January 1st, 2024

Happy New Year Everyone! Congratulations to the Rams, who clinched a playoff berth in the NFC with a win yesterday afternoon. I know some of you might be asking about Matt Stafford’s performance yesterday, or the lack of punt coverage, but who cares. They are in the dance, and there’s a lot of NFC teams that are looking vulnerable. When the season started, most people expected the Rams do be the Washington Generals of the NFL in 2023, yet somehow they managed to make the postseason. That’s an amazing job by Sean McVay and Matt Stafford. McVay is as successful of an NFL coach as you could have ever asked for. He’s had one losing season, and that was only because all his stars were hurt. As for who they play, as long as they don’t have to play the 49ers in the first couple of rounds, they should be even happier. Obviously anybody in the NFC South, or the Lions and Eagles wouldn’t be a bad matchup for the Rams. However, at this point, just getting this far is impressive in itself, and gives hope of re-loading going into next year.

As for the Chargers, nobody really cares about their meaningless loss against the Broncos, because the story is the coaching. It makes way too much sense for Jim Harbaugh to coach the Chargers. Harbaugh has accomplished just about all that he needs to at Michigan, especially if he ends up winning a National Championship next week. He’s also been deflecting questions from the media about departing for the NFL, like Bill Clinton deflecting questions about Monica Lewinsky. If Dean Spanos is really true to his word and money is not an issue, he will get this done. Harbaugh has been very successful in every coaching job he’s held, and would give the Chargers instant credibility in LA. He’s also likely to give them instant success too, which is something that has escaped them for a long time. Otherwise, this franchise will continue to be irrelevant in the 2nd biggest media marketing in the country.

To the NBA, where the Lakers are continuing to scuffle around .500, and have their issues since the ending of the In-Season Tournament. What a pathetic display yesterday against the Pelicans. How about some more effort? Hello? Is this thing on? Don’t let these jerks ruin your New Years Day. I know everybody wants to talk about Lebron and the team getting screwed after his 3-pointer was ruled a 2-pointer against the T-Wolves, but that is missing the larger point. This purpose of bringing this team back together and re-signing everybody was for continuity. Has anybody told that to Darvin Ham? Because D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Jared Vanderbilt have barely played together this season. I really don’t know why we are getting cute with all these lineup changes. That starting 5, with Rui Hachimura being the first guy off the bench, put them in the Western Conference finals. Ham needs to stop screwing around with the lineups and use the ones that made him successful last year. Then you can use the likes of Cam Reddish, Max Christie, and Christian Wood off the bench. This is a good team that is wasting away excellent performances from both Lebron and Anthony Davis. Gabe Vincent on the other hand is another former Miami Heat player, who looks like a free agent bust for the Lakers. Apparently part of “Heat Culture” includes being a free agent bust when signing with the Lakers. Since the Raptors are having a fire sale, it sure would be nice to get Dennis Schroeder back, who is way more reliable.

The Clippers have moved up to 4th in the West after righting the ship with some victories against the Hornets and Grizzlies. However, the concern for the Clips is the health of Kawhi Leonard. This sounds a little too familiar, but Kawhi has now missed 4 straight games, and oddly enough, hasn’t been cleared to return. The concerning part of any Kawhi injury is the guy could be fine, then the next minute you find out he’s out for the season. Considering the Clippers history of downplaying his injury, as well as the fact he was working with the coaches at the most recent shoot around in flat shoes, you can’t be too confident. Paul George also indicated he doesn’t expect Kawhi back anytime soon. Maybe it’s nothing. However, maybe it’s also everything. What the case is, the Clippers have to be feeling a little bit uneasy.

Christmas must have been really nice for the Dodgers, after they got the biggest names on their free agent shopping list from Santa. However, now, everybody wants to know what their next move is. That’s right, they are still shopping. The two names that seem to be popping up are closer Josh Hader, and Japanese left handed pitcher Shota Imanaga. Hader would be interesting, because the Dodgers would then have two great late-inning bullpen options with him and Evan Philips. However, he would likely command $100 million and 5 years, and those types of deals aren’t usually good for relievers historically. Imanaga on the other hand would give the Dodgers a reliable 6-man rotation. That would be huge because Walker Buehler will be on an innings limit after surgery, Bobby Miller is still very young, Tyler Glasnow has durability questions, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto has always been a part of a six-man rotation in Japan. In both cases, the Dodgers would be protecting their investment in the starting rotation while beefing up their pitching. Only doing so by adding a starter seems more sensible.

Meanwhile, the Angels still haven’t done anything. Unless you count them signing pitcher Zach Plesac. This guy’s 2023 might have been worse than Arte Moreno’s. He had an ERA over 7 in 21 innings and 5 games. He did nearly as bad when he was demoted to the minor leagues. How he is on a major league roster at this point is somewhat baffling, especially knowing that he once broke his hand after punching a wall. This guy sounds like he would make great friends with Anthony Rendon. Honestly, the Angels should just suck it up and go sign Trevor Bauer. They need the pitching, he’ll come cheap, and he’s past his legal issues. It’s not like things can get any worse roster wise, so why not take a chance on a guy who needs to prove it to rehab his value? This is way too sensible for Arte Moreno though, so who are we kidding?

UCLA Men’s B-ball started conference play over the weekend.  For about one game they had hope.  They beat Oregon State.  Then they played Oregon, and failed to execute down the stretch, reminding you that this team ain’t it.  The only way this team is going to participate in the NCAA Tournament is by getting a streaming subscription to CBS.  Either that or winning The PAC 12 Tournament, which would be near impossible with how they are playing.  Even Mick Cronin sounds like he’s giving up on the season when you hear him speak at post game press conferences.  Sebastian Mack is easily this teams best player, yet Mick Cronin put everything into perspective, saying he would never play on a team with more experience.  Thanks for reminding us that that team is trash this year Mick!

The Trojans got to feel good about themselves after taking down Louisville last week in the Holiday Bowl.  Sure it was a nice experience for USC fans to go down to San Diego and have a nice couple of days there and see a game at Petco Park.  It was also a feel good game for Miller Moss, who looked capable against a decent team.  However, let’s be honest, this is a glorified consolation game, which now, many of the top prospects are opting out of, like Caleb Williams.  Hopefully the 12 team playoff will fix some of this next year, and make more of the top players want to use the playoff as a platform for the NFL Draft.  In any case though, I have a feeling Moss won’t be USC’s starting QB next year, and they’ll be looking to someone in the transfer portal.

Finally, an update on the LA Kings.  It doesn’t matter how many games in hand you have on your opponents if you don’t actually win them.  The Kings lost close games to Vegas and Edmonton last week, which is a reminder that while they are good, they still have a lot to clean up internally before they are ready to take down their division rivals in a playoff series.  It sure would also be nice if Pierre Luc-Dubois started to play better, I mean he is making only $8.5 million this year.  On the bright side though, he’s killing it in the advanced stat category with attending 5 Laker games, 2 Galaxy Matches, and a Rams game.  Also for those of you who keep saying the Kings should have never gotten rid of Jonathan Quick, if he had just played halfway decently during last season, he would have never been traded.  Glad he’s playing well with the Rangers, but I wish he had played better so we didn’t have to trade him.

