September 18, 2024

I don’t know if the Rams are legit, but they sure looked pretty good against the 49ers yesterday. I mean the 49ers are supposed to be this all-world, nobody can beat them, greatest team of all-time according to the media. So this has to be a pretty good measuring stick. They were in the game up until the end, and might have even won were it not for Kyren Williams taking his eye off a pass that led to an interception. Matt Stafford has only been sacked once in two games, and Puca Nakua is producing like he’s Jerry Rice out there. Then there’s the weird Cam Akers situation, where it suddenly appears he’s done with the Rams. Sean McVay and Akers are talking to each other through the media like an old married couple that is on the verge of a divorce after the 1,000th fight. Meanwhile, Kyren Williams has taken over the starting job, and sounds like the new girlfriend waiting in the wings, talking like the ink on the divorce papers is already dry. I don’t really see how there is a market for Cam Akers at this point, but also don’t think he has much of a future with the Rams. Nevertheless, will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

I am running out of things to say about the Chargers faltering in the clutch against teams they should beat. Maybe I should just start copying and pasting the same content about them every week and it should work just fine? Once again, they blew a double digit lead, took some very undisciplined penalties, and couldn’t make the clutch plays in overtime when they needed to. This continues to be a Brandon Staley problem, but we all know about that by now. If the Bolts can’t beat the Vikings and Raiders, they might as well pack it in because the schedule is going to get a heck of a lot tougher after that with the Cowboys and Chiefs looming. They are the Chargers for a reason. They also are getting exactly what they are paying for in coaching.

Elsewhere around the NFL, Joe Burrow has turned into Andy Dalton after signing his extension, and the Bengals are now 0-2 after losing to the Ravens. The Cowboys are having way more success right now than their fans are probably used to. Tyreek Hill looks like he’s playing against little children out there as the Dolphins beat up the Patriots. Gotta feel bad for Aaron Rodgers and the Jets, especially after seeing Zach Wilson, but hope he’s able to have a speedy recovery, and sounds like he’s determined too.

To College Football where UCLA looked pretty good against North Carolina Central over the weekend, and Dante Moore continues to look like a star. Things are going to get real for the Bruins now when they play Washington State next week, followed by Oregon State. Chip Kelly still doesn’t want to publicly commit to Moore, which is idiotic. We all know he is the guy, and all Kelly can say is “we should probably get him more reps”. I know it’s probably easy to say the Bruins haven’t played anybody yet, but keep in mind that they started the same way last season and ended up being a good team despite their expectations. Their defense also looks legit, holding opponents to under 20 points in all 3 games, and Moore is getting better with every snap he takes. Show us what you’ve got next week Chip, and then we can talk.

USC had a bye week, but they’ll take on ASU next week in Tempe. The Trojans are still ranked at #5 in the AP Poll, but there’s two things that should be concerning to them. The first is the fact they are the most penalized team in the PAC-12. That’s always killed them, even dating back to the Clay Helton era. Then there’s the schedule. The PAC-12 is a gauntlet with 8 ranked teams. They might be able to afford one-loss, but two? Forget about the College Football Playoff.

Look, I think what Deion Sanders is doing at Colorado is awesome. However, the hype machine has gone way too overboard at this point. They barely beat Colorado State. The game was exciting, but at best, they are probably an upstart fringe Top 25 team. They certainly keep it interesting, but the coverage around them is insane. The star power though is also insane, given that Deion made $1.2 million with Blenders Eyewear in one day, after Colorado State Head Coach Jay Norvell criticized him for wearing shades all the time. That’s the ultimate troll!

To baseball, where the Dodgers clinched the division title over the weekend by sweeping the Marlins. They have now won the NL West 10 out of 11 years. Before you start saying we only care about the championships (and yes that’s true), keep in mind that everybody picked the Padres to win the division. Meanwhile, the Padres won’t even make the playoffs, and will be searching for answers on their Cancun vacations in the next couple of weeks. The fact the Dodgers did this by plugging more kids into their lineup and into their rotation speaks to just how good their player development is. The pitching going into the postseason is obviously still a concern, including Clayton Kershaw’s drop in velocity, but there’s still a few weeks to try and figure this out before it’s show time in October.

Why do the Angels manage everything so poorly? Shohei Othani is getting shut down for the season, the Halos said nothing for a while, making it look like he cleaned out his locker because he was done with the team. They also kept Anthony Rendon’s injury a total secret, rather than saying he fractured his tibia. Rendon probably wouldn’t have continued to make himself look like a douchebag anyway, but still poorly handled. I also have no idea why Mike Trout wants to put himself back in the lineup for the last two weeks of the season. That just feels like more of a health risk for him, especially if he’s going to be traded.

September 11, 2023

I was told the Rams were going to be garbage. Apparently their demise were greatly exaggerated. They handled the Seahawks without Cooper Kupp, with a bunch of dudes you’ve never heard of as wide outs, and on defense. It’s just a reminder of how competent you can be with solid coaching, a good quarterback, and a good offensive line. I’m not sitting here telling you the Rams are some Super Bowl juggernaut. But the idea of them bottoming out looks very unlikely. Then again, if the Matt Stafford trade showcase has begun, we may be having a different conversation.

As for the Chargers, new season, same dreadful outcomes. I was told Brandon Staley was a defensive coach, yet his team just gave up 536 yards of total offense. Once again, this team still finds a way to lose games in the biggest moments. If you’re a fan, this is like loving someone that will simply never love you back. This is the least surprising thing I’ve seen since the last time I saw the Chargers play.

