Staples Center

Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony will be able to resume their tussling in Denver on Monday without a steel cage on the floor for Game 4 of the Lakers-Nuggets series. That's because World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon and AEG resolved the high-profile scheduling conflict that had the Nuggets, Lakers and WWE stars poised to appear at the same time Monday at Pepsi Center in Denver.

Two months? This is going to feel like two years. Knee injury? This is a blow to the chest. Breaths short, patience shorter, Lakers fans watched the first home game without Andrew Bynum on Thursday in an arena that was clearly missing something. Staples has lost its Center. Kobe Bryant looked desperate. Lamar Odom looked hurried. Kwame Brown looked just awful.

The pattern presented itself over and over last season, a Groundhog Day that couldn't be escaped by the Lakers once the injuries and ineffectiveness began to set in. Win a few, lose a few. Beat San Antonio, but lose to Charlotte. The injuries have continued this season, but the tendency to slide after success has not. Case in point: After an impressive 130-124 victory Wednesday at Phoenix, the Lakers put away an undermanned Clippers team, 113-95, Saturday night at Staples Center.

Most eyes were front and on the center. Kobe Bryant, as he is prone to do, stole the show. With Pau Gasol returning to the Lakers' lineup in a test and trial of his sprained left ankle, Bryant used an economical effort to boost the Lakers to a 104-91 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at Staples Center. Bryant made 10 of his 16 shots, good for a game-high 36 points. Fourteen of those points came in the fourth quarter. He also had 13 rebounds and seven assists.

A seven-foot-tall bronze statue of Oscar De La Hoya will join similar tributes to Los Angeles sports stars Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky at Staples Center, officials announced Wednesday. The date of unveiling was not revealed, but De La Hoya was surprised by the announcement, made by his Golden Boy Promotions business partner Richard Schaefer at a downtown news conference promoting De La Hoya's fight against Steve Forbes on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

A state panel has approved $30 million in housing bonds to improve the Figueroa Street area near Staples Center in downtown L.A. even though the initial application failed to show how the project would help provide affordable housing. The funding was approved Thursday night by the state's Local Assistance Loan and Grant Committee after the state allowed backers of the project to submit additional information.

Forty-one home games, and the Ducks and the Kings happen to open their seasons at home on the same night, Oct. 12. That Sunday, the Ducks take the ice at the Honda Center against Phoenix at 5 p.m., and about an hour later, the Kings will do the same against San Jose at Staples Center. Surely, fans of both teams exist. One solution: Watch a period in Anaheim, hit the road and pray for a smooth ride with little traffic on the way to Los Angeles to catch the rest of the Kings' game.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX) X Games 14 Where: Staples Center (and Event Deck at LA Live) and the Home Depot Center. When: Today-Sunday. Tickets: $10-$20 for all-day entry. Available on site or via Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster.com. OU WON'T WANT TO MISS THESE Tonight: Skateboard Big-Air -- Will Jake Brown overcome last year's frightful slam? Will Bob Burnquist repeat for gold or will Danny Way, coming back from injury, reclaim dominance in event he created?

A third statue was unveiled outside Staples Center on Monday, joining the likenesses of Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky, and you'll never guess who. Jerry West? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Chick Hearn? Think again. Think of an athlete who is not affiliated with any Staples Center team. Think of an athlete who competed in the building just once, where he was punched 284 times in a loss. Think of an athlete who is preparing for a Saturday night competition in which he will probably get pounded again.

The Jan. 24 world welterweight title fight between champion Antonio Margarito and Pomona's "Sugar" Shane Mosley has been moved from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to Staples Center, fight officials said Thursday. The shift comes just days after Mosley's statements to the grand jury that investigated the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative were released.