Back on the bandwagon!

No McGrady? No Yao? No problem!

I'm not quite sure how the Rockets blew out L.A. in Game 4. I'm sure there was some emotional letdown for the Lakers after taking back homecourt advantage in Game 3 and finding out that Yao was out for the rest of the series. But geez, I sure didn't see that total beatdown coming. This Rockets team just continues to give you reasons to love and respect them. Makes me kinda wish I was really emotionally invested in these playoffs.

Game 5 should be interesting. You'd think the Lakers would have the clear, clear advantage. But if that game is close in the 4th quarter, the pressure is ALL on Phil's boys. There's just no way the Lakers lose to the pesky Houston Rockets without their two all-stars. Right?

Saturday Night is for the Ladies

Not like that...as this is an all ages blog (for now), but activities Saturday night did defer to Mrs. Matt (who has decided her cool blog name will be Laker Girl). The requested fare was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a rambling romance dressed up in medical mystery that basically was about Brad Pitt and the women who love him. It pretty much sums up the high points of the movie when Cate Blanchett (who is no slouch in the looks department) wakes up in a hospital bed and looks at Pitt -- much younger since the last time she glimpsed him -- and says: "You're perfect," followed by me glancing at Laker Girl who nods, yes, he is. Ho hum.

All in all, cool artistry in the movie, and they did a great job recreating the years in which Pitt's through-the-looking-glass journey takes place, but there was something lacking. Not sure...maybe...oh yeah, a frickin' story! Even a scintila of conflict would have helped. But no, we are just left to stare longingly at Mr. Pitt, something that is not considered a pasttime here at SLAE.

Amazingly Zach Greinke v. Joe Saunders (1-0 Halos) was actually shorter than the movie! Greinke was not as sharp as he has been but not everyone can be Pitt-perfect. The Royals lineup is truly mediocre, and it speaks volumes about my fantasy team that I nonetheless picked up Billy Butler in a lame attempt at filling the hole left by Manny's (sniffle) departure.

World Back on its Axis ... Sort of

Its not been the best week to be an L.A. sports fan ... especially not one living in Houston, Texas. Going from an easy playoff series win against the Jazz for the Lakers and the best record in baseball for the Boys in Blue, to a Game One loss at the hands of the Rockets and the Fall of Manny was, well, not good.

At least now, the ships are starting to right:

And the catalysts are, of course, Kobe Bryant and...Eric Freaking Stults?

2 down, 48 to go

Well, the Manny suspension is 4% complete and the Dodgers have started out 0-2. And that's 0-2 with a bullet, considering the two losses have come at home to the Nationals and Giants. Yuck.

What's the prediction for the Dodgers' record during the 50 games without Manny? Put me down for 27-23.