Who owns L.A.?

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Whose town is this, anyway?

It is a question I have heard a lot from friends whose allegiances to one local team or another are as personal as they are impassioned. And it's a question I've been mulling during this week's insane intersection of big and bigger L.A. sports news -- "All Kobe, All the Time" radio banging elbows with the first-place Dodgers, the first-place Angels and the Stanley Cup-questing Ducks.

Which entity ranks as "L.A.'s Team" during normal, more stable, the-sky-is-not-falling-on-the-Lakers conditions?

The landscape has changed considerably since the Rams and Raiders bolted for leaner pastures and an ex-Dodger catcher ambled down the freeway to turn the thing around in Anaheim. Here is one view on how the current roster of teams breaks down in terms of popularity, loyalty and interest among Los Angeles/Orange County fans:

TOP TEN

1. Dodgers. Still tops after all these years, precisely because of all those years. . . . The Dodgers beat the Lakers into Los Angeles by a couple of seasons, at a time when baseball was still king, enabling them to get a foothold they have yet to relinquish. Passion for the Dodgers has been simmering longer, dating back to the days of Walt Alston (he didn't appear overly passionate, but the people who supported his team were) and Coliseum "Moon Shots." . . . Replay the tape: Scully, Koufax, Lasorda, Fernando, Hershiser, Gibson, Piazza. Tough to find bigger L.A. icons than those.

2. Lakers. With a bullet, thanks to the gun Kobe has tried to hold to the Lakers' heads. . . . The fever took a while to crest, first breaking out during the Showtime years, then subsiding during the Randy Pfund/Elden Campbell years, then rebounding with a fury with the 2000-2002 Three-Peat. . . . Kobe Versus Shaq '04 pushed it into the stratosphere, where it has remained despite only four playoff victories since.

3. USC football. Given up for yesteryear's news during the 1990s, the Trojans have pulled off the comeback of our generation. . . . Against significant odds, USC football is bigger today than it was under Howard Jones and John McKay and John Robinson. Post-Palmer/Leinart/Bush, it now seems hard to believe that USC went more than two decades between Heisman Trophies and national titles.

4. UCLA basketball. Given up for yesteryear's news during the Steve Lavin regime, the Bruins are back to giving the people what they want with back-to-back Final Four appearances. Well, almost. . . . Stylistically, Ben Howland does it a little differently than John Wooden did. If Wooden's Pyramid of Success were the real deal, Howland's players would have been the ones cutting and transporting the stones.

5. UCLA football. The Bruins' Little Brother Football Complex in a nutshell: UCLA's greatest quarterback of the last half-century was named Troy.

6. Angels. Now making up for lost time -- the '60s, the '70s, most of the '80s, all of the '90s -- with their remarkable success since the hiring of former Dodger Mike Scioscia. The Dodgers still have the bigger fan base, but the Angels play better baseball.

7. Clippers. Have they peaked here? Probably, although the Kobe Saga has become an X factor. They'll always have May 2006 ("We Made the Second Round, Clip & Save"), but the encore was more of the same old same old.

8. USC basketball. This year's March Gladness has spawned new interest in Trojan hoops, but popularity potential has long been weighted down by the Weirdness Factor: The coach to make the biggest splash in the NCAA tournament used to play for UCLA; the Trojans went 24-2 in 1970-71 and didn't make the NCAAs, or even the NIT; the Bizarro Retro World that was the Sports Arena; Rick Majerus. . . . Prospects look promising with the arrival of O.J. Mayo. For one season, anyway.

9. Kings. Their fans are near-maniacal in their passion and loyalty. There just aren't that many of them. We pause for a moment of silence as the Ducks prepare for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. Tough times, tough times.

10. Ducks. They're in the finals, they are two victories away from the trophy, but even in their own home 'burb they rank a distant second to the Angels.

SCUFFLING UNDERNEATH

11. Galaxy. Two league championships since 2002, which equal the combined output over that span of the Lakers (1), Angels (1), Dodgers, Clippers, Kings and Ducks. David Beckham will give the team a temporary ratings boost. Check back in October.

