Trav's Thoughts

I'm a pretty happy man today. The Lakers have run out to a 3-0 start. They won two of those games without Kobe Bryant. Rony Turiaf is living up to his potential so far. Luke Walton is a steady presence who almost always does the right thing. Lamar Odom seems relaxed.

Of course, there are still 79 games left to go. It's a long season. But so far, I'm pleased.

Notre Dame won again today, beating North Carolina 45-26. The Irish are now 8-1 and eligible to be selected to play in a BCS bowl game. I'm still holding out hope that the teams ahead of them in the BCS poll all lose at least twice to allow ND to play in the national championship game.

Hey, a guy can dream until the end of the season. . .can't he?

My Raiders have won two games in a row!! It was looking like they wouldn't win two games all season. The Raiders are here in the rainy Pacific Northwest for a Monday night game against Seattle. It's a big game in my world - my Raiders against Pam's Seahawks. Her boys are bruised and battered and not playing particularly well. My boys have found a defensive backbone, although offensively they are really rotten.

Based on both teams' recent performance, it could actually be a competitive game.

Duke is ranked #9 in the first college basketball poll of the season. I expected that. They lost senior leadership from last year and will be very young. Gonzaga is ranked #16. The Zags also need to adjust to the loss of All America leadership and re-focus on how to play more of a team game. There won't be a JJ Reddick or an Adam Morrison to bail out either team this season.

The Vancouver Canucks are 7-6 and second in the northwest division of the Western Conference. I mention Vancouver, because that is the nearest NHL city to me. The Canucks are one of only six franchises from Canadian cities in a league of 30 teams. Seems kind of sad for Canada's game.

Well, that's my sports recap.