Elsewhere around the NFL in Week 1, the Giants dismantled the Cowboys, and Danny Dimes looks like he should be paid about a dime for his play instead of $44 million. Travis Kelce and his agent are just counting the dollars on his next contract after missing Thursday Night Football and the Chiefs lost to the Lions. The Denver Broncos still have NEVER beaten the Las Vegas Raiders. The Browns must have gotten DeShaun Watson a really good masseuse or two before the game, because he played well enough for Cleveland to beat the Bengals. The Eagles won, but they probably don’t feel great. Everybody expects them to be good, which usually means they won’t be good though. Meanwhile, if Ryan Tannehill keeps throwing interceptions, DeAndre Hopkins is going to fight him. Kenny Pickett played so bad for the Steelers yesterday in their loss to the 49ers, they might lock him out of the building this morning.

In College Football, that was quite a beating USC put on Stanford over the weekend at The Coliseum. Caleb Williams looked like he was playing a video game again, piling up another 281 yards and three touchdowns in just one half of work against the Cardinal. Also, considering that USC didn’t allow Stanford to score until the final minutes, for now it seems their defense is holding up. Williams is probably annoyed for two reasons right now though. First, he is probably being told nobody will vote for him again for The Heisman Trophy, even if he cures cancer, just because the voters like to see new kids win it. Then he’s probably annoyed that his dad is telling people that he may return to USC next year if it looks like he’s going to go to an NFL team that stinks. Sorry pops, but no matter when your son goes to the NFL, he’s going to go to a team that stinks. That’s just how the system works. You may be able to keep your kid getting paid and getting laid by sorority girls for a year, but eventually, your kid will have to start playing for a bad NFL team. In the meantime, up next is a duel in the desert with Arizona State for the Trojans in two weeks.

As for UCLA, it’s amazing how good Dante Moore looks. He threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns, and the Bruins dominated the Aztecs 35-10 in San Diego. After all that, and not even playing Ethan Garbers, Chip Kelly still refused to publicly say Moore was going to be his starter. That’s nice Chip, but we all know that if you plan on trying to win football games this year, Moore is your guy. I’m sure Garbers and the rest of his teammates would agree, especially after wide receiver Logan Loya said “he’s going to be a star”. I’m not necessarily convinced the Bruins are some conference title contender, but they probably crack the Top 25 this week, and if they continue to play Moore, he’ll continue to get better, and they may surprise a few teams.

To the NBA where Rob Pelinka should probably be arrested for shoplifting. The man signed big man Christian Wood to a veteran minimum contract. Wood may have his attitude issues, but given that he’s playing for the equivalent of NBA welfare, he’s going to be on his best behavior. He’s also extremely talented, can stretch the floor, and will give the Lakers additional front court depth and versatility. In this age of load management, he’ll be a very nice luxury to give Anthony Davis a break, and he’ll get his share of playing time to make an impact. Forgot all this adding a 3rd star nonsense. The Lakers have had a very sensible off-season, and it should at minimum, put them in the hunt for title contention this season, even in an extremely competitive Western Conference. That’s all you can ask for if you’re a fan.

As for those of you wondering if there’s any progress in the Clippers attempts to acquire James Harden, there is not. Multiple sources have repeatedly reported that the Clippers are not willing to trade anything more than picks and expiring contracts for the Sixers disgruntled and strip club loving star. Nor should they. They might be more interesting with him, but they don’t need him. Instead, they need their stars to be healthy and available, whether Harden is on the team or not. On the other hand though, Daryl Morey cannot afford to trade Harden for pennies on the dollar. His best bet is to keep him, or else the optics look really bad in front of his star, Joel Embiid.

Speaking of basketball, I love how some of you still act like it’s 1992 when hearing that Team USA lost in international competition. Since clearly a lot of you don’t understand how this works today, we can no longer win an international competition without sending our very best players, and even then it’s hardly a guarantee. Team USA didn’t even medal. They got 4th in The World Cup. Canada defeated them in the bronze medal game. Yes, I know most of you think that Canada is good for nothing but cheap medication and hockey, but they actually have NBA players that play for them in international competition. Of course when Team USA loses, it gets all the star players fired up to want to play in the Olympics. However, I don’t know why Lebron and Anthony Davis want to do it at their advanced age. On the bright side though, this tournament was a great showcase for Austin Reaves, who is getting better with every game he is playing, and may even be an NBA All-Star one day.

In a matter of 7 days, the Dodgers playoff chances look like they are in shambles. Much of this has to do with their rapidly declining number of good starting pitching options. Julio Urias is an idiot, who got himself in another domestic abuse incident. He’ll probably never pitch for the Dodgers again, and will be lucky if he gets to pitch in the majors again. He can kiss his fat contract goodbye too, because he was pitching poorly this season. Walker Buehler announced he won’t return this season, Clayton Kershaw’s velocity is suddenly down because he doesn’t look healthy, and Lance Lynn remembered that he’s…….Lance Lynn. That leaves a bunch of inexperienced kids that will likely have to come through in October like Bobby Miller, Emmit Sheehan, Ryan Pepiot, and Gavin Stone. That’s a scary thought considering these guys have such limited MLB experience, let alone playoff experience, despite their promising talent.

Meanwhile, what’s happening for the Angels on the field isn’t really interesting anymore, as they are now out of playoff contention. However, what is interesting is that Bob Nightengale from USA Today is now reporting that if Mike Trout asks for a trade, the Angels are open to trading him. That sounds like a big deal, but how big can this dude’s market really be? He has a no-trade clause, he’s 32, he’s owed $249 million for the next 7 years, and he’s missed 249 games in 3 years. The fact they are leaking this makes me think they may be trying to free up some additional money to increase their bid for Ohtani. Also, don’t completely count the Angels out of the Ohtani sweepstakes. His injury clouds his pitching future, which could bring him closer to the value the Halos can pay, especially since the Angels give him the power to do what he wants and shield him from the media. What about winning? Well perhaps Ohtani decides to take a one year deal to rehab his value, and then take his max pay day elsewhere in the fall of 2024. Is it likely? No, but it’s a possibility you can completely dismiss.