December 25, 2023

Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas came early for the Dodgers last week, when they agreed to a deal with Japanese Ace , Yoshinobu Yamamoto. If there was one guy the team needed, it was Yamamoto, because they were desperate for front-line pitching. However, that wouldn’t have been possible without landing Shohei Ohtani earlier in December. Bravo Andrew Friedman. You clearly have a plan, and have executed it to perfection thus far, and you’re probably not done making moves either. It’s like he has a Black Card for Christmas Shopping with no credit limit. However, for those of you that think this is bad for baseball’s competitive balance, or somehow bad for the game, you have no idea what you’re talking about and you should go back to not watching baseball, because you probably weren’t in the first place. Just because you sign stars in baseball, doesn’t mean you win. It’s not the NBA. It can help you win, but certainly not the deciding factor. Plenty of teams without stars have been winning World Series titles in the last 20 years. Also, if you think having baseball’s biggest star in the 2nd biggest media market is bad for the game, you’re an idiot. The Dodgers will be hated this year, but more people will be watching them as a result, which is good for the game. It certainly helps that the Dodgers are in LA too, and have built a quality organization. Some of you are acting like other teams weren’t ready to spend over $300 million on Yamamoto, or $700 million on Ohtani, but the reality is they picked the Dodgers over a long list of other organizations.

Meanwhile, I’m still fascinated to see where the Angels go from here. I’m shocked Arte Moreno has not “raged spent” on any of the remaining free agents. The Halos may have actually stumbled into a couple of solid young players in Logan O’Hoppe and and Nolan Schanuel. However, their pitching remains an issue. Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery seem like they would fill a big need at the moment, but Arte hasn’t spent on pitching in a long time. If they don’t spend some of their cash though, which wouldn’t surprise me, it may actually signal that Arte may revisit selling the team. That would be the best news the Angel fans have received in a long time if it happened.

Remember when people thought the Rams were going to be bad and tank for Caleb Williams? Remember when Matt Stafford’s wife told everyone that her husband couldn’t relate to all the young players on the team? That was only a couple of months ago, but now it’s a much different conversation. Stafford threw for 328 yards on Thursday in the win over the Saints, and the Rams are on the verge of getting back to the playoffs. The Rams were 3-6 just six weeks ago, and since then they’ve won 5 of 6, while Stafford has managed to lead the team despite keeping his thumb attached with chicken, super glue, and duct tape. This is also a reminder of just how good of a coach Sean McVay is, in case you forgot that as well. The man should be up for Coach of The Year honors. I definitely think the Rams should handle business against the Giants next week, but facing the 49ers on the final week of the season will be a challenge. However, they might not need to win that game anyway, as 9 wins could get them into the postseason.

All it took was losing their quarterback, their coach, and their GM for the Chargers to start taking football games seriously again. They lost to the Bills on Saturday night, but they put a valiant effort forward. However, the real story is the coach and GM search. Of course Dean Spanos must have read Jock Talk LA last week, because he came out and essentially refuted my claim that the Bolts are unlikely to spend big on a coach. Spanos insisted that there won’t be financial limitations, but unless I see Bill Belichik or John Harbaugh coaching this team in 2024, I won’t believe him. The last three Charger coaches, Brandon Staley, Anthony Lynn, and Mike McCoy had no previous NFL Head Coaching experience. If I see another assistant with no head coaching experience get this job, you’ll know the reason why.

The Lakers looked fantastic in Saturday’s win against Oklahoma City on the road. I can appreciate the urgency that Lebron and AD showed against an elite team, but it’s also maddening. The ceiling on this team is high, which we saw from the In-Season Tournament victory, but since then they’ve been mailing it in. In the Western Conference, there are so many good teams, you cannot afford to mail it in consistently like they have been. The worst part about it is that now they are going into a much tougher part of their schedule, with the Celtics coming to town today for Christmas Day. I’m really tired of Lebron’s excuses though. Stop telling me it’s injuries or the in-season tournament. You and AD are healthy, the team is mostly healthy, but there’s just more nights where you and your guys don’t feel like playing. As the leader of the squad, you have to figure out how to get them up to play every night, or it will cost you in the standings.

As for the Clippers, their 9-game win streak was snapped with blowout losses to the Thunder and Celtics. They seem to insist that they aren’t bothered because the Celtics just got hot from 3, and they were tired in the Thunder game. However, the amount of points the Clippers gave up is alarming, even if they did play without Kawhi in both of those games. In fact, not having Kawhi is an even bigger blow for the team defensively, because outside of PG and Kawhi, this isn’t a great defensive team. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on, especially the health of Kawhi moving forward.

Just a few weeks ago, we thought UCLA Basketball was a young, dangerous, and talented team, that could make some noise come tournament time. Just a month later, we found out we were bamboozled. This team isn’t good. They are inexperienced, make a lot of stupid mistakes, especially turnovers. They have no offensive game plan, struggle to get the ball into the post, and are wildly inconsistent defensively. According to Mick Cronin, they’ve lost their confidence completely. When you lose 4 in a row, including to Cal State Northridge at home, it’s time to start looking toward next season. UCLA will be lucky just to look respectable in conference play, let alone make the NCAA Tournament.

I’m really not sure what to make of the Trojan Basketball team either. They are 6-5 and really not much better than the Bruins. On the bright side, Bronny James is back in the lineup, and has had some exciting plays in limited game action. USC has had their own problems like the Bruins, losing to good teams they’ve hung in with like Gonzaga, and also just losing to bad teams like Long Beach State. The difference is that USC has very low expectations as a basketball program, so when they do lose, it doesn’t catch people’s attention. With that being said, when you consider the likes of Bronny James, Evan Mobley, and Onyeka Okongwu, this program is becoming more of a breeding ground for individual NBA prospects to showcase their skills, but not necessarily a program synonymous with winning College Basketball games.

Finally, in the NHL, we are about 30 games into the season, and the Kings are firmly in the mix in the Western Conference Playoff race. There’s a lot to like about the Kings, given that Cam Talbot is older than the Dinosaurs, yet somehow he’s provided solid goaltending. The Kings also have the league’s best defense, best penalty killing, and the 4th best offense. You’re probably thinking two things: what am I about to complain about, and that the trade for Pierre Luc-Dubois was a success. That’s exactly my complaint. The trade for PLD has had limited impact on this early success the Kings have had. Despite his goal on Saturday, he has just 6 goals and is only on pace for 16 goals and 36 points. For a guy making $8.5 million a year, that’s unacceptable. Gabe Vilardi, one of the guys he was traded for, has missed half the season yet has one more goal than PLD, and is half the cost. I realize there is still time to turn around this narrative, but when you have a guy making that much money, he needs to produce if you are truly going to compete for a Stanley Cup.

December 18, 2024

The Rams picked up another big win yesterday and are right there in the NFC for that final playoff spot! It’s amazing what a healthy Matt Stafford and Cooper Kupp can do for this team. With the Packers loss they are currently in the last playoff spot in the NFC. Since the Vikings still have to play the Lions twice, I’m liking the Rams chances of getting in. I know everyone is hyped for the idea of a Rams-Lions showdown in round 1, but don’t get too excited though, because the Rams probably won’t pass the Vikings in the standings, who have a cupcake schedule. If the Bears and Panthers win any more games this season, their fans should probably riot and burn down their stadiums, since they both want that #1 draft pick. It’s going to be a short week at home for the Rams, since they host the Saints on Thursday night. I’m sure even 5 years later, the Saints are still holding a grudge for the Rams beating them on that blown call in the 2018 NFC Championship game. It’s a grudge that is similar to a grown man having it out for the guy who took his lunch money in 3rd grade.

Call me crazy, but I was somewhat surprised that the Chargers finally fired Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco on Friday. It took a complete humiliation by the Raiders on Thursday Night Football for them to pull the trigger, but I think this was largely the result of public pressure. It wasn’t really that long ago where the Spanos family was completely behind Staley and Telesco, especially because they hate the idea of paying two coaches. However, the fans in LA demand results if you want to be relevant, which as it is, the Chargers barely are. Now comes the hard part though. You know the Bolts are going to get interest from big names like Bill Belichik and maybe even Jim Harbaugh since Justin Herbert is their quarterback. However, can you really see the Spanos family paying big money for a coach like that? This guy is so cheap he probably asked Santa to cover the cost of the Staley buyout. I certainly cannot see a big name coach coming. Prove me wrong Dean!

Now that the Lakers won the in-season tournament, they seem to be back to playing lazy basketball, which is what I was afraid of. In fact, the Lakers are doing what most of corporate America is doing: mailing it in during the holidays! They didn’t show up against the Mavericks and Spurs last week, in games that they should have won. Apparently the Lakers need to be reminded that the West is a gauntlet, and you can’t take nights off, or else you can quickly find yourself much lower in the standings. That’s significant because it’s going to be tough to come out of the Western Conference if you don’t have home court in three consecutive rounds. Obviously there is a ton of time left in the season and it’s about peaking at the right time, but Darvin Ham needs to slap some sense into his team to keep them motivated on a nightly basis.

Meanwhile, the Clippers have suddenly won 7 games in a row, and will be trying to make it 8 in a row tonight. What’s even more impressive is that they are actually playing defense. They are 5th in the league in opponent field goal % and 5th in point allowed. For a team that has James Harden, who is known more for his love of strip clubs than defense, that’s pretty good. It also tells me that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have decided to be more engaged at that end of the floor during this win streak. I also find it interesting, but not surprising, that the streak has coincided with Russell Westbrook playing less than 20 minutes a game, and Terrance Mann playing closer to 30 minutes a night. It will be interesting to see if the Clips keep this rotation going and keep everyone happy, but I’m sure Ty Lue doesn’t care as long as they keep winning and climbing in the West.

To baseball, where the Dodgers made another big move last week, trading for Tyler Glasnow. Since the Boys in Blue badly need pitching, it certainly is a boost to the front of their rotation. I’m ok with giving up Ryan Pepiot, who was solid, but given the injury history of Glasnow, I wasn’t so excited to see them pony up a 5 year extension right now. In any case, he should help in the short-run if he’s healthy. They still need more help though in their rotation, and I’m starting to feel less and less optimistic about Yoshinobu Yammamoto signing with LA. I think he’s going to the Yankees, and really the only thing that makes me think the Dodgers have a chance is all these ridiculous Twitter accounts popping up with no sources claiming he’s going to sign with the pin stripes.

Of course all the rumors are coming out now about Shohei Ohtani and the Angels not willing to match the $700 million offer the Dodgers made. However, I for one did not believe for a second that Ohtani would have returned to the Angels. He wants to win, and had seen enough of how that franchise was operated for 6 years. He came back to them with the opportunity to match simply out of respect, and ultimately could have leveraged more from the Dodgers or others. At the same time, if Arte Moreno didn’t want to match the offer, I have no issue with that. Where you should have a problem with Arte Moreno is the fact the team is currently sitting $70 million below the luxury tax, and is doing absolutely nothing so far to improve the roster. They could easily go after the likes of Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, or Jordan Montgomery. Instead, Arte Moreno has been operating this off-season like guy who is strapped with credit card debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Here’s to hoping Moreno will revert back to selling the team for the sake of Angels fans.

I sure hope that UCLA Basketball is planning on winning every single game in conference play. The Bruins fell to 5-4 after losing to Ohio State over the weekend, and now their tournament resume looks like the equivalent of a guy that doesn’t even have a high school diploma and just got fired from McDonald’s. I keep hearing that UCLA is one of the youngest teams in the country, and that may be true, but the Bruins also hung in with some of the tougher teams in the country like Gonzaga and Marquette. They should be winning against these unranked teams because they have the talent to do so. The bottom line is that at this point the Bruins need to just start banking wins. They have 22 games left, and need to go 15-7 just to reach the ideal 20-win mark to get in the NCAA Tournament.

Congratulations to the UCLA Football Team for winning the LA Bowl against Boise State. I believe next year they are going to change the name of this game to the “Nobody Gives A Crap About This Game Bowl”. In all seriousness though, I can acknowledge that the game was good for younger players to get reps. However, the Bruins don’t need to pay Chip Kelly $30 million for that happen. I’m pretty sure the expectation was higher when Kelly was hire.

Finally, the LA Kings got back in the win column over the weekend to snap a 3-game losing streak. The Kings are still doing decently, sitting in 3rd place in a very competitive Pacific Division and Western Conference, but considered one of the contending teams in the West. With that being said, don’t try pointing to the Kings trade of PL Dubois for their success. Dubois has 5 goals so far, and is on pace for just 15 goals and 36 points this season. For a guy that was paid $8.5 million a year to play center, that is not acceptable, and concerning. I had my doubts about this trade to begin with, but even I thought the guy would be more productive than this. There’s still plenty of time to prove me wrong, but so far, it’s not looking good on that front.

December 11, 2024

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers for finally getting their man, Shohei Ohtani! To the Dodgers credit, they identified a player they were willing to go all in on, cleared the payroll, and signed him. This was years in the making. I had a hard time seeing Andrew Friedman giving those kinds of dollars and years to a player, even as good as Ohtani, but when he knows what he wants, he can spend. Also, enough of the “Dave Roberts blew it with his comments” nonsense. He said nothing. I love the Dodgers big market mentality and going for it, but with that being said, $700 million? $550 or $600 million wasn’t going to get the deal done? The only way to rationalize this deal from a monetary standpoint is that Ohtani brings more than $700 million of business and promotional value to the Dodgers. I realize much of the money is deferred, much it’s still a hefty price tag and term. For those of you that are complaining that he should have publicized his free agency more, if he did what Lebron did in 2011 and made a spectacle of it, he would be criticized as well. Professional athletes can handle their free agency however they want to, and they’ve earned that right. For the Dodgers though, I sure hope this doesn’t adversely impact the teams ability to add more talent, and pitching in particular. The Dodgers still need 2-3 good starting pitchers. Sure having a lineup of Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Max Muncy is amazing, but they still need to pitch and hit come playoff time. Whether or not they add more of that talent remains to be seen. However, the city of Los Angeles is all about star power, so credit to the Dodgers for recognizing it and doing everything in their power to acquire the biggest star in baseball. I’d also like to congratulate the State of California on their new found wealth after Ohtani’s $700 mllion deal. Can’t wait to see how they let those tax dollars go to waste!

As for the Angels, nobody can be surprised that Shohei Ohtani left, except maybe Arte Moreno. Multiple things can be true at the same time though. The Angels are better off not committing $700 million for a player when they have limited resources given how they are constructed. At the same time, they completely wasted the time they had with both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout as part of their franchise. Poor Trout! After Ohtani’s departure, the only chance he’ll have to be a part of the MLB postseason is by renewing his subscription to Cox Cable. Unfortunately, Arte’s perception of his franchise is much different than the perception around the league, which is going to hurt his ability to attract big name free agents. Since that seems to be the only way he wants to build his franchise, that’s a problem. However, imagine if they took just $100 million and invested it into scouting and player development? This team might actually go somewhere, but that of course is completely lost on Moreno. At some point Moreno has to look himself in the mirror and be honest with himself about what he’s doing to his franchise.

To the NBA, where I’m sure people will make their jokes about the Lakers knowing how to win “fake championships”, but I don’t care. Winning the In Season Tournament is really good for this team because it reminds them of their potential. It’s also great ammunition for Lebron stans to claim that LBJ just did something Michael Jordan never did. The Lakers are getting healthier, and they are winning games against good teams. That includes the health of Lebron and Anthony Davis, who both look healthier than last year, which explains their elite play the last few weeks. The Lakers have also started to play better without getting contributions from Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, who should only help their cause as the season goes on once they get healthy. Of course some of you might say that’s a reason to make a trade involving Rui for more help, but I disagree. Sometimes you just have to let the chemistry develop, which the Lakers have been doing. The ceiling for this team is even higher than we’ve seen, and that’s good news for Laker fans.

