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Getting Mean At The Ravine

June 12th, 2013

These brawls never seem to go well for the Dodgers. The boys in blue got into another brawl with a division rival on Tuesday night at the Ravine, but this time, Zach Greinke wasn’t dumb enough to charge into somebody and break his collarbone. Even though nobody was injured and the Dodgers won the game, that doesn’t mean it won’t prove to be costly for LA.

The Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig may be suspended for his role in the brawl, which would be another blow to a team that has been sinking faster than the Titanic. Puig has suddenly become the team’s best player, which explains why his teammates protected him after he was hit in the nose in the 6th inning on a pitch by D’Backs ace Ian Kennedy. Zach Greinke does deserve credit for fearlessly plunking Miguel Montero in the next inning, but the game of revenge should have stopped there. Greinke was plunked by Kennedy near his head in the bottom of the inning, which resulted in the bench clearing brawl.

The best part of the brawl was the fact that the old-timers on both sides took center stage. Mark McGwire tossed around Matt Williams, and Don Mattingly took down Alan Trammell. The only thing that would have made this more entertaining is if Charlie Steiner had stormed into the Diamondbacks broadcast booth and body slammed Bob Brenly.

Why the hell is baseball the only sport that allows this nonsense to go on? Even in hockey, where they allow fighting, they never allow the benches to clear. Then again, I’m trying to rationalize the rules of a league that refuses to eliminate cheating and use more instant replay to help its umpires. I forgot that Bud Selig must be trying to preserve “the purity of the game”.

Regardless of this ridiculous culture, pitchers should never throw at anyone’s head. They are messing with players careers when they do it, and they need to be punished for it. Ian Kennedy should be suspended for at least a month for doing this not once, but twice!

As for the Dodgers, the notion that “they finally put up a fight” is absurd. Most of the fight was handled by the old-timers on their bench anyway. That’s like your grandpa standing up for you when you’re getting your ass kicked in a bar by somebody half your size. The real fight these guys need to put up is in the batters box, where with the exception of Puig, the Dodgers have been getting a beat down.

Monday Morning Coffee

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June 10th, 2013

Saturday night was a reminder to all Kings fans what being a sports fan is all about. That is enduring 99% kicks to the ball and 1% glory. Kings fans experienced that 1% glory last year, but it’s back to another kick in the balls this year. This came after Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane ended the Kings bid to repeat as Stanley Cup champions with his game winning goal in double overtime of game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Kings fought harder than Mel Gibson resisting arrest in this game. They could have easily packed it in after trailing 2-0, and 3-2 late in the game. However, LA continued to battle back while I sulked and threw pillows across my living room.

Now that its over, we’ve learned that the Kings were more beaten up than Rhianna when she hangs with Chris Brown. Justin Williams played with a separated shoulder, Dustin Brown had a torn PCL in his knee, and Drew Doughty had an injured ankle. Anze Kopitar insists that he wasn’t hurt, but he looked like he was skating with a piano on his back for much of the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Kings made too many mistakes against a skilled Chicago team. Jonathan Quick wasn’t quite as sharp as he was previously, and the Kings made costly turnovers that the Blackhawks capitalized on.

Nevertheless, the Kings made it further than the last 3 defending champions have, and are poised to be contenders for at least 2 or 3 more years. Many of their core players are under contract for quite some time, and in case you haven’t noticed, their twitter handle is hilarious! After Saturday’s loss, they tweeted this gem: “@penguins you guys wanna grab a drink later?”

Now that the NHL is over, we can all focus on how crappy the Angels and Dodgers are. Do the Halos really not have anyone better than Joe Blanton to send to the mound every 5 days? This guy is a human launching pad, giving up 3 more home runs in Boston yesterday, and he’s now on pace to lose 20 games. Blanton was asked if his next start was a critical one, and he responded by saying “Why should I feel urgency now? I don’t have anything to prove.” Nice to see you are ok being the worst starting pitcher in baseball Joe.