August 28, 2023

USC took the field on Saturday night against San Jose State to open the season. The Trojans earned a decisive victory as you would have expected in Week 0. However, coincidentally, “0” is also an excellent description of the level the Trojan defense played at. USC couldn’t stop the run, giving up massive gains on the ground late in the game, while also giving up an average of over 4 yards per carry. They had a huge busted coverage at the end of the 2nd quarter, and had 5 penalties on defense and special teams. Caleb Williams is still phenomenal with his four touchdown passes, but if USC has plans to win the PAC-12 and go to the College Football Playoff, they have a lot of work to do on the defensive end. Of course Lincoln Riley defended the group, but you could have taken everything he said from last year early on, and just replayed it this year.

Elsewhere around College Football, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame had a statement win over Navy in their Week 0 opener. It must be some kind of a disrespect from the Football Gods if Notre Dame ever loses a game in Ireland. Sam Hartman looks solid, throwing 4 touchdown passes, and the offensive line couldn’t have looked any better. The Irish should start 4-0 before the schedule gets real. They’ll have showdowns against Ohio State, USC, and Clemson, who are all pre-season top 10 teams. This is probably a 10-2 or 9-3 team going to a good bowl game, but probably not going to the College Football Playoff.

To baseball, where this might have been the worst week in the history of the Angels. Shohei Ohtani tears his UCL, putting the future of his pitching career in question, and Mike Trout went back on the injured list with a hand injury. Seeing Perry Minasian hold a press conference announcing this was like watching an episode of The Office. Arte Moreno is so cheap, I’m surprised he didn’t say that he’s taking the team to Zankou Chicken after the game to cry in their hummus, while being limited to dark meat and one pita each. In all seriousness, this franchise is fundamentally flawed. Over dependent on two stars, who’s durability is now in serious question, and with little investment in infrastructure around them. Sorry Arte, this isn’t the NBA. The only good news for the Angels is that this new injury may lower Ohtani’s off-season market value, to a point where the Angels might actually be able to compete for his services. That bad news though is that if they can’t put a winning team on the field with him making $30 million a year, what makes them think they can put a winning team on the field with him making $50 million a year or more?

As for the Dodgers, they took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox, and have all but put the NL West division away. Julio Urias struggled a little on Saturday again, which is still somewhat concerning, but the Dodgers need to find a way to get their pitching in better form over the next month. It’s certainly been better than earlier in the season, but it all comes down to the health and performance of Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias, Lance Lynn, and Bobby Miller. As for how the Ohtani injury impacts their off-season outlook, it only further reinforces what I thought before: there is no baseball player who is worth a $500 million contract. Ohtani would certainly brings a level of marketability to the Dodgers, but who knows if he will ever be a durable front line starting pitcher again. The success rate after two Tommy John surgeries is low, so why would we think this would be any different? Sure he’s phenomenal as a DH, but the Dodgers could easily get 5-6 really good players for that price.

Congratulations to El Segundo on winning The Little League World Series. Luis Lappe hit a walk-off home run to clinch it in dramatic fashion. Can you imagine being 12-years old and experiencing something like that? That kid is going to be spending the next few weeks visiting the likes of Disneyland and The White House. Hopefully someone explains to Joe Biden what actually happened 50 times so he can remember.

The Rams finished up their pre-season slate by getting demolished on Saturday by the Broncos, 41-0. Pretty much anybody that played in that game should be cut, or never see much time after that embarrassment. I’m mildly concerned about the inexperience, especially on the defensive side of the football. I’m also worried that Aaron Donald said he’s not where he wants to be about a week ago, Cooper Kupp might be coming off injury, and who knows what Matthew Stafford will look like considering we haven’t seen him in an NFL game in a while. The over/under is 6 wins which I thought is way too low, but now I’m wondering if Vegas knows something that we do not!

I love seeing how much Austin Reaves has improved his game. He looks like he’s getting better and better with every FIBA game I see him play. The USA has had some close calls, but you gotta remember, all the international teams have NBA players too. It’s pretty difficult to win without sending our very best players. France has NBA players too but they lost early. Nic Batum said he’s never been more ashamed to wear a jersey. I don’t know what he’s talking about though. He should be way more ashamed to walk around in a Clipper jersey in Los Angeles.

August 21, 2023

I think it’s safe to say that the race for the NL West is over. The Dodger lead has ballooned to 11.5 games over the Giants. On one hand, that sounds great because the Dodgers can relax a little bit in September. On the other hand, there are 5 teams within 1.5 games of the last two Wild Card spots. That means as we’ve seen before, two of those teams are going to go into October with a hell of a lot of momentum, and could be extremely dangerous to teams that don’t need to play with urgency, like the Dodgers and Braves. We’ve only seen it tons of times the past few years. It’s like the 5th installment of a bad horror movie. It’s also a shame to see Tony Gonsolin going down with another arm injury, and likely done for the season. The man clearly has not been himself since getting injured in the 2nd half of last season, where he pitched more innings than he’s ever had. It’s going to be a long way back for The Cat Man. I was happy to see the Dodgers win with some small ball over the weekend, with Austin Barnes with a perfectly executed suicide squeeze. The Dodgers will need more of that in the postseason, against elite pitching, rather than sitting back and waiting for the 3-run homer. That is the approach the Dodgers need to think about to be more successful in the postseason than they have been over the last decade.

As for the Angels, they got beaten up by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. They are now 11.5 games back in the West, and 8.5 games back of the Wild Card. There’s also 3 teams to jump over to get that last playoff spot. I’m not sure what’s left for this bunch. It’s gotten so bad, the Halos are now the punching bag of jokes for other teams. On the Diamondbacks broadcast over the weekend, the Angels were described as “an annual joke”. The D’Backs have won fewer division titles and have the same number of playoff appearances as the Angels in the past decade, and even they are talking smack. The Rays broadcast teams also violated the Halos this weekend when they said “it never really feels like you are out of the game when you’re playing the Angels”. The LA Times even piled on with an article about how the Halos are one of only two franchises that don’t send their radio team on the road to broadcast their games, and instead they have them call the games from a studio. Does Arte Moreno even have any pride anymore? The man is truly the laughing stock of MLB owners at this point, and even more so among Southern California sports fans. I’m not sure what the Angels have left this season, other than trying to pretend like they can put a decent franchise around Shohei Ohtani to get him to stay beyond this year.

