 28.

Kings Go into Vancouver and Win 3rd Straight in a Shoot Out

Jeremy Roenick doesn't think he has anything left to prove.

He showed USA Hockey that they might have made a mistake leaving him off the Olympic team anyway.

Roenick laid a big hit on Brendan Morrison five seconds into the game, then scored Los Angeles first goal and set up Derek Armstrong for the second, rallying the Kings from an early two-goal deficit before Alexander Frolov scored the lone goal of the shootout to give them a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks Monday night.

"I don't need to prove myself to anybody," said Roenick, who wasn't among the 23 players named to the U.S. squad before the game started. "There's nobody on that Olympic team that has scored more points than I have, who has had a career like I have in terms of physicality and putting points on the board and being a leader."

With 481 goals and 1,133 points during 17 NHL seasons, Roenick is second all time among American-born players in both categories. But with just five goals and six assists this season before the team was announced, he wasn't surprised to be left off.

That didn't mean the 35-year-old understood, or agreed with, the decision.

"I think they were blackballing me from the beginning," said Roenick, who represented the U.S. at the 1998 and 2002 Olympics.

"I m one of the guys who has gotten USA to where it is today and to not have the opportunity to go back and try to win a gold one more time, to me it's just disrespectful. They can beat me down and say I'm over the hill or say that I don't have it anymore, but to me I know that I do."

He did against the Canucks, but his goal and assist snapped an eight-game drought and was first multiple-point game since scoring twice in the season opener

Not Another Chowd in LA!! Nomar Signs 1 year Deal

The Los Angeles Dodgers are slowly becoming the West Coast version of the Red Sox after Nomar Garciaparra and the team agreed to terms on a one-year contract.

Garciaparra passed a physical and the Dodgers have called a news conference for Monday at 5 p.m. ET to introduce him. Terms of the contract were not released, but the New York Post reported it has a base salary of $6 million and could be worth as much as $8 million.


Garciaparra will likely play first base for the Dodgers, ESPN's Peter Gammons reported.


The 32-year-old Garciaparra also considered the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros before those teams were told by Garciaparra's agent, Arn Tellem, of his choice to join the Dodgers.

Garciaparra spent several hours with Dodgers executives Thursday and Friday -- the first day with Tellem, the second with his wife, former soccer star Mia Hamm. Garciaparra and Hamm live in suburban Manhattan Beach.

Garciaparra could also play the outfield with the Dodgers. He played mostly third base after returning to the Cubs last August. New Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said Garciaparra seemed open to changing positions during his meetings with the player.

UCLA off to its Best Start in Eight Seasons - Beat Michigan

Arron Afflalo's focus during film sessions paid off.

Afflalo scored 20 points and made a key steal and assist late to help No. 14 UCLA hold off a late rally and beat Michigan 68-61 on Saturday.

The Bruins led by 13 with 4:35 to go but were clinging to a 63-59 lead a couple minutes later. That's when Afflalo stepped in front of Michigan point guard Daniel Horton to steal Graham Brown's outlet pass and then made a short pass to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute for a layup that put the Bruins ahead by six with 1:23 left.

"That was the play of the game," said UCLA coach Ben Howland.

Afflalo gave the credit to Howland for pointing out one of Horton's tendencies.

"We watched so much film and saw Horton is always running away from the ball when a big man gets the rebound," Afflalo said. "It was a crucial point, and I saw an opportunity because I saw the big man wasn't paying too much attention."

Jordan Farmar had 21 points for the Bruins (8-1), who are off to their best start since the 1997-98 season.

"It was a huge game. Our first road game," Afflalo said. "If we can beat this team on the road, things can only get better for us."

Michigan (7-1), which was undefeated through seven games for the first time in nine years, found out it's not quite ready for the Top 25 after facing the Bruins.

Robitaille Still Benched and Pissed - Kings Win 2 Straight

The Phoenix Coyotes don't know when coach Wayne Gretzky will be back behind the bench. Their first game without him prompted many questions about how they will play without him.

Just hours after Gretzky took an indefinite leave from the team to return to Canada to be with his mother who has lung cancer the Coyotes lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

"It's something that you deal with. We have good leadership in this room, so we'll be more than OK in that area," Phoenix captain Shane Doan said.

"We were ready. We were well prepared and we had decent scoring opportunities. But something like this makes you realize that hockey isn't important in the grand scheme of things, and our thoughts and prayers are with the whole Gretzky family."

Craig Conroy ended a 13-game goal drought during a power play and set up set up goals by Pavol Demitra and Joe Corvo in the Kings' victory.

Coyotes associate coach Rick Tocchet ran the club in place of Gretzky, the NHL's career scoring leader and the team's managing partner. Tocchet will be behind the bench until Gretzky returns, but he'll have help from Barry Smith and Rick Bowness.


Luc Robitaille is upset at being benched for two consecutive games but has no plans to retire, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Robitaille, a future Hall of Famer, said Saturday he was unhappy with the way Coach Andy Murray told him that he had been scratched from the lineup on Friday, the Los Angeles Times said. Robitaille was then scratched from the lineup on Saturday for a second consecutive game.

Robitaille, 39, has been scratched for non-health reasons seven times in his 19-season NHL career, five in the last two seasons with the Kings.

"It really bothers me that I'm not playing," Robitaille told the newspaper. "I feel I should be playing.

"I know how much I have given to this team, even to Andy. ... I still believe I can do it. We'll wait and see what happens. I'm not going away," Robitaille told the Times.

Robitaille told the paper it was not so much the decision, but, "the way it happened really bothered me."

He learned he was not playing against the Mighty Ducks on Friday during a general team meeting in the morning, according to the Times.

"Everybody mentions Detroit and [veteran center Steve] Yzerman and Andy keeps mentioning that," Robitaille told the Times. "Well, I don't think they treat Yzerman the same way. They have conversations where they talk with him. It's a whole different thing."

Murray and Robitaille met Saturday morning, but Robitaille said they only discussed what he had said in a newspaper article.

"The last thing I have to worry about is what's written in the newspaper," Robitaille told the paper. "It's not about that, it's about playing."

Murray said the two were going to talk again later in the day.

"From my perspective, I obviously don't see friction," Murray told the Times. "I'm trying to do my job, trying to make decisions that I think will benefit the hockey club. You always like those decisions to be in favor of players&. I'm just coaching and making decisions on what I think is merit."

Robitaille's production has dropped significantly this season. He has five goals and eight points in 21 games. He missed nine games with a broken leg and his ice time has decreased since returning Nov. 22.

No Yao and Lakers Score Only 74 - Lose by 2

Tracy McGrady followed a bad play with a very good one. It gave the Houston Rockets an improbable victory.

McGrady's driving left-handed layup with 0.3 seconds left lifted the short-handed Rockets to a 76-74 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

The Rockets (10-13) won for the seventh time in nine games despite the absence of All-Star center Yao Ming, who missed his first game this season and the third of his career because of a sore right big toe.

The right-handed McGrady drove around Devean George at the top of the key, and avoided Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown before laying the ball in just before time ran out.

