Neither an injured Kobe Bryant nor a healthy Chris Paul could lead its team to victory today, as both the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs evened up their series with the Lakers and Hornets. For the Lakers, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher played well, but the Jazz were perfect from the charity stripe in OT. Kobe played through pain but lacked his usual explosiveness. Deron Williams had 29 points and 14 assists for Utah. Money bags. In San Antonio, the game wasn't nearly as close. The Spurs won easily by 20 points. Chris Paul had 26 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals in a losing effort. Each series is tied 2-2. Games five on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Twenty-one straight wins and 9-0 since Yao's injury, the Houston Rockets go for 22 tomorrow against the Los Angeles Lakers. Each team is 45-20 with the best record in the Western Conference.

Everyone expected Houston to drop out of the top 8, making way for the Warriors, Nuggets and maybe the Blazers to pull those last two playoff spots in the West. Obviously that hasn't been the case.

"The Rockets have a brutal stretch of schedule coming up: They host the Lakers tomorrow, then Boston on Tuesday. Then the Rockets take a three-game road trip, heading east to New Orleans for a game the very next night. And then they head west, young man, to play Golden State on Friday, and then back east they go again to play Phoenix on Saturday."

Tonight the Rockets go for 20 straight victories, but not before they have a little fun at Dikembe Mutombo's expense. Watch Mutombo's teammates mock the big guy's accent. Quality.

NFL free agency starts Friday at 12:01 a.m. It's time to emerge from the winter doldrums of sports-free February. Football is back. Fans of every team will be looking for their respective front offices to make noise, but only a handful of those teams will pull the trigger on someone exciting.

At the link: Ranked by position are the top unrestricted free agents. Restricted free agents and franchise players are not included because realistically most of those guys are staying put.

Randy Moss is the most notable free agent; however, some media outlets and blogs have suggested he may already have a verbal deal with the Patriots. Once the clock strikes midnight, though, anyone and everything is fair game.

Roger Clemens could use this guy's help. Brad Williams has one of the world's best memories, and he can tell you what was happening in the world on pretty much any given day, all the way back more than 40 years.

August 18, 1965: "It was a Wednesday. We stayed at a motel that night in Clare, Michigan. It seemed more like a cabin."

November 7, 1991: "That would be around when Magic Johnson announced he had HIV. Yes, a Thursday. There was a big snowstorm here the week before."

He was able to correctly identify about 20 other events, including the birth of the first test-tube baby in 1978, a toxic-gas leak in 1984, and a tennis match in 1973.

UTEP's Claudia Porras is a model basketball player. Literally. Originally from Bolivia, Claudia's coach says the model-baller has a great attitude and work ethic. "She's a good student; she's a real joy to have in the program." Smart money says "program" is code for "bed."

More photos available at the Sports By Brooks link.