Kobe and the Lakers fly to their first win. AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian LA Lakers defeat Portland Trail Blazers 96-76. Um wow. If that's what the Lakers will look like all season, I might have underestimated them. For years the words "Lakers" and "defense" couldn't be said in the same sentence without a snicker, but seeing the beat down they handed to Blazers just changed all of that. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 23......

Andre Ethier carrying the load in the Dodger's victory. AP Photo/Denis Poroy LA Dodgers defeat San Diego Padres 6-2. Andre Ethier keeps on feasting on those fastballs. In the eighth inning with the Dodgers down 2-1 and Russell Martin on second, Ethier drove a ball out to left field for a game-tying triple. Then with the bases loaded in the ninth inning and the Dodgers leading 3-2, he hit a bases-clearing double that was......

Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers getting ready for the season. AP Photo/Denis Poroy The NFL season is a grind. Despite playing on 16 games, the ferocity of the action forces teams to rely on a bit of luck in order to get through the post season. Look at the New York Giants last season. They looked awful and good as dead after the first five games of the season. But they clawed......

Joe Saunders left after only 1 1/3 innings. AP Photo/Gus Ruelas Oakland A's defeat LA Angels 6-5. Joe Saunders left the game in the second inning. Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar left the game with sore hammies. Outfielder Juan Rivera forced to come into the game at second base. It was one of those games for the Angels yet they managed to make it close. With Joe Saunders pitching with an ailing hand, he......

Rendering of Los Angeles Stadium. Courtesy LosAngelesFootballStadium.com LAist contributer and LA Times Bruins and Trojan blogger Adam Rose blogged about an encore presentation Majestic Realty Chairman Ed Roski gave to a group of local business leaders this past Wednesday on the plans for building the Los Angeles Stadium. The overall plan is to lure a team to Los Angeles within the next couple of years, 2009 being the optimal year. The team would play......

The Dan Patrick radio show recently debuted in Southern California (check 570 KLAC in the mornings), but this isn't what he meant by "En Fuego." While often immune to the real world, local sports have been impacted by the disaster in several ways. Of course, let's keep this all in perspective ... the real losses are to the families and the real heroes are the firefighters. - The San Diego Chargers are practicing in Arizona......

Hear that sucking sound? The media's commitment to learning from its many recent mistakes in reporting ethics and the semantics thereof is again being sucked out of the collective memory hole. Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina survivors were initially referred to by numerous media outlets as "refugees." While "refugee" can be inferred to be descriptive of one who "takes refuge," the fact is that -- at least since the 1951 approval of the UN Convention......

I’m a huge Chicago Bears fan, and my friends saw the terrible pain I was in watching the Superbowl this year. After that loss it pained to me to make the prediction that the Bears would be in a lot of trouble this season. The fact that it has come true makes me feel like I’m passing a kidney stone. Just like Grady Little was obstinate in keeping Nomar Garciaparra at first base this......

Even though Los Angeles doesn't have an NFL team, that doesn't mean this weekend's draft was irrelevant. Unless, of course, you're Mr. Irrelevant, but we'll get to that in a moment. Unlike most major cities in this country, LA is the only one that suffers a net loss of talent whenever the draft happens. The closest team is the San Diego Chargers, who didn't exactly have exciting picks. Choosing LSU wideout Craig Davis over USC's......

Pistons 92, Clippers 74 - The Clippers just want to go home. They wrapped a 7 game road trip with their fifth loss, this one at the hands of a rejuvinated Detroit squad. The Pistons are 11-2 since signing local college star Chris Webber, who had a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds in the game. Los Angeles shot just .324 from the field and was led by Cuttino Mobley with 17. The Clippers haven't......

The Dallas Cowboys aren't the only team training in Southern California this August. The San Diego Chargers are in their second season of training at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Unfortunately for Chargers fans in LA (and we know there are tons of you), TJ Simers reports that the Bolts are looking to exercise an escape clause and skip town for training camp next year. This move isn't the least-bit surprising of course.......

Those hoping to see Philip Rivers lead the Los Angeles Chargers to victory at the Coliseum, may never get to live that dream. The San Diego Chargers have reportedly reached an agreement with the city of San Diego and Qualcomm Stadium to keep the team there through at least 2008. The Chargers will pay less money in rent, but lose their precious ticket guarantee where the city of San Diego actually bought all unsold......