February 2nd, 2026

It’s that time of year again! The time where you’ll get to hear all these bogus trade rumors around the NBA with the trade deadline this coming Thursday. In case you needed more evidence, even Shams doesn’t really have any great insider Laker sources. We heard the Lakers were interested in DeAndre Hunter and Keon Ellis, but then they were traded for each other. I don’t think the Lakers are going to do much between now and Thursday unfortunately. They have a bunch of expiring contracts, but they aren’t interested in taking back any money long term beyond this season. They also aren’t interested in giving up any draft capital because they think they might have a shot to trade for Giannis this summer with 3 1st rounders and 2 draft swaps. I don’t think this is a wise strategy though. Giannis seems interested in staying in the East, the Lakers don’t have great contracts to match salaries, and they have Lebron and Austin Reaves on their team now they can try to optimize, along with Luka. In my opinion, their best shot at getting a star is in the summer of 2027 if the Joker or Giannis make it to free agency then. Until then however, they should be willing to take on contracts through next year to try to make the most of Luka’s prime years. The Lakers are always star hunting first and foremost though, and although I think their mentality should be more about role player team building and culture developing, they could care less what I think and seem to still be focused on the stars.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are unlikely to do anything at the deadline either. The way they are looking at is as though they are back in the mix for the play-in tournament after a rough start to the season. They are old, but if they get healthy and peak at the right time, they believe they can make a run to make the best of their roster. I do think the Clips would have some interest in a player like Ja Morant or LaMelo Ball if the price is right, but so far, the Grizzlies and Hornets don’t seem like they want to unload those players for penny’s on the dollar.

We are on the verge of starting the World Baseball Classic, as well as the Spring Training. This is one of those years where as a Dodger fan, you really aren’t excited about the WBC. The teams biggest star players don’t need to throw more innings or play more baseball after their very long championship season If anything I don’t mind if guys like Shohei, Mookie, Freddie, and the majority of the starting pitching staff gets as light a work load as possible between now and August. That should definitely be the case for Blake Snell, who reportedly may not be ready for opening day, and indicated he will need some ramp up time because his shoulder is still a little fatigued from throwing so much in October. See you in the fall Blake! Rest up!

It looked like UCLA Basketball was really regaining momentum there until their loss against Indiana over the weekend. The Hoosiers are a tournament team as well, but UCLA really needs to pad their tournament resume with more quality wins. I realize they defeated Purdue, but it’s going to take more than that. The loss on Saturday included an impressive comeback before losing in double overtime. You can even argue that UCLA got a little screwed by the refs, but they were also lucky to be in that position in the first place, and had plenty of chances to put the game away before that. On a different note, this idea of Amari Bailey coming back to college for eligibility is insane. I know college sports is turning into the wild west with NIL, but you can’t allow guys to come back after turning pro. This would be a horrible precedence to set.

The LA Kings lost yesterday to the Carolina Hurricanes, but that’s not the story. The real news is their pursuit of Rangers winger Arti Panarin, a 34 year old high scoring Russian, who is on the trade block. Memo to the Kings however: You are a lot closer to a rebuild than a cup. Panarin might help you so score some goals, but he won’t fix all your problems. Just because they have the cap space and the draft capital to make the trade doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

Finally, The Grammy’s went down last night at Crypto.com Arena. There were some entertaining performances. Lady Gaga, Olivia Dean, and Alex Warren were fantastic. Normally I don’t like it when anything gets political because nobody is tuning in to hear the politics. However, in this case I didn’t mind the voicing displeasure against ICE. It’s not really political at this point, it’s just plain human decency. If you missed SNL over the weekend, they actually had a great skit making fun of ICE and the stupidity of those it employees. After hearing from Bad Bunny, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing his performance in the Super Bowl next week! My only complaint about the show is that why can’t any of these people dress normal? Trevor Noah was probably the only guy dressed normally, and he was also really funny. Everyone else was dressed like a complete lunatic.

January 26, 2026

What a disappointing end to the season last night for the Rams in Seattle. The offense was spectacular against a very good Seattle defense. However, in reality these games are won and lost on the margins. You can’t drop a punt inside your 10 yard line, and when you have a chance to score at the 7-yard line to take the lead in the 4th quarter, you have to come away with a touchdown. It also didn’t help that they lost the home field advantage in Seattle a couple of weeks before the playoffs started. The Rams played a great team, they were right there, but they came up short. They should be kicking themselves for all the missed opportunities throughout the season. The good news though? The Rams have boat loads of cap space, tons of draft capital, and Matt Stafford wants to come back. Their first priority needs to be re-signing Sean McVay and Les Snead, because they are cornerstones for the franchise. Once they do that, no reason they can’t contend for a Super Bowl next year as well.

Elsewhere around Championship Sunday, the Patriots took down the Broncos is a very snowy game. That game was very boring and the only interesting thing about it was the weather. Drake Maye actually reached a Super Bowl before Josh Allen. If that doesn’t tell you that wins is a meaningless quarterback stat, I don’t know what else could. The Titans fired Mike Vrabel and in his first year coaching a new team, he take them to the Super Bowl. That is the most Titans result possible. On the other side, going for it on 4th down in the 1st half instead of taking the points to go up 2 possessions with your backup QB is one of the more moronic things I’ve seen a coach do.

