Editor's Note: Sanchez Better Like Money More Than Winning

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez (above) has entered the draft, ending his brief yet profound Trojan career. After all, Sanchez has been playing for only 1 season, and started just two games the year before as a reprieve for an injured John David Booty. Sanchez is making a dangerous call as an underdeveloped underclassman to give up another year in college. Not only may he be too inexperienced to handle the NFL, he may also get sidelined with a bad team. Early chatter has Sanchez going to San Francisco as the 10th overall pick. The same San Francisco that finished the season 7-9, despite having their own promising quarterback in J.T. O'Sullivan. There's even talk that Detroit might pick Sanchez, hoping he can be the key to improve the Lions' absolute misery. Sanchez will make a lot of money if he goes early in the draft, and it has become a hard fact that he will go early. And if he really does want the money, he needs to go now. After all, next year the draft will be full of names like Tebow, Bradford, and McCoy. Sure, Sanchez might not make the same kind of money he would by leaving school early, but it would seem like winning should be the most important thing. Let's just hope the cash can provide some comfort.

Lakers Don't Feel the Magic

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Orlando Magic 109-103, only the second time the Lakers have lost consecutive games. LA blew an 8 point lead going into the fourth quarter, and gave up 65 points in the second half. Kobe Bryant lost his clutch-touch, shooting 5-for-13 in the second half, but a paltry .398 shooting percentage for the team did not help matters either. Orlando out-rebounded LA 54-40. Bryant had his 15th career triple-double with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Pau Gasol had 13 points and 9 rebounds, and Lamar Odom came off the bench to score 17 points and snag 9 rebounds. Jameer Nelson finished 9-for-18 for the Magic, with 28 points and 8 assists. Dwight Howard scored 25 points and had a monster 20 rebounds.

Kings Can't Wing It

The Los Angeles Kings were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings 4-0, falling 3 games under .500. Goalie Ty Conklin got his fifth shutout of the season for Detroit, and Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby each had a goal and assist. Jonathan Quick could only make 27 saves out of 31 shots, while the Kings could only take 23 shots.

Dodgers Drop Jones

The Los Angeles Dodgers released Andruw Jones as part of his reworked contract. If the Dodgers were unable to trade him, he would be automatically released. Jones had a sub-par year to say the least, hitting a mild .158 with 3 home runs and 14 rebounds. Some teams have varying degrees of interest in Jones, including the Atlanta Braves, the system Jones came up through, and the Florida Marlins. Jones's salary will be deferred over 6 years, saving a majority of the cash for this year's payroll. The money will most likely be used to pursue Manny Ramirez and pitching, specifically ex-Dodger Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, or Braden Looper.

College Basketball Roundup

UCLA - The Bruins defeated Arizona 83-60, their first home win against a Pac-10 opponent. UCLA shot 59.6% from the field, and the Bruins' 8th straight win against the Wildcats. Alfred Aboya had his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Josh Shipp scored 13 points, and Nikola Dragovic had a career-high 15. Jordan Hill's 22 points went in vain for Arizona.

USC - The Trojans defeated Arizona State 61-49, overcoming a 7-point first half deficit. USC scored only 19 points in the first half to go with 9 turnovers and 7-for-24 shooting. Dwight Lewis helped the Trojans with 18 points, and DeMar DeRozan led USC with a career-best 22 points to go with 8 rebounds. Taj Gibson had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Rihards Kuksiks led the Sun Devils with 16 points.

Sanchez Leaves for Draft

Mark Sanchez has made his decision and has announced he will enter the 2009 NFL Draft. The decision came despite a difference of opinion between Sanchez and coach Pete Carroll. Sanchez is projected to be a first-round pick, and at least the second quarterback taken after former Georgia QB Matt Stafford, if not first. Sanchez led USC to its seventh straight Pac-10 title, seventh straight 11-win season, and seventh straight BCS Bowl. He had a big Rose Bowl that rose his stock, completing a record-80% of his passes and throwing for 4 touchdowns.

Clock Strikes 12 for Clips

The Los Angeles Clippers fell to the Atlanta Hawks 97-80, their 12th straight loss and 30th of the season. LA, who got Ricky Davis back after he served his 5-game suspension, could only muster a .425 shooting percentage with only 3 3-pointers. That paled in comparison to Atlanta's .493 shooting percentage. The Clips' 18 turnovers did not help either. Al Thornton led LA with 25 points, and Marcus Camby had a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Eric Gordon scored 18 points and Mardy Collins had 15. Josh Smith led the Hawks with 26 points and 8 rebounds, and Joe Johnson added 21 points with 7 assists.

Lakers Can't Handle Texas Two-Step

The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs 112-111, only the Lakers' 7th loss of the season. San Antonio won with Roger Mason hitting a field goal while being fouled by Derek Fisher, then getting the free-throw. LA had one last possession to pull ahead, but Trevor Ariza was called for traveling with 0.8 seconds left. TV replays later showed that Ariza had in fact been tripped by Manu Ginobili, but the referees failed to see it. Both teams had monster shooting percentages, the Lakers with .566 and the Spurs with .571. Kobe Bryant led LA with 29 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Pau Gasol scored 21 points, Andrew Bynum had 18, and Fisher had 16. Ginobli scored 27 to lead San Antonio, and both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had 20 points. Mason finished with 18.

