Beautiful and Talented: Los Angeles Laker Girls

We checked out the game between the visiting Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. Probably not what the soothsayer had in mind regarding the ides of March, but the Mavs could have used the help as they are fighting for 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Assuming things stay as they are, these two teams would face each other in the first round of the playoffs, and chances are likely the series would end similarly to this game – with a Lakers win.

The Lakers gave my main man Trevor Ariza the start today, which lead to a career high with 26 points. But Ariza was not the only starting Laker with a solid game – aside from Derek Fisher, the other four starters all ended with double figures in points – which they desperately needed since they got no help from their bench. Lakers started accounted for 95 of their 107 points, en route to a 107 – 100 victory over the Mav’s. Pau Gasol started off smoking hot with 16 points in the first quarter, while Kobe Bryant had no points until the second. For some strange reason, the Lakers went away from Gasol, who finished with only 25 points. The whole way the game was the Lakers to win or lose, as they let big leads slip away, and went into the fourth only up seven.

Jason Kidd Sizing up Jordan Farmar

As customary, Lakers coach Phil Jackson gave his starters plenty of rest in the second half, which let the Mav’s slowly creep back in during the fourth quarter. Dirk Nowitzki did not have a good game, even though he finished with 20 points, he only made 6 of 20 from the field, and none of them were when it mattered. At the end of the third, and going into the fourth, it was the Jason Terry show – Terry was making it rain three pointers. Terry finished with a game high 29 points, and an incredible 7 three pointers! I’ve been a huge fan of Jason Kidd since his college days, but he definitely has lost a step or two. Kidd needs to work on his jump shot, and try to mold his game around what Steve Nash has done with the Phoenix Suns.

Kobe Bryant Draining a Huge Three in the Fourth Quarter

Luckily for the Lakers, they have the best basketball player in the universe wearing their purple and gold. Even though Bryant was relatively quiet, he came through when it counts – as he always does. Kobe drained two huge threes down-the-stretch, sealing the game for the Lakers and further flexing their muscle against a solid Western conference team.

And what would a review of a Laker’s game be without some dancing from the Laker girls? Exactly my point. Here are the beautiful Laker girls dancing to the Beastie Boys (You gotta) fight for your right (to party):

Last year’s Stanley Cup champions, Detroit Red Wings, enter this game at Staples Center against the home, Los Angeles Kings, leading the NHL in scoring, and having the best power play percentage. The Wings have been alternating their netminders this season, between Chris Osgood and Ty Conklin; both have 15 wins this season, and Conklin gets the start against the Kings. On the other end, Kings recently got rid of Jason LaBarbera to make way for Jon Quick, who comes into the game 4-4-0 on the season. Wings have had a killer season at 30-7-6, and there is little doubt that they will make their 18th consecutive playoff appearance – a record that will likely never be beaten by any other professional team.

Rare Shot of the Kings on Offense

Even though the Kings have only won 4 of their last 13, at 17-19-6, there is still a sellout crowd at Staples Center, with an overwhelming majority of Detroit fans. Early in the game, and throughout the entire way, the few Kings fans in attendance try to fight off the regular “Go Wings go” chants from the Detroit fans. Not much for the Kings fans to cheer about, aside from several close scoring chances all coming up short. Wings Kirk Maltby scores first at 12:20 into the game, and it is all downhill for the Kings from there. Henrik Zetterberg dishes a brilliant one-timer through the legs of Kings’ defensemen Sean O’Donnell to find a wide open Johan Franzen for an easy goal right in front of Quick. Not sure if the pass would be considered luck or skill, but when you play such an offensive-minded game like the Wings, good things are bound to come your way.

Conklin Getting up after a Glove Save

The Wings win the game 4-0, with another two goals in the second period almost replicating what was seen in the first. For their third goal, Jiri Hudler fakes the shot from the center of the left face-off circle, and hits Mikael Samuelsson for the easy finish. A few minutes later, Tomas Kopecky finds a diving Kris Draper from behind the net. If Quick stopped any of the four goals, it would have been seriously impressive, but I can’t say any were his fault. The Kings just did not put any pressure on the Wings when they were behind their own net, or when they were in and around Quick’s crease. Where the Kings lack in skill, they normally make up for in intensity and physicality, but that was not the case this game.

