Lakers vs. Rockets Game 4: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
by Sideout11 on May 10, 2009 6:14 PM PDT
61 comments
I'm going to make this nice and easy. It was ugly. The offense, the rebounding, the defense standing and watching, all of it. There was no good and probably some bad, but in the end that doesn't matter. It was just ugly.
So instead of making an entire list of ugly, I'm going to do something that normally we reserve for the end of a series. I'm going to give all of the Lakers a grade, because even though this was a team loss, some of them played well and some did not, and I think looking at this will be much more illumminating.
Kobe Bryant, C- This was a game where the Lakers needed Kobe to carry them, and 15 points just doesn't cut it. You can argue that he should not have to win a game by himself with this much talent around him, but the facts are the facts. The Lakers are very inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs. There is only one player that does not get rattled in high-energy situations on the road, and that's Kobe. I doubt that he could have won the game by himself, but Michael would not have let his team get blown out. LeBron would not have let his team get blown out. Garnett would not have let his team get blown out. Kobe has let his team get blown out-twice.
Pau Gasol, B He didn't have a bad game, but he didn't have a good one either. Don't let the 30 points fool you, because 18 of those came in the fourth quarter. Obviously Pau's game is not a physical one, but there is no reason that he should be slowed by 6-6 Chuck Hayes. The height difference alone should allow Gasol to shoot right over him.
Trevor Ariza, B- Ariza had a very quiet game, but so did Artest so that means that he did his job. Of course some of that definitely had to do with the offensive explosion from Brooks and Battier, but Ariza definitely shadowed him well. A little more offense out of him would be nice, but again it is not something that we should count on.
Lamar Odom, C+ He didn't give us much offensively and missed a few defensive assignments, but he was active on the boards until he went out with back spasms in the third.
Derek Fisher, D- Fisher got burned time and time again by Brooks. He also failed to knock down his shots while contributing zero assists. Jackson needs to seriously consider drastically reducing his minutes, at least for this series, because he is hurting the Lakers more than helping them.
Jordan Farmar, B+ Jordan had yet another solid game, this time as the first guard off of the bench. He played better defense on Brooks than Fisher, and didn't have any turnovers. I would like to see him start for the rest of the series as a confidence boost and for defensive purposes, and then bring UPS off of the bench for more offense.
Shannon Brown, A- When our offense was absolutely stagnant, UPS once again came in and tried to save the day, knocking down jump shots and driving to the rim as opposed to standing around like everyone else. I do not understand why PJ does not play him more. He has done nothing but good, and it seems like every time he comes in and gets on a roll, he comes right back out again.
Sasha Vujacic, D Sasha really has one job, and that is to spread the floor and knock down threes. Unfortunately he is in a giant shooting slump, and doesn't really bring much else to the floor. I'm not sure what the solution is other than shooting better, because we need Vujacic out there to get Kobe some rest.
Luke Walton, D- Walton just continues to frustrate, yet Jackson continues to play him heavy minutes. According to the box score he had 4 turnovers, but it seemed like so much more. Unless he is out there with scorers our offense becomes horribly stagnant, and his defense is porous at best. I'm not so sure that Luke should be a major part of the rotation
Andrew Bynum, F This might have been his worst game yet since returning from injury. His stat sheet was full of a bunch of zeros sans his 3 fouls. Some people are calling for Mbenga to replace him, but I don't think that this is the solution. Andrew just needs to commit himself to the defensive end, as he does not look comfortable on the floor right now.
Josh Powell, C The only reason he was in there was in there was because of the play of Bynum and the injury to Odom, so I don't really have much to say about him.
Phil Jackson, F In case you couldn't tell from my comments above, I feel that PJ managed this game horribly and that the majority of the blame for this loss falls on him. For starters, it is his responsibility to make sure that the team does not come out flat. Second, if a rotation isn't working, it is up to him to find one that does and stick with it, which he did not. Look above. An 11-man rotation is wayyy to long. This needs to be trimmed to 8 or 9. Also, splitting the point guard time evenly between DF, JF, and UPS just does not work. No one can get in a rhythm with only 15-20 minutes a game. Improvement from this game starts with the coach.