As for the Clippers, they are quietly playing much better. The only thing I don’t understand is why they are saying stupid things to the media. PJ Tucker says there aren’t enough basketballs for all of the stars on the team. That’s a sure way to get cut from the team when you’re already on the bubble. Then James Harden revealed that Russell Westbrook is getting frustrated with his playing time getting cut. Why would you share that? Just keep your business in house so we don’t actually think you are more of a shit show than than we already think. I bet these dudes publicly air their grievances on Twitter about their marriages too.

In the NFL, although that was a game I didn’t really expect the Rams to win, the loss against the Ravens still hurt. It’s really a reminder that the Rams are tough, but against the elite they just seem be a play or two away from coming away with the wins they need. Matt Stafford and the offense played excellent against one of the league’s best defenses on the road. However, burning that timeout with under 20 seconds left was very costly, and would have given the team another shot at the end zone to win the game. I am getting a little tired of the “win or lose, the Rams played a great game” narrative. It’s a frustrating loss because they did outplay a Super Bowl contender. However, if they can keep Kupp and Stafford healthy, this is looking more and more like a playoff team, that might even be able to win on wild card weekend.

Meanwhile, the Chargers reminded us that they just aren’t a very good football team, after getting handled by the Broncos. The Bolts don’t have the ownership and they don’t have the coaching. They do not have a healthy quarterback either, with Justin Herbert suffering a fractured index finger in yesterday’s game. Brandon Staley cannot convert a 4th down to save his life these days. He must have some junior high intern doing his analytics here, because he converts about 1% of the time in those situations. At this point, they can definitely kiss their playoff chances goodbye this year. Not only are the Bolts much closer to a Top 5 pick than the playoffs, but with Herbert missing time, they are actually poised for a very high first round pick. If only they could trade that pick for both new ownership and coaching!

I can’t blame Caleb Williams for skipping out on the Holiday Bowl, and neither should you. Williams could be the #1 pick in this spring’s NFL Draft, and even if he isn’t, he’ll be high enough to warrant not playing. With that being said, this is just a reminder that outside of the playoff teams, these are simply glorified consolation games, no matter who cool we try to make them sound. Frankly, I’m astonished the Holiday Bowl even took the Trojans with 5 losses. In any case, it will be a great opportunity for the Trojans to audition Miller Moss for QB next season, although in reality, they will probably land a big name in the transfer portal.

At some point these near upsets UCLA is pulling off against teams won’t matter. It’s not helping their NCAA Tournament resume. This time it was a loss against Villanova. They are also in the “other receiving votes” category, but good enough to help the Bruins resume had they won. They failed to defend the 3-point line, failed to play with toughness, and made a number of mental mistakes like not boxing out, which cost them. We can talk about potential all we want, but we’ve really reached the point where if the Bruins don’t win these games quickly, they are going to find themselves on the wrong side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.

It was great to see Bronny James on the court yesterday make his debut for USC. It was also incredible to see the line of fans waiting outside of the Galen Center to watch his debut. I’m pretty sure most USC fans didn’t realize that they had a basketball team until Bronny showed up. Obviously he’s on a minutes restriction, but he made some exciting plays, and hopefully he continues to get better and overcome his cardiac issue. With that being said, the Trojans have 4 losses, including UC Irvine and Long Beach State. I don’t think this team is all that good, despite the pre-season hype.

December 4, 2023

The Rams are still in the playoff hunt! Yesterday they defeated the Browns at SOFI, pulling away in the 4th, and winning 36-19. The team is now 3-0 since signing Carson Wentz. Just kidding. No they really are 3-0 since then, but Matt Stafford is heating up at the right time, throwing 8 TD’s in that stretch. It’s also helped tremendously getting Kyren Williams back in the lineup. He’s racked up 231 yards and 3 total TDs since his return. Unfortunately Sean McVay stole my joke, that he is probably on his fantasy team, which is why he is using him so much more than his previous running backs. Defeating Baltimore on the road will be tough next week, but if they just win the remaining games they are supposed to (Washington, New Orleans, and the New York Giants), they should have an excellent chance at nabbing the final wild card spot. Remember when everyone thought the Rams were going to tank at the beginning of the season? I guess everyone forgot that McVay can actually coach, Stafford can actually play QB, and Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp are still around.

Meanwhile, the Chargers were desperate for a win and got one against the lowly Patriots. I’ve seen more scoring at junior high dances than what we saw on display yesterday at Gillette Stadium. This week we won’t beat up on Brandon Staley because it was the rain that held the offenses in check. His defense actually did the job, even if it was against the lowly Patriots that made him look like Vince Lombardi. Nothing is more Chargers than covering a 5.5 spread with 6 points. Next week is an absolute must win against Denver, given that they are chasing them in the standings for a playoff spot. It would certainly help if they can run the ball more effectively. You would expect more in this department from a team with Austin Ekeler. The Bolts are still 2 games back of the final playoff spot in the AFC, but they need to leap over 5 teams with 5 games to play to get there. I’m not even sure Jim Carey would say “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” in this case.

The Lakers took care of the Rockets on Saturday at Crytpo.com arena, but I still don’t know what to make of the team. On one hand, I’m getting very tired of their excuses. They built this team with depth to withstand injury, and they did last spring. On the other hand, missing Rui Hachimura and Jared Vanderbilt is nothing to sneeze at. 12-9 is certainly much better than where they were last year, and still better than the likes of the Warriors and Clippers. However, they still have a lot to figure out. There was once a time where most Laker fans would have given up the Lakers girls and Dyan Cannon for just one good wing player. Now suddenly, the Lakers have 3 or 4 solid ones, and maybe even some reliable 3-point shooting. That includes D’Angelo Russell, and for all his flaws, he’s actually playing really well. In fact, the assumption that D’Lo will get moved has overshadowed how well he’s actually playing. I’m also even warming up to the idea of this in-season tournament, because if the Lakers play more meaningful games, it will help them build that chemistry and cohesiveness they are working towards much faster. We’ll see what that looks like on Tuesday against the Suns in the quarterfinals.

As for the Clippers, it looked like they were building some chemistry a week ago, but they are still struggling to put the pieces together after the James Harden trade. Sure they beat the Warriors, but they have their own problems, giving away leads consistently because they apparently think they need to be generous during the holiday season. Russell Westbrook is also becoming a problem too, with James Harden acknowledging that Russ is frustrated with his lack of minutes. Oh, so suddenly Russ could be a problem? I was told a week ago by the PR spin doctors in the Clipper corporate office that it was all his suggestion to go the bench and that it was totally selfless. Suuuuuure. I think they will continue to find ways to score, but I don’t see them having the size or the defense right now to be truly elite. That might ultimately hurt them. More than anything though, Kawhi, PG, and Harden have to figure out how to efficiently divide the basketball among the three of them.

In baseball, the Winter Meetings are getting underway this week. These reports on Shohei Ohtani are telling us absolutely nothing. I expect better from the likes of Jon Morosi and Bob Nightengale, than to tell me he’s going to sign “sometime between now and Christmas, but it could also happen in the next week or later.” If it is really coming down to the Dodgers, Angels, Blue Jays, and Cubs, this is simply about using other teams for leverage against the Dodgers. I don’t believe for a second Ohtani wants to play in the Midwest or Canada. I also don’t believe for a second that Arte Moreno can outbid any of those teams. If the Dodgers get Shohei Ohtani, great, but that better not impact their ability to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They desperately need him as their front of the rotation starter. Super smart move by Joe Kelly to agree to a deal with the Dodgers, in case Ohtani signs after him. He can sell his #17 to Ohtani for a Kings Randsome!