The NBA schedule is out. For any team in the West, the schedule is just going to look tough because the conference is stacked. However, I don’t expect the Lakers to start 2-10 next season, and I certainly don’t expect them to scramble to get into the playoffs like last season. That’s because they have a huge advantage in the middle of the season. From January 1 to January 24 the Lakers will only leave California once (to Utah). From February 22 (post All-Star Break) to March 24, the Lakers will only leave California once (to Phoenix). That is 55 days of the 2023-24 season where the Lakers will do minimal travel. They will have to endure 15 back-to-back games, but don’t be fooled, the Lakers are a young team. Lebron James is their only older player, and even Anthony Davis is just 30 years old. That stretch at home in the dog days of the season should really benefit them. Also, savvy move by Adam Silver to schedule the Lakers against the Nuggets on opening night. Nobody would give a crap about the Nuggets raising the banner otherwise.

Why is this James Harden noise such a story? The dude is about to be on his 4th team in 3 years. He’s 34, and he’s simply not that guy anymore. He thinks he is though. With that being said, Daryl Morey still knows that he gave up a lot for Harden, and that his best move to stay in contention is to keep him. For those of you that keep thinking it’s inevitable he’s going to be a Clipper, don’t count on it. The Clippers want him, but they aren’t going to open the vault to get him at all costs. This isn’t prime James Harden. He comes with baggage and risk. No matter how much Harden stomps his feet and cries about it, he knows that he has to report to training camp, or else the Sixers can prevent him from becoming a free agent next summer. Still, nobody knows how to cost himself money like James Harden.

I have no idea what to make of the Rams in the preseason so far. Cam Akers is throwing punches at opposing players, Matt Stafford looks sharp in practice, Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee are getting healthy, and Aaron Donald hasn’t done much. I refuse to put any stock in the loss over the weekend to the Raiders in the preseason, or the week before against the Chargers. Most of these guys will not be playing in week 1. I think it is fair to say however, that Stetson Bennett is looking like he will be the backup QB.

Meanwhile, the NFL doesn’t care about hurricanes, earthquakes, and potential tornadoes. Instead they are making the Chargers and Saints play a preseason game under those conditions. In all seriousness though, Hurricane Hillary is just a bunch of media hype, and nothing more than 24-48 hours of light rain that the media can manufacture a story out of.

August 14, 2023

Are you really that surprised? The Dodgers are doing exactly what they’ve been doing for about a decade. They are dominating the NL West. You all thought it was the year of the Padres or D’Backs, but we took for granted that the Dodgers just have a very solid organization, no matter how much we criticize their approach. It turns out the off-season of limited spending on the likes of JD Martinez and Jayson Heyward is working out just fine, while the trade deadline additions of Kike Hernandez, Lance Lynn, and Ahmed Rosario are working out even better. Since the Dodgers couldn’t win much in October before, why not try a slightly different approach? Well so far, you can’t argue with that approach, especially when it lets dudes like James Outman, Michael Busch, and Bobby Miller develop faster. Even the starting pitching and the bullpen has been looking up, as the Dodgers have won 8 straight, and have a 7.5 game lead in the division. I still think this team will always be judged by what they do in October, because that’s just how it works for Los Angeles sports teams. But ultimately, their success then will depend on their approach, more than the talent they put on the field.

As for the Angels, they’ve lost 9 of their last 12 games since the All-Star break, and the team is in shambles. They are 11.5 games back in the division, and now 6.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. They also have to jump over 4 teams just to get that final playoff spot. The Halos are never going to make the playoffs getting their brains beat in by the Astros every year. Since 2017, the Halos are 40-78 against Houston. There’s no way at this point the talent gap between these two teams is that large. The mental edge though is much bigger when they step on the field. I also thought the pitching problems were being resolved, but they aren’t at all. Tyler Anderson has been nothing like the guy we saw last year, Reid Detmers has been awful of late, and Lucas Giolito has tanked since he was traded. It’s also a bit problematic when you have a bunch of lefties in your rotation with a short porch in right field in Houston. That’s just asking for more trouble. Also, Anthony Rendon is such an overpaid bum, we can’t even get injury updates on him anymore because the team already knows he’s a waste of $36 million a year.

To the NBA, where the Clippers and Sixers have reportedly ended trade talks for disgruntled guard James Harden. The Sixers plan to bring Harden to training camp, but now Harden has publicly called Philly GM Daryl Morey “A liar” and claims he will never be a part of an organization that he is part of. Morey is reportedly “unmoved” by Harden’s comments and still plans to keep him. This is one of those situations where nobody is wrong here for taking the positions that they have. James Harden took less money last year, and Morey verbally promised him that he would take care of him with a long-term deal this year. Now Morey doesn’t want to pay him that long-term deal because he knows Harden is not the player he once was. Harden has a right to be upset, but at the same time, Morey knows that if he trades Harden for pennies on the dollar, his superstar Joel Embiid will likely ask for a trade, which will dismantle the franchise. As for the Clippers, they have a good team, and it’s always been about health for Kawhi and PG13. If they can get Harden for their price, which is just expiring contracts, it makes sense. Otherwise, they are smart to move on. I still don’t see a circumstance though where Harden is traded. No matter what he says, he will be forced to play if he wants to sign another NBA contract. If there is a limited market for Damian Lillard, who hasn’t been traded, then there sure as hell is an even more limited market for Harden. Besides, even he has to realize there are only so many cities with great strip clubs in this country, which narrows his interests.

