Clippers Double-Down Portland

The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Portland Trail-Blazers 120-112 in double OT, only the Clippers 5th win of the season. Baron Davis hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to tie the game up at the end of regulation, forcing overtime. Zach Randolph dominated his former team, scoring 38 points with 11 rebounds for the Clips, and Davis had 27 points and 6 assists. Brandon Roy was also on fire for Portland, leading the Blazers with 38 points and 9 assists.

Lakers Avenge Upset

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 112-103, gaining redemption from their upset loss to the Kings on Tuesday. The Lakers still played very sloppy basketball, and gave Sacramento too many chances to get back in the game, with the lead at one point being cut to just 3 points. Luke Walton had a rare start, replacing Vladimir Radmanovic, and scored 4 points with a season-high 8 assists. Kobe Bryant sizzled with 32 points and 7 rebounds, and Pau Gasol contributed with 18 points and 11 boards. John Salmons led the Kings with 26 points.

Kings Find What Brown Can Do For Them

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the St. Louis Blues 6-2, improving their record now to 12-12-4. 3 goals came courtesy of team captain Dustin Brown, with the other three coming from Alexander Frolov and Anze Kopitar (Kopitar had 2 goals). St. Louis took only 7 shots, 5 of which were blocked by goalie Erik Ersberg.

Lakers Barely Set Suns

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 115-110, rebounding from their upset loss in Sacramento. Phoenix, however, was shorthanded with Shaquille O'Neal being injured and a trade that sent Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to Charlotte for Jason Richardson. Pau Gasol took over for Kobe Bryant, leading the Lakers with 28 points, while Kobe had 18 with 7 rebounds. Sasha Vujacic had 15 points off the bench, and Andrew Bynum had a double-double, scoring 17 and rebounding 11. Matt Barnes led the Suns with 23 points, and Amare Stoudemire had 21 points with 11 boards.

Sabathia Signs With Yankees

The New York Yankees and CC Sabathia have reached an agreement over a $161 million 7-year contract. Sabathia was one of the most coveted free-agents, but had only received offers from New York and Milwaukee. Other teams were reported to have interests in him, including the Dodgers, but no actions were ever made.

Kings Get Avalanched

The Los Angeles Kings were defeated by the Colorado Avalanche 6-1, handing the Kings their 12th loss of the season. Colorado scored 3 goals in both the first and second period. Cody McLeod scored two goals for the Avalanche.

Lakers Stumble Against Kings

The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the Sacramento Kings, 113-101, only their third loss of the season. The Lakers played sloppy basketball for all 48 minutes, shooting a mere 35.7% in the second half, whereas Sacramento shot 52.5%. Kobe Bryant led LA with 28 points, and Pau Gasol followed with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Francisco Garcia and John Salmons both had 21 points for the Kings.

Winter Meetings - Day 2

The Dodgers had a quiet Day Two at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, though they did finalize deals with Casey Blake and Mark Loretta. GM Ned Colletti has made inquiries about numerous players, including Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia, and trade options for Andruw Jones, according to MLB.com. Talks are limited on the option on Jones, however, as LA will be stuck with paying the majority of his salary. A new spot has opened on the Dodgers radar, as closer Takashi Saito's condition is shaky and uncertain. Trevor Hoffman's name has come up as a possible replacement if Jonathan Broxton is kept in the setup role.

Clippers Can't Feel the Magic

The Los Angeles Clippers were defeated by the Orlando Magic, 95-88, falling to a paltry 4-17. The Clips shot only .385 from inside the arch, and gave up 17 points off of turnovers, compared to just 10 for Orlando. Zach Randolph has quickly made a niche for himself with LA, scoring 21 points with 12 rebounds. Baron Davis led the Clippers with 27 points and 7 assists. Dwight Howard had a monster game, scoring 23 points and snagging 22 rebounds.

Greg Maddux Retires

Pitcher Greg Maddux has officially retired from the game of baseball, making the announcement from the home of the Winter Meetings, Las Vegas. Maddux is one of the most accomplished pitchers in the game, with 355 career wins, a 3.16 ERA, 3371 strikeouts, 4 Cy Young awards, and 18 Gold Glove awards for fielding, the most any player has ever received. Maddux pitched for Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego, and has ended his career with the Dodgers.

Dodgers Sign Loretta

MLB.com has reported that the Dodgers have come to terms with veteran utility infielder Mark Loretta (above), and will sign him pending a physical. The signing, reported at 1 year and $1.4 million, is meant to replace Nomar Garciaparra, who is considering retirement due to consistent health problems.

