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Granted the Spurs missed a lot of shots after the first quarter. Some of that was good defense and some of it was the shot selection by the team. The Lakers got more confident as the game wore on and it was a rout by the end of third quarter.

The Lakers then kept most of their starters on the bench for the fourth quarter and watched as the second unit kept up the pressure for a 99-85 win. Los Angeles was up by more than 25 at various times in the fourth quarter before they just mailed in the rest.

Kobe had a good game with 22 point, four rebounds and three dimes in 32 minutes. Gasol was his usual steady self with 16 points and Bynum scored his third double-double in a row with 15 pts. and 11 boards.

The Spurs committed early fouls that required Greg Popovich to haul two starters out early and the Spurs were in the penalty far too early in both of the first quarters.

But these are the Spurs. They were down by only six after the half and they could have easily gone on a tear with Parker penetrating and dishing off to the bigs who could shoot threes. Didn’t happen. The Lakers controlled the paint the way we have hoped they would all season.

Phil should be happy with this win and god knows he might be. But he’ll find something to harp on to drive the guys hard prior to a big 6 game road trip.

Did you see the fight last night? Sugar Shane Mosley, LA native and former welter-weight champ came roaring into the ring to fight Antonio Margarito, also an LA native but billed as a son of Mexico.

Mosely at 37 and dealing with massive personal and professional issues that would have caused anyone else to be distracted was a 4-1 underdog.

Margarito, the clear favorite in the arena as well, had come away with a career defining victory just 6 months prior against Miguel Cotto. He became the welter-weight champ after that bout after giving Cotto, the big favorite to win, a beating he had never had.

With Mosley straining to make weight to avoid a DQ on weigh-in day, the swirling controversy surrounding his divorce, the revelations about his 2003 steroids admission and his change in trainers, Mosley with 7 years on this opponent turned back the clock.

But perhaps a big reason for that was the removal of a plaster of paris-like substance that was adhered to Margarito’s hand-wrap material. It was caught pre-fight by members of Mosley’s entourage and the boxing commissioner in LA confirmed the facts.

It now gives new meaning to the words, “hands of stone”, which had previously been applied to Roberto Duran, great champion of 30 years ago. Duran achieved it legally. Margarito now faces disciplinary action as well as questions about his brutal fight against Cotto and whether he ever deserved the championship belt at all.

Antonio lost his reputation as well as his championship on Saturday night.

If you look at the Western Conference standings on this date you might not notice it but there is a new kid in town. That would be the Portland Trailblazers who occupy the sixth spot at this moment. All other members of the top 8 are the same as last year.

That means the game of musical chairs has left out one of 2007’s playoff teams. As of today that team is the Dallas Mavericks who are 4-6 in their last ten games. But only one game above the Mavs are the Phoenix Suns.

They have had a roller coaster season and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get straightened out anytime soon. They struggled early in the season to find out how to score enough to win. They had a losing record and the grumbling got loud about new coach Terry Porter.

Then a big trade resulted in the exit of Raja Bell with the arrival of Jason Richardson. The team rallied and Porter started to use Shaq in a way that was realistic. He also made it public. He wouldn’t play in back-to-backs. And as if on cue Shaq got rocking and the Suns went on a nice run only to crash back down to earth.

This is an unhappy and uneven team that has its moments when it works as it should but then can’t sustain success. It’s loaded with talent and yet they seem to under achieve. Expect no coaching change from GM Steve Kerr. He installed Porter there for a reason. The athletes need to stop resisting.

It might have been a bit of a see-saw battle throughout and after the Los Angeles Lakers had been up by 18 the Cleveland Cavaliers narrowed it to 7. That was with a bit more than three minutes left in the game. The Lakers didn’t cede any more ground after that point.

And as has come to be a bit of a habit, a good one, Trevor Ariza hit two big three-pointers to put the game away. The final score was 105-88. The two biggest stories of the game included one that was expected and one that wasn’t.

Within two minutes of the game’s commencement Kobe Bryant dislocated his right ring finger and was immobilized by the pain. A very unusual sight for Laker fans that expect him to shake off whatever injury befalls him.