There’s also some news about the Angels. With the flurry of moves they made toward the end of the season, they stayed under the 2023 Luxury Tax Threshold. This will save Arte Moreno tons of money. I’m sure Angel fans everywhere are relieved that Arte will now be able to feed his family with all the money he saved, since he acts like he owns a poverty franchise. I’m also amused when I hear the Angels name in any trade rumors involving good players. They don’t have a farm system good enough right now that would allow them to even get a picture of a good player sent to them, let alone a good player.

What a complete disaster week for UCLA. They decide not to fire Chip Kelly, instantly Dante Moore enters the transfer portal, and they lose their OC D’Anton Lynn to USC. It’s hard to feel bad for the Bruins though. They made their beds with the decision to keep Kelly, and now they have to sleep in it. This is where the alumni need to step up and make their voice heard. And by alumni, I don’t mean Casey Wasserman, who had the bright idea to keep Chip Kelly. Thanks to him, UCLA is going to lose its highest recruit ever. This is just a reminder that UCLA is not serious about having a good football program.

I don’t know what the hell happened to UCLA Basketball against UC Riverside, but they were nearly embarrassed. Had they lost, they probably wouldn’t have been allowed back in Westwood again. I don’t care about the injuries either. There is no world where the UCLA Bruin Basketball team should ever lose to UC Riverside unless prime Michael Jordan is playing for the Highlanders. In any case, it’s a good thing the Bruins don’t play until December 9th because they need the time to get healthy.

Finally, the last 4-Team College Football Playoff was announced yesterday. With Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama getting in. That leaves Florida State with the biggest gripe for not getting in. It’s like George Kostanza himself picked the four teams. However, it’s also a reminder that College Football isn’t always about the results on the field. The Champion has never been determined in the most fair way, even with what we thought were improvements to the system. Next year might get a little better with 12-teams, but then we’ll still be debating what 9-3 teams should be invited to the party.

November 27. 2023

The Rams dismantled Arizona yesterday afternoon 37-14, and Matt Stafford threw 4 TD passes. That was pretty much how I envisioned the Rams winning most of their games this season, but ironically, it’s been their defense that has gotten them most of their wins. Yesterday though, it’s fair to say that it was both the balance of offense and defense that got them the win. It was nice to see Kyren Williams back in the lineup and looking very effective again. Darrell Henderson must be looking for a Sean McVay voodoo doll after this. The Rams have tossed him to the side over and over again. The Rams are still very much in this playoff chase with 6 games left. They’ll have to win the games you expect them to in Washington, New Orleans, and New York. However, they’ll also have to come up with one win against somebody unexpected that is San Francisco, Cleveland, or Baltimore.

As for the Chargers, they were really held in check by the Ravens last night at SOFI. I can’t say I’m surprised because the Ravens are a Super Bowl Championship level team. However, in typical Charger fashion, they made some head scratching decisions. How many times are they going to throw screen passes to 31 year old Keenan Allen, which resulted in nothing?
Quentin Johnston is allergic to catching footballs. I think it’s safe to say the Bolts aren’t as bad as everyone thinks. They are actually much worse! Of course we’ve talked about it ad nauseum, but it’s coaching. Justin Herbert is quickly becoming Matt Stafford in Detroit with Brandon Staley coaching him. The Chargers feel closer to getting a top 5 draft pick than a playoff spot this season.

Nothing could be more UCLA Football than losing to Cal after beating USC. This is a perfect reminder what you get with Chip Kelly. One step forward and one step backward. This man is 34-34. The team is practically burning money for a has-been coach that is giving them average football. The transfer portal opens up on December 4th. There’s a lot of questions about Dante Moore, not to mention, who else might be available to help UCLA improve. However, I’m wondering if we can somehow put Chip Kelly and his bloated salary in the transfer portal and get another coach!

In the NBA, things are looking up for the Lakers. They’ve won 7 of their last 9 games, and they are getting healthier. They’ve been doing this without Jared Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, and recently Cam Reddish, who have all turned out to be excellent defenders. Yes, even Cam Reddish, who I suggested should be playing in China not long ago, but then he got his act together and start balling before getting hurt. Even once they get those 3 players back, there’s still a higher ceiling they can get to. Anthony Davis is playing well, but he can still become closer to the Anthony Davis we saw in the bubble, or even at the beginning of last year. Austin Reaves is also getting better, and has yet to reach his ceiling. Right now, I don’t care about the trade rumors. I’m convinced this team needs to work with what they have, because they have what they need.

As for the Clippers, they are trying to figure things out with James Harden in the mix. They did manage to blow out the Mavericks on Saturday, but they have to be a little concerned with that fact that almost half of their wins have come against the Spurs. Since the Harden trade, it seems like Paul George has been the least impacted, and been very consistent with his play. On the other hand though, Kawhi has been very hot and cold, and Russell Westbrook has struggled since going to the bench. Something else to watch out for is if Westbrook suddenly doesn’t become as vocal of a leader in a reduced role, since Harden, Kawhi, and PG, aren’t exactly great vocal leaders. Harden still doesn’t look super comfortable either, shooting just 34% from three. On the bright side, the strip club industry is thriving with the Beard in town!

Everybody is trying to tell you that the worst kept secret in baseball is Shohei Ohtani going to the Dodgers. Although it’s a possibility, I am by no means confident that it’s going to happen. Mostly because the Dodgers typically are risk averse when it comes to giving out long-term deals. Even with money to spend, that’s not really how they operate, with rare exception. More than anything though, I’d like to see the Boys in Blue aggressively go after pitching this off-season. Not only can they sign a starter like Yoshinobu Yammamoto, but they can also trade for an elite one like Corbin Burnes or Tyler Glasnow. It’s probably time to take their farm system depth, and turn it into some reliable major league production.

Meanwhile, the Angels are trying to figure out how to improve their team, but the reality of it is, there isn’t much they can do. The Halos have $73 million committed next season to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. Both of them at this point are nothing more than part-time players, and Rendon is much less than that now. Once again, the Angels lack pitching, and pitching costs money and prospects. The Halos have none of that. Their prospects couldn’t even get them James Harden in a trade. This has become such a roster disaster, you have to ask yourself if re-signing Shohei Ohtani is a sound baseball move for them, considering they would be devoting their payroll to three players with very little resources remaining to improve their team. Of course Arte Moreno only cares about the business and marketability of Ohtani, and not about winning. The three of them would have to be in the lineup nearly every game to give the team a fighting chance. Yet the best Perry Minasian could offer was he expects them to be in the lineup “more often than not”. Very reassuring!

On one hand, I’m impressed that UCLA Basketball appears to be much better than everyone thought. All these Euros are making UCLA look like they might be a top 10 team, and team with the potential to win the PAC-12. With that being said, the close losses against Marquette and Gonzaga are a reminder that in big games, they seem to fall short. They are always right there, with a play or two away from conquering the elite. Yet, the execution in these games just isn’t there. The kids are talented, but they are different in all these runs. The common thread? It’s Mick Cronin. He’s a great coach, his team defends well, but there’s a few things he can improve on in these games. He has to trust his depth, and he has to be a bit more creative with some of the offensive play calling. These are the differences in these games that can get the Bruins over the hump.

