Dodger Weaver Beats Angel Weaver in Historic Matchup

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6-4, their sixth win in eight games. The Angels had an early 2-0 lead, but the Dodgers came back after Russell Martin homered for the first time this season. Jeff Weaver faced his younger brother Jered for the first time ever, and the matchup was the first time brothers opposed each other since 2002. The elder Weaver held Anaheim to just two runs over five innings, while LA touched the younger Weaver for all six runs. Orlando Hudson and Casey Blake both had an RBI and a run scored, and Andre Ethier tripled and drove in two runs. Matt Kemp had two hits and scored once, and Martin had two additional hits. Kendry Morales hit a home run for the Angels, and Gary Matthews, Jr. knocked out a two-run bomb in the ninth off Jonathan Broxton, the first homer he has given up all year.

Manny Ramirez agreed to a minor-league rehab stint before his suspension ends. Manny is allowed to play for the Dodgers' farm teams before his return, but the Dodgers can only have him play with the clubs with his consent. Ramirez will most likely play with Triple-A Albuquerque for three games, then go to Single-A Inland Empire for another three-game set.

USC Hires O'Neill

USC hired Kevin O'Neill as the head coach of the men's basketball team. The Trojans began a search for a new coach after Tim Floyd resigned. O'Neill last coached for the Arizona Wildcats for the 2007-08 season, and most recently was a special assistant to the general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA. He has also coached Marquette, Tennessee, Northwestern, and the Toronto Raptors.

More Tonight Show Goodness

First Joe Torre. Then Kobe Bryant. Now Phil Jackson. "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" has rolled out the welcome-wagon for LA sports, though that Larry O'Brien trophy might have something to do with it. In this installment, the coach talks about his zen-like approach, comparisons between his Chicago Bulls and his Los Angeles Lakers, and whether or not he will retire.

Dodgers Fall Apart Against Angels

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5-4, their second loss in six games. The Dodgers had an early 4-1 lead, but Chad Billingsley coughed it up in the sixth inning, and the game was tied. In the eighth, Juan Rivera connected and homered to left to give the Angels the lead. LA went a combined 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving the bases loaded in the eighth and stranding the tying run on second in the ninth. James Loney and Rafael Furcal both homered for the third time this season, and Orlando Hudson had three hits. Juan Pierre and Russell Martin both scored a run, and Casey Blake had an RBI and an amazing diving-catch to end a serious bases-loaded threat. Chone Figgins had two hits and scored a run for the Angels, and Vladimir Guerrero had an RBI and a run scored. Maicer Izturis drove in two runs.

The Dodgers recalled James McDonald from Triple-A Albuquerque. McDonald was on the Opening Day roster, but struggled in his first career starts, posting an ERA of 6.75. However, he had a tremendous turnaround in the minors, and compiled an ERA of 3.26 and 40 strikeouts. Travis Schlichting was demoted to make room for McDonald. Schlichting was rarely used as a reliever, pitching just 2.2 innings in his rookie-season.

Kobe Promises to Stay with Lakers

Kobe Bryant told reporters he will not be leaving Los Angeles anytime soon. Bryant has an option for the next season, and could opt-out if he chooses to. However, Kobe openly said both to reporters and at the victory rally that he will remain with the Lakers. He could opt-out purely to create a new contract though. Bryant sounded more concerned with the free-agency of Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza. Both were key in the playoff run, but with the salary-cap keeping both seems highly unlikely.

Dodgers Get Enough to Beat A's

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2, taking the interleague series two games to one. Oakland scored first, but Orlando Hudson drove a home run into center-field to tie the game. The Dodgers scored again in the fifth inning, but the A's came back as Rajai Davis took advantage of a fielding blunder; Rafael Furcal directed Juan Pierre to throw to second-base after a single sent Davis to third. Davis saw the throw go to second, and immediately left for home and scored. However, LA took the lead for good in the seventh. Pierre had an RBI-single, and Mark Loretta knocked in the go-ahead run. Casey Blake had two hits and helped start three double-plays. Russell Martin and James Loney both had a hit and scored a run. Ramon Troncoso recorded two outs in the ninth for his fifth save of the season. Randy Wolf allowed only one run in six innings, but did not receive a decision. Kurt Suzuki had an RBI-double for the A's, and Matt Holliday also doubled but did not come around to score.

Jonathan Broxton was unavailable for the game due to a sore big right toe.

The win gave manager Joe Torre his 2,195th career managerial victory, putting him fifth on the all-time list. He passed Sparky Anderson after tying him on Tuesday.

College Basketball: Gordon Injures Knee, USC Narrows Choices

UCLA's Drew Gordon injured his right knee during tryouts for USA Basketball's Under-19 team. He partially tore the patellar tendon. His status for the beginning of the season is uncertain, as Gordon may require surgery.

The Athletic Director of USC will interview Reggie Theus for the head-coaching position of the men's basketball team. Theus previously coached the New Mexico State men's team and the Sacramento Kings of the NBA. The Trojans are also considering Jamie Dixon, coach of Pittsburgh.

Kobe Does Conan

Just days after Joe Torre bantered and answered, Kobe Bryant made his own appearance on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien". Among other things, Kobe talks about the drive to win the championship, playing in from of Jack Nicholson, and Phil Jackson's zen-like approach.



The second part is here:



The large Egyptian statue was from an earlier sketch.

