Editor's Note: Lakers & Dodgers Face Rodney Dangerfield Dilemma

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves trying to fight something Rodney Dangerfield never could: They can't get respect. Whether it's from Scott Boras scoffing at the only offers his client Manny Ramirez has received, or from Boston Celtics fans making up excuses to pardon their Christmas Day massacre and their most recent loss. Neither team is getting their due respect. First, the Dodgers. Manny Ramirez came to a city that welcomed him with open arms, and now he'll only return if he gets a Brinks Truck to deliver his salary. Ramirez has no where else to go: The Yankees maxed out their budget, the Mets' owners were scammed out of nearly half a billion by Bernie Madhoff, Washington is looking for a face for their franchise and Manny's too old for it, and San Francisco will only sign him if he lowers his price. Even Albert Pujols admits that signing Manny requires a discount for any team. But as Manny and Boras drag this out, it just makes both sides look bad: the Dodgers look cheap and Boras looks like a miser. Every rejection and lie that other teams are interested just disrespects the Dodgers and everything they did to save Manny's reputation. Now the Lakers. LA went into Boston without Andrew Bynum. No one thought they could win, not even the Laker fans. It took an extra 5 minutes on top of regulation, but they pulled it off. Well, if you're a Laker fan they did. For the Bostonians, the win should not count due to bad officiating. It's bad enough for the Lakers that the Celtics scoffed at their Christmas Day win, chalking it up to a standard road loss (ignoring their 27-2 record at that point). But now they refuse to give the Lakers any form of respect, claiming that Derek Fisher fouled Ray Allen in the last seconds of OT. The Lakers and Dodgers don't need wins or records. All they want is respect. But I guess that's too much to ask for.

Lakers Acquire Morrison for Radmanovic

The Los Angeles Lakers traded forward Vladimir Radmanovic to the Charlotte Bobcats for forward Adam Morrison (above) and guard Shannon Brown. Radmanovic began the season as a starter, but was relegated to the bench so Luke Walton could start. Since then he has had low minutes, including staying on the bench in Thursday's victory over Boston for the entire game. Radmanovic averaged about 6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Morrison has struggled with the Bobcats, averaging just 4.5 points while shooting 36%. Brown has played very few minutes with Charlotte, and has averaged 4.5 points per game as well. Both Morrison and Brown will not be available for Sunday's game against Cleveland.

Clippers Break Grizzly Streak

The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 126-105, snapping their 7-game losing streak. LA finished shooting 59% from the field, including a franchise-best 16 three-pointers. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, had just 5 three-pointers and shot .493 from the field. Zach Randolph had his best game after returning from an injury, scoring 35 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Ricky Davis had a season-high 24 points, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and Eric Gordon scored 23 points for the Clips. Rudy Gay finished the game shooting 9-for-13 with 26 points for Memphis, and Mike Conley had 18 points.

Kings Slide Past Caps

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Washington Capitals 5-4, ending the Caps' 3-game win streak. LA snagged the victory despite Alex Ovechkin's 200th career goal. Anze Kopitar scored two goals and provided an assist for the Kings, and Kyle Calder, Michal Handzus, and Patrick O'Sullivan each scored a goal. Goalie Jonathan Quick made 41 saves, while Capital goalie Jose Theodore made 30 saves on 35 shots.

Dodgers Sign Wolf

MLB.com is reporting that the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached a deal with LHP Randy Wolf for 1 year and $5 million plus incentives. Wolf went 12-12 last season, but also 6-3 with Houston after being traded by San Diego. He pitched with the Dodgers in 2007 and had a record of 9-6, but missed the entire second half of the season with a shoulder injury. Wolf was an All Star in 2003, and would be the only pitcher currently in the rotation to have pitched in the Majors during the 20th century.

Lakers Make Final Statement

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated their rival Boston Celtics 110-109 in overtime, snapping the Celtics' 12-game win streak and extending the Lakers' win streak to 5. The victory also avenged their loss at TD Banknorth Garden in Game 6 of the Finals which clinched the title for Boston. LA swept the season series with the Celts by holding them to a .452 shooting percentage and forcing 16 turnovers that were converted into 24 points. The Lakers were just 17-for-29 from the charity stripe, but their 12 steals helped make up for it. Kobe Bryant led LA with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 4-for-8 shooting from three-point range, despite his 10-for-29 total shooting. Pau Gasol had his own double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had the most impact out of all with 20 points, including two free-throws with seconds left in OT that gave the Lakers the lead. Derek Fisher scored 13 points and had 5 assists. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 22 points, and Paul Pierce had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Kevin Garnett scored 16 points, but fouled out with 4:22 left in regulation. Rajon Rondo had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists, and Eddie House finished with 16 points as well.

UCLA Squashes Pesky Trojans

The UCLA men's basketball team defeated cross-town rival USC 76-60, keeping the Trojans from tying with the Bruins for the best record in the Pac-10. UCLA had a cushy 23 point halftime lead, and moved ahead of Washington by a half-game in the conference. Alfred Aboya helped the Bruins with his second career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Josh Shipp scored 19 points, and Jrue Holiday had 13 points and 6 assists. Nikola Dragovic added 12 points. Dwight Lewis led the Trojans with 20 points, and USC finished with 23 turnovers.

