Don't move the furniture in

Don't call me when you're in my town, call me when you're on my block!

Well, the Patriots called but the 72 Dolphins hung up, thanks to the Giants. If you thought Eli Manning would win a Super Bowl over a Tom Brady led team, put your hand up. Now put it down because you're a liar.
Although I must say I at least took the Giants to cover the spread.

Here's how the Giants did it: Did you notice that Eli Manning was tuerrrrible for the first three quarters (he had just 103 yards) and every time they showed Peyton Manning on TV, he had the same expression on his face? Well, that's because Peyton was on tape, like in the movie Speed.

In the fourth quarter, Peyton snuck around the cameras, put on a Giants jersey, which still said Manning, and led them to an improbable last drive to beat the undefeated New England Patriots. I mean, it couldn't have been Eli out there. He's the same Eli who backpedals from pressure and throws up ducks. The same Eli who gets sacked when defenders blow on him, much less when three guys have him in their grasp.

In five years, there will be a senator, probably from Massachusetts who will be investigating this, trust me.

Anyways, it's been a great sports weekend. Think about all the things that happened in the past few days.

1. The Giants beat the hated Patriots (I won money on the Super Bowl for the third straight year and on the coin toss, which was tails. Ninety percent of the time, it's tails. I swear.)

2. The Lakers got rid of Kwame Brown

3. They got an all-star, Pau Gasol in return, and gave up leftovers

4. The Lakers won two road games without the newly acquired Gasol

5. Kobe is "happy"

6. Lupe Fiasco's song, "Superstar" was on ultimate highlight

7. Erin Andrews was at an Arizona game (The Wildcats may have been blown out by UCLA, but a road split in Los Angeles isn't a bad thing in the long run.)
After Andrews interviewed Stan Love, Kevin Love's dad, ESPN's Jay Bilas said the following:
"It's great incentive to tell your kid to get out in the driveway and work on his game, and someday you'll get interviewed by Erin Andrews during a game. Dads out there yelling at their kids right now go out and dribble with your left hand son."

8. Drinks are on Mercury Morris

9. There's already a Reebok commercial featuring Mercury Morris. The commercial ends with a sign that says "Perfectville, Pop. 1, founded 1972."

10. Did I mention the Lakers got rid of Kwame


Let's Rock and Roll

Gasol didn't play against the Wizards as expected. Remember, Phil Jackson held Trevor Ariza out in his first game following a trade because he wanted him to practice at least once. Gasol did have a press conference and said,

"I'm trying to digest everything that's been going [on] with me the last two days, and get ready to rock and roll."

Kobe Bryant still hasn't rescinded his trade demand but it appears he no longer has a reason to leave. He's been quoted as saying that he's "happy." As far as other potential deals go, Kobe said, "I'm letting Mitch handle that stuff. I gave up playing GM in the summer."

The Lakers spanked the Wizards without Gasol, who spent 4,000 miles in the air Saturday. The final score said they won by 12, but they were up by over 20 for most of the game, until a late charge by my main boy Oleksiy Pecherov from the Ukraine. Check out the picture on the link by the way. Gasol and Kobe together. It looks sweet, doesn't it?

Kobe outscored the Wizards by himself in the first quarter, pouring in 19 of his 30. Said Wizards guard Nick Young who grew up in LA idolizing Kobe, "He's just better in person."

Arizona suffers embarrassment for second season in a row: I remember writing the headline for last season's loss against North Carolina, a 28 point drubbing that was the worst home loss in the Lute Olson era. It was, "Embarrassment."

Simple, but to the point. That's how I felt about Arizona's loss to UCLA Saturday night as well. It wasn't just that UCLA played well. They did and they are a great team, and in my opinion the best team in the country. They have no weaknesses from Kevin Love inside to Darren Collison and Josh Shipp on the perimeter.

It's that Arizona quit.

"We just didn't fight," Arizona coach Kevin O'Neill said.

Arizona teams have been called soft for years. This is why. Because when the going gets tough, the Wildcats hide. They've had several come from behind wins this season, including one against Texas A&M, but UCLA is a different team. The Bruins are the cream of the crop and the Wildcats, who have now lost six straight to UCLA, are not in their class.

You would expect them to battle, to compete. That's what tough teams do. Arizona right now is not there. They obviously didn't take last season's loss to UNC to heart. O'Neill left his top five players in at the end of the game to soak in the embarrassment. Let's hope it sinks in this time.

Up Next: vs. ASU Sunday 11:30 a.m. PST FSN

Check it out: CSUN basketball pursuit of perfection in the Big West is over.

The Catch part II? What David Tyree had to say about one of the craziest catches in NFL history, and a crucial play in the Giants win.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 46 games) Lakers: 30-16 5th in West

Fisher +170
Kobe +311
Turiaf +74
Odom +169
Mihm -16
Walton +111
Bynum +236
Farmar +111
Radmanovic +158
Brown -44
Vujacic +53
Crittenton -40
Karl +6
Ariza +5
Mbenga +7

Up Next: at New Jersey Tuesday 4:30 p.m. PST KCAL