Wings Help Defense Behind their Net

The Wings were winning the loose-puck battles, and even though the Kings were slightly more physical, it was sloppy – they’d lunge to pick up the hit, which typically would mean they were out-of-position. It seemed like aside from a couple scoring chances from Patrick O’Sullivan and Dustin Brown, they Kings could not get anything going on offense. Derek Armstrong and Matt Greene were leading the way in physical play for the Kings. In general, it is pretty amazing watching Detroit play, with the mind-blowing skill from the stick of Pavel Datsyuk, and watching future Hall of Fame’r Chris Chelios playing in his 25th season (he’s turning 44 this year). One thing that stood out to me was a cheap shot from Kopecky in the third; during the most major scuffle of the game, Kopecky took a cheap shot at Armstrong with a punch to the face with his glove on. Punching someone with your glove on is some pretty pussy shit, especially when he’s not expecting it. Here is the last half of said scuffle:

Even though the talk of this season has been the play from the San Jose Sharks, the Red Wings are only one game behind them, and are looking as good as ever; it’s still early, but putting your money on the Wings repeating would be a pretty sound wager.

This will be the first of two games between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, for a repeat of their showdown in last seasons finals, where the Celtics mopped the floor the with the Lakers. Celtics are on an absolute tear this season, with the best start in NBA history at 27-2, and this game will really be a test of how each team stacks up this season. Celtics are looking for their 20th win in a row against an offensively-charged Lakers team, that is 23-5 overall, and 14-1 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

To start the game, Paul Pierce, of the Celtics, and Kobe Bryant, of the Lakers, are doing whatever they want offensively. Rajon Rondo, of the Celts, picks up two quick fouls within the first three minutes of the game, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers elects to keep him in the game. Neither team is doing anything on the offensive glass to start the game, nor are they containing dribble penetration. First quarter is pretty even, with the Celtics up 24 – 23. Bryant finished the first with 10 points, even though Ray Allen played him extremely well on defense. Neither big man – Kevin Garnett, of the Celtics, or Pau Gasol, of the Lakers – had much of a first quarter. Celtics only starter on the floor to start the second quarter is Pierce, while the Lakers have starters Bryant and Andrew Bynum. The Lakers also have Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom on the floor who are both easily starters if they played on any other team in the NBA.

Doc Rivers Yelling at Celtcis (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)

What I love about Ariza, besides his athleticism and court awareness is his hustle. After a huge hustle play, from Ariza, the Staples Center crowd went absolutely nuts. Bryant and Allen are shooting lights out to start the second quarter. Two beautiful alley-oop play from Rondo to Garnett quiet the crowd momemtarily. Near the end of the half the Lakers finally start getting some offensive rebounds, and start playing a more physical brand of basketball. Very clear that when the starters for both teams are on the floor, the Celtics have the edge, but when the benches are out there, the Lakers were outplaying them. Strange that the Celtics first trip to the follow line was with 13.5 seconds left in the first half while they average 29.6 per game. The Lakers clearly out-hustled and played better defense than the Celtics. Bryant finishes the first half with 16 points, and Garnett has 12 points. Going into half-time, the Lakers up 51 – 46.

To start the third, Luke Walton dishes a pretty bounce pass to a back-door cutting Bryant who slams the ball home, energizing the crowd. Pierce starts extremely hot on the offensive side and playing inspired, while the Lakers are getting a nice lift from Bynum’s physical play. As the third quarter reaches the half-way point, the Celtics are playing a bit sloppy on both ends of the floor, with missed assignments on defense, and terrible passing on offense. What is impressing me the most about the Lakers is their beautiful ball movement, and their ability to play good defense without fouling. After the Celtics show some signs of unraveling, Doc Rivers takes a well-placed time out, to get his team back on track. This leads to a 15-5 run from the Celtics, where Pierce and Allen start really taking over on offense, and the Lakers are not getting any second chances on their trips down on offense. To close the third, Odom hits two three pointers back-to-back, which is pretty unusual for the 6′ 10″ forward. Lakers reclaim their lead, with a 9-3 run, with Bryant on the bench to end the third. Going into the fourth quarter, Lakers are up 71 – 67. Now Phil Jackson, Lakers head coach, is only 12 minutes away from his 1,000th career victory.

Andrew Bynum Contesting Paul Pierce's Layup Attempt (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)

Celtics intelligently start the fourth by running their offense through Allen, to bring it within two points three minutes into the fourth, and a few minutes later it is as though they forgot about Allen. Neither team is really in sync offensively half-way through the fourth; they are playing with lots of emotion, but the skill level has gone down drastically. With under five minutes left in the game, Ariza charges up the crowd with yet another huge hustle play, diving out-of-bounds and saving the ball. Garnett is having a big fourth quarter on both end of the floor, while Kobe Bryant is relatively quiet. Under three minutes to go, and the game is dead even, meaning that every trip down the floor is that much more critical. Ray Allen has lost his range in the fourth quarter, throwing up more three point bricks. Gasol turning the heat up to bring the Lakers up by four with two minutes left in the game; Lakers on a 6-0 run. The big men for both teams are taking over, with Gasol and Garnett trading off brilliant plays. Gasol scores the Lakers last 7 points, with all three of his baskets coming off of assists from Bryant, putting the Lakers up 5 with 1:38 to go. Gasol comes up big again with a huge block on a Ray Allen three point attempt, which essentially caps the game. Lakers finish the game on a 13 – 2 run, and get the win 92 – 83.

