April 4, 2022
Hey Lakers, lose my number! I don’t want to hear anything from your sorry asses for the next 6 months. I’ve never been so embarrassed to be a Laker fan. This is by far the most disappointing season in Laker history, and this weekend was the final dagger, with losses to the Pelicans and Nuggets at home. I don’t care if Lebron and AD have missed as many games as they have. This team should at least be able to make the play-in tournament. I don’t see the Clippers in the lottery without Kawhi and Paul George. I also don’t see the Nuggets falling apart without Michael Porter and Jamaal Murray. The lack of effort and lack of professionalism on this squad all year has been simply disrespectful to the fans that support this team. They don’t even deserve to be in the play-in, let alone the playoffs. Will even half of this team even be on any NBA roster next year? I have my doubts. That’s how sorry the roster construction has been, and not sure how much better it’s going to get moving forward. Lebron is also up for a contract extension in August. I’m not so sure he doesn’t sign it, but I’m also not so sure that would be a good thing for the Lakers.
As for the Clippers, things are actually getting a bit interesting for them. Paul George made his return to the floor last week, and looked really good in the process. They took down the Jazz, and then blew out the Bucks, albeit with both teams missing a lot of players. Nevertheless, if the Clippers can survive the play-in, they may even get Kawhi Leonard back. That would make the Clips an extremely dangerous #7 or #8 seed in the Western Conference. The role players on this team are suddenly finding themselves, including the likes of Luke Kennard and Robert Covington. Suddenly all those Clipper jokes aren’t so funny to the Suns or Grizzlies, who might have to face this monster in the 1st round.
To baseball, where the Dodgers made a massive trade last week, sending AJ Pollock to the White Sox for closer Craig Kimbrel. I actually thought this was an April Fools joke at first, but it’s true. It also made a lot of sense. The Dodgers needed a closer with the departure of Kenley Jansen. Considering Kimbrel has just one year left on his contract, it’s a reasonable gamble. He has been pretty up and down though. When Kimbrel is on, he’s great. When he’s not, he’s downright awful. In his first spring training outing with the Dodgers, he was awful. Nevertheless, it’s spring training. AJ Pollock was really one of the best hitters in the NL last year, even though he stunk in the playoffs. He was a great Dodger though and he will be missed, but there are enough guys that need at-bats that can more than effectively replace his bat. That Kimbrel arm thing before every pitch though is kind of annoying.
As for the Angels, MLB Network ranked Shohei Ohtani #1 and Mike Trout #2 in their player rankings. First of all, no disrespect to how great Shohei is, but just because Mike Trout strained his calf last year, the media got amnesia and forgot that he’s still the best player? Makes no sense. Then there’s the Halos releasing Justin Upton, and just eating $28 million. I know the Angels are trying to go young in the outfield with guys like Brandon marsh and Jo Adell, but if the Halos are going to to keep making $28 million mistakes, they are going to keep spinning their wheels at .500. Upton was actually having a decent spring. I know a few people have suggested he ends up with the Dodgers, but the Boys in Blue just traded away AJ Pollock to create some more playing time in the outfield. They don’t need another outfielder.
In the NFL, the Rams have done it again. They’ve acquired another star player by signing linebacker Bobby Wagner to a 5-year $50 million deal. I’m sure everyone is wondering how the Rams can afford another star. The Rams just have smarter people upstairs, including Les Snead, and many others that draft well and get a lot of quality starters on the cheap. They also understand the importance of stars and chasing championships when you’re playing in the LA market. That you have to appreciate. Now the Rams have replaced Von Miller with another defensive star who has just as good of a resume, and they once again have three elite defenders: Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and Wagner.
Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed The Grammy’s last night and it is by far my favorite award show. Amazingly, we had an award show where nobody got slapped, and the topic of conversation afterward was not that slap. Doesn’t that feel like it happened 10 years ago, given all the commentary that’s happened since? As for the show itself, this clip will give you a nice summary.