Exhibition Games

The Loyola Marymount men's basketball team will play an exhibition game against the Amateur Athletic Union Lafayette Hustlers, a touring squad of former college standouts, at 5 p.m. today at Gersten Pavilion. Loyola is expected to start Tony Walker and Terrell Lowery at guard, Chris Knight and Brian McCloskey at forward and Christian Scott at center. Lowery and McCloskey had impressive games in the Lions' annual intrasquad game Nov. 2, won by the Gray team, 210-176, over the Crimson.

The Galaxy said they will play an exhibition game Feb. 19 against Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles, the soccer team known as the Xolos, at Home Depot Center in Carson, although not all of the Xolos' regular players are expected to attend. The game starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $10, the Galaxy said. Founded in 2007, the Xolos won the Mexican first division title in December and have attracted a sizable following on both sides of the border. Their title also qualified the Xolos to play in a South American tournament, the Copa Libertadores, starting Feb. 19. Xolos players not traveling to that game will face the Galaxy.

Hank Stram has become a Raider announcer. Yes, the same Hank Stram who used to coach the Kansas City Chiefs, a team the Raiders despised. Stram has been hired by Channel 9 to work as a commentator on three exhibition telecasts, which is sort of like Tom Lasorda someday announcing for the San Francisco Giants. Stram, though, doesn't think it's so unusual.

The Angels have released their spring-training schedule, which will begin with Feb. 23 split-squad games against the defending World Series-champion San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale, Ariz., and against the Chicago Cubs in Tempe, Ariz. Tickets for the team's 18-game home Cactus League schedule range from $12 to $34 and are available through the team's website ( www.angels.com ), the Ticketmaster national sales line (1-800-745-3000), the Southern California sales line ([714] 663-9000)

Bad things happen in threes? That was the case for NFL offensive coordinators this week, as Kansas City's Chan Gailey, Tampa Bay's Jeff Jagodzinski and Buffalo's Turk Schonert were dismissed in rapid-fire succession this week, meaning those teams had to make significant adjustments less than two weeks before the season kicks off. What's more, each of those teams faces one of last season's top-10 defenses in its opener. The Chiefs play at Baltimore; the Buccaneers play host to Dallas; and the Bills play the first half of a Monday night doubleheader at New England.

Senior Chris Brown, the nation's top three-point shooter last season, and junior transfer Michael Tate, who has been getting rave preseason reviews from UC Irvine Coach Rod Baker, have been suspended from Anteater exhibition games. Brown, who averaged almost five three-pointers a game last season and led the team with a 17.4-point scoring average, will miss Irvine's game against Five Star Sports at 7:30 tonight in the Bren Center because he missed team study sessions.

The NBA Thursday canceled 24 exhibition games and postponed the start of training camps indefinitely as the lockout went through its 86th day with only the faintest of hope for a resolution soon. The likelihood grew that the league will be forced to cancel regular-season games because of a work stoppage for the first time in its history. "Nobody wants to miss the whole season, but there are 29 owners that are willing to do so if they have to," said Russ Granik, deputy commissioner.

The Mighty Ducks will play four exhibition games at The Pond of Anaheim, the team announced Tuesday. The Ducks will play a total of nine games, including two at neutral sites, before beginning their 1995-96 NHL regular season. The home dates are Sept. 20 (Washington Capitals), Sept. 22 (Boston Bruins), Sept 24 (New York Rangers) and Sept. 27 (Dallas Stars). The road games are at Dallas (Sept. 17), at Vancouver (Sept. 23), versus Calgary at Phoenix (Sept. 26), at the Kings (Sept.

Defenseman Kevin Haller will undergo arthroscopic surgery Wednesday to remove damaged cartilage in his right knee. Haller is expected to be sidelined about a month. An MRI exam Sunday revealed the extent of the injury. Haller suffered swelling in the knee while skating informally last week with teammates. "This is the time to get it done," Coach Craig Hartsburg said of the procedure. "He should be playing again within a month. We don't need him this month."

