Land of the setting sun.

Phoenix, AZ

It seems to be the land of the setting Shaq in Phoenix these days. Shaquille O'neal, who only seems to be half of his former monster self, shot 50% from both the field and charity stripe, ending his effort with 15 points and 4 turnovers. His three personal fouls were three more than blocked shots, zero. O'neal did have one nice basket early, putting a spin move on young Andrew Bynum for an easy lay up off the glass. The Lakers effectively double teamed Shaq early and often so Phoenix couldn't establish the post game. Los Angeles would double him early, then when he passed out of the lane would reset with another double preventing the pass right back to him. Kobe Bryant, who seemed friendly with his former teammate before game time played well, despite poor shooting. Bryant ended his bid in the 105-92 victory with 24 pts. and 5 assists. At the end of the first half the Lakers led 50-44, only one more point for Phoenix than the entire Bench Mob ended the game with. The Lakers bench, scoring 43 points, were able to pick up the slack of Kobe's poor shooting night, 8-23. Keeping guys fresh is probably going to be of just as much importance down the stretch for this Lakers team. The Bench Mob are playing so well that the likes of Bryant, Fisher, Gasol, and even 6th man, Lamar Odom are able to rest for good minutes during games so far this season. The Lakers are winning by more than 13 pts a contest. Vladimir Radmanovic also shot very well making 5 shots from outside the arc after poor shooting the last three games. Vlad-Rad ended with 15, missing only one shot, none from outside. after the game Shaq had some comments on the Lakers.

"They're the best team. They're 9-1. They're playing good. Kobe's playing team ball, keeping everybody involved. He's got a lot of shooters around him. They're a very dangerous team."

That sentiment might be shared by many throughout the league. The Lakers are playing great defense and are also playing well as a team. Los Angeles heads back to Staples now for a five game home stand. New look Denver, lead the charge into town, with Kobe and co. look to show Chauncey Billups and the rest of the Nuggets how you really play defense. George Karl's team is 7-1 since the acquisition of Billups, improving seemingly over night on the defensive end. 

Dodger Stadium, Ca

According to reports on the Dodgers team website, free agent Ace C.C. Sabathia could be offered a contract from the GM Ned Colletti. The Dodgers are rumored to be offering, if not already offered, the top pitcher in this years market, a six year deal worth somewhere between $110-120 million dollars. The general consensus as of late is that if Sabathia was to be offered something close to what the Yankees offered, $140 million for six years, he would much rather play in southern California. C.C. owns property in Fairfield Ca, just outside of Vallejo, his child hood home town. Unfortunately, the Giants also appear to be getting in the mix. San Francisco is rumored to be offering somewhere between the $1oo million Brewers offer and that of the Yankees. Fairfield, a little East of Napa, is only about 50 miles Northeast of the bay. Hopefully Carsten Charles wants a Hollywood lifestyle.