This loss does not make me worried about whether the Lakers will win the series, because I still think that we will. What worries me however, is the lack of focus and passion, and the throwing in of the towel that was eerily similar to Boston Game 6. These were things that the Lakers were supposed to have put behind them, but clearly they have not.
Also, losing Yao has made this Rockets team extremely dangerous. As Battier said:
"These are free shots. If we throw them up and they don't go in and we lose, then so what."
Because the Rockets have nothing to lose, the Lakers will need to come out focused and absolutely on top of their game for the rest of the series. As far as the Rockets are concerned, the have already won by taking this game in dominating fashion when nobody thought that they would.
The Lakers did not lose the series today, but they certainly did not do themselves any favors by prolonging it and placing the Boston doubt in everyone's heads yet again. Look for a big Game 5 from Kobe. Battier certainly is.
Go Purple & Gold!
1 recs |
61 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
This is what I was afraid of when I heard Yao was out for good
The Lakers come out flat and get complacent several times and I was concerned about this when I heard Yao was done. This news should of have been a spark for them to come out and take this game. I still think they can win the series, however they really need to have that killer instinct.
GO BRONCOS IN 2009 AND BEYOND!!
Lakers and Rockets tied 2-2
They don't have the Killer Instinct..
Well, we're waiting....
Gasol grades higher than Kobe?
Because Kobe let his team get blown out? Can one man compensate for the rest of the team lacking effort, outside of garbage time?
Everyone just stands around and watches Kobe with the ball. They don’t move around to help create space, they don’t create a threat as scorers, and when it counts, the men who really disappear are the Big Men. You should grade these players for the 1st 3 quarters, and throw out the garbage time 4th. Heck, take Kobe out of this game, and then tell me how it would have worked out.
Kobe was the hardest working player out there. This team won’t win a thing without him, and they seem to expect him to bail their lard asses out. It’s too bad they didn’t have 5 Kobes on the floor.
Well, we're waiting....
No I don't agree, Kobe didn't let anything happen
If I am correct Kobe was the one who hit two jumpers that cut into the lead to 11, Lakers after that couldn’t get any closer, Kobe made the first shots of the game when Gasol was started shaky not handling Hayes, people Kobe can’t do it all, he needs his team to step up sometimes and Kobe’s scoring this game was not the issue as I have seen many games this season when Kobe scored less then 20 points and the Lakers won, they even have a great record when Kobe doesn’t dominate the ball. So don’t start blaming Kobe, the Lakers defense was just missing in action and Houstons Defense did its job of keeping the Lakers outside the paint, you have to just give Houston credit they showed up and the Lakers didn’t.
Excellent post
I agree with most of your analysis of the players. But frankly, I am too frustrated right now to try and understand why the letdown. I hope they get their acts together.
My grades because I sorta disagree with your grades
Gasol- C- because when we went to him early he turned the ball over and that was the moments when we really needed baskets only when it was too late did he decide Hayes can’t guard him.
Kobe- C+beacuse he could of done more this game but it got out of hand and he knew no Kobe heroics was gonna bring them back in this game so save it for game 5.
Fisher- FFF++- what can I say he did nothing in this game offensively and defensively.
Trevor- D- because early mistakes not enough defense and he wasn’t effective offensively either.
Lamer- F because really what did he do in this game had 2pts as much as Fisher both didn’t help things offensively and defensively.
Farmer- C He tried and had some good moments and some bad moments overall he did better then Fisher and thats what is more important.
Shannon- A+ He was the only Laker who I said came to play, made plays for himself, didn’t need Kobe and I was pleased with his effort today.
Luke- F Turned the ball over at critical moments didn’t do much to help the Lakers and every time he was on the floor I wanted him off the floor until he hit a 3pt shot and I was somewhat pleased with that.
Bynum- FFFFF He has dissappeared, right now he is just taking up minutes and space and he hasn’t done nothing with them, Bynum needs to stay on the bench.
Bynum- FFFFF He has dissappeared, right now he is just taking up minutes and space and he hasn’t done nothing with them, Bynum needs to stay on the bench.
Taking minutes and space from whom, though?
Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
any minutes he get right now he shouldn't have at all
so he should have no minutes they should give those minutes to Shannon and Farmer, forget Bynum.
I agree with Latin
Pau plays some of the heaviest minutes on the team and he needs a rest. Fisher, as much as I love him, is taking away from JF and UPS, not Bynum
Exactly. The Lakers going small against the Yao-less, Mutombo-less Rockets would be sheer idiocy, in my opinion.
Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Pau doesn't deserve a B
His stats weren’t bad, but most of that was during garbage time. 1st 3 quarters he was shutdown by a 6’6" Hayes. His rebounding and defense were also unimpressive . Pau needs to get more aggressive on defense, on the boards and in demanding the ball more.
Maybe a B for garbage time, but I give him a C- for the game and the series so far.
You're discrediting your post...
By every Pau softball response from you.
Nice work.
Well, we're waiting....
Nope
I think that out of everyone on the team, he played better than most. That does not mean that he played well by his usual standards, but none of the Lakers did except for Shannon Brown. If people here disagree with my view, that is fine. My word is not law, it’s opinion, and if I can be persuaded to change my view on one of my grades, that hardly discredits the post. It simply means that the discussion in this community is good discussion.
And btw, that is the purpose of any of these posts, to be a launching point for good, constructive discussion.
For what he is supposed to do..
He played about as bad as a player can get. I guess you didn’t see Mark Jackson’s video analysis during the game. He showed both Gasol and Odom just standing there in the paint let the outside shooters take shots at will, without at least trying to close in on them. They looked as lethargic as Radmanovic out there, and had the same amount of heart and intensity. I can live with a crappy Vujacic or Walton in spurts, knowing that they aren’t gonna have many minutes when it really counts, but I can’t have the 2 starting Big Men playing as bad as those bench guys. They’re supposed to be the teeth of the defense. Gasol was getting owned pure and simple, and it isn’t the first time he did. Counting in his minutes and stats he had in garbage time, to try and explain that he wasn’t that bad is burying your head in the sand. The smaller HOU lineup isn’t afraid of him at all. After this game, the Lakers might be the 4th best team in the playoffs, and that isn’t Bryant’s fault.
Well, we're waiting....
For the comments made about Kobe
“I doubt that he could have won the game by himself, but Michael would not have let his team get blown out. LeBron would not have let his team get blown out. Garnett would not have let his team get blown out. Kobe has let his team get blown out-twice.”
This is what I hate the comparision Lebron wouldn’t do this, Michael wouldn’t do this but people forget its more then just the man, its the team as well who wouldn’t get blown out, no matter what Kobe did today Lakers would of loss so would you rather have a on fire 30 plus Kobe play his heart out for nothing because they will only criticize him more and the media would say Kobe gets 30 but Lakers get blown out or a 15 point Kobe who mostly wanted to see his team respond and at times was on the bench, Kobe will be ready for game 5 but what about his teammates, I never question Kobe because he comes out to play every game but again he needs his teammates to come out to play every game. Its your teammates that help you not get blown out, today Kobe team didn’t and I don’t blame him for not shootting because this is one game, Lakers have three more games so you play for the next one where I guarantee Kobe will not let game 5 get out of hand.
Normally I hate the LeBron comparasions too
But the fact is that we have now seen Kobe pack it in a couple of times when the game got out of reach. I don’t know whether this is his way of teaching, but it certainly leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. LeBron has never done this. In fact in 2006, he scored something like 28 of his team’s final 30 points to single-handedly beat he Pistons. I don’t think that we would have won this game even if he had dropped 40, but we certainly would not have gotten blown out and I think that it would have sent more of a message to his teammates. And I don’t think that a single person would have criticized him for not passing the ball. It was clear after the first quarter that we were losing the game despite Kobe passing the ball.
Also if you don’t think that he will let Game 5 get out of hand, then why should he have let it happen to this one? A game is a game and everyone needs to play their hardest each and every time.
It takes five
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gils_Keloids on May 10, 2009 7:52 PM PDT up reply actions
But the team doesn't help Kobe...
