The Lakers (45-19) are the best in the west, but all that can change after a tough road trip they are about to face. Tonight they play the Hornets (43-20), who are coming off a big win against San Antonio. Chris Paul had 26 points and 17 assists in that victory. The Lakers often have trouble with quality point guards, it being their weakest position, and will have a tough time containing Paul. He averages 21.3 points, 11.1 assists, and 2.7 steals a game. He’ll be joined by Compton’s own Tyson Chandler, who returns to L.A. averaging 11.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.

Next they face the Houston Rockets (44-20), who now lead the southwest division, the most competitive in the league (Spurs, Hornets, Mavs). The have won 20 straight games, the 3rd longest streak of all time. The Lakers have the longest (33) and hope Houston wins their game against the Bobcats tonight so they can end the streak on Sunday. Tracy McGrady has been putting up big numbers since the absence of Yao Ming, but Phil Jackson said they will not forget about the present of point guard Rafer Alston. He has been playing well lately and may take advantage of a slower defense.

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The Lakers decided to take it easy last night and suffered a loss to the Kings 114-113. They trailed the entire game until they attempted a late surge in the 3rd. They gained the lead for a moment in the 4th, but could not close it out. Kobe Bryant took a tough shot at the buzzer for the win, but instead lost, making their record 44-19. They still hold the top spot in the west, but only by half a game ahead of San Antonio.

The Kings shot .550 percent from the field, with 6 players in double figures. They scored 71 points in the first half, as the Lakers played virtually no defense. The Lakers out scored them, 53-43 in the second half, and still could not win. Kobe scored only 1 point in the 4^th quarter, he finished with 26. Pau Gasol had 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

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The Cityzine sports report begins with the Dodgers. Yes, baseball is back. Well, it’s still spring training, but there was a hell of a finish in yesterday’s game when the Dodgers faced the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. It started off with a hit and a steal from Juan Pierre, but we were unable to drive him in due to Tim Wakefield’s solid outing. He threw 3 shut out innings and gave up only the one hit from Pierre.

Derrick Lowe was not as sharp, pitching 2 just innings, giving up 5 runs. Down 5-2 in the ninth, pinch hitter Luke May hits a three run homer that tied the game 5-5. Then, Jason Repko, who had missed all of last season, hit a grand slam making it 9-5. The final score was 9-6 as the Joe Torre enjoyed a win against his former rivals. The Dodgers first game of the season is March 31 against San Francisco.

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After 17 grueling years of playing in the NFL Brett Favre has finally decided to call it quits. After breaking all sorts of records, most consecutive games played at quarterback (253), most passing yards, most TDs and most interceptions, just to name a few.

A teary eyed Favre basically said that he could still play, but he can’t handle the mental part of the game. That he was just tired of training for upcoming seasons. He doesn’t care if he is ending his career with his last pass being the interception that lost the Packers chances of going to the Super Bowl. And he doesn’t care whether or not he is ranked among the best quarterbacks (he’s not even in my top 5), he played for the passion and fun of the game. One thing is for certain he always gave it his all every game and for that he is greatly appreciated.

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The Lakers had another big win at Staples Center against Dallas yesterday. It marked their 42 victory, the most in the conference. The game was close the whole way and went into overtime, ending at 108-104. These two teams are among the elite in the West, and every game counts. They played as if it was like a playoff game, Kobe Bryant scoring 52, a season high for him and all players in the league. Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and pulled 13 rebounds, but he and the newly acquired Jason Kidd, though given an opportunity, could not close it out. Kidd had 16 points, 11 assists, and 4 steals.

Pau Gasol contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for L.A. The Mavericks Erick Dampier had 16 points, shooting 100%, and pulled 17 rebounds. Dallas had a well rounded game, but the Laker defense was the key. Bryant said after the game, “We didn’t give them any good looks, and I think eventually that wears a team down. We really got it done on the defensive end.”

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What’s going on with sports this year? Why is there so much interest in a team or player going undefeated in a season? It all started with the Patriots. They have a brush with greatness and now everyone wants to see someone go undefeated. I understand that, yes it would be cool if it actually happened, but enough with trying to predict an undefeated season in every sport. Next thing you know the Yankees win their first 5 games out of 162 and they’re going undefeated.

The next victim of having an undefeated season thrust upon them is Tiger Woods. He wins his first two tournaments (out of the seventeen that he has to play) and all of sudden he can go undefeated. Doesn’t anyone realize how hard that would be to accomplish? It’s hard to do in team sports, imagine in golf where it’s you against 70-80 players. I doubt very much that it will happen. Tiger Woods will be known as the best golfer when his time is done, but it won’t be for an undefeated season. It will be for the most tour wins and the most major wins ever.