Dodgers Already Make Things Interesting

Yahoo Sports is reporting that 3B Casey Blake has accepted the Dodgers' tentative 3-year offer. Blake, a mid-season trade acquisition from Cleveland, filled third-base for LA in the second half, a position that has created much chaos for the Dodgers since Adrian Beltre's departure in 2004. This report comes on the heels of news that CC Sabathia told Dodger GM Ned Colletti that he would like to play for Los Angeles come next season. CC's interest has created an opportunity for the Dodgers to make an open offer to the lefty, rather than just remaining in the "interested" category. News also came that Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Blake have all rejected the Dodgers' offer of arbitration. Arbitration is usually seen as a formality, in which the main goal is to get draft pick compensation if the free-agents sign with other teams.

UCLA Avenges Old Upset

The UCLA men's basketball team defeated Cal State Northridge 85-67 to avenge their previous defeat at the hands of the Matadors in 2000. The Bruins improved to 5-2, while CSUN fell to 1-6. Darren Collison had 13 points, and Josh Shipp and Jrue Holiday both scored 14 points. Tremaine Townsend led CSUN with 23 points.

Lakers Find There's No Place Like Home

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 105-92, returning to Los Angeles after a 3-game road trip that saw the Lakers nearly lose each game in the 4th quarter. LA held the Bucks to just 38% shooting, while all of the Milwaukee starters failed to achieve double-digits in any category, a direct contrast to the Lakers' five starters. Kobe Bryant had 20 points with 8 assists, and Derek Fisher scored 19 points. Sun Yue, the young phenom from China, made his Laker debut with 4 points. Rookie Joe Alexander led the Bucks off the bench with a meek 15 points.

USC's Outlook is Rosey

The USC Trojans have made it official: They are going to the Rose Bowl. On FOX's BCS selection show, it was announced that the Trojans will play Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions in the "Granddaddy of them All". USC finished at #5 in the official BCS rankings, which selected Oklahoma and Florida as the two teams that will compete in the Championship Game. Controversy surrounds this selection, as all top 5 teams had just one loss, plus the complex Big-12 "Texas Tech beat Texas who beat Oklahoma who beat Texas Tech" vicious circle. The selection came just as it was announced that USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian has accepted the head coaching position at Washington.

Colletti Has His Hands Full in Vegas

The MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas are approaching, meaning all 30 GMs and too many agents to count will be talking in the Bellagio Hotel, negotiating and settling on deals for various players. This is where Dodgers GM Ned Colletti will make many key decisions, having to fill 14 empty roster spots created by free agency. Derek Lowe and Brad Penny are both essentially lost, meaning there could be as many as 3 empty spots in the rotation, coupling with Greg Maddux's retirement. Talks continue with Manny Ramirez and 3B Casey Blake, both of which look optimistic considering no offers have been made to Manny, and the Twins and Indians are both reported to have dropped out of talks with Blake. The situation with Rafael Furcal is the most confusing, as both he and LA have shown little interest in one another, but shortstop holes are being filled up quickly, not to mention his rejection of Oakland's initial offer. The Dodgers have shown a varying degree of interest in free-agent pitchers CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Randy Johnson, and Trevor Hoffman, as well as trades with the Pirates concerning SS Jack Wilson. Colletti himself has made just two offers all postseason: the 2-year contract to Manny Ramirez, and the 3 offers of arbitration to Manny, Blake, and Lowe. The arbitration, however, was done solely to get draft picks from teams who would sign the three if they all reject the Dodgers' offers. Trade talks with the Padres concerning Jake Peavy have ceased apparently, not just with Los Angeles, but nearly every other team that has shown interest in him, other than the Cubs.

Kings Shutdown Columbus

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0, snapping a 3-game losing streak. Jason LaBarbera had his fourth career shutout, making 23 saves. The Jackets actually out-shot LA 23-18, but 3 of those 18 went into the net, making all the difference. Anze Kopitar, Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Calder each scored a goal for the Kings.

Clippers Find Worthy Foe in T-Wolves

The Los Angeles Clippers ended their three-game losing streak by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-84. The Clips blocked 11 of Minnesota's shots, and were .469 from inside the arch. Baron Davis had 27 points and 9 assists, while Zach Randolph scored 21 for LA, and Marcus Camby added 12 points, 19 boards, and 7 blocks. Former Bruin Kevin Love had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the T-Wolves.