December 25, 2023

Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas came early for the Dodgers last week, when they agreed to a deal with Japanese Ace , Yoshinobu Yamamoto. If there was one guy the team needed, it was Yamamoto, because they were desperate for front-line pitching. However, that wouldn’t have been possible without landing Shohei Ohtani earlier in December. Bravo Andrew Friedman. You clearly have a plan, and have executed it to perfection thus far, and you’re probably not done making moves either. It’s like he has a Black Card for Christmas Shopping with no credit limit. However, for those of you that think this is bad for baseball’s competitive balance, or somehow bad for the game, you have no idea what you’re talking about and you should go back to not watching baseball, because you probably weren’t in the first place. Just because you sign stars in baseball, doesn’t mean you win. It’s not the NBA. It can help you win, but certainly not the deciding factor. Plenty of teams without stars have been winning World Series titles in the last 20 years. Also, if you think having baseball’s biggest star in the 2nd biggest media market is bad for the game, you’re an idiot. The Dodgers will be hated this year, but more people will be watching them as a result, which is good for the game. It certainly helps that the Dodgers are in LA too, and have built a quality organization. Some of you are acting like other teams weren’t ready to spend over $300 million on Yamamoto, or $700 million on Ohtani, but the reality is they picked the Dodgers over a long list of other organizations.

Meanwhile, I’m still fascinated to see where the Angels go from here. I’m shocked Arte Moreno has not “raged spent” on any of the remaining free agents. The Halos may have actually stumbled into a couple of solid young players in Logan O’Hoppe and and Nolan Schanuel. However, their pitching remains an issue. Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery seem like they would fill a big need at the moment, but Arte hasn’t spent on pitching in a long time. If they don’t spend some of their cash though, which wouldn’t surprise me, it may actually signal that Arte may revisit selling the team. That would be the best news the Angel fans have received in a long time if it happened.

Remember when people thought the Rams were going to be bad and tank for Caleb Williams? Remember when Matt Stafford’s wife told everyone that her husband couldn’t relate to all the young players on the team? That was only a couple of months ago, but now it’s a much different conversation. Stafford threw for 328 yards on Thursday in the win over the Saints, and the Rams are on the verge of getting back to the playoffs. The Rams were 3-6 just six weeks ago, and since then they’ve won 5 of 6, while Stafford has managed to lead the team despite keeping his thumb attached with chicken, super glue, and duct tape. This is also a reminder of just how good of a coach Sean McVay is, in case you forgot that as well. The man should be up for Coach of The Year honors. I definitely think the Rams should handle business against the Giants next week, but facing the 49ers on the final week of the season will be a challenge. However, they might not need to win that game anyway, as 9 wins could get them into the postseason.

All it took was losing their quarterback, their coach, and their GM for the Chargers to start taking football games seriously again. They lost to the Bills on Saturday night, but they put a valiant effort forward. However, the real story is the coach and GM search. Of course Dean Spanos must have read Jock Talk LA last week, because he came out and essentially refuted my claim that the Bolts are unlikely to spend big on a coach. Spanos insisted that there won’t be financial limitations, but unless I see Bill Belichik or John Harbaugh coaching this team in 2024, I won’t believe him. The last three Charger coaches, Brandon Staley, Anthony Lynn, and Mike McCoy had no previous NFL Head Coaching experience. If I see another assistant with no head coaching experience get this job, you’ll know the reason why.

The Lakers looked fantastic in Saturday’s win against Oklahoma City on the road. I can appreciate the urgency that Lebron and AD showed against an elite team, but it’s also maddening. The ceiling on this team is high, which we saw from the In-Season Tournament victory, but since then they’ve been mailing it in. In the Western Conference, there are so many good teams, you cannot afford to mail it in consistently like they have been. The worst part about it is that now they are going into a much tougher part of their schedule, with the Celtics coming to town today for Christmas Day. I’m really tired of Lebron’s excuses though. Stop telling me it’s injuries or the in-season tournament. You and AD are healthy, the team is mostly healthy, but there’s just more nights where you and your guys don’t feel like playing. As the leader of the squad, you have to figure out how to get them up to play every night, or it will cost you in the standings.