What a horrible article that we had to read by Baxter Holmes last week about the Lakers and the Buss Family. That article wasn’t good for anybody. It makes Jeanie look like a selfish tyrant, and makes Jesse and Joey look like they just have an ax to grind with her. I’m sure Jerry would be very disappointed to see what happened to the relationship with all his kids. However, what probably goes unnoticed is that Jeanie took very good care of everyone in her family with the sale, as they each pocketed generational wealth of $500 million. It’s hard for the average person to read that and feel bad for them. It’s actually remarkable the Lakers have had the success they’ve had with the dysfunction they’ve endured internally. Hopefully now that they’ve sold the team, that dysfunction within the organization ends, and maybe she will even have a better relationship with all her siblings in the long run.

As for Lebron and Jeanie’s alleged feelings about him, you can tell he is a bit bothered. James and his agent, Rich Paul, have both said that they have had an excellent partnership. However, he did indicate that you never know if she has really felt that way about him at times. At the end of the day, I’m not really sure that it matters, even if they clear the air. Lebron isn’t going anywhere right now. Whether or not he continues playing for the Lakers after this year depends on if he is willing to play for less money or not, and his relationship with Mark Walter, their new owner.

The Clippers are still surging. They are now 15-3 since December 20th after beating the Nets. When they were 6-21, their goal was to get back to the play-in tournament, and now they are well in position to do that with the pace they are on. They are playing much better defense, and have much more urgency and connectivity than they did earlier in the season. The real question is if they can now continue to surge into the top 6 of the West, which is where I thought they would be when the season started. It looks like a big jump, but with injuries coming into play for a lot of teams ahead of them, I wouldn’t rule it out.

To baseball, where the Dodgers introduced Kyle Tucker last week, but you always have to ask the question: are the Dodgers done making moves this off-season? They lost out on Freddy Peralta to the Mets, but if there’s one thing they still need to do it’s a couple of fringe moves. Those include bringing back Kike Hernandez to solidify the bench, and Evan Philips to solidify the bullpen. Both of those guys are recovering from offseason surgery, but are poised to make a positive impact on the team for another World Series run. Of course you still have to keep an eye on the Dodgers for the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, but it doesn’t sound like at the moment he’s going to be traded.

Finally, the UCLA Basketball team probably saved their season last week with a win against Purdue. The Boilermakers were the #4 team in the country, and UCLA really lacked a signature win. The Bruins are still ranked 7th in the Big 10, and there are 5 teams in the Top 11 that are ranked in front of them. However, when you see how well UCLA played against #1 Arizona and Gonzaga, and how they knocked off Purdue, it makes you more frustrated than anything else. These guys can play with anybody when they are playing great defense, and when Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau are playing like the best players. I’ve talked extensively about whether or not Mick Cronin is the right guy for this, but hopefully he can prove me wrong over the course of the next 3 months.

January 19, 2026

What a wild win by the Rams yesterday against the Bears! There were about 10 times where I thought the Rams were gonna win, and there were about 10 times I thought the Bears were gonna win. Caleb Williams is an absolute magician, and I still can’t believe the play he made at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. I have to say, though the Rams dodged a serious bullet because Sean McVay should not have thrown the ball over 30 times like he did and instead should have ran the ball a lot more against a bad Bears run defense.  Now the Rams are set for a rematch back in Seattle for the NFC championship game next Sunday. Seattle is really tough, but I like the Rams chances to go in there and beat them because frankly, they should have won the last time they played.

Elsewhere around the NFL, you have to feel bad for Josh Allen after seeing the Bills lose to the Broncos over the weekend. Allen played well in a postseason game again, but his team came up short once again. He’s a great player, but he’s gotten some really bad breaks in the playoffs and Saturday night was another example. I still have no idea what is considered a catch in the NFL and what isn’t. As far as I’m concerned that interception in overtime should have been a simultaneous catch and not an interception and that would’ve won the game for the Bills.  I guess the Seahawks thrashing the 49ers wasn’t all that surprising since San Francisco barely has anybody left on their team that’s healthy. However, it does amaze you that the Rams were able to score so many points on the Seahawks defense the last time they played.  Then there’s that Patriot-Texans game, which was pretty boring. The Patriot handled business in bad weather, but neither team looked all that impressive or experienced.

The Dodgers punked the baseball world again last week! They signed Kyle Tucker to a four year $240 million contract to solve their outfield needs.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again you’ve gotta love what the Dodgers are doing! They just won back to back World Series and now they strengthen their team by adding the best closer on the market and the best outfielder on the market this off-season.  Of course the baseball world is completely outraged by this whole thing which is hilarious. I don’t wanna hear anybody tell me this is “bad for baseball“ or that we need more “competitive balance “ in baseball. If you think that you either just started watching baseball in the last two years or you just hate the Dodgers and are spewing some BS for the sake of your agenda.  Baseball has had its best ratings in the last 34 years thanks to the Dodgers dominance, and prior to their back to back championships, baseball had more parity than any other sport in this country.  The bottom line is if you think the MLB needs a salary cap, just tell me you think it’s because you hate the Dodgers or you want a CBA to stop their dominance, but don’t tell me it’s for any other reason.

Meanwhile, the Angels acquired outfielder Josh Lowe from the Tampa Bay rays in a three team trade.  Ironically, they gave up Brock Burke as part of the deal who was a pretty good reliever for them last year. Considering the Angels have been in desperate need for good starting pitching and relief pitching it’s a little bit of a head scratcher. However, I do understand the rationale for the deal to some extent. Lowe is a player who they believe can replace Taylor Ward, who had a great breakout year last season. The problem for Lowe though, he looks like a guy who peaked three years ago and has been battling injuries ever since.  Even more aggravating is the fact that Arte Moreno has just pocketed a bunch of money from getting rid of Anthony Rendon this off-season, but hasn’t reinvested that money in player payroll at all!

