Sasha Vujacic will always be a part of Lakers lore

Though many Lakers fans probably weren’t sorry to see him go, Sasha Vujacic will always hold a special place in their hearts after making those clutch free throws in Game 7. …

Lakers newcomer Joe Smith is an aspiring rapper who has recorded under the pseudonym Joe Beast. …

Airing at the same time Sunday morning, the Oakland Raiders’ loss to the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars drew twice as many television viewers in Los Angeles as the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant-led victory over the New Jersey Nets. …

Football truly is king. …

While Brett Favre’s remarkable 18-year run of 297 consecutive NFL starts has drawn comparisons to Cal Ripken’s ironman streak, it also has brought unexpected but not unworthy notice to another incredible feat. …

For more than seven NHL seasons from 1955 to 1962, goaltender Glenn Hall started — and finished — 502 games in a row. …

And he did it, first for the Detroit Red Wings and then with the Chicago Blackhawks, without wearing a mask. …

Maurice Jones-Drew, who wore No. 21 at UCLA, says he switched to No. 32 with the Jaguars to remind him that every NFL team had “disrespected” him in the 2006 draft. …

Five players taken ahead of the second-round pick were running backs: Reggie Bush, Laurence Maroney, DeAngelo Williams, Joseph Addai and LenDale White. …

None has been as productive as the former Bruin. …

Shouldn’t the 35-game bowl season kick off with a more interesting matchup than Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl, pitting Brigham Young (6-6) and Texas El Paso (6-6)? …

All but two of the bowl games, including the Rose Bowl and the BCS championship game, will be televised by ESPN-affliated networks. …

If USC weren’t serving NCAA sanctions, Matt Barkley & Co. probably would have been picked to play Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl at San Antonio. …

Like Rick Neuheisel at UCLA, new Florida Coach Will Muschamp was a walk-on at Georgia. …

Unlike Neuheisel, he was a safety. …

It was a tossup as to which team looked worse Sunday, the Green Bay Packers without Aaron Rodgers or the Kansas City Chiefs without Matt Cassel. …

The San Diego Chargers’ limiting the Chiefs to 67 total yards Sunday reminds that in 1979, en route to the Super Bowl, Jack Youngblood and the Los Angeles Rams held the Seattle Seahawks to minus-seven. …

California-bred Tom Brady, on playing in snow: “I love it.” …

It shows. …

UCLA, scheduled to play its home games at the Forum next season while Pauley Pavilion is refurbished, will explore possible alternatives now that the former home of the Lakers and Kings is being sold to the owners of Madison Square Garden. …

This is not the first time the Metrodome roof has collapsed. …

It’s the fourth. …

Thirty years ago Wednesday, Dave Winfield signed a 10-year, $16-million contract with the New York Yankees to become the highest-paid player in the history of team sports. …

Last season, when Alex Rodriguez made $33 million, the average baseball salary topped $3 million. …

In a nod to Peter Bourjos, reader Mike Coyazo of Highland e-mails to suggest a nickname for center field at Angel Stadium: “Bourjos Gorge.” …

Goaltender Jonathan Quick gives the Kings a chance to win just about every time he’s in net. …

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, whose collection of rare items includes Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger” guitar, tells Men’s Journal: “One hundred years from now — 200, 300 years from now — it will be like having a booklet from Shakespeare.” …

Michigan drew 113,411 for its outdoor hockey game against Michigan State on Saturday at Michigan Stadium, more than it has drawn for any other event at the Big House. …

The record crowd for a football game is 113,090. …

Friends of Gary Colson are planning a tribute to the former Pepperdine basketball coach at the Waves’ Jan. 29 game against San Francisco. …

Information: leftcoastsportsgn@gmail.com. …

Noting that oft-coupled Kim Kardashian reportedly is dating forward Kris Humphries of the Nets, reader Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., e-mails to suggest, “He’s reportedly helping her with her rebounding.”

jerome.crowe@latimes.com