Playing the last leg of a 10-game road odyssey that could have broken them, the Kings on Wednesday reasserted themselves into the West playoff picture with a 3-2 victory over the Ducks that lifted them into sixth place in the mad playoff scramble.

A slick backhand backpass by Justin Williams set up light-scoring defenseman Willie Mitchell in the left circle for a slap shot that eluded a screened Curtis McElhinney at 6:45 of the third period and gave the Kings a 6-1-3 record in their season-long stretch of 10 straight games away from Staples Center. On Thursday they return home for the first time since Jan. 26 and will face the Minnesota Wild.

The Ducks played one of the best defensive games they've mustered in a while, banding together in front of McElhinney to help the struggling goalie as he tries to replace the still-ailing Jonas Hiller.

However, McElhinney left two rebounds the Kings turned into goals and the Ducks had no margin for error since they were also without their two top centers. Saku Koivu missed the game because of a sore groin and Ryan Getzlaf was with his wife following the birth of the couple’s son, Ryder James Getzlaf, Wednesday afternoon.

Goaltender Ray Emery, recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League Wednesday morning, was in uniform as McElhinney’s backup.

USC is expected to have several key prospects attending its game Thursday night at the Galen Center against No. 10 Arizona. 

Zena Edosomwan, a junior from North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake High, who reportedly is being recruited by several Pacific 10 Conference schools, is expected to be there.

Also expected to be in attendance are Santa Ana Mater Dei junior Xavier Johnson, a highly touted forward; Chatsworth Sierra Canyon sophomore Jahmel Taylor, a guard; and Playa del Rey St. Bernard sophomore Brandon Randolph, a guard.

Several players from USC's 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes are expected to attend the game, too.

-- Baxter Holmes

From the way Baron Davis struggled with his movement Tuesday night at Oklahoma City, it was no surprise that the Clippers decided to keep him out of the lineup against the Hornets on Wednesday night at New Orleans.

Davis was visibly downcast and said there was a chance he could be sidelined longer because of a swollen left knee. The Clippers are at Staples Center against the Lakers on Friday, technically an away game, and host the Celtics on Saturday.

"I’m a little upset my knee is acting up," Davis said before the Clippers played the Hornets. "When I’m out there, I’m giving it my all, but sometimes with the increased minutes and things like that, it didn’t work out. It just compounded the situation

"On the road trip, each and every game, it was becoming more and more swollen. I was just trying to battle through the road trip and get through to the weekend so I could get back on therapy and get an  amount of rest. Once Sunday rolled around, and then Monday, I really didn’t feel like I could do much at practice."

It was even more difficult against the Thunder. Davis played 26 minutes, going one for eight from the field for two points, and had four assists. Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro decided to shut him down largely based on that game. Davis wanted to play a few minutes, but Del Negro decided otherwise.

The Kings and Ducks each moved up a rung in the Western conference standings by not playing Tuesday, another strange day in a bizarre playoff scramble that shows every sign of going to the last day of the regular season.

As of Wednesday morning, before they faced each other at Anaheim, the Kings ranked eighth and the Ducks ninth, respectively. Each had 68 points—as did Chicago and Dallas—but the Kings had played fewer games, 59 to the other teams’ 60. The first tiebreaker is fewest games to achieve that point total (better winning percentage) and the second tiebreaker was changed this season to become number of wins excluding shootout wins.

“It’s abnormal. Specifically when you have 22 games left for it to be this tight,” Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. “But I guess the parity of the salary cap, the evening out of the skill throughout the league, the strength of the teams that are in the Western Conference, that’s what we’re presented with and we have to win our share of games.”

Though he said it’s impossible not to notice the closeness of the standings he tries to avoid paying too much attention and urges players to do the same.

“You can’t get too emotionally high or too emotionally low with one win or one loss. Stay on the even keel. Focus on the process of what we’ve established before that has given us a chance of success and strictly focus on that,” he said of the instructions he gives to players.

“Don’t focus on anything other than what you can control. Your work ethic, your discipline, your team mind set, your execution level—all those things are things we’ve tried to put to the forefront versus over the specific results on a day to day basis.”

Runner Dean Karnazes is about to set out on what he calls "without a doubt the most intense endeavor I've ever undertaken.”

For a guy whose running resume includes 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states, that's saying a lot.

But running a mere 26.2 miles every day for less than two months is nothing compared with what he's setting out to do Friday from Disneyland. His plan is to run from California to New York, a trip of nearly 3,000 miles that will require up to 14 hours daily and an average of 50-60 miles a day.

