July 14th, 2014

It was a a complete free agency failure for the Lakers.  All we heard about for the last three years was how the Lakers were going to make a splash in free agency to reload their team.  They showed up about as prepared as I am to date Megan Fox.  No coach, no young talent, an aging and broken down superstar, and an ownership that probably couldn’t even agree on what to order for lunch right now.  It’s no wonder the Lakers not only didn’t get Lebron or Carmelo, but lost Pau Gasol, and had to overpay to keep Nick Young and Jordan Hill.   The Lakers were so desperate they couldn’t even get Pau to accept a 3 year $29 million deal, which would have been a bad deal.  It’s true what they say about Pau, he really is a nice guy.  So nice that he actually saved the Lakers from themselves by turning down that deal.

The only small bright side is that the Lakers ripped Jeremy Lin’s expiring contract and a 1st round pick from the Rockets for nothing, and the Rockets didn’t even get Chris Bosh after clearing their cap.  The joke is still on the Lakers though, who have assured themselves of being a lottery team for another season, without a lottery pick (Phoenix owns the Lakers 1st round pick next year if it’s outside the top 5).  The Lakers had plenty of money to go get some young talent with some upside like Isaiah Thomas, Lance Stephenson, or even Trevor Ariza.  There’s a lack of commitment to the free agency plan, and a lack of commitment to rebuilding.  That means there’s a complete lack of leadership, no matter what the front office is saying publicly.  Kobe is going to have aneurysm on the court next season, once he realizes who his teammates are going to be.  As blasphemous as this sounds, the Lakers should call the Knicks and see if they can trade Kobe for Amare Stoudemire, a draft pick, and one of their young players.  Give him the chance to win his 6th ring, and let the Lakers commit to rebuilding.

Pau Gasol was probably writing apology letters to all 29 NBA teams that he did not sign with, while Lebron James was holding the entire league hostage again over another free agent decision.  Lebron’s decision to go back to Cleveland was an admirable one, and he sounds like he’s matured a lot when you read his sports illustrated essay, where he announced the decision.  It’s a great story that he feels a connection to the place he was born and raised in, and I do hope he is actually able to win one for Cleveland.  I mean it’s Cleveland folks…….if you’ve never been there…..believe me, they need it badly.  The only thing that should make Cavs fans nervous is the fact that he can opt out next year, and test the market again in 2016.  Of course Lebron’s mouth piece, Brian Windhorst, was on ESPN saying that he did this because he’ll receive a higher max salary in 2016.  Good one Windhorst! Go back to Hometown Buffet!  Why does he have an opt out after next year then?  Why wouldn’t he just sign a longer deal with the same opt out in 2016?  Lebron seems about as committed to the Cavs as I was to my 6th grade girlfriend.  Here’s a preview of next season’s Miami Heat season opener…..

We’ve reached the All-Star break in baseball, and for all the complaining I’ve been doing, the Dodgers have the best record in the National League.  The Boys in Blue took 3 out of 4 from the Padres at the Ravine over the weekend, and the pitching continues to be lights about.  It’s almost an outrage that Clayton Kershaw actually gave up a run in his last outing, which ended his shutout streak at 41 innings.  General Manager Ned Colletti indicated yesterday that it was unlikely the Dodgers would make a trade for a big name like David Price or Cole Hamels.  What the Dodgers really need to do is get the back end of the rotation healthy, find some bullpen and bench help, and  get some consistency at the plate from their outfielders.  They also need to get some better food options at the stadium, where you can’t even get salsa to go along with your nachos.  The Dodgers and their stadium have their flaws, but they still have enough talent to come out of the NL and make it to the World Series.

As for the Angels, their first half was a very pleasant surprise.  After completing a 4 game sweep over the Rangers, the Halos are just 1.5 games back of the A’s in the AL West, and they hold the 2nd best record in baseball.  Last season the Angels were just 4-15 against Texas, and they are already 8-2 this season.  The Halos should feel great about their pitching, and the offensive support around Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.  The real question is whether or not they think Joe Smith is the long term answer as their closer.  I still think this team needs multiple arms in their bullpen to give themselves a chance in the fall.  Their needs to be an investigation on why Garrett Richards didn’t make the all-star team though.  Richards is 11-2 with a 2.55 ERA, which is 5th in the AL.  There were 13 pitchers picked ahead of this guy?  He was snubbed not once, not twice, but three times, after he was passed over again as a replacement for David Price on Saturday.  I’m thinking Richards must have slept with John Farrell’s wife.

I admit it, I actually watched the World Cup Final on Sunday.  I had to see what the fuss was all about as the Nazi’s and the drug cartel went to battle over that gold trophy.  Pretty entertaining game, but I was a little disappointed Lionel Messi didn’t complete his legacy with a win for Argentina.  I love to see greatness, and we witnessed a number of those amazing moments from Messi in the tournament, but not yesterday.  However, nobody should feel as bad about themselves as Brazil, who just got blown up in their last two games, and it was in front of their home crowd.  The Germans should be called in front of the United Nations this week to determine if they should be charged with crimes of war against Brazil.  The Brazilian soccer team was so bad, their week was even worse than the Lakers’.

What a weird free agent signing by the Anaheim Ducks over the weekend.  The Ducks signed forward Danny Heatley to a free agent contract for $1 million.  Heatley should have to pay the Ducks $1 million just to be on the roster.  His game has been in rapid decline for years, he’s a locker room cancer without any accountability, and has had little success in the playoffs.  To come to think of it, he’ll fit right in while he’s in Anaheim then!  Meanwhile Anze Kopitar is enjoying his breakfast out of the Stanley Cup…….

July 7th, 2014

Is Kobe Bryant actually fat now?  Look at the picture and decide for yourself.  The man on the left looks like Kobe.  The man on the right looks closer to a black Marlon Brando who ate Kobe Bryant.   Ok, so I’m really not sure about the authenticity of this gut, but the fact people are even talking about it makes you wonder what kind of shape Kobe is going to be in come training camp.  The Mamba will have basically been out of a competitive NBA game for 1.5 years come this fall.  Kobe’s achilles and knee injuries may have healed, but his body may no longer be able to take the rigorous workouts he used to put himself through, which means he may very well look like Dwyane Wade did this year.  For someone who the Lakers are counting on for the next two years, at a price of $48 million, that can’t make any current free agents feel good about joining the Lakers.

Speaking of free agents, let’s be real: Lebron is going to re-sign with Miami, and Carmelo is going back to the Knicks to get paid.  So let’s talk about what the Lakers need to do to avoid being more embarrassing than Joan Rivers next season (more on that later).  They should sign Sacramento point guard Isaiah Thomas for around $8 million, sign Lance Stephenson for $10 million, re-sign Pau Gasol for $10 million, and then waive Steve Nash to save $6 million.  At least that way, the Lakers would have some young talent with some upside to work with, which might even be a dark horse come playoff time.  The longer the Lakers chase Melo and Lebron, the more likely they will be left with nothing but D-League players on their roster come the fall.

As for the Clippers, the addition of Spencer Hawes was a solid move.  Hawes gives the Clipps some badly needed front court depth behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, which the team severely lacked last season.  He also comes at a reasonable 4 year and $23 million price tag, which is actually much cheaper than many role players are getting these days.  Also good signing of Jordan Farmar to replace Darren Collison.  I still think Doc Rivers needs to get over his determination to sign Paul Pierce though.  Pierce’s production dropped off big time last year, and he went through stretches where he shot the ball very poorly.  Matt Barnes and JJ Reddick are way better options in the rotation at this point than Pierce.  Rivers trying to sign Pierce is like trying to get back together with your high school girlfriend 10 years later when she’s put on a ton of weight.  Stay away Doc.  This was amusing though….

Oh this is awkward… RT @spencerhawes00: Hey @blakegriffin32 you know 32 is my number you wanna arm wrestle for it or something?

— Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin32) July 6, 2014

To baseball, where the Dodgers had a very nice weekend in Colorado, taking three out of four from the Rockies, and maintaining a slight edge over the Giants for 1st place in the NL West.  The pitching continues to be unbelievable, especially from Clayton Kershaw, who might never give up a run again.  Kershaw is a once in a generation player, and every time he takes the mound, I feel like I need to stop what I am doing to watch him.  I’m not sure if he’ll break Don Drysdale or Orel Hershiser’s mark for shut out innings, but it sure is fun watching him try.  Speaking of pitching, interesting idea floated by Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal, who says the Dodgers may trade for David Price just to put pressure on DirecTV to strike a deal with Time Warner.  I don’t think so Ken.  David Price isn’t a bigger star than Clayton Kershaw or Yasiel Puig right now, and the Dodgers have recently thrown two no-hitters, yet DirecTV isn’t budging.

Congratulations to Kershaw, Puig, Zach Greinke, and Dee Gordon on making the NL all-star team. Well deserved by all of them.  I would have really liked to see reliever JP Howell make it as well, however, middle-relievers are easily over-looked in the all-star selection process.  I’m also a little bummed that Josh Beckett was not selected on the ballot for the final roster spot in the NL.  Beckett’s record may not show it, but he’s really been outstanding this year, including his recent no-hitter and another great outing yesterday.  When the Dodgers made that trade with the Red Sox, it was really to get Adrian Gonzales, but Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett’s salary came with him.  LA was just hoping they could give Beckett a few beers and a bucket of fried chicken, and he would sit  quietly in his corner of the clubhouse without blowing things up.  Instead, he’s re-invented himself and become a major contributor.

Down the freeway, the Angels very quietly have the 2nd best record in the AL after completing a four game sweep of the Astros this weekend at the Big A.  It’s amazing how much better the Angels are just by taking care of business this year against scrub teams like the Astros.  The Halos are 3.5 games back of the A’s in the AL West, and holding a firm grip on a wild card spot.  To me, the Angels have one of the biggest all-star snubs of all in pitcher Garrett Richards, who is 10-2 with a 2.71 ERA.  You can still vote Richards in for the final roster spot, but his inclusion should have been a no-brainer.  Erik Aybar has also had an all-star caliber season, and I’m surprised he didn’t make it as well.

The bad news for the Angels is that  A’s made a huge move this week to make them the favorites to win the American League pennant.  Oakland acquired, not one, but two starting pitchers, in Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, from the Cubs for some prospects.  This has to put a little heat on Jerry Dipoto to do something to upgrade the Halos pitching staff, whether it’s another starter, or more help in the bullpen.  The Oakland trade also means we’ve come to that really awkward moment where Jeff Samardzija is the best wide receiver in Oakland.

I did enjoy the US Men’s Soccer team’s run in the World Cup, but I’m not sure it’s going to change much for me or anybody else in the next four years.  Does the casual fan have any greater desire to follow the MLS now, or watch the Premier League?  I know I don’t.  We simply dump too much money in other sports, and are far more interested in the NFL, the NBA, and even the NHL, than soccer in this country.  There’s some argument to be made that baseball’s interest is slowly deteriorating and may not last another 10 years, but the TV money spent on baseball will be difficult for soccer to duplicate.  Still, Team USA had a run through the “Group of Death” and against Belgium that we can all be proud of, and we should expect to go much further in the tournament in 2018.

I spent my 4th of July in Manhattan Beach, and was terrified when I discovered that a swimmer had been attacked by a Great White Shark.  Fortunately, the swimmer was ok, but I’d like to take this opportunity to point out the idiots that were responsible for this incident.  This was no accident, it was a case of a stupid fisherman agitating a shark for 45 minutes by hooking it (which is illegal), and then let it go amongst a bunch of swimmers.  Even more idiotic was the reaction of the fisherman and his friends who filmed the attack, and were laughing about it while it took place. It’s amazing that these idiots live among us.  Take a look for yourself….

Finally, did anyone catch the Joan Rivers interview on CNN?  Rivers stormed out of an interview with Fredericka Whitfield a few days ago, while trying to promote her new book.  Rivers believed that Whitfield was being too negative and was making personal attacks on her during the interview with her line of questioning, which caused her to storm out of the room.  Even though Whitfield was somewhat condescending in her line of questioning, Rivers has made a career out of making fun of people.  Frankly, I find her ridiculous looks after all her plastic surgery far funnier than any of her jokes, but Rivers should be much more thick skinned given that she’s a comedian.  Clearly she can dish it out, but can’t take it.

June 30th, 2014

Thursday night was one of the better nights for the Los Angeles Lakers in quite some time.  The Lakers used the 7th pick to select Kentucky Freshman Power Forward, Julius Randle, who was a double-double machine this past year.  Randle probably won’t become the next Tim Duncan, but seems like a good bet to be a solid pro.  LA was fortunate that Randle slid out of the top 5, because he probably should have been in the top 3, had it not been for a rumored foot injury.  I even like the selection of Jordan Clarkson in the 2nd round, who might even give the Lakers some badly needed athleticism in the backcourt.  More importantly, I’m just glad that Jim Buss wasn’t drinking tequila with his favorite scout Chaz, who is also a former bartender, which could have caused the Lakers to trade away the pick to Miami for Lebron’s game worn underwear.

I’m not even going to bother addressing the ridiculous Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James pipe dream rumors because it’s not happening.  However, one free agent that appears like he will inevitably re-sign with the Lakers is Pau Gasol.  Pau is already running out of options with Dallas acquiring Tyson Chandler, Memphis re-signing Zach Randolph, and Chicago trying to move heaven and earth for ‘Melo.  No matter how many trade rumors pop up, and no matter how many times the Lakers seemingly have deals in place to trade him, he always finds a way to remain with the team.  It’s almost like the move “What About Bob?”, where Bob is Pau, and the Lakers are Richard Dreyfuss.  I’m sure when Pau re-signs in another week or two, the Lakers will probably announce that he’s back on the trade block.

You definitely cannot blame NBA players for wanting to experience free agency, and enjoy it.  In fact, if I were an NBA free agent, I would definitely meet with all 30 teams.  “So where are we doing to dinner tonight guys?  I’m feeling like Mexican!”  Then by the time I got to Cleveland, I’d say “You know, if you really want to me sign, I’m going to need at least two more seafood towers.”

As for the Clippers, I’m not really sure what Doc Rivers was thinking by drafting guard CJ Wilcox on  Thursday night.  Hey Doc, I’m not sure if you noticed, but your team is loaded with guards, you are pretty thin in the front court, and might be losing even more front court players due to free agency.  It would have even been better if the Clippers had traded the pick along with a crummy contract like Jared Dudley.  Rivers insists that the Clippers wanted to take “the best player available”, but you usually do that when you are picking in the lottery.  Then again, the Clippers were used to picking in the lottery for so many years, I guess they still don’t know how to act any differently.

Somehow, the U.S. men’s soccer team survived “The Group of Death”.  Although the tie against Portugal felt more like a loss, the fact that we only lost 1-0 to Germany, has to make one feel like we can compete with anybody.  Yes, I realize that the Germans had the ball for about 70% of the match, but we also played like we wanted a tie.  Supposedly we are underdogs against Belgium, but they qualified out of some dumpster fire that is the equivalent of last year’s NFC East.  Meanwhile, we’ve already faced some of the toughest competition in the tournament.  I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like I can’t eat Belgian waffles for at least a week with Tuesday’s matchup looming.

On to baseball, where the Dodgers have caught the hated San Francisco Giants atop the NL West, after taking three out of four games against the Cardinals this weekend.  The Boys in Blue have won 12 of their last 16 games, and have made up 9.5 games on San Fran in the last three weeks, while their Nor Cal rivals were probably busy slamming too much organic food and crab sandwiches over that stretch.  Clayton Kershaw was brilliant again yesterday, extending his shutout streak to 28 innings.  The entire lineup is hitting, the bullpen is slowly getting its act together, and the rest of the starting pitching is solid.  The best part is the team hasn’t even played it’s best ball yet, having not won more than 3 straight all year.  The worst part though, is that Hanley Ramirez is made of glass, suffering from a shoulder injury and then a calf injury.  He’s probably headed to the DL, which is where Justin Turner also went this weekend as well.

With the trade deadline approaching, the rumors continue to fly that the Dodgers could make a deal for Rays ace David Price.  That deal would simply be absurd.  If the Dodgers acquire Price, he would essentially be their 3rd or 4th starter with the way their entire rotation is pitching.  Of course he would be nice to have, but it would be totally unnecessary.  Instead, the team should look to improve their middle relief, and their bench with the likes of a Ben Zobrist from Tampa Bay, Joaquin Benoit from San Diego, or Joe Thatcher from Arizona.  How much more money can the Dodgers spend?  If LA is going to win a World Series this year, for the most part, the current core of the team is going to have to get it done.