Take 'Em To The Bank Locks of the Weekend

New England - 4 1/2 vs. Tampa
Tampa Bay is not a cold weather team and will prove it this weekend. Whether Brady plays or not New England covers 24-16

Buffalo +9 vs Denver
Buffalo got their worst game since OJ out of their system and will BEAT a Denver team who just doesn't look as good as they did before their bye week. 21-17

Carolina-9 1/2 at New Orleans
This is a neutral home game and the Saints are playing like they did when they were the Aints. Aaron Brook's starting streak ends as he is benched and does anyone know if Bobby Hebert is starting? Carolina needs the game crushes NO 31-10

Kings are Stinking Up the Ice - Lose at Home Again

Back on the road with the worst overall record in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals had four days off to work on their struggling special-team play. It all came together just in time against the Los Angeles Kings.

Brian Sutherby tied the score with a short-handed goal midway through the third period and Jamie Heward added his second power-play goal of the game with 1:03 left, rallying the Capitals to a 3-2 victory Wednesday night.

"It was nice to have our power play win a game for us," Heward said. "We've worked so hard at making it better and getting to a position where we could win. We've tried to find an identity we can rely on every night, and that's hard work. We had four days to kind of figure out what we wanted to do and where we needed to improve, and it paid off."

Eric Belanger and Sean Avery scored on the power play for the Kings, who have lost six of eight. The victory was only the third in 14 road games this season for the Capitals.

What's Up With The Lakers - Beat Grizz, Win 5 of 6 on Road Trip

The Los Angeles Lakers' traveling show has been getting good reviews recently.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points and the Lakers completed a successful, six-game trek with a 94-79 victory Wednesday night over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The victory gave the Lakers a 5-1 record on the trip and snapped a five-game losing streak in Memphis. The trip was the most successful for the Lakers since a 6-0 road stint in 2000. Los Angeles is now 8-5 this season on the road, compared to 4-5 at home.

"Well, I'm just disappointed we didn't go 6-0 to be honest with you. We let one get away there," Laker coach Phil Jackson said, laughing about the lone loss at Minnesota. "No, we've been really fortunate with the way guys have been playing, especially on this trip."

The Grizzlies dropped their third straight, their longest skid of the season.

Bryant, who also had eight rebounds, connected on 10 of 17 shots from the field and missed only two of 11 attempts in the second and third periods. Los Angeles' 73-52 lead after three allowed Bryant to rest in the fourth quarter and watch the Lakers' reserves maintain the advantage.

Another Wicked Chowd Flying West for the Summer - Dodgers Sign Bill Mueller

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly filled the left side of their infield, signing free agent third baseman Bill Mueller.

The Los Angeles Times and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on their Web sites Wednesday that Mueller will get a two-year contract, which is conditional upon him passing a physical exam. The Pirates had also been pursuing Mueller.

Mueller hit .295 with 10 home runs and 62 RBI for the Boston Red Sox last season. He joins shortstop Rafael Furcal, who signed with the Dodgers last week.

They are expected to bat 1-2 in the lineup.

Over his 10-year career, Mueller has a .292 average and a .373 on-base percentage with 82 homers and 478 RBI. The 34-year-old switch hitter set career highs in 2003, batting .326 with 45 doubles, 19 homers and 85 RBI under Grady Little, who was hired last week by general manager Ned Colletti to manage the Dodgers.

Los Angeles used seven players at the "hot corner" this past season, with Oscar Robles leading the way with 40 games played.

The Dodgers have an All-Star shortstop in Cesar Izturis, but he underwent reconstructive surgery on his throwing elbow late last season and isn't expected to play until July.

Izturis could be shifted to second base when he returns, with All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent moving to first.

Rumor Mill - Dodgers Get Nomar to Shore Up 3rd Base

The Dodgers got rid of baggage on Tuesday and will pick up local product Nomar Garciaparra to play 3rd base. Nomar will get a 2 year 6 million dollar deal and will hit 3rd or 5th in the lineup.

With an infield of Nomar at 3rd, Furcal at SS, Kent at 2nd till Izturis comes back then he will go to first and seeking a power 1st basemen it is finally getting the refinement it was seeking when they dimped Adrian Beltre.

Dodgers Finally Unload Milton Bradley - Team Still a Bad Board Game

The Los Angeles Dodgers unloaded the switch-hitting outfielder Tuesday, sending him to the Oakland Athletics along with infielder Antonio Perez for minor league outfielder Andre Ethier, the Texas League player of the year.

"I couldn't be happier," Bradley said during a conference call. "I'm playing major league baseball and having fun. I'm a California guy -- it's exciting for me. I wish the Dodgers well, wish their team well."

Acquired by the Dodgers shortly before the start of the 2004 season after a run-in with Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge, Bradley feuded with teammate Jeff Kent last season.

"As far as my dealings with Jeff Kent, we got along as well as we could," Bradley said. "It didn't work for me."

Bradley didn't play after accusing Kent of a lack of leadership and an inability to deal with African-American players on Aug. 23. The following day, Bradley learned he had sustained serious injuries to his left knee that required surgery.

Bradley became a parent for the first time Sunday, when his wife gave birth to a son, Jeremiah.

General manager Ned Colletti, hired last month by the Dodgers, didn't think a reconciliation was possible.

"I went into it with the idea of trying to keep him a Dodger," Colletti said. "It was clearer and clearer there was no way to make this thing work. At every turn, I just got stopped. I got it from a lot of different places including inside the clubhouse, outside the clubhouse, people who have known him very well and have known him for a long time."

Colletti said he didn't speak with Bradley until Tuesday, when he informed him of the trade in a brief conversation.

Bradley said he hadn't thought much about a possible return to Los Angeles.

"I know I'm going to be successful regardless," he said. "I'm a no-nonsense guy. I laugh and joke with everybody, but when on the field, I'm all about winning. I'm not going out there to just go through the motions and have fun. I'm going out there to win."

A's GM Billy Beane has been looking to upgrade his offense.

"[Bradley] is a switch hitter who can hit around [Eric Chavez], which is something we probably need pretty badly," Beane said.

The 27-year-old Bradley hit .290 with 13 homers and 38 RBI in 283 at-bats. He was limited to 75 games, also missing extensive playing time because of a torn ligament in his right ring finger.

Bradley hit .267 with 19 homers and 67 RBI in 141 games for the Dodgers in 2004, and .321 with 10 homers and 56 RBI in 101 games for the Indians in 2003.

The 25-year-old Perez hit .297 with three homers and 23 RBI in 259 at-bats as a part-time infielder for the Dodgers last season.

Bradley has had several issues with his temper. He was suspended for the final five games of the 2004 season when he slammed a plastic bottle at the feet of a fan in the box seats in the right field corner at Dodger Stadium after someone threw it on the field. Nobody was injured.

He had anger management counseling during the offseason, and kept his temper in control last season -- even when discussing Kent, although his comments were scathing.

Then-Dodgers manager Jim Tracy later said he was disappointed Bradley was as candid as he was with the media, saying he had told the player to "keep it in-house."

Colletti said he didn't speak with Kent concerning Bradley's status.

Colletti said he believes Ethier has a chance to be "a very good everyday player in the big leagues" as a corner outfielder, but not right away.

The 23-year-old Ethier will probably begin next season in Triple-A, Colletti said, adding he could arrive at the big-league level sometime next season or in 2007.