As for the Dodgers, it’s becoming clear now that even Yasiel Puig can’t save their season. They’ll need to win about two-thirds of their remaining games, and that’s not happening if they have to send Stephen Fife and Matt McGill to the mound on a regular basis. At least Puig has given the Dodgers something exciting to watch despite the carnage that is their season.

I like how the new Dodger owners are trying to conceal the details of their business partnership with Frank McCourt, because they claim it will hurt their chances of the NFL wanting to bring a team to LA. I’m pretty sure that just by admitting that they have torpedoed their chances of an NFL team coming to LA. At this point it’s pretty obvious that the NFL is only going to do a deal that works for them. They like the idea of a stadium at Chavez Ravine, but they aren’t dumb enough to do a deal that involves McCourt.

So Lane Kiffin just recruited a 13 year old quarterback who hasn’t even played a down of high school football yet. What good does it do any 13 year old to commit to a school when you are in 8th grade? And will Lane Kiffin even still have a job with USC in 2015? My guess is he won’t.

Why haven’t the Clippers hired a coach yet? They should have contact George Karl 5 seconds after he was fired by the Nuggets. The Clippers seem to have lots of good options in Karl, Brian Shaw, and Lionnel Hollins, however, the real issue is whether or not Donald Sterling’s people can convince him to pay one of these guys what they are looking for. The Clipps should be getting really nervous because the Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to Houston rumors are heating up, and Chris Paul has been strangely quiet about the entire process.

The irony of the Nuggets firing George Karl is that Mike D’Antoni is the perfect fit for them. The Nuggets roster is loaded with young and athletic players that would allow D’Antoni to play his uptempo system. Unfortunately, the Nuggets probably won’t call the Lakers about him, since they currently have a few options on the coaching market. That means the Dwight Howard breakup with the Lakers is coming. This is starting to have the feel of that sometimes crazy girlfriend that you want to stay with, but you can slowly start to feel her pulling away. The really depressing part is that when Dwight signs with the Rockets, it will be as though your girlfriend left you for Urkel.

Finally, season 3 of Game of Thrones is in the books, and it was outstanding. Although the season finale was not quite as exciting as the previous week’s episode, the show is riveting. I’m still astonished at the morons that are threatening to cancel their HBO subscriptions after complaining about the deaths of Rob, Talisa, and Catelyn Stark. If you’ve been watching the show from the beginning, you know that the show isn’t about love, happiness, and moral righteousness. It’s about a world where those who use cruel, devious, and underhanded tactics come out on top. Not that I’ve read the books, but the writers of the show seem determined to deviate from plot in the books a bit in order to emphasize these points. It’s going to be a long wait until season 4, but looking forward to it!

Noooooo!!!!

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June 7th, 2013

Where the hell was Anze Kopitar? Where the hell was captain Dustin Brown? This would be an excellent time for you guys to show up and start contributing offensively! For all intents and purposes, the Kings season is over. The Kings lost to Chicago 3-2 in game 4 of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center, and are now down 3-1 in the best of 7 series.

Most Kings fans seem to be blaming Tia Toscano for not singing the national anthem. Tia gets some of the blame, but I think most starts with Kopitar and Brown. When this is all over, we better find out that these guys were hurt because they’ve played like garbage. Jonathan Quick has to be flawless to make up for the crap these guys are pulling. Quick made some stellar saves in game 4, but allowed one soft goal to Bryan Bickell early in the game, which got the Blackhawks going.

Did anyone listen to what I had to say after game 3? I said a critical factor in the rest of the series was which duo could pull their game out of the crapper first: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, or Kopitar and Brown. Obviously it was Kane and Toews who pulled it together in game 4, which is why the Kings are almost ready to start booking tee times. Kopitar has been exiled to the third line, and you wouldn’t even be able to tell he’s even in the lineup. Dustin Brown has remained on the 1st line, but you also wouldn’t know he’s there. The Kings are already without an injured Mike Richards, and they might as well be playing without Brown and Kopitar at this point.