In the NBA, the Lakers won last night but they can thank Rich Paul for wrecking their season. Paul continues to run his mouth on The Ringer Podcast with Max Kellerman. He’s obviously a buffoon for suggesting that the Lakers should trade Austin Reaves for Jaren Jackson Jr. If this isn’t actually passive aggressiveness from Lebron to use Rich as his mouth piece, it’s incredibly naive behavior from Lebron and Rich Paul to think that the public won’t think this is what Lebron really thinks. You can’t tell me that this is sitting well with dudes in the Lakers locker rom either and the team chemistry, which if we’re being honest was a lot better befor Lebron came back. Rich Paul likely realizes that if his client, Lebron, wants to continue playing next year, it’s going to have to be at far less than a max salary if he stays with the Lakers. Therefore, you can see the motivation for him to say they should move Austin Reaves, so his client can take up the limited money the Lakers have available, since the the NBA is a salary cap league. Ultimately though, the joke is going to be on Lebron and Rich Paul when he has no choice but to take a $40-50 million pay cut if he wants to play in LA, or even some dump like Brooklyn.

The Clippers are the hottest team in the NBA winners of five straight games and 12 of their last 14. They have now moved into a tie for 10th place in the Western Conference, which is the final play in tournament spot however it’s not all great news anymore. This one is almost felt inevitable, because Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with more knee soreness and is going to be sitting out for a few more games. The Clippers hot streak is largely a result of Kawai playing out of his mind so whether or not they can continue it is in serious question.

I’ve had it with UCLA basketball. The Bruins were up and down again last week defeating Penn State and then losing to Ohio State in a couple of important Big Ten matchups. Don McLean is out here trying to tell me that the Bruins might not ever win the Big Ten regular season championship just because of travel but insists they are still a good team that will be in the tournament and might even win the Big Ten tournament and make a run in the NCAA March madness.  I just don’t see it. This team is way too inconsistent. They are supposed to be a defensive team and they can’t even defend consistently. They also go through very long stretches of critical parts of games where they just don’t score. That’s never a recipe for success against good college basketball teams.  I also feel like I was sold a bill of goods on Donovan Dent. He’s also way too up and down. He can’t shoot threes and can’t make free throws. I’m not sure why he was considered the number one player in the transfer portal last year.

There might not be another franchise in sports that is so out of touch with their fan base than the LA Kings. The entire fan base sees nothing but incompetence at multiple levels of the organization. For some reason ownership does not see that their GM Ken Holland is a fool, nor that coach Jim Hiller doesn’t know what he’s doing.  Sorry but sports is a bottom line business. Are you winning or are you losing? It doesn’t matter if you’re losing close, you’re losing. Don’t sit up there after every hockey game and tell me we were right there! Nobody wants to hear it. Figure out what you’re going to do differently to get those wins. The Kings have done nothing differently to try to get those wins and it’s continuing to cost them in the standings. For instance, I love what Drew Doughty has done for the Kings in his career, but it’s clearly time to play him much less, and eventually move on from him. The good news, though? Doughty is going to be on team Canada in next months winter Olympics. That might actually help team USA’s chances of winning a gold medal.

January 12, 2025

It was ugly, but they got it done. The Rams survived Wild Card Weekend against the Panthers with a 34-31 victory. I know many people will be alarmed by the fact they nearly lost after being 10-point favorites. I don’t think that part is a big deal though. This is the NFL playoffs. Any team can beat anybody in one game. You can also argue that the Rams could have put the game away early, but some unfortunate plays put the Panthers right back in the game. The close margin of victory didn’t both me. What does both me though is the Rams weakness in their secondary and special teams. They cornerbacks don’t seem to have that much size and physicality, so they have shown a propensity of late to get beat. They’ve also had some glaring special teams issues all year, and they reared their ugly head again in the 4th quarter. With all that being said, every team has their issues, but the Rams are still good enough to win a Super Bowl if things break right. Now they get the Chicago Bears on the road in freezing cold temperatures. The Rams haven’t won in Chicago since the Bush Administration, so let’s hope this one is different. I think the Rams should be able to score against the Bears defense. However, Caleb Williams can make big plays and isn’t afraid. The defensive line is going to have to apply a lot of pressure to contain him. I don’t like the idea of Matt Stafford in cold weather and hope it turns out much better than the last time they played there. If Stafford looks anything like he did in the 4th quarter on Saturday, the Rams should be just fine.

Then there’s the Chargers, who got smashed by the Patriots yesterday. I know many of you want to rag on the Chargers for another 1st round exit, but it wasn’t hard to see this coming. This was a patchwork offensive line that had a very hard time protecting Justin Herbert all year, which ended up costing the Bolts yesterday. They also didn’t have many wide receivers that were too productive either. The Chargers have a good quarterback and a good coach. Those two things are hard to find. They should be able to fix their offensive line and their wide receivers. The real shame in this is that this was a year where the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bengals all missed the playoffs, and the AFC felt fairly wide open. However, you can’t do much without a good offensive line, and that was always going to be a problem for this team, once they started getting banged up in the pre-season.

Elsewhere around the NFL, Erin Andrews was looking like Cruelle Deville with that massive fur coat on during the Eagles and 49ers game. When the Eagles get knocked out of the playoffs, America wins! The Bills won a playoff game for the first time on the road since the internet was invented. Is Trevor Lawrence really supposed to be good? Or do we just think he’s going to be good because he has long hair? The Packers gave away that lead to the Bears like they were some 501C3 charity. The idea of playing these playoff games on Saturday and Monday is ridiculous, and creates an unfair advantage for many teams that play the following week. Of course the NFL could care less about fair, and only cares about ratings.