Meanwhile, only the Lakers would command coverage of who is going to take up the last roster spot. Otherwise, almost every other team, nobody would care. Everybody is talking about Christian Wood, since Rob Pelinka said he would like a big man, preferably with a different skill set. However, like anybody, Wood wants more money and a bigger role. I don’t know if anybody has told him, but it’s August, and the money has dried up. This is your market my man. Veteran minimum deals. It’s not so bad though. Malik Monk came in on a minimum deal, proved himself and got paid. Dennis Schroeder came in on a minimum deal, and got paid. The Lakers have a track record for getting guys paid, and Wood shouldn’t be concerned about playing time. History shows us that Anthony Davis probably isn’t going to be playing 82 games, so there will be minutes available for him in the front court. Unfortunately, dude and his agent still don’t see it yet.

Congratulations to Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Jim Valvano, Greg Popovich, Tony Parker, Becky Hammond, Dirk Nowitzki, and others on their Hall of Fame Induction over the weekend. As I mentioned a few months ago when the Lakers retired Pau’s jersey, the man was a soon-to-be Hall-of-Famer, he is so deserving, and instrumental to the Lakers winning two straight titles in 2009 and 2010. Of course it was hard to listen to Pau’s speech and not want to cry when he talked about Kobe. You can see it for yourself here, just make sure you have a tissue in hand.

UCLA Football is just a couple of weeks away from opening the season. Chip Kelly has yet to name his starter, but the open competition is reportedly down to freshman standout Dante Moore, and red-shirt junior Ethan Garbers. Kelly says that he will not feel pressure to name Moore the starter, the highest rated QB prospect at UCLA in two decades, just out of fear that he could transfer to another school. So I guess we should all look forward to Dante Moore starting on September 2nd at the Rose Bowl against South Carolina.

As for the Trojans, their offensive line is supposedly improved, but by all accounts in practice it’s been a bumpy start. Given Caleb Williams ability to improvise, I think it’s more about the defense and how much they’ve improved since last season, which will determine just how good USC can be. USC is ranked #6 in the preseason AP Poll, and they are one of five PAC-12 Teams ranked in the Top 25. USC should easily start the season 6-0 before getting into the teeth of their schedule with four pre-season ranked opponents. The first 6 games are vs San Jose State, Nevada, Stanford, @ Arizona State, @ Colorado, Arizona. Then they’ll have Notre Dame and Utah in back-to-back weeks. If USC doesn’t handle business early, they will be crushed in the playoff poll due to their weak strength of schedule.

Am I crazy, or are the Rams trying to sell us on a rebuild this season? Les Snead came out a week ago and said they’ll return to being aggressive in 2024. Sean McVay also came out and stressed “patience”. Are these the same dudes who have been running the Rams? I don’t think when you have Matt Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald you can be that bad, but if one of those guys goes down, maybe they will be worse than we think. Then again, I’m beginning to think this might actually all be by design. I do have to say though, I like what I saw from Stetson Bennett over the weekend in preseason action. He’s showed some good poise after a few mistakes, and could develop into something.

Finally, there’s the Chargers, who had their own set of Door Dash drivers beat up the Rams collection of Door Dash drivers over the weekend. No real starters played on either side, but one spoke to the media about the ongoing talk about running backs and their compenstation: Austin Ekeler. He explained that the lack of running back compensation is a union issue that will need to be addressed. Ekeler was given a $1.75 million sweetner of incentives to get him to end his contentious negotiations with the Chargers. It’s a lot better than many of his running back counterparts in the NFL are doing. Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, Kareem Hunt, and Leonard Fournette all remain unemployed. These dudes are about to update their LinkedIn profiles looking for employment. Looks like unless they are going to take some incentive based deal for a million or two, they won’t be playing football anytime soon.

August 7, 2023

Everybody wants to beat up the Dodgers for coming up empty on pitching at the trade deadline. You all know how critical I am of these guys in general, but I can’t blame Andrew Friedman and Stan Kasten on this one. They went hard for Justin Verlander, and hard for Eduardo Rodriguez, but neither one wanted to be Dodgers, no matter how good their offer was. Sure Verlander would have been nice with the Mets covering most of his salary and Rodriguez as a rental, but it’s not exactly like the Dodgers were acquiring Nolan Ryan in these deals. The team has a lot of pitching issues, but the good news is they may be getting help soon. Clayton Kershaw is due back next week after being on the injured list for a month, and Walker Buehler might come back to the starting rotation in September. That would be huge for a team in desperate need of good starters. There’s also a chance Gavin Lux could be available in a bench role come September, which could be significant if he’s on the playoff roster. The bullpen has even pitched a bit better, but this team still has more holes than swiss cheese for a potential division winner.

As for the Angels, it was a rather disastrous week, losing 6 straight games. This team is a complete tragedy at times. On the nights where the starting pitching looks good, the offense disappears like the USWNT (more on that later). On the nights where the offense is clicking, the pitching looks awful. They just find a way to lose when it matters most. They entered Sunday 10 games back in the division and 7 games back in the Wild Card. On paper, this team is one of the best they’ve assembled in 10 years. However, they don’t play on paper. On the field, the pitching isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, the leadership isn’t great, and neither is the in-game management. This is sadly going exactly like we thought it would after the trade deadline, and after seeing the Angels brutal schedule. Mike Trout can’t get back soon enough, but by the time he does, it will probably be too late. Meanwhile, Anthony Rendon is still being an idiot, on the IL and just refusing to talk to the media because he can since he claims he’s not active.

The Lakers have signed Anthony Davis to a three-year contract extension worth $186 million. My initial reaction here is that this is a wise move. You may not like the fact AD misses a lot of games, but when he is on the floor he is among the best players in basketball, and arguably the best defensive player in the game. If you were to trade Anthony Davis you would be getting lesser parts in return. In any case though, even when Lebron James move on, at minimum, Anthony Davis is an asset worth retaining to try and get value out of. He’s only 30 years old, so he still has some good basketball left in him. In general though, I wish teams would play hardball a bit more with players on these negotiations. It seems to be all or nothing on these max contracts. Why can’t it be something in between? I guess the precedent has been set that you will piss off your star players if you don’t offer them the max.

