Downtown dogs

Last night I witnessed Kobe Bryant drop 52 points on the conference-leading Utah Jazz. Following a couple off-nights, Number 24 was due for a scoring outburst. The bulk of his buckets came in the third quarter, when he shot a flawless 9 for 9 (including a few treys). When Jerry Sloan's team started fouling his every shot, and the guard went 10 for 10 at the charity stripe. Third quarter totals: Jazz 32, Kobe 30. Sick. Lakers won by 30.


At first I was hoping that the scoring would spread out a bit, but Kobe was hot and the ball could not be denied. Still, Lamar nearly got a triple-double, Evans got his season-best 17, and a couple other players dipped into double digits as well.


Perhaps the unsung hero was Turiaf, whose scrappy play inspired the Lakers and elicited cheers when the score was close in the second period. Farmar was a fan favorite, too. Ex-Laker Derek Fisher took the rookie point guard to school a few times but didn't ruin his 20th birthday. Farmar is a Bruin who doesn't have to worry about USC alumni hassling him this week, since Trojan ballers are scarce in the Association.


Next to the Yankees, there's probably no professional sports team as polarizing as the Lakers. People hate the Purple and Gold, and the "Beat L.A." chant has spread from Boston to Portland, Sacto, and just about everywhere. But even Jazz fans were happy when they exited the arena and got a whiff of Staples' version of the Dodger Dog: street vendors selling sausages wrapped in bacon and topped with onions on a roll.


I'm going to make a veggie version sometime soon...