And he's doing it on live television. The nationally syndicated show “Live! With Regis and Kelly” will be tracking his progress all the way, starting with a live sendoff during Friday's broadcast. A bus carrying a production crew will follow Karnazes, enabling the show to check in with him almost every day.

“We plan to document this entire journey,” executive producer Michael Gelman said. “We're a live show, and this is going to be a live, real-time drama. We're really going to cover it.”

Karnazes is expected to cross a finish line at the "Live!" studio in Manhattan around May 11. Before that he will pass through 17 states and Washington, D.C., and expects to go through some 12 pairs of running shoes.

“I think uncertainty is part of the appeal,” said Karnazes, who was born in Inglewood and grew up in Diamond Bar and San Clemente. “I never feel certainty when I start one of these endeavors, and I feel doubts along the way. Let's face it, the stakes are high this time. There are a lot of eyeballs following this thing. I've kind of put myself in a scary situation and I've never felt more intimidated.

“But I've never felt a tingle like this. Let's get out there!”

A second bus carrying Karnazes' trainer and support team as well as his home base will also be on the road with the 48-year-old runner and fitness advocate.

Along the way Karnazes will also update his blog, make various media appearances and a series of charity running events benefiting Action for Healthy Kids, starting with a 5K run in Riverside on Saturday.

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Dean Karnazes, left, is shown with hosts Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa on Monday's episode of "Live! with Regis and Kelly." Credit: Disney-ABC Domestic Television / Associated Press

Big-league drag racing kicks off its season with the Winternationals this weekend in Pomona as the National Hot Rod Assn. celebrates its 60^th anniversary.

In the sport’s premier top-fuel class, where the cars routinely exceed 300 mph, a key question is who might provide an early challenge for Larry Dixon and his Al-Anabi Racing team, which ran away with the championship in 2010.

Although Dixon won 12 times last season, including the Winternationals a year ago, Tony Schumacher expects to provide stiff competition in 2011. Schumacher had won six consecutive top-fuel titles and seven overall until Dixon snapped his streak last year and earned his third championship.

“We’re all going to have to step it up this year if we’re going to chase [Dixon] down,” Schumacher said. “If you win the Winternationals, it’s a great way to get the ball rolling.”

And in the funny-car class, the other elite division in the NHRA’s Full Throttle Series, 61-year-old John Force returns after his improbable victory in the series finale at Pomona last November that gave the funny-car legend an unprecedented 15^th title. Force also is the defending winner of the Winternationals.

Robert Hight, another member of Force’s team and Force’s son-in-law, won four races last year after capturing the funny-car championship in 2009.

“Seeing John Force win his 15^th championship was great but I joked with him in December that now I am 14 championships behind him again,” Hight said.

One of Force’s daughters, Ashley Force Hood, also drives for Force's Yorba Linda-based team and is one of the NHRA’s most popular drivers. But she’s pregnant and not competing this season. Mike Neff is taking her place.

Greg Anderson is the defending champion in the pro stock category.

The Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals open Thursday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona with the first of three days of qualifying.

Various classes of dragsters run throughout the day, but qualifying for the premier top-fuel and funny-car classes starts at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Final eliminations start at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: NHRA funny-car driver Robert Hight during qualifying in the Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona on Feb. 13, 2010. Credit: Jennifer Stewart / US Presswire

Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller said Wednesday that vertigo might be the cause of the discomfort that has forced him onto injured reserve twice this season with no sign of imminent relief.

Speaking to reporters after the Ducks’ morning skate at the Honda Center, Hiller said he still doesn’t feel right and is limiting his activity to light off-ice workouts. Because of the unpredictability of his situation, the Ducks recalled Ray Emery from Syracuse of the American Hockey League to dress as the backup to Curtis McElhinney on Wednesday night in Anaheim against the Kings.

Emery was signed as a free agent for goaltending depth in the organization and the Ducks’ original plan was for him to spend several weeks in the AHL. However, Hiller’s ailment and the struggles of McElhinney and Timo Pielmeier scuttled that plan. Pielmeier was returned to Syracuse of the AHL Wednesday, leaving assistant equipment manager Jeff Tyni as one of the goalies in Wednesday’s optional practice.

Hiller said he has never experienced anything like this before.

“Not at all, which is kind of tough. When you break something it’s broken and it takes a certain amount of time and then it should be good again,” he said. “It’s something that nobody can really tell me how long it’s going to last or how long it’s going to take so I think that’s the tough part.”

Hiller has been having an outstanding season and was the lone Western Conference goalie chosen for the All-Star Game. He excelled in that game despite taking two shots in the face. He said doctors don’t believe those blows are at the root of his problems.