He played through it only after he had the finger adjusted back into place but it was clear it affected his performance. The other factor was LeBron James. That was the expected front page story: LeBron vs. Kobe.

James, who Kobe asked to guard had an uncharacteristically bad night. Kobe’s shooting was off and I’m sure LeBron had something to do with it but not as much as Kobe had on him. King James had six turnovers and his 9-25 shooting was awful.

Pau Gasol benefited from the absence of big “Z” and without him, the floppy haired Varejao wasn’t effective. He couldn’t keep Bynum and Gasol in check. And where was Ben Wallace? He appeared on the court but he might as well have been a hologram. What a waste of a big contract. Gasol was 11-13 for 22 points and Bynum poured in 14.

The Lakers played physically as they can when faced with a tough Eastern Conference opponent and benefited from the missing Z and guard Delonte West.

Admit it. You didn’t think they had a shot. Few people did outside of the state of Arizona but a puncher’s chance doesn’t go far enough in describing how the team won. The final score was Cards 32-25.

They manhandled the Eagles. I know they left McNabb time to drive down the field and either tie or win the game by getting into the end zone. But the point is he didn’t. And the Arizona defense came up big when necessary.

It’s clear the O-line of the Eagles was in tip-top form as it gave McNabb time to take a nap if he wanted in the pocket. He was able to isolate his receivers in the slot or down the field.

But the running game wasn’t there as it needed to be to take the pressure off McNabb. He couldn’t do it all.

Arizona won with a flair that gets me excited about a physical but explosive offensive game in a couple of weeks. Just watching Larry Fitzgerald make a routine pass is a thing of beauty. And who can’t like the story of Edgerrin James coming back to keep the team moving in the playoffs.

Get your guacamole ready. This one could be a beauty.

After a month of losing twelve straight games the Clippers won one from the Milwaukee Bucks by the score of 101-92. It wasn’t a squeaker not a blow out and as usual the team that was held under 20 points in the fourth quarter lost. This time it just didn’t happen to be the Los Angeles.

That is what I have noticed is the most starting stat from their losing streak. The team has starters that average double figures and they play hard on offense. Their defense is less than stellar. they may be out of sorts a bit in the set plays but worst of all is their inability to muster the points in crunch time.

They played a team that was just two games under .500 so this wasn’t a garbage team playing another one. And with starters Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph and Baron Davis still on the bench with injuries it would have been one more reason to not care on a cold night in Wisconsin.

But as with all good things that occur to the Clippers it is tempered with another jolt. The one remaining star on the team, center Marcus Camby went down with a sprained ankle. He is leading the league in rebounds and is second in blocks. All this on a team with a record of 9-30.

He is listed as day-to-day and considering the team’s situation, it makes no sense to rush him back.

After a 1-1 road trip in Texas that ended with a painful loss to San Antonio, the Lakers craved their home court where they had lost only 2 games this entire season: to Detroit and New Orleans.

Waiting for them were the Orlando Magic whose record was only a half game back of the Lakers. At the end of the evening the positions were reversed. The Magic holds the best record in the entire NBA..for now.

As we have seen with Andrew Bynum’s performances this season, the young man blows hot and cold. He disappears on the boards or he isn’t in the flow of the offense to make the Twin Towers concept work.

But more than Bynum’s lack of a total performance last evening, the guard play has become a problem. ‘The Machine’ is back on the court but not in rythym with his shots. Sasah Vujacic missed all of training camp and had only gotten back to where he was a force to be reckoned with at Christmas. Within two weeks he was back on the bench with back spasms. It seems it will take a while for him to regain his form.

The Lakers are hobbled by Jordan Farmar’s absence and Sasha was the go-to guy to spell Derek Fisher. Fisher has played more minutes than he should at this point in the season and when he tweaked his groin in San Antonio the team realized it was playing it close to the vest.

