Monday Morning Coffee

March 20, 2023

It wasn’t always pretty but UCLA survived the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. They are in the Sweet 16 for the 3rd consecutive year. I’m sure some of you may be thinking this team is nice, but they don’t necessarily look like they could be a National Champion. However, historically, the 2nd round has always been a dog fight for many teams that end up going all the way. Plus, had the Bruins not been beat up on the boards, they probably would have won this game much more decisively. That had a lot to do with Adem Bona’s injury and Kenneth Nwuba’s foul trouble. Plus, you need a good test along the way to get you ready for the later rounds. In completely unsurprising developments, here we are again, with Gonzaga standing in the way of UCLA getting past the Sweet 16. It’s going to be tough. The Zags are good and will probably be favored by a little, but you can never count out this Bruin team with their elite defense and mental toughness.

Elsewhere around March Madness, The Trojans were eliminated in round 1 by Michigan State. USC was talented, but you can’t beat a team as well coached as MSU with undisciplined play. The Trojans had a lot of turnovers and took a lot of bad shots, which is a sure fire recipe for going home. Here’s an update on your March Madness bracket: the girl who picked everyone based on the cutest mascot is in 1st place. 2nd place is a guy who had family at Furman, Princeton, and FDU. Third is the 9th bracket of a girl who made 19. Oh, and you’re in last place. Jay Bilas does this for a living and he had Arizona winning it all. Instead they got punked in the first round by a bunch of nerds from Princeton. That’s how hard this is. Purdue lost to a team that only got in the NCAA Tournament because another team declined the invite. We should have known though this would be the case when Joe Biden picked Arizona to win it all.

To the NBA, where despite last night’s win against the Magic, the Lakers continue to blow opportunity after opportunity to secure a playoff spot. Had they just shown up against the Rockets and made a couple of free throws against the Mavs, they would be sitting in 6th place in the West right now. Instead, they are fighting for their lives just to get in the play-in tournament. I realize Utah is basically trying to lose and the Pelicans are sinking like the Titanic, but the Lakers schedule in the last 10 games isn’t exactly easy. They have to play Phoenix twice, Chicago twice, and the Clippers. Those are all teams that will be coming at the Lakers hard as they fight for playoff positioning, and it seems unlikely the team will get Lebron back until the final couple of games at best. I realize you all want to crucify Anthony Davis for everything he’s done the past week, but the reality of it is, the Lakers aren’t even in this position without him, and everything is magnified because they left themselves no margin for error. Frankly, the best news that I’ve heard on the Lakers is that they are pivoting away from trying to sign Kyrie Irving this offseason, which is a smart move. Relying on Kyrie to show up to work everyday is like relying on Silicon Valley Bank to lend you money right now. D’Angelo Russell may not be as talented, but he sure will be a much more reliable player over the course of the next five years than Kyrie will.

The Clippers seem to be ok in the standings with 10 games left, but is Kawhi really going to sit out every remaining back-to-back? I mean you would think the guy would want to have at least some rhythm and chemistry with his teammates going into the playoffs. Something tells me he doesn’t care and will do things his own way, no matter what the Clippers truly want from him. The problem with that however, is that Russell Westbrook will be relied upon more on those nights, and you saw on Saturday night against the Magic, how that can cost you.. I mean I hate to be honest because Russ is a good guy, but the reality of it is if you lean on him too much at this point in his career, he will actually cost you games.

I have not watched a second of The World Baseball Classic. I get that the players are into it, but it’s hard for me to get around to thinking I’m watching meaningful baseball games in March. I also think this is a perfect example of how baseball just can’t get out of it’s own way to provide more coverage around it. MLB’s website for coverage looks like it was put together by some amateur web developers, who moonlight as Door Dash drivers. You also can’t find the games very easily because they are buried on Fox Sports One. If I knew how to find the games though, I might actually watch some of it. On another note, it does feel cruel to send Mike Trout back to the Angels after experiencing all this with Team USA, who is now headed to the finals

In Spring Training, the Dodgers overall look like you thought they would, but it’s Spring Training so I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in it. I also wouldn’t put a lot of stock into the Spring Training performance of Clayton Kershaw. He wasn’t sharp in his first start, only marginally better in his 2nd start and still not great. However, the most important thing is for him to be healthy. With Kershaw, I look forward to seeing him pitching in April, part of May, late July, and then again in early September, and through the postseason. An injury, most likely to his back, is going to be inevitable, but it can be managed and doesn’t have to prevent him from being able to be effective. Just get him healthy and effective in October.

Arte Moreno just needs to stop talking. It’s become aggravating, as his latest interview with the media came with The Athletic. Apparently, he and Shohei Ohtani haven’t even spoken about a contract extension yet. Considering he’s basically the biggest priority moving forward, and also the biggest storyline that is a distraction around the club, don’t you think it would be a good idea to broach the subject with him and his agent? If your wife suggests that she’s going to divorce you to somebody else and you find out, then maybe you should have a conversation about it, no? That’s what this feels like. I know there’s a lot of people still banking on this idea that the Angels might actually be good this year. I don’t see it. Their division is too good, the pitching is just ok, and their hitting is non-existent for long stretches around Trout and Ohtani. Unless those two and Anthony Rendon are in the lineup regularly and crush it on a nightly basis, I don’t see this team getting in the playoffs again, which will raise questions around Ohtani all season.

Isn’t it possible for some of you Kings fans to just be happy for Jonathan Quick when he does well with Vegas, instead of rooting for him to fail? It doesn’t have to come at the expense of the Kings either. Jonathan Quick brought two Stanley Cups to LA, was the Conn Smyth Winner in 2012, and one of the most important players in franchise history. He’s arguably a hall of famer too. Yes he’s now with a division rival, but I see a lot of Kings fan out here openly rooting and taking pleasure in Quick failing with the Golden Knights. He’s actually been pretty good overall since the trade, and frankly, good for him. He’s a competitive guy, and a proud hockey player. Had he not been traded, he would not be this motivated to do what he’s doing so good for him, and as a result, the Kings are also better off as well. If and when these two division rivals meet in the playoffs it will get interesting, but if you’re a Kings fan, you don’t have to act like Jonathan Quick is suddenly Patrick Roy.

Finally, the NFL off-season has been wild. Aaron Rodgers is having his usual drama and appears to be headed to the Jets. Glad he figured that out after his darkness retreat, where he was probably snorting marijuana off a tree branch. Does anybody want Lamar Jackson? He is an MVP who is in his prime. I’m not sure what exactly the Raiders are doing. Jimmy Garoppolo is definitely a downgrade from Derek Carr. He might be cheaper, but he’s also going to miss games like he’s Kawhi Leonard. I know he’s a running back that’s a position that isn’t valued much, but the Chargers should try and find a way to keep Austin Ekeler. He’s a solid dude, a good football player, and gives excellent Fantasy Football advice!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *