USC Fights On For First Pac-12 Win

LOS ANGELES- Coming off a 27 point loss to UCLA on Thursday night, the Utah Utes were desperate for a road win (0-11). The opportunity to grab one would land them in the Galen Center, where they would have to battle a USC Trojan team who was also determined to get their first Pac-12 victory.

Trojans star guard Maurice Jones was sensational scoring 16 points, 5 assist on (7-15) shooting, along with Garrett Jackson who also poured in with 16 points.  Freshman Byron Wesley came up big for the Trojans with 9 points and 7 assist. The Trojans led the entire game and never looked back, defeating the Utes 62-45.
Defeating the Utes allowed the Trojans to stop a nine game losing streak, along with capturing their first Pac-12 win in front of their faithful home crowd.

Dijon Farr led the Utes with 12 points and 8 rebounds, which simply was not enough to keep the Trojans winless in the conference.

The Trojans came out hungry, ready and will try to continue that intensity on the road against their next opponent Washington State on Thursday night.

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Quick & Doughty Help L.A. Kings Fight Off Coyotes

LOS ANGELES - L.A. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was not about allow the memories of the last game interfere with his vision of the Kings getting a much need victory Thursday night against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings came into this game with a league low 87 goals, yet they haven’t lost in regulation since new head coach Darryl Sutter took over the team.

The Kings who didn't take great shots in the first and second periods, seem to be more focused coming out on the ice in the third period. A very defensive game by both teams. The Kings came out much more aggressive, and keen on taking better shots.
With less than six minutes to go in the third period, Dustin Penner slapped a shot from about 30 feet that went off the post of the net. About the 4:30 mark, Dustin Brown who sliced through the Coyotes tough defense took a shot only to be stopped by Coyotes goalie Mike Smith.

The Kings ended regulation scoreless after a very intense third period, they headed into sudden death overtime with one thing in mind, score a much needed goal.

The Kings took possession, 38 seconds into overtime Kings defense men Drew Doughty slid into a goal type scramble scoring the game winning goal as the sellout crowd of 18, 118 erupted in happiness & relieve. But not so fast, as the goal had to be reviewed by officials.
Once the referees reviewed the play and goal, the announcement was made that the goal was good, Kings win 1-0.

Doughty made his 10th game winner of his 36 career goals, along with goalie Jonathan Quick had 22 saves to Coyotes goalie Mike Smith who had 20 saves.

Smith made some big saves to push it into overtime, but we were fortunate to get a goal early in overtime and get out of here with two points” said Jonathan Quick.

On the other side of the ice, Coyotes coach Dave Tipett was not in agreement on the call in overtime “"It should be no goal. The puck did go in the net, but it should be goalie interference.”

Doughty takes us inside on the great overtime play “I saw that we had control of the puck, so I raced up to the blue line. Me and Stolly made eye contact and he made a nice pass. Then I just tried to drive the net.”

The Kings get out with a win and prepare for their next opponent the Columbus Blue Jackets back at Staples Center on Saturday.

*Kings goalie Jonathan Quick picked up his 6th shutout of the season and had 22 saves vs. Coyotes.

*Kings moved up to 7th place in the Western Conference.

*Coyotes goalie Mike Smith had 27 saves vs. Kings

Chopping Board NFL Monday - By Nick Hamilton

St. Louis Rams fire coach Steve Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney. Look for Spagnuolo to be one of the most sought after defensive coordinators especially by teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, and possibly the Indianapolis Colts. Spagnuolo had a disappointing record of 10-38 in three seasons with the Rams.......

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fire coach Raheem Morris after a terrible 4-12 season. Just a year ago the team had a much improved 10-6 season last year and things were looking up the Bucs. However after the team struggled, and seemed to be spiraling out of control, Bucs executives felt it was time for a change. Morris is a good coach, he'll be a defensive coordinator by next season, he bring a vibrant energy to a team, and has a great repoire with young players in this league. In all fairness, Morris deserved another year with the Bucs.

More coaches expected to fired such as Chargers head coach Norv Turner along with GM AJ Smith, possibly Colts coach Jim Caldwell. Will Cowboys coach Jason Garrett stay on as top star in Dallas?
Stay tuned............