As for the Angels, they dropped two out of three to the Royals in disappointing fashion over the weekend, and are now 6 games behind the A’s for first place in the AL West.  Yesterday Howie Kendrick committed a critical error in bottom of the 9th, which would gotten the Halos to extra inning had he turned a double play.  To make matters worse, Albert Pujols is suffering from a groin injury.  The Halos still lead the AL Wild Card, but they still need bullpen help badly.  I don’t think last week’s Ernesto Frieri for Jason Grilli trade with the Pirates solves anything, as both teams just swapped garbage.  Relievers definitely have the ability to turn it around, but putting all your hopes on Grilli closing games is like hoping Kim Kardashian will stop dating black dudes.

Finally, it’s really a bummer to find out that the LA Kings will not be re-signing defenseman Willie Mitchell, who was a key part of the last two Stanley Cup Championships.  Mitchell is 37 years old, but the Kings already have 6 defenseman under contract next year, and a few other emerging prospects behind them.  The Kings also made a surprising trade at the NHL Draft, by sending center Linden Vey to the Canucks for the 50th pick.  Vey was thought to be the heir apparent to either Jared Stoll or Mike Richards in the near future, but LA clearly feels like they will be hanging onto those two for a while.  This just goes to show you how brilliantly GM Dean Lombardi has managed the salary cap, as he has lost very little over the last few years.  Just more evidence that the Kings will be in Cup contention for the next few years.  Still, thanks for your contributions Mr. Mitchell, you will be missed.

June 23rd, 2014

How did we blow it?  The United States was oh so close to advancing past the “Group of Death” in the 2014 World Cup, until Portugal tied it in the last 30 seconds yesterday.  I guess that’s why you have to play hard for 90 minutes…..plus whatever they throw on the clock for stoppage time.  I’m sure when Portugal scored that game tying goal, Tony Romo was saying “now they know how I feel!”  Meanwhile, the Miami Heat fans were trying to figure out whether they should be buying USA or Portugal jerseys.  A win against Portugal would have meant that Thursday’s game against Germany would have been meaningless, and the US could have rested players.  Instead, both teams need a win or tie to advance.  Hopefully Jurgen Klinsmann has called his fellow Germans and negotiated a tie with them.

I don’t even really like soccer, or football, or whatever the rest of the world is calling it.  However, how can one not get caught up in Team USA’s World Cup run?  Not watching is simply un-American.  What’s even better is that were watching a team that is a huge underdog, yet they are more than holding their own with some of the most talented teams in the world….well at least according to the FIFA rankings.  Now we all just have to figure out some ridiculous excuse to get out of work on Thursday to watch the game against Germany.

With the NBA draft approaching on Thursday, this is going to be an interesting week for the Lakers.    They are currently trying to decide whether to keep the 7th pick, or trade it.  One rumor that is floating around is the idea the Lakers would trade the pick to Golden State for Klay Thompson, which would also facilitate a Kevin Love trade to the Warriors.  That trade would be a tragedy if it occurs.  Klay Thompson is a nice role player, but he’s likely already reached his peak.  He’s also due for a big extension in a few months.  When you are rebuilding your team, you don’t build around expensive role players.  The 7th pick is going to have way more value and potential.  Another tragedy would be if the Lakers were to select Joel Embiid if he falls to the 7th spot.  I had my doubts about his health with his back injury, and now you add a foot injury to that?  No thanks.  I’ll take my chances with Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, or Aaron Gordon.

I’m officially concerned about Kobe Bryant, and what he has left in the tank.  Recently, U.S. Soccer coach Jurgen Klinsmann compared leaving Landon Donavan off the U.S. Soccer team to giving Kobe Bryant a $48 million contract.  Klinsmann said keeping stars past their prime is an American thing, and that “it makes no sense”.  Kobe responded last week by saying his comments were “commical”, and that Klinsmann fails to realize it’s about “rewarding players for what they have done while balancing the team going forward.”  That’s it?? That’s all he had to say??  That’s not the Black Mamba we all know.  The old Black Mamba would have said something like “wait until I’m  dropping 30 points a night and getting first team all NBA this year then we’ll see how he feels”.  The older Kobe is now questioning his own basketball mortality, which doesn’t bode well.

As for the Clippers, they are very quietly targeting Lebron James in free agency, if he opts out of his contract.  It’s going to take moving mountains to get this done, but Lebron would have to call the Clippers, and tell him he’s coming.  At that point, the Clippers would have to trade DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford, and Jared Dudley to teams with salary cap space.  The Clippers ownership situation would have to be resolved as well for Lebron to make the move as well.  It’s a stretch, but don’t rule it out.  Lebron’s best move is still sticking with the Heat.  He’s simply going to hurt his legacy by continuing to move from one franchise to another, where he can play on a stacked team.  The 80’s Lakers and Celtics, and the 90’s Bulls had years where they didn’t win the NBA Finals, but Magic, Larry, and Michael never left for a better situation.  It’s no wonder Pat Riley told everyone to “get a grip” last week.

The Kings are partying their ass off after winning the Stanley Cup, and rightfully so.  This year’s parade in downtown might have looked weak, but that’s because of the serious crowd control the LAPD put into effect.  There were still 500,000 people that showed up, plus another 20,000 for the rally at Staples.  Then there was a 2nd parade that went through Hermosa, Manhattan, and Redondo Beach, which had another strong turnout.  That was a brilliant idea, which allowed the fans to get even closer to the players over a much bigger area, and great for the players to since nearly all of them live in those three cities.  There’s nothing like partying in your own backyard.   LA may not be a “hockey town” but that doesn’t mean the Kings don’t have a very strong, loyal following.  That following has been there for the last 40 years.   Poor Jonathan Quick though.  They told him he couldn’t speak at the rally this year because he dropped an F-bomb at the 2012 rally.  So Mayor Garcetti steps up to the mic and says this…….

Smart move by Dean Lombardi to hang on to Mike Richards and not buy him out.  He stepped up his game in the playoffs, and played a big leadership role in the dressing room.  Richards also told Lombardi that it isn’t his age or injury that caused him to have a poor regular season.  Its that he simply wasn’t preparing like a 29 year old should, as opposed to cutting corners in training like he could when he was 22.  In other words, he was partying too hard.  I’m sure Lombardi appreciated his candor, and hopefully he returns to the Mike Richards of a few years ago.  However, I’m not sure the partying is going to stop since he just won another cup.  Here they were in Vegas a few days ago…….

On to baseball, where the Dodgers are trying to chase down the Giants in the NL West.  The boys in blue took 2 out of 3 from the Padres, but Kenley Jansen choked away a two run lead on Friday night, which would have put the Dodgers just 3 games back of the struggling Giants.  Even though LA is 7-3 in their last 10 games, they still haven’t won more than 3 in a row.  On the bright side, Clayton Kershaw showed us all earlier in the week, how lucky we are to watch him pitch every 5 days.  Kershaw pitched one of the most brilliant no-hitters against the Rockies, and frankly, it should have been a perfect game.  Hopefully LA won’t waste his brilliance by underachieving the rest of the way.

As for the Angels, it’s good to finally see them taking care of the Rangers.  It feels like Texas has really had the Halos number the last few seasons, but after the Angels swept a 3 game set this weekend, it now feels like the tables have turned.  The starting pitching is holding up, the offense is clicking, and the Halos lead the Wild Card.  The only bad news is their bullpen seems determined to lose games, and sometimes Mike Scioscia does too.  What happened to the brilliance of Scioscia?  This guy used to be considered the best skipper in baseball.  Now he seems to make questionable decision after questionable decision.  Are there any managers available at the trade deadline???

