Hack

A powerful, and powerless, ally The Lakers would love for teams to stop intentionally fouling Dwight Howard . So would David Stern . The NBA commissioner told Fox Sports New Orleans on Wednesday that he previously tried to get the hack-a-whomever strategy banned for more than the last two minutes of games, when teams are awarded two free throws and the ball on deliberate fouls. "I would have liked to have seen the rule changed to make the last two-minute rule the whole rule," Stern told the station.

NEW ORLEANS -- One night after being intentionally bumped, grabbed and nudged, Dwight Howard fought back. Hard. The Lakers center put a quick end to the New Orleans Hornets' Hack-a-Howard strategy late in the third quarter, making two consecutive free throws after being deliberately fouled. The Hornets didn't touch Howard again Wednesday night at New Orleans Arena, though he played less than four minutes in the fourth quarter with the Lakers leading during a 103-87 win. Howard probably hasn't seen the last of opponents' unwanted advances.

HOUSTON - It began with a little more than three minutes left, an arena that was half-empty at tipoff suddenly rocking, the Lakers suddenly wobbling. Houston Rockets fans stood behind the Lakers' basket at the Toyota Center as Dwight Howard stepped to the free-throw line, their arms waving, noise sticks thumping, voices roaring. Miss, miss. Six seconds later, it happened again. Rockets guard Carlos Delfino grabbed Howard in the backcourt, forcing the Lakers center to make another lonely march to the free-throw line.

WASHINGTON - As head of the FBI's cyber crimes division, Shawn Henry often had to deal with exasperated company executives after his agents informed them that their networks had been hacked and their secrets pilfered. "By whom?" the company officials would ask. "What have they taken? Where did it go?" "Sorry," Henry's agents had to reply, "that's classified. " Even though the FBI in many cases had evidence the attacker had been backed by a foreign intelligence agency, agents couldn't disclose it because the U.S. government believed doing so could compromise top-secret sources and methods.

The people of Orlando, those who weren't tourists or wearing felt mouse ears Sunday night, were probably beaming at a final score 2,200 miles away. Orlando Magic 113, Lakers 103. It was the latest blast in a season full of them, the Lakers pulled apart by another inferior team. Dwight Howard buckled at the free-throw line, Pau Gasol was benched most of the fourth quarter and the Lakers somehow surrendered 40 fourth-quarter points to the NBA's third-lowest scoring team before Sunday.

Magic 113 - Lakers 103 (final) Dwight Howard couldn't hit his free throws against the Orlando Magic and the Lakers fall to 8-9 after being upset, 113-103, at Staples Center Sunday night. The Magic sent Howard to the line 14 times in the fourth quarter, almost always intentionally.  Howard hit just seven as Orlando kept the Lakers from running any semblance of an offense, exploiting Howard's biggest weakness. Meanwhile the Lakers didn't respond defensively and the Magic exploded for 40 fourth-quarter points.

LONDON - In a highly anticipated and lengthy report, a senior judge Thursday recommended that a new, independent regulatory authority be set up to monitor Britain's raucous press and to crack down on media abuses such as phone hacking and other unethical newsgathering practices. Justice Brian Leveson said such a regulator was necessary because the press had at times “wreaked havoc in the lives of innocent people” through its intrusions on privacy and relentless pursuit of scoops.

LONDON - Britain should set up an independent regulator to monitor its freewheeling news media and prevent abuses such as the phone-hacking scandal that exposed unethical and sometimes illegal news-gathering practices, a senior judge said Thursday after a yearlong investigation. The new regulating body should be established by law and exclude politicians and editors to guarantee its independence from government and industry pressure, Lord Justice Brian Leveson said in a much-anticipated report that blasted the aggressive tactics often associated with British tabloids and paparazzi.

TULSA, Okla. - Jim Thavisay is secretly stalking one of his classmates. And one of them is spying on him. "I have an idea who it is, but I'm not 100% sure yet," said Thavisay, a 25-year-old former casino blackjack dealer. Stalking is part of the curriculum in the Cyber Corps, an unusual two-year program at the University of Tulsa that teaches students how to spy in cyberspace, the latest frontier in espionage. Students learn not only how to rifle through trash, sneak a tracking device on cars and plant false information on Facebook.

The Lakers have finally climbed above .500 to 6-5 despite losing point guard Steve Nash in the second game of the season to a leg injury. Through 11 games, center Dwight Howard has averaged 20.3 points, 11.7 boards and 2.8 blocks a game.  He's hitting 61.8% of his shots from the floor. However, he's struggled in two areas: turnovers (3.4 a night) and free throw shooting (48.4%). On Tuesday night, Howard's aim was so off, Brooklyn Nets Coach Avery Johnson asked his players to foul Howard away from the ball to put him on the line.