I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Congrats to the Lakers! [LA Times]

This is a pretty amazing photo. On top, you can see the town of Los Angeles in 1908; on bottom, you can see the megalopolis of Los Angeles in 2002. My, how far we've come. Luckily, this is a night shot, so it just looks impressive. If this were taken during the day, it would be a little depressing because the bottom picture would be covered in a brownish-gray haze that is LA's omnipresent smog layer.

Still, if you can look past that and you don't like public transpo, it's a hell of a city we've got here! Let's hope the Lakers can represent it well tonight! [Gizmodo]

Bonus Video:

I agree with everything this guy says in this video and probably a lot of the stuff that he doesn't say in this video. Being a fan isn't about cheering the loudest, it's about really--really--connecting with the athletes. Lakers vs. Thunder, Game 5 is tonight... let's go Lakers, for this guy and for all of us "this guys" out there. [Kevin & Bean]

Tonight, I'm on my way to my first Dodger game of the year. I could only be more excited if I weren't missing the first LA Kings playoff game since 2002. For all the success that the Lakers and, to a lesser extent, the Dodgers have had, the LA Kings have quietly been one of the least successful hockey franchises (you could argue, sports franchises) in history. The Kings were part of the NHL's first expansion in 1967. They have been to one Stanley Cup final and they lost. That's 42 years of disappointment. The Kings couldn't even get it done with the bar none greatest player in history, Wayne Gretzky. Needless to say, I've been waiting to see this game since college. I'll be taping the game and I hope that they don't announce the score at the Dodger game.

With that petty concern behind us, it's actually a great time to be an Angelino sports fan. The Lakers, fresh off their latest championship, are back in the #1 seed in the Western Conference in the NBA playoffs, the Dodgers, fresh off a second division title, seem to be working out some kinks but full of talent, and the Kings are finally seeing some payoff from their years of rebuilding. Good luck to Lakers and Kings in their playoff quests and let's go Dodgers tonight!

Nineteen hits weren't enough to win last night, so I'm hoping to see twenty-five tonight. Hopefully, the Matt "the Bison/the Rainman" Kemp, Russell "R-Mart" Martin and Andre "Dining with Dre" Ethier are up to the challenge.

Today was the first day in court for Frank and Jamie McCourt, the owners of my Los Angeles Dodgers. As the season approaches and fans try to reconcile the proposition that the historic franchise will soon be reduced to a shadow of its former self as a result of these divorce proceedings, the bickering continues between the former power couple. How bad is it? Well, let's put it this way, Jamie McCourt is insisting on alimony payments of $1 million/month. That's more than Andre Ethier is getting and he hit 31 home runs last year! Jamie, to the best of my knowledge, hit zero home runs and spent the majority of her time cheating on her husband with her limo driver. I'm not here to assign blame, I just have to question California's divorce laws which seem poised to ruin a team that means the world to so many Angelenos while, at the same time, reward a person who desecrated the sanctity of her marriage. Now, for all I know, Frank's a big cheat too, and deserves what's coming to him. No one can know for sure. It's all quite tawdry and I feel a bit scummy for even commenting on it. One thing's for certain, though: this won't go well for the Dodgers or their fans. [NPR]

Well, not really, but Charlotte actually does play LA really well, so it should be a great night.

My good buddy/intimidating boss is taking me to the Laker game tonight. True, this is awesome but it's extra awesome because we welcome home Kobe Bryant from his road trip wherein he surpassed Jerry West for most points in a Laker uniform. Just another day in the office for #24. Can't wait to see what he has for us tonight!

If you're like me, when you think of USC, you think of the University of Southern California, Trojans, football and good-looking ladies who aren't quite as hot as my girlfriend. In fact, if you're like me, you probably saw the picture above and thought, "Why does that shirt have a South Carolina license plate on it for a California school? Is USC boasting about the breadth of its popularity?" No, as it turns out, there is another USC: the University of South Carolina. Or, should I say, there was another USC.

Sorry South Carolinian fans of abbreviating but the University of Southern California won a lawsuit that solidified their exclusive use of the initials USC for merchandise. That means that there really is only one real USC now and that makes a liar out of that guy's shirt.

So, the next time you hear someone yell, "Go USC!" you won't have to do anything differently because nobody ever thought about the Univ. of So. Car. when people say, "USC" in the first place. By the way, "Univ. of So. Car." is probably what you'll start seeing on South Carolina merchandise that's too small for the whole name of the school. You know, wristbands, tchotchkes and such. That'll look nice. [BusterSports]

...because what SC needs is a guy who's already 0-2 against UCLA as a head coach.
...because what SC needs is a guy who jumped ship on the Volunteers after one season.
...because what SC needs is a guy that wasn’t good enough to coach the Oakland Raiders.

All kidding aside, the Trojans have made their move and anointed Lane Kiffin their new head coach. In many ways, Kiffin seems like a competent choice: he’s familiar, he knows the program, he ran the offense and he’s probably going to get a warmer reception in LA than he did in Tennessee, especially after a down year in Troy. However, after having watched USC under Pete Carroll have outstanding seasons with three different offensive coordinators (Kiffin, Sarkisian, Chow), I’m not convinced that any of them had a significant impact on the success of the program the way that Saint Peter of Carroll did. Still, it’s an interesting choice and one that is sure to piss off a lot of folks in Knoxville.

Best of luck, Coach Kiffin. As the boyfriend of an alumna of USC’s Graduate School of Social Work, I hope more than anyone that you don’t let the Trojans down. [ESPN]

Pete Carroll gives his parting remarks as he heads to Seattle. As the boyfriend of a girl who went to USC for grad school, this hurts me the most. Still, it’s not about losing Pete; it’s about remembering how great his tenure at USC was. I mean, this guy won two national titles! He was so good that he made winning the Pac 10 a potentially disappointing season if they didn’t go undefeated! This was after a 25-year national title drought. It’s amazing how quickly we came to take Pete for granted. Surely, Pete Carroll will be missed by Angelenos of all stripes, from the rich, established donors how lapped up the prestige he brought to the program to the children growing up in LA’s poorest neighborhoods that Pete affected both directly through his football recruiting and indirectly through his charity work. So, we say “so long” to Coach Carroll. I hope that Seattle comes to appreciate him as much as he deserves to be appreciated. Best of luck to you, Pete! [ESPN]