As for the Clippers, their 9-game win streak was snapped with blowout losses to the Thunder and Celtics. They seem to insist that they aren’t bothered because the Celtics just got hot from 3, and they were tired in the Thunder game. However, the amount of points the Clippers gave up is alarming, even if they did play without Kawhi in both of those games. In fact, not having Kawhi is an even bigger blow for the team defensively, because outside of PG and Kawhi, this isn’t a great defensive team. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on, especially the health of Kawhi moving forward.

Just a few weeks ago, we thought UCLA Basketball was a young, dangerous, and talented team, that could make some noise come tournament time. Just a month later, we found out we were bamboozled. This team isn’t good. They are inexperienced, make a lot of stupid mistakes, especially turnovers. They have no offensive game plan, struggle to get the ball into the post, and are wildly inconsistent defensively. According to Mick Cronin, they’ve lost their confidence completely. When you lose 4 in a row, including to Cal State Northridge at home, it’s time to start looking toward next season. UCLA will be lucky just to look respectable in conference play, let alone make the NCAA Tournament.

I’m really not sure what to make of the Trojan Basketball team either. They are 6-5 and really not much better than the Bruins. On the bright side, Bronny James is back in the lineup, and has had some exciting plays in limited game action. USC has had their own problems like the Bruins, losing to good teams they’ve hung in with like Gonzaga, and also just losing to bad teams like Long Beach State. The difference is that USC has very low expectations as a basketball program, so when they do lose, it doesn’t catch people’s attention. With that being said, when you consider the likes of Bronny James, Evan Mobley, and Onyeka Okongwu, this program is becoming more of a breeding ground for individual NBA prospects to showcase their skills, but not necessarily a program synonymous with winning College Basketball games.

Finally, in the NHL, we are about 30 games into the season, and the Kings are firmly in the mix in the Western Conference Playoff race. There’s a lot to like about the Kings, given that Cam Talbot is older than the Dinosaurs, yet somehow he’s provided solid goaltending. The Kings also have the league’s best defense, best penalty killing, and the 4th best offense. You’re probably thinking two things: what am I about to complain about, and that the trade for Pierre Luc-Dubois was a success. That’s exactly my complaint. The trade for PLD has had limited impact on this early success the Kings have had. Despite his goal on Saturday, he has just 6 goals and is only on pace for 16 goals and 36 points. For a guy making $8.5 million a year, that’s unacceptable. Gabe Vilardi, one of the guys he was traded for, has missed half the season yet has one more goal than PLD, and is half the cost. I realize there is still time to turn around this narrative, but when you have a guy making that much money, he needs to produce if you are truly going to compete for a Stanley Cup.

December 18, 2024

The Rams picked up another big win yesterday and are right there in the NFC for that final playoff spot! It’s amazing what a healthy Matt Stafford and Cooper Kupp can do for this team. With the Packers loss they are currently in the last playoff spot in the NFC. Since the Vikings still have to play the Lions twice, I’m liking the Rams chances of getting in. I know everyone is hyped for the idea of a Rams-Lions showdown in round 1, but don’t get too excited though, because the Rams probably won’t pass the Vikings in the standings, who have a cupcake schedule. If the Bears and Panthers win any more games this season, their fans should probably riot and burn down their stadiums, since they both want that #1 draft pick. It’s going to be a short week at home for the Rams, since they host the Saints on Thursday night. I’m sure even 5 years later, the Saints are still holding a grudge for the Rams beating them on that blown call in the 2018 NFC Championship game. It’s a grudge that is similar to a grown man having it out for the guy who took his lunch money in 3rd grade.

Call me crazy, but I was somewhat surprised that the Chargers finally fired Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco on Friday. It took a complete humiliation by the Raiders on Thursday Night Football for them to pull the trigger, but I think this was largely the result of public pressure. It wasn’t really that long ago where the Spanos family was completely behind Staley and Telesco, especially because they hate the idea of paying two coaches. However, the fans in LA demand results if you want to be relevant, which as it is, the Chargers barely are. Now comes the hard part though. You know the Bolts are going to get interest from big names like Bill Belichik and maybe even Jim Harbaugh since Justin Herbert is their quarterback. However, can you really see the Spanos family paying big money for a coach like that? This guy is so cheap he probably asked Santa to cover the cost of the Staley buyout. I certainly cannot see a big name coach coming. Prove me wrong Dean!