The College Football National Championship game is set! It’s Indiana and Miami. For those of you saying “I told you that Miami belonged over Notre Dame” you’re missing the big picture. Miami was never the issue getting in over Notre Dame. The issue was Alabama getting in. They had no business being the playoff whatsoever. As for Indiana, they have turned things around so much in 3 years, that it makes you wonder if they are cheating. It also makes you think that if they can do that in 3 years, there is no reason Lincoln Riley can’t make USC a playoff team next year with the #1 recruiting class. Do you really envision Riley creating a roster that is as physical as the teams we’ve seen in the playoffs? I sure don’t. In any case, it really should be put up or shut up time for Riley.

In the NBA, you know it must be really nice to not matter and be low key. The Lakers have 1 more loss than the 2nd seeded Spurs, but every talking head will tell you that their season is over. Meanwhile, the Rockets are sinking like the Titanic, the Bucks are a lottery team, the Cavs are an embarrassment, the Warriors stink, the Thunder have been a .500 team for a month, and the Clippers have been the hottest team in the league just to get to the 11th seed. As we’ve told you before, the Lakers are flawed, but they still have a lot of talent and can win a lot of games. They will make things interesting in the standings and in the playoffs. How is Luka Doncic not the MVP? This team is one of the worst in 3-point shooting, bench scoring, and defense, yet they are right behind the #2 seed in the West.

Meanwhile, the Clippers now have 9 victories in their last 11 games. They are back in the mix for the play-in tournament. They are also a good example of how you can turn it around on defense. You can do that simply by communicating better, and hustling back to prevent easy buckets in transition. I do really wonder if the Clips might have an interest in Ja Morant. We saw Trae Young get traded last week for a ham sandwich. Say what you want about Trae being a small guard who is hard to build around. That’s fair, but he is still an NBA All-Star who was traded for very little. The same might be said for Ja Morant, and the Clips are looking to get younger and more athletic. This may also be a turning point for “star players” who are making upwards of $40 million a year. These guys are getting harder to trade, let alone trade for anything of value. That means those types of massive contracts may eventually only be in play for the 5-10 truly elite NBA Players.

Finally, in baseball, I’m getting a little bit skeptical of the idea of Kyle Tucker signing with the Dodgers. His market is dropping quite a bit, and I don’t think he’s going to get anywhere near the $400 million over 10 years or so he wanted to get. He’s just not that type of player. However, what scares me about him is there are questions if he really likes baseball that much. That’s giving me some Anthony Rendon vibes. If the price is right, ok he’s worth a look, but if we’re talking “if the price is right” I’d rather have Bo Bichette or Cody Bellinger.

January 5, 2026

Happy New Year everyone! I know Larry David said the last day to say that was on January 3rd, so I admit I’m violating his rule telling you that. Let’s start with the Rams, who beat the Cardinals yesterday to secure the #5 seed, and a date with the Panthers next weekend for Wild Card Weekend. Obviously most of us are still licking our wounds from the “what could have been” with the Rams potentially being a #1 seed in the NFC. I’ve gotten past all that, and believe the Rams path to the Super Bowl might not be as bad as you think. They will take on arguably the weakest opponent in the NFC playoffs, and potentially get a home game in the divisional round. Plus Seattle and San Francisco could even knock one another out. The Rams would much rather play Seattle than see a Kyle Shanahan team in the playoffs. I’m a bit alarmed at the lack of rhythm we’ve seen from the offense of late, especially yesterday against a poor Cardinals team. However, we’ve see that when this team plays with urgency, they can beat anybody in the NFL. Getting Davante Adams and Kevin Dotson back next week should help with that immensely.

As for the Chargers, there are two ways to look at yesterday’s game. They played their backups against the Broncos and held their own. It actually made me think that the Broncos won’t be around in the playoffs for that long. On the other hand, the Bolts have to travel to New England to face a very good Patriots team. Will they have the ability to protect Justin Herbert? I’m skeptical. Sure they are very well coached and the AFC feels a bit wide open, but this Chargers team is so up and down, you don’t really know what to expect.

This is an interesting stretch for the Lakers. They entered Sunday tied for 4th in the West. There is definitely a perception about this team that they can’t beat the elite teams, and that they can’t defend very well. In this stretch of games they probably won’t be playing anybody that will make you feel differently about that, but that shouldn’t stop them from trying to bank as many wins as possible. The Lakers are banged up, missing Austin Reaves and Luka is hurting. However, so are their competitors like Denver and San Antonio. They can still move back up in the standings in this stretch of games that they will be favored in.

Meanwhile, the Clippers win streak came to an end on Saturday against the Celtics. However, they have made up a lot of ground in the standings. They are now 3 games back of the 10th seed, which would be the final play-in tournament spot. You’ve gotta give credit to Kawhi, because during the Clips winning streak, he became the only NBA player, along with Kobe, to average 40 points, with 50-40-90 shooting splits, and going undefeated in a five game stretch. By the way, Kobe averaged 50 points in that stretch, which is something you would only see while playing NBA 2K. Then of course there’s still the looming investigation of the franchise on salary cap circumvention the league is still working on. Privately, they may not feel great about it, or their overall place in the standings, but for now, they are working with what they’ve got and trying to make the best of the situation.

In College Football, is the glass half full or half empty for the Trojans? Going into the Alamo Bowl, many seemed to think that 9 wins was progress for Lincoln Riley at USC. Many people might not feel the same after losing to TCU in overtime of that Bowl Game. Look, the final play of the game was embarrassing, and I’ve seen Pee Wee football players tackle better than that, but you’ve got to keep something in mind. Bowl Games are nothing more than glorified consolation games, and at this point, many of the 1st and 2nd stringers are opting out of these games. You’re evaluating Riley based on what his back ups are doing. At the end of the day, Riley has to win next year with what is widely considered the best recruiting class in the country. If he doesn’t, many of those players will transfer. Does that mean he is really on the hot seat? I’m not entirely convinced of that, especially after the Trojans moved to a much tougher conference in the Big Ten. You’re only as good as your options, and I don’t currently see any better options out there for USC.

