Devil

In a concert last month at Hollywood's Hotel Cafe, the buzzy English singer Paloma Faith crouched down near the floor to sing "Let Me Down Easy. " It's a tough-love song associated with a number of hardy soul-music veterans, including Bettye LaVette and the late Etta James, and Faith was doing what she could (despite her youth and a seriously movement-constricting dress) to channel some of their gravitas. LaVette does some crouching of her own on "Thankful N' Thoughtful," a powerful new covers album that finds the 66-year-old R&B singer tapping into the desperation of tunes like Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" and "Everything Is Broken" by Bob Dylan.

A baseball postseason in Washington is as rare as bipartisanship in that city. Hall of famer Walter Johnson got the Washington Nationals to the World Series in 1924 and 1925. But when was the last time a Washington team reached postseason? Why it was the Washington Senators in 1958. Of course, getting to the World Series required Satan's help. Joe Boyd, middle-aged Senators' fan, is transformed into Shoeless Joe Hardy by the Devil in the movie “Damn Yankees.” While he makes the hapless Senators a contender, Hardy sours on the deal and tries to use an escape clause.

The Zach Parise derby may have turned into a two-day decathlon, but the Kings were realistic about their chances with the New Jersey Devils free-agent star forward, calling the odds of signing him "way too long. " An official with knowledge of the situation but not authorized to comment said Sunday that the team had learned from the pursuit of Brad Richards last summer - he landed with the New York Rangers - and was focusing elsewhere. That focus could end up on Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan, who has two big fans in Kings Coach Darryl Sutter and Kings President and General Manager Dean Lombardi.

Just when it seems the Kings finally have everything - the Stanley Cup, the love of a city, the respect of a league - it turns out something is still missing. It's three inches in diameter, weighs about six ounces, and is absolutely huge. The Kings may have discovered their championship soul, but they still can't find their championship puck. Two weeks after winning their first Stanley Cup in the franchise's 45-year history, the Kings don't know the whereabouts of the puck that was on the ice when the final game ended.

Jonathan Quick moved into the NHL elite category with a regular season that earned him a nomination for the Vezina Trophy, given to the league's top goalie. He continued that play during the Stanley Cup playoffs, allowing no more than two goals a game during an eight-game winning steak from April 22 to May 17. Quick put the Kings on the path to the Stanley Cup against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round. He stopped 46 of 48 shots in a 4-2 victory in Game 2 and 41 shots in a 1-0 victory in Game 3. "There's no doubt there's a maturity aspect ... in the way he approaches things," Kings goaltender coach Bill Ranford said.

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau and Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin have blogged for The Times occasionally throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs . Today, Boudreau gives his general thoughts on the Kings' Stanley Cup victory Monday over the New Jersey Devils. As nice as it was for the Devils to make it into a series, you had to believe that the Kings were going to win it in the end. Hats off to them. Throughout the entire postseason, when push came to shove, one of their big boys came through.

They were the five minutes that changed 45 years. Five minutes responsible for finally releasing and unleashing 41/2 decades of franchise frustration. The five minutes that helped lift the Kings to their first Stanley Cup as they defeated the New Jersey Devils, 6-1, on Monday night in Game 6, winning the best-of-seven series, four games to two. And so, it will be Steve Bernier becoming part of Kings' lore and Stanley Cup history. Not Jonathan Bernier, the Kings' backup goalie, but Steve Bernier, a fourth-line forward for the Devils.

Once more with feeling for the Kings. They failed to win the Stanley Cup at home Wednesday. They failed to win it in New Jersey on Saturday. So they wander back into Staples Center today for Game 6 against the New Jersey Devils at 5 p.m. A third swing-and-miss sends things back to Newark on Wednesday for a winner-take-all Game 7. "You failed a couple times now," the Kings' Anze Kopitar said. "We all know how big this is. It would certainly be nice to finish it off at home and get it done.

New Jersey Devils Coach Peter DeBoer faced the media on Monday to discuss Monday night's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings lead the series, 3-2, but the Devils have won the last two games.  Below are highlights from the transcript (provided by the NHL ) of the news conference. Q. Pete, do you get the sense with each passing game maybe the anxiety or pressure that  your team is feeling is decreasing as you win these games or is it the same heading into every game?

Kings fans have been promised five-year plans. Steve Bernier gave them a five-minute plan. From the moment the New Jersey Devils forward tried to make defenseman Rob Scuderi as one with the boards, the Kings could begin clearing space in the trophy case for the Stanley Cup. Bernier received five minutes for roughing and was ejected when Scuderi suffered a cut after being slammed face first into the boards. The Kings turned the penalty into three goals and an insurmountable lead in a 6-1 victory that closed out the Stanley Cup Final.