Wake-up call: Kings, Jim Harbaugh, Lakers, Matt Holliday
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First things first: The Kings’ shootout victory last night was special precisely because special was not expected. This was their second shootout, and this time they came up with a win against the Dallas Stars, thanks in part to goaltender Erik Ersberg and rookie Wayne Simmonds. But the Kings wouldn’t have gotten to the shootout without a strong performance by Dustin Brown in regulation and then the whole team in overtime. Near the end of the third period, though, Brown slammed Mike Ribeiro into the boards and was hit with a major penalty for boarding. How good would the Kings be with Brown ejected? As Helene Elliott writes in her game column this morning:
The Kings, though short-handed for the last minute of the third period and the first two* minutes of overtime, held firm. That’s due to the ferocious example set by Brown and matched by his teammates after he left.
Meanwhile, the Stars’ Brenden Morrow, who jumped Brown after the boarding incident, is facing possible suspension for instigating a fight. Both players were given a game misconduct. The weird thing was watching the two captains going at it. *Update: The NHL today rescinded both the automatic one-game suspension to Morrow and the $10,000 fine to Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett.
Slow grit: The Lakers last night fought it out with the Dallas Mavericks and pulled out a 106-99 victory. In Dallas. Tough. Which is what the Kobe Bryant-led team proved to be. Tough. One thing Mike Bresnahan also mentions in his game story today is something that is worth repeating here: slowtime. The Lakers have started out slowly each game -- looking like a windup Victrola, where the record player starts out slowly and winds up speeding along at 78 revolutions per minute.
Committed means committed: Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh is committed to the university, was zoned in on the Cardinal’s next opponent (USC) and didn’t want to talk about the Oakland Raiders top job. That’s what he told Dan Patrick this morning. Three times. Eloquently. And after being pressed again and again, Harbaugh said: ‘I guess we have a difference of the definition of commitment. I’m committed to Stanford.’ Harbaugh has been mentioned repeatedly as the guy Al Davis will turn to at the end of the season. The two men reportedly talk a lot, and the Harbaughs know football -- brother John is the coach of the 6-3 Baltimore Ravens. It doesn’t help interim Coach Tom Cable to turn things around when the players hear the same rumor. Meanwhile, the Raiders fans can take solace that their team is 2-7 and not 0-9 like the Detroit Lions.
Oakland Holliday: It’s official. The Oakland Athletics completed their trade for star outfielder Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies this morning. The Rockies get right-handed reliever Huston Street, left-handed starter Greg Smith and promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. So Oakland, despite the Raiders, has something to cheer about.
-- Debbie Goffa
*Updated Morrow at 12:30 p.m. and the length of the Kings penalty kill from three to two minutes at 2:40 p.m.