Crank that Sasha Vujacic

I can't contain my excitement.
I want to dance like Ronny Turiaf, swinging and waving his arms like a lunatic on the sideline. Kobe Bryant, who sat the entire fourth quarter in the Lakers 127-99 win over Stephen A Smith's pick to win the NBA Championship, the Denver Nuggets, looked at Ronny and probably thought to himself, who is this crazy guy on my team?
The Lakers were fun to watch tonight. The Cowboys won in a shootout, and all my fantasy players in the game did well (TO, Greg Jennings, and Donald Lee). And to put the icing on the cake, Sasha Vujacic had a career high 22 points along with a post game interview with Cheryl Miller. Now Sasha will never top Slava Medvedenko's classic after he had a career high, but Sasha was entertaining in his own right.
He attributed the bench's second half performance to "meditation with Phil Jackson before the Staples." Then he gave a shout out to the fans getting tacos, twice. Sasha has come under a lot of criticism for under performing, but you can't question his effort and his heart. He's a big reason the chemistry of the bench has been so good. Like he said, "it's all about having fun."
He's a fun loving kid and it's nice to see him do well.

As for Kobe, he continues to do things no one else in the NBA can come remotely close to doing. Recently, he's begun to enjoy making no look passes. When Andrew Bynum and Ronny Turiaf are in the game, guys who can actually catch passes and finish, Kobe looks to get in the lane and dish. Check out his 7 assists in 29 minutes, to complement his 24 points and six rebounds. Best of all, Kobe isn't isolated. He's part of the conversations on the bench. He laughs, jokes, and appears like he wants to be here. He looks like he's having a good time and that's the sign of a good team. Watch the Knicks body language. There's a reason they lose by 50. Those guys don't want to be around each other, they don't want to be at the game, and they don't want to compete. The Lakers are competing and I'm enjoying watching them play.

Phil isn't going anywhere
The LA Times reports Phil Jackson is staying for another two years.
Best coach in the business so no complaints about the high salary from me.

And then also:
I'll let this video speak for itself

As always, Lakers +/- (through 15 games)

Fisher +51
Kobe +46
Turiaf -8
Odom +26
Mihm -31
Walton +79
Bynum +102
Farmar +50
Radmanovic +90
Brown -5
Vujacic +16
Crittenton -4
Karl +5
Ariza +2

Bayless should play the two

If you were around Arizona basketball last year, you may remember the is Arizona basketball elite question? I didn't ask it and didn't necessarily agree at the time, but with the way this season has started, there is at least some legitimacy to the question. I bring this up because I was searching for a box score for today's Arizona game, and I couldn't find one. There was no gamecast, no play by play. Nothing on espn.com or cbssportsline. Elite programs get updated boxscores or at least a boxscore shortly at the end of the game.

Now I still think Arizona is an elite program. Witness the No. 2 ranked recruiting class next year with the help of the No. 1 recruit Brandon Jennings. Witness their blowout of Cal State Fullerton today. Witness their impressive performance at Kansas, despite a lack of execution down the stretch.
Arizona is an elite program, but for the third straight year, this is not an elite team.

My other talking point regarding Arizona is the confusion at the point guard position. The Wildcats started with Jerryd Bayless playing the point and realized in the first five minutes of the Kansas game when they fell behind by double digits that Bayless is better served playing the two. Of course the problem is Arizona has no one to play the one, even though Nic Wise had the game of his life against Kansas.

Still, the Wildcats are better suited throwing Wise into the pg slot and letting Bayless do what he does best. And that's score. Admit the mistake, Kevin O'Neill and Lute Olson, and play Bayless at the two. Let him be the No. 2 option behind Chase Budinger because the toll it takes to handle the ball, distribute, and score is too much.
Yesterday against Cal State Fullerton, Bayless played both guard positions and Laval Lucas Perry saw some time at the one. Maybe, the coaching staff is catching on. Let's hope they find more and more time for Bayless at the two.

There is an elephant in the room
I hate to talk about the Sean Taylor for two reasons. 1. What happened was a tragedy. 2. I don't know the facts.
However, I strongly doubt that this was a random burglary as the police are currently reporting. Sean Taylor's murder not random. Antrel Rolle, one of his best friends, certainly doesn't think so.
The intruder or intruders didn't take anything. How many burglaries involve nothing being stolen?

"This was not the first incident," Rolle said. "They've been targeting him for three years now."

Rolle said many former "friends" had it in for Taylor, who was trying to build a more stable life.

When his best friend, who has known him since they were six years old, comes out and says something like that, you have to question how this possibly could have been a random attack. Put that together with the fact that there was a break-in at his house eight days earlier and someone left a knife on his bed, you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out there is something shady going on.

Jose Calderon vs. T.J. Ford

I don't want to yell reverse racism, but I have no other explanation for why Sam Mitchell plays TJ Ford over Jose Calderon. And I'm not just saying that because Calderon just put up back to back games of 7 points and 13 assists and then 19 points and 14 assists without Ford in the lineup.

Why are people not outraged over this egregious lapse in judgment?

According to 82.games.com adjusted +/- for the Raptors they are +2.9 points with Ford on the floor and +4.1 when he's not on the floor. When Calderon is on the floor, the Raps are +5.5. Without him they are +1.7. If you haven't figured it out, my visual analysis is supported by the mathematical analysis. Memo to Sam Mitchell: The Raptors are better with Jose Calderon on the floor.