Despite Kopitar and Brown’s invisibility, the Kings had plenty of chances to win game 4. They had a one goal lead twice, but Just Williams failed to put the game away on his breakaway, and the Kings couldn’t score on the powerplay in the 3rd when their season depended on it. Who the hell has been calling the Kings line changes the last two games anyway? Vinny Del Negro? The Kings made a terrible line change early in the 3rd and the Hawks scored the game winner as a result. They made the same mistake in game 3, and could have been burned again if it hadn’t been for an offside call.

What the hell was Daryl Evans wearing on the Kings post game show last night? It was some kind of a velvet suit with a strange floral pattern on it. Evans must be shopping with Dwayne Wade these days.

Also, screw you Tim Leiweke! In an interview with a local Toronto TV station, he was asked about how he felt about Leafs fans. He said:

“We didn’t have that in L.A. and we won the Stanley Cup. We finally saw it at the end. It took us getting to the finals in order to awaken that town. It’s not a hockey town.”

“You had more built up passion for this hockey team (Toronto) and that organization on an AWAY playoff game than we EVER did, INCLUDING winning the Stanley Cup, Game 6, Home Ice at Staples Center.”

Tim, for decades Kings fans have come out to Staples Center to see the piece of shit teams that you helped put on the ice. We paid your ridiculous ticket prices to build your precious LA Live, and help finance a football stadium for a team that you were unable to acquire. LA may not be a hockey town, but it’s got plenty of passionate hockey fans that have been showing up to games forever. Also, thanks for giving Gretzky away for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Have fun north of the border in America Jr you lying sack of crap!

Finally, memo to Fred Roggin of NBC: Why haven’t you displayed my awesome picture on the 11:00 pm news? You said you wanted to show great pictures of Kings fans, and I know my picture below is better than most of the pictures you’ve shown!

Puigsanity

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June 5th, 2013

Can Yasiel Puig save the Dodgers? It’s only been two games, but he’s already 5 for 8 with 2 home runs, 5 RBI, and 3 extra base hits. Just to put that in perspective, Puig already has as many home runs as Matt Kemp. He has more extra base hits than Luis Cruz, and nearly half as many hits in 34 fewer games! This dude can play, and he probably should have been playing in the majors 20 games ago.

Puig is much less polished than Angels outfielder Mike Trout was when the Halos called him up last year. However, he is already creating a tremendous buzz at Dodger Stadium that we haven’t seen since everyone was sporting those Manny Ramirez wigs. Puig is going to make mistakes, but there is no doubt the Dodgers need to keep him in the lineup as long as possible because he is currently their best chance to win.

The Dodgers are 7.5 games back in the NL West, and 8.5 games back of the wild card. These are deficits that aren’t insurmountable, but they’ll need Puig and Hanley Ramirez to carry the load offensively. That jolt could pull the Dodgers out of the NL West basement, but at some point Puig figures to regress toward the mean. He may end up being a great player for LA, but he’ll take some time to put it all together.

Puig reminds me of a young Raul Mondesi, which is actually scary because he has the same maturity issues as Mondesi. Nevertheless, every time this guy comes to the plate, everyone stops what they are doing to see how special Puig could really be.

At some point, if the Dodgers are going to do any damage, Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier will have to pull their games out of the crapper. Everyone wants Andre Ethier ejected from the universe immediately after just two solid games from Puig. I say ride the wave until his hot streak ends, and maybe it will push Ethier and Kemp to get their games together. Until then then, enjoy the Puig Party!

