it's just the Curse of the Willamette. L.A. has now lost ... nine times in a row in the Rose Garden Arena, and 22 of the past 26. It's so bad that Jackson joked he just marks the Portland games as losses when the schedule comes out. One thing's for sure -- L.A. has no shot if Bryant needs three times as many shots as Roy to get the same number of points. Should he fail to outplay Roy in the rematch, there's a good chance the Lakers' Rose Garden skid will hit ten. Somebody had posted this link in another thread. Thanks. I thought it deserved it own.