“They kind of ruled out the concussion thing. They’re saying it’s kind of vertigo,” Hiller said. “They couldn’t really tell me where it’s coming from or whatever so that’s kind of the tough part, to just accept it and not knowing what it’s coming from and just work with that to try to desensitize my brain.

“With all the input I get from my body it seems like I’m almost overreacting to stuff that’s normally not important or the brain would kind of leave out because it’s just everyday things, but it seems like right now I’m all over the place because I almost got too much feedback from my body.”

Hiller said he feels symptoms when he moves his head or turns. “It doesn’t really bother me in everyday life because you can kind of limit that, but the problem is on the ice I have to follow the puck and that’s kind of the tough part, when I have to move the head,” he said.

“I definitely feel better than a couple days ago but I still don’t feel like it’s 100% so we’ll see. Hopefully one of these days I’ll be able to see how it goes on the ice, try that out, because I can’t really tell how that’s going to feel like because I haven’t been on the ice for a while.”

He also said he wasn’t completely himself during his 12-save shutout at Edmonton Feb. 13--his last game--but felt compelled to battle his baffling symptoms.

“At some point I wasn’t even sure what’s just imaginary and what’s actually there,” he said. “I just wanted to be back. I was definitely hoping to be able to play through it but it’s not like something else where if it hurts you can still play through it and it gets better. It kind of went the opposite way and I felt worse after the game.”

Emery, who underwent hip surgery last spring, was 2-1-0 in three games with Syracuse, compiling a 2.62 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. He won a shootout Tuesday against Charlotte, making 34 saves before stopping three shootout attempts.

A few more notes: Center Saku Koivu (sore groin) will be a game-time decision. Coach Randy Carlyle said center Ryan Getzlaf plans to be at the game although Getzlaf's wife, Paige, went into labor late Tuesday.

More soon  at www.latimes.com/sports

--Helene Elliott

Photo: Jonas Hiller. Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright could be out for the season.

A 20-game winner and Cy Young award runner-up for St. Louis last season, Wainwright is being sent from spring training in Jupiter, Fla., back to St. Louis for tests on his right elbow, which he injured during Monday's bullpen session.

Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak said “things do not look encouraging” for the right-handed pitcher but stopped short of saying Wainwright would need Tommy John surgery.

“I don't want to speculate, but obviously ligament damage, that's usually what it results in,” he said.

Manager Tony La Russa added: “It appears to not be good. We'll see, though.”

The Cardinals learned Tuesday they would be without utility infielder Nick Punto for eight to 12 weeks due to surgery for a sports hernia.

The 29-year-old Wainwright, who was 20-11 with a 2.42 ERA last season, finished behind Philadelphia's Roy Halladay for the Cy Young award and also made the All-Star team for the first time.

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[The headline on an earlier version of this post incorrectly stated Wainwright could miss the 2010 season.]

Photo: Adam Wainwright. Credit: Scott Rovak / US Presswire

A person with knowledge of the trade says the New Jersey Nets have agreed to acquire All-Star point guard Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal.

[Updated at 11:12 a.m.: Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor confirmed the deal Wednesday. Utah will also receive a pair of future first-round picks.]

The Nets are sending rookie Derrick Favors and point guard Devin Harris to the Jazz as part of the package in a deal that also includes the Golden State Warriors.

The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been announced. It was first reported by the Record of Bergen County, N.J.

The deal comes two days after the Nets failed to land Carmelo Anthony, who was acquired by the New York Knicks as part of a blockbuster deal with the Denver Nuggets.

Harris, a former All-Star point guard, and Favors, the No. 3 pick in the draft, were part of the package the Nets were offering the Nuggets all season for Anthony. While they couldn't get Denver's All-Star forward, Wednesday's trade stole some of the spotlight from the rival Knicks on the night Anthony arrives at Madison Square Garden.

The Jazz were a perennial contender with Williams but his reputation took a hit in Utah when Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Sloan retired the day after a clash with him during a game.

Williams was expected to be one of the headliners of the 2012 free-agent class along with 2008 Olympic teammates Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, and the small-market Jazz could have faced losing him for nothing.

The Nets now hope Williams will sign a contract extension with them, which they can offer this summer. If so, he would become the face of their franchise when they move into their new arena in Brooklyn for the 2012-13 season.

New Jersey has been desperate to make its first score under new Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov. The Nets talked with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh last summer, but when that failed they turned their attention to Anthony. They quickly bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on him with Williams, who is averaging 21.3 points and 9.7 assists.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Deron Williams. Credit: Ron Chenoy / US Presswire

BASEBALL LEGEND: A female baseball pitcher struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back-to-back!

