NBA Pacific

Kobe Bryant's Achilles Tendon Surgery Successful, But His Return Is Still In Question

Surgery to repair Kobe Bryant's torn Achilles tendon was successful today, the Lakers announced. But that success doesn't necessarily mean fans can breath easy, at least not yet. Bryant's still looking at 6 to 9 months of recovery, the premature end of his season, even potential retirement.

AEG Sale Off; Tim Leiweke Steps Down As L.A.-Based CEO

The for sale sign outside the door of Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of Staples Center, LA Live and London's 02 arena, has been taken down, the company announced. Not only that but Tim Leiweke, the company's L.A.-based president and CEO and the architect of plans to build a $1.5 billion stadiu ... More >>

Jerry Buss Dead At 80

Jerry Buss passed away this morning at the age of 80, the Lakers announced. The longtime team owner "had been hospitalized much of the past 18 months," the Buss family said in statement. Last week it was reported that he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as a result of cancer. According ... More >>

NFL Dreams For Downtown Los Angeles Fading In Face Of Team Transfer Deadline

Time might be running out for L.A.'s NFL dreams. A deadline for team owners to express interest in moving to Los Angeles is looming, but few if any have expressed serious interest in coming here. The problem might be the would-be sale of the developer of the proposed downtown stadium, Anschutz Ent ... More >>

I Was Sick of L.A. Traffic. So I Took a Plane to Work

I am flying westward over the Angeles Crest Mountains, the morning sun shining down over the San Fernando Valley as it spreads out below me and we bank south. The Cessna 152, aptly named "the Commuter," cruises at just over 3,500 feet as we travel from the Agua Dulce Airpark toward Santa Monica ... More >>

Kendrick Lamar Flash Mob Near Staples Draws LAPD Response (PHOTOS)

Updated at the bottom with some info from the LAPD. First posted at 6:06 a.m. See also: *Skateboard Riot in Hollywood ... Another youth gathering gone out of control in L.A? Not entirely. It looks like this one was behaved. But a Compton rapper named Kendrick Lamar did appear to attract hundreds ... More >>

NFL Failures, EDM Greed and Massive Corruption: The Inside Story of the L.A. Coliseum Scandal

Sam Choy Launches Pineapple Express Truck This Week

It's been a while since we've gotten revved up over a mobile eatery, but when Sam Choy, a James Beard Award winner and the so-called "father of modern Hawaiian cuisine," decides to open a food truck, it's time to bust out your hula shirt. The Pineapple Express truck will serve breakfast, lunch, an ... More >>

The Time I Whooped a 14-Year-Old Kid at Basketball

You (probably) don't know him, but trust when I tell you that T is a real shitbag. In our little cluster of townhomes, there are six boys who live there. A quick scouting report: There is a family that lives across from us. They have three boys; J and D and L. They're sweet kids, and the boys' ... More >>

Steve Nash's Secret Diet NBA Eating Habits

Yesterday came the news that the Lakers had landed future Hall of Fame point guard (and all-around amiable Canadian dude) Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a boatload of future draft picks. Despite being 38 years old (the fifth oldest active player in the NBA), Nash last year had on ... More >>

Lincoln Town Car Crashes Into Luxury L.A. Car Shop, Hits Ferrari Identical to Kobe Bryant's

A Lincoln Town Car reportedly being used as a fancy taxi smashed into the Specialty Car Craft customization and parts shop on South La Cienega (a low-profile go-to for L.A. celebrities) around 3:30 a.m. The impact shattered the shop's entire glass front -- causing a window frame and hundreds of sha ... More >>

Staples Center's Perfect Storm of Lakers, Clippers, Kings Games This Weekend

For those who oppose building a stadium downtown because, they argue, we just can't handle the traffic, this weekend could be the ultimate test: It's being called the perfect storm of sports events: The Lakers, Clippers and Kings are all playing in playoffs at Staples Center this weekend. And a bik ... More >>

How Green Was My Downtown

10 Best Sports Bars in Los Angeles

Now that musicians and nerds are the cool kids and jocks are the villains, liking sports has become distinctly uncool. So where are reasonable people of average coolness supposed to go to share their now-lame passion for twentysomething physical freaks throwing or kicking roundish objects for millio ... More >>

Hooters Says It's Hurting From NBA Lockout

southla.wordpress.comThe good old days.​Kobe and the gang aren't the only ones out of work amid this ridiculous NBA lockout. The longer they continue to turn up their noses at NBA officials' proposed season contract -- admittedly a pretty lousy deal -- the longer those beleaguered Hooters wait ... More >>