To baseball, where the off-season hot stove is heating up for the Dodgers. Things have slowed down since the signing of closer Edwin Diaz. However, at this point, I am of the opinion that the way the market is shifting, the Dodgers will end up with at least one of Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, Bo Bichette, or Tarik Skubal before spring training. Suddenly Bichette or Tucker seem far more likely than the other two, and if it’s Bichette you would have to love adding a player of that versatility to the Dodgers lineup. Over in the American League, the Blue Jays keep rage spending, and look like they are going to be the best team in the AL. The Dodgers can certainly keep up with that spending though, and don’t be surprised if they do.

As for the Angels, their off-season is just getting more and more disappointing. Their payroll is now $30 million less than last year, and they are doing nothing with it that extra money. They restructured the contract of Anthony Rendon to defer his remaining $38 million over the next 3-5 years. I don’t like this at all, unless they plan to sign some serious players and compete now. Instead, all they have done is sign a bunch of relievers who had terrible years last year: Kirby Yates, Drew Pomeranz, Jordan Romano, and Tyler Saucedo. They’ve been tied to Nolan Arenado, but he’s got another 2 years and $37 million on his contract, so I’ll believe it when I see it. Plus that feels like they would be going from a big money third baseman who does not care about your team or the sport , to a big money third baseman who has declined in production and doesn’t care about your team. In Arte Moreno’s world, maybe he sees that as progress.

In College Hoops, what a disappointing game for UCLA hoops over the weekend against #25 Iowa. I was a believer that this team could get better as the season goes on like many Mick Cronin teams. Instead, they are getting softer and softer as the season goes on, and that couldn’t have been more apparent in the opening half of basketball on Saturday. The bench and 3-point shooting was abysmal. They got the best player in the transfer portal, and although he played a decent second half, he’s been so inconsistent that one would think he might be placing prop bets on Draft Kings every time he takes the floor. A team with Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau shouldn’t be this inconsistent on both ends of the floor. They can’t play good enough defense for long enough stretches, and at the same time they go very long stretches at the most crucial times with offensive droughts. It’s obvious now that the whole is much less than the sum of the parts. Joe Lunardi currently has UCLA as a #9 seed, and I have no idea why. They don’t even have a signature win yet, and the most impressive thing they’ve done is lose a game by a couple of baskets to Arizona.

Speaking of UCLA, I’m not sure how excited the Bruins should be about the news that Nico Iamaleava will be returning to the team next year. For all the hype around him, he was really a very mediocre quarterback from what I saw. To be fair to him though, he had some very inconsistent coaching throughout the season, and may get some better results with Bob Chesney installed as the man in charge next year.

I can’t believe that it’s easier to remove the President of Venezuela from his position, than it is to fire Los Angeles Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller. How mediocre does this team have to be in order to get rid of him? We are halfway through the season, and the Kings are tied for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, a far cry from their desire to be a Stanley Cup Contender. In reality, this team is much closer to another full rebuild and a lottery team than a Cup Contender. A trade? A new coach? I don’t want either. I want a new a new front office before any of that. This coaching staff and front office can’t even recognize who their best player is in Brandt Clarke. They have no idea how to properly develop their young talent like Quinton Byfield, and others who aren’t even in the organization anymore over the past five years. These guys are living in the year 2012. The Kings are acting like Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar are still their best players. Not even close. They have had great careers with the franchise, but those Stanley Cup contending days are long gone. The sooner Phil Anschutz realizes that, the sooner we can move forward.

December 29, 2025

What a very disappointing weekend of football it was for the Rams, even though they don’t even get to play football until tonight. 10 days ago, the Rams were in position to win the NFC West and be the #1 seed in the conference. After last night, the Rams can finish no higher than 5th in the NFC , and the best case scenario is to face Tampa Bay or Carolina on the road during Wild Card Weekend. That seems like a cruel fate for a team that is arguably the best team in the NFL. However, let’s look at the bright side. The Rams can beat anybody, anywhere, on any given day. This team is still elite, and probably has fewer flaws than anybody else. The Rams coaching staff and front office is also going to be really motivated to beat the Falcons tonight because they have Atlanta’s 1st round pick, which is likely to be in the top 10 of this spring’s draft if the Rams take care of business tonight. It might be a tough road, but there’s a scenario here where the 49ers and Seahawks could have to play in round 2 of the playoffs, which means that one of those 2 elite teams would be knocked out of the playoffs before the Rams had to face them.

Speaking of disappointing, the Chargers were extremely disappointing over the weekend, losing to the Houston Texans and failing to move up in the AFC Playoff seeding. Although the Bolts can finish anywhere #5-7 in the playoff seedings, Jim Harbaugh told the media that Justin Herbert will not play next weekend. That means, they are likely to be on the road at New England or Jacksonville in round 1. I suddenly like the Chargers chances of winning that game a lot less than if they were to face the Steelers, especially in cold weather. The real issue for the Bolts is their inability to consistently protect Justin Herbert. That reared it’s ugly head on Saturday against an elite Texans defense, and the way things are going, likely to be the same in round 1 of the playoffs. You never really know what you’re going to get from this team, but obviously their best chance for playoff success is getting Justin Herbert healthy in the next two weeks.

