Tonight is the night that the post-season begins for the Los Angeles Lakers. They have the opportunity to place themselves right back in the top spot of the Western Conference with a victory over the Hornets (techincally they would still be 1/2 game back, but with 2 more games to go after that, the ball is definately in their court, no pun intended).

The problem is, the game is just as big for New Orleans, and they aren't going to just give the game away. Lets not forget what Chris Paul did to the Lakers the last time the Hornets were in town. He carved the Lakers up for 21 assists and made Peja Stojacovic look like Larry Bird (Peja dropped 36 points on 10 of 13 from deep).

The Lakers perimeter defense has been nothing short of below average over the last month of the season. They have been torched by the likes of Beno Udrih and Steve Blake in recent weeks. Now, here comes Kobe's direct competition for league MVP. How will the Lakers respond to that challenge tonight? We'll have to wait and see...

The Los Angeles Lakers started their 4 game east coast trip on a high note last night with a convincing victory over the Chicago Bulls. But while the Lakers are riding high, winning 8 of their last 11 games and boasting the NBA's 3rd best scoring offense, rumors abound about them possibly picking up Hall of Famer to be Jason Kidd.

I am never one to pass up an offer to improve my basketball team, especially if I can get someone who I feel is one of the best point guards to ever play the game. Of course the problem is (as it always is), who do you give up? I think its pretty clear that Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum are untouchable.

I'm sorry, but if I'm the Nets, the Lakers don't have anything else I would want. I would have no inhibitions about trading Lamar Odom. The problem is, why would New Jersey want him? I mean, you put him at the 4 to go along with Carter and Jefferson. Does that make the Nets any better? I mean you can count on Kidd to give you 15 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds a night. While Lamar will score 22 points, and grab 15 boards one night, and follow that up with 8 points and 4 boards the next. It's a complete one sided move, unless the Nets are looking to clear salary cap space after next season when Lamar's contract runs out. But even after Lamar's contract runs out, they will still be over the cap because of the extensions they have given to Jefferson and Carter over the last 2 off-seasons.

Another scenario would be to trade Kwame's contract along with the long contract of either Vlad Rad or Walton and a first round pick, and maybe Farmar. Once again, if you're the Nets, is that enough? I say no. You already have a young point guard for the future in Marcus Williams. You have Jefferson, Nachbar and Antoine Wright at the Small Forward position (which both Walton and Vlad play), and the Lakers 1st round pick would likely be in the bottom 3rd of the first round.

While all Laker fans daydream about Kidd leading the fastbreak with Kobe on one wing, Trevor Ariza on the other and Andrew Bynum trailing, the fact of the matter is that the Lakers simply don't have the guns necessary to bring Kidd to Los Angeles. The ONLY WAY that Kidd will be in a Laker uniform this season is if he demands Nets management to trade him there.

The USC Trojans football team put a hurtin' on the 6th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils last night, beating them by 20 points on their home field.

Now, what seemed to be a longshot a month ago, looks to be almost inevitable: The USC Trojans can make it to the Rose Bowl.

Remember after the home loss to Stanford? People were talking about how the dynasty was over, and USC was on their way to the Alamo Bowl, or the GMAC Bowl etc. Now the Trojans have placed themselves in a position where they need one more win and an Oregon loss, and they are right where they expect to be every season.

But next week is the true test. Its USC vs. UCLA. The Bruins knocked USC out of the National Championship game last season, and they will definately relish the opportunity to knock the Trojans out of the Rose Bowl this year. With the Rose Bowl on their minds and revenge in their hearts, USC will not only be looking to defeat the Bruins, but embarrass them.

The hype begins right after UCLA's victory over Oregon this Saturday afternoon. As soon as the clock hits zero and the victorious Bruins walk off of the field, having shattered the dreams of one Rose Bowl hopeful (Oregon), their quest will begin to crush the hopes of another (USC).