STATUS: True.

Joe Engel was associated with Clark Griffith for nearly his entire professional career (Engel's career ended about eight years after Griffith passed away), playing for Griffith's Washington Senators in his first four years in the Major Leagues as a pitcher (1912-1915) as well as his final year in the majors (1920). Engel then went to work as a minor league scout for Griffith throughout the 1920s. In late 1928/early 1929, Griffith purchased a baseball team in Chattanooga, Tennessee called the Chattanooga Lookouts to be a minor league affiliate for the Senators. Griffith put Engel in charge of the franchise, and Engel embarked on a three decade-long stint as the head of the Lookouts. In those three decades, Engel worked on dozens of publicity stunts designed to raise attendance. While the intent of these stunts were nothing more noble than to get people into the seats, one of those stunts managed to result in a remarkable and little-known piece of feminist history.

Read on to learn about the teenage girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back-to-back!

Opening day is more than a month away, but Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Wednesday that he is leaning toward a lineup that looks like this:

1. Maicer Izturis (3B), 2. Bobby Abreu (DH), 3. Torii Hunter (RF), 4. Kendry Morales (1B), 5. Vernon Wells (LF), 6. Howie Kendrick (2B), 7. Erick Aybar (SS), 8. Jeff Mathis (C), 9. Peter Bourjos (CF).

As for the grouping in the middle, Scioscia likes the idea of sandwiching Hunter and Wells, who bat right-handed, around the switch-hitting Morales. Hunter's edge in speed and ability to go to first and third on singles gives him the edge over Wells in the three-hole.

"His talent and package is what you're looking for in a guy to set the table, to go from first to third," Scioscia said of Hunter. "But if we have to adjust to give us a better look, we'll do it."

There is a concern that the lineup could drop off after Wells and drop off precipitously after Aybar--Mathis hit .195 last season, and Bourjos, who was called up from triple-A Salt Lake in early August, hit .204.

"We need a lineup that flows, that has a situational component, that has depth, and guys need to do some things to create at the bottom," Scioscia said. "I don't know if we're concerned; it's too early to answer that question [about having two dead spots at the bottom of the order]. Peter showed some power [six homers, six doubles, four triples in 181 at-bats], so we'll see where it goes."

The Angels, because of injuries and sub-par seasons from most starters, were unable to get into Scioscia's preferred style of offense last season, which consists of maximizing production with aggressive base-running. The manager expects that component to return this season.

"We never became the batter's-box team we thought we'd be last year, but this year we're going to try to create more offense on the basepaths," Scioscia said. "You can't force, though. You can't force guys to go from first to third if they don't have the ability to do it."

No matter how the order shakes out, the Angels will need better years from their veterans and younger players.

"The lineup clearly hinges on guys to give us more production than last year and on some of our younger guys to contribute," Scioscia said.

--Mike DiGiovanna in Tempe, Ariz.

Writers from around the Tribune Co. weigh in on the penalty for Connecticut men's basketball Coach Jim Calhoun, who was suspended three games for recruiting violations. Check back throughout the day for more responses and feel free to leave a comment of your own.

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel

As hard as it is for Connecticut basketball fans to hear, suspending men’s basketball Coach Jim Calhoun was the right decision. The Hall of Fame coach was found guilty of the dreaded failing to create an atmosphere of compliance within the Huskies’ program. The days of coaches using "ignorance is bliss" as an excuse are over. Coaches need to know what is going on in their programs.

The NCAA, which has had to deal with high-profile violations at Michigan, Tennessee, Auburn and North Carolina this past year, is starting to crack down on programs. Is it wrong to just single out Calhoun for something that probably happens at schools across the country? No. The NCAA is using the 68-year-old as an example. Just like the SEC did when suspending Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl for eight conference games this season for violating NCAA rules and misleading investigators.

The punishment is meant to serve notice to other programs: This won’t be tolerated.

Shannon Ryan, Chicago Tribune

The rap sheet on Connecticut was long and condemning. And for it, the NCAA gave Connecticut a light rap on the wrist.

What it mostly amounted to was a three-game Big East suspension next season for Coach Jim Calhoun -– more a sting to his reputation than a punishment for his misdeeds. The NCAA cracks down much harder on players; just consider the case of Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen, who was suspended three games almost immediately for accepting free clothing.

How’s this fair?

There is a message in this, though. The NCAA, it seems, is not overlooking head coaches’ responsibility for the program and allowing assistants alone to bear the punishments any longer.