To the NBA, where the Lakers had a very rough Christmas Week, losing three straight games, in blowout fashion. They also lost Austin Reaves again for another month due to a calf injury. The repercussion of that are tough, as Austin probably will not make the All-Star team anymore as a result. If you had any vision of the Lakers trading him before the deadline, that is likely out the window too, although I don’t think that was in the cards. JJ Redick made a lot of noise last week about his team’s effort, talking about how uncomfortable practice was going to be on Saturday, but after hearing him speak that afternoon, I didn’t get the sense that he cracked the whip like he claimed. I think when it came down to it, there’s only so much he can say to these guys, and that they have to want it. At least last night against Sacramento, they did show that they want it with a blowout win. We’ll see if it can continue against the Pistons tomorrow night. I do think the Lakers are often analyzed and over analyzed with every game, so I’m not as down on this team as everyone else However, there is a lot to figure out for this team to maximize it’s potential, of what I believe is the Western Conference Finals. It’s largely improved perimeter defense.

All of a sudden things don’t look so bad for the Clippers. They’ve reeled off 4 straight wins, and against quality opponents. Kawhi apparently was freed of his part-time job as an Amazon worked and dropped 55 points on the Pistons. It’s certainly an uphill climb for this team, but they are only 2.5 games out of the last play-in spot and there’s still more than 50 games of basketball to be played. Although most of us think the Clips should throw in the towel and start trading their star players for draft capital, based on what we are hearing from NBA insiders, the team has rebuffed most inquiring for it’s best players. The next month of the season will be pivotal in determining if they change their stance on that or not.

In College Football, USC will take on TCU in the Alamo Bowl. There’s been some interesting news with the Trojans in the last 24 hours. Lincoln Riley called out Notre Dame for saying they would play USC anytime, anywhere, then failing to follow through. At this point, as a Notre Dame alum, I think there is enough blame to go around on both sides, and I’m hopeful both programs will change their minds to play as early as 2027 (if it doesn’t happen in the playoffs). There’s also the unfortunate loss of Trojan DC D’Anton Lynn to Penn State. This makes too much sense to me, because Penn State is Lynn’s alma matter, and he probably views himself as more likely to eventually be a head coach there.

In baseball, the Angels found a way to completely embarrass themselves once again. They got outbid by the lowly White Sox for Japanese slugging 3rd baseman Munetaka Murakami. Arte Moreno couldn’t even come up with 2 years and $34 million to match the Chi Sox offer, for a position they badly needed help at. Japanese corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto is also still in play, but the Halos have even more competition with the likes of the Padres, Blue Jays, Pirates, and Red Sox all in pursuit. If Arte Moreno can’t even come up with that kind of money to sign young but proven Japanese talents, then you’ve got all the proof you need the Arte has reached the point in his Halos ownership tenure where he just doesn’t care at all about winning. When teams like the Pirates and White Sox are outbidding you, you need to ask yourself if you really should be owning a baseball team.

Finally, the LA Kings finally remembered how to score some goals over the weekend when they took down the Ducks, 6-1. You all know how down on the Kings I have been this year, and it’s no secret how I feel they need to blow up their front office and coaching staff. With that being said, they can thank their lucky stars that Adrian Kempe decided to re-sign with the team because for some weird reason, he likes the organization and being in LA. The man signed an 8 year $85 million contract, and as the teams leading scorer, might just be the teams next captain once Anze Kopitar retires after this year.

December 22, 2025

That was an absolutely brutal loss for the Rams on Thursday night against the Seahawks, and one that could prove quite costly. If the Rams had won that game, they would have had an easy path to secure the #1 seed and home field advantage through the NFC Playoffs. Now without some serious help, they are staring down the barrel of a #5 seed on the road for 3 NFC playoff games just to get to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks and 49ers still have some pretty tough games on their schedule, including having to face each other, so it’s not out of the question the Rams could still get that help. However, they have nobody to blame for themselves for the stupid losses they have suffered. A bizarre loss to Philly on botched special teams, a stupid loss on the final play to an undermanned 49ers team, a loss to the Panthers in which they were double digit favorites, and a loss to the Seahawks after leading 30-14. They still feel like the best team in the league that is the most balanced, but that doesn’t mean anything if they don’t execute. Also, what a week for Puka Nacua! He did a dance that was really a racial bomb, his brother robbed a Laker player, he ripped NFL refs, then reaffirms the ripping of NFL refs and gets fined. He did have 225 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns though, so most fans will probably say he can salute ISIS for all they care.

That was a really nice win for the Chargers yesterday against the Cowboys. The Bolts inched closer to a playoff spot, and believe it or not, they can still get the #1 seed in the AFC. It’s a bit of a parlay, but if they win their last 2 games against the Texans and Broncos, while the Patriots lose 1 of their last 2 to the Jets, or Dolphins, and the Jaguars lose 1 of their last 2 to the Colts or Titans, it can happen. Ok, they might as well buy a Powerball ticket, but winning the AFC West is far more realistic by winning their last two games. The only flaw with this team is that they are extremely dependent on Justin Herbert, not to mention have a hard time protecting him. I realize Herbert has some running ability, but the Chargers would be wise to protect him from himself, and not utilize him as a running back moving forward, like we saw yesterday.

To the NBA, where the Lakers were missing 4 starters on Saturday night, and as a result lost to the Clippers. The Lakers of course are the only team that can be down 4 starters and lose and people will say “hey I told you how much they would suck!”. This team is still very good, but we recognize they have defensive flaws that need to be fixed. Ultimately, the Lakers will need to find a way to beat 2 of Houston, Denver, or OKC to make it to the finals, and probably another tough opponent like San Antonio or Minnesota. They probably aren’t ready to do that today, but could they do that in the spring time? Absolutely. There are certainly ways they can fix their perimeter defense, and acquiring another max player isn’t the answer to that. Hopefully they can get a few of those starters back this week to get back in the win column and keep pace in the West.