Now that the Lakers won the in-season tournament, they seem to be back to playing lazy basketball, which is what I was afraid of. In fact, the Lakers are doing what most of corporate America is doing: mailing it in during the holidays! They didn’t show up against the Mavericks and Spurs last week, in games that they should have won. Apparently the Lakers need to be reminded that the West is a gauntlet, and you can’t take nights off, or else you can quickly find yourself much lower in the standings. That’s significant because it’s going to be tough to come out of the Western Conference if you don’t have home court in three consecutive rounds. Obviously there is a ton of time left in the season and it’s about peaking at the right time, but Darvin Ham needs to slap some sense into his team to keep them motivated on a nightly basis.

Meanwhile, the Clippers have suddenly won 7 games in a row, and will be trying to make it 8 in a row tonight. What’s even more impressive is that they are actually playing defense. They are 5th in the league in opponent field goal % and 5th in point allowed. For a team that has James Harden, who is known more for his love of strip clubs than defense, that’s pretty good. It also tells me that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have decided to be more engaged at that end of the floor during this win streak. I also find it interesting, but not surprising, that the streak has coincided with Russell Westbrook playing less than 20 minutes a game, and Terrance Mann playing closer to 30 minutes a night. It will be interesting to see if the Clips keep this rotation going and keep everyone happy, but I’m sure Ty Lue doesn’t care as long as they keep winning and climbing in the West.

To baseball, where the Dodgers made another big move last week, trading for Tyler Glasnow. Since the Boys in Blue badly need pitching, it certainly is a boost to the front of their rotation. I’m ok with giving up Ryan Pepiot, who was solid, but given the injury history of Glasnow, I wasn’t so excited to see them pony up a 5 year extension right now. In any case, he should help in the short-run if he’s healthy. They still need more help though in their rotation, and I’m starting to feel less and less optimistic about Yoshinobu Yammamoto signing with LA. I think he’s going to the Yankees, and really the only thing that makes me think the Dodgers have a chance is all these ridiculous Twitter accounts popping up with no sources claiming he’s going to sign with the pin stripes.

avid economics hobbyist pic.twitter.com/79SBcQYOxq

— adam (@UnethicalAdam) December 18, 2023

Of course all the rumors are coming out now about Shohei Ohtani and the Angels not willing to match the $700 million offer the Dodgers made. However, I for one did not believe for a second that Ohtani would have returned to the Angels. He wants to win, and had seen enough of how that franchise was operated for 6 years. He came back to them with the opportunity to match simply out of respect, and ultimately could have leveraged more from the Dodgers or others. At the same time, if Arte Moreno didn’t want to match the offer, I have no issue with that. Where you should have a problem with Arte Moreno is the fact the team is currently sitting $70 million below the luxury tax, and is doing absolutely nothing so far to improve the roster. They could easily go after the likes of Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, or Jordan Montgomery. Instead, Arte Moreno has been operating this off-season like guy who is strapped with credit card debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Here’s to hoping Moreno will revert back to selling the team for the sake of Angels fans.

I sure hope that UCLA Basketball is planning on winning every single game in conference play. The Bruins fell to 5-4 after losing to Ohio State over the weekend, and now their tournament resume looks like the equivalent of a guy that doesn’t even have a high school diploma and just got fired from McDonald’s. I keep hearing that UCLA is one of the youngest teams in the country, and that may be true, but the Bruins also hung in with some of the tougher teams in the country like Gonzaga and Marquette. They should be winning against these unranked teams because they have the talent to do so. The bottom line is that at this point the Bruins need to just start banking wins. They have 22 games left, and need to go 15-7 just to reach the ideal 20-win mark to get in the NCAA Tournament.

Congratulations to the UCLA Football Team for winning the LA Bowl against Boise State. I believe next year they are going to change the name of this game to the “Nobody Gives A Crap About This Game Bowl”. In all seriousness though, I can acknowledge that the game was good for younger players to get reps. However, the Bruins don’t need to pay Chip Kelly $30 million for that happen. I’m pretty sure the expectation was higher when Kelly was hire.

Finally, the LA Kings got back in the win column over the weekend to snap a 3-game losing streak. The Kings are still doing decently, sitting in 3rd place in a very competitive Pacific Division and Western Conference, but considered one of the contending teams in the West. With that being said, don’t try pointing to the Kings trade of PL Dubois for their success. Dubois has 5 goals so far, and is on pace for just 15 goals and 36 points this season. For a guy that was paid $8.5 million a year to play center, that is not acceptable, and concerning. I had my doubts about this trade to begin with, but even I thought the guy would be more productive than this. There’s still plenty of time to prove me wrong, but so far, it’s not looking good on that front.

