Wake-up call: Andrew Bynum, BCS, USC, Al Davis
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First things first: The Lakers beat the Clippers. Oh, wait, wasn’t that last week’s headline? At least I was surprised to pick up the game in the fourth quarter to hear that the Clippers were leading. But as with so many Clippers games of late, the fourth quarter to them apparently is a signal to stop playing. And Chris Kaman is totally dominated by the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum. Late in the game, Chris looked absolutely goofy in slo-mo when he came up with a loose ball, held the ball up looking to pass and was promptly stripped of the ball. But he didn’t look goofy two seasons ago. Where did that Chris go? As for the Lakers, how intense is ex-UCLA star Jordan Farmar (pictured here in perhaps the only time a Clipper got to him)? He had two crucial steals and finished with nine points.
Add NBA: Who is at the top of ESPN’s ‘NBA Rookie Watch’ this week? Rudy Fernandez of the Trail Blazers. Kevin Love is No. 6. O.J. Mayo is 10th.
From NBA to BCS: As the college football season gets closer to the end of the season, the subject of the BCS comes up a lot. Every year. How bad a system it is and asking whether a playoff system should be put in place to determine the national champion. Former NBA great Charles Barkley is always a great interview, and he was asked about the BCS on Dan Patrick’s radio show this morning. He said there are two reasons he hates the BCS: ‘Why should you have to go undefeated to win the national championship?’ Barkley asked. ‘Why is it USC’s fault the Pac-10 sucks?’
More BCS: Barkley also suggested (but his words were dripping in sarcasm) that USC’s Pete Carroll start recruiting for the other Pac-10 schools. He called the BCS ‘a flat-out joke’ and said ‘the college presidents are so corrupt, they don’t want to change the system.’ It’s also worth reading The Times’ Chris Dufresne this morning. He looks at the four plays that took the Trojans out of the national title picture.
From BCS to NFL: San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami also was on Patrick’s show and said the Oakland Raiders probably would pursue Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, who often talks with Raiders owner Al Davis. ‘Al likes young energy,’ said Kawakami, who then warned Harbaugh to flee if approached about the job.
-- Debbie Goffa