Ethier, who bats and throws left-handed, hit .319 in 131 games with 18 homers and 80 RBI for Midland of the Texas League. He also played in four games with Triple-A Sacramento of the PCL.

Ethier was a second-round draft pick of the A's in 2003 after playing at Arizona State.

Colletti said the Dodgers need to rebuild their outfield, where starters J.D. Drew and Jayson Werth return but the status of both could be uncertain because of health issues.

Colletti has been in contact with representatives for free-agent outfielders Johnny Damon and Jacque Jones, but didn't sound optimistic on either front.

Lakers Trade for Artest

Wouldn't that be cool? Just like what Phil did with Dennis Rodman he can do it with Artest.

Think of it ... Kobe now has the protection he has needed since... well when Shaq was there. A Kobe, Odem, Artest, Parker and either kwame or Mihm starting line-up is not all that bad. Defense would be better, scoring increases and rebounding now is a priority. Second chance points is a very key stat and Artest is a master at Offensive rebounding.

This is just a rumor, but it can be done and done cheap.

Kobe Goes Off for 43 Lakers Beat Mavs

Lamar Odom has a pretty good theory on why Kobe Bryant shoots so much.

"It's hard not to shoot the ball when you can make shots from everywhere," Odom said.

Bryant gave several more eye-popping examples Monday night, making a spectacular layup in the third quarter, then swishing a jumper from about 30 feet while falling away with a hand in his face, the shot clock expiring and 34.9 seconds left to send the Los Angeles Lakers past the Dallas Mavericks 109-106.

The Lakers went from leading by 11 before halftime to trailing most of the second half until Bryant, who scored 43 points, tied it at 97 with a 3-pointer. Los Angeles was down by two when Bryant lost the ball at the top of the key, chased it down and heaved up the go-ahead 3 with defender Adrian Griffin coming at him.

"That's backyard stuff," Bryant said.

Bryant, Luke Walton and Smush Parker all made key plays the rest of the way, capping a 4-1 road trip for the Lakers and giving them five wins in six games. It also ended Dallas' five-game winning streak.

OK I'll Give Props to a Trojan ... It Is Xmas Season

Reggie Bush treated the Heisman Trophy field the same way he responds on a football field. He ran away from everyone chasing him.


The USC junior tailback won the highest percentage of first-place votes and the highest percentage of points (awarded on a 3-2-1 basis) in the 71-year history of the award. Texas quarterback Vince Young finished a distant second, and Bush's quarterback, 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart, finished an even more distant third.

Kobe Scores 35 But KG and Szcerby Close the Deal

After winning all four games on a West Coast road trip, the Minnesota Timberwolves returned home and feared a letdown.

Kevin Garnett and his teammates quickly dashed those worries.

Garnett scored a season-high 30 points, Wally Szczerbiak added 25 and the Timberwolves won their fifth straight Saturday night, 95-82 over Los Angeles to stop the Lakers' winning streak at four.

Marko Jaric had 12 points and a season-best nine assists for the Timberwolves, who never trailed and have already beaten the Lakers three times this season.

It's typical for coaches to be apprehensive, but even Dwane Casey's players were on edge.

"I was really concerned how we were going to show up tonight, but ... everybody surprised me here," Jaric said. "We played really well."

Trenton Hassell scored 13 points and tightly guarded Kobe Bryant, who surpassed his average with 35 points and shot 11-for-20 from the floor but never sustained any dominance -- save for an eye-popping, up-and-under reverse layup that brought the Lakers to 84-77 with 3½ minutes left.

Lamar Odom added 16 points and Chris Mihm had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which made the fourth stop on a six-game road trip and fell back to the .500 mark at 10-10.

ULCA Punter Shanks One - Arrested on DUI

UCLA football player Justin Medlock was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Sunday.


The Associated Press reported Medlock is also under investigation for felony hit-and-run after allegedly rolling a pickup truck on a Southern California freeway and leaving the scene of the accident, which also left a member of the school's women's golf team seriously injured, authorities said Sunday.


The 22-year-old junior place-kicker was suspended indefinitely from the football team and will not play Dec. 30 in the Vitalis Sun Bowl, coach Karl Dorrell said Sunday in a statement.


Medlock was driving a 1998 Toyota pickup on the San Diego Freeway in Inglewood about 3 a.m. Saturday with 20-year-old UCLA golfer Hannah Jun in the passenger seat when he hit a call box and the truck flipped over, Officer Tariq Johnson, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said.


CHP officers found the truck with only Jun inside, and later found Medlock walking on an Inglewood street about a mile and a half from the scene, Johnson said.


Medlock was arrested Saturday for investigation of driving under the influence resulting in injuries, having a blood alcohol level above 0.8, and felony hit-and-run.


He was released Saturday morning after posting a $10,000 bond.


"I have met with Justin and informed him of my decision," Dorrell said of the suspension. "He understands the high standards with which we expect our players to represent the program and has always met those standards. Justin apologized to me and wanted me to express his apologies to his teammates."


The CHP said Jun was left with "major" spinal cord injuries, but the UCLA statement said she did not require surgery and was expected to make a full recovery.

UCLA's Dynamic Duo drives Home a Win For Wooden

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Jordan Farmar scored 10 of his 24 points during a game-clinching 16-2 run, and No. 16 UCLA beat No. 17 Nevada 67-56 on Saturday in the nightcap of the 12th annual John R. Wooden Classic.

No. 13 Washington topped New Mexico 81-71 in the opener of the doubleheader named for the former UCLA coach who guided the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships in a 12-year span before retiring in 1975.

The 95-year-old Wooden attended the games at the Anaheim Arena.

Arron Afflalo added 18 points and eight rebounds and freshman Darren Collison matched his career high with 10 points for the Bruins (7-1), who shot 52.2 percent.

Nick Fazekas scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half to lead Nevada (6-1), which had won its previous 14 regular-season games away from the Lawlor Events Center in Reno. Mo Charlo had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolf Pack.

Nevada had opened the season by winning six straight games for just the second time in school history. The 1951-52 team won its first 14 games.

The Wolf Pack shot just 37.3 percent -- nearly 11 percent below their season percentage.

Fazekas scored nine points to spark a 14-6 run to begin the second half, cutting UCLA's lead to 39-38.

But that was as close as the Wolf Pack would get.

UCLA News and Notes

UCLA HEAD COACH Ben Howland - In his third season at UCLA and 12th year as a collegiate head coach.
2005-06 - UCLA (6-1, 7 games/.857)
2004-05 - UCLA (18-11, 29 games/.621)
2003-04 - UCLA (11-17, 28 games/.393)
UCLA Totals - 35-29, 64 games/.547
2000-03 - Pittsburgh (89-40, 129 games/69.0)
1995-99 - N. Arizona (79-59, 138 games/57.2)
Overall - (203-128, 331 games/.613)


Howland recorded his 200tth career victory on Nov. 19, when UCLA defeated Delaware State 56-37 in Pauley Pavilion. In Howland's second year (2004-05) at UCLA, he joined an elite list of college coaches (28) who have led three different teams to the NCAA Tournament (Howland's overall NCAA record is 4-4) - 2005 UCLA, 2003 Pittsburgh ("Sweet 16), 2002 Pittsburgh ("Sweet 16") and 1998 Northern Arizona. In 2005, Howland led the Bruins back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002; he directed the Bruins to a win over nationally-ranked Washington; led UCLA to a third-place tie in the Pac-10 and to a Pac-10 Tournament appearance. In Howland's first year (2003-04) at UCLA, highlights included a 9-3 start (5-0 in the Pac-10), wins over NCAA Tournament teams Michigan State, Washington (twice) and Vermont and an appearance in the Pac-10 Tournament.