Celtics winning streak ends at 19, and Jackson gets to his 1,000th career victory the fastest in NBA history. It was incredible hearing how loud the crowd was getting in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. Lakers win this game on the shoulders of Gasol’s big plays and Bryant’s excellent ability to spread the offense. This wasn’t a playoff game, but it definitely felt like it, and it came down to the defense and hustle play from the Lakers to pull off this huge victory. Garnett played extremely well for the Celtics for the entire game, but Pierce and Allen definitely tapered off in the fourth quarter, when it really mattered. Nonetheless, if both teams keep up this type of intensity for the rest of the season, there’s no doubt that they will have a re-match in the finals.

36-Hour Sale: All Los Angeles Kings Home Game Tickets for January Only $11.50!

The Los Angeles Kings, in conjunction with Sports Chalet and KTLK AM 1150 present a pretty sweet-ass ticket sale. Tickets for all Kings home games, at Staples Center, in January will be $11.50 a pop – that is absolutely dirt cheap! They state that lower-level seating is also including with the $11.50 ticket pricing. On top of it all, you can feel good about your purchase as $1 from each ticket sold will benefit the Children’s Hospital. Seems like a fucking no-brainer if you ask me. Pricing is available for only 36 hours, starting tomorrow, Friday December 26th at 11:50 a.m., and going through Saturday December 27th at 11:59 p.m. Get on this deal early, to beat out all those piece of shit ticket scalpers.

The games in January are against several top caliber teams, so even if you are not a huge Kings fan, you can at least see some quality hockey all around. Each game starts at 7:30 p.m. PST, and here are the dates and teams the Kings will face:

• Saturday, 01/03/09 versus Philadelphia Flyers
• Thursday, 01/08/090 versus Anaheim Ducks
• Saturday, 01/10/09 versus New Jersey Devils
• Monday, 01/12/09 versus Tampa Bay Lightning
• Thursday, 01/15/09 verus Detroit Red Wings
• Thursday, 01/29/09 versus Chicago Blackhawks

When you hit the TicketMaster purchase page, remember to key in the password: JINGLE. For ticket purchasing information, go to LAKings.com. Hope to see some decent turnout from anyone in L.A. that calls themselves a Kings fan!

If you’re gonna lose, I guess it’s better to look good while doing it; the new jerseys for the Los Angeles Kings are very slick. With the Toronto Maple Leafs vising the Kings, it meant just about everyone in Los Angeles that transplanted from Toronto was in attendance. At this point, the Kings “home” games have pretty much turned into road games, since they have no real fans and their crowds almost always are predominantly cheering for their opponents. In any case, this game was a pretty entertaining evening with two struggling franchises squaring off. The Leafs entered the game at 8-9-6, while the Kings came in at 10-9-3.

Opening Face Off: Toronto Maple Leafs at Los Angeles Kings

The Kings came out of the gate hungry, with Alexander Frolov scoring an early goal in the first minute of play, and they kept the pressure on for a majority of the first period. Leafs started to show some signs of life near the end of the first period, but the momentum was heavily in the Kings favor throughout the period. It was kind of funny that throughout the game, the Leafs-majority crowd at the sparsely-populated Staples Center would cheer “go Leafs go” much louder than the “go Kings go” cheers. Other than the early goal, Leafs netminder Vesa Toskala was a fucking brick wall. Kings goalie Jason LaBarbera was not tested early, but stopped all 10 shots he faces in the first period.

