Backups

On Twitter earlier Thursday I joked that Tennessee's top draft pick from last season will soon be known as Jake “Cleaned Out” Locker, in light of how aggressively the Titans are pursuing Peyton Manning. Of course, it would be a shock if the Titans were to trade Locker, the eighth overall pick in the 2011 draft. But the possibility of Manning joining the team -- and, yes, there are several other suitors - does raise interesting questions about what that would mean for Locker's development.

The playoffs are the place where the knocks on Eric Bledsoe go to die. Too erratic? He made all seven shots Saturday night in the Clippers' playoff opener. Not ready to become an NBA starter? He was certainly prepared to finish, becoming the only Clipper to play the entire fourth quarter. Nothing but pure athleticism? He showed plenty of grit by grabbing six rebounds, as many as Memphis big men Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph had … combined. Bledsoe was such a blur during the Clippers' 112-91 victory over the Grizzlies in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series that teammate Chris Paul rendered a head-spinning analysis of his backup's contract status a day later.

Clearly and unequivocally, baseball fan and Kings Coach Darryl Sutter once dismissed the notion of a "pitching rotation" when asked about handling his goalies in a 48-game season. Move ahead to April and Sutter has managed goalies Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier with the same aplomb and finesse of, say, pitching guru Roger Craig in his heyday. This is a strategy Ducks' Coach Bruce Boudreau has used as well - and as successfully - with veteran Jonas Hiller and newcomer Viktor Fasth.

Clearly and unequivocally, baseball fan and Kings Coach Darryl Sutter once dismissed the notion of a "pitching rotation" when asked about handling his goalies in a 48-game season. Move ahead to April and Sutter has managed goalies Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier with the same aplomb and finesse of, say, pitching guru Roger Craig in his heyday. This is a strategy Ducks' Coach Bruce Boudreau has used as well - and as successfully - with veteran Jonas Hiller and newcomer Viktor Fasth.

SALT LAKE CITY — Can a bench be benched? Probably not. But the Lakers need to do something about their reserves after having been again pounded by an opponent. Utah won the battle of the backups Wednesday, 36-12, yet another reason the Lakers lost to the Jazz, 95-86. Lakers Coach Mike Brown insisted a day earlier that he still believed in the reserves, saying, "I am confident in the guys. " No reporters asked him about the second unit after Wednesday's game. And if they did, there was no way Brown could have answered with as much conviction.

Football is about tackling, blocking and executing fundamentals, but success also comes from the character of a team's quarterback, which makes Friday's showdown between No. 2 Anaheim Servite (3-0) and No. 6 Huntington Beach Edison (3-0) at Huntington Beach High so intriguing. Forget that Edison's Matt Viles passed for a school-record 485 yards last week against Dana Hills. Forget that Servite's Cody Fajardo has engineered consecutive victories over longtime powers Long Beach Poly, Fresno Clovis West and Encino Crespi.

Goaltender Guy Hebert is expected in camp today, the final arrival from the World Cup. The Ducks are the only NHL team that sent two goalies to the tournament, and since Hebert and Mikhail Shtalenkov were both backups, they're in shape but in need of game action. Ron Wilson--Hebert's coach in Anaheim and with Team USA--would like to put Hebert in the lineup right away for Saturday's exhibition against the New York Rangers in Las Vegas.

Raider officials huddled in a pool-side coffee shop with their St. Louis Cardinal counterparts Monday, trying to land Lionel Washington, a 27-year-old cornerback who had 18 interceptions in his 36 starts before losing his job last season under new Coach Gene Stallings. The Cardinals are asking for a middle-round draft choice. The deal would be contingent on getting Washington to sign a contract. Washington is a left cornerback, the position that Lester Hayes plays.

Forget the geriatric backups, the day belonged to the Atlanta Falcons' Jamal Anderson. Atlanta's Steve DeBerg, 44, the NFL's oldest player, had a marginal advantage over St. Louis Ram backup Steve Bono, 36, in the second half of the Falcons' 21-10 victory Sunday. But Anderson did the heavy work with a career-best 188 yards in 31 carries and a touchdown as the NFC West leaders clinched a playoff berth earlier than they ever have.

Senior Robert Cleary was listed as the starting weakside guard on UCLA's depth chart heading into the season, but by the first game he was a backup to sophomore Chris Joseph. It was a tough blow for a player who had hopes of finishing his college career on a strong note. But instead of sulking, Cleary worked harder than ever and when Joseph suffered a season-ending knee injury against California, he stepped right in.