In his last two seasons (2002-03) at Pittsburgh - in 2003, he led the Panthers to a 28-5 overall record, No. 4 national ranking, NCAA "Sweet 16" and the Big East Tournament Championship and in 2002, Pittsburgh was 29-6 overall (school record for wins), advanced to the NCAA "Sweet 16" and the Big East Tournament title game and Howland was the consensus National Coach of the Year.

THE WOODEN CLASSIC - UCLA's appearance in the 2005 Wooden Classic will be its ninth (third consecutive, the Bruins will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak), with an overall mark of 5-3.

UCLA in the John R. Wooden Classic (5-3)
2005-06 - Dec. 10-Washington vs. New Mexico (noon), followed by UCLA vs. Nevada
2004-05(L)-Boston College 74, UCLA 64
2003-04(L)-No. 9 Kentucky 52, UCLA 50
2001-02(W)-No. 20 UCLA 79, No. 16 Alabama 57
2000-01(L)-Georgia Tech 72, UCLA 67
1998-99(W)-No. 18 UCLA 69,No. 11 Okla. St. 66
1997-98(W)-No. 15 UCLA 69,No. 8 New Mex. 58
1995-96(W)-UCLA 73, No. 20 Maryland 63
1994-95(W)-No. 2 UCLA 82, No. 7 Kentucky 81

On Nov. 30, 2002 in Indianapolis, No. 14 UCLA's 84-73 loss to No. 4 Duke was the Bruins' only appearance in the then third-annual Wooden Tradition.

Wooden Classic Press Conference - To highlight the upcoming Wooden Classic, a press conference, featuring all four head coaches and John Wooden, will be held at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim (Service Level/East End) at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 9. The 12th annual Wooden Classic will be held Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Arrowhead Pond (noon-Washington vs. New Mexico/2:30 p.m.-UCLA vs. Nevada/KCAL). This will be UCLA's ninth appearance (third consecutive) in the Wooden Classic. The Bruins have a Classic record of 5-3 (last year, UCLA was defeated by Boston College 74-64).

"Take 'Em To The Bank" Locks of the Week

Jacksonville + 9 against Indy
I will continue to try and beat the Colts. Jacksonville fighting for their playoff lives need this home win to continue their journey and with a strong Defense will keep the score low and cover the spread.

San Francisco + 16 at Seattle
Seattle coming off a monday night showcase statement game will take it easy and not cover. SF is playing its Super Bowl game.

Denver -15 at home vs Baltimore
Baltimore has no Ray Lewis for the rest of the year, Denver coming off a tough loss at KC rebounds at home and leaves no doubt they are far superior.

Lewis & Drew on All America team, Lewis Wins Mackey Award

UCLA senior tight end Marcedes Lewis and junior tailback Maurice Drew (kick returner) have been selected to the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team. Both were first-team selections. The team was announced on Thursday night's ESPN College Football Awards Show in Orlando, FL.

The players will also participate in the Walter Camp All-America weekend on Feb. 9-11, 2006 in New Haven, CT.

UCLA was one of just five schools to have multiple members on the team. Texas and USC had three players each while UCLA, Penn State and Georgia had two players on the first team.

Lewis was named the winner of the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end on Tuesday. He leads the Bruins with 58 receptions, 741 yards (12.8 avg.) and 10 receiving touchdowns -- all career highs and UCLA records for tight ends. His 58 catches shattered the old mark of 44, his 741 yards broke the old record of 631 and his 10 touchdowns broke the mark of seven he set last year.

His average of 5.27 receptions is second nationally among tight ends and his 10 touchdown receptions rank No. 1. He ranks fifth in the Pac-10 with his average of 5.27 receptions, eighth with his average of 67.36 yards per game and third (tied) with his 10 receiving touchdowns. He ranks first in the league among tight ends in all three categories.

His 58 receptions rank No. 7 (tied) on UCLA's single-season list. His 21 career touchdown catches stand as a UCLA record by a tight end and rank No. 2 overall, trailing only J.J. Stokes' record of 28. His 126 receptions rank No. 1 on UCLA's career tight end receiving list and eighth on the school career receptions list. His 1,571 yards also rank No. 1 among tight ends and 13th overall.

One of the top players in the nation, Drew played himself into Heisman Trophy consideration at mid-season. He has also earned first-team All-America acclaim from the American Football Coaches Association, SI.com and CBS Sportsline.com.

Drew leads the nation in punt return average (29.07, which would be a new NCAA record) and has scored on returns of 72, 66 and 81 this year. He also has non-scoring returns of 69 and 59 yards and had a 65-yard touchdown return negated by penalty. His 407 punt return yards have already set a new UCLA single-season record while his three punt return touchdowns have tied the UCLA and Pac-10 single-season records.

Drew is sixth in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 10.91 points per game. He has scored a career-high 20 touchdowns -- 13 running, four receiving and three on punt returns. He ranks ninth nationally in all-purpose yards (160.64) with only 36 yards on kickoff returns.

He is averaging 23.65 yards per touchdown this season and scores every 11.45 times he touches the football.

In 11 games, he has accounted for 1,767 all-purpose yards (160.64 average) and is averaging 7.72 yards every time he touches the football. The 1,767 yards ranks No. 2 in school history, just 37 yards shy of the record of 1,804, set by Theotis Brown in 1978.

He leads the Bruins in rushing (81.82). He has scored 20 touchdowns, No. 2 (tied) on UCLA's single-season list, and is averaging 23.65 yards on those touchdowns, including four of at least 60 yards. He is fourth on the squad with 29 receptions and is averaging 14.6 yards per catch, highest among players with at least seven receptions.

Kings Find A Way To Lose - Canes Win

The Carolina Hurricanes have won all 11 games they've led after two periods, not without getting a big scare from the Los Angeles Kings.

Erik Cole snapped a 13-game goal drought by scoring twice, Justin Williams also scored and Martin Gerber made 35 saves to lead the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory on Thursday night.

"We were very fortunate to hang on with the way we played in the third period," Cole said. "We didn't do a very good job of getting pucks out of our end. You can't sit on any kind of lead anymore. You used to be able to, the way the old rules were. But it's tough when you're killing penalties because that's going to help the other team build momentum."

The Kings outshot Carolina 18-6 over the final 20 minutes, getting goals from Jeff Cowan and Eric Belanger. But Alexander Frolov took a hooking penalty with 3:16 to play, derailing the comeback bid.

"They're a good hockey team. They picked it up in the third period and they got it going," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "But we did some really careless things with the puck and really undisciplined things with penalties. We were very fortunate to walk out of here with a win."

The Kings were awarded six consecutive power plays, but failed to score more than two goals for the sixth straight time. It was their fifth loss in that stretch.

Angels Don't Offer Arbitration to Benjie and Washburn

The Los Angeles Angels are parting ways with two players who made key contributions to the team's success over the past few years, declining salary arbitration to catcher Bengie Molina and starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn.