Finally, on the ice, I’m sure many of you are going to be calling me out for not issuing an apology letter to the LA Kings. I admit, they are playing great hockey, and off to one of their best starts in franchise history. Yes, I’m especially impressed that they have a top 5 defense and a top 2 penalty killing unit, while also having a top 2 offense. With that being said, it’s November. The Kings had a great regular season last year, only to get punked in the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row by the Oilers. If the Kings can keep this up in the spring, they will likely be real cup contenders, then they will get my apology letter. Otherwise, it will be same old Kings.

November 20, 2023

The Lakers fought their way to a win over the Rockets last night. They are now two games over .500. Lebron has been ballin, but I wish he didn’t have to expend so much energy in these wins. He’s in year 21, and he can still carry a team, but depending on any 38-year-old to carry your team is a dangerous game. I don’t know who needs to hear this but the answer for the Lakers isn’t trading for Zach Lavine. This guy is a nice player, but you’re going to have to trade D-Lo plus a lot more for him, crushing your depth. Lavine isn’t so much better than D-Lo to give up those kind of assets and draft capital for him. I won’t even bother addressing the idiots suggesting giving up Anthony Davis for Lavine either. Unless somehow Donovan Mitchell becomes available, the Lakers will need to just work with what they have, and find a way to build the momentum they had last year. That team didn’t reach their ceiling, so there’s still room for improvement.

Brilliant master PR class by the Clippers last week. They had to let the the world know that it was Russell Westbrook who told the coaching staff he wanted to come off the bench and sacrifice. Yea ok guys, sure thing. Especially after Russ didn’t speak to the media after the Clippers beat the Rockets on Friday. The Clippers are definitely playing better in the last couple of games with Harden in the lineup, but the offense is still very clumsy looking, with all these guys playing “your turn, my turn” offense. That will only get you so far, but let’s see if this team can develop any kind of chemistry in the coming weeks before getting too far behind in the Western Conference standings.

To baseball, where we should all just be prepared for stupid things to happen in this offseason. Aaron Nola is a 30 year old pitcher who gives you some moments, and he signed a 7 year $172 million contract with the Phillies. If he’s worth $24 million a season, I’m sure Blake Snell, Yoshibobu Yamamoto, let alone Shohei Ohtani, will get stupid money. However, it’s just the going rate if you want to improve your ball club right now. Even someone like Dylan Cease, who the Dodgers are reportedly trying to trade for, would cost crazy amounts of prospects because of his cost control. That sounds crazy, but not as stupid as the rumor the Dodgers could trade for Mike Trout. Why? So they can add a guy making boat loads who is never available? I don’t believe that one for a second.

In College Football, USC laid an egg against UCLA on Saturday at the Coliseum. They looked totally unprepared from the start. For USC to finish the season 7-5, and likely headed to some garbage Las Vegas Bowl, that couldn’t be more disappointing for them and their fan base. It’s also devastating for Caleb Williams, who has probably played his last game at USC and is going to the NFL. Lincoln Riley has tons of work to do, namely adding defense, discipline, toughness, and a running game to his program. That could be tough in the short run when going to the Big 10. As for the Bruins, it was a nice win, they played with desperation, as if their coaches job was on the line. While I give Chip Kelly credit for having his boys prepared, I still thinking keeping him as coach is ridiculous. This isn’t what the Bruins signed up for with him when they decided to pay him $30 million. No top recruits at all. If they are content as a perennial bowl program that stays within the rules and graduates players at a high rate, they can do that without having a coach that is so expensive. Kelly also isn’t even personable with the media and the UCLA community either, which is tough to deal with when you’re just a mediocre coach. Plus if Dante Moore enters the transfer portal, that blame squarely falls on Chips shoulders.

In the NFL, the Rams pulled out a gutty win against the Seahawks yesterday. Matt Stafford took a massive hit, yet somehow recovered in time to help LA win. However, Cooper Kupp injured his ankle, and could miss some time. This team feels like it’s being held together but duct tape and super glue, yet they are still in the NFC Playoff chase with a 4-6 record. The Packers, Vikings, and Seahawks all seem very vulnerable in the standings, but I feel like the Rams are going to be kicking themselves from those losses to the Packers and Steelers the last few weeks. I sure hope Sean McVay can find a way to better protect Stafford, who has the mobility of a sub-zero refrigerator, over the next couple of weeks. Otherwise, he’s going to get lots of aggravation watching Carson Wentz take every snap.

Can we stop pretending like the Chargers are going to do something with this “super talented roster” we keep hearing about? The Bolts fell to 4-6, and only have a better record than two AFC team: the Titans and Patriots. They made Jordan Love look like Dan Marino, and they once again, could not hold onto a lead. Love became the fifth quarterback this year to throw for at least 300 yards against them. Losing Joey Bosa to a foot injury won’t help their cause, but they have bigger problems than that. Brandon Staley is now having meltdowns both on and off the field, snapping at reporters who question the quality of his defense. Staley claims that they are losing because of other mistake the team made, such as offensively, but he’s forgetting the fact that he’s supposed to be a defensive coach. I don’t care how good Justin Herbert is, if they can’t slow down the opposition’s passing attack, they are going to be watching the playoffs from the couch.

Elsewhere around the NFL in Week 11, the Ravens and Bengals played the worst game of all-time on Thursday for Fantasy Football Owners. Joe Burrow and Mark Andrews injuries, also hurt the NFL product too. Russell Wilson and Courtland Sutton turned into Tom Brady and Randy Moss at the end of the Broncos win over Minnesota. The Bears defense was so bad against the Lions, they might have stood a better chance using cones instead of lineman against Jared Goff. The Giants are going to petition the league to see if they can play against the Commanders every week from here on out. Meanwhile, Zach Wilson couldn’t do anything right yesterday: missing receivers, tripping over himself, running into Robert Saleh and taking him down, as well as getting tea bagged by his opponents.

Finally, everybody is talking about NFL sideline reporter Charissa Thompson’s claim that sometimes she has to make up stories while reporting on the sideline because sometimes the coaches won’t talk to her. She will not receive any blowback from her employer about this, nor should she. She also shouldn’t receive criticism from her peers, who are complaining the most. It’s like they are upset because they think we’re suddenly going to realize that so many people in journalism aren’t really telling us the facts, but just make up their own news anyway. The lines between journalism and opinions have become extremely blurred, to the point where you basically have to do your own homework to determine what’s factual and what isn’t. This goes way beyond sports, and is just part of journalist in general these days. I don’t love it, but what are people so upset about, pretending like this is earth shattering news? Frankly, Thompson’s made up stories, are still probably way more real than many of the other stories we hear throughout the sports world. Sorry journalists, the jig is up!

November 13, 2023

The Lakers beat the Blazers last night, but they are so obnoxious right now. When you hear Lebron, AD, and other members of the team talk, they act like it’s injuries that are responsible for their mediocre start. Sorry but that’s a lame excuse. They re-signed all these guys for continuity. This same supporting cast led the Lakers to the playoffs last season with Lebron and AD coming in and out of the lineup. Now suddenly they can’t play? Before last night the Lakers were +53 with Lebron on the court, and -77 with him off the court. In 81 minutes with Lebron and AD on the court together the Lakers are -78. This team is just lazy, unfocused, and their coaching staff is giving away games to experiment with lineups. The worst part about it is in this particular stretch, they should be banking tons of wins because their schedule is softer than Charmin toilet paper. No the answer isn’t trading for Kyrie Irving, or wrecking the team for some third star. It’s just being focused.

Meanwhile, the Clippers have lost 5 in a row, and are struggling to fit James Harden in with their team. I’m not saying it’s not going well, but the Clippers are a -28 with Harden on the floor so far. Now, Ty Lue is staggering the minutes of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and Harden. That’s actually even worse because it’s prolonging the time it’s going to take for these 4 to build chemistry together. The bigger concern though if it does take a long time for these guys to build chemistry, will Harden complain and start sitting out again? It sounds ridiculous, but nothing would surprise me anymore with this guy.

