"Thursday night wrap-up"

"Bengals crash the party"
I didn't see it because, believe it or not, not everybody gets the NFL network. But I could hear the pads smashing in what must have been a very physical 13-7 Bengals victory over Baltimore Thursday night. It looks like after all the letdowns, the Bengals' defense might have actually saved Cincinnati's season. After giving up 120 points in four games, the Bengals have surrendered just seven in the past two contests. At 7-5, it still won't be easy for them to make the playoffs. But they have the momentum of a three-game winning streak, and for that reason I'll take them over the Jets, Broncos, Chiefs and Jaguars as the No. 1 wild card team. Road games at Indy and Denver will be huge in sorting out the AFC playoff picture.

"Kobe silences the Jazz"
132-102? I'm sorry, I know it's one game, but last night's Lakers' blowout of the Jazz alone should bump Utah below San Antonio in the Western Conference (and NBA) power rankings. Utah couldn't stop Kobe Bryant, who erupted for 52 points, including 30 in LA's 42-point third quarter. Bryant has now scored 50-plus points 12 times during his career. He's not close to leading the league in scoring this season, but I still consider him one of the NBA's three or four best players. In the next few days I'll write a column about who I think is the league's best.

But how about the Lakers? They didn't really do much during the off-season to improve, but right now they're looking like one of the five best teams in the league at 10-5. And it has everything to do with the play of Lamar Odom and Andre Bynum. Odom has never been a consistently good player in his career until this season. His performance last night was a perfect microcosm of how he's played this first month. He scored 14 points, grabbed 11 boards and dished out eight assists. Bryant no longer has to do it all because Odom's helping him.

Bynum might be one of the league's biggest surprises - providing he keeps this up. Despite scoring just six points last night, Bynum is still averaging 8.5 points and, more importantly, 6.3 rebounds for a team that is outrebounding its opponents by almost two boards a game. Yeah, the Lakers are getting big this season. That's a scary thought for the rest of the West.

Final Word: It's about time, Tony Parker. He is finally engaged to Desperate Housewives diva Eva Longoria. We'll see how this affects his play. My prediction: He'll be fine. She doesn't seem like the type of demanding woman who would distract him. Not that a few losses would kill the Spurs anyway.

What to watch on Friday: Sacramento at Dallas, 8:30 p.m ESPN. Have the Mavs really won 11 in a row since starting 0-4? Has anyone been paying attention? It might be the quietest 11-game win streak in the history of the NBA. Only 22 more W's and they tie the 1972 Lakers for the record. Yeah, right.