Angels general manager Bill Stoneman announced Wednesday that the club also won't offer salary arbitration to reliever Jason Christiansen and infielder Lou Merloni.

Players who became free agents and weren't offered arbitration can't re-sign with their former clubs until May 1.

The 31-year-old Molina, known for his skill for getting the best from pitchers, batted .295 with 15 home runs and 69 RBI in 119 games this past season. He originally signed with the Angels as a minor league free agent in 1993.

His brother, Jose, has been a backup catcher for the Angels. Another brother, Yadier, catches for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Stoneman earlier said that the Angels were not going to try to keep Washburn. The 31-year-old left-hander went 8-8 this year with a 3.20 ERA in 29 starts. He had one shutout.

The 36-year Christiansen was acquired by Los Angeles in a trade with San Francisco on Aug. 30. He had no decisions and had a 2.45 in 12 appearances for the Angels after going 6-1 with a 5.36 ERA in 56 appearances for the Giants.

Merloni, 34, was hitless in five at-bats with one RBI in five games with the Angels. He went on the 15-day disabled list on May 2 with a sprained right ankle, later underwent surgery and sat out the rest of the season.

Kobe Passes and Lakers Win

The Los Angeles Lakers didn't even need Kobe Bryant or Lamar Odom to play in the fourth quarter to beat the woeful Toronto Raptors.

Odom scored 19 points, and Los Angeles beat Toronto 102-91 Wednesday night despite Bryant's lowest-scoring game of the season.

Bryant sat out the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points for the Lakers, who put the game out of reach by outscoring Toronto 31-18 in the third quarter.

"It was really good for us to be able to rest," said Bryant, whose team opened a six-game road trip the night before.

Luke Walton added a season-high 13 points and six rebounds for the Lakers, who have won a season-high three straight.

Odom said the win will make for an enjoyable off day in Chicago on Thursday.

"We get to have a light practice, lift a little weights, have a steak and relax a little bit," Odom said.

Los Angeles won at Milwaukee on Tuesday night and didn't get to its hotel until 3 a.m. But the Lakers outrebounded Toronto 48-33 and shot 54 percent, compared to 41 for Toronto.

Want a Rose Bowl Ticket? Well You Can't Have One!

If it feels as if scoring a Rose Bowl ticket at face value requires knowing some secret password, winning a lottery, giving $2,500 to $25,000 a year to USC, dating a former Rose Queen or being the kin or closest friend of one of the 935 members of the Tournament of Roses …

Well, yeah.

The 1,000 tickets available to the public through Ticketmaster went on sale Tuesday at 8 a.m., and if you got nothing but a busy signal on the phone line or a "There were no tickets available that matched your request" message online — even though you were asking for two tickets in any location at 8:06 a.m. — join the crowd.

Ticketmaster spokeswoman Bonnie Poindexter said there was "tremendous consumer demand," but there were no system glitches during a sale a Rose Bowl official said was completed within minutes.

"The sale went very well," Poindexter said.

For somebody.

To be in the Rose Bowl as USC goes for a third consecutive national championship, against Texas on Jan. 4, it will help to be in the know or in the dough.

Brokers and online sources were offering the $175 face-value tickets for about $1,000 to well over $4,000 Tuesday. A spokesman for RazorGator.com said the average price for tickets already sold was about $885. At StubHub.com, that figure was $1,117.

By the way, it's too late for that hush-hush password: That was for a Ticketmaster presale in October of 1,000 of the tickets returned by the Pacific 10 and Big Ten conferences, with a required special code that was distributed to member schools.

The Rose Bowl game is what the Tournament of Roses calls "a contractual sellout," meaning virtually all of the tickets available for sale for the approximately 92,000-seat stadium were divvied up long ago.

In years when the Rose Bowl plays host to the bowl championship series title game, each team gets 22,000 tickets. USC procured an extra 2,000 from the Pac-10's allotment before the season began, hoping the Trojans would reach the title game.

That still means USC has only 24,000 Rose Bowl tickets — and 62,000 season-ticket holders, including 12,000 students.

"Demand obviously exceeds supply. We could use twice as many," said Steve Lopes, the USC senior associate athletic director who oversees the ticket operation.

Members of USC's Scholarship Club — donors who contribute $25,000 or more a year — were allowed to purchase up to eight Rose Bowl tickets, Lopes said.

Those in the Committee, at $7,500 a year, had the right to buy four, and Cardinal and Gold members, who contribute at least $2,500, could purchase two.

USC's remaining tickets were distributed by lottery to other season-ticket holders and students, but plenty lost out.

Texas likewise was unable to fill all the orders from season-ticket holders from its allotment of 22,000.

"We had 34,000 tickets requested," said Mark Harrison, assistant athletic director for ticket operations. "I don't anticipate getting through all our donors."

Texas limited season-ticket holders to the same number of Rose Bowl requests as they have season tickets, with a maximum of four.

Students who are season-ticket holders get 10% of the tickets.

UCLA signs Marko Spica to Natl. Letter of Intent

Marko Spica Signs NLI
Spica is considered one of the top young post players in Europe.


Marko Spica, a 6-9, 225-pound post player from Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at UCLA, Bruin head coach Ben Howland announced Tuesday. Spica will be an incoming freshman for the 2006-07 school year.

From the High School of Sport in Belgrade and considered one of the top young post
players in Europe, Spica, since the age of 13, has been a member of the Beovuk Club. Within his club team, Spica for two years has been playing on his country's Junior squad, averaging 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. Prior to that, for three seasons on the Youth team, he averaged 17.0 points and 9.0 rebounds.

"Marko is a skilled post player, who also has the ability to step out and make a shot," Howland said. "He and James Keefe give us two talented inside players for next season."

Spica joins James Keefe, a 6-8, 220-pound senior forward from Santa Margarita Catholic HS, who signed his NLI with UCLA on Nov. 9. Keefe is a recent Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West selection and is rated the No. 27 high school player in the nation by Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports Top 100.

Kings Dustin Brown beats Toronto

Jeremy Roenick always enjoys scoring goals in Toronto. He didn't add to his total this time, but he let his young teammate know just how special it is.

Dustin Brown, pointless in the previous 11 games, scored twice and the Los Angeles Kings ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

"J.R. always says it's the best place to score goals, so to get two is a pretty fun experience," the 21-year-old Brown said.

Mathieu Garon made 36 saves for the Kings, who salvaged the last game of a four-game Eastern road trip.

"This is a hard building to win hockey games in, but we stuck though it and killed off a lot of penalties," said Roenick, who has 41 career goals against Toronto -- his most against any team. "This is a big plus for us. Hopefully, this gets us off our little skid."

Darcy Tucker scored for the Maple Leafs, who went just 1-for-9 on the power play. Fans booed the Leafs at the final buzzer.

Tucker said Garon was solid.

"He was good controlling his rebounds, that's for sure," Tucker said.

Los Angeles forward Alexander Frolov looked more like teammate Sean Avery, receiving eight minutes in penalties. Frolov entered the game with only 12 this season.

Avery, famous for some controversial remarks, was booed every he touched the puck. He has 108 penalty minutes this season, but didn't get any against Toronto.

Garon called it an important win.

"When you are on losing streak like that you don't want to go home with five losses in a row. We just wanted to win," Garon said.