Blackhawk Down

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June 5th, 2013

Another close call, but the Kings came up with another win at home. The Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead agains the Blackhawks in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, and held on for dear life in the final minutes before adding an empty net goal, securing the 3-1 victory. Justin Williams came up big again, scoring the first goal of the game, which was his 4th goal in the last 4 games. Williams said “I don’t think we were too uptight at all. We knew what we had to do, plain and simple. We’ve been here before, and we used that to help us tonight.” Really? because I was practically peeing in my pants, just knowing you had to win this game!

Jonathan Quick should be arrested for robbing Bryan Bickell of a goal late in the 3rd period. Quick somehow came up with a save from point blank range with the inside of his blocker. As I predicted, Quick rebounded from his subpar performance in game 2, by playing a spectacular game 3. Meanwhile, Slava Voynov’s agent could hear the cash registers ringing after scoring the game winning goal in the 2nd period. Voynov now has 5 goals in the playoffs, which is a record for Kings defenseman in the playoffs. He’s a restricted free agent this off-season, and the Kings will have to find a way to lock him up long term.

I expect Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith to be suspended for the next two games after high-sticking Jeff Carter. If he isn’t, Kings fan should be lining up with pitch forks and tiki torches outside of Brendan Shanahan’s office. Keith is a repeat offender, and we’ve already seen incidents like this where Shanahan suspended first time offenders for two games. Keith appeared to be sorry for the incident, but he should still be punished regardless of the intent.

Speaking of being sorry, Anze Kopitar needs to send Daryl Sutter an apology of some kind to get out of his coaches dog house. Kopitar was demoted to the third line after continuing his scoring struggles. His play last night wasn’t bad, but he needs to score goals if the Kings hope to win this series.

The Kings did a great job of imposing their style of play on the Blackhawks. LA made sure Chicago couldn’t build up speed through the neutral zone as they did in the first two games, and their defense was tighter than a Beyonce jumpsuit. They also knocked the Hawks around, outhitting them 36-26. The Kings aren’t back in the series yet, but if they bring the same effort to the table Thursday, I like their chances of tying this series up.

Monday Morning Coffee

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June 3rd, 2013

The sky is falling Kings fans! Time to hit the panic button! The Kings were abused in games 1 and and 2 of their Western Conference Finals matchup with the Blackhawks, and find themselves trailing 2-0 in the series, with game 3 Tuesday night at Staples Center. The scary part about game 2, was that the Kings played much better than in game 1, yet they were beaten like Rodney King.

The Kings have won 14 straight at Staples Center, but does anybody really think they can win 4 of the next 5 games after what they saw this weekend? The Hawks are imposing their speedy and uptempo style of play on LA, which is a problem for a Kings team who’s success is dependent on playing a slower, grind-it-out game. Is it too late to get a refund on Robyn Regehr? He signs a 2 year extension with the Kings on Friday, and managed to score an own-goal in game 2 on Jonathan Quick.

Quick has often bounced back after poor outings, but the rest of the team needs to start playing their style of hockey Tuesday night. Otherwise, they will be dusting off their golf clubs later this week.

The Dodgers finally called up Yasiel Puig, but what the hell took so long? The team is going down faster than a Thai hooker, and this guy supposedly has a “Bo Jackson like” set of skills, according to Don Mattingly. Heck, why stop at Puig? With Andre Ethier playing like hell, the Dodgers should bring up Joc Peterson too and stick him in center field, while moving Puig to right. At least that will give LA two outfielders who can potentially earn their paychecks.

Then there’s the Angels, who continue to get dominated by the worst team in the American League, the Houston Astros. The Halos need to create a new promotional opportunity for the fans: every time Josh Hamilton strikes out, all beers go for 10 cents for the next half inning. This really isn’t all that unreasonable, considering the Angels fans will need plenty of booze to make it through the rest of this season.

Once again, Donald Sterling is unable to get out of his own way, and he is on the verge of screwing up his franchise again. Sterling opened his big mouth to TJ Simers of the LA Times, and essentially blamed the firing of Vinny Del Negro on Chris Paul. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, Paul is very angry with the Clippers for placing the blame on him. This is exactly the excuse that Paul needed all along to take his talents elsewhere, which is what I believe he will do.