Both teams played pretty conservatively through the second, and while the Kings had more shots on goal in the period, the Leafs had the better scoring opportunities. The teams started upping the physical play, with lots of small scuffles after the whistle blew. After a leveling, HUGE hit from Leafs big defenseman Jeff Finger on Kings forward Oscar Moller, Kings center Derek Armstrong came to the rescue. Watch the mediocre fight that ensues between Armstrong and Finger:

The goalies continued to play strong through the third period. Toskala had big saves in the second and the third, with some awesome glove hand saves, while LaBarbara had to deal with several break-aways in the third off of Kings careless defensive mistakes. Here is Toskala flashing some leather in the second period:

12 seconds into the third, the Kings Sean O’Donnell gets called for tripping, which seemed harmless enough at the time. With that penalty coming to a close, the Leafs enter the Kings zone offsides, which was not called, but the tripping penalty seconds later against the Kings Dustin Brown was called. No big deal though since this would mean the Leafs were 5 on 3 for only a mere 13 seconds, right? Sure enough, Leafs Matt Stajan knots the game at 1-1 before the first tripping penalty expired. Here is how that goal unraveled, and I will add LaBarbara had no chance with how crowded the crease was:

Now the Leafs are 5 on 4, with the momentum heavily on their side, and the Staples Center still loud from their fans. Leafs score again on the second power play, off a nice one-timer. It was a textbook pass off the stick of John Mitchell from behind the net, for an easy wrister from Mikhail Grabovski who was on the doorstep of the Kings goal. Once again, little LaBarbara could do, and while I have been pretty critical of him in the past, he played an all but flawless game against the Leafs. Toskala was really put to the test after those two early goals from his team. Kings overall intensity level went through the roof, and they kept on pressuring Toskala to come up with big save after big save. When the Kings defense would occasionally pinch the blue line to add to the attack, it led to Leafs uneven attacks if the puck got loose in the neutral zone, which LaBarbara handled with ease. Strangely enough, the only part of the third that the Kings were not dominating the attack (after those first 2 goals by the Leafs, of course) was when they went on the power play with about 8 minutes left in the game. Kings had tons of opportunities to tie this game up, but just could not get the job done against the quick Toskala. Last ditch effort for the Kings was to pull LaBarbara, but it didn’t amount to any real scoring chances as the Leafs defense gave them a tough time dumping the puck in.

For more than half the third period – pretty much after their second goal – the Leafs were just playing not to lose. It worked out for them off the brilliant play of Toskala who ended up stopping 32 out of 33 shots on goal. They Leafs put up a third goal on the empty net, icing the game 3-1. Neither team played a great game, and it would have probably been a lot more interesting for the Leafs fans if their team did not shut down offensively after their early third period goals. But as they say – a win is a win is a win – so if you play ugly and win, you still get the two points.

Your Los Angeles Kings unveiled their new alternate jersey this past Saturday, November 22 during a shootout loss to Colorado in front of a sold out crowd at the Staples Center. For those of you that haven’t seen the Kings new alternate jersey, here it is:

The L.A. Kings New Alternate Jersey

This jersey clearly recalls the Kings heyday of the late 80′s to mid 90′s, otherwise known as the Gretzky era, with it’s black and silver color scheme. It was around this time, when I was about 10 or 11 that I started watching and generally becoming interested in hockey, and being that I was an L.A. resident, the Kings were, and still are my team. It would be about another 5 or so years until I would start playing.

So with that little bit of exposition out of the way, I am torn on this new jersey. I have truly mixed feelings…

Okay, so the crest, I’m pretty sure I’m liking the crest. It’s bold without looking like the Chevy emblem. But it’s lacking a horizontal stripe at the bottom. To me the horizontal stripe at the waist makes a jersey look more like a jersey and less like a sweater which is what was worn by the Original Six. My biggest problem with the jersey is the very thing that the Kings purposely instituted into it’s design, and that is the color scheme.

Look, I can’t stress enough how much better these colors look without a Chevy logo adorning them, but if you remember back about ten years, one of the chief reasons the Kings moved away from the silver and black was due to the strong gang affiliation these particular colors held. It’s the same reason why there are still so many Raiders fans out here. It’s less about the team and more about the menacing implications of the colors. Silver and Black = Mean and Scary.

Out here in Los Angeles back when the Kings were wearing these colors during the Gretzky era, you had gangbangers who couldn’t tell a hockey puck from a doorknob, walking around rocking a Kings Jersey. And if it would have meant more fans for my team then that would have been great. More people in the stands cheering them on, fucken awesome! I’m all for that. But that just wasn’t the case.

The proof is in the pudding (whatever the fuck that actually means), but you just don’t see these same folks, from the casual to the non fan, walking around in one of the Kings current purple jersey’s

“Hey, I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.”

I’m not looking to hold onto a homogenized and gentrified fanbase, as is so stereotypically associated with ice hockey. Ice hockey is second maybe only to soccer by way of diversity, but the sport I love has a bad enough reputation as it is, however unjustified it may be. Even though hockey players are some of the absolute warmest and most approachable guys around. And I’m not narrowing the field to only include professional athletes.