It's Smush World After All - Lakers Win in Milwaukee

Smush Parker scored 16 of his 20 points in the first period seven steals to go along with Kobe Bryant's 33 points and Parker had 20 points and to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to their ninth straight win over Milwaukee, 111-92 on Tuesday night.

"This is more than what I expected," Parker said. "But I'm never satisfied. I'm playing well right now, and I want to continue playing well."

Lamar Odom added 24 points and Chris Mihm had 13 as the Lakers beat the Bucks for the 18th time in the last 20 meetings.

"Smush did a great job getting his hands on balls," Bryant said. "We did a great job pressuring them."

Bryant went 14-of-24 from the field for his best shooting percentage this season, a game after hitting just 9-of-30 in a sluggish win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday. The Lakers shot 48 percent (43-of-89) on Tuesday night.

"Right now, we need to focus on who we are as a basketball club," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said before the game. "I don't live with expectations, so there's nothing there I can say I expected. We're just out here kind of treading water as a basketball team right now. We're neither hot nor cold, neither fish nor fowl."

Jackson said afterward the Lakers were still looking for confidence, but Parker says has the solution.

"Wins," he said. "We've lost a lot of games we should've won. Of course that deters our confidence a little bit. But these wins, if they keep coming, we'll get more confident."

Michael Redd scored 21 points for Milwaukee, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Grady 'Bleepin' Little New Dodger Chowd

Once there was a time when you never had to ask, "Who's the manager of the Dodgers?" Not on Dec. 6. Not on July 6. Not on any month of any day of any year.

But of course, that was your grandfather's Dodgers. And your father's Dodgers. The Dodgers who made one -- count 'em, one -- managerial change in 42 years, from 1952 (dawn of the Walter Alston era) to 1996 (end of the Tommy Lasorda era).

Those Dodgers, however, aren't these Dodgers -- the Dodgers who Tuesday named Grady Little as their fourth manager in nine years.

Not that they don't still talk like they're the Dodgers of Koufax and Snider and even Hershiser, you understand.

Lasorda himself marched up to the podium to be part of Tuesday's festivities -- and reminded the world that Little was "joining the greatest organization in baseball."

Right you are there, Tommy. There probably has never been a better time to bleed away in Dodger Blue ...

Well, except for that 59-89 record the 2005 juggernaut rolled up (or down) in its last 148 games. And the not particularly ceremonious dumping of the previous GM, Paul DePodesta, 20 months into a five-year contract. And the 65 days it took them to hire a manager, during which time they seemed to be interviewing every potential candidate but Vin Scully.

So now here it is, December already. And we've seen a team (the Toronto Made of Green Jays) spend $102 million on two pitchers this winter before the Dodgers could even figure out who was going to manage their team. Which is no way to run an offseason.

Fortunately, however, nobody needs to explain this to the new GM of this outfit, the ever-astute Ned Colletti, who seemed to exude an eminently realistic grasp of the limitations of the team he is handing over to this new manager of his.

"We probably need to find ourselves another outfielder," Colletti said. "And maybe some help at first base. And third base ... Another starting pitcher ... Lefty in the bullpen.

"Other than that," Colletti deadpanned, "I think we're pretty well set."

Insert laugh track here.

And when you're finished laughing, you might recall that those Dodgers of yesteryear were never a laugh-track kind of franchise. Not unless Lasorda was hanging around the cage, reciting the highlights of his latest chicken-dinner speech, anyway.

Wooden Classic Comes to Town in a Cloud

The UCLA Bruins are the veterans on the court, making their ninth Wooden Classic appearance in total and their third in a row. This year, they will face the Nevada Wolf Pack in Game Two of the doubleheader. New Mexico returns to the Arrowhead Pond this year for their second appearance. In 1997, the Lobos fell to UCLA, 69-58. Winners of the Mountain West Conference tournament, they will take on another newcomer, the Washington Huskies, in Game One. The Huskies finished last season with a Pac-10 tournament win and a No. 1 seed into the NCAA tournament.

Meanwhile...

...The John R. Wooden Award is minus John R. Wooden.

The story has been out there for several months. After three decades of the Hathaway family's Los Angeles Athletic Club putting on the Wooden Award dinner to honor the college basketball players of the year in the name of the sport's most famous and revered coach, and doing so in concert with John Wooden and his children, Jim Wooden and Nan Muehlhausen, the wheels have come off.

Muehlhausen, acting with the backing of her father and brother, wanted more say in the proceedings, more control of the use of John Wooden's very famous name.

The Hathaways responded that they had received the rights to use Wooden's name from Wooden himself, 30 years ago, and that if they didn't protect that trademark, they might lose it.

So, while John Wooden himself has stayed gracefully above the fray, as is his tendency and right at 95, the Hathaways and the rest of the Woodens are not saying many nice things about one another.

Now, while the families burn, the award fizzles.

Two years ago, the Wooden Award became coed and Ann Meyers Drysdale, former UCLA All-American and current network broadcaster, became the spokeswoman and leading advocate for the women's version. Recently, she wrote to the Hathaways, withdrawing her association with the award.

"My relationship with Coach Wooden and the Wooden family is just that — family," she said.

One of the main sponsors, Applied Materials of San Jose, has withdrawn and has not been replaced, and the telecast spot on the CBS network that the venerable chairman of the award, Duke Llewellyn, worked so hard to win is now in jeopardy. Mike Solum, executive director of the event, said he was hopeful CBS would still do a telecast, but that "no contracts have been signed."

Tough story line for CBS to dance around: Nice trophies. Absent namesake.

Wooden himself, although acknowledging that he signed over to the LAAC the right to use his name in the award, will not be there. He remains close to Llewellyn and cordial to the Hathaways, but blood runs thicker than water. McCoys don't attend parties thrown by Hatfields.

The chances for reconciliation and restoration of the award as it has been for three decades are slim. And the chances for the Hathaways to emerge unscathed are slimmer. Even if they were 100% right, they'd be the losers.

They are taking on John Wooden, and they might as well be throwing rocks at Mother Teresa. At 95, Wooden has passed all the requisite tests of dignity, character and public service.

Los Angeles has been blessed with several of his stature in the world of sports. And like Vin Scully, Bill Sharman, Jack Kramer — plus Chick Hearn and Jim Murray when they were alive — Wooden gets a pass on almost everything.

The public is not going to dwell on Wooden's allowing the award to go on in his name. It will mostly remember that he wasn't there.

When the coaches who worship him and the players who have been told of the value of meeting him realize he won't be there, the bloom will be off the rose. The LAAC got into this for public-relations reasons. A no-brainer and an incredible coup! John Wooden gives you his name, for no cost, and you are joined at the hip for 30 years. The ultimate win-win.

Now, as the LAAC faces the ultimate lose-lose, it seems able to dwell only on how it thinks it has been wronged and misunderstood. In a recent column in her company newsletter, CEO Karen Hathaway wrote, "Unfortunately, complex issues and civility do not sell newspapers."

Nor do trophies with absentee namesakes sell dinner tickets.

There are five months before this April 8 train wreck, five months to stop sulking, figure it out, call in Henry Kissinger. Do something.

Is there no way to stop the fussin' and feudin'?