I also don’t believe for even one second that the Clippers will land any of the big coaching names that are being talked about such as Jeff Van Gundy, Lionel Hollins, George Karl, or even Brian Shaw. None of these coaches are dumb enough to agree to become the Clippers coach without knowing whether or not Paul will be staying with the team, not to mention the fact Sterling is too cheap to pay any of them the kind of money they are looking for.

I’ve got the Heat over the Pacers tonight in game 7. Lebron isn’t going to let this team lose, and neither is NBA dictator, David Stern.

Kings vs Blackhawks: How They Really Matchup

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May 31st, 2013

Most of the previews I’ve seen for the Kings and Blackhawks take a look at the regular season numbers, and how the teams did in the three match ups against each other. At the risk of stating the obvious, this isn’t the regular season! It’s not always who you play, but when you play them. During the regular season the Hawks won 2 of the 3 games, but that’s about as relevant today as an eight-track player. Vegas lists the Hawks as slight favorites, but let’s take a closer look.

Forwards: The Blackhawks forwards are loaded with talent. The combination of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Brandon Saad is among the best in the NHL. Their speed and skill will be a challenge for the Kings to defend. Those 5 forwards have combined to score 15 goals in the post season thus far, but appeared to have some trouble with the Red Wings feisty defense in the last round. The Kings combination of Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, and Mike Richards has scored a total of just 9 goals throughout the playoffs. They don’t quite have the explosive speed of the Hawks, but they have provided timely scoring throughout the playoffs.

Advantage: Blackhawks

Defense: Both teams have a very versatile group of defenseman. The Hawks Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are skilled puck movers that can create offense on the rush. Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson have also helped stabilize a Chicago defense that has allowed the 2nd fewest goals in this years playoffs. However, the Kings have allowed the fewest goals of any team in this years playoffs. Drew Doughty is one of the top 5 defenseman in the world, capable of playing in any situation. Slava Voynov is starting to emerge as one of the league’s top defenseman, Matt Greene and Robyn Regehr have been punishing opposing forwards, and Rob Scuderi is always solid. Although the Chicago defense has been reliable, the Kings depth and physicality at this position give them a slight edge.

Advantage: Kings

Goaltending: Corey Crawford has been solid through the first two rounds of the playoffs with a 1.70 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. Crawford let’s in an occasional soft goal, but benefits quite a bit from Chicago’s excellent puck possession game. He is opposed by the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy Winner, and arguably the best goaltender in the world, Jonathan Quick. Quick leads all playoff goaltenders in goal against average, save percentage, shutouts, and appears to be playing even better than last year. The Kings can only hope that Quick can post a shutout or two in Chicago, so they won’t have to hear that dumb ass song they play in the United Center every time the Hawks score a goal.

Advantage: Kings

Special Teams: The Blackhawks powerplay was ranked 19th in the NHL this season, and 10th in the postseason. Their powerplay has been the most ineffective of all the teams remaining in the postseason. This can likely be blamed on special teams coach Jamie Kompon, who was with LA last year, and nearly crapped all over their success. The Blackhawks have been the best penalty killing team in the playoffs, while the Kings have been the 5th best penalty killing group. LA’s powerplay has been effective, and ranks 6th in the playoffs.

Advantage: Blackhawks

Prediction: The Blackhawks have incredible offensive firepower, and a solid defensive core that will present a challenge for LA. However, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have had some trouble scoring in the playoffs, and it won’t get any easier against the Kings stingy defense and elite goaltending. There is something to be said for playing a gritty and tough style in the playoffs, as opposed to simply being a finesse team. The Hawks peaked in the regular season, the Kings are starting to peak now, and goaltending is the great equalizer in the NHL. Kings in 6.

Should We Boo Matt Kemp?