Sure, sometimes some dirty shit goes down on the ice. But you know what, that’s where it stays – on the ice. And that’s why I’m so afraid of people misrepresenting my sport by wearing this new alternate jersey simply for the colors, or the big fat “L.A.” sewn into the crest, and not because they actually like the team, my team, the Los Angeles Kings.

That being said, I’ll probably be sporting one of these bad boys before the year is up.

- Lenny

As with any sport, hockey is filled with it’s fair share of rivalries, with some dating back several decades, and others that have sprung up somewhat recently. When the Anaheim Ducks come to town, or the Los Angeles Kings visit them, the result is usually a pretty entertaining battle. One thing has led to another, over the years, and a rivalry was spawned. This should help explain why there was a fight within the first two minutes of the game, with this being just the third game of the season for both teams. And then another fight less than nine minutes after that. All of that I will get into in a bit, but for now I leave you with the beauty of the Staples Center (click any thumbnail to enlarge):

R.I.P. Chick

Staples Center

Outside LCD

Arch of Fame

The Great One

We get inside, and are a little early, which means we get to watch some of the pre-game shoot around. I took some pictures of both the Ducks and the Kings warming up against their goaltenders – Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Jason LaBarbera, respectively. Both netminders being Canadian, if you could not tell from those delicious last names.

After the pre-game shoot around, the teams go back to their respective locker rooms, so that the Zamboni can come through and shave the ice. For awhile, it seemed like it was going to be a small crowd, but I guess even to a hockey game, people in Los Angeles need to come “fashionably late.”

They make all the player introductions, and then sing the national anthem. I took a couple shots of both team’s starting five, and then we dive right into the opening face-off. It is hockey time, boys!

Ducks Starting Five

Kings Starting Five

Opening Face-Off

Get it On!

Less than two minutes into the game, the Ducks score their first goal. To be honest, having been to many Kings‘ games that have ended poorly, I thought it was already over. I guess Raitis Ivanans had the same feeling, so two seconds after the proceeding face-off, he decided to kick George Parros‘ ass. If you are unfamiliar with Parros, let’s just say he is primarily on the ice to fuck people up, so it is always nice to see him get his ass handed to him.

This was a pretty high-paced game by both sides; each time came out playing really hungry, because they were both searching for their first win of the season. As with their home opener, the Ducks starting playing flat after their second goal in the first period. Their scoring opportunities were seldom, and their intensity level really started to plummet as the game went on.

The Kings really took over with their place in the second period. They played a much more physical game than the Ducks, which is surprising to me, considering the brand of hockey the Ducks play. It seemed like big hit after big hit was coming from a Kings‘ player; in some cases simply leveling a Duck. The nail in the Ducks‘ coffin was a 5-on-3 goal the Kings‘ scored in the final minute of the second period. It felt like if they would go into the locker room at a tie score of 2-2, the game would have been much more even in the third period.

On top of being out-hit, the Ducks‘ simply gave up too many penalties. They really did not put themselves in a position to win, going on a 3-on-5 disadvantage two separate times in the game. Getzlaf, Pronger, and Selanne had pretty quiet games, other than Selanne giving the Ducks their third goal of the game. There was absolutely zero poise on the side of the Ducks, and Giguere was not sharp. From my perspective, there were at least three goals Giguere should have stopped; he definitely did not bring his A game. LaBarbera, of the Kings, did not have a great game himself, but he played well enough to keep the Kings in it. The first two goals LaBarbera could have been stopped, but the third was a clean one-on-one break-away against Selanne, which you cannot fault him for.

Enough with the legit hockey talk, where are the whores? Ask, my friends, and you shall receive. In my professional opinion, the Kings‘ whores are much hotter than the Ducks‘ whores. Maybe that was what gave them the confidence to take the Ducks‘, 6-3.

If pictures of these hot Kings‘ girls was not enough, I am also providing you with delicious video. Maybe this will inspire some more fans to come out to Staples Center and watch the Kings play. Not likely, but here are the goods anyhow:

I would also like to say that it is so exciting watching the Kings actually win a game. It does not happen too often nowadays, post Gretzky era, so each win feels like a breath of fresh air. All-in-all, this game was a physical, high-scoring, high-intensity contest. If the Ducks were at their regular form, it probably would have been a land-slide, but that was not the case. The next game I will be covering will be when the Detroit Red Wings come to town on Monday, October 27th. I whole-heartedly expect the Kings to get massacred.

A couple additional videos:

• Awesome Light Show Prior to Face-Off
• Second Fight: Matt Greene vs. Brad May