June 16th, 2014

As a sports fan, you live for moments like Friday night at Staples Center.  What an honor it was to be there, watching the longest game in the history of the Kings franchise, and seeing Alec Martinez win the Stanley Cup for the Kings.  It wasn’t too long ago that I never thought I would see the Kings  win a Stanley Cup in my lifetime.  Suddenly, I’ve now seen two in the last three years, and one of the greatest runs in LA Sports history.  LA just went through the gauntlet.  They came back from 0-3 to beat San Jose in 7 games, defeated the Ducks in 7 games after trailing 3-2, took down the defending champion Blackhawks in 7 games, and defeated the Rangers in 5 grueling games.  These guys are going to party their asses off between now and September, and they sure have earned it!

When the Kings won their first Cup two years ago, I thought they could be a team that could have a few more runs in them.  Not 1980’s Edmonton Oiler dynasty, but a team that could win 2 or 3 Cups in 5 or 6 years.  However, not only have they won 2 titles in 3 years, you could argue if they had been healthy last year they might have three-peated.  Drew Doughty is only 24.  Jonathan Quick is only 28.  Anze Kopitar is only 26.  All of these guys are under contract for many years to come, so this team will likely continue to be in contention for the next few years.  I’ve gotta hand it to Dean Lombardi, who put this team together.  For years, I thought the man was taking this franchise on an endless rebuild.  Instead, he was in the process of building a dynasty.  Thank you Dean for making me eat crow.  My neighbors hate me for all the noise I’ve made during this playoff run, but I don’t care.  I can’t stop smiling.

Congrats to the Spurs for winning the NBA title over the Miami Heat.  Lebron played well, but just couldn’t get any help from Dwayne Wade, who suddenly looks old and out of shape.  Three straight beat downs by the Spurs?  Lebron can’t be happy with his teammates, but I still don’t think he’s leaving Miami.  He holds all the leverage, which means he can even force Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to take less to bring Carmelo to Miami.  As for Tim Duncan, he’s easily a top 10 player of all time, and the best power forward of all time.  However, anybody that says he is the player of the decade over Kobe Bryant, is simply obnoxious.  The Spurs have never repeated, while Kobe and the Lakers three-peated and repeated.  Kobe’s Lakers have owned the Duncan led Spurs head-to-head in the playoffs, and Duncan’s last title has come three years after the decade ended anyway.  Duncan is great, but his legacy isn’t Kobe’s.

Elsewhere in the NBA…..I can’t wait to see what Donald Sterling does next.  Sterling is hiring private investigators to dig up dirt on the NBA.  Not because it’s going to help him get his team back, but just because he can.  This is going to get really good!  Meanwhile, Derek Fisher was hired by the Knicks, which is a solid choice.  The Knicks have stunk for a while, so Fisher can’t do any worse than his predecessors.  I’m not sure why Laker fans are so upset about this though.  Hiring Fish in LA would have been more of a science experiment.  I’d rather have a coach who actually has experience.  Glad to see Byron Scott get a 2nd interview from the Lakers as well.  That’s one of the best decisions this front office has made in recent memory.

Now that the Kings have raised the Cup, LA sports fans will unfortunately, be forced to turn their attention to the mediocre LA Dodgers.  With a record of 37-34 and tied for a wild card spot, things might not seem all that bad.  Then you realize that LA is only 15-19 at home, and 7.5 games behind the Giants in the NL West.  Oh yea…and they have the highest payroll in baseball.  The Dodgers need something to jumpstart them.  I’m not sure that sitting around and waiting for Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to star earning their paychecks is the answer.  That means somebody has to be traded, and Joc Pederson needs to be called up to play.  The Dodger front office is about to take more heat than James Ramsey in Hell’s Kitchen, as most fans can’t even watch their games on TV, and the fans that are showing up are paying top dollar to watch an underachieving ball club.

Then there’s the Angels, who had a decent showing against Oakland, followed by a let down against the Braves this weekend.  And then there’s the Halo bull pen.  Let’s go for a live look at Ernesto Frieri now…..

Ok, so Ernie did have a stretch where he was closing out games, but in the last two weeks when he’s blown a save, he knows how to do it in spectacular fashion.  Is Scioscia really going to keep giving this guy the ball late in August and September with a playoff spot on the line?  I feel like I need a good bottle of scotch next to me to get through an inning with him on the mound.  Memo to Jerry Dipoto: find a couple of arms to put in your bullpen before the trade deadline.  That might make up for all your previous messes, and actually get your team back to the post season.

Ok, I get it.  It’s that time again.  The time where we act like we all really care about soccer for the next three weeks.  I do really hope the U.S. does make it out of “The Group of Death”, but it’s pretty hard to be optimistic when coach Jurgen Klinsmann doesn’t even think we have a chance.  Yes, I know ESPN probably took his comments out of context, but it’s still hard for me to believe he thinks we really have a shot.  I’m also a little bit interested to see if someone is going to get murdered during the World Cup, since we are talking about soccer fans in Brazil.  The US must defeat Ghana today, or else we go back to ignoring soccer for another four years.  We’ll also probably have to listen to this guy again….

Did anybody actually know that the U.S. Open was this weekend?  The only way NBC could have saved their ratings was if they showed a split screen of Paulina Gretzky in the gallery.

And finally, the season finale of Game of Thrones was on HBO last night, and quite an ending it was.  Spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to see it.  Let’s recap quickly.  Beyond The Wall, Jon Snow tries to negotiate with The King Beyond The Wall, but the negotiations are interrupted by  Stannis Baratheon.  Stannis asks Jon what his father would do with Mance, and Jon says show him mercy, and take him as prisoner.  Back at Castle Black, Jon helps burn the bodies from the battle.  Further north, Bran and his gang are ambushed by some crazy skeleton fighters, which results in the death of Jojen.  Bran escapes and meets the Three-Eyed Raven, who tells him he won’t be able to walk again, but will eventually learn to fly.  Brienne and The Hound do battle over Arya, and even though Brienne leaves him for dead, Arya gets away.  Arya boards a ship and then heads to the free city of Braavos.

In Kings Landing, things get crazy.  Cersei admis to Tywin that she has an incestual relationship with her brother.  Jamie frees Tyrion, and while trying to get away he finds Shay in Tywin’s bed.  The two begin to fight, and Tyrion strangles her to death.  Tyrion grabs a cross bow, and runs into Tywin.  Tyrion shoots his father twice, killing him, after he called Shay a whore several times.  Varys then smuggles Tyrion away on a ship, on the way to a free city.  Meanwhile, Dany is forced to put her dragons in chains, once she finds out that one of the dragons killed a three year old.

This was a very good season finale, and one that finally felt like a victory for “the good guys” which is rare in this show.  Jon meeting Stannis makes things more interesting in the north, but there was definitely a weird vibe going on with Jon and Lady Melisandre.  I’m really going to miss the banter between Arya and The Hound.  I think that we might see Tyrion and Arya actually meet in the free city they are going to.  It’s sad that Tyrion was forced to kill the woman he loved, but the shocking part was seeing Tywin die.  Now what is left of Kings Landing without a strong leader?  It seemed like an episode about some of the good characters breaking away and gaining freedom, like Arya, Tyrion, and even Jon to some extent.  However, I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see any further developments from Sansa Stark and Littlefinger.  There should be some great new story lines in the next season, but it’s going to be a long wait before the next season starts! Ugh, I have withdrawals already!

June 9th, 2014

The Kings are like that kid that sits next to you in class, who never does his homework, never pays any attention to the teacher, then aces the test when it’s all over.  On Saturday, the kings became the first NHL team to win three straight playoff games after trailing in each of them by 2 goals.  They are now just 2 wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.  The Rangers and their fans are obviously very bitter about the third goal the Kings scored, where Dwight King definitely interfered with Henrik Lundqvist, before deflecting a shot past him.  However, they had plenty of chances to win the game in regulation, and in OT on the power play.  The Rangers didn’t get screwed by the refs.  They got screwed by their inability to hang on to the lead in both games 1 and 2.  Since round 1, I’ve been saying the Kings can’t keep playing like this.  Now they are two wins away from the cup.  So uh….they can’t keep playing like this right?

This series isn’t over yet.  The Kings may feel like a team of destiny, but the Rangers could have just as easily won both games at Staples.  They might even take two at home if they can hold a lead.  I’m thinking this could still go six games, but the Kings offensive depth has been remarkable.  Dustin Brown had a terrible year, yet the captain has been clutch during the biggest moments of the season.  Most fans are probably wondering why we’re seeing so much scoring when these are supposed to be the two best goaltenders in the world, but we’re still seeing spectacular saves at critical moments from both these guys.  If the Rangers grab a two goal lead in the next game, I expect Rangers Coach Alain Vigneault to decline the lead to avoid blowing it.