Samaki Walker, L.A. Resident And Former Laker, Busted For Alleged Marijuana, 'Liquid Steroids' Possession

samakiwalker.comSamaki Walker.​Los Angeles resident and onetime, early '00s Lakers player Samaki Walker tried to eat about 10 grams of marijuana after he was stopped by cops in Arizona, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Cops told hte paper Walker also had 8 bottles of "liquid steroid ... More >>

Andrew Bynum, Lakers Center, Caught Parking in Two Handicap Spaces

NBC Los AngelesBynum shoots for two.​NBC Los Angeles investigative reporter Joel Grover is at it again (is it sweeps?), and this time he bags a big one: Lakers center Andrew Bynum. The reporter and his crew shot the baller with his car parked in two handicap spaces as he loaded up groceries a ... More >>

Breaking News: White People Riot Too

YouTubeWhite-on-car violence in Vancouver.​A sad echo of the Lakers championship riots of 2010: Racists seemed to come out of the woodworks to blame the mayhem on Latinos. Guilty. But here's the thing: One out of every two people in L.A. is Latino. So, yeah, when shit goes down, good or bad, ... More >>

Lakers Rookie Arrested at New Orleans IHOP

Flickr user bridgetdsLakers rookie Derrick Caracter, chatting with forward Ron Artest​With the NBA Playoffs underway, things haven't exactly gone according to plan for the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. They've split their first four games with the plucky New Orleans Hornets, and now n ... More >>

Donald Sterling, Clippers Owner, Alleged Housing Discriminator, Gets Wikipedia Bio Scrubbed of All Things Controversial

Both sides of Donald Sterling.​Donald Sterling is something like a Jekyll and Hyde of Los Angeles society for some. If you've seen his full-page ads in the Los Angeles Times, you'd think he was the city's greatest humanitarian. Ever. But if you've read some the lawsuits against him, you'd se ... More >>

Kobe Bryant to Celebrate Controversial Turkish Airlines Endorsement at Paramount Studios Next Month

Kobe has an Armenian problem.​L.A.'s sizable Armenian American community hasn't been too happy with Kobe Bryant's endorsement of Turkish Airlines. Something about the Armenian Genocide and not turning off one of the most influential ethnic demographics in town. Well, if they have a bone to pi ... More >>

LAPD All-Hands-On-Deck 'Tactical Alert' Called as a Result of Low Staffing, Budget Cuts

monkeyfishBoys in blue.​When the Los Angeles Police Department goes on tactical alert, it's not unusual, but it's an event. This is the nation's second largest city, and the LAPD is the proverbial thin-blue line. Reporters who are used to listening to LAPD frequencies alert whenever there's a ... More >>

Armenians In Glendale Reeling Over Kobe Bryant's Ad Deal With Turkish Airlines, Or 'Direct Flight to Inhumanity'

NBAHigh like a [Turkish] G6​Turkish Airlines had just barely announced its deal with Lakers stud Kobe Bryant yesterday, when the massive Armenian population in SoCal came out in full force. The Armenian Youth Federation reported being "bombarded with phone calls from concerned Armenian youth ... More >>

Two-Year-Old Falls 50 Feet To Death In Staples Center After L.A. Lakers Victory

Associated PressLucas Anthony Tang fell to his death from a luxury suite in the Staples Center​Updated after the jump: Should a two-year-old really be allowed 30 feet in the air, with only 10 inches of concrete and a 16-inch piece of glass to protect him? Update, Nov. 22, 12:15 p.m.: what Tan ... More >>

Roll on, Bread People

Bread PeopleHot from the oven​ Bread People rises out of an Internet food-scape rich in strange, singular visions. As with Scanwiches and Slice Harvester, the blog's conceit is simple and bewildering: West Los Angeles-based Adam Malamut doles out yeasty makeovers to famous people and posts p ... More >>

Death of Manuel Ramirez (Jamines): Charlie Beck's Peace Pipe

Guatemalan laborer would be stunned by fury over his death at the hands of LAPD

America's 15 Favorite Chain Restaurants: We ♥ The Cheesecake Factory

Cheesecake FactoryLos Angeles Cheesecake Factory locations​ Want to know how America really eats? I guess track where NBA players go after a game. Nation's Restaurant News recently published a list of our 15 favorite casual and family restaurant chains, and The Cheesecake Factory, reportedly a ... More >>

Villaraigosa's Vanishing Veracity

His executive directive No. 1 in 2005 vowed to halt even the appearance of sleaze and conflicts

Antonio Villaraigosa Visits Anime Expo, Fans Ask Why

Early Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appeared at Anime Expo to announce that the annual mega-event will return to Los Angeles Convention Center through 2013. Shannon Cottrell​

FOURTH UPDATE Exclusive: Antonio Villaraigosa free tickets are worth $50,000 to $100,000. Full list here of 80 free events; corruption laws ignored

By Tibby Rothman and Jill StewartDid the mayor lose, misplace -- or destroy -- his records? ​ L.A. Weekly is publishing below its exclusive ticket price list for the 80 events to which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa accepted free seats.But first the hot news from City Hall moments ago. The below is a ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 6/21-6/25

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Do I ever feel like giving alternative advice, suggesting you pick up Thai barbecued chickens at Sapp Coffee Shop, an armful of barbecued goat ribs at Phong Dinh or a sackful of barbecued quail at Marouch? Sure, all th ... More >>

D.A. Looking Into Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's Ethics Surrounding Free-Tickets Scandal

Fox 11 NewsVillaraigosa at a Lakers game.​The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office is looking into Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's free-tickets controversy, with a spokeswoman telling LA Weekly that the office will "review" findings of the city's Ethics Commission in the matter. The may ... More >>

Downtown Street Closures In Effect For Lakers Parade

​It's not a SigAlert, but you mind as well be prepared for a FigAlert as Figueroa Street between Olympic and Jefferson boulevards will be closed starting at 12 a.m. Monday to accommodate the 11 a.m. Lakers parade. Restaurants at LA Live will be open and accessible from Olympic Boulevard, but ... More >>

NBA Champion Ron Artest Has Wheaties, Vodka and The SLS Hotel

The Lakers are NBA Champions again (not World Champions, as some teams like to claim), and there's a parade at 11 o'clock this morning to help commemorate that fact. But if you simply turned off the T.V. after game 7 and decided that you were done following basketball this year, you missed a few imp ... More >>

LAPD Arrests Nine People At Lakers Parade

​The downtown parade celebrating the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA championship wrapped up Monday afternoon with no major incidents to report, according to fire and police officials. Officer Rosario Herrera told the Weekly nine people were arrested, but she did not have details. Two children were re ... More >>

LAPD Chief Beck Victorious After Lakers Unrest Quashed

​So more than 40 people were arrested following the Lakers championship victory over the Boston Celtics Thursday. A taxi was set ablaze. A Lamborghini was violated. A few people got beat up. A bicyclist was hit by a police cruiser. A few law enforcement officers were hurt by debris thrown at t ... More >>

City Ethics Commission Investigating Mayor Villaraigosa, According To Report

​Fox 11 News reported that the city Ethics Commission has opened a formal investigation into Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's acceptance of sports and entertainment tickets, which could be a no-no as their value was not reported by the city leader as gifts. Reporter John Schwada says that the comm ... More >>

LAPD And Boston Police Leaders Bet On Lakers-Celtics Game

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.​The top cops of the Los Angeles and Boston police departments are betting their pride against the best-of-seven NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Chief Charlie Beck and Boston Police Commissi ... More >>

The YaoMing Lips, Phoenix Sunn 0)))'s and Bon Iverson: #IndieRockBasketBall Rocks & Finger Rolls Twitter

The YaoMing Lips, Phoenix Sunn 0)))'s, and Bon Iverson: #IndieRockBasketBall

Jerry Buss' Son Arrested For Allegedly Assaulting Beverly Hills Traffic Officer

Jerry Buss.​The week before Los Angeles Lakers co-owner Jerry Buss was announced as a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, his stepson was arrested in Beverly Hills, allegedly for assaulting a parking officer who ended up in a hospital two months before a planned retirement. The March 31 arrest ... More >>

Kobe Here For Three More Years

nba.com​In a deal one report argues "almost guarantees he'll retire a Laker," Kobe Bryant signed a three-year contract extension Friday with the NBA's most-lucrative team. The end of the extension would have him at the 16-year mark as a Laker. "We are extremely pleased that we were able to re ... More >>

IT’S JIMMY KIMMEL’S WORLD, WE JUST EAT ZEPOLE IN IT

AREN'T YOU NICK LACHEY'S BROTHER?

LA People 2009: Vujachick — Sasha Watch Blogger Emily Ho

The mild-mannered librarian discovered her inner Laker through her obsession with Sasha Vujacic

Where to Drink Now: The New Cocktailian's Guide

Ciudad: The Great Leap Backward

Every four years, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken go back to the City

One Hot Restaurant

Scenes from a Mall

Good to the Bone