Clippers Fall to Bottom of Barrel

The Los Angeles Clippers fell to the Orlando Magic 125-96, their 39th loss of the season which puts them tied for the worst record in the NBA. The Clips could do nothing to contain Orlando, giving up a .566 shooting percentage and 16 three-pointers. Al Thornton led LA with 27 points and Marcus Camby had a near double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Eric Gordon scored 14 points and Steve Novak had 11. With Jameer Nelson's injury, Anthony Johnson stepped up for the Magic with 25 points, and Dwight Howard scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Lakers Slide Past Raptors

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-107, their 39th win of the season and 4th on this road trip. The Lakers committed just 5 turnovers, shot .506 from the field, and forced 10 blocked shots. Kobe Bryant followed up his stellar performance from Madison Square Garden by scoring 36 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, and getting 5 assists. Pau Gasol had his second straight 31 point game to go with 15 rebounds. Lamar Odom had 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Derek Fisher finished with 12. Joey Graham had a career-high 24 points for the Raptors, and Jermaine O'Neal scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

Editor's Note: LA Wants Good Manny, Not Greedy Manny

Recently St. Louis star Albert Pujols came out saying that he spoke with Manny Ramirez, and Ramirez complained, "Nobody wants me." Apparently, something got lost in translation, as it seems that he must have said, "Nobody wants to pay me." How could he say that nobody wants him when the Los Angeles Dodgers are willing to make him the second-highest paid player in baseball? With another offer rejected, Manny just keeps showing his true colors, and it's becoming harder and harder for people to not side with the McCourts. As the economy flounders and so many people are out of work, to see someone turn down a guaranteed $25 million is hard to stomach. Every rejected offer combines with Manny's complaints that no one wants to sign him, and it becomes too difficult to keep pursuing him when Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu are screaming for attention. A two-for-one deal containing one of those outfielders and the defensively-gifted 2B Orlando Hudson would benefit the Dodgers even more than Manny. Dunn and Abreu are young, offensive juggernauts and Hudson can give Blake DeWitt more time to grow and develop. But right now, the 37-year old Manny commands all the attention. And as he whines more and more, it's getting more and more to the point to just forget about Greedy Manny.

Kings Slip Past Senators

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Ottawa Senators 1-0, their 21st win of the season. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Michal Handzus scored the only goal of the game with 2:31 left in the third period for the win. Ottawa goalie Brian Elliot had 25 saves for the Senators.

Editor's Note: Lakers Are On Loss-Watch

While the Los Angeles Lakers are nowhere near thrilled that Andrew Bynum could miss up to three months before returning thanks to a knee injury, it could provide the boost that they need. With Bynum, the Lakers fell apart late in games and did not take many opponents too seriously, leading to close games. Just look at LA's games against Indiana, Sacramento, and Charlotte. Now that Bynum is down though, the Lakers might just play every game like there is a legitimate chance of losing. They can bleed, and they know it. And more importantly, their enemies know it. But this is actually the Lakers' advantage. Teams don't have the benefit of surprise to help them out. LA can put their pedal on the metal and not take it off in the fourth. And with roadies in Boston and Cleveland coming up, this proves to be no better a time to see how seriously the Lakers can play without their star center or a 61 point masterpiece from Kobe. All it takes is a new view of their opponents.

Dodgers May Move On From Manny

Manny Ramirez has rejected the Los Angeles Dodgers' offer of a one-year $25 million contract, according to the Dodgers. This is the third contract offer Manny has rejected; the first two were a 2-year $45 million contract and arbitration. ESPN is reporting that the Dodgers may move one from Manny and look at OF Adam Dunn and 2B Orlando Hudson (above). Dunn has hit at least 40 home runs in the last 5 seasons, and Hudson hit .305 in 107 games with Arizona last year.

Zach-Attack Can't Bring Clips Back

The Los Angeles Clippers fell to the Miami Heat 119-95, despite the return of star forward Zach Randolph from a knee injury. The Clips could not contain Miami, who had a .556 shooting percentage and 9 blocked shots. Randolph had 21 points, and both Eric Gordon and Marcus Camby scored 12 points. Dwyane Wade finished with 32 points and 9 assists for the Heat, and Michael Beasley added 18 points.

Lakers Enjoy 61 Reasons to Ignore Bynum...For Now

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New York Knicks 126-117, their first game without Andrew Bynum. Kobe Bryant did his best to make everyone forget about his prognosis, scoring a Madison Square Garden-record 61 points, eclipsing Michael Jordans' visiting-record 55 points and Bernard King's 60. Kobe finished shooting 19-for-31. The Lakers had a combined .524 shooting percentage, and out-rebounded New York 52-41. The Knicks were held to 7-for-27 from 3-point range. Pau Gasol played his first full game of center, scoring 31 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Trevor Ariza was the only other Laker to score in double-figures, finishing with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Al Harrington led the Knicks with 24 points, and David Lee had 22 points and 14 rebounds.