Since T.J. Ford is continuously injured and in and out of the lineup, it makes sense to start Calderon to give the team a constant at point guard. Let Ford come off the bench and be an energy spark. Of course, the Raptors traded for Ford, who's got a nice big contract, and they want to see the return on their investment. If he goes to the bench, management would be criticized, despite the fact that Bryan Colangelo wasn't around for that deal.

By the way, Sam Mitchell has also taken Andrea Bargnani and Jason Kapono (both white) out of the starting lineup. Just saying.

And then also:
I bet even Sam Mitchell would like to see Marko Jaric playing for his squad as long Marko's hot ass girlfriend Adriana Lima is in the stands.

Much Respect to Tracy McGrady for going to visit Darfur and telling his story.

Vlad the Not so Great

Vladimir Radmanovic, the Lakers current starting power forward is 1 for his last 13. He's 0-8 from 3-point range in the past two games. Against other teams' second units, the Space Cadet was fine. In fact he was thriving as witnessed by his +/-. Against teams' starting power forwards? Not so much.

Now for the good news. The Lakers snapped their three game losing streak with a 106-99 win over Seattle.

Kobe had a monster game. 35, 8, and 6. He was in attack mode. Stu Lantz attributed his poor performance the past couple of games to a cold. Stu is trying to pull out all the stops since Chick passed away. When Chick did games, Stu's job was to take the broadcast into commercials. Aside from that, we rarely heard from him. And that was a good thing. Stu was great in small doses.
"And Derek Fisher said 'take that young fella' on the Lakers back to back to back championship basketball network."
Too much of Stu (including his halftime analysis) is too much for me.

And then also: Choke job
For the second time in three nights, a player had a chance to tie a game with three free throws. After Kobe made the first two and missed the third against the Nets, JR Smith did the same against the Pacers last night.

(through 14 games)

Fisher +38
Kobe +39
Turiaf -20
Odom +13
Mihm -34
Walton +54
Bynum +94
Farmar +40
Radmanovic +71
Brown -5
Vujacic -4
Crittenton -9
Karl +5
Ariza -3

Lessons in how to lose

In light of Sunday's Laker and Arizona games, and the disastrous events that occurred in those games, here is a guide to losing basketball games:

1. When the game is on the line, have Vladimir Radmanovic and walk-on Bret Brielmaier take potential game winning shots. This is especially important when Radmanovic was 0-9 prior to the shot and 0-6 on 3-pointers. Even more important when you have the game's best player on the floor (one Kobe Bryant) and he has brought you back to tie. If you have Chase Budinger who scored 27 points or a good shooter in Jerryd Bayless, make sure you pass to your walk-on power forward and have him take a deep two pointer.

2. If you're down by three points with about 45 seconds left and you have time to make a defensive stand and tie the game, make sure you foul. If you foul, make sure your best player (Budinger) commits the foul. If he already has four fouls, even better.

3. Blow leads. Of course it's easy to lose right from the start, but why not make it more agonizing for everyone involved by not executing down the stretch. If you're Arizona, then flirt with a four point lead with 3:30 left to play and a two point lead with 30 seconds left. If you're the Lakers, better make the lead double digits. Fourteen points in the first half and a seven point lead in the third quarter will do.

4. Don't guard the lob play. No matter how many times you get burned, continue to let Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur get behind the defense for easy dunks.

5. Miss big free throws. If you need one free throw to tie after you got fouled on a three point shot (Kobe) make the first two, then miss the last one. If you're down 67-65 in overtime, miss the front end of a one-and-one (Budinger). Nothing starts other teams' runs like missed front ends.

6. Turn the ball over. A lot. Arizona turned it over 25 times. Bayless had seven. Niiiice. The Lakers turned it over 18 times.

7. Get in early foul trouble. When you already have little depth on the front line, it's important to pick up two quick ones (Jordan Hill). Have your bench players (Brielmaier) and stars (Budinger) foul out. That always helps.

8. Whatever you do, don't make smart decisions in key situations. Not making boneheaded plays leads to wins. Wins lead to the absence of criticism. And then what will you use as motivation?

Now go out there and play not to lose. I mean win.

The NBA: Where Sasha happens
Rands' response to Sasha hitting the big 3-pointer to put the Lakers up 96-94 with 1:28 left in the second half.
By the way, after the game we found out that an overly friendly Richard Jefferson actually knew who Sasha Vujacic was. He even pronounced his last name correctly when he could have called him Vuja-kick.

He still got his
Brandon Rush talking about having to chase Chase Budinger around screens.
"They was moving a little bit on the screens but I ain't complaining. He still got his but we're just happy to get the win right now."


Elite Eight baby
My article on the USC soccer team advancing to the Elite Eight

Very interesting
NFL mock draft with NBA players

The SEC: Where great football games happen
Hope you weren't at the gym for these two thrillers. No. 1 LSU lost in triple OT to Arkansas. Razorback running back Darren McFadden played quarterback, running back, returned kicks, filled up water bottles and gave post game massages.
Tennessee held off Kentucky in 4 overtimes to secure a spot in the SEC title game.

And for good measure after this crazy Thanksgiving weekend of sports, here's an updated +/- for the Lakers. As always Chris Mihm rounds out the bottom of the list.

(through 13 games)

Fisher +19
Kobe +23
Turiaf -10
Odom -1
Mihm -44
Walton +50
Bynum +97
Farmar +52
Radmanovic +65
Brown -5
Vujacic +5
Crittenton -9
Karl +5
Ariza -3

$50 to get Chris Mihm off the Lakers

Here's what I don't understand.