As for the Clippers, despite Saturday night’s win, they have a big hole to climb out of just to make the play-in game. Ty Lue said the teams goal is to go 35-20 the rest of the way, which would put the Clippers at .500 for the rest of the season, and around the 10th seed for the final play in tournament spot. That’s a tall task for a team that has played like absolute garbage all year. The Clips have the talent to be better than they are, but they just lost Ivica Zubac for a few weeks to an ankle injury. They also have horrible culture too, and look like a bunch of dudes just there to collect a paycheck. I think the biggest issue for the Clippers is how self conscious they are going to be about their lack of competitiveness if they trade everyone and try to tank. However, they need draft capital to try and rebuild the franchise, and shouldn’t be concerned about just filling a new arena. The team stinks anyway, and they can surely get 1st round capital for Zubac, Harden, or Kawhi. Now I’m sure the rest of the league would rather see them in the playoffs though, to prevent OKC from getting another very high lottery pick.

Some very disappointing news broke this morning, which is that Notre Dame and USC will not be playing football in 2026, and possibly not until 2030. This is a fire-able offense as far as I’m concerned for those involved. However, it’s also the reality of College Football these days with all the re-alignment. In the next 5 years, the entire sport is going to look at lot different from conference rivalries and alignments, to the NIL system. It’s the wild west right now with a lot of change, and that is likely to ruin the rivalries we love in the short term, such as this one. I just knew that Lincoln Riley really didn’t want to play this game anymore given their schedules, and also didn’t really think Notre Dame wanted to play the game in week 0 either. These two teams can always play in the playoffs, which would still be special in a different way, but both teams actually have to get there unlike this year.

To College B-Ball, where UCLA is off to a 2-0 start in Big Ten play, but they will have their work cut out for them. There are 4 other teams that are also off to a 2-0 start in conference play, and all 4 are ranked in the Top 15. The mot impressive thing the Bruins have done so far this season is lose to #1 Arizona by 4 points on a neutral floor. They need to beat a couple of these ranked opponents to help their NCAA Tournament resume. One thing that will help is if Donovan Dent can play more consistently like he did against Arizona State. That would vault UCLA into a whole new level of contention that we haven’t seen in a while.

Let’s go to baseball, where all has been quiet for the Dodgers in the past week. Don’t expect anything big to happen until after the new year. However, we did learn that the Dodgers paid $130 million to other teams this year for revenue sharing, plus another $170 million to other teams for luxury tax penalties. That means their back-to-back championship cost $300 million alone, which was worth every penny. Still, it’s really more of a reminder that baseball is filled with owners who pocket money and don’t give a crap about winning.

For a hot second it looked like the Angels had a shot at Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami. However, he ended up signing with the White Sox, leaving the Halos are hole at 3rd base. Instead, the Halos off-season is just a bunch of dumpster diving pitching pick-ups, that they are hopeful end up turning into winning lottery tickets. The reality of it is that they signed 3 guys that haven’t had much major league success lately due to ineffectiveness and injury. Rumor has it if Nolan Arenado gets bought out they could be in the mix for him, but that would be another cheap solution to help their offense. The Angels did settle the Tyler Skaggs trial, and much to the dismay of the fans, the settlement cost will not force Arte Moreno to sell the team.

Finally, it’s been a very disappointing season so far for the LA Kings. They have the 4th worst offense in the league and the 3rd worst power play. They are barely hanging on to one of the last wild card spots. To make matters worse, their coach Jim Hiller should be coaching in a beer league, and their front office is led by a General Manager who’s last real success came when dial up internet was hot. Things are so bad, Philip Danault, a solid veteran defensive center, who hasn’t scored this year, requested a trade, and the team granted him his wish by sending him to Montreal. The team is certainly no better today than they were yesterday. The only way the team will have meaningful change is if they miss the playoffs entirely, and clean house from coaching staff to front office. Anything less will be simply spinning their wheels. Sadly, we will probably see that instead.

Monday December 15th , 2025

That was another huge win by the Rams yesterday over the Lions. It was really imperative that they got that win to maintain the #1 seed in the NFC. In my mind, Matt Stafford clinched the MVP with that victory. He’s been elite wire–to-wire this season. The offense really looks unstoppable at home because of him, so if the playoffs go through SOFI Stadium, this team has to feel good about their chances of coming out of the NFC. If Devantae Adam’s hamstring is bad, and it sounds like it is, just sit him for the rest of the regular season. There’s really only one more tough game before the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Chargers came away with a huge victory over the Chiefs yesterday, which eliminated Kansas City from the playoffs. You’ve gotta feel bad for Patrick Mahomes, who tore his ACL, and I’m sure that’s what will get most of the headlines along with the Chiefs missing the playoffs. However the Bolts should be commended for how they have gutted through the last few weeks. Justin Herbert has been out there like Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones, with one hand playing quarterback. He’s found a way to be effective, and the team is slowly getting healthier. Two of their last 3 games will be tough, with the Texans and Broncos fighting for playoff positioning. However, I’m really liking the Chargers chances of ending up with the 5th seed and getting a favorable first round game against the Steelers.