To baseball, where the hot stove is heating up with all the off-season rumors. Nothing has happened yet, but there’s tons of speculation around the Dodgers. We know Shohei Ohtani is going to be pursued, but acquiring pitching has to be a priority. Tony Gonsolin will miss 2024, Dustin May might miss most of it. Clayton Kershaw, even if he returns, will miss half the season, and Walker Buehler is going to be on an innings limit. That means Japanese 25-year-old Yoshinobu Yammamoto needs to be signed, and if they can trade for Corbin Burnes, that would fix a lot. I know everyone wants them to re-sign Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner, but I don’t really see either one. Bellinger’s best years are behind him, and after one respectable bounce back season, the Dodgers shouldn’t pay him big money. Besides, they have James Outman, who is young, cheap, and improving daily. As for Turner, yes he can hit, but he’s not the defender he once was. The Dodgers can do better with finding a younger, more athletic, infield bat.

As for the Angels, they hired Ron Washington as their new manager. This one is actually somewhat impressive for the Halos. Washington is a real name that has led a team to the World Series. However, that was a decade ago, and baseball has changed since then. It’s a much more analytics driven game, and managers have even less control now than they used to. In some ways this reminds me of the Joe Madden hire. Madden had success with the Cubs, but the game changed a lot by the time he got to the Angels. That’s exactly where we are with Washington. I’m sure the Angels celebrated his hire by taking him out to Zankou Chicken and having Washington pay for Arte and Perry Minasian’s meal.

The Chargers looked fantastic on offense yesterday, but equally as atrocious on defense. I was told Brandon Staley was a defensive coach. So much for that. Big plays were again a problem Sunday as the Lions generated eight that netted at least 20 yards. If you have a defense with Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Derwin James, you shouldn’t be getting gashed like that repeatedly. I guess this is what happens when you can’t play the Jets and Bears every week. The Bolts have 8 games left, and the have 5 teams to climb over to get to the playoffs. Considering they have to play the Ravens, Bills, and Broncos in that stretch, I have a hard time envisioning this team get into the playoffs, let alone finish the season over .500.

The Rams are in the midst of a bye week, and they definitely need it. They signed Carson Wentz last week, which I don’t expect to go well. Wentz may look like Prince Harry, but he certainly doesn’t have much going for him as an NFL quarterback anymore. This also goes to show you just how concerned the Rams should be about Matthew Stafford. What’s really a shame is that Stetson Bennett is out for the season for some kind of personal reason. That kid looked like he had some promise to develop behind Stafford and maybe even a quarterback of the future for this team.

It turns out that firing Alex Grinch wouldn’t instantly solve USC’s problems. The Trojans got beat by Oregon on Saturday, which ended their hopes of playing in the Conference Championship game. The result was not surprise given how USC has played the last month, but the game was very symbolic of most of USC’s season. Poor execution on defense, Caleb Williams was under pressure, and the team was very undisciplined. I’m sure it’s disappointing for the Trojans, who badly need to beat UCLA next week just to save some face for Lincoln Riley. There’s a lot of larger picture questions to be answered after this year, and if Caleb Williams departs for the NFL, quarterback will be one of them once again, in addition to the defensive issues they’ll need to solve.

Then there’s the Bruins, who lost a shameful game at the Rose Bowl to Arizona State. I’m sorry but there are simply no excuses to lose to a team with nothing to play for, that basically gave up on their season weeks ago. Even if UCLA was missing it’s top two quarterbacks, their talent is head and shoulders better than ASU’s. This is all on Chip Kelly. When the Bruins decided to fork over millions for him to be their head coach, this was not anywhere close to the expectations. In fact, the results have arguably been worse than the previous two regimes, yet they are burning so much more money. Even worse was the extension they gave Kelly about 10 months ago. How you can possibly think that things will get any better with Kelly as the coach when they are headed to The Big 10 next year? Martin Jarmond is going to have a lot of questions to answer to the Bruin alums.

At least UCLA can feel a little better about themselves because basketball season started. The Bruins are 2-0, albeit against 2 underwhelming opponents, but right now they’ll take the wins any way they come. So far, it’s very hard to know just what this team is, as they have a very European look to them. Adem Bona looked like a beast in the first game, and just an average player on Friday. The same can be said for Dylan Andrews, who was way down against St Francis- PA, and way up against Lafayette. The guys I’m most interested in seeing what they are though are Lazar Stefanovic and Aday Mara. Stefanovic played well against Lafayette and logged 35 minutes. He wasn’t all that efficient but he was looking for his shot more than the first game, and appeared more comfortable. Aday Mara on the other hand looks very out of place so far, so he looks like he’s a little bit away from making any meaningful contributions. Honestly, the best thing about this team is the unknown. Then again, it’s also the worst.

November 6, 2023

That was just an embarrassing loss by the Rams yesterday against the Packers. I haven’t seen anything so humiliating since last week against Dallas. Brett Rypien looks like some guy the Rams pulled out of the stands to play QB. Les Snead couldn’t have swapped their 6th and 7th round picks with Arizona for Josh Dobbs? He’s a far better option as a back-up. Was a great move by Minnesota in attempt to salvage their season. The Rams needed to give the ball to Darell Henderson and Royce Freeman about 35-40 times yesterday to win, but instead, they got behind and needed Rypien to throw it 30 times. It wasn’t just Stafford’s injury that hurt, as Tyler Higbee was banged up, linebacker Ernest Jones and right tackle Rob Havenstein were out too. The defense actually held up yesterday, but the Rams aren’t going to be able to win if their offense is that inept. No need to overthink this though. It’s not coaching, like Samuel L. Jackson tried to point out on Twitter yesterday. It’s injuries. It stinks, but that’s how it is sometimes and you need to accept it.

I’d just like to point out that when the Chargers wake up this morning, they are going to be looking at the AFC West standings and see the Raiders with more wins than them. That’s right folks, the Las Vegas Raiders, who currently don’t have a coach or GM. I know what you’re thinking folks. Having Brandon Staley as your coach is like basically not having a coach, but that wasn’t the expectation coming into this season. Tonight will be a very interesting test for the Bolts against the Jets and their tough defense. Something to watch tonight will be what the Chargers do offensively after halftime. They’ve scored only one touchdown over their past four second halves. That can’t continue if this team is going to go anywhere in 2023.

To College Football, where it finally happened. USC lost to Washington, but Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch was relieved of his duties. Apparently giving up 571 yards of total offense and extinguishing any remaining hope of a PAC-12 Title was the final straw. By almost every available metric, USC has one of the worst defenses in college football. Through 10 games, the unit has given up 34.5 points per game, on pace for the worst mark in school history by a wide margin. The real issue though is the lost opportunity for the Trojans, as their defense struggled in the last month of last season, giving up 2,000 yards in the last month before losing in the Cotton Bowl to Tulane. The signs were there, but Lincoln Riley didn’t make a change. Had he then, this season may have turned out very different. In the big picture though, Riley will need to fix his defense in a big way if he intends to meet the expectations of USC and their fans.

Then there’s UCLA, which lost to Arizona in the desert on Saturday night. That’s one loss that makes you say “same ol’ UCLA”. The Bruins made so many mistakes, they missed three opportunities in the red zone, and came up empty on two field goal attempts. These are the types of losses that were not supposed to happen when they hired Chip Kelly. Things were supposed to be different. Not only are they not different, things are worse. After 6 years, Kelly would have to win 16 straight to equal Jim Mora & Bob Toledo’s winning % at UCLA (they were both fired after 6 & 7 yrs respectively). He’s 5-28 against teams who finish with a winning record & he enjoys a -294 point differential against these teams. Imagine paying all that money for Kelly, only to lose more games! Where is that GIF of The Joker burning money? The idea that UCLA needs consistency joining the Big Ten and therefore can’t fire him is nonsense when you consider that the only things they’ll ever be under Kelly are consistently out-coached, consistently out recruited, and consistently outplayed.