The Lakers have two go-to players. Kobe and Lamar Odom. What kind of sense does it make to take out both Kobe and Lamar at the same time? Wouldn't it benefit Lamar to "get his" while Kobe is out of the game? Wouldn't the Lakers offense have someone to throw the ball to with the shot clock running down when Kobe is out of the game?

Apparently the Zen Master is set on going 5 in 5 out like Rick Pitino did with Kentucky and my old sophomore coach did in summer league. The offense, like it did in the 107-94 loss to the Celtics last night, sputtered. The Lakers missed 15 of their first 20 shots, and couldn't muster enough of a run to ever get back in the game.

The most disconcerting aspect of the second consecutive loss for the Lakers is the fact that I was actually asking for Kwame Brown back. While Kwame's hands still resemble a slip n slide, at least he defends. On the other hand Chris Mihm could win the award for biggest waste of space in the NBA. Mihm has an agonizingly atrocious -44 this year. When Chris Mihm is on the floor, the Lakers can't score, while the other team scores at will. It's so painful to watch, Buller, Todd, and I discussed how much money we would pay to have Chris Mihm kicked off the team.

For the record, I offered $50.

Lakers updated +/- (through 12 games)

Fisher +9
Kobe +14
Turiaf -5
Odom -15
Mihm -44
Walton +70
Bynum +93
Farmar +64
Radmanovic +73
Brown -5
Vujacic +4
Crittenton -9
Karl +5

Lakers suffer setback, Cats Cruise

Redd slows Kobe to get Bucks to fourth straight win.
That's the AP headline for the Lakers loss last night. I didn't realize you can slow someone to 27 points and 11 free throw attempts.
The NBA: Where anyone can win on any given night in the regular season happens.
The Lakers shouldn't have lost night. They played lackadaisical in the fourth quarter and they got burned.
But it was the second game of a back to back on the road so all is forgiven. Bad losses are going to happen.

Meanwhile, Arizona got ready for Thanksgiving by giving thanks to its schedule maker. The Wildcats blew out D II Adams State 88-64.

Lakers updated +/- (through 11 games)

Fisher +30
Kobe +28
Turiaf +4
Odom 0
Mihm -25
Walton +64
Bynum +94
Farmar +56
Radmanovic +74
Brown -5
Vujacic +3
Crittenton -9
Cook -9
Evans +31
Karl +5


And then also: I'm an idiot because after touting Andray Blatche for so long, I dropped him in my fantasy league only to see him go off for 26 points and get picked up right away. He's got a bright future.

Plus: Blatche said he's coming out with a blog:
"I'm getting me a blog. Y'all stay tuned. Coming to a town near y'all, I'm getting my blog. It's going to be: 'When keeping it real goes wrong.'"

Shout out to Blatche for the Dave Chappelle reference.

Check out: My Daily News article on Cal State Northridge's win over Bakersfield

I told you Ben Wallace wasn't worth it

I don't want to say I told you so, but since I have it in writing. I told you so.
The Bulls signing of Ben Wallace to a ridiculous deal was a (Frank Caliendo's Charles Barkley voice) "tuerrible."

In my Jule 5, 2006 post (scroll down), I wrote:
"Is Big Ben Worth It?
Big Ben Wallace signed a four year deal worth $60 million with the Chicago Bulls and nobody seems to be up in arms over one of the worst signings we have seen in years. That's right, this will rank up there with Brian Cardinal and Adonal Foyle. Forget the ESPN reputation Wallace has built over the years by virtue of playing for a great team with other terrific players like Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton..."

At the time, Wallace was supposed to be an upgrade over Tyson Chandler, who is now thriving for the New Orleans Hornets and even played on the USA team this summer. But Chandler's numbers were actually better per 48 minutes. Moreover, the best career comparison for Wallace at the time was Dale Davis. Not exactly a superstar.

Now that Wallace is in the second year of that deal and making $15.5 million, the Bulls want to dump him like month old milk. Unfortunately for them, there are no takers, and Wallace is clogging up playing time for promising and more energetic youngsters Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah.

Plus the Bulls have gotten of to a 2-8 start and the fans have been chanting for a Kobe trade that is looking less and less likely to happen.

Check it out: My Daily News article on the Harvard Westlake girls volleyball team in the state tournament

The Lakers trade...

The Lakers did not trade Kobe Bryant. You may now breathe easy. In fact, Mitch Kupchak awoke to find he could not only save some money, but actually receive a good player in return. Kupchak dealt Brian Cook and Maurice Evans to Orlando for Trevor Ariza.

The trade is good for several reasons:

1. Addition by subtraction
Cook was tied for the worst on the Lakers with a -9. His defense was horrible and his shooting so far this season was erratic. Maurice Evans is a fringe player. He'll stick with teams because of his hustle and end up being the 11th and 12th man. He doesn't do anything well so finding playing time was difficult.

2. Saving some cash
It's not exactly getting rid of Kwame's big contract, but Cook was in the first year of a 3 year $10.5 million deal. That's a lot of money to be paying a scrub like Cook. Ariza is in the last year of his contract so if he doesn't work out, no big deal.

3. Home town kid
Ariza went to Westchester High School and spent a year at UCLA. With Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu playing well, Ariza found himself on the bench. A return to his home town could be added motivation.

4. Not a bad player
Only once has Arizona played over 20 minutes this season. In that game, Ariza scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. Last year he averaged a respectable 9 points and four rebounds per game in 22 minutes, and shot 54% from the field. He's athletic, rebounds, can play defense, and is only 22 years old.