Lakers Push Past Problems Against Houston

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 105-100, improving to 31-6. The Lakers had a rough time containing the Rockets in the first half, surrendering a shooting percentage above 60%. Houston finished shooting 53%, while LA shot 50.6%. The Lakers committed only 7 turnovers, and outscored Houston 27-18 in the fourth quarter. Houston was without Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady, but other players picked up the slack. Yao Ming had 19 points with 17 rebounds, and Von Wafer scored 23 points, shooting 13-for-18, including 3-pointers. Carl Landry came off the bench and scored 21 points for the Rockets, a season-high. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, despite shooting 13-for-32 with 1 3-pointer. Lamar Odom returned, replacing Sasha Vujacic who did not travel to Texas due to back spasms. Odom had 10 points and 1 blocked shot off the bench. Vladimir Radmanovic scored 12 points and snagged 6 rebounds, and hit both of his 3-point attempts. Trevor Ariza came off the bench to score 14 points.

Mays, Pinkard, and Gable Will Return

Safety Talor Mays, cornerback Josh Pinkard and tailback C.J. Gable will all return next season for USC football, according to coach Pete Carroll. Mays was strongly condsidering entering the NFL draft, but decided to stay in school. Had Gable left, he would not have left a strong impression, having fumbled once in the Trojans' last two games, including the opening drive against UCLA. Gable was subsequently benched each time and never returned to the game.

Dodgers Sign Mota

The Los Angeles Dodgers have come to terms with reliever Guillermo Mota, and will sign him pending a physical. Mota was previously with the Dodgers during the 2002-04 seasons, and was traded to Florida with Paul LoDuca for Brad Penny and Hee-Seop Choi. With the Dodgers, Mota became one of the game's premier set-up men, holding an ERA of 2.60. However, upon his departure, Mota's numbers fell dramatically. He had a 4.79 ERA after leaving, going 5-6 and 4.11 with Milwaukee last season.

Kings Can't Strike Lightning

The Los Angeles Kings were defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1. LA trailed 3-0 early in the second period, and could only respond with one goal from Peter Harrold. Kings goalie Erik Ersberg was pulled from the game after saving only 4 of 7 shots. Evgeny Artyukhin was one player who scored for Tampa Bay.

NFL Divisional Round

The NFL divisional rounds have concluded, and these are the results:

ARIZONA def. CAROLINA 33-13
BALTIMORE def. TENNESSEE 13-10
PHILADELPHIA def. NEW YORK 23-11
PITTSBURGH def. SAN DIEGO 35-24

This round of the playoffs saw 3 out of 4 top-seeds fall out of contention, including the Super Bowl Champion N.Y. Giants. San Diego saw the end of their Cinderella story, while Arizona saw its own story continue. A big controversy hit the Titans-Ravens game, as the referees did not call a delay-of-game when Baltimore's play-clock hit zero during their game-winning drive. Pittsburgh's Willie Parker (above) continues his Steeler legacy, as he rushed for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Eli Manning's (left) legacy hit a snag as he went 15-for-29 with 2 interceptions. Next week is the AFC and NFC Conference championships, with the Ravens going to Pittsburgh and the Eagles flying into Arizona.

Bruins Hold Down Trojans

The UCLA men's basketball team defeated cross-town rival USC 64-60, the first of two big match-ups. The Bruins faced a 43-37 deficit in the second half, but came back with the help of Jrue Holiday. Holiday earned his first victory in the storied rivalry, scoring 13 points, including a key bank-shot to take a 55-53 lead. Darren Collison led the Bruins with 18 points and 6 assists, and Nikola Dragovic added 14 points. DeMar DeRozan led the Trojans with 15 points, and Taj Gibson had 13 points despite foul trouble. Daniel Hackett added 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Suns Set Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers fell to the Phoenix Suns 109-103, their 11th straight loss. The Clippers failed to hold on to another lead with 4:27 left, giving up a 14-5 stretch for the Suns. Shaquille O'Neal made all 5 of his free-throw attempts, extending his streak to 12 straight from the line. O'Neal had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix, and Amare Stoudemire scored a game-high 26 points. Jason Richardson added 21. Al Thornton led the Clips with 23 points, and Marcus Camby had 18 points and 18 rebounds.

Lakers Stand Through Miami

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat, avenging the loss to the Heat in mid-December and improving to 30-6. The Lakers, still without Lamar Odom, saw six players hit double-figures, including all 5 starters. Andrew Bynum led LA with 24 points, including a clutch tip-in at the end of the fourth quarter to break a 102-all tie. Kobe Bryant had 19 points with 7 assists, and Vladimir Radmanovic scored a season-high 18 points. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 18 rebounds, and Derek Fisher snagged 13 points to with 11 assists. Sasha Vujacic came off the bench to score 10 points. Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 27 points to go with 9 assists for the Heat, and Michael Beasley had 24 points.

Kings Have a Devil of a Time

The Los Angeles Kings were defeated by the New Jersey Devils 5-1, falling under .500 with a 17-18-6 record. Jersey scored in all 3 periods, and did not allow a goal for the first 41 minutes of the game. Three of the Devils' goals came on power-plays, with the Kings committing too many penalties. Zach Parise scored his 100th career goal, and goalie Kevin Weekes made 34 saves. Derek Armstrong made LA's only goal after redirecting Alexander Frolov's shot.