WASHINGTON -- Sometimes, in the hubbub of Washington, it takes a personal story to grab government officials' attention. Enter Patrick Ivison, an 18-year-old USC freshman who was left a quadriplegic as a toddler when a neighbor accidentally backed a car over him. He was at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, telling his story in an effort to persuade federal regulators to complete work on a requirement for back-up cameras in new cars. He was joined at a news conference by parents who held up pictures of their children killed in back-over accidents.

The Dodgers parted with one of their surplus starting pitchers Saturday, trading Aaron Harang to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for prospective backup catcher Ramon Hernandez. With former starter Chris Capuano left as the team's lone long reliever, the Dodgers now have a more traditional-looking seven-man bullpen. Harang, who was moved to a relief role against his wishes, will have the opportunity to be a starter again. "At the end of the day, this has a chance to help us and to help him," Manager Don Mattingly said.

UCLA does have a quarterback competition this spring practice. It's just going on behind starter Brett Hundley . Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut have graduated, leaving the Bruins without an experienced backup quarterback. T.J. Millweard and Jerry Neuheisel are competing to fill that role. "It's like how we were last year trying to find a starter, the same song and dance," offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said. "I would like to see someone emerge this spring. " Neuheisel, though he lacks college game experience, has been in the program two years.

Lakers fans were well aware that Steve Nash missed a ton of time when the season began. And Pau Gasol was sidelined by a variety of injuries. And more recently, Metta World Peace wouldn't be back until the Western Conference semifinals, as if the Lakers - or their followers - were thinking that far ahead. But Coach Mike D'Antoni often points out the least-analyzed injury of the Lakers' season - Steve Blake missing 37 games because of abdominal surgery and subsequent groin soreness.

NEW ORLEANS - On a night when the Clippers were still smarting and weary from an overtime loss to Dallas, they received the lift it needed from their reserves. Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, Lamar Odom and Eric Bledsoe won this game with their play in the fourth quarter, helping the Clippers carve out a 105-91 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night at the New Orleans Arena. Because those five played so well, it allowed Chris Paul to play just 33 minutes 44 seconds against the Hornets, one night after he played 39:27 against the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

ST. LOUIS — Jake Allen , Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott … How about the Kings countering with Jonathan Quick , Jonathan Bernier … and Bill Ranford ? "Hey, St. Louis is carrying three goalies. We are too," Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said, joking. Ranford, the 46-year-old Kings assistant coach, was pressed into goalie duty during the Kings' practice at Scottrade Center on Wednesday because of backup goalie Bernier's absence. Bernier has been home in Canada following the death of his grandmother.

To college football's elite programs, it's never been simply a question of how they play the game. It's also never been a question of whether they win or lose. The big dogs are going to win -- what matters is by how much. Just ask Temple Coach Ron Dickerson, who led the Owls to State College, Pa., last weekend to face his former boss, Joe Paterno, and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Dickerson and the Owls were thrashed, 66-14 -- and the Nittany Lions moved from No. 7 to No.

Look at it this way, at least now the Dodgers have the threat of power on their bench. Because otherwise, the whole bench is the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid. " Slap hitters, on-base guys, lots of utility guys, but nobody who can actually place a small fear into the opposing manager's heart. Now you can argue just how much power Bobby Abreu actually has left at age 38 -- bet the Angels would -- but it still is going to be more than any of the other backups. Abreu has 284 career home runs -- though only eight last year -- which is 284 more than any Dodgers pinch-hitter this season.

Gordon Stoker, the lead tenor in the Jordanaires vocal group that backed Elvis Presley, died Wednesday at his home in Brentwood, Tenn., after a lengthy illness, his son, Alan, told the Associated Press. He was 88. Stoker joined the Jordanaires in 1950, two years after they formed in Missouri. He originally played piano for the group. They caught the attention of Presley in the mid-1950s when they performed with Eddy Arnold at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. When Presley burst onto the national scene in 1956 on Steve Allen's TV show, Stoker and the Jordanaires were with him. They also sang on the original New York RCA studios recordings of "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel" and other hits.

PHOENIX - Tim Federowicz will start the season as the backup to starting catcher A.J. Ellis. That became clear Tuesday morning when the Dodgers optioned catcher Jesus Flores to minor-league camp. “He's showed us he doesn't belong in triple A any more,” Manager Don Mattingly said of Federowicz. With Mattingly wanting to rest Ellis twice a week, Federowicz could get a decent amount of playing time. Federowicz, 25, has played in 10 major league games over the last two seasons.