Dodgers Can't Capitalize in Loss

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the Oakland Athletics 5-2, snapping a three-game winning streak. The Dodgers were in an early hole after Oakland jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning. However, LA tried to come back, and cut the deficit to one in the seventh. The Dodgers' fatal flaw was their poor clutch-hitting, as five men who reached third-base failed to score. Dodger hitters left 10 men on base during the game. Both Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal had a hit and scored a run, and Orlando Hudson had a hit, run, and RBI. Ethier had a double and drove in two, and Matt Kemp collected a run-batted-it. Rajai Davis and Jack Cust each had a homer for the A's, and Matt Holliday had a hit, run scored, and RBI.

Mitch Jones got his first major-league hit, a single into right-field. Jones was subsequently erased on a double-play.

Laker Victory Parade

The Lakers held their victory parade to celebrate winning the 2009 NBA Championship. The entire lineup and coaching staff rode down Figueroa from the Staples Center to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. At the Coliseum, the Lakers held a rally for over 95,000 fans.

Double-decker buses carry the Lakers and others down Los Angeles

Kobe shows off the Larry O'Brien trophy

The Lakers enter the LA Coliseum down a purple carpet. Note the man with the large Afro is actually Josh Powell.

The main stage for the rally

Pau and Kobe bust a move

Phil Jackson speaks at the rally, holding the hat that celebrates his 10 NBA championships

Streamers fly as the rally, in addition to the momentous season, comes to an end

Dodgers Mirror History with Win

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-4 in 10 innings, their third victory in a row. The Dodgers took an early 2-0 lead, but Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer that put Oakland up by one. One out later Bobby Crosby hit a solo-shot that gave the A's a 4-2 lead. However, LA came back as they scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game. The contest entered extra-innings, and with Orlando Hudson at third and two outs, Matt Kemp singled to win the game. The matchup with Oakland evoked memories of the two teams' meeting in the 1988 World Series, with many similarities between this game and Game 1 of the series: The Dodgers taking a 2-0 lead, a homer giving the A's the lead, LA fighting back to keep themselves in the game, and a walkoff hit to the right-side with two out. Kemp also doubled, as did Casey Blake, Rafael Furcal, and James Loney. Hudson had two hits and scored twice, and Blake collected two runs and two RBI's. Furcal scored a run. Former Rocky Matt Holliday scored a run for Oakland, and Kurt Suzuki had two hits.

Mitch Jones made his major-league debut, striking out on a full-count. Jones has been a journey-man minor-leaguer his entire professional career, but got his first real opportunity to appear in a game after the Dodgers optioned Jamie Hoffmann to the minors. Because Jones was not on the 40-man roster, Jason Schmidt was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.

Torre Does Conan

Manager Joe Torre appeared on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien". Among other things, Torre talked about growing up as a Giants fan, managing the best team in baseball, and a peculiar run-in with a Red Sox faithful.



No word yet if O'Brien is set to replace Juan Pierre.

Dodgers Send Hoffmann, DeWitt to Minors

The Los Angeles Dodgers optioned infielder Blake DeWitt and outfielder Jamie Hoffmann to Triple-A Albuquerque, and called up catcher A.J. Ellis. The move leaves the Dodgers with 24 men on their 25-man roster, with a call-up expected before tomorrow's game. The Dodgers could call up power-hitting outfielder Mitch Jones who impressed club officials in Spring Training. However, Jones is not part of the 40-man roster, and his promotion would require another move. Ellis was called up briefly before in the season, but never entered a game; his presence instead allowed the Dodgers to use Brad Ausmus as a pinch-hitter. Hoffmann struggled in his major-league stint, but hit his first home run and totaled 7 RBI's despite only collecting four hits. DeWitt has bounced between the majors and the minors, and had only three hits in his limited appearances.

Game 5: And the Winner Is...

...Your Los Angeles Lakers! The Purple and Gold defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 to take the series 4-1, and were crowned NBA Champions. The game looked like a nail-biter as Orlando had a 2-point lead after the first quarter. But the Lakers stormed back, and outscored the Magic 30-18 in the second to enter halftime with a comfortable 10-point lead. It was all Lakers after that as they held on to win the game, the series, and the title. Orlando shot just .415 from the field for the entire game, and failed miserably on rebounds, 47-36. The Lakers were not perfect, but 8 blocked shots and 13 offensive boards helped pad their lead. Kobe Bryant was named MVP of the Finals as he had 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocked shots. Lamar Odom had 17 points and 10 boards off the bench, and Pau Gasol added 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Trevor Ariza chipped in 15 points, and Derek Fisher threw in 13. Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 18 points, and Dwight Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Blake Powers Dodgers Past Texas

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Texas Rangers 6-3, taking the series two games to one. The Dodgers were in an early hole when a Rafael Furcal error allowed two runners to score in the first inning, giving Texas a 2-1 lead. However, Casey Blake hit a 3-run homer that put LA up for good. Chad Billingsley went 7+ innings, allowing only three runs (two earned). Blake also had a double and scored a run. Orlando Hudson and Brad Ausmus both doubled, with Ausmus getting an RBI and Hudson scoring a run. Juan Pierre scored twice, and James Loney drove in a run. Andruw Jones hit a solo-homer for the Rangers, and both Hank Blalock and Michael Young scored.