Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

FRIDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA Preseason: Bulls at Pacers, 7 p.m. (WGN)

SATURDAY:
NHL: Bruins at Flyers, 1 p.m. (NESN)
NFL: Cowboys at Buccaneers, 8 p.m. (NFL Network; WEEI)
College basketball: Memphis at Louisville, 4 p.m. (CBS)
College basketball: Notre Dame vs. Indians, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Syracuse at NC State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Quinnipiac at UMass, 7 p.m. (NESN)

SUNDAY:
NFL: Patriots at Broncos, 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
NFL: Dolphins at Bills, 1 p.m. (CBS)
NFL: Redskins at Giants, 1 p.m. (Fox)
NFL: Ravens at Chargers, 8:20 p.m. (NBC; WEEI)
NBA Preseason: Celtics at Raptors, 1 p.m. (CSNNE; WEEI)
College basketball: Bryant at Boston College, 1 p.m. (NESN)
Women’s college basketball: UConn at Baylor, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Kobe Bryant is no longer sure the Lakers have the answers to where the team is headed. (AP)

♦ On the day the Clippers introduced new guard Chris Paul, Lakers star Kobe Bryant questioned the future of his team. “I’m not sure what the hell the direction is, to be honest with you,” he said, referring to the team’s failed efforts to acquire Paul and subsequent trade of Lamar Odom to the defending champion Mavericks.

“I’ve never seen something like this unfold,” Bryant added. “It’s become somewhat of a mess.”

Told by a writer that many fans view the Clippers as a more exciting team, Bryant said: “I agree. I would definitely watch them.”

♦ A day after Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland expressed his hatred for the Canucks and the “Sedin sisters,” Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault defended his players. “They are great examples for players in the NHL, and for young people,” Vigneault said of the Sedins. “They are just two great young people. When you have comments like Bolland’s, he’s obviously an individual whose IQ is probably the size of a birdseed. And he has a face that only a mother could look at.”

Added Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa: “I think [Bolland] looks more like a girl than they do..”

♦ The NFL does not allow computers on the sideline, but that may change in the near future. The Wall Street Journal reports that the league has been meeting with technology and communications companies to determine how to better use technology without sacrificing the integrity of the game.

Said Giants coach Tom Coughlin: “It is going to affect competition without a doubt, but it’s certainly going to make it more convenient.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Dec. 16, 1979, in a 27-23 victory over the Vikings in the season finale, which two players became the first Patriots to pass the 1,000-yard single-season receiving yardage mark?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m excited to be here in L.A. with this unbelievable franchise with so much history behind it.” – Chris Paul, at Thursday’s press conference introducing him as a member of the Clippers, a franchise that has been to the playoffs only four times in 35 years

STAT OF THE DAY: 65 – Consecutive unanswered points the Falcons scored over five quarters against the Panthers (Sunday) and the Falcons (Thursday night)

‘NET RESULTS: A player from Argentina’s Boca Juniors U-17 soccer team loses his cool after his team ties and fails to advance in the tournament, pushing a referee and then throwing a tantrum before dissolving into tears.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Harold Jackson (1,013 yards) and Stanley Morgan (1,002)

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Tony Hicks of the Hollies turns 66 Friday.

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