November 4, 2024

The Dodgers are World Series Champions! That’s a phrase that I don’t think anybody thought we would be saying in 2024. The most baseball thing in the world is for the Dodgers to win their 8th World Series in franchise history, in a year where they were ravaged by injuries, and nobody actually thought they were gonna get out of the NLDS. Of all the years they’ve made the playoffs and even been the favorites at times, this is the year they win it. Now all those idiots that think the 2020 championship doesn’t count can shut the hell up because this championship is like winning 2, validating the first one. Suddenly, 4 World Series in 8 seasons and 2 World Series Titles in that stretch makes you realize this is arguably the best organization in baseball. I was never overly critical of Dave Roberts like most of you were for decisions he never actually made, but in any case, he deserves credit for getting the players to buy in to their roles, and the analytical decisions. Andrew Friedman, it took a while but you sold me. You are the master of building a team with a phenomenal lineup, outstanding bullpen, and pitching. You’re also way more adaptable than I gave you credit for, actually spending money on elite players, while developing some too. Thank you Walker Buehler for reminding everybody that you still have it. Mookie, remember weeks ago when people thought you couldn’t perform in the postseason? You’re now an elite postseason performer and a winner. Freddie Freeman, you are amazing doing what you did on one leg. Will Smith, you played brilliantly behind the plate no matter what you did on offense. Don’t ever questions Shohei Ohtani’s toughness either, playing with a bum shoulder. Teoscar Hernandez, you bring so much grit and passion to the Dodgers, in addition to your talent. Gavin Lux, I don’t care what anybody says, you are a solid player that can start on my team any day. Max Muncy, you made yourself into a very good defender at 3rd base when nobody said you could. Clayton Kershaw, this championship is just as much yours as it is theirs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, you are the ace we thought you could be. To the entire bullpen, you were lights out! Lastly, I want to thank the Yankees for their charity, in giving away game 5. They should be given the Robert Clemente Award this year for being so giving!

With all that being said, it’s not too early to look to the baseball off-season. Even the Dodgers have decisions to make. I realize there is a lot of talk about Juan Soto, and how the Dodgers could create the Death Star lineup with him, but do you really need another $700 million outfielder? Soto is saying bring the cash, and get a reservation at Nobu to talk. Meanwhile, Teoscar Hernandez would do anything to remain a Dodger. The Dodgers need to re-sign him to a reasonable contract, and invest in more pitching. You need 10-12 pitchers to net out at 4 healthy and reliable pitchers come the postseason. Max Fried or Corbin Burnes, come on down! Bring back Walker Buehler too. The Angels have already started making off season moves too, but stupid ones. Mike Trout can’t play the outfield anymore so they acquire Jorge Soler, who also can’t play the outfield. Savvy move by Perry. What else you got up your sleeve? I hear Josh Hamilton and Stephen Strasberg are available. Arte Moreno was so mad the Dodgers won, he decided to light $13 million on fire.

To the NFL, where the Rams had a tremendous win yesterday against the Seahawks. They are now 4-4 and in second place in the NFC West. A great throw by Matt Stafford, and an even better catch by D-Rob to finish it off. That “punch” by Puka to get ejected was complete nonsense. The defense is making plays and getting better and better every week. Jared Verse might even be the defensive rookie of the year, especially since he’s going to be playing in even bigger games as the season goes on. Suddenly we went from talking about rebuilding to being buyers at the trade deadline. It’s amazing how much better you can be when you have an offensive line, and your top offensive players are healthy. They can easily beat Miami next week on Monday night at home. This division is going to come down to the final game or two to determine a winner, but that just means we’re going to see some serious prime time games before it’s over, which is great. In case you forgot, Sean McVay can coach, and he’s reminding you of that every game.

As for the Chargers, they took care of the Browns easily. Slowly this is becoming a team you don’t want to play with. Much more physical and nasty, and you can thank Jim Harbaugh for that. Justin Herbert also has the fewest interceptions in the league this season, and the Bolts are the #1 scoring defense. These are things that would have been unheard of under the previous Bolts regime. At 5-3, this team is firmly in the mix for a Wild Card spot, but there is lots more upside to come.

In the NBA, the Lakers are off to a decent 4-2 start, but there is some drama coming up. Jaxton Hayes, who was investigated for domestic abuse a few years ago, is having his case re-opened by the NBA after some TMZ footage was released. Hayes was previously sentenced to community service and counseling, and was not suspended by the league. After seeing the tape, I don’t personally see anything that could have come to light that would make the punishment any different. However, if the Lakers lose Hayes they will need more help at center immediately. That was already a weak position. Christian Koloko has yet to suit up, while Jared Vanderbilt and Christian Wood are still recovering from injuries and are weeks away from playing. The Lakers also have a serious bench problem, with Dalton Knecht their only real productive player off the pine. With that being said, the Lakers schedule is exceptionally soft for the next 5-6 games, so this is a great time to bank some wins, unlike what we’ve seen from them in the early going of the past couple of seasons.

Then there’s the Clippers, who are struggling to finish games. The Clippers are 2-4, playing hard in every game, but losing control in the 4th quarter. That’s unfortunately what happens when you’re missing your star players like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and James Harden isn’t exactly the MVP version of himself anymore. There’s also unfortunately no end in sight to when Kawhi might have a better string of health. The Clippers are being very vague, and his people are being vague with the Clips. It’s safe to say they probably don’t see eye-to-eye on it, especially when you consider the litigation going on with their former trainer.

On to College Football, where USC should be feeling rather embarrassed after this weekend. They fell to Washington on the road, and are now 4-5 on the season. I’m beginning to wonder if 6 or 7 wins is really in the cards for this group, and if they can actually reach a bowl game, which would be disappointing considering how things started. I know there’s a lot of arrows slinging at Lincoln Riley, but everyone needs a reality check. He has a $90 million buyout. The NFL isn’t going to come calling for him to be an offensive coordinator, and he doesn’t want that. You shouldn’t want that for USC either. You knew it was going to take time to adjust to The Big Ten. You ultimately need to give it time either way.

Finally., UCLA even found the win column again Nebraska! Did you really think they were going to even get 3 wins this season? I sure didn’t. But everyday, DeShaun Foster is showing you that he at least cares enough to continue keeping the job. Nebraska isn’t some team of bums either. Ethan Garbers looked solid, and the defense held up. I’d really like to see what Foster can do from a recruiting perspective, especially in this new NIL era. This program might have a little more upside than you think.