Dodgers Make New Pitches to Manny, Others

The Los Angeles Dodgers have made a new offer to Manny Ramirez, according to MLB.com. The offer is reported at being a one-year deal for $25 million. The Dodgers are also looking to sign either Randy Wolf or Braden Looper, as the New York Mets have reached a deal with Oliver Perez. Perez was the Mets' first choice, and Wolf stood as their second. Now that Perez has been signed, the Dodgers are free to pursue both Wolf and Looper.

Bynum Out for 2-3 Months

Andrew Bynum (left) is expected to miss 8-12 weeks due to a ligament tear in his right knee. The loss means Pau Gasol will be moved to center, with Lamar Odom taking over as forward. Bynum has said this injury is much less severe than the one he suffered last year that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Last year, Bynum dislocated his left kneecap which ended up requiring surgery. A knee specialist from ESPN is optimistic that Bynum could return sooner than the 8 weeks, but that stands as a long-shot.

Steelers Close Curtain on Arizona's Dream

In the Super Bowl XLIII, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 on game-winning drive engineered by Ben Roethlisberger. But before we get to that, here's a look at key events that took place:

Coin Flip: Arizona won, but for the first time in Super Bowl history, deferred to Pittsburgh. The Steelers elected to receive.

1st Quarter: Ben Roethlisberger finishes the opening drive with a rushing touchdown, but an Arizona challenge over-rules the score, and forces the Steelers to take a field goal for a 3-0 lead.

2nd Quarter: The Cardinals tried to power their way back into the game after a Gary Russell TD run put the Steelers up 10-0. Kurt Warner threw to Ben Patrick for a touchdown, after Patrick never had a touchdown all season. As the Cards looked poised to tie or take the lead with 18 seconds left on the 1 yard line, a Warner pass to Anquan Boldin was intercepted by James Harrison, who returned the pick for 100 yards and a TD, putting Pittsburgh up 17-7 at halftime.

3rd Quarter: The Steelers held down Arizona, forcing 3 penalties that cost the Cards 35 yards. Pittsburgh scored on a field goal to pull ahead 20-7.

4th Quarter: The comeback was on as Kurt Warner threw to Larry Fitzgerald to make it a one possession game with a 20-14 score. After getting into Steeler territory, the Cards were forced to punt, and pinned Pittsburgh down inside the 1-yard line. On 3rd and 10, Roethlisberger appeared to throw for what could have been a 1st down. However, one of his lineman was called for holding, resulting in an automatic safety for Arizona. With the extra 2 points and possession of the ball, Arizona completed an incredible drive with a 64 yard pass from Warner to Fitzgerald to take a 23-20 lead with 2:37 left. However, the Steelers came back, and Roethlisberger completed a shoe-string catch to Santonio Holmes for a game-winning touchdown with just 35 seconds left. Arizona had one last chance to try to win the game, but Warner fumbled as he tried to throw a Hail-Mary, ending the game.

Roethlisberger threw for 256 yards and 1 TD, while Warner had 377 yards and 3 touchdowns. Both QB's threw a pick, but Warner's was clearly more devastating. Holmes was the Super Bowl MVP with 9 receptions and 131 yards with the game-winning catch. Fitzgerald finished with 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. Next week the football season concludes with the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Kings Can't Stomach Ending

The Los Angeles Kings fell to the Montreal Canadiens 4-3, with the winning goal coming with 22.3 seconds left in a tie game. Saku Koivu scored the game-winning power-play goal, and Christopher Higgins scored in the third period before hand to tie the game. Koivu also had an assist on Andrei Kostitsyn's second period goal. The Kings had a 3-2 lead going into the third on goals by Dustin Brown, Michal Handzus, and Jarret Stoll. Kyle Calder had 2 assists for LA, and Jonathan Quick could only save 22 shots out of 26 attempts.

College Basketball Roundup - No. California Pt. 2

UCLA - The Bruins kept their foot on the offensive pedal, defeating Stanford 97-63. UCLA had its highest scoring conference game under coach Ben Howland, as the Bruins shot .631 from inside the arc, and went 11-for-15 from 3-point range. The Cardinal had a tough time breaking through UCLA's air-tight defense, ending the game with a .385 shooting percentage. Darren Collison, Jrue Holiday and Alfred Aboya each had 15 points; Holiday also grabbed 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Michael Roll had 12 points, and Josh Shipp finished with 11. Anthony Goods scored 15 points for Stanford, and was the only Cardinal to score double-figures.

USC - The Trojans won for the fifth time in six games, defeating the Cal Golden Bears 73-62. USC forced 23 fouls and took 29 free-throw attempts, though only making 17. On the other hand, the Trojans committed 14 fouls, and Cal took just 14 free-throws, making 12 of them. DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 19 points, and Daniel Hackett finished with 14. Taj Gibson and Dwight Lewis each scored 12 points; Gibson also having 13 rebounds. Jamal Boykin led the Bears with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Jordan Wilkes scored 16.