When he has the ball in his hands. Bryant may would have scored just ten more points on twice as many shots, but the ones he would miss would get rebounded by HOU. That’s it. Every time Bryant gets the ball, there are 2-3 defenders on him. Kobe was making shots on Battier with not just a hand in his face, but he shot one on him with Battier’s hand on it. So either Kobe keeps trying to make shots, and then HOU scores off of the ones his misses, or, get this, the rest of the team helps create more ball movement by not standing around waiting for Bryant to make something happen, and defend like say, THE PAINT, so the little guards don’t score layups on them.
The Laker’s frontcourt is soft, the starting PG is old, and the bench isn’t as good as we think they are. If the rest of the team needs him to take over a game, then they should get off of their asses and help him do it.
Well, we're waiting....
re: The bench
I was one of those who used to think we had the best bench in the league. Now I wonder if it’s even in the top-10. Let alone championship caliber. Bynum isn’t ready to come back, Farmar/Walton/Sasha are inconsistent and often appear to be completely inept, Josh Powell is a non-factor and UPS is the sole bright spot. People talk endlessly about how “deep” this team is. Based on the past three months of play, I’m beginning to disagree.
My name isn't really Iggy.
Ok I can see your point but
thats how we see it Kobe doing what he has to do to get his team wins unfortunately media doesn’t see it that way, if he starts shooting all the time to them Kobe is being selfish Kobe again not invovling his teammates. This game got out of hand on defense, we can’t expect Kobe to make Gasol pound Hayes and put the ball in the hoop, Gasol has to do that his self. Game 5 Lakers will be at home more comfortable if you expect Battier to go off the same way he did today in Staples then you can see the game getting out of hand but Lakers at home with the crowd on their side, I don’t expect the game to get out of hand. I understand your point but I just don’t see it that way, I can say Kobe never will get sweep in the the playoffs Finals like Lebron but is that right and really what does that prove, each team takes on its on identity on offense and defense, each team is made differently to me it makes no sense bringing comparisions to things that are totally different. Kobe’s team needs to man up it can’t always be Kobe do this or Kobe does this, when is his team gonna do something???? Kobe ain’t gonna stop a game from getting blown out all by his lonesome.
It should be apparent to any objective observer
That a large portion of the team’s weaknesses are way beyond Kobe’s control.
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gils_Keloids on May 10, 2009 7:51 PM PDT up reply actions
DIsagree
As talented as they are, this team goes as Kobe goes. When others are doing the scoring, he is still highly involved, orchestrating the entire offense. When the team is slumping, he takes over and hits the big shot. Why do you think that the leads are always blown when the bench is in. Now there’s not much he can do on the defensive end to compensate for others, but if he is not involved in the game then we have no shot either way.
I'm saying that you can only do so much, the rest of the team has to do some of the work
I get so exasperated sometimes thinking “does Kobe have to do everything?”. Lighten his work load a little bit you know?
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gils_Keloids on May 10, 2009 8:25 PM PDT up reply actions
I hear ya
I just don’t like it when Kobe seems to say screw it. If he continued playing hard, then I wouldn’t even be talking about this and I could instead say “Look at how hard Kobe played. If only his teammates gave him a little help.” One issue at a time.
Not at all
That comment was a response to the idea that Bynum should sit in place of Farmar and Brown. It means that Pau cannot be the only center and play 45 or 48 minutes a game. Don’t put words in my mouth
I'm not trying to put words into your mouth..
I’m just pointing out your bias when it comes to Gasol. Of course he is gonna play heavy minutes. He is their best Big Man on the team, and supposedly the Lakers ’ second best player. The problem is, Gasol can’t handle both being a Big Man and having to play heavy minutes. It’s not his talent level that the problem. It’s his head.
Well, we're waiting....
From the other side
Im sort of surprised at the minutes Gasol has played. I really don’t know he was out in the 4th at all. He accumulated points easily after Hayes got his 4th foul, but the Rockets were killing the clock from about 7 minutes in the 4th onwards. Why was Gasol in there? Was there anything he could do to get a win at that point? And then Bryant went back in too, but didn’t shoot that I recall.
Can some Lakers fans help me figure this out? (Along with the fouling at the end, why? To practice it?)