I’ve gotta give major props to Fox Sports West’s Patrick O’Neal, who tactfully criticized ESPN LA’s Steve Mason and John Ireland for the lack of Kings coverage during the Stanley Cup Final.  News flash to those of you in denial, the NHL has a very significant group of loyal fans, and it’s been that way for a long time.  So do the LA Kings, who have been selling out their games for years, yet haven’t received adequate coverage.  Most Kings fans, and hockey fans, resort to non-main stream sources to follow their sport.  However, when the main stream media tries to cover it, it’s been an embarrassment.  In turn, those members of the main stream media hate it when “hockey guy” criticizes them when they try to cover their sport.  Look main stream media…. cover the sport when it’s necessary, like right now, and just make sure you’re doing your research!  It’s your job! Then us hockey fans will actually appreciate what you are doing, instead of mispronouncing names, and screwing up stories.  In case you missed Patrick O’Neal, here he is:

Patrick O’Neal’s rant with Mason & Ireland 6/4/14

To the NBA….It’s June and the Lakers don’t appear anywhere close to naming a head coach.  However, one name that we can definitely eliminate from consideration is Derek Fisher, according to sources.  Fisher as a head coach has a nice ring to it, especially considering he has a great relationship with Kobe.  However, the Laker head coaching job isn’t one for a rookie head coach.  If the Lakers have no intention of being competitive for the next 3 years, which at this point I’m still unsure, then bring him on as coach.  However, you can’t rebuild a team with a short term head coach in place.  I love D-Fish and everything he has done for the Lakers, but he needs to learn how to be a head coach before getting the highest profile job in the NBA.

I was really hoping the Spurs would win game 2 of the NBA Finals, because I really wanted to see how the Heat would respond down 2-0.  Miami has never faced such a situation in the Big 3 era, and it would really give them the opportunity to demonstrate to us naysayers that they aren’t just a bunch of frontrunners.  I did find “cramp gate” pretty amusing.  It’s almost like the Spurs knew Lebron would get cramps without a/c in the building, so they purposefully shut down their a/c.  That sounds right up there with people in Sacramento giving Kobe Bryant food poisoning a few years ago during the Lakers playoff series with the Kings.

Let’s go to baseball, where you haven’t been missing much if you can’t watch the Dodgers.  Coming into Sunday, the Dodgers were 9.5 games out of first place in the NL West, and .5 games out of the wild card.  I’m was starting to wonder if the Dodgers are really this bad, or if it’s just that the Giants are that good?  I wondered until Don Mattingly criticized his team for being “selfish” and made reference to a lack of cohesion.  There’s a lot of blame to go around here, but this is definitely Mattingly’s job to get these guys on the same page, and playing cohesively.  It may not be his fault that Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier aren’t earning their paychecks, but it is his fault that he can’t get his players to buy into the team concept.  Better make this happen soon Don, or else Guggenheim will have no problem paying you to sit on a beach for the next few years, while somebody else does your job.

The Angels are still hanging tough in the American League, but here comes Oakland again this week.  The Halos put together a nice effort over the weekend, sweeping the White Sox at the Big A, and they are now 4.5 games back of the Athletics.  A couple of wins would certainly help the Halos remain in contention in the AL West, and not focus entirely on the wild card.  By the way, I’m still puzzled about these odd Jared Weaver gnome’s the Angels gave away at the stadium Friday night.  The bobble heads are cool, but gnome’s?  Let’s see how weird looking we can start making our best players…….

I can’t believe I actually pulled my car over on the side of the road on Saturday afternoon to watch the Belmont Stakes on my phone.  What a disappointment!  California Chrome totally flopped.  Then to make matters worse, California Chrome’s owner, Steve Coburn, criticized the current system, allowing horses to compete in the Belmont, without running in the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness.  While there is probably some truth to what Coburn is saying, the timing of his rants on Saturday, followed by more rants with the media on Sunday, just make it look like he’s sucking on sour grapes from the loss.  Chrome’s victory in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness by such a wide margin made everyone believe he was going to dominate the field.  The Triple Crown isn’t supposed to be easy, so if Coburn had a problem with it, he should have held his horse back in one of the races instead of complaining at the end.

And finally, Game of Thrones returned last night with the 2nd to last episode of the season.  This episode was all about the Night’s Watch and their battle at the wall with the Wildlings.  Spoiler alert for those of you who have it on DVR, and have yet to see it.  Let’s recap quickly.  The episode is filled with battle scenes at the wall between the Wildlings and the men of the Night’s watch.  Prior to the battle, Gilly comes to the wall seeking shelter, and Sam gives it to her, and even sneaks in a kiss with her prior to the battle.  Ser Allister has a duel with Wildling leader Tormund Giantsbane, in which he is badly wounded.  However, the Wildling leader is eventually captured by the Night’s Watch, who won the war.  In the process, Ygritte is killed just before she is about to shoot Jon Snow with an arrow, as she is shot by a young boy.  Ygritte dies in Jon’s arms.  The Night’s Watch won the battle, but Jon Snow tells Sam, they have simply held off their opponent for now.

This episode ended up being better than I thought.  Previously, I had found the storyline in the far north to be the least interesting of all the show’s plots.  However, there were several things that made this episode riveting.  The one theme that stood out, is the fact there remains a boyish element to the entire Night’s Watch.  This was evident early on in the battle, when Ser Allister barked orders at his men, and they failed in executing these battle tactics when they were finally being tested.  The boyishness also became more evident in Sam’s discussion with Jon about what it was like to be with a woman, as well as his first kiss with Gilly.  As for Ygritte and Jon, the final moments between the two of them seem to be peaceful, and neither had any anger towards each other.  However, clearly Jon’s loyalty to the Night’s Watch saved his life, and preserved his reputation as one of the few real heroes left in Game of Thrones.  Even though that loyalty probably cost him the woman he loved.  Looking forward to what is sure to be a wild season finale next week!

June 2nd, 2014

Admit it.  You thought it was over.  You thought the Kings blew their chance in game 6 to close out the Hawks.  You also thought after they went down 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3 in game 7, it just wasn’t their year.  I admit it….I did.  The LA Kings are mentally, one of the toughest teams I have ever seen.  Even when their fans were ready to pack it in and have themselves a good cry, the Kings had an amazing, quiet, self-confidence.  Justin Williams was was clutch again in game 7, Dustin Brown and Tyler Toffoli were studs, and Drew Doughty could not be more valuable.  At times during this game, it felt like Jonathan Quick and Corey Crawford went out drinking together at Racine Plumbing the night before.  However, Quick still came up with some clutch saves at the end of regulation, and in overtime, to help send the Kings to the finals.  What a series!  It’s not supposed to be easy.  That’s why the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports.  But the Kings tenacity has given them the opportunity to win their 2nd cup in the last 3 years.

I don’t want to hear any of you say how the Kings are going to sweep the Rangers or rip them apart in 5 games.  Don’t you guys realize by now that the hockey gods don’t like this and strike down on you with a vengeance? The Rangers speed can cause the Kings problems, and Henrik Lundqvist is every bit as good as Jonathan Quick.  These are the two best goaltenders in hockey, and Quick will need to be much better if the Kings are going to raise the cup this year.  The  Rangers are also riding a wave of emotion with the death of Martin St Louis mother.  There’s no doubt that the Rangers have to feel like they are somewhat of a team of destiny given what they’ve been through.  LA has the talent and the will, but they better be on their game if they want to finish this thing off.

Steve Ballmer just paid $2 billion to buy the Los Angeles Clippers.  $2 billion???? At least he didn’t overpay or anything.  Has anyone told the former CEO of Microsoft that he bought the Clippers, and not the Lakers?  This deal is way more ridiculous than the $2.15 billion that Guggenheim paid for the Dodgers.  At least that deal included a stadium, the surrounding land, and a new regional sports network.  In any case, as long as Ballmer doesn’t find some sneaky way to move the team to Seattle, like Clay Bennett did with the Sonics a few years ago, then this is a great deal for the Clippers and their fans.  Barring any legal shenanigans, it appears as though Donald Sterling is out of the picture, which is bad news for this blog, because it takes away a good portion of my Clipper jokes.  I’m sure all of you Clipper fans are thrilled…aren’t you??….