The collapse of the PAC-12 is just sad. You can no longer blame UCLA and USC for making the decision to leave last year, because 6 other teams just decided to in the past week. The saddest part about this is that the rivalries are going away. With Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah going to the Big 12, what will become of the UCLA and USC rivalries with the Arizona schools? With Oregon and Washington going to the Big 10, what will happen to the Ducks rivalry with Oregon State, and the Huskies rivalry with Washington State? Also, since the Big 10 now has 18 teams, we should probably stop calling it the Big 10. At this point the PAC 12 would struggle getting the University of Phoenix and Trump University to join their conference. Time to Pac it in. Ultimately, College Football is going to start looking incredibly different in the next 5 years with the conference realignment and the next phase of NIL. The only problem with this is that the much smaller schools, or schools with less media draw are going to get left behind.

Last week UCLA Basketball announced the signing of 7’3 Spanish center Aday Mara, who is projected to be a potential lottery pick. They also announced the signing of Berke Buyuktuncel, a Turkish wing/forward who has 1st round NBA draft pick potential. To be honest, I don’t really know what this means because nobody has seen a lot of these dudes play. The Bruins now have 7 freshman, they have a a lot of big bodies, and what appears to be a lot of skilled Euros, but not necessarily a lot of proven players in the backcourt. That part concerns me, but given the size and skill set of the freshmen they have acquired, they should be coming into the pre-season as a Top 25 team.

To the NFL, where the Rams are already dealing with an injury to Cooper Kupp. The All-Pro wide receiver pulled his hamstring and is considered week-to-week. This brings up an interesting concern. The Rams are going to be extra reliant this year on Kupp, Matthew Stafford, and Aaron Donald. When you have these 3 and you’re coached by Sean McVay, I expect them to compete for a playoff spot. However, if any of those 3 stars get injured for a significant length of time, there isn’t nearly enough depth to overcome that. The Rams also own their own 1st round pick for the first time in a while. With that being said, if these stars get injured, don’t be surprised if they shut it down to get involved in the “Caleb Williams sweepstakes”. Injuries aside, the national outlook on the Rams isn’t great, but I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as the media is making it out to be. The NFC isn’t that strong, neither is the NFC West, which makes me think the Rams could actually be a playoff team again.

Finally, the US Women’s National Team lost to Sweden in the round of 16 on penalty kicks yesterday. I certainly feel bad for Megan Rapinoe to end her career the way that she did, missing a PK. I’m also extremely annoyed that the USWNT made it political, and that the political crowed attacked them. Megan Rapinoe and others can have their opinions like anybody, but we don’t need to hear them when it’s about the soccer. Sports are supposed to be unifying. By bringing your political views on wages and inequality, you are bringing that into a platform that is not the time and place. As a result, we now have all these idiots, Donald Trump included, who are coming out of the woodwork to criticize them, instead of getting behind them and uniting.

July 31st, 2023

Although we knew this was happening, we got confirmation of it last week: the Angels aren’t trading Shohei Ohtani by Tuesday’s trade deadline. They also confirmed the team is run by complete buffoons. They decided to be trade deadline buyers, and in the past few days have acquired pitcher Lucas Giolito, reliever Reynaldo Lopez, infielder CJ Cron, and outfielder Randal Grichuk. While I somewhat respect Arte Moreno for being a buyer and trying to make a playoff push now, Ohtani should have been traded a year ago. This is the worst trade deadline to be a buyer because all the players available are complete garbage. Giolito is probably the best pitcher available, and he’s so unbelievably average. Arte fooled himself and the team into thinking they were turning the corner, when they just played a couple of struggling and crummy teams, in the Yankees and Pirates. They lost 2 of 3 over the weekend to the Blue Jays, and now they are 4 games out of the wild card, and 5 games out of the division. They also have 3 teams to climb over just to get to the playoffs. The Halos might be the first team to be a buyer at the trade deadline, then finish double digit games out of a playoff spot. But hey, At least Arte can make some money in the last two months Ohtani is on the team.

Then there’s the Dodgers, who got bombed over the weekend by the Reds. The Boys in Blue still have a 2 game lead on the Giants for 1st place in the NL West, but they have some serious pitching problems, that just keep getting worse. Right now, there isn’t one reliable starter they can send to the mound. Even if Clayton Kershaw comes back in a week or two and looks good, that’s just one. Julio Urias looks nothing like the elite pitcher we’ve seen the last few years, and since he’s about to be a free agent, he’s losing money faster than spending a weekend at the Black Jack table in Vegas. Tony Gonsolin has been pretty mediocre as well. As I mentioned previously, this trade deadline is hot garbage, and there really isn’t one or two guys available that can help the Dodger pitching. Justin Verlander is old, expensive, and isn’t worth nearly the $40 million or so he’s getting paid this year and next. I also wonder how he would fit in the clubhouse since he was part of the 2017 Astros that cheated the Dodgers out of a World Series championship. Even the trades to get Kike and Ahmed Rosario don’t exactly move the needle much with both of them struggling for much of the year. I haven’t even mentioned the need for bullpen and outfield help either. That’s because there’s just too much for this team to overcome, and not enough help available to solve their issues.

You may have heard, last week Paul George criticized Stephen A Smith on his podcast, saying Stephen A shouldn’t be talking basketball because he never played the game. Whenever a pro athlete says this, that’s basically the only defense they have, because they know the criticism they are receiving is valid. Paul George is obviously just sticking up for Kawhi, and the reasons for all the games he’s missed. However, what George fails to realize is that it’s not about the games they are missing for injury. It’s about the games they are missing for load management. Games in which they are seemingly healthy, but sit out, and we know there are plenty of them. If George thinks Stephen A is wrong, as well as the rest of us, then he should listen to all the former NBA players that think this era is soft as well for their load management practices. Also, if he thinks none of us that played basketball at a high level should be talking basketball, then I’m not sure why he has Jackie Long on his podcast either.