Go to the light. Go to the light...
Who knows?
Maybe Jackson had him out there to prove a point. Jackson has “tweaked” Gasol about he being tougher. Or maybe there wasn’t anybody else worth a darn to replace him.
Well, we're waiting....
I guess Ill go with the tweaking
Mbenga could have soaked up those minutes with as much effect on the outcome at that point.
Go to the light. Go to the light...
At this point DJ should take Bynums minutes
Lakers need players on the floor who will do something and have an impact with Bynum now its like playing 5 on 4 when hes on the floor thats how bad his performance has been to me.
really disagree
The problem is that the Lakers rely on Kobe and in this series they can not because Houstons defense is geared towards stopping Kobe and his drives to the hole, if the Lakers stand around and wait for his action they may need to pack it up now and go home. Lakers can’t play like that, they have to score on there own and space the floor and take pressure off of Kobe. I have always argued Kobe should finish plays not create plays for himself and his team. When Kobe is in a slump the rest of the Lakers can’t just pack it up they have to play there game and they have to play ball. To me Lakers make things harder for themselves then it really is Houston gave it to them and everyone starts looking for Kobe to bail them out but this is a team sport and just like everyone else you need your teammates and right now what the Lakers are doing is just ridiculous with all the talent they have.
Bryant already makes this team...
Better than they really are. He keeps prodding them to play with intensity, but somehow, someway, they forget how to play solid basketball.
Well, we're waiting....
As an objetive observer
I think the lakers problem is kobe’s kiler instinct. The rockets leaders sans Yao are Battier and Artest, while they dont always have the best offensive games, they always give 100% on defense. Today kobe didnt give always 100% on defense, and thus the rest of the lakers didnt follow suit. Houston won today because they played team basketball and great defense. LA did not play great defense by any measure and were watching on offense. Kobe needs to lead more on defense to give his team more confidence overall. He was a 1st all defender this year, but still takes plays off. Artest and Battier, 2nd team defenders, dont take plays off and it rubs onto the rest of the Rockets.
Game 1 100-92 Rockets
Game 2 111-98 lakers
Game 3 108-94 lakers
Game 4 99-87 Rockets (kind of)
Series tied 2-2
by TexasHoosier on May 10, 2009 10:03 PM PDT up reply actions
If Bryant has to pick this team up to play defense...
Then they aren’t a good defensive team, period. Good defensive teams have that mindset built in.
Well, we're waiting....
Good point
As J.A Andande writes “Kobe doesn’t guard players he doesn’t respect” but I think today he was helping too much, rotations weren’t there, Kobe has always gave Battier room to shoot and tonight Battier made him pay. I too think Kobe has to be locked in defensively every night on every player he plays not just some of them.
Battier did his damage in the 1st quarter
Kobe not guarding Shane in the 1st set the defensive tone for the Lakers for the entire game. No closeouts at all, not great boxing out, and the lane was like a free toll booth all game long.
Game 1 100-92 Rockets
Game 2 111-98 lakers
Game 3 108-94 lakers
Game 4 99-87 Rockets (kind of)
Series tied 2-2
by TexasHoosier on May 11, 2009 5:43 PM PDT up reply actions
1st quarters
They’ve averaged 31 1st quarter points in their playoff victories and 17 in their losses. Be interesting to see how they come out on Tuesday.
Perfect end to a perfect day
ugh
My name isn't really Iggy.
I know right...
Sometimes its just not your day
yeah
it was sweet.
my dad slapped me in the back of the head for clapping.
haha
by Three2ThreeLakerFan on May 10, 2009 7:59 PM PDT reply actions
It's the playoffs, baby!
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gils_Keloids on May 10, 2009 8:01 PM PDT up reply actions
so what went wrong?
We counted them out. We gave them no chance to win. (and neither did anyone else.) We showed up at gametime completely out of rhythm, throwing shots up, expecting to win the game just because Yao wasn’t playing.
NEVER LOOK PAST A GAME. How many times can the Lakers hear those words and ignore them? Yeesh. It’s like they don’t want to have fans
My name isn't really Iggy.
I'd dock Pau one full grade for crappy defense and another partial grade for bricking FTs...