Best case scenario, the Lakers got a steal. Worst case scenario, they trade a few players who weren't any good and get a player they can get rid of after the season.
At least, they're showing Kobe that Mitch is alive and trying.

And then also: Lakers blew out the Pacers today 134-114

Lakers +/- (through 10 games)


Fisher +28
Kobe +35
Turiaf +2
Odom +12
Mihm -15
Walton +74
Bynum +91
Farmar +66
Radmanovic +61
Brown -5
Vujacic +12
Crittenton -9
Cook -9
Evans +31
Karl +5

Random Laker of the day: Laron Profit

At least ASU sucks

I won't get too excited about Arizona's win over UMKC. I'll bet my 10k medal you had no idea who UMKC was before I tell you right now. University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Kangaroos, were not good to say the least. I was trying to figure what the connection was to UMKC from Arizona's standpoint. All I could come up with was Daniel Dillon is Australian. Anyway, the Wildcats won 81-62.

If they had lost, I'd have more of an opinion. But when you have a bunch of McDonald's All-Americans and your pick of some of the best talent in the country, you better win games like this. These are what Dicky V calls cupcakes. Not to be too nit picky after a 19 point win, but the now unranked Wildcats still have just Chase Budinger and Jerryd Bayless. Bayless put up 20, 9, and 9 so start the one more year chants immediately. Daniel Dillon has 14 points, but he won't shoot 4-4 from the field ever again in his career.

Arizona shot 64 percent from the field and held UMKC to 35 percent from the field. The game was actually closer than the 19 point margin. But judging from the numbers, the margin should have been a lot bigger. Arizona forced just nine turnovers, which used to be one of the staples of the good Arizona teams.

It's still going to be a long season. However, the ASU game was much tougher to watch.
Just the fact that I'm even mentioning ASU basketball means the program is on the rise. When you get rid of a joke (Rob Evans) and hire a real coach (Herb Sendek), then recruit the first All-American since 1989, you'll get some attention. And I was curious to watch them play.
After they got down 20-0, I was a lot less curious. There will be some growing pains. First off, Jamelle McMillan, the son of Nate McMillan is not ready to be a Pac-10 point guard. One day, he'll be a good player, but not this year. Second, the adjustment for most of the guys to Sendek's version of the Princeton offense, will take awhile. Third, Duke transfer Eric Boateng is atrocious. Maybe against Arizona's excuses for big guys, he'll be OK, but not against the beefy Shaun Pruitt of Illinois.

While freshman James Harden is exciting and can play the role of Julius Hodge, the Sun Devils are far from being a good team. Sendek will turn that program around. Just not right away. They lost 77-54 by the way.

Jordan sighting: Jeff Jordan, with father Michael in attendance scored his first career point, on a free throw in Illinois' win over ASU.

Muhlbach sighting: Former Wildcat Beau Muhlbach is averaging 10.5 minutes per game for Texas A&M.

Verdejo sighting: Former Wildcat and proud father Jesus Verdejo is averaging 11 points a game for South Florida.


And then also: Lil Romeo signed to play for USC. He won't make anyone Say Ugh.

No Kwame no problem

Does it make me a bad person for celebrating inside when Kwame Brown went down with an ankle and knee injury in yesterday's 106-78 win over the Bulls?

The Zen Master continues to call Kwame a good defender but the sight of seeing him drop passes like his teammates are throwing to a wall continues to bother me.

Anyways, the bench, or the "bench mob" as the annoying Patrick O'Neal calls it stepped against a Bulls team that inexplicably shelled out minutes to Adrian Griffin and Thomas Gardner. The bench scored a combined 73 points. Jordan Farmar had a career high eight assists to go along with 14 points, and Andrew Bynum had a double double, 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The best thing about Kwame's injury is that hopefully the Zen Master gives more playing time to Bynum and Ronny Turiaf, who will likely be back from his own ankle injury this week.

As always, here's an updated +/- for the Lakers (through 9 games)
Notice that Bynum and Farmar lead the Lakers. I don't think that's a coincidence. Both players could compete for the most improved player award this year.

Fisher +16
Kobe +18
Turiaf +1
Odom +6
Mihm -9
Walton +56
Bynum +65
Farmar +58
Radmanovic +48
Brown -5
Vujacic +4
Crittenton -5
Cook -9
Evans +31
Karl +4

Breaking down Arizona's recruiting class

Arizona inked four recruits Wednesday in its second top 10 recruiting class in a row.

The following is what interim coach Kevin O'Neill told the Daily Wildcat and then my take. I've also put in some videos of the players.

Brandon Jennings, 6-foot point guard (Rivals' No. 8 overall) video

Kevin O'Neill says: "Brandon Jennings - it speaks for itself. Big-time point guard, big-time skill, just a great, great talent, and a guy who's just a really great team guy. He's going to be capable of double-doubles on many nights, points and assists, and he's a guy that has got a chance to be a very, very great college player and a chance to be a great
pro already."
My take: The Wildcats nabbed the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2008. On the down side, he's yet another shoot first point guard. If Jerryd Bayless stays, will there be enough shots to go around. Jennings, who decommitted from USC and also transferred to Oak Hill from Los Angeles, comes in with some attitude. Those big egos haven't worked out too well for the Wildcats recently. But when you have the No. 1 player in the recruiting class, how can you complain.

Emmanuel Negedu, 6-foot-7 power forward (Rivals' No. 31 overall) video

O'Neill says: "Negedu is one of those guys that absolutely is a killer. Big-time energy guy, highly competitive, has a chance to be a big-time athletic rebounder on both ends and a guy that's going to manufacture extra possessions and points for his team because of his aggressiveness and the way he plays. He's going to be a great defender, probably going to be able to guard guys of all different sizes because of his
athletic ability."

My take: When O'Neill says "big time energy guy," he means Negedu doesn't have very many real basketball skills. He's a tremendous athlete, he's explosive, but it's unclear, despite his top 15 ranking on ESPN's 150 whether he can contribute right away. Sometimes great athletes develop into great basketball players. That doesn't always happen. In Negedu's case, he should at least be a good defender, hustle and block some shots. And maybe, that's just what the Wildcats need.

Jeff Withey, 6-foot-11 center (Rivals' No. 39 overall) video

O'Neill says: "Withey's got extraordinary skill for a 7-foot kid. He shoots it, uses both hands well. His best days are ahead of him. He's a guy that has a great chance as a center to also have the ability to step out to 15, 16 feet already. His skills are a very high level. I've not been around a guy coming in as a freshman as a big man that's had the skill development that he has already."
My take: Meet the next Kirk Walters. It's hard to tell from the video but this kid is a 7-footer and weights about a buck 90. The good part is he's better than Alex Jacobsen. The bad part, is Jacobsen is really, really bad. I still contend that Walters would have been a decent player if not for his slew of injuries. He could have put up 12 and 8, and been in the starting lineup, and with some added weight, Withey could one day start and put up 12 and 8. He's not ready by any stretch of the imagination though. Interesting tidbit: he was a teammate of Jamelle Horne in AAU ball.

Brendan Lavendar, 6-foot-4 shooting guard video

O'Neill says: "Lavendar's a guy who can be a great swingman-type player. I think he can play the two and three spots, probably guard a few small forwards. Shoots the ball extremely well, very athletic."

My take: Truth be told I haven't seen too much of him. But the instrumental on this video is really sick so it's worth watching just for that. Lavender won't be worth watching. He's a Phoenix kid so he'll likely be sitting and watching right next to Zane Johnson. Neither figure to play much in their first few years.
And then also: Doesn't get more ridiculous than this but there's another postseason tournament to complement the NIT.
We should just give every team in the NCAA participation medals. Now if your team doesn't make it to the postseason, you really suck.

Plus: My Daily News article on Northridge basketball's win over Pepperdine

A Bynum to Kobe connection brought to you by Tivo

I love tivo. Or the device called a DVR but better known as tivo. I want to make it clear that very few people refer to it as a DVR. The phrase "can you DVR that for me" just doesn't roll off your tongue. I didn't always love tivo. It was one of those things that someone tells you try and after much convincing you finally agree only to have it completely change your life. That's the beauty of tivo. Once you get it, you can never go back to living without it.

So how does this relate to the Lakers, you may be asking. Well, if you have the game on tivo and watch closely with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter, there was a momentous occasion. The Lakers were running the triangle, Jordan Farmar made an entry pass into the post to Andrew Bynum, who hit a cutting Kobe Bryant for a layup and 1. The Lakers made an 83-81 lead grow to 86-81 after the free throw and put the Pistons away.

More importantly, watch after the play. A visibly pumped up Kobe, fist pumping and all, runs over to Bynum, slap hands, lovingly taps him in the head and yells encouragement. The same Kobe who trashed Bynum on a cell phone video this summer. This was a breakthrough. I had to watch the play several times just to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. They weren't. Bynum and Kobe were on the same page. Maybe there's some magic in Lakerland after all.

As always, here is an updated +/- (through 8 games)

Note if you'd like to see an adjusted +/- for the Lakers, as recommended by Gibbs, click here. I'll stick to simplicity for now.

Fisher +11
Kobe +6
Turiaf +1
Odom +1
Mihm -16
Walton +39
Bynum +43
Farmar +35
Radmanovic +35
Brown -4
Vujacic -5
Crittenton -5
Cook -22
Evans +16
Karl +4

Erin Andrews, where were you my last four years?

Down went the Ducks after down went Dennis Dixon. Another November night to remember. At this point, there's going to be a lot of nights to remember with the way Arizona plays football late in the season.

The game was nationally televised, in HD, the crowd was raucous, the offense was moving the ball, the defense, filled with seniors was amped to play. Taryne Mowatt announced Arizona's starters as Craig James made an inappropriate joke undauntedly.
And the beautiful Erin Andrews was there. The only thing better was the scene of the crowd rush. And unlike the UCLA victory, this one was warranted.

What other school have you seen allow the students on the field for the last two minutes? After Nate Ness intercepted Brady Leaf late in the fourth quarter he ran to the sideline to celebrate. Only he couldn't find any of his teammates because they were hidden among the students on the sidelines. Some drunk kids were draped around Mike Stoops right when the game ended.

And Kris Fowler's response to the ridiculously fast field rush: simply, "wow."

In case you didn't know
Jerryd Bayless has a tattoo of his last name on his back.

I wish I had a picture of it. But apparently I didn't know this was the new trend. Vince Young, among many others has a similar tattoo.

Summing up Jawann McClellan

basebizzle (11:48:58 PM): yeah. it seems to me like he's in his late 30s, like he's already had his great career behind him

Oh no

Ronny Turiaf injured his left ankle in practice on Thursday and may not play today.

