T.J. Simers

Chris Paul has Clippers thinking big, despite thumping by Spurs

2013-02-21 23:17:00

I'm thinking the best place for Dwight Howard's statue outside Staples is right beside Oscar De La Hoya's 7-foot likeness. That way they can keep the guys together who have been beaten up the most in the building. De La Hoya was 0-1 in Staples and so...

If Jeanie Buss ran the show, could Phil Jackson's return be far behind?

2013-02-20 18:35:00

Let's take this a step further. The two basketball experts in town, Magic and Plaschke, have declared Jeanie Buss should be in charge of the Lakers. This has to be a blow to Jimmy Buss, who probably understands he also won't be Phil Jackson's choice...

It has come to pass for Kobe Bryant

2013-02-01 05:00:00

MINNEAPOLIS — I'm liking the laugh-out-loud guy sitting across from me at Starbucks, maybe as big a shock as Kobe Bryant and I getting together to sip vanilla lattes. You know who I'm talking about: the Kobester, the Big Baby, the Ball Hog, the...

Get serious: Fun-loving Dwight Howard is not the Lakers' problem

2013-01-17 23:16:00

Dwight Howard stood in the Lakers' locker room before the Miami game with an arm around his girlfriend. "Judy," he said, while introducing her to everyone. That's Judy, as in his imaginary girlfriend, as in take that, Robert Horry. Now how can you...

It doesn't take much to make these Lakers happy

2013-01-27 21:02:00

Gush City. Everyone loves everybody now. There were Lakers hugs all around, with fans at Staples Center on Sunday joining the party, getting rally towels and the feel of a playoff game. Happy 79th birthday, Jerry Buss, as Gush City flattens Oklahoma...

Feel the passion, Lakers fans, as the moral victories pile up

2013-01-11 22:53:00

I came to Staples Center on Friday night pretty darn excited, the Lakers coming off two incredible moral victories and Magic Johnson and Jim Buss full of good cheer. Happy days are here again. Or, as Buss put it in a radio interview, "How can you not...

Lance Armstrong's inspiration wasn't a lie for many

2013-01-15 21:35:00

The 7-Eleven Kid really is 7, a second-grader, and she recently did a report on George Herbert Walker Bush. Along with her friends, they presented it to the third-graders, as scary a group as a second-grader can face. She heard about his being in the...

Daily Dodger in Review: Matt Treanor and the second-half stumble

2013-01-07 13:47:00

MATT TREANOR, 36, catcher Final 2012 stats: .175 batting average, two homers, 10 RBIs, .281 on-base and .281 slugging percentages in 103 at-bats Contract status: Free agent The good: This could prove a challenge. He hit .300 in the fourth inning and...

Bruins' flat showing in Holiday Bowl takes fizz out of UCLA's season

2012-12-27 23:50:00

SAN DIEGO — There have been rumors down here that the Chargers might be interested in UCLA's Jim Mora as a replacement for Coach Norv Turner. If the Holiday Bowl was an audition, Mora could not have done more to prove himself the ideal choice to...

Formerly fun Clippers are flat-out lifeless in loss

2012-11-26 23:25:00

Obviously, Vinny Del Negro had to be asked whether the Clippers were holding something back on their recent trip while losing three in a row. That will probably sail right over the heads of UCLA fans who still seem preoccupied watching replays of Jim...

Just wondering about UCLA's motivation against Stanford

2012-11-24 21:36:00

To use an expression he knows so well, I don't give a rat's [tail] what Jim Mora says. I'm the guy trying to get the Rose Bowl named after him, and so after getting thrashed by Stanford I'm asking him if he had the Bruins just going through the motions...

At least L.A. has one stable, winning franchise in Clippers

2012-11-15 00:00:00

What an exciting night, and it's all about basketball. It's been nothing but chaos, dysfunctional management and poor public relations around here the last few days, so what a relief to spend some time with the Clippers. It never fails to amaze how some...

USC football quarterback Matt Barkley, left, teaches Los Angeles Times sports columnist T. J. Simers, how to set up and use a twitter account in August.

2012-08-09 00:00:00