Daly and Singh Withdraw from Target World Challenge

John Daly, Vijay Singh and Angel Cabrera have all withdrawn from this week's Target World Challenge.

Daly has a broken right hand probably from getting all liquored up and slugging a bouncer and was replaced in the field by Skins Game titlist Fred Funk. Singh and Cabrera were replaced by South African Tim Clark and Englishman David Howell. Singh is an idiot and shows how much hate he has for Tiger.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion of the 16-man tournament. Wood also won in 2002. In the six-year history of the event, only four players (Woods, Padraig Harrington, Davis Love III and Tom Lehman) have hoisted the trophy. Love won in 2000 and 2003. Sherwood Country Club is hosting the event for the sixth straight year.

Kings Fighting Mad about Slide

The Los Angeles Kings losers of 4 out of their last 5 come into Toronto trying to get their first road win on the 4 game trip.The Kings seem to be genorous to their hosts as their last 3 losses were to teams on losing streaks. Saturdays 3-2 loss to Montreal ended a 4 game slide for the Habs.

As far as injuries go there is not much to report so you can't blame the lousy stick handling and poor defense on that. The Kings finally go home after this game with Toronto and host the very cold Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday at Staples.

Elton's Double Double & 1st Place Clippers Beat Shaq-less Heat

Elton Brand scored a season-high 37 points and added 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 99-89 victory over the Miami Heat in a matchup of division leaders Monday night.

Sam Cassell added 18 points and 13 assists for the Clippers, who have won two straight and remain atop the Pacific Division.

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points for the Heat, the Southeast Division leaders despite losing two in a row. Jason Williams and Alonzo Mourning each added 17 points.

Wade and Mourning, who had 12 rebounds, combined for all of Miami's fourth-quarter points.

With Los Angeles ahead by three going into the fourth, Brand scored eight of the Clippers' first 12 points, extending their lead to 90-77. After Miami ran off five in a row, Cuttino Mobley hit a 3-pointer that restored the lead to double digits.

It stayed that way as Brand punctuated the final minutes with a driving dunk and a jumper as fans chanted "MVP! MVP!"

Corey Maggette, who had 13 points, sprained his left foot at the end of the third quarter and didn't return for Los Angeles.

The Heat became the latest victim of the Clippers' defense, shooting 40 percent for the game. The Clippers' opponents had combined to shoot 41 from the floor in the season's first 16 games.

The teams played an even third period, each scoring 26 points, with the Clippers never ahead by more than seven points. Maggette scored their final six points and Los Angeles took a 78-75 lead into the final 12 minutes.

Miami played without Shaquille O'Neal, not yet recovered from a sprained right ankle that has kept him out of all but two games this season.

The only sports team we can talk about with confidence other than USC Football is the best basketball team on the west coast. The LA Clippers. That's right The happless Clippers of years gone by are not your fathers Clippers anymore. With the likes of perennial (screwed out of an All Star spot) All Star Elton Brands' 20-20 every freaking night, Corey Magette, veterans Sam Casell and Cutino Mobley playing with an axe to grind the Clippers are becoming one of the better teams in the land of parody called the NBA.

Who would have thunkit? A game between Miami and LA in December would mean so much and it has nothing to do with the Lakers. Well tonight the Clippers will show who they are as a team against one of the East giants.

Early BCS Betting Lines

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Ohio State Buckeyes -5½
O/U 55

West Virginia Mountaineers
Georgia Bulldogs -9
O/U 45


Florida State Seminoles
Penn State Nittany Lions -8
O/U 48

Texas Longhorns
USC Trojans -7
O/U 71

Jurisprudence

NFL Cheerleader Lesbian Sex Bar Fight Update: The Lawsuits are Starting! We just love repeating that headline! As you'll recall from a few weeks back, two former cheerleaders for the NFL's Carolina Panthers were arrested in a bar in Tampa, Florida for allegedly getting into a fight with another female patron after the pair took an incredibly long time in the bathroom. The patrons claim the two were having sex (both TopCats deny that) and that when they finally got out, one of them, Victoria Renee Thomas (mug shot left, to the right is "friend" Angela E. Keathley) allegedly punched a complaining female patron. Well, that patron, 26-year-old Melissa Holden, has now sued Thomas claiming the blonde maliciously assaulted her and she wants more than $15,000 for her injuries. (Tampa Bay's 10)

Ric Flair in More Trouble: Wife Makes Nasty Accusations in Divorce Filing, IRS Wants to Know Where Their Money Is - It has not been a good couple of weeks for the pro wrestler: last week the Nature Boy surrendered to North Carolina cops because of an alleged Thanksgiving Weekend road rage incident. Turns out, that could be the highlight of his holidays! In the past year the IRS has started to garnish his wages from the WWE (he's supposed to make $500,000 this year) for more than $1 million they claim he owes dating back to 1997. His wife of 22 years, Elizabeth, flied for divorce accusing Flair of "cruel behavior" claiming he slapped, kicked, choked, threw, bit and spit on her and pulled her hair. On top of that, her complaint, filed in May, also accused Flair of abusing alcohol and steroids, which caused him to become "enraged, paranoid, emotionally unbalanced and violent," and on at least one occasion she says he exposed himself to her friends and committed adultery. Despite the garnishment of his wages, a judge has ordered Flair to pay pay Elizabeth $20,000 a month until the case is settled, based on their previous living expenses.


#170! Dance Team Coach/Crossing Guard Uses “Incredibly Bad Judgment” Holding Sexually Themed Party for Underage Girls - Mark this one as a "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" story: a part time dance team coach (and crossing guard) at Mitchell High School in Colorado Springs thought it would be a good idea to invite about 10 girls (including her own daughter), ages 14 to 16, to a slumber party at her home earlier this year with the theme "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (based on the lame Kate Hudson movie.) Sound innocent? It must have to Marsha Ann Williams, 45, including that part in the film where Hudson's love interest, Matthew McConaughey, names his penis. So, to celebrate that, Williams purchased decorations and party favors shaped like penises and also had a cake in the shape of male genitalia. How festive! The whole thing would have remained a joke for the squad except that one parent contacted the school after seeing photos of some of the girls performing simulated sex acts on the party favors. And, while the cops thought the pictures were child pornography, local prosecutors disagreed, adding that the girls at the party all said Williams didn’t take any of the photos, wasn’t in the room when they were taken, and all the girls were fully clothed. And ultimately, while the phallic shaped party favors may not be everyone's taste, they are apprently legal for underage girls to buy. Still, despite the fact that the DA refused to press charges saying only that Williams exercised “incredibly bad judgment” but did not break the law, she has since lost both her coaching and crossing guard positions.

Northwestern, UCLA's High-Flying Offenses Head To El Paso For 72nd Vitalis Sun Bowl

A Wild West shootout could be on hand for the 72nd Annual Vitalis Sun Bowl, as two of the nation's premier offensive teams have accepted invitations to play on Dec. 30 at Noon in Sun Bowl Stadium.

Northwestern University (7-4) of the Big Ten Conference and UCLA (9-2) of the Pacific-10 Conference have officially accepted invitations to participate in this years Vitalis Sun Bowl, announced Sun Bowl Association President Wayne Thornton.

“We are really excited about the possibilities of this matchup,” said Thornton. “It will be an offensive explosion. The real fireworks will come the day before New Year's, when Northwestern and UCLA tangle in El Paso.”