So much penetration Lakers looking like Brokeback Mountain

Shocking that no can take a joke. Phil Jackson wasn't making fun of gays when he made his now infamous comments about Brokeback Mountain. He was making fun of the Lakers defense. Alright, so he's not Carlos Mencia, but since when can only comedians have a sense of humor.

And like Mike Wilbon said, if the reporters in the room all laughed, then what right do they have to write his comments were wrong.

As for what should be the bigger issue at hand, the Lakers defense, like it was the past two seasons, is pitiful. They give up more penetration than Jenna Jameson. I'm sorry, shouldn't have said that. I may have just offended the porn community.

"I apologize for anyone in the porn community I may have offended," I said in a statement released by my attorney. "My comment was not intended to be offensive nor did I intend to offend anyone. The porn community and Jenna Jameson deserve the same respect as anyone in any other profession."

Anyways, the penetration continued against the Rockets. This time it was Bonzi Wells, who went for 21 points after averaging less than eight points the rest of the year. ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy repeatedly urged the Lakers to back off the reluctant perimeter shooter but to no avail. Luke Walton crowded him all night so Wells got easy looks inside and managed to help foul out both Lamar Odom and Vlad Radmanovic. Phil Jackson, meanwhile had the "I need to smoke a blunt and fuck Jeanie face" going.

Penetration of course is nothing new for the Lakers. Tony Parker shredded the defense yesterday for 26 points and 9 assists and Chris Paul had a career high 21 assists thanks to breezing by Laker defenders and dishing for wide open shots.

Still, with a tough opening, schedule the Lakers are 4-3 after a too close for comfort win over the Rockets.

Lakers running +/- (through 7 games)

Note: I'll update this after every game

Fisher +14
Kobe +8
Turiaf +1
Odom +2
Mihm -16
Walton +35
Bynum +32
Farmar +22
Radmanovic +22
Brown -3
Vujacic -5
Crittenton -5
Cook -26
Evans +4
Karl +4

Arizona basketball in big trouble

The only thing worse than beating NAU by the closest margin since 1986 is coming to the realization that this Arizona basketball team has only two good players, Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger. Maybe three if you count Jordan Hill, who isn't on the floor long enough because of foul trouble and has begun to dabble with a mid-range jump shot, meaning Arizona now has 0 post players.

The Wildcats shot 38.3 % from the field. Against NAU. Aside from Budinger and Hill (a combined 11-22) the rest of the team shot 12-38. This was against NAU, let me remind you. An NAU team, who's roster is made up of 2/3 newcomers. The Lumberjacks were picked to finish fourth in the Big Sky, haven't developed the chemistry most small schools need for upset wins, yet were down by just three with a minute and a half left to play.

Freshman Jamelle Horne scored 0 points in 29 minutes. He started at the power forward position, yet he only grabbed five rebounds. Jawann McClellan shot 3-12 from the field. Worse, he has no elevation on his jump shot and got blocked on at least one occasion by some unathletic white kids from Flagstaff.

I'm not saying it's time to panic. I'm saying this team is worse than last year. I haven't even talked about the poor defense, something that was supposed to be corrected with defensive specialist Kevin O'Neill. NAU shot a better percentage from 3-point range than Arizona did overall.

If Bayless and Budinger don't carry this team on their backs, watch out for that NCAA tournament streak. Twenty wins, with the type of schedule Arizona has, will be tough to attain.
Next up for Arizona is Virginia. The first real challenge for Bayless will be senior point guard Sean Singletary, whose quickness will test Bayless' ability as a ball handling guard.

Virginia has taken it right to Arizona in two of the last three years and I expect Saturday to be more of the same. Arizona fans might be in for a long season.

Lakers no match for Spurs

When you turn the ball over 19 shots and shoot 2-16 from 3-point range, you'll have trouble beating Cal State San Bernardino. When you're playing against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, you might as well not show up. The Lakers showed up technically, but forgot their game back in Los Angeles.

The Spurs didn't play too badly either. Bruce Bowen made all six of his 3-point attempts en route to 23 points and Tony Parker scored 26 points (11-16 field goals) and had nine assists. Even Matt Bonner scored 15 points. Now that's embarrassing.

Kwame Brown was an atrocious -17 on the day in only 15 minutes of playing time. Kobe played 38 minutes but was a -23. Here is the box score.


Lakers running +/- (through 6 games)

Note: I'll update this after every game

Fisher +17
Kobe +12
Turiaf +4
Odom +5
Mihm -14
Walton +30
Bynum +22
Farmar +18
Radmanovic +13
Brown +2
Vujacic -5
Crittenton -5
Cook -26
Evans -3
Karl +4


And then also: Tim Kurkjian said Miguel Cabrera would likely wind up on the Dodgers to start the season. Niiiice.

Does anyone on ESPN watch the Pac-10?

During one of the few times a Pac-10 school appears on ESPN (UCLA played Youngstown State last night) it was evident that no one at the World Wide Leader in Sports watches any West Coast games except Steve Lavin.

The following are real comments the ESPN studio analysts (Jay Bilas and Hubert Davis) had at halftime.

1. Asked to pick the sleeper team from the Pac-10, Bilas picks Washington State. Keep in mind, the Cougars were picked to finish second in the Pac-10 this year. They return every key player except one and they made it to the second round of the tournament last year after winning 26 games. Way to go out on a limb with this one Jay.

2. Not to be outdone, former Carolina great Davis picks Arizona as the sleeper team. The same Arizona who has been the lone team to consistently play a real national schedule and actually appear on Dick Vitale's radar once in a while.

