The drive from LA to Phoenix

Did the 6-hour road trip last night (in time to watch Liverpool this morning) and listened to quite a bit of "the sports" on the radio. I don't even have anything fancy like Sirius or XM (again, what's technology?), but managed to listen to the entirety of the Lakers win over the Nets, the last few minutes of overtime in the Suns loss to Washington, and some post-game reaction/phone-in for the local University of New Mexico affiliate (?!?!?!) after their shock win over Wichita State in Vegas. In order...

- Kobe had the flew and still managed 21p/11a, but just like the Minnesota win on Wednesday, it was the bench that carried the Lakers. Very, very weird game. The second half was probably the streakiest half of basketball of all time. No flow, just two teams trading 11-0 and 9-1 runs. Very bizarre. Two things that I'd said before on this page which I'd like to repeat because they're worth repeating: 1) Marcus Williams is going to be a great point guard and could well be the steal of this draft. 2) His rookie counterpart Jordan Farmar needs even more playing time. I love the way he plays.

- Hard to fault Phoenix for not being able to extend their 15-game win streak into 16, given that they just arrived at the arena just a few short hours after a nightmarish return from Denver, but excuses are like a-holes, ultimately. Even so, 42p/14a from Nash and a narrow loss in OT to a team who is proving with every passing game that they can run with anyone. Gilbert Arenas is looking like a 1st Team All NBAer, thus far (it's gotta be him and Nash in the backcourt, right now). 54 points last night. 60 versus the Lakers, last Sunday. I wonder, quite honestly, with the Eastern Conference being as wide open as it is, why not Washington in the Finals? Miami's chances, evidently, rest entirely on Shaq's health. Detroit still represents a challenge, still, and Cleveland's always given the Wizards trouble over the last two years, so those are the main obstacles. Can Orlando keep up their pace? Obviously, no one from the Atlantic division is relevant. So given how good the Wizards have looked on this west coast trip, why not them as a darkhorse for the Finals. I tell you what, it would certainly spice things up for the league. Washington may not be a big TV draw, but they play a very attractive style and Arenas is one of the league's budding stars. Surely, just the sheer surprise of them showing up in the Finals is sure to perk a few ears up.

Also in the NBA, Iverson had an excellent Nuggets debut, but... yeah, a loss to Sacto. We'll see what this team is really all about -- both the good and bad -- when Carmelo returns.

- Explain this one to me: Local University of New Mexico affiliate broadcasting 100 miles west of Phoenix? (There's a San Francisco station, too, but that wasn't sports radio) AM 770 had all the lowdown after the Lobos upset of the top ten Shockers. From the sound of it, WSU didn't put forth their best effort, but it was pretty amusing listening to some of these UNM die-hards calling in. I swear, if you didn't know ahead of time which team they were cheering for, you'd think they sounded like fans of a program like Duke or Kentucky. Not because of the success, but the dillusion that they're entitled to such success. It's like no one's told them that they play in the Mountain West Conference and haven't made much noise in recent seasons. They slay coach Rich McKay as if his expectations are equal to that of Coach K or Bob Knight. Amazing. But on the other side of the coin, it's nice that even marginal programs have die-hards like that. The Pit in Albuquerque is still intimidating to play at.

One more college hoops note. Today's Ohio State v Florida game should be a good one, but there's a lot of juice taken out of it with the absence of Al Horford. It leads me to believe that the Buckeyes will land a road victory (and then repeat that success on the football field, Jan. 8th), but I don't think they'll get their best shot from Florida. For a true guage of where each of these teams stand, you'd need both sides healthy.

Nine straight clean sheets

That's Liverpool's running tally. Fortunate enough to watch the match today on FSC. Watford probably feel terribly unlucky not to have been leading 1-0 at halftime at Bangura missed an absolute sitter in the 39th, but it was always going to be our day after Bellamy's goal seconds after the 2nd half kickoff. Well-taken rocket from Xabi. Watford's back four just lacked the quality to keep us out and our attack had little trouble dismembering their flat back line. Solid victory, always happy to pick up three points.

Watford definitely deserve credit, though. They did well not to play 11 behind the ball like some of our previous opponents -- miserable outfits like Portsmouth and Boro. I'm actually hoping that the Hornets can pull of the miracle and stay up in the league another year. They certainly give the effort, which has been at maximum all year.

I was chanting back in October for at least 19 points out of 21 over the next seven matches and the Reds picked up 17. It's good enough for third place midway through the season and the side finally has a solid run of form going (even if it has been against lackluster competition). Bring on Rovers, a match Bellamy will undoubtedly be fired up for.