Biography
Bill Plaschke, a sports columnist at the Times since 1996, has made nationally recognized contributions in both journalism and public ...
Room on bandwagon? The Los Angeles Kings will keep on truckin'
May 30, 2012
NEWARK, N.J. — Having traveled across the country in hopes of leading our city's many puck-free sports fans onto the back of the Kings' bandwagon, I have skated into my first stark truth.
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For Lakers' Mike Brown, next year will be a stretch
May 24, 2012
There was a moment in the postseason when I asked Lakers Coach Mike Brown if he had any idea how his team would respond to that evening's challenge, and his answer stunned me.
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This ending feels different, and time is not on the Lakers' side
May 21, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY -- As the red and blue streamers dropped from the sky around the fallen Lakers faces, it felt like more than the end of a series.
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Blame game begins after the Lakers' deflating loss to the Thunder
May 20, 2012
After spending a season fighting age, battling immaturity, struggling with old habits and jabbing with a new coach, the Lakers have ended up where we pretty much thought they would.
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Kobe Bryant is aged Lakers veteran who still has fight left in him
May 18, 2012
OK, so I recognize that guy. Of course, absolutely, that's him.
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Kobe Bryant disappears at the end for Lakers
May 16, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY — It was Mount Rushmore crumbling, piece by piece. It was the Grand Canyon shrinking, inch by inch.
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Thunder's energy is just too much for the Lakers
May 14, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY— Is it over?
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Lakers never make it easy, but they escape Game 7
May 12, 2012
Whew. Gasp. Arrgh.
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It's a sick joke, but Lakers are forced into a Game 7
May 11, 2012
DENVER -- And now it comes down to two words, two desperate words, the two danged words the Lakers never thought they would have to utter while toying with these Rocky Mountain munchkins and misfits.
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Lakers' effort in Game 5 loss to Nuggets is 'kinda' embarrassing
May 8, 2012
Who's folding now?
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Lakers' Pau Gasol picks a good time to show his toughness
May 6, 2012
DENVER — For a year he's taken the high road, staying above the mess that had become his Lakers career, refusing to indulge in the finger-pointing and pity that collected around his feet like piling garbage.
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Andrew Bynum says he'll be ready this time
May 5, 2012
DENVER — Andrew Bynum is driving me crazy, driving his teammates crazy, driving his coach crazy, driving an entire organization into an early spring ditch.
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Lakers fail to put up any fight in Game 3
May 4, 2012
DENVER — Was it altitude, or attitude?
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Dodgers owners are off to a lively start
May 2, 2012
Making their first official appearance on a gray morning in a nearly empty stadium, new Dodgers owners lighted up the place Wednesday with raucous promise, defiant hope and only one certainty.
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Kobe Bryant is the starter and finisher in Game 2 win over Denver
May 1, 2012
Oh say can you see Kobe Bryant sinking jump shots?
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More than powering Lakers, Kobe Bryant empowers them
April 29, 2012
He didn't hit the last shot. He didn't make the big steal. He summoned only a handful of oohs, a couple of aahs and a smattering of M-V-Ps.
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Lakers and Clippers see playoffs differently
April 28, 2012
On one Los Angeles street corner, an NBA team is so giddy about the postseason, their players are growing unity beards.
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This quarterback won't be drafted, and that's just fine
April 27, 2012
It's NFL draft weekend, yet Southern California's top draft-eligible quarterback will be one of the few fans not watching the marathon ESPN broadcast.
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Kobe Bryant scores big by not scoring
April 26, 2012
After 16 years, I thought it was impossible to be startled by anything Kobe Bryant did with a basketball.
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Lakers lucky Metta World Peace's penalty isn't longer
April 24, 2012
Three days after Metta World Peace threw an elbow that could have killed James Harden, it is justice that is now holding its head and writhing on the floor.
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The waiting is the hardest part for Albert Pujols
April 19, 2012
Waiting for Albert ...
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With Lakers' loss to Spurs, they prove they need Kobe Bryant
April 17, 2012
With eight minutes remaining in the second quarter Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant walked out of the Staples Center tunnel, unbuttoned his charcoal suit coat, and took his seat on the Lakers bench.
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They have a love affair solidified by music and Dodgers baseball
April 14, 2012
The show tune unfurls grandly from the Roland Super Spinet organ out across antique Dodger Stadium, momentarily and splendidly turning a game of baseball into a ride on a calliope.
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UCLA's top basketball recruits are a boon — and a burden
April 11, 2012
A high school kid dressed in a free sweat suit and giant hip glasses strolled across a red carpet into a television studio in North Carolina on Wednesday, stared into a camera and made the failing UCLA basketball program a brilliant promise.
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With Vin Scully sidelined, we are the ones left out in the cold
April 10, 2012
Dear Vin,
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Cover your ears: Jim Mora era begins at UCLA
April 7, 2012
The Jim Mora era has begun with a #$@#.
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Angels' Albert Pujols Show is cage-appropriate for a wide audience
April 6, 2012
Two hours before its season debut Friday, Angel Stadium was overcome with a red-hot buzz, folks dressed in bright jerseys and dazzling hopes filling the lots and crowding the gates, when one hip dude in a red polo shirt and new goatee rushed past everyone and scurried down to the batting cage.
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Magic Johnson's pride of Dodgers ownership
April 5, 2012
SAN DIEGO — It was the day Magic Johnson flew again.
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Lakers need to harness Andrew Bynum
April 4, 2012
The Los Angeles Bynums took the floor Wednesday night with a twisted fury.
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To Don Newcombe, this Dodgers chapter was a long time coming
March 31, 2012
Twenty five years ago, on one of the longest nights in franchise history, a Dodgers executive claimed on national television that blacks did not have the "necessities" to run a baseball team.
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Cory Hahn is still part of a team
February 25, 2012
From Tempe, Ariz. -- The coach once helped carry his son from tee ball to the top of the high school baseball world, never missing a game, cheering every moment, from midnight batting practice to driveway bullpen sessions to championship glory.
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Magic Johnson remains a living symbol of hope
November 5, 2011
Magic Johnson has finished giving a speech in a high school gymnasium when he asks the students if they have any questions.
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Sportsmanship takes a timeout in USC-UCLA game
November 29, 2009
At the end of a long, brutal fight, Pete Carroll extended an olive branch.
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Lakers move the wrong move going with Ron Artest
July 3, 2009
Less than three weeks after the parade, the NBA champion Lakers have already met the biggest threat to their throne.
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Lakers' Buss knows when to hold 'em
March 2, 2008
The best owner in the history of professional sports is strolling through his sprawling hilltop home when he comes upon an ornate wooden door riddled with three gaping holes.
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A sullied part of Dodgers' history
December 14, 2007
The scene is chilling in its deceit, and startling in its chaos.
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Progress was rarely seen in Dorrell era, much like the coach
December 2, 2007
His offense ran off the field for the last time, their soiled and bandaged jerseys passing his spotless and pressed jacket.
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Lakers need to speak now to bring the peace
May 30, 2007
This city's most beloved sports storefront stands today covered in dripping eggs and nasty graffiti.
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Swarming to Task, They Really Can Win This
April 2, 2006
INDIANAPOLIS — Just when everyone thought they had UCLA's number, the Bruins changed it.
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Murray's impact still is plain to hear
March 30, 2006
TEN years ago, when an editor discovered me shivering underneath a pile of one-sentence paragraphs and inexplicably made me a Times sports columnist, I knew there would be changes.
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Cohen Didn't Act the Part, so of Course She Didn't Get the Part
February 24, 2006
TURIN, Italy — She didn't want to be there.
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