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With the Western conference getting even stronger due to the barrage of big time trades prior to the deadline, it’s time for the dormant (or doormat…whichever you prefer) Clippers to have their say. About the only thing left for the Clippers this season is to affect the seeding for the playoff contenders. The Clippers play the Blazers, who are contending for the final playoff spot, three more times. They play the West leading Lakers twice more. They also play Houston, Denver, and Dallas two more times apiece. All of these teams look to be headed to the playoffs so the Clippers will have an effect on the seeding. Maybe they can knock the rival Lakers down a couple seeds. That should be exciting right Clippers fans?

The common sense factor told us the Clippers were eliminated from the playoff picture about 10 games into the season, but mathematics is soon to make it certain. The good news is that it will be difficult for even the Clips to foul up their upcoming lotto pick with so much talent coming out of the college ranks. Look around the college landscape and you’ll see freshman dominating and leading their teams, one and done’s, which is good news for the Lottery bound Clippers. Tune in Wednesday as the Clippers host the Portland Trailblazers at 7:30.

Somebody game me a call and let me know that the Lakers beat the Suns, their first really big win against a top team. Kobe scored an impressive 41 points to spoil Shaq Suns debut. The Lakers are being picked by many analysts to be the top contender for the championship and this victory is a good step towards that. I personal don’t see that happening. They are a great team, but I can’t see them outlasting the Spurs, Suns or for that matter the Hornets in a 7 games series. I guess they’ll just have to prove me wrong.

Things aren’t looking any better for the Clippers, after a great win against the Grizzlies on Wednesday they have 3 straight games against top teams in the NBA. First the Jazz, then the Lakers and finally the Celtics. I feel sorry for them, but who knows maybe they’ll get luck and win one of them.

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The Clemens HGH soap opera continued on Wednesday in Capitol Hill and just like in the beginning nothing has been solved.  Clemens still stands by his statements that he has never taken any kind of performance enhancing substance. At the same time McNamee stands by his comments that he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH. Congress was no help here as there was clearly a divided line among Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats were grilling Clemens and saying it was hard to believe him, while Republicans were grilling McNamee in order to discredit him. One has to wonder if Clemens friendship with George Bush Sr. has anything to do with this. There is hearsay that points to a pardon of Clemens from president Bush to keep him out of any jail time or punishment. If that happens then it will be even harder to believe that Clemens is telling the truth. If he knows he is going to get pardoned and escape punishment, there is no reason for him to admit to anything. I can’t wait until all this steroid talk is over and baseball fans can just enjoy baseball without any controversy.

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Lakers play tonight in Charlotte. They have won 5 of 6 and continue to prevail on their 9 game road trip. Only two games remain before the All-Star break, then the Lakers can return to the Staples Center after the Grammy’s occupation. What looked like the beginning of a slump has turned into a successful road trip, regardless of how the last two games turn out, which incidentally are against two of the worst teams in the league. But the Lakers had a game yesterday in Miami, and the last back to back games they had on the road resulted in a loss to Atlanta.

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One blow out win with the newly acquired Pau Gasol and the Lakers are automatically hailed as championship contenders. What happens next? The Lakers lose to the sub .500 Hawks. One game doesn’t reveal all that much about a team. I suggest everyone takes the wait and see approach.

The best team in the West, the Phoenix Suns, just acquired Shaq in a blockbuster deal with the Heat and that changes everything in the Western Conference. Yes Shaq is older and injury prone, but he is still a major presence in the lane.

As for the Clippers, nothing new on their front; they still suck!

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The Lakers started off Super Bowl Sunday with a game of their own, winning their second straight with no center, and giving us 30 wins before the All-Star break, always a good sign. Pau Gasol was there, but not in uniform, as the team thought it was too early for him to play. They stomped the Washington Wizards 103-91, Kobe Bryant leading all scorers with 30, and taking his team 2-1 on this, their longest road trip since 1960.

Before the trip began, there was worry what such a schedule would do to a handicapped team like the Lakers, especially after losing a heartbreaking first game in Detroit. But since the news of the Spanish acquisition, the team seems even hungrier, every role player chipping in to make the Lakers look like one of the deepest teams in the NBA.

The Laker bench includes Jordan Farmar, Vladamir Radmanovic, and Sasha Vujacic, giving us legitimate three point threats, all of them shooting over 40%. Not to mention Andrew Bynum when he returns in several weeks to back up Gasol. These are all players that can, and have been scoring in double figures regularly.

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