For disenchanted Dodgers and Angels fans, this weekend is highlighted by, yes, the return of pro football. Exhibition games include the Raiders taking on the Green Bay Packers in the AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio, today at noon on ABC, Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers from Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday at 10 a.m. on NBC, Channels 4, 36 and 39.

Sweat still dripped off his face and soaked his jersey when Lamar Odom approached the media Monday after his first practice with the Clippers in two weeks. Odom was jovial despite being peppered with questions about his availability for the Clippers' season opener Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center. He sat out the last five exhibition games with a bone bruise in his left foot. "Hopefully I'll play," Odom said about the season opener. "Hopefully, if the trainer lets me. It's always his decision.

They had the look of a Clippers team that's ready for the real season to begin. They played their final exhibition game like a Clippers team intent on showing the Denver Nuggets that L.A. will be a serious team to deal with in the Western Conference. With five players scoring in double figures and two others one point shy, the Clippers wrapped up their exhibition season with a 106-94 victory over Denver on Thursday night at the Pepsi Center. On Wednesday night, the real season begins for the Clippers when they play the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center in the regular-season opener for both teams.

Chris Paul said he wanted to play, that he even argued with Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro, who had the final say on his All-Star point guard's not playing against the Lakers on Wednesday night at Staples Center because of a sore right thigh. With the Clippers playing another game Thursday night in Denver, Del Negro said he wanted to rest Paul. Paul suffered the injury in practice Monday when he was hit on the thigh, but he is expected to play against the Nuggets. "I told Coach I wanted to play," Paul said.

According to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com , Kobe Bryant will miss the Lakers' final two exhibition games. The All-Star guard was day-to-day before Wednesday night's exhibition against the Clippers. After practice on Tuesday, Bryant said that his foot was in enough discomfort from a bruise that he would probably not play even if it were a regular-season game. The Lakers also play Thursday night in San Diego against the Sacramento Kings. Trudell notes that Bryant "will be re-evaluated over the weekend to check his status in advance of Tuesday evening's season opener against Dallas.

In one week, the Clippers will open the regular season against the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center. Meanwhile, the Clippers will finish out the exhibition season with the hope they can continue to improve. They played their second game in three days, beating the Golden State Warriors, 88-71, Monday at Staples, showing signs of a team that is coming together. DeAndre Jordan had another double-double with 18 points on eight-for-11 shooting and 12 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots in 24 minutes.

Deconstructing Dwight, Part 1 of dozens of chapters to come, undoubtedly. The Lakers center took the court Sunday for the first time with his new team and showed exactly why he was different from Andrew Bynum. Markedly. Dwight Howard has instincts that his predecessor has rarely shown, scoring five times off alley-oop passes and teammates' missed shots in an exhibition game against Sacramento. Unlike Bynum, Howard's not a guy who needs the ball in the post, though he showed a left-handed hook shot against the Kings.

The UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton men's basketball teams open their seasons tonight with exhibition games at home. The Titans make their first appearance under Coach Donny Daniels when they face the Los Angeles Stars, a touring team of former college players, at 7 o'clock in Titan Gym. The Anteaters play South Dakota at 7 in the Bren Center. Two Titan players will miss the exhibition because of injuries.

Over his nine-year career, Matt Barnes said, he has always had to prove his worth. So when Clippers point guard Chris Paul asked Barnes to come play for his team after another pickup game at L.A.'s practice facility this summer, the 6-foot-7 small forward didn't hesitate to sign a free-agent contract despite the obstacles he faced. The Clippers already had a starting small forward in Caron Butler and had already signed free agent Grant Hill to be the backup. Even though Barnes was looking for a job, coming to the Clippers didn't appear to be the ideal situation for him. "It's always been a situation where I've had to work for it," Barnes said.

Dwight Howard, jittery Laker? It's true. The six-time All-Star center and three-time NBA defensive player of the year said he would probably be edgy for his first game as a Laker, which won't come Friday in an exhibition against Sacramento at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. "Like I told Steve [Nash]," Howard said after practice Thursday, "I think I'll be a little nervous out there for the first time, but he said he would help me through it and hopefully it will be OK. " Howard said he gets nervous before every game because he doesn't want to lose, but this is different.