Here's what Davis had to say: "They hired Kevin O'Connor, a defensive minded coach. He's now the interim coach right now while Lute Olson is out. But this is a guy who's gonna get everybody on the same page defensively. When you look at Arizona last year I think half the guys were playing for Arizona and the other half were playing for the NBA."

Well at least the last part is accurate. It'd help to know that the defensive minded coach in this case is Kevin O'Neill.

And then also:

I ran my first competitive race since the eighth grade on Sunday. Surprisingly I, along with three of my friends who ran, did very well in the 10k race. The adrenaline was in full effect.
I finished 61st out of more than 400 people with a time of 47:02 (about 7:35 a mile).
Here are the results.

Plus:
O'Neill said Lute Olson should "be back shortly" at yesterday's press conference. The problem: he said the same thing last week.

The right lineup for the Lakers

Life with Chris Mihm as your starting center is hard. A lot of clanked jump hooks, failed rebound attempts and misses from point blank range will mess with your nervous system. But aside from Mihm and some backups, Brian Cook and Sasha, the Lakers have actually been fun to watch.
From Ronny's hustle and chemistry with Kobe, to Kobe's dominance to Lamar's comeback, the Lakers are trying to make believers out of their critics.

The key to the season is the lineup the Lakers put on the floor. Against the T-Wolves on Friday, the Lakers starters fell behind 20-12. Enter Andrew Bynum to go along with Kobe, Odom, D-Fish, and Turiaf and the Lakers go on a 12-2 run to take command of the game. Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar coming off the bench to give guys breathers is OK as well. For the eighth rotation spot, Phil Jackson can switch it up. Rotate big guys Mihm and Kwame Brown, sprinkle in Vlad Radmanovic and Maurice Evans, but give the bulk of the minutes to the aforementioned seven.

The oft-criticized Bynum is having a terrific season, though his minutes are still limited. Per 48 minutes, he is averaging 20.9 points and 20.1 rebounds per game in five games. Turiaf has developed into a bona fide power forward but thanks in part to foul trouble and Phil's unwillingness to play him all the time, Turiaf is playiong only 25 minutes per game.

Meanwhile Fisher has been the steady rock everyone thought he will be, Kobe has been his usual dominant self and has added shot blocking to his repertoire (he's averaging a career high 1.2 so far), and Lamar's shoulder appears to be healthy enough for him to drop 18 and 10 in his first game back.

Remember, the Lakers started 26-13 last year and they have a year of playing together under their belt. Maybe there is some potential here as long as they go with the right lineup.

Lakers running +/- (through 5 games)

Note: I'll update this after every game

Fisher +30
Kobe +35
Turiaf +22
Odom +22
Mihm -13
Walton +23
Bynum +19
Farmar +24
Radmanovic +10
Brown +19
Vujacic -5
Crittenton -5
Cook -26
Evans -10
Karl +4

Check it out: My Daily News article on CSUN basketball vs Chicago State

Linked up

From ESPN's mock draft do over: "Tennessee would obviously like a do-over on Arizona RB Chris Henry"

Hate to say I told you so.

Thought Arizona's student section was a joke last year? Well apparently, the cream of the student section crop isn't so sweet either. In fact, many of last season's games witnessed empty student section seats.

Mark Heisler of the LA Times denies that Magic Johnson is the source of anti-Kobe talk.

From everything I've heard and seen from Magic, he is much too classy to do something as shady as this.

I'm not a fan of Stephen A. Smith by any means, nor do I like cheesy noodles. But on First and 10 today, Stephen A. discussed the possibility of collusion against A. Rod, which I mentioned would be a dream come true in an earlier blog.

The beauty of fantasy sports means cheering for Nene's thumb injury, which will keep him out 6 weeks when you have Kenyon Martin on your bench. I'm a big believer in karma and Nene who spent his summer at the buffet spending money from his enormous contract is getting what he deserves. The disinterested power forward is probably happy he doesn't have to play for the next month and a half.

Arizona basketball played "sloppy" in an exhibition game over Team Georgia. At least they didn't lose like Ohio State and Michigan State have done in their exhibition games.
The Killer B's as they are now being called (Budinger and Bayless) combined for 42 points, but once again Arizona has no inside game. BTW, I hate unoriginal nicknames. The Killer B's will always be Biggio and Bagwell, and if you'd like to add Berkman and Derek Bell in, that's fine as well.
Anyway, Jordan Hill (7 pts, 3 fouls), Mohamed Tangara, Bret Brielmaier, Kirk Walters, and Alex Jacobsen (combined 0 points) won't get it done against the Pac-10's best.

Basketball stats that need more attention

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that a player who takes 50 shots, scores 20 points, and plays no defense doesn't help his team.
No, I'm not talking about Stephon Marbury.
There are guys who I label box score players. They're numbers don't help you win but that line in the box score sure does look good. The 20-7-5 guys. The guys that get a lot of steals and blocks, but miss 10 assignments and give up open layups. The guys that swat a ball into the 10th row when a tipped block could have led to a fast break.
How can we separate the players who truly help teams win?
Here are three stats that go overlooked. Two of them are courtesy of hockey and one is courtesy of Chaminade junior varsity coach Todd Wolfson, who I hope charts stat No. 3.

1. +/- rating

The amount of points the team scores minus the amount of points the team gives up while player is in the game.

The object of the game is to win. Or as Herm Edwards would say "You play to win the game."
If the team is consistently winning while you're on the floor you're doing something right.