What does this mean for the Lakers? The Buss family has long insisted that they have no plans to sell the team.  However, if the Clippers just sold for $2 billion, you’ve gotta think the Lakers could easily get $4 billion.  Regardless of what they are saying publicly, I’m sure any member of the Buss family has to be giving some thought about selling the team.  Any sane business person would do so, no matter how much they love what they do.  If that were the case, I have no doubt that Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim group would be the first in line to throw an astronomical number at the Buss family, to get them to sell the team.  I don’t even know why Forbes and other business organizations have valuations of these franchises, when they don’t even come close to the numbers that are published.

As for rumors, Timberwolves President Flip Saunders insists that the Wolves are planning on keeping Kevin Love for the foreseeable future.  This would actually be the best case scenario for LA, who needs Love to make it to free agency in 2015 to have a real shot at signing him, instead of committing long term somewhere else before that time.  Teams are also calling the Cavs about Kyrie Irving, however, it’s pretty hard for me to imagine Cleveland trading him until they are assured Lebron won’t be returning.  On the coaching front, the Lakers have now interviewed Mike Dunleavy, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry, and Lionel Hollins for their vacant head coaching position.  In other words, they’ve narrowed their coaching search down to the following candidates……

So we’re going to have another Miami vs San Antonio NBA Finals.  Take nothing away from the greatness of Lebron James, but there’s no way the Heat could ever hang with the Celtics and Lakers teams of the 1980’s, that made it to the NBA Finals four straight times.  The Celtics and Lakers also had to deal with much tougher opponents on their way to the finals in those days, such as the Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, and Blazers.  The Heat also would not be in four straight NBA Finals if they were playing in the Western Conference.

On to baseball, where it isn’t early anymore.  Were 1/3rd of the way through the baseball season, and the Dodgers are barely over .500.  Coming into Sunday, the Dodgers were 6.5 games back of San Francisco in the NL West.  The only thing good is the starting pitching.  The defense stinks, the bullpen is unreliable, and the overpriced outfielders haven’t earned their paychecks.  Last year, LA was in an early funk, then got energized by calling up Yasiel Puig.  This year, they don’t have any more Cubans to call up, especially since Alexander Guerrero just got much of his ear bitten of by Miguel “Mike Tyson” Olivo.  If the Dodgers are going to catch the Giants, Matt Kemp needs to stop sulking and get his game back.  The other option could be calling up Joc Pederson, and trying to trade Andre Ethier.  It’s a gamble, but either way, something has to be done to get this team on the right track.

Fortunately, most of you haven’t been able to see this disaster, because the majority of you don’t have Time Warner Cable.  The rumors that the Dodgers and TWC are considering legal action to get their channel distributed is laughable.  The Dodgers and TWC would be arguing that all of the other cable providers are colluding to bring their price down.  This sounds like a desperate move, and one that will only delay the distribution of the channel even longer.

Meanwhile, tough weekend for the Angels, who got swept by the A’s in a 3 game set.  The pitching just didn’t show up for the Halos this time.  Garrett Richards got blown up on Friday, Tyler Skaggs and the bullpen got beat up on Saturday, and Jeff Weaver got punked on Sunday.  This was also probably not the best time for Mike Trout to miss a couple of games with some back stiffness as well.  Jerry Dipoto is going to need to find some cheap help in the bullpen, or another starter by the trade deadline, if the Angels are going to make something out of this season.  On a more positive note….well maybe…..Josh Hamilton looks like he’ll be returning to the lineup in the next couple of days.

And finally, what an episode of Game of Thrones last night!  Spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to see it.  Let’s recap quickly.  Oberyn fights The Mountain, in order to avenge his sisters death, and also to save Tyrion.  Oberyn appears to have won, then taunts his victim while laying on the floor, then suddenly, The Mountain comes back to life and gouged Oberyn’s eyes out, and kills him.  Thus, Tyrion is now sentenced to death.  Sansa becomes an accomplice to Peter Baelish, as she lies to the panel of the Vale about how Lysa actually died.  She does so because she was afraid of her fate if Peter had died.  Daenery’s banishes Jorah, after she discovers that he has been feeding information about her to Varys.  The Wildlings invade the town where Gilly and her baby reside.  Sam is worried that Gilly has died, but the men of the Night’s Watch reassure him that she could have escaped.  However, Jon Snow is concerned that the Wildlings will come for them next.

What an arrogant fool Oberyn is!  The guy pulls off this crazy spinning dance prior to fight with  The Mountain, then taunts him after, before getting killed.  That dude deserved to die.  It seems inevitable that Tyrion is going to die, as I’ve mentioned before.  He’s one of the more like-able characters, which makes it all the more likely the show will find a way to kill him off.  Meanwhile, Sansa’s fear is forcing her to adapt to the evil world around her, and find a way to survive, no matter what she has to say or do.  I’m excited for the last two episodes!

May 26th, 2014

How did this happen?  The Kings are suddenly up 2-1 in their Western Conference Finals best of 7 series vs Chicago.  In the last two games, LA has completely imposed their will in the 3rd period, and their offense has exploded.  The Blackhawks are still more dangerous than Justin Bieber speeding through a neighborhood with kids, and are still the favorites to win it, but things are much different than last spring.  The Kings physicality is wearing down the Chicago defense, the Kings are scoring goals, they are healthier, and Jonathan Quick is much better than last year.  Still, the Kings need to approach tonight as a must win, because they will need three opportunities to close out this Chicago team.  Especially since the Hawks are much better at home.

I love the fact that Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter, and Tanner Pearson are now universally known as “That’s 70’s Line”, and were referred to as that on multiple television networks on Saturday night.  I never imagined that Pearson would make this kind of impact in the NHL so quickly after being drafted.  Has anyone noticed how great the Kings special teams have been so far in this series?  Has anyone also noticed how badly the Blackhawks power play has been?  That’s because the Hawks power play coach is Jamie Kompon.  The same Jamie Kompon who ran a horrendous power play with the Kings during their 2012 playoff run.

On to baseball and the Dodgers, where there’s some good and some bad to discuss.  Let’s start with the good, since Josh Beckett threw the 11th no-hitter in Dodger history yesterday against the Phillies.  I’ve gotta admit, I thought Beckett’s career was over after his season ending surgery last year.  I thought having him as our 5th starter would be a bigger mistake than marrying a Kardashian.  Instead, Beckett has completely re-invented himself by developing much more effective off-speed pitches, instead of overpowering fastballs, which have kept the hitters off-balance.  Beckett’s contract will be up at the end of the season, as will #4 starter Dan Haren, which gives these guys extra motivation each and every time they take the mound this season.  I think it’s pretty obvious that starting pitching isn’t the problem for LA.

Then there’s the bad.  We’re more than a quarter into the season, and the Dodgers are barely over .500, and trailing the Giants by 5.5 games in the NL West.  LA has the highest payroll in baseball, but looks like one of the lowest baseball IQ teams in the league.  Only two teams in the MLB have made more errors than the boys in blue.  Hanley Ramirez looks like a major defensive liability at shortstop, and Matt Kemp has not been the same defensive center fielder we used to see.  Offensively, these guys are ok, but not doing nearly enough to make up for what they are giving up in the field.  This team also commonly makes silly base running mistakes that cost them.  This is not Dodger baseball.  I realize it’s early, but these types of mistakes are very concerning, and make me question whether or not this is really a championship team.

It’s definitely not too early to draw some conclusions about the Angels.  The Halos season has been over around this time, during the last two seasons.  After nearly two months, they lead the Wild Card and are only 1.5 games out of 1st place in the AL West.  It’s amazing what a little starting pitching can do for you.  The only bad news is that Josh Hamilton had a setback in his recovery from his thumb injury.  However, for a team that’s top 5 in the majors in runs scored, I think they can continue to survive for a little without him.   Other than Detroit, there isn’t really a team in the American League that scares me right now.  Oakland us vulnerable, the rest of the central division is a train wreck, and the AL East is overrated by all those New York and Boston honks that think the world revolves around them.  The Angels should be feeling pretty good about things right now.