To College Football, where USC is just weeks away from starting the season. The Trojans should easily be a top 10 team in the preseason rankings, a favorite to win the PAC 12, and a good shot at the College Football playoff. The least of the Trojan worries is quarterback Caleb Williams, who is one of the best players in College Football. However, the Trojans will only go as far as their defense takes them. Their defense has supposedly made improvements, on the defensive line in particular, but we’ll find out soon enough if that’s the case. The only problem with this theory is that Lincoln Riley’s teams have historically been terrible defensively.

As for the Bruins, they were predicted to finish 6th in the PAC-12 pre-season media poll. UCLA took advantage of a very soft schedule last year, and put together a halfway decent season. However, they lost a lot of talent in Dorian Thompson Robinson and Zach Charbonnet, among others. Dante Moore is a very promising quarterback, but he’s only projected as a 3rd stringer to begin the year. The PAC-12 is stacked with QB talent, so this last year in the conference just may not be the year for the Bruins.

Speaking of The PAC 12, this conference is toast. They have no media rights deal, Colorado just left, San Diego State isn’t coming, and the Trojans and Bruins have already declared they are leaving. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff has inherited a mess left by Larry Scott, who should be working as a greeter at Costco instead of running an athletic conference. I don’t see how they survive without some form of consolidation of conferences in the sports. Why would anyone sign a media rights deal with them when teams are leaving the conference in droves? Total disaster for what was once a great conference.

I was really hoping the Rams would sign one of the big name veteran backs like ‘Zeke Elliott after Sony Michel announced his retirement. However, they settled for Royce Freeman. This tells me that veteran running backs are still seeking money that the Rams just don’t have, and that they are saving most of their cap space for next springs free agency.

And finally, Justin Herbert signed a massive contract extension with the Chargers last week. The contract is very well deserved, but the heat is now really on coach Brandon Staley. This guy is known for making terrible in-game decisions, blowing leads, and late-game implosions. It’s so bad, I don’t even know that the great Justin Herbert can overcome that. Nevertheless, the spotlight will really be on Staley now if the results aren’t there with all the talent this group has. Similar to the Clippers, we’ve been hearing about that talent for years, with nothing to show for it.

July 24, 2023

Remember when I said let’s talk about where the Dodgers are in a month? It didn’t even take a month. The Boys in Blue have reeled off 7 wins in their last 10 games, which included a challenging road trip against the Rangers and Orioles. They’ve opened up a 4-game lead in the NL West. However, they are going to have to hit elite pitching, and get elite pitching come playoff time, and the latter of which I’m not so confident they are going to get anytime soon. Although the bullpen is looking better, giving up just three runs in the last 7 games. the starting pitching is still highly questionable. Julio Urias is still wildly inconsistent, and Clayton Kershaw is still on the injured list. We’ve heard all the trade rumors about Shohei Ohtani, but the Dodgers should be focused on Lucas Giolito, Marcus Stroman, and David Robertson for help. Those are much more realistic trade targets that can stabilize their rotation, and fortify their pen for the postseason.

Then there’s the Angels who beat up the Yankees, then took two out of three from the Pirates. They are still 4 games out of a playoff spot with three teams to climb over to get there. However, my gut says they probably did enough to foolishly convince themselves they are still in the hunt, so they won’t trade Shohei Ohtani. With that being said, the next 6 games against the Tigers are Blue Jays will probably be the final deciding point if they have any motivation to be buyers at the deadline on August 1st. Anthony Rendon however, will not be playing by then, as he is still recovering from a bruised shin. Don’t worry though, his party planning skills are still on point, as he and his wife threw an Alphabet party on the teams off day last Thursday. Of course every day is an off day for this bum, doing nothing on the field, off the field, and just making stupid ass comments, while costing the team a whopping $38 million for the next three seasons.

In case you have not heard, Southern Californians are up in arms over the fact that the LA Times is making some cuts. Those cuts in staffing mean they will not be producing box scores, game stories, or showing TV schedules anymore, while also raising the costs of their subscription. Look people, I get that some of you still like your printed newspaper, your box scores and TV listings, but this is 2023. There are plenty of other ways in this day and age to get the info you’re looking for. I don’t remember the last time I looked at the LA Times for that kind of info. I still enjoy their sports columns, but the reality of it is they are still a business that needs to not only make money, but evolve with the way media is done in 2023. Those of you readers complaining about this have clearly never run a business, or don’t have much of an understanding of how it needs to continuously evolve.

So nobody wants to pay NFL Running Backs anymore. It’s ironic isn’t it? Everybody needs a running game to put them over the top, but they don’t want to pay for it. I can understand this to some degree, but not when you’re paying Quarterbacks like Daniel Jones $44 million. Jones can’t function without Saquon Barkley, who is a huge part of the Giants offense. The same can be said for the likes of Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, and free agents like Dalvin Cook and Zeke Elliott. One guy to blame? Todd Gurley. The Rams gave him all that money, they went to a Super Bowl with him, and he was a shell of himself since he was injured. They cut him, and a few years later they went back to the Super Bowl and won it. Running backs have become replaceable in the minds of most NFL GM’s. Still, $10 million on a one year franchise tag deal still isn’t something they should turn down.

Who has interest in the women’s World Cup? This team is wildly successful, but I’ll be honest, I won’t until we get into at least the quarterfinal. Don’t be shocked because to be honest, my interest in the men’s World Cup isn’t that much higher. I realize that world wide soccer is a tremendous sport, and it’s even growing to an extent in the US. However, the MLS is still probably no better than the 3rd best league in the world, and if the men won the World Cup tomorrow, most people in the US would probably celebrate for a day or two and then forget about it. There’s just too many other sports that command our attention in the US, and namely American football.