The Northwestern Wildcats rank eighth in the nation in total offense. The Wildcats averaged 492.7 yards per game this season, including 296.8 yards per game through the air.

“We're extremely excited about the opportunity to play in a bowl game, and especially in El Paso at the Vitalis Sun Bowl,” said Northwestern Athletic Director Mark Murphy. “Everyone who has had an affiliation with this bowl has raved about the Sun Bowl's organization and hospitality. Northwestern is proud to represent the Big Ten this year in one of the country's most tradition-rich bowls.”

The No. 17 UCLA Bruins bring the nation's seventh highest scoring offense to El Paso, averaging 38.09 points per game. The Bruins also average 429 yards per game of total offense, with 281.9 yards coming through the air.

“We are excited to be participating in the Vitalis Sun Bowl,” said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. “We have a great relationship with the representatives from the Sun Bowl Association, who are well known for their hospitality. We think the matchup with Northwestern will be an exciting one for fans throughout the nation to enjoy on CBS and we are looking forward to our trip to El Paso.”

The 2005 Vitalis Sun Bowl will mark the sixth time these two teams have met, but the first since 1970. Northwestern holds a 3-2 advantage in the series, but the Bruins have won the last two meetings.

“Our team has worked hard to earn its record of 9-2 and a trip to the Vitalis Sun Bowl is a great way to cap this successful season,” said UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell. “We are looking forward to our trip and an exciting matchup against an explosive Northwestern squad.”

This will be Dorrell's first appearance as a player or a coach in the Vitalis Sun Bowl, but that cannot be said the same for Northwestern head coach Randy Walker.

“I'm excited for our football team, especially our group of seniors who have done such a tremendous job leading our football team this year,” said Walker. “I've been to the Sun Bowl before (as an assistant coach with North Carolina in 1982) and know what an outstanding experience this will be for our team. We're also excited to play one of the top Pac-10 teams in UCLA.”

This year will mark Northwestern's first-ever appearance in the Sun Bowl, while UCLA participated in the 1991 and 2000 Sun Bowls. Overall, this will be UCLA's 27th bowl appearance, while Northwestern will be making its sixth all-time bowl appearance.

The Vitalis Sun Bowl is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 30 at noon at Sun Bowl Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on CBS for the 38th consecutive year. Tickets for the Vitalis Sun Bowl range in price from $15 to $55 and can be purchased by calling (915) 533-4416 or (800) 915-BOWL.

USA Today #2 Loses First Game in 3 years

Hart Downs No. 2 Mission Viejo Again

The nation's No. 2 ranked team in the Student Sports FAB 50 and the state's top-ranked club falls on a cool, rainy night in Valencia. Although many of the fans at College of the Canyons were in disbelief, the outcome of the game was not a total shocker by any means. Photo: Hart QB Tyler Lyon completed 17 of 21 passes for 264 yards, with three TDs and no interceptions in the big win. ULCA Bound Chane Moline ends his career at Mission Viejo as one of the most recruited players in the country.

Loyola and Esperanza will tangle in Div. 1 Final

Loyola ended Mater Dei's gallent CIF Final try and Esperanza took down the Jackrabbit killers, Servite and will meet in the CIF Divions 1 Final at the Home Depot Center Staurday December 10th. Tickets are on sale and can be bought through the CIF SS office or at the Home Depot Center box office.

Dodgers get Shortstop, but no Manager

Shortstop Rafael Furcal and the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached preliminary agreement on a $39 million, three-year contract, his agent said Sunday.

Paul Kinzer said a physical was scheduled for his client on Monday. Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch would only say no announcement was planned before baseball's winter meetings, which begin Monday in Dallas.

Los Angeles beat out Atlanta and the Chicago Cubs for Furcal, who had spent his entire six-year career with the Braves.

"He liked all three fits," Kinzer said.

Kinzer said the Dodgers entered the negotiations late, but that new general manager Ned Colletti and owner Frank McCourt made a persuasive argument.

"Earlier in the week, we were about finished when they got involved," Kinzer said. "They asked if we could listen. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Ned."

Adam Katz, Kinzer's partner, had dinner with Colletti on Tuesday night. Furcal and Katz went out to dinner Friday night in Los Angeles with McCourt, and Furcal was impressed by McCourt.

"He told Raffy his vision of where he wanted the team to be and how he fit in," Kinzer said. "Once the Dodgers went to $13 [million], the Cubs and Braves weren't moving to that point."

Furcal will receive $9 million next year, with $5 million of that to be called a signing bonus. He gets $13 million in cash in each of the following two seasons, and there is a final $4 million payment in January 2009.

UCLA get's Yellow in Final

Christine Sinclair scored two goals and Neil Lomax-less Portland beat UCLA 4-0 in the NCAA women's soccer national championship game on Sunday.

Angie Woznuk added a goal and an assist for the Pilots (24-0-2), who won their second title in three years. Portland beat Santa Clara 2-1 in the 2002 championship game.

This year, Portland became the only team other than North Carolina to finish an unbeaten season with a championship. The Tar Heels have won 10 of their 17 championships following undefeated seasons.

Sinclair, a member of the Canadian national team, set an NCAA single-season record with her first-half goals, giving her 39. Entering the game, Sinclair was tied SMU's Lisa Cole, who had 37 goals in 1987.

The senior was already the NCAA tournament's all-time goal scorer and finished her career with 25.

The Bruins (22-2-2), who outscored their first five tournament opponents 25-0, lost in the title game for the second straight year. They lost to Notre Dame on penalty kicks last year after playing to a 1-1 tie.

UCLA had shut out 17 of its previous 19 NCAA tournament opponents

Bailed out Again

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were bailed out again by the referees and a young Charlotte team as they squeaked 99-98 at Staples. The Lakers with their awful bench led early in the 3rd 57-50 and seemed to be taking control, but if anything over the last 14 months have showed turnovers are killing them. With 48 seconds left in the game the Lakers were down 3 points and Kobe was fouled. He made a couple free throws to cut the deficit to 1. The Bobcats missed an opportunity to put it away and Kobe drove the lane after a time out and threw up a brick, but his prayers were answered by the referee and he calmly made both free thows to take the 1 point lead. Charlotte came down with 4 seconds left and threw up an off balanced shot that didn't have a chance.

If the papers and the fans are saying the Lakers looked as good as ever in a LOSS on Friday to the Timberwolves 113-109 after giving up a 16 point lead it is pathetic to accept the team as it is and feel sorry for them. Jerry Buss better be ready to do something because this is the last year anyone will feel sorry for this bunch of losers.

You knew it would happen

The USC Trojans after watching Texas score 70 points en route to their Rose Bowl bid came out and had no mercy for the offenseless Bruins of UCLA crushing them 66-19. The cross town rivalry ended up to be a bitch beaten. The 7th time in a row this beaten has been handed out and there is nor relief in site.

USC stays home and will play Texas in the Rose Bowl January 4th. Texas will make its second consecutive bowl appearance in the Rose Bowl.

UCLA will end up where they were expected to play... In ElPaso at the Sun Bowl against themselves... er Northwestern. The film sessions and practices should not be a problem as both teams can score with anyone, but can't stop anyone.