To the NBA, where the Lakers got some bad news this week about their lottery pick.  They’ll be picking 7th in this years draft, which was one slot worse than their 6th worst record.  I’d like to thank Mike D’Antoni for being an ass hole and winning a few extra meaningless games when he shouldn’t have.  I’m not saying that the NBA lottery is rigged, but they sure aren’t doing much to prevent us from thinking that.  I mean the odds of Cleveland getting the #1 pick in the draft three out of four years has to be less than 1%.  This is basically the NBA’s form of welfare.  There is simply no way that anybody wants to play in Cleveland, so its the only way they can get good players to go there.  It’s not like the Lakers can’t get a good player at #7, however, it’s going to a much slower rebuild than if they had a top 3 pick.

As for the coaching search, I will never understand why the Lakers continue to interview Mike Dunleavy every time their head coaching job is available.  The guy hasn’t had success in the NBA in more than 20 years, and has been out of the game for a while.  Another brilliant idea by Jim Buss.  Let’s be loyal to the guy who took us to the NBA Finals 24 years ago, when we got crushed, but screw Phil Jackson, the guy that is responsible for our last 5 championships!  Makes perfect sense.  Glad to see Byron Scott getting an interview, who as I mentioned before, would be an excellent choice, as would Lionel Hollins, who will be interviewed later in the week.  Neither one of these guys are “splashy” hires, but would be very good choices that know how to coach.

Finally, the mid-season finale of Mad Men aired last night, or “season finale” if you want to look at it that way.  Either way, it was the last episode until 2015, when we’ll see the final 7 episodes of the series.  Spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to see the show.  To recap quickly: Bert passes away at the same time Apollo 11 touches down on the moon, Jim tries to oust Don for breaching his contract, Peggy steps up and wins Berger Chef’s business with a great presentation, while Rodger saves the firm and Don’s job by striking a deal with McCann-Erikson.  Bert’s death meant that Rodger no longer had the votes necessary for Don to keep his job.  Rodger was also worried about the direction Cutler wanted to take the firm, which is why he struck a deal with McCann to buy SC&P, even if it meant bringing Ted back into the business.

This was an interesting and somewhat surprising way to end the mid-season.  There were no major cliffhangers.  Bert’s death was sad for those who have followed Mad Men from the start, but very necessary for advancing the plot for the last 7 episodes.  This partnership that is forming to work with McCann is a complete band of misfits, and it’s highly questionable how they will function together.  They simply made it work because they are going to make a lot of money.  The phone call between Megan and Don is strange.  First we think Don is moving out to LA.  Then it seems Megan doesn’t want him to come.  Then it seems like they are done for good.  However, we thought this at the end of last season, yet they remained together.  I would not be surprised if Megan is tied to the Charles Manson murder in the last part of the show.  Either she dies, or someone she knows is killed.  I also thought the musical at the end of the episode was a nice tribute to Burt’s character, although a very surprising finish.  It’s going to be a long wait until 2015, but should be a great finish to the series!

May 19th, 2013

This weekend was a complete roller coaster ride for the LA Kings.  I’ve gotta start with the bad because that’s most relevant right now.  The Kings went into Chicago yesterday for game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, and lost to the Blackhawks, 3-1, who have simply owned them of late.  It doesn’t matter whether the game is up-tempo, or slowdown and grind-it-out, Chicago is skillful enough to play both, and they showed it again yesterday, with another win over LA.  The Hawks win came playing the Kings grind-it-out style, which has to be discouraging for LA.  Unfortunately, this is just a bad matchup for the Kings.  The Hawks have incredible speed and skill, which makes the Kings vulnerable, and on top of that the Kings are coming off of back-to-back emotionally exhausting series.  It’s looking like another nice run for LA, will ended once again by Chicago, this time in 6 games.

As for the positive, the Kings completely dominated Anaheim in game 7 at the Honda Center on Friday.  Step aside John Gibson.  You’ve just been shown how a real game 7 is handled by the real American hero, Jonathan Quick.  As talented as the Ducks are, they simply did not have the mental toughness of LA when it was all on the line.  Justin Williams is as reliable as it gets when there’s a game 7, as he started the scoring, and heck, even Mike Richards scored.  When that happens, you know it’s your night.  Friday was hardly a road game for the Kings, as there were about 5,000 Kings fans invading the Honda Center.  By the end of the first period, Ducks fans were pissed.  My co-worker, who is a Ducks season seat holder, refused to hang out between periods, after some friendly pre-game exchanges.  It was a great series, and great for SoCal hockey, and this is probably the beginning of many more playoff meetings.  Don’t cry Corey Perry……

As for Teemu Selanne, it was a tough way to end his career, losing in game 7 on his home ice. However, very classy move by the Kings, to bang their sticks on the ice in appreciation, as well as by the Kings fans, who also gave Selanne a standing ovation when the game was over.  Teemu had a great career, but for god sakes, it’s time to hang it up.  Don’t be the Brett Favre of hockey!  The Ducks don’t need to blow up their core, but they definitely need to figure out their goaltending situation, and get some more toughness and grit.

On to the NBA, where the Clippers ran out of gas earlier this week against the Thunder, losing in 6 games during their 2nd round series.  This series was lost in game 5, when the Clippers blew a 7 point lead with 45 seconds left, which was easily the worst 45 seconds of Chris Paul’s career.  I don’t want to hear about how the Clippers got screwed by the refs when the ball went off Reggie Jackson.  The referees, didn’t make the Clipps choke away the lead, and they sure didn’t make them collapse in the 4th quarter of game 6 either.  Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were simply better than Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.  The Donald Sterling sideshow probably didn’t help things, but the Clippers just aren’t good enough yet.  We thought the Clippers improved, but they still haven’t taken the next step.  The question is still whether Blake Griffin’s prime will coincide with CP3’s.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are getting ready for the draft lottery tomorrow night.  However, the Kevin Love rumors are heating up.  Unfortunately, the Lakers are about to learn what I’ve been screaming from the mountain tops for over a year now:  they need to start collecting assets to make trades for star players.  Even one lottery pick isn’t going to be enough to acquire Love.  The Lakers have nothing on their roster to trade because they are putting all their hope into signing big name free agents.  Teams like Boston, Houston, and Golden State have far more resources to pull off a trade for the likes of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and any other big names that might become available.  Coincidentally, Golden State is one of the teams Love is interested in playing for.  In the meantime, Laker fans can only hope for luck in the lottery tomorrow night, and for Jim Buss not to screw up the next coaching hire.

To baseball, where much of the talk about the Dodgers has been about their TV issues, as opposed to what’s happening on the field.  As one of the fortunate people who can actually watch the Dodgers (or maybe unfortunate because I’m a Time Warner customer), it’s probably a good thing you are missing this part of the season.  The Dodger pitching has been getting destroyed of late.  13 runs against Miami? 18 runs against Arizona?  I haven’t seen this kind of meltdown since Mel Gibson went drinking in Malibu.  It feels like the Dodgers can only beat the D’Backs.  Oh wait, that’s because they can only beat the D’Backs.  LA is 15-19 against the rest of the majors, but has been dominating against Arizona, although they didn’t even look dominant against them over the weekend.  Nevertheless, the Dodgers offense was crummy, and their pitching was great.  Now its the opposite.  Hopefully by the time the rest of you can actually watch the games, the Boys in Blue will get it together.

It doesn’t look like TWC will strike a deal with other cable providers anytime soon, however, stop blaming the Dodgers people.  You all complained when you had Frank McCourt as your owner.  Now we have the highest payroll in baseball, and a TV deal to support a competitive product on the field for years to come.  If you don’t like it, go move to Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or some other third world country, where you can enjoy a team with a lower payroll.  You’ll then be able to watch them on TV, enjoying a mediocre product.

One team you can see on TV that is playing good baseball, is the Angels.  The Halos took 3 out of 4 from Tampa Bay over the weekend, and continue to be in the thick of the playoff race early on.  The Angels are in 2nd place in the AL West, but 5 games over .500, and leading the AL Wild Card.  I know you all want to hate on Albert Pujols and his $250 million contract, but the dude is getting it done while Mike Trout is slumping.  Things only figure to get better when Josh Hamilton gets back, so Angel fans can feel good about what they are seeing thus far.