Finally, James Harden says he’s about to make things really uncomfortable with the 76ers. He is essentially demanding a trade to the Clippers, and only the Clippers. He should ask Dame Lillard how his demand is going, when Lillard has for more trade value than Harden right now. Harden has now demanded a trade from three different teams in the last three years. He also disappears like Hodini in the playoffs, a tradition unlike any other. Somehow, he believes there is a market for him, but even the Clippers don’t even want to give up a lot for him. Nor should they. They are smart for waiting this out to see if Daryl Morey gets sick of him and unloads him, but if not, nothing changes for the Clips. It still comes down to the health of Kawhi and PG13.

July 17, 2023

The Angels managed to salvage an exciting comeback win on Saturday against the Astros, but they still lost 2 of 3 and their season is spiraling downward. Their schedule over the next few weeks is like trying to make it through a field of land mines. More importantly, the obnoxious question that keeps getting asked on a daily basis is whether or not they will trade Shohei Ohtani. We’ve exhausted the fact that they should trade him and despite the fact that they will now reportedly listen to offers, Arte Moreno isn’t going to allow it to happen. I don’t understand the mentality though. Moreno is worried that trading him will impact his legacy. You mean he’s worried about his legacy NOW, and not with how he’s handled this franchise over the last decade plus? That’s like being wanted for murder, but concerned you’re gonna get busted for smoking pot. Plus the reality of it is by trading Ohtani, the Angels could still bring back some high quality talent in their farm system, which they desperately need. There is a financial component though to this that Arte might not want to give up. Even if he only has Ohtani for two more months, that is revenue he’s not getting back if he’s traded. They also desperately need to send Anthony Rendon and his contract to another planet. The only thing worse than his contract is all the stupid comments he makes and complete lack of self-awareness that makes you think he just doesn’t give a crap and is only here to collect a paycheck. That has easily become the worst contract in team history.

As for the Dodgers, they took 2 of 3 from the lowly Mets over the weekend, and have taken control of 1st place in the NL West. Can we just take a moment though to appreciate the likes of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and JD Martinez? I have no idea how the Dodgers were lucky enough to end up with Mookie and Freddie. They easily should have finished their careers with their respective franchises. Instead, they now have two franchise cornerstones that are not just amazing players, but amazing leaders, that are going to be anchoring their team for the next decade. Then there’s JD Martinez, who was a great get by Andrew Friedman, and has produced at a level that I did not think was possible for his age and injury history. Nevertheless, he’s been wildly productive, and a huge force behind the Dodgers with the 2nd best record in the big leagues. For all the flaws this team has with bullpen, starting pitching, and bench depth, it’s really not all that bad.

To to NBA, where the Lakers wrapped up summer league with a win over the Clippers yesterday. While I don’t think we should draw any ridiculous over the top conclusions about Summer League, I will say the the Lakers have some really nice young players they can develop. Max Christie is very capable of being an excellent rotation player this season. But beyond that, Jalen Hood-Shifino can be productive if he improves his shooting, and Collin Castleton and Maxwell Lewis can also turn into something with some time in the G-League. If you aren’t convinced of that, perhaps I should introduce you to Austin Reaves, who is now the third best player on the Lakers after just two years in the league. However, the Lakers will have an interesting decision to make in August: should they give Anthony Davis a contract extension? On one hand, it will be cheaper than giving him a max when he’s potentially a free agent next summer, and you don’t run the risk of losing him for nothing. On the other hand though, do you want to tie yourself to an injury prone player who may not be the best player on a championship team, well into his mid-30’s when Lebron James will likely have moved on? My initial feeling is they should extend him, but something that gives them protection if he misses games, or higher bonuses if he’s All-NBA, MVP, etc. When AD is healthy, there probably aren’t many players in the league better than him. That’s value that should be retained one way or the other.

I’m sure you all saw Lebron stand up at the ESPY’s last week and clarify that he’s not retiring and coming back to play next year. Of course this led to a ton of criticism from the likes of Dan Patrick and others, who thought this was a “look at me” and unnecessary moment. However, I think he was probably over-criticized for his comments. When we last heard from Lebron, he told us he had a lot of thinking to do about his future. So if he just showed up a training camp and said nothing about it, wouldn’t he be criticized for that as well? Yes none of us truly expected him to retire and the moment might have been a bit over the top. However, it’s Lebron James and he’s a big enough star to warrant that.

Speaking of extension decisions, the Clippers will have a couple of difficult ones to make coming up. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. These dudes have each missed even more time than Anthony Davis has with the Lakers. Plus, the real issue is that Kawhi’s people protect him and want him to be load managed even more than most players. Unfortunately, in the NBA, historically, teams have just rolled over and given max extensions or max contracts without much hardball negotiations, especially for players who have been All-NBA caliber. However, If I were the Clippers, I wouldn’t roll over that easily. In fact, the Knicks, Blazers, and Raptors all reportedly turned down a trade for Paul George this off-season, and a big part of that is that he was seeking an extension. Even for Kawhi Leonard, as great as he was when he’s healthy, he’s not available enough to command a longer commitment from the team. How you go about negotiations with stars like this without offending them is tricky. Just ask the 76ers who have an unhappy James Harden on their team, with nobody that wants to trade anything of value for him. Even the Clippers, who he really wants to play for. Steve Ballmer is definitely a forward thinker, so how he handles this situation with his stars is one to keep a very close eye on.

It was interesting to learn last week that the Rams actually spent a good portion of the off-season shopping Matt Stafford. It’s not surprising though that there weren’t any takers for his massive contract, especially coming off the injuries he had, as well as the rumors that he may be closer than we think to retirement. The fact that actually happened though tells you that the Rams are already looking to rebuild their team, if it wasn’t obvious already. Yes they still have Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald, but they will also have 40 new players on their team. More than anything though, they need to find a way to acquire more draft capital so they can figure out who their QB of the future is going to be. Stetson Bennett is an interesting name to watch, but the expectations are low for him. Something tells me that QB of the future is still a couple of year away from even being on the roster.