Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter is the greatest game they never saw

Not being able to watch Josh Beckett's no-hitter was bad enough, but for the most of Los Angeles to miss our homegrown hero's masterpiece is a disgrace.

As long as Dodgers pitchers keep throwing no-hitters this season, some of us will be able to catch at least part of a game thanks to the cut-ins on the MLB Network. Win-win for the 70%.

I'll never forget Clayton Kershaw's historic, no-hit game! The excitement was building each inning as I received text messages from my brother in Tehachapi! (Thanks Magic Johnson and Dodgers ownership).

It should also be noted that it was Ryan's second no-hitter of the season — special credit to anyone who can name his two catchers — as he had blanked the Royals in Kansas City two months earlier. As for the four walks he issued in Detroit, well, Mickey Mantle struck out once in a while too.

While Kershaw's performance was dominant, I disagree that it was the best [June 20]. Sandy Koufax and Matt Cain each fired 14 strikeouts in their respective perfect games. Addie Joss' perfect game was both more efficient (just 74 pitches) and more pressure-packed (the opposing pitcher, Ed Walsh, struck out 15, scattered four hits, and surrendered only a single unearned run). Don Larsen was perfect in a World Series game, against the defending world champions, while allowing only a single batter to work a three-ball count. Harvey Haddix was perfect through 12 innings before losing the game in the 13th. And most colorfully, Ernie Shore retired 27 batters in a row to complete a combined no-hitter after starting pitcher Babe Ruth was ejected for arguing with the umpire after walking the first batter.

Let's see ... four straight seasons without making the playoffs, highly questionable judgment on managing his bullpen, under-utilization of the game's best player (how does Mike Trout not have about 30 steals by now?), a promising young .280 hitter with power and a propensity to deliver in the clutch riding the pine in favor of a .150 hitting 41-year-old, and seemingly daily reports from The Times about postgame questions pertaining to strategic decisions.

Do we really need any more evidence that Mike Scioscia is among the most overrated managers in baseball? The guy is a true professional and a fine human being, but enough is enough!

So Kobe Bryant doesn't want Tim Duncan to get a sixth ring before he does. Sorry, Mamba, but you should have thought of that before you gobbled up all the Lakers' cap space with your $48.5-million contract. Tim Duncan took way less than what he could have gotten and we just saw the results. A fifth championship for him, with major contributions by players hired on what would have been Timmy's money. There is a lesson to be learned here, Kobe. A Big Fundamental lesson.

Tim Duncan accepts a below-market salary that enables the Spurs to constantly add quality players. The result is another NBA championship. In contrast, Kobe Bryant "accepts" a contract extension that commits a disproportionate share of the Lakers cap space to a 35-year old with bad wheels. Despite his proclamations to the contrary, Kobe Bryant in fact values his ego and net worth over winning.

That began to change with his refusal to blend with Dwight Howard, whose presence gave Kobe his best chance to win his sixth championship. Kobe's insistence that the Lakers were his team and Howard had to submit to Kobe's whims was supremely childish. Kobe obviously drove Howard out of town, which is exactly what he should not have done had he cared about winning, or the Lakers.

In contrast, the Spurs have the ultimate wing player. He's great in the clutch, athletic, exciting, and above all a winner. Any sane basketball fan should prefer Manu Ginobili over Kobe Bryant, in every circumstance, on every day. He does everything well, but the biggest contrast between Ginobili and Bryant is the Ginobili will do whatever it takes to win. Ginobili will pass, rebound, defend, and score as part a team that's focused on winning.

Instead, Derek Fisher now teams up with another "perfect fit" that the Lakers instead threw under the Buss: new Knicks President Phil Jackson. Truth truly is stranger than fiction.

Watching a team with such character, skill, togetherness and style as these guys makes me think the Dodgers would be up by 20 games if they played like the Kings.

As a lifelong Chicagoan and lover of hockey, I wanted to offer my sincerest congratulations to the L.A. Kings on their winning of the Stanley Cup. Well done, one and all. Sad to say, but my Blackhawks were never the competitors they needed to be in their series with the Kings. Also, thank you for having vanquished the New York Rangers.

Your Kings championship supplement wonderfully captured the spectacle and excitement of our Stanley Cup win. All the articles were crisply written and rivaled only by the photos. The raw emotion of the Kings' unbridled celebration is equally prevalent in the dejected eyes of goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, in an exquisite photo by Times photographer Wally Skalij.

Now that Drew Doughty has won two Olympic gold medals and two Stanley Cups, he should change his number from 8 to 24, a la Kobe.

Pucking good toast delivered by Mayor Eric Garcetti at the Kings' Stanley Cup celebration Monday. Any truth to the rumor that Garcetti will face off with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford during the upcoming season?

Shame on Bill Dwyre for joining the chorus of journalists who favor the bad boys of sports over nice guys like Martin Kaymer, the new U.S. Open champion.

Would Mr. Dwyre have characterized the golfer as a robot and Sunday's TV coverage of his superior play as "failing to put lipstick on a competitive pig" had Tiger Woods been that golfer? Doubtful.