Lakers may need to be road warriors to win another title

To complete another three-peat this spring, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers might have to win as many as three playoff series in which they do not hold home-court advantage. …

That may concern Lakers fans because, since Shaquille O’Neal departed in 2004, the Lakers have yet to win one. …

With a statue of Jerry West set for unveiling Thursday, it’s well past time for Sandy Koufax to be similarly honored. …

If a Grammy were awarded for best “Grammy trip,” it would go to Anze Kopitar and the streaking Kings. …

Runners-up: Lakers. …

Vinny Del Negro, less successful in his first Grammy trip with the Clippers, might be tempted to quote from Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady”: “Think I give a damn about a Grammy?” …

A year from now, a Grammy trip might sound like a picnic to Ben Howland and the UCLA basketball team, which is considering playing “home” games in locales as far-flung as Bakersfield and San Diego next season because Pauley Pavilion’s interior will be under renovation and the Forum won’t be available. …

A prior proposal to tent the L.A. Tennis Center on campus and lay down a basketball court was deemed unfeasible. …

That would have been novel. …

Only through the magic of television is the Forum, standing in as the fictional Sunshine Center on Matthew Perry’s ABC sitcom “Mr. Sunshine,” located across the street from the ocean. …

Ohio State’s loss to Wisconsin on Saturday reminds that college basketball has not produced an unbeaten NCAA Division I champion since 1976, when Scott May and Indiana wrapped up a perfect season under another Mr. Sunshine, Bob Knight. …

UCLA’s roster that season included six future first-round NBA draft picks — Richard Washington, Marques Johnson, Raymond Townsend, David Greenwood, Roy Hamilton and Brad Holland — but Gene Bartow’s Bruins lost twice to the Hoosiers, the second time in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. …

Today’s lunch special: Tiger, skewered on a spit. …

Don Mattingly is not alone: Rookie managers Ron Roenicke of the Milwaukee Brewers and John Farrell of the Toronto Blue Jays also are leading teams for the first time this season. …

Tony La Russa, theorizing that the players union is urging Albert Pujols to squeeze the St. Louis Cardinals: “I know that he’s getting pressured, and it’s not arm-twisting, it’s dropping anvils on your back through the roof of your house.” …

Montana seems a logical landing spot for Nate Montana. …

Rex Ryan, again predicting a Super Bowl championship for the New York Jets after a second consecutive AFC title-game loss: “There’s no way we don’t get it done next year.” …

Jim Harbaugh, taking over the San Francisco 49ers after a successful run at Stanford, will have a hard time matching older brother John, whose teams reached the playoffs in each of his first three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. …

A Sporting News panel voted the Guy Lafleur-led 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens the greatest team in NHL history. …

Hunch bet delivers: Unknown Heat, winless in 26 starts, won Saturday at Santa Anita only a day after the Cleveland Cavaliers ended a 26-game losing streak by topping the Clippers. …

Maria Sanchez, atop the national collegiate tennis rankings for the first time, would love to cap her senior year by becoming USC’s first NCAA women’s singles champion since 1983. …

Reader Gary Kellam e-mails to remind that Sammy Sosa produced three of baseball’s top six single-season home run totals while falling short of a league home run title all three times. …

Topped by Mark McGwire in 1998 and ‘99, Slammin’ Sammy was bested by Barry Bonds in 2001. …

All runners registering for the L.A. Marathon before noon Friday at LAMarathon.com will get their names put on the two Honda vans that will serve as lead vehicles for the March 20 event. …

Noting that a new deal with Time Warner Cable will take the Lakers off free television after next season, reader Tony Chan of Walnut e-mails to suggest, “The way they played against the Bobcats, they may need to pay us to watch.”

jerome.crowe@latimes.com