To the NBA, where the Lakers got back in the win column last night with a victory on the road against the Suns. That was quite a game with Dillon Brooks impoloding at the end, which basically gave the Lakers the win after blowing a 20-point lead. The blown lead is going to happen in today’s NBA with the 3-point shot. However, people have been knit picking the Lakers and not calling them “true contenders” like Rich Paul and others. Before I get to Rich Paul, let’s start with the roster. The Lakers are a good team. And everyone likes to jump to stone cold-black and white conclusions, because people that cover the NBA are generally simple minded. However, this team can actually improve a lot of their shortcomings with some pieces they have on the roster. Adou Thiero gives the Lakers a component of athleticism and length that they do not have, and badly need. He should be given more minutes with a longer leash to help with their perimeter defense. The same goes for Jarred Vanderbilt, who finally got back in the lineup last night. That will immediately help their defensive shortcomings. The Lakers three best players in Luka, Austin, and Lebron, may not give them the best defensive lineup. However, they can balance this out by playing Rui off the bench to give them more scoring from their 2nd unit, while also adding more defense to the starting lineup with Vando or Marcus Smart. I’m not sitting here telling you they are better than OKC right now, or anybody is. Just don’t sell this team short. As for Rich Paul, he acknowledged Lebron isn’t going anywhere, so what is his end game for saying the Lakers aren’t contenders? I actually think it’s because he knows if the Lakers do win, he can point to Lebron’s legacy and tell you why he’s really the GOAT. However, Rich Paul seems to think Norman Powell and Austin Reaves are on the same level, which makes me think Rich Paul’s basketball intelligence is on the same level as the same fools on Twitter.

As for the Clippers, their complete disaster of a season continues. They’ve got 6 wins on the season, and have lost 3 in a row. Only 5 teams have more losses than them, and the Clips are playing these last few games very hard, including Kawhi Leonard. The problem is they are old, and they can’t play defense. Then the media tried tell everyone that the Clips didn’t make Ty Lue available after their last loss. He was available, but what that exposed is that there are no more local beat writers traveling with the team. Sure that is a trend in sports media with cost cutting, but let’s be honest. The Clippers haven’t earned that level of coverage with the way they are playing. Their coverage is a product of the unfortunate fact that very few people actually care about them, which Steve Ballmer really isn’t going to want to hear.

To College Ball, where UCLA suffered another loss to Gonzaga over the weekend. It’s the same story with this team in close games. They look competitive. but not quite enough to beat the elite teams in the sport. This time it just felt like UCLA could have lost by more had Gonzaga just made more of their free throws. Nevertheless, I see too much talent on this team to just be the 25th ranked team in the country, and one that at this point, will struggle to finish in the Top 4 of The Big Ten Conference. Then there was also the announcement that Mick Cronin received a 5-year extension. That can’t sit well with the Bruins alums, who are probably thinking they will be buying him out in 2 years from now, which will be more expensive. As I said to you last week, Cronin is a good coach, but stylistically, he is becoming further and further from the coach that is the right fit for the Bruins.

In baseball, if you’re a true Dodger fan you have to feel so privileged to be witnessing this. The Dodgers signed closer Edwin Diaz to a 3 year deal last week, which gives them the best closer on the market, when they badly needed a closer. This franchise is solely focused on winning and giving it’s fan base an elite product. I commend the entire Dodgers ownership for this, as well as Andrew Friedman, Stan Kasten, and the entire front office. As if that’s not enough, the Dodgers are lurking for bigger names like Tarik Skubal, Kyle Tucker, or even Cody Bellinger. Nothing can be ruled out with the Dodgers, which makes it that much more exciting! I personally would love to see Skubal and Bellinger, if nothing else, just to see the internet break.

Finally, the LA Kings are barely hanging on to 3rd place in the division. They are struggling to score big time, and they don’t defense as elite as they used to. Now comes a big road trip against the likes of Dallas, Florida, and Tampa Bay. That could mean the end of Jim Hiller as their coach. While you may think this is a good thing, it’s not. I don’t want this front office regime to order my pizza, let alone pick the next coach of this team. Knowing Ken Holland, he will probably be looking in his Rolodex for coaches from the 90’s. This organization is a complete disaster and until there is a complete overhaul from the front office on down, expect much of the same.

December 8, 2026

We start with the Rams, who had a very nice bounce back game against the Cardinals yesterday. Puka Nacua never ceases to amaze me with some of the catches he makes. I would take him over any wide receiver in the NFL. He makes remarkable catches, blocks for the Ram running backs, and can run the jet sweep when needed.  Also encouraging is the fact the O-line came up huge again! No sacks allowed, very few penalties and almost 250 yards rushing! The Rams running backs averaged almost 8 yards per carry! Couple of good tests coming up with Lions and Seahawks again. Somebody hook up Sean McVay to an IV between now and next Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Chargers have a big showdown tonight with the Eagles at SOFI. A win tonight would be huge because it would really put the Bolts in the driver seat for one of the final 3 AFC playoff spots. Not only that, but it would put them in really good position for a favorable first round matchup against the lowly winner of the AFC North. The real question is how is Justin Herbert going to look with a cast on his hand, and whether or not he will be compromised. These aren’t last seasons Eagles though. Their offense has been very inconsistent, and Saquon Barkley hasn’t been the same threat as we’ve seen before. The Chargers need to take advantage of this and get the win.

Let me get to the College Football Playoff, because you all know that as a Notre Dame alum, I’m pissed about yesterday. The moment I saw Alabama stay ranked at #9, I knew the Irish were going to get screwed. I have no problem with Miami being ranked ahead of the Irish because they beat them head-to-head. The methodology with how they wait until the end to put them ahead of Notre Dame is screwy, but the outcome is fine. However, the real issue is Alabama not dropping, after getting dump trucked in the SEC Championship game. “But Omar the games have to count! Well, just not this particular game!” ‘Bama has 3 losses, and the SEC Championship game wