Wake-up call: Kings, Jim Harbaugh, Lakers, Matt Holliday

First things first: The Kings' shootout victory last night was special precisely because special was not expected. This was their second shootout, and this time they came up with a win against the Dallas Stars, thanks in part to goaltender Erik Ersberg and rookie Wayne Simmonds. But the Kings wouldn't have gotten to the shootout without a strong performance by Dustin Brown in regulation and then the whole team in overtime. Near the end of the third period, though, Brown slammed Mike Ribeiro into the boards and was hit with a major penalty for boarding. How good would the Kings be with Brown ejected? As Helene Elliott writes in her game column this morning:

The Kings, though short-handed for the last minute of the third period and the first two* minutes of overtime, held firm. That's due to the ferocious example set by Brown and matched by his teammates after he left. 

Meanwhile, the Stars' Brenden Morrow, who jumped Brown after the boarding incident, is facing possible suspension for instigating a fight. Both players were given a game misconduct. The weird thing was watching the two captains going at it.  *Update: The NHL today rescinded both the automatic one-game suspension to Morrow and the $10,000 fine to Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett.

Slow grit: The Lakers last night fought it out with the Dallas Mavericks and pulled out a 106-99 victory. In Dallas. Tough. Which is what the Kobe Bryant-led team proved to be. Tough. One thing Mike Bresnahan also mentions in his game story today is something that is worth repeating here: slowtime. The Lakers have started out slowly each game -- looking like a windup Victrola, where the record player starts out slowly and winds up speeding along at 78 revolutions per minute.

Committed means committed: Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh is committed to the university, was zoned in on the Cardinal's next opponent (USC) and didn't want to talk about the Oakland Raiders top job. That's what he told Dan Patrick this morning. Three times. Eloquently. And after being pressed again and again, Harbaugh said: "I guess we have a difference of the definition of commitment. I'm committed to Stanford." Harbaugh has been mentioned repeatedly as the guy Al Davis will turn to at the end of the season. The two men reportedly talk a lot, and the Harbaughs know football -- brother John is the coach of the 6-3 Baltimore Ravens. It doesn't help interim Coach Tom Cable to turn things around when the players hear the same rumor. Meanwhile, the Raiders fans can take solace that their team is 2-7 and not 0-9 like the Detroit Lions.

Oakland Holliday: It's official. The Oakland Athletics completed their trade for star outfielder Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies this morning. The Rockies get right-handed reliever Huston Street, left-handed starter Greg Smith and promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. So Oakland, despite the Raiders, has something to cheer about.

-- Debbie Goffa

*Updated Morrow at 12:30 p.m. and the length of the Kings penalty kill from three to two minutes at 2:40 p.m.

Photo: Dustin Brown, right, body checks Dallas Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas into the Kings bench as left wing Brenden Morrow handles the puck in the second period of Tuesday night's game. Credit: Kirby Lee / Image of Sport / US Presswire

Comments

[Brian Crandall]

One fight in the entire game and that is what the Times chooses to show - color me not surprised.

Another thing, the Kings were actually short-handed for the last minute of the third period and the first two - not three - minutes of overtime. Morrow's minor penalty offset 2 minutes of Brown's major penalty so a 3 minute Dallas power play resulted.

Also Morrow, who's suspension for instigating a fight in the final 5 minutes of a game was already rescinded by the NHL in yet another bonehead move in a long line of bonehead moves, was given a 10 minute misconduct and not a game misconduct.

[Jack]

It may be the Rockies who have the last laugh. The A's gave up three solid players, including Street who was Rookie of the Year in 2005. Granted Holliday is an All-Star and NL MVP but he will no longer being playing in the thin Rocky Mountain air, where the ball travels very far in Coors Field. In his career, he has half the number of home runs on the road than he has in Denver, and the A's park is spacious and at sea level. Also, if I'm not mistaken, he is eligible for free agency after next season, so the A's may lose him if they don't sign him in the meantime.

[Larry Walker]

The Kings game had everything and you did not even mention Ribeiro (after being knocked cold by a Brown check) scoring in the Shootout on a truly sick 'put-the-puck-between-the-legs-and-tap-the-puck-in-with-one-hand-on-the-stick' move and then putting his index finger to his lips to quiet the crowd. Oh I forgot, the NHL isn't the NBA, MLB or NFL so apparently the media is prohibited from covering it the same way.