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May 30th, 2013

For about a week now, all I’ve heard is how upset Matt Kemp is that he is being booed by Dodger fans. I’ve also heard Dodger fans being criticized for how terrible they are for not being supportive of their star player. I’m here to tell you that as a fan, you have every damn right to boo your brains out with the way he is playing!

We’ve played two months of the season, and Kemp has 2 home runs, and 17 runs batted in. That means he is on pace for exactly 6 home runs and 54 runs batted in for the entire season! He’s already struck out 60 times in 51 games. The Dodgers have no chance of succeeding with their best player playing like dog shit, and everyone knows this.

As a paying customer, it is my every right to let my voice be heard. That means sending a message to Matt Kemp and the Dodger organization that he needs to play better, and that is done by booing. How many times does Kemp expect to come up to the plate with runners in scoring position and strikeout while the fans continue to support him? Each and every one of Kemp’s at bats is getting as painful to watch as a kick in the balls for Dodger fans.

Professional athletes need to treat boos as motivation to pull their heads out and start performing. This isn’t personal for Kemp, or any other athlete that is getting booed. Everyone knows that Matt Kemp is a great guy, and he’s doing everything he can. It also has nothing to do with the fact Kemp is making $20 million a year either. It’s clear that he isn’t physically or mentally prepared to play ball right now, and Don Mattingly and Ned Colletti need to sit him down until he’s ready.

Nobody expects Matt Kemp to be at his best all the time. Every player is going to have good days and bad days. However, every fan expects him to perform far better than he has. Kemp said “I’m taking a beating from the fans”, and that it’s “shocking”. Dude, you’re taking a beating every time you’re in the batters box. The fans aren’t against you Matt, but we all expect you to perform better, and you need to know that. We aren’t spending our hard earned money to see you strikeout 4 times a night. Get it together Kemp, and tell your friend Andre Ethier to do the same, or else the fans voice will continue to be heard.

Take That Nor Cal!

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May 29th, 2013

It took a full 60 minutes. It took Jonathan Quick playing out of his mind. It took Justin Williams’ heroics. And it took Dustin Penner’s dirty work. It took all of that for the Kings to leave Staples Center on Tuesday Night with a 2-1 victory in game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals vs San Jose, which earned them a trip to the Western Conference Finals.

After a first period that was more conservative than the Republican National Convention, Justin Williams gave the Kings a big boost in the 2nd period with two quick goals in less than three minutes. Williams hadn’t scored in his last 8 playoff games, but now has 5 goals and 9 points in 4 career game 7’s. Jonathan Quick slammed the door on the Sharks after that. San Jose mounted an attack in the third period that was more relentless than my crazy ex-girlfriend in Chicago, but Quick stood his ground time and time again.

When Sharks forward Joe Pavelski appeared to have an open net with about 5 minutes left, the entire building thought the game was about to be tied. Somehow, Quick kept the puck out of the net, leaving everyone astonished. He made another phenomenal glove save on Logan Couture with 1:20 left in the game as well. It’s amazing that Quick is playing even better hockey this spring than last year’s Conn Smythe winning performance.

I like how Dustin Penner has slept through the last two regular seasons, then really earned his paycheck in the playoffs. Penner threw his weight around all night, and was a big part of the Kings out hitting the sharks 39-30.

The Sharks were tough, and so was their goalie Anti Niemi, but Jonathan Quick was better. I love the Shark fan that called the Kings post game show and claimed that losing Raffi Torres was the difference in this series. That fan conveniently forgot that Torres suspension caused the Kings to lose Jarrett Stoll for the entire series, who is far more valuable to the Kings than Torres is to San Jose.

The bottom line is that once again, the Sharks top players flopped harder than Lebron James did against David West last night. The Kings combo of Kopitar, Brown, Williams, Carter, and Richards scored 9 goals in the series. The Sharks combo of Thornton, Marleau, Couture, Burns, and Pavelski scored just 5 goals in the series. To win big in the playoffs, your best guys have to play well, and you have to have the goaltending. The Kings edged the Sharks in both of those areas.