Let’s talk TV.  Starting off with Game of Thrones, which aired the 7th episode of Season 4 last night on HBO.  Spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to see it.  Let’s recap quickly: Tyrion tries to convince Jamie and Bronn to defend him in his trial by combat, but both of them decline.  However, the Red Viper decides to fight for him, in order to avenge his sister’s death, which was at the hands of the Lannisters.  Littlefinger admits to Sansa that he is in love with her mother, but then proceeds to kiss Sansa, which Lysa witnesses.  Her jealously leads her to threaten Sansa, by throwing her out of the Moon Door.  However, Littlefinger stops Lysa from doing this, and eventually throws Lysa out the Moon Door, and she falls to her death.  Daario makes sexual advances at Daenery’s, but she sends him out to recapture Yunkai.  Jorah then serves as the voice of reason, by convincing her to give the slave masters one last chance to live in her world.

This turned out to be a very exciting episode, with some nice plot development.  The death of Lysa was somewhat surprising so soon, but now it’s entirely unclear what Littlefinger’s plan is.  Now he has Sansa Stark, seems to be in love with her, but who are his other allies that will help him get what he wants? Oberyn (The Red Viper) is quickly becoming a great character, who everyone likes, because he’s trying to take down Cersei and Tywin.  The Daenery’s situation is beginning to make me nervous.  I don’t trust Daario, but she is putting a lot of trust in him, even with the advice given to her by Jorah.  I’m most worried that Daario, or somebody in her camp that is working with the Lannisters, and will try to kill her before the season’s over.  It’s really a shame that we have to wait another two weeks  to see the next episode, but it’s going to be an exciting last 3 shows.

Didn’t get to see Mad Men folks…..it’s waiting for me on my DVR.

May 12th, 2014

For three and a half quarters yesterday, the Clippers looked like front runners.  They looked like a talented team, without the mental toughness to advance in the playoffs.  Then, Darren Collison ignited a fierce rally, and the Clippers were right back in the series.  Doc Rivers made a brilliant move, going small, which sparked the comeback from 16 points down in the 4th, and as large as 22 points in the first quarter.  In three of the last four games, the Thunder have looked like the more experienced team, and the better team.  However, the Clippers have some fight.  This series could go 7, but unless the Clippers can consistently defend and rebound, it’s going to be tough to advance to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history.  Anybody still think Westbrook and Durant can’t play together?  No way the Thunder breaks up that duo anytime soon.

Off the court, the side-show continues.  Shelly Sterling continues to show up to games, and publicly campaign to retain ownership.  I think it’s fair to say that the entire NBA Players Association is putting up with her still being a part of this for now, but want her out when the season is over, and rightfully so.  Meanwhile Donald Sterling apologized to CNN, and claimed that he was entitled to making one mistake after so many years as an owner.  Actually Donald, this is one of many mistakes you’ve made, and nobody is willing to put up with your racist crap anymore.    We all know you’re only asking for forgiveness because you’re about to get your franchise ripped from you.

As for the Lakers, their coaching search is moving slower than a Kenley Jansen fastball (more on that later), as no candidates have actually been interviewed yet.  In the meantime, Kobe Bryant is speaking his mind on the coaching search, Mike D’Antoni, his health, and the Lakers future.  Kobe appeared on Jimmy Kimmel earlier in the week to discuss all this.  It’s pretty clear that when you get older, you just don’t give a crap, you have no filter, and you speak your mind.  Kobe is at that point in life after listening to his comments on Kimmel.  Kobe actually said he “didn’t care” when D’Antoni got fired, and that he was not consulted on the last two Laker coaching decisions.  Weird, because it’s probably a good idea to make sure your best player and your coach can work together.  Are you listening Jim Buss?

Let’s talk puck.  The Kings and Ducks are locked up in a hell of a playoff battle.  After the Ducks 2-0 win on Saturday, the series is tied at 2-2, but it’s the Kings who are blowing it.  LA was up 2-1 in the series, and facing rookie goaltender John Gibson in game 4.  Instead of welcoming him to playoff hockey with a beat down, they made the kid look like the next Patrick Roy, by not putting any real pressure on him.  They never got any traffic at the net, never bumped him, and their power play was shit.  The Ducks went from being totally frustrated, to soaring with confidence, headed back to Anaheim for game 5 tonight.  The road team has won every game in this series.  You honestly think that trend is going to continue?  I think not, which is why the Kings are screwed, and are going to lose this series.

To baseball, where the Dodgers are getting owned by the Giants.  After LA’s bullpen imploded again yesterday, the hated rivals from the north have handed the Dodgers 7 of their 19 losses this season, resulting in a 4.5 game division lead over the boys in blue.  Kenley Jansen just isn’t getting it done.  Yesterday, he allowed 5 of the first 6 batters he faced to reach base, including a wild pitch.      Jansen claims he’s healthy, but his velocity is down, and he isn’t fooling hitters like he used to.  The Dodger players claim they are starting to play good baseball, and that they will be fine but that’s not how I see it.  LA has given those snobby, organic bastards in the north, the confidence that they can play with them.  The most key pitchers  in the bullpen aren’t pitching well, and that’s a scary thought for the Dodgers.  By the way, why don’t the Giants change their name to the “San Francisco Brandons”?  How many more Brandons can they add? Brandon Belt, Brandon Hicks, Brandon Crawford?  There’s obviously not enough of them on their team.

As for the Halos, they dominated in Toronto this weekend, and will be going for the sweep today.  Amazingly enough, the Halos are now two games over .500, and who actually remembers the last time that happened?  The Halos starting pitching has been sturdy, and their offense is explosive, even without Josh Hamilton.  Even more amazing is the fact that the Halos younger players like CJ Cron and Hank Conger are coming up big.  Not bad for a team that has been ranked as having the worst farm system in baseball.  The Angels are right in the thick of things in the American League race, and that is definitely not something we could have said at this point in the last two seasons.

Let’s talk TV.  Game of Thrones returned for another episode last night, and it was another good one.  Spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to watch it.  Let’s recap quickly: Stannis and Davos pleaded the Iron Bank to take their side, but their efforts were unsuccessful.  Theon’s sister tried to rescue him, but failed, then Theon pleaded for mercy from Ramsay Snow.  Daenery’s sat on the throne at Meereen and heard requests from peasants and and lords.  In Kings Landing, Tyrion stood in chains and was on trial, judged by his father.  By the end of the episode, Tyrion demanded a trial by combat, since he knew he would be found guilty.

The highlight of the episode was Tyrion’s angry outburst when he knew his trial was more of a show, that was set up for him to be guilty.  The irony of all this is that he probably would have lived, even if he was guilty, since Tywin told Jamie that Tyrion would be sentenced to The Night’s Watch in The North.  Tyrion’s angry outburst seemed heroic, except since this is Game of Thrones, and he’s more of a good character, he’s probably going to die.  Looking forward to the last 4 episodes of the season!

On to Mad Men, where last night was the 6th episode of this 8 episode half season.  This episode was pretty eventful.  Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it yet.  To recap quickly: Don’s niece, Stephanie, is pregnant in LA.  Don tells her to go see Meghan for support, and that he’ll come out and see them the next day.  By the time Don gets there, Stephanie is gone, right after Meghan had given her a check of $1,000 for support.  While in LA, Meghan throws a party, and afterward, she and another woman have a threesome with Don.  Prior to that, Don meets Harry at the party, they escape for a drink, and Don learns that Jim and Lou are pursuing Philip Morris. If they can get it, Don is out.  With this knowledge, Don crashes a meeting Lou and Jim are have with Philip Morris, where he tries to convince the tobacco company that he is the guy they’d want on the account, and even subtly threatens to work for the competition if he leaves the firm.

The Meghan storyline to Mad Men is getting extremely boring.  Her life in LA is really not that exciting, and there are many more characters that are more interesting.  I suppose Meghan was using the threesome as desperation to save her marriage, but Don was hardly even interested.  Don’s genius is obvious by the end of this episode, and I think we are all starting to get the feeling he’s going to end up back on top when it’s all said and done.  Notice I completely left out the Michael Ginsberg part of the episode. Who cuts out their nipple?  What a weirdo!