The inability of someone other than Kobe Bryant to step up at the end of a game was a problem against Orlando. The Black Mamba had two chances to tie it up but missed two open three-point attempts. After coming through in the previous three games he is entitled to a miss here and there.

The team was extremely quiet in the locker room afterwards and I’m sure that losing the season series against a likely top contender in the East didn’t sit well with any of them. Final score: 109-103, Orlando

I’ve heard a great analogy for what happened at the Mark Sanchez “I’m going to the NFL” press conference. Let’s say you’re the father of a young lady who is engaged to someone you don’t particularly care for and don’t want her to marry.

You have expressed your concerns to her and re-hashed the whole thing ad nauseum. Now you’re standing up at the engagement party with a glass of champagne in your hand and it’s your turn to toast the couple.

Do you spoil the party and announce to your future son-in-law and his family that you think he’s a loser? I highly doubt it and yet that is the role played by Pete Carroll yesterday.

Sanchez defied Carroll’s advice to stay put and his coach spoke about his decision as the wrong one..and yet of course he will support him in any way he can.

Sanchez saw his opportunity to go out and be one of two top tier school QB’s in the draft. His biggest competitors all decided to stay in school.

When the moon and stars align like that for a future pro and a top ten pick is in the cards with guaranteed money that might disappear next year you take it. No question.

Here is a link to an article that contains the video of Carroll making his pronouncements.

On sports-talk radio in Southern California, one of the tangential conversations about the NFL playoff picture is what to do about LaDainian Tomlinson.

One of the hosts actually used the comparison to Shaun Alexander’s situation in Seattle a couple of years ago. One of the key differences is the contract situation.

LT’s contract while big doesn’t have as long a term as Alexander’s did when the Seahawks jettisoned him. It was a stunning move to free up a roster spot at the expense of sticking with the bargain they made with the running back in the wake of his All Pro season.

LT’s deal has 2 years left on it and his running woes mirror Alexander’s. Injuries came quicker and became more severe. Attempts to play through it brought bad results for the team’s offensive success. Staying on the sideline brought derision by fans who thought he was soft and had taken the money without giving the team its value.

It’s pretty clear that the only reason LT made an appearance in the Chargers’ first playoff game against the Colts was to answer critics who had crucified him after his stoic presence on the sideline during last year’s AFC Championship game. The guy has a torn tendon and shouldn’t have been out there. He agreed after that since we never saw him again.

Is Darren Sproles the man to replace him? Maybe not but after the Chargers let go of Michael Turner and Drew Brees in the last couple of years as they helped other clubs succeed the team is concerned it will make another mistake by cutting LT.

To be continued..

Weren’t you astounded that in the blowing snow and bone chilling cold, the sunny-climate Chargers were able to drive down the field on their first possession from scrimmage and shock the Steelers? The long and accurate pass by QB Philip Rivers to WR Vincent Jackson stunned the crowd and made the Chargers sit up and realize they could be in this game.

It was to be the highlight of the day for the Chargers. The Steelers took a bit longer to get going. Although they scored later in the first quarter on a Santonio Holmes kick-off return, their first points off an offensive possession didn’t take place until the 7:41 mark in the form of a Jeff Reed field goal.

San Diego scored again to take the lead after a field goal and Pittsburgh finally looked like the team it thought it would be as the first half was about to end. Willie Parker looking stronger than he has in weeks drove into the end zone for a TD and a lead the Steelers wouldn’t relinquish.

It was on that drive that the Chargers’ defense started to look tired, cold and less potent than they had earlier in the game. Adrenaline had been pumping and when that leveled off, all of a sudden the cold and bruising play of the Steelers took its toll.

While the Chargers never gave up and scored twice in the final quarter the game was beyond their reach. In a display of clock control and powerful use of all its offensive weapons the Steelers had the ball for the entire third quarter except for one lousy play.  The Chargers attempted one pass that was intercepted after being deflected. The final score was 35-24.

There is no shame in this loss. The Steelers played like the home favorites they were, the only home team and higher seed to win all weekend. The biggest question for the Chargers is what to do with their running game if LT continues to struggle physically.