December 11, 2024

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers for finally getting their man, Shohei Ohtani! To the Dodgers credit, they identified a player they were willing to go all in on, cleared the payroll, and signed him. This was years in the making. I had a hard time seeing Andrew Friedman giving those kinds of dollars and years to a player, even as good as Ohtani, but when he knows what he wants, he can spend. Also, enough of the “Dave Roberts blew it with his comments” nonsense. He said nothing. I love the Dodgers big market mentality and going for it, but with that being said, $700 million? $550 or $600 million wasn’t going to get the deal done? The only way to rationalize this deal from a monetary standpoint is that Ohtani brings more than $700 million of business and promotional value to the Dodgers. I realize much of the money is deferred, much it’s still a hefty price tag and term. For those of you that are complaining that he should have publicized his free agency more, if he did what Lebron did in 2011 and made a spectacle of it, he would be criticized as well. Professional athletes can handle their free agency however they want to, and they’ve earned that right. For the Dodgers though, I sure hope this doesn’t adversely impact the teams ability to add more talent, and pitching in particular. The Dodgers still need 2-3 good starting pitchers. Sure having a lineup of Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Max Muncy is amazing, but they still need to pitch and hit come playoff time. Whether or not they add more of that talent remains to be seen. However, the city of Los Angeles is all about star power, so credit to the Dodgers for recognizing it and doing everything in their power to acquire the biggest star in baseball. I’d also like to congratulate the State of California on their new found wealth after Ohtani’s $700 mllion deal. Can’t wait to see how they let those tax dollars go to waste!

As for the Angels, nobody can be surprised that Shohei Ohtani left, except maybe Arte Moreno. Multiple things can be true at the same time though. The Angels are better off not committing $700 million for a player when they have limited resources given how they are constructed. At the same time, they completely wasted the time they had with both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout as part of their franchise. Poor Trout! After Ohtani’s departure, the only chance he’ll have to be a part of the MLB postseason is by renewing his subscription to Cox Cable. Unfortunately, Arte’s perception of his franchise is much different than the perception around the league, which is going to hurt his ability to attract big name free agents. Since that seems to be the only way he wants to build his franchise, that’s a problem. However, imagine if they took just $100 million and invested it into scouting and player development? This team might actually go somewhere, but that of course is completely lost on Moreno. At some point Moreno has to look himself in the mirror and be honest with himself about what he’s doing to his franchise.

To the NBA, where I’m sure people will make their jokes about the Lakers knowing how to win “fake championships”, but I don’t care. Winning the In Season Tournament is really good for this team because it reminds them of their potential. It’s also great ammunition for Lebron stans to claim that LBJ just did something Michael Jordan never did. The Lakers are getting healthier, and they are winning games against good teams. That includes the health of Lebron and Anthony Davis, who both look healthier than last year, which explains their elite play the last few weeks. The Lakers have also started to play better without getting contributions from Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, who should only help their cause as the season goes on once they get healthy. Of course some of you might say that’s a reason to make a trade involving Rui for more help, but I disagree. Sometimes you just have to let the chemistry develop, which the Lakers have been doing. The ceiling for this team is even higher than we’ve seen, and that’s good news for Laker fans.

As for the Clippers, they are quietly playing much better. The only thing I don’t understand is why they are saying stupid things to the media. PJ Tucker says there aren’t enough basketballs for all of the stars on the team. That’s a sure way to get cut from the team when you’re already on the bubble. Then James Harden revealed that Russell Westbrook is getting frustrated with his playing time getting cut. Why would you share that? Just keep your business in house so we don’t actually think you are more of a shit show than than we already think. I bet these dudes publicly air their grievances on Twitter about their marriages too.

In the NFL, although that was a game I didn’t really expect the Rams to win, the loss against the Ravens still hurt. It’s really a reminder that the Rams are tough, but against the elite they just seem be a play or two away from coming away with the wins they need. Matt Stafford and the offense played excellent against one of the league’s best defenses on the road. However, burning that timeout with under 20 seconds left was very costly, and would have given the team another shot at the end zone to win the game. I am getting a little tired of the “win or lose, the Rams played a great game” narrative. It’s a frustrating loss because they did outplay a Super Bowl contender. However, if they can keep Kupp and Stafford healthy, this is looking more and more like a playoff team, that might even be able to win on wild card weekend.

Meanwhile, the Chargers reminded us that they just aren’t a very good football team, after getting handled by the Broncos. The Bolts don’t have the ownership and they don’t have the coaching. They do not have a healthy quarterback either, with Justin Herbert suffering a fractured index finger in yesterday’s game. Brandon Staley cannot convert a 4th down to save his life these days. He must have some junior high intern doing his analytics here, because he converts about 1% of the time in those situations. At this point, they can definitely kiss their playoff chances goodbye this year. Not only are the Bolts much closer to a Top 5 pick than the playoffs, but with Herbert missing time, they are actually poised for a very high first round pick. If only they could trade that pick for both new ownership and coaching!

I can’t blame Caleb Williams for skipping out on the Holiday Bowl, and neither should you. Williams could be the #1 pick in this spring’s NFL Draft, and even if he isn’t, he’ll be high enough to warrant not playing. With that being said, this is just a reminder that outside of the playoff teams, these are simply glorified consolation games, no matter who cool we try to make them sound. Frankly, I’m astonished the Holiday Bowl even took the Trojans with 5 losses. In any case, it will be a great opportunity for the Trojans to audition Miller Moss for QB next season, although in reality, they will probably land a big name in the transfer portal.

At some point these near upsets UCLA is pulling off against teams won’t matter. It’s not helping their NCAA Tournament resume. This time it was a loss against Villanova. They are also in the “other receiving votes” category, but good enough to help the Bruins resume had they won. They failed to defend the 3-point line, failed to play with toughness, and made a number of mental mistakes like not boxing out, which cost them. We can talk about potential all we want, but we’ve really reached the point where if the Bruins don’t win these games quickly, they are going to find themselves on the wrong side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.

It was great to see Bronny James on the court yesterday make his debut for USC. It was also incredible to see the line of fans waiting outside of the Galen Center to watch his debut. I’m pretty sure most USC fans didn’t realize that they had a basketball team until Bronny showed up. Obviously he’s on a minutes restriction, but he made some exciting plays, and hopefully he continues to get better and overcome his cardiac issue. With that being said, the Trojans have 4 losses, including UC Irvine and Long Beach State. I don’t think this team is all that good, despite the pre-season hype.

December 4, 2023

The Rams are still in the playoff hunt! Yesterday they defeated the Browns at SOFI, pulling away in the 4th, and winning 36-19. The team is now 3-0 since signing Carson Wentz. Just kidding. No they really are 3-0 since then, but Matt Stafford is heating up at the right time, throwing 8 TD’s in that stretch. It’s also helped tremendously getting Kyren Williams back in the lineup. He’s racked up 231 yards and 3 total TDs since his return. Unfortunately Sean McVay stole my joke, that he is probably on his fantasy team, which is why he is using him so much more than his previous running backs. Defeating Baltimore on the road will be tough next week, but if they just win the remaining games they are supposed to (Washington, New Orleans, and the New York Giants), they should have an excellent chance at nabbing the final wild card spot. Remember when everyone thought the Rams were going to tank at the beginning of the season? I guess everyone forgot that McVay can actually coach, Stafford can actually play QB, and Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp are still around.

Meanwhile, the Chargers were desperate for a win and got one against the lowly Patriots. I’ve seen more scoring at junior high dances than what we saw on display yesterday at Gillette Stadium. This week we won’t beat up on Brandon Staley because it was the rain that held the offenses in check. His defense actually did the job, even if it was against the lowly Patriots that made him look like Vince Lombardi. Nothing is more Chargers than covering a 5.5 spread with 6 points. Next week is an absolute must win against Denver, given that they are chasing them in the standings for a playoff spot. It would certainly help if they can run the ball more effectively. You would expect more in this department from a team with Austin Ekeler. The Bolts are still 2 games back of the final playoff spot in the AFC, but they need to leap over 5 teams with 5 games to play to get there. I’m not even sure Jim Carey would say “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” in this case.

The Lakers took care of the Rockets on Saturday at Crytpo.com arena, but I still don’t know what to make of the team. On one hand, I’m getting very tired of their excuses. They built this team with depth to withstand injury, and they did last spring. On the other hand, missing Rui Hachimura and Jared Vanderbilt is nothing to sneeze at. 12-9 is certainly much better than where they were last year, and still better than the likes of the Warriors and Clippers. However, they still have a lot to figure out. There was once a time where most Laker fans would have given up the Lakers girls and Dyan Cannon for just one good wing player. Now suddenly, the Lakers have 3 or 4 solid ones, and maybe even some reliable 3-point shooting. That includes D’Angelo Russell, and for all his flaws, he’s actually playing really well. In fact, the assumption that D’Lo will get moved has overshadowed how well he’s actually playing. I’m also even warming up to the idea of this in-season tournament, because if the Lakers play more meaningful games, it will help them build that chemistry and cohesiveness they are working towards much faster. We’ll see what that looks like on Tuesday against the Suns in the quarterfinals.

As for the Clippers, it looked like they were building some chemistry a week ago, but they are still struggling to put the pieces together after the James Harden trade. Sure they beat the Warriors, but they have their own problems, giving away leads consistently because they apparently think they need to be generous during the holiday season. Russell Westbrook is also becoming a problem too, with James Harden acknowledging that Russ is frustrated with his lack of minutes. Oh, so suddenly Russ could be a problem? I was told a week ago by the PR spin doctors in the Clipper corporate office that it was all his suggestion to go the bench and that it was totally selfless. Suuuuuure. I think they will continue to find ways to score, but I don’t see them having the size or the defense right now to be truly elite. That might ultimately hurt them. More than anything though, Kawhi, PG, and Harden have to figure out how to efficiently divide the basketball among the three of them.

In baseball, the Winter Meetings are getting underway this week. These reports on Shohei Ohtani are telling us absolutely nothing. I expect better from the likes of Jon Morosi and Bob Nightengale, than to tell me he’s going to sign “sometime between now and Christmas, but it could also happen in the next week or later.” If it is really coming down to the Dodgers, Angels, Blue Jays, and Cubs, this is simply about using other teams for leverage against the Dodgers. I don’t believe for a second Ohtani wants to play in the Midwest or Canada. I also don’t believe for a second that Arte Moreno can outbid any of those teams. If the Dodgers get Shohei Ohtani, great, but that better not impact their ability to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They desperately need him as their front of the rotation starter. Super smart move by Joe Kelly to agree to a deal with the Dodgers, in case Ohtani signs after him. He can sell his #17 to Ohtani for a Kings Randsome!

There’s also some news about the Angels. With the flurry of moves they made toward the end of the season, they stayed under the 2023 Luxury Tax Threshold. This will save Arte Moreno tons of money. I’m sure Angel fans everywhere are relieved that Arte will now be able to feed his family with all the money he saved, since he acts like he owns a poverty franchise. I’m also amused when I hear the Angels name in any trade rumors involving good players. They don’t have a farm system good enough right now that would allow them to even get a picture of a good player sent to them, let alone a good player.

What a complete disaster week for UCLA. They decide not to fire Chip Kelly, instantly Dante Moore enters the transfer portal, and they lose their OC D’Anton Lynn to USC. It’s hard to feel bad for the Bruins though. They made their beds with the decision to keep Kelly, and now they have to sleep in it. This is where the alumni need to step up and make their voice heard. And by alumni, I don’t mean Casey Wasserman, who had the bright idea to keep Chip Kelly. Thanks to him, UCLA is going to lose its highest recruit ever. This is just a reminder that UCLA is not serious about having a good football program.

I don’t know what the hell happened to UCLA Basketball against UC Riverside, but they were nearly embarrassed. Had they lost, they probably wouldn’t have been allowed back in Westwood again. I don’t care about the injuries either. There is no world where the UCLA Bruin Basketball team should ever lose to UC Riverside unless prime Michael Jordan is playing for the Highlanders. In any case, it’s a good thing the Bruins don’t play until December 9th because they need the time to get healthy.

Finally, the last 4-Team College Football Playoff was announced yesterday. With Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama getting in. That leaves Florida State with the biggest gripe for not getting in. It’s like George Kostanza himself picked the four teams. However, it’s also a reminder that College Football isn’t always about the results on the field. The Champion has never been determined in the most fair way, even with what we thought were improvements to the system. Next year might get a little better with 12-teams, but then we’ll still be debating what 9-3 teams should be invited to the party.