By the way. NBA.com now puts +/- into its boxscores. Here's the boxscore from the Lakers win against Utah.
Notice Andrew Bynum's +14 and Jordan Farmar's +11 off the bench.

Kobe Bryant's +/- rating through 3 games is +43.
Ronny Turiaf is +26.
Farmar is +32 including an astounding +26 in a road win over the Suns.

Meanwhile, Brian Cook is a -26.

Even though the Lakers beat the Suns by 21, Sasha Vujacic was a -8 in the game and Cook was a -12.

2. Secondary assists

Coaches like to talk about the extra pass. Stat guys like to talk about assists. Certainly a pass that leads to a contested fadeaway three pointer that luckily goes in is worth less than a pass which leads to an easy assist. Secondary assists shouldn't be added on to regular assists but can a separate category. It rewards the player who makes the correct pass rather than tries to make the flashy assist. I bet Luke Walton would be among the league leaders.

3. Controlled blocks

We live in a SportsCenter universe. Blocks that fly into the stands look pretty. Sometimes they make the top 10. Often times, the team that got blocked takes the ball out of bounds and scores. So on the possession, offense receives 2 points, and the defense gets a highlight, which counts for 0 points. Bill Russell used to be the master at blocking shots, controlling them and starting Celtic fastbreaks. Turning defense into offense.
A good shotblocker not only helps on the defensive end, he helps create easy scoring chances. He controls the lane. He doesn't just put fear into people. He's actually productive. And this stat measures a productive shotblocker versus a swatter.

Homecoming Heroes and Idiots

Arizona football is good on homecoming. That's becoming an established fact. Maybe it's the extra horde of drunken students and alumni. Playing against a 4th string quarterback, who used to be a wide receiver definitely helps. Whatever the reason may be, Arizona has won its last three homecoming games, taking down undefeated UCLA two years ago, stunning Cal last year and defeating a mediocre but still solid Bruin squad this Saturday.

I was asked to do staff picks for the daily Wildcat last week and I wanted to pick Arizona to win but I just couldn't. I picked us to lose 35-31. Being wrong in this case felt really good.
Until... a bunch of dumbass kids posing as fans in the student section decided to do something so utterly stupid, so ridiculous, so telling of a lack of knowledge of college sports, so irresponsible, and so typical of Arizona sports fans, that it ruined the tough effort Arizona exhibited.
They rushed the field.

Against a 4th string quarterback. Against a team who was 5-3 and unranked, and playing on the road against a team on its homecoming.

They rushed the field after a game in which they led 34-14. A game that Arizona thoroughly dominated until a somewhat lackluster fourth quarter. It was an exciting game but it lacked any real drama. There weren't any hold your breath type plays.
It was NOT a rush the field game.

But Wildcat fans did. And they embarrassed themselves. Like they continue to do by not filling the student section at basketball games, chanting F*** the opposing team as their original slogan, and participating in what once a special moment when a team rushed the field to signify a great upset or a great game capped by a winning play as time expired.

As for my experience at my first homecoming as an alum. I'll put it like this: lot of drinkin, not much sleep and a lot of time and money spent at Bags and Frog.

Football Fun Fact: The Wildcats were ranked in a poll at some point in the season every year from 1992-2000. They haven't been ranked once since.

And then also: In regard to Lute Olson and his decision to take an indefinite leave of absence, inside sources tell me...nothing. Apparently, Olson hasn't informed too many people of the real reason he has decided to take a break. Even some insiders had no knowledge of the real situation.
Pure speculation says it is a health issue with someone in Olson's family. Player comments revealed it is a family issue and I can deduce that Olson would take a leave of absence for something important. Nothing is more important than health. Whatever the situation may be, I sincerely hope it is resolved soon so Olson can get back on the court. Despite the disappointment of the last few years, he is still a legend and a great basketball coach.

Plus: Chase Budinger is living the dream

Artest and Wallace, are you kidding me?

Either Ric Bucher hates the Lakers with a passion or Lakers management is truly desperate and incompetent. Because when I heard the Lakers were trading Kobe and receiving Ron Artest and Ben Wallace in return, I almost fell out of my seat. That's not getting 50 cents on the dollar. That's getting a nickel and a butt tap.
Ben Wallace has three years and 15 million left on his contract, and is a liability 50 percent of the time he's on the floor. Not to mention, he's also aging poorly and refuses to part with his headband. The only place Ron Artest will take the Lakers is to jail. Neither of those guys will push the Lakers into the playoffs without Kobe. Nor do they help in any kind of rebuilding effort. The deal would be ten times worse than the Caron Butler or the Shaq trade.

The Luol Deng trade doesn't strike me as a great deal either, though I do like Deng's game and his character. But he's not a No. 1 option. As a complementary player, a No. 2 he could be a borderline all-star in the west, but any team that comes in with Deng as its star will not be feared.

Desperate times call for desperate measures but in this case, I'd rather see Kobe for two more years and then leave for free agency (Gasp!). Yeah, you read right.
"How can you get no one in return for Kobe?" you may be asking.
Well, you get the chance to convince him to stay because you can offer him the most money and you get $20 million in cap space in return if he leaves. LA is still a hot destination and there are plenty of stars the Lakers can get with $20 million. If you get players in return for Kobe, like Deng and Gordon, that inhibits the Lakers from signing top notch free agents and they'd be stuck building around what they got in the Kobe trade.

So if Kobe leaves fine. We'll sign someone else and we'll get to watch a special player for two more years.