To the NBA, where the Lakers are not looking sharp at all in the early going. They are 6 games in, and just 3-3. There’s no need to panic, as the win against the Clippers was solid, but there are some disturbing patterns. There’s no urgency to start games, as they’ve consistently trailed by double digits at the end of the 1st quarter every game, and their 3rd quarters are poor too. They also show a complete lack of interest and engagement at times, which we saw on Saturday against Orlando. This team isn’t old. They are actually fairly young outside of Lebron and AD, but need focus and consistency. They are very capable of getting it, even with all their injuries. I’d also like to see the ball in Austin’s hands more to relieve the usage of Lebron, and get him going more. The Lakers next 9 games are against crummy opponents, so they should really be able to reel off 8 or 9 wins, but they need to focus. Injuries are no excuse with their depth. Lebron says the Lakers are like the Steelers, who have been outplayed statistically in all their games but have a winning record. Except the Lakers don’t have a winning record. I get where you’re going with this Lebron, but this is more reasons why kids need to go to college!

As for the Clippers, they finally pulled the trigger on a James Harden trade last week. This is one extremely risky trade for the Clips, which gives them a very high ceiling, but a lower floor, especially in future seasons. The Clips plan on moving Harden to the 2, and having Russ play the point, with PG, Kawhi, and Zubac in the front court. While that sounds great on paper, this isn’t 2016 anymore. Harden is best as a playmaker with the ball in his hands, especially as he’s gotten older. Russell Westbrook is not a great shooter, so floor spacing could be a problem for this group. Plus, when I hear Harden talk, he claims that “he is the system”, which makes me think he’s going to show up in LA and think offensively he will eat first. Only time will tell here if this will work, but we’ll get our first look at the new look Clippers tonight in New York. Harden will also be disappointed to learned that since he’s a Clipper, he’ll get treated as a second class citizen in LA, resulting in getting seated by the bathroom in every restaurant he goes out to.

In baseball, the off-season is upon us. Something tells me, Shohei Ohtani is going to be making a free agent decision in the next few weeks, and maybe even before Thanksgiving. Dude has only had 6 years to decide, so I’m pretty sure he knows what he wants at this point. There was also some Clayton Kershaw news last week, when he announced that he will undergo shoulder surgery, and is hopeful to return to play at some point next summer. Now the question remains if he returns, will that return be for the Dodgers? The man has definitely earned the right to do whatever he wants, and if that is to pitch for his hometown Rangers, the defending World Series Champs, then so be it. However, I still feel like reaching 3,000 strikeouts and finishing his career in a Dodger uniform would be much more meaningful for him. For those of you saying, “He stunk in the postseason, I want him off the team,” Mookie and Freddie stunk in the postseason for 3 games, and you don’t want them off the team. Clayton Kershaw as your #4 starter would actually be pretty nice. I’m sure Andrew Friedman and his computer will make the right decision here.

October 30, 2023

The Lakers are 1-2 to start the season, but I’m not freaking out like many people are. The Nuggets are the defending champions. The Suns may have played without Booker and Beal, but who knows what they are even with them, and the Kings are a very good team. However, the Darvin Ham needs to clean up this rotation quickly. Glad that he is admitting that though. Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood, and Max Christie need more minutes. Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, and Jaxton Hayes need to be chained to the bench for the time being. Austin Reaves also needs the ball in his hand more, and AD has to stop going for offensive rebounds he has no chance of getting, compromising the transition defense. If they can clean those things up, and stop bricking open 3’s, we can stop talking about how many minutes Lebron is playing or not playing, and the guy can actually get some rest.

The Clippers on the other hand have not had a difficult schedule to start the season, and they’ve mostly taken care of business, winning 2 of 3. They did have a hiccup on Friday against the Jazz, which can happen in the Western Conference. There’s really no truly “easy nights”, even against the likes of the Blazers, Jazz, and Spurs, but none of those 3 I would expect to be in the playoffs. The rumors around James Harden continue to persist though. Both the Clippers and the Sixers seem to have drawn a line in the sand, but for the Sixers, it’s getting way more uncomfortable than I imagined, and Harden may get his way with a trade. Whether or not that trade is to the Clippers remains to be seen.

That was definitely a rough day for the Rams yesterday, who fell to 3-5 after getting blown out by the Cowboys. The worst of it though is Matt Stafford suffering a thumb injury. If he’s out for any extended period of time, you can kiss this season goodbye. However, if that is the case, the Rams should seriously considering tanking to get a higher draft pick. They might not be in the Caleb Williams or Drake Maye sweepstakes right now, but they could be very soon, even if Stafford is out for the next say, 4 games. The Rams defense really got obliterated yesterday though. Dak Prescott looked more like Dan Marino with all those darts he was throwing to CeDee Lamb.

As for the Chargers, the heat is off of Brandon Staley for a day after beating the Bears on Sunday Night. This game also goes to show you that even with a busted middle finger and bad coaching, Justin Herbert is still really good and able to throw TD passes. Austin Ekeler looks like he’s healthy again too, which was much needed. Unfortunately, the Chargers can’t play the Bears every week, although I’m sure they will petition the league to do so. They’ll get the Jets next week who are feeling really good about themselves, followed by the Lions at home.

To College Football, where USC escaped against Cal over the weekend. They dropped 50 points on them and you would think they would have blown them out but nope! The defense is still horrific. You have to love at this point on National broadcasts, that there is speculation that Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch has compromising photos of Lincoln Riley, since that has to be the only way he still has his job. If you weren’t happy with the Trojans performance yesterday, you’re really not gonna like what happens against Washington, Oregon and maybe even UCLA. How is USC only a 3.5 underdog against Washington? Vegas must be giving away money for free.

Meanwhile, the Bruins put on an impressive display against Colorado over the weekend at the Rose Bowl. It’s the UCLA defense that is most impressive, which has featured a relentless pass rush. Ethan Garbers looked solid, but at some point, I have a feeling that Kelly will go back to Dante Moore, but he’s waiting for the right time to make the switch. With their remaining schedule, UCLA could easily win 10 games, but it might not be enough to get into the Pac-12 championship game with Oregon and Washington still likely to finish as the Top 2 seeds in the conference. Nevertheless, a 10-win season for this group would be impressive.

In baseball, the World Series is going to wrap up this week, and the Dodgers can only look at Corey Seager like an ex-girlfriend, and “the one who got away”. Seager was viewed as a guy the Dodgers liked, but somewhat injury prone and not worth over $300 million. Of course now, nobody is saying that with his production in the World Series. In case we all forgot, Seager actually won a World Series MVP for the Dodgers in 2020, so he gave you all the proof you needed that he was a player worthy of that contract. One way or another, between Seager and Trea Turner, the Dodgers let too much talent walk out the door without replacing it. Hopefully this off-season they will correct that.

Then there’s the Angels, who are trying to find their next manager. The names that are coming up? Torii Hunter, Darin Erstad, and Tim Salmon. What a joke! Since Arte Moreno knows he can’t get any real managers to come run his team, and since he’s cheap, he figures let’s go hire a popular former Angel with no experience, who the fans will get excited about. Unfortunately Mr Moreno, your fans are not as naive as you are. They all know the game you are running, and you’re only making yourself look worse and worse with every decision you make. This will be no different.