12. Chivas USA. It's going to take some time. Around here, people hear the nickname "Goats" and immediately think of Marty McSorley, Donnie Moore and Gary Payton.

13. USC/UCLA smaller-revenue producers. Valuable contributors in the quest for the Lexus Gauntlet. (For 10 bonus points: What is the Lexus Gauntlet?)

14. Sparks. For a refreshing change of pace, the Sparks offer a healthy alternative where Laker greats decide to return (e.g. Michael Cooper) rather than threaten to bolt for the next outbound plane.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-spw-dayinla31jun01,1,4838512.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba-lakers&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

LOL@Dodgers being bigger than the Lakers nowadays...

[Bay Area Jat]

LA fans just jump on the nuts of which ever team is winning IE snoop making songs for the mighty ducks when they were in the finals of that one sport that i thought was still on strike

[rik]

LA fans just jump on the nuts of which ever team is winning IE snoop making songs for the mighty ducks when they were in the finals of that one sport that i thought was still on strike

Homie, everybody has fake fans. You of all people should know that. Cus all those GS "fans" disappeared hella quick.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

LA fans just jump on the nuts of which ever team is winning IE snoop making songs for the mighty ducks when they were in the finals of that one sport that i thought was still on strike

I hate a lot of "Laker fans" out here...But trust that our franchises have their share of loyalists.

[Bay Area Jat]

actually golden st season tickets are all sold out on the 1st level. only upperdeck remains

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^Because they finally made the playoffs, meaning those are bandwaggon fans. LOL.

[GangstaBoogy]

Sorry to shift subjects here, but...where the FUCK did those annoying Golden State fans go? I haven't heard shiet about the Warriors being the best team, B.Davis being the real MVP, Matt Barnes being most improved, etc since Utah took care of them.

[Bay Area Jat]

^^Because they finally made the playoffs, meaning those are bandwaggon fans. LOL.

that was last season. haven't even checked for the upcomming season

[Bay Area Jat]

Sorry to shift subjects here, but...where the FUCK did those annoying Golden State fans go? I haven't heard shiet about the Warriors being the best team, B.Davis being the real MVP, Matt Barnes being most improved, etc since Utah took care of them.

wtf u talking about every charger game is a fuckin away game regardless of its in daygo or not.

[floatin_above_everything]

It's Phoenix's town

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Sorry to shift subjects here, but...where the FUCK did those annoying Golden State fans go? I haven't heard shiet about the Warriors being the best team, B.Davis being the real MVP, Matt Barnes being most improved, etc since Utah took care of them.

wtf u talking about every charger game is a fuckin away game regardless of its in daygo or not.

Have you ever actually been to a Charger game?

[Bay Area Jat]

Sorry to shift subjects here, but...where the FUCK did those annoying Golden State fans go? I haven't heard shiet about the Warriors being the best team, B.Davis being the real MVP, Matt Barnes being most improved, etc since Utah took care of them.

wtf u talking about every charger game is a fuckin away game regardless of its in daygo or not.

Have you ever actually been to a Charger game?

yea been 2 a couple charger raider games. also been to denver NY for a jets game and operation desert storm when i went to a raider cardinal game

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Sorry to shift subjects here, but...where the FUCK did those annoying Golden State fans go? I haven't heard shiet about the Warriors being the best team, B.Davis being the real MVP, Matt Barnes being most improved, etc since Utah took care of them.

wtf u talking about every charger game is a fuckin away game regardless of its in daygo or not.

Have you ever actually been to a Charger game?

yea been 2 a couple charger raider games. also been to denver NY for a jets game and operation desert storm when i went to a raider cardinal game

I ment a Charger home game. But still over the past 3 years it has always been a Chager fan dominated stadium at Qualcomm.

[Bay Area Jat]

yes in san diego. im a 8 year raider season ticket holder and i try to travel to at least one away game per season. sometimes it happens sometimes it don't