C-minus, at best.
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
I'm with Fisher here
He said he has his championships rings, and he knows there’s nothing written on them that says how many games they lost, how many points were scored, or what someone’s shooting percentage was.
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
This series now has some odd mismatches.
In some ways Houston gets harder to guard without Yao.
I don’t think any LA PG can stay with Brooks. Farmar has the best chance, but whomever here said it is right, he gets picked off way to easily. In fact no LA PG can cover Lowry either, so they’re leaving Gaso and often Odom underneath to control the drive, which means Scola is open, or they’re vulnerable to the stop and pop.
On the other hand, Gasol simply has to dominate his matchup, if he doesn’t, well I think Houston can live with 30ish from Kobe (40 is another story) as long as no one else does much.
And here’s another matchup question. Battier may be a pest on D, but he’s often fairly relaxing to cover. He rebounds tenaciously, but generally doesnt try to score. If he is a scoring option, does that mean Kobe Ds him much tighter? If so that means he’ll have to drift out to the 3pt line, where his generally great help D (especially steals, blocks, boards) will be largely neutralized.
It’s actually getting very interesting.
Go to the light. Go to the light...
Well, I'm hoping that HOU doesn't shoot as well..
As they did this last game, but PG has become a serious issue with the Lakers. Fisher is getting killed out there, Farmar is, well, Farmar. My guess is, predicated on Odom’s status, Jackson will start the same lineup at home, and hope they jump on HOU early. Try to slow them down a bit.
After this game, I really don’t have much of a clue what the Lakers will do.
Well, we're waiting....
Lamar's tweet
"Landed in LA. Thanks for all the well wishes. Back is still sore. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow."
Typical Laker performance
It seems to me that this Laker team puts a true effort only when their backs are against the wall. We have all seen how good they are but they must of felt that with Yao out that it was going to be that much easier.
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on May 10, 2009 9:58 PM PDT reply actions
I don't think they are good enough...
To have the “back against the wall” mentality. Good championship teams go out and force their will on a team. The 2 best team in the playoffs are going for sweeps. They aren’t playing down to the lesser team. LOL, the Lakers – first seed underdogs? Unbelievable.
Well, we're waiting....
From a Houston Fan's perspective
It seemed like only in the 4th quarter did the Lakers start to come alive..it was almost as though they just didn’t give a crap. I mean I give massive props to my Rockets but L.A. should not have lost by that much. One play in particular was shown again and again by ABC where Gasol just stood there while one of the Rockets (can’t remember who, maybe Scola?) made a WIIIIIIDE open, and completely uncontested jumper. I fully expect the Lakers to bust ass in game 5. They’re hardcore and it’s almost like everybody except them understands that sometimes
2-2 is better than 2-4
The 1st quarter summed up the entire game, in fact, the first possession did, when Ariza stumbled out of bounds all by himself and dished the perfect assist to Ron Artest for an uncontested layup. Today was bad defense, bad offense, but a happy Mother’s Day… until my mom called to complain about the Lakers.
Everyone take a deep breath…
I expected this exact type of game as soon as I heard the Yao was out. The Lakers have been game planning and preparing for a team that likes to run a patient half court offense through the low post. Now, suddenly, with Yao out, the Rockets have become a full court team that likes to push the ball on offense. They’ve suddenly become the Jazz (although better at defense).
I expect Phil to make some serious adjustments for game 5. I suspect he’ll look to create more favorable matchups at both ends of the floor. The surprise element is gone for the Rockets and the Lakers will take this team VERY seriously the rest of the way. I suspect this thing will still be over in 6 and I expect the Lakers to play two of the better games of season in these next two contests.
Let’s not forget how the Celtics started last year’s playoff run. Both of their first two series went 7 and even though the Celts started out 8-0 at home they were also 0-6 on the road. They finally turned the corner in the conference finals and stared playing like champions on a consistent basis.
This year’s Lakers remind me a lot of the 2000 Laker team. Great regular season followed by a sloppy inconsistent post-season. That team eventually won a championship that year. This year, well…
0 = The number of Super Bowls the Eagles have won.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
