Southland pride at stake when Kings face San Jose Sharks

The Kings and the San Jose Sharks open their Stanley Cup playoff series Tuesday night at Staples Center.

Pressure? Sure. This is Southern California’s last chance.

Lose this series and Los Angeles is nothing more than the Bay Area’s lap dog.

Look around. See the Lakers or Clippers in the NBA playoffs? Nope? Well, the Golden State Warriors are still alive, and are capable of feats beyond the Lakers’ grasp … beating the San Antonio Spurs.

The San Francisco Giants spent the winter as World Series champions. The Dodgers and Angels just spent … and spent … and spent. Both both teams seem spent, finding lodging near the bottom of their divisions.

The San Francisco 49ers reached the Super Bowl. Not only is Los Angeles without an NFL team, it’s without an NFL stadium. (Doesn’t AEG stand for “An Endless Game”?)

But Los Angeles does have college football, and UCLA did reach the Pac-12 title game … where the Bruins lost to Stanford. The Cardinal then came south and beat Wisconsin on what USC fans think is their home field: The Rose Bowl.

So it is up to the Kings. They play “I Love L.A.” after each goal. Time to show it. Otherwise it’ll just be another warm San Franciscan night.

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