So who do the Kings want to play next? Conventional wisdom says the Kings should want the Red Wings because they get home ice advantage, and because they’ve won 14 in a row at home, but take a closer look kids. Goaltending is always critical, and there is a much better chance that Quick will outplay Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford, as opposed to the upstart and talented Jimmy Howard of the Red Wings. Quick and Howard will likely be battling it out next winter for the starting spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

The Sharks had the best home record in the league this season, so home ice was critical in that series. However, the Kings are one of the few teams in the league who have beaten the Blackhawks in Chicago this year. Chicago peaked early, while the Red Wings appear to be peaking now. Both teams fans are annoying as hell and you’ll have to put up with their ugly mugs at Staples Center. Bring on the Blackhawks!

This year’s playoff run has been much tougher for the Kings than last year. LA went 16-4 on their way to the cup, and lost only once in the first two rounds in 2012. This year, they’ve already played 13 games in the first two rounds, and the team badly needs rest over the next few days. The Kings know they can play better, but they seem resigned to the fact each and every game the rest of the way will be a grind. With Quick in goal the Kings will always have a chance, and as long as the Kings top 6 continue to come through, you have to like their chances to repeat. Meanwhile, the Sharks playoff hopes are shattered once again. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Nor Cal!

Monday Morning Coffee

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May 27th, 2013

Many Kings fans are pretty unfamiliar with this concept of game 7, especially after last season’s cup winning playoff run. The last time the Kings played in a game 7, I was taking my frustration out on a poor waitress at the UC Irvine campus pub because the Kings just couldn’t get their act together. That was back in 2002 when the Kings lost to the Avalanche in the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and when Jock Talk was born.

The good news for the Kings is that game 7 is at Staples Center, where they’ve won 13 in a row, and the home team is 6-0 in this series The bad news is the Sharks have the momentum again, and somebody is bound to win a road game sometime soon. This series has been close throughout, and figures to be that way for one more game. Kings fans should be more nervous than a new prison inmate that just dropped the soap in the shower.

Don Mattingly really sacked up last week by benching Andre Ethier, and then Matt Kemp. Mattingly definitely bought himself some more time with the Guggenheim Group with his tough guy act, but at this point, everyone realizes the team is going nowhere until Kemp and Ethier get it together. Adrian Gonzales and Carl Crawford may not be the players they used to be, but they have been serviceable. If Kemp hasn’t been healthy, he should be placed on the DL and Yasiel Puig should be brought up. The Dodgers need offense badly.

Kemp may be hurt, but what’s Ethier’s excuse for sucking? He couldn’t hit lefties before, and now he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of of a boat. Worse, Ethier’s salty attitude is killing the clubhouse, and making the fans and media alike want him shipped out of town. Maybe he and Mike D’Antoni can make their travel plans together.

Meanwhile, the Angels have won 8 in a row, and the fans are drinking the kool-aid again. Sorry Halos fans, but this hole is deeper than the Grand Canyon. They team is still 9 games back in the AL West, and 4 games under .500. Jered Weaver is poised to return to the mound on Wednesday, and that could keep them alive in the wild card race, but I’ve seen this movie last year, and even Hollywood wouldn’t be this crappy script.

Finally, I do admire Bill Simmons’ breakdown of the Dwight Howard situation, but Mr. Simmons has been bamboozled by Mike D’Antoni’s ridiculous system. Dwight may not be the best post player in the NBA, but he is still the best center in the NBA, and should get the “mega-max contract” simply because there is a lack of quality big men in the NBA today. Simmons and others have conveniently forgotten that Dwight is a three-time defensive player of the year, and this past season played for a coach that doesn’t even like to post up players. If Eric Gordon and Roy Hibbert can command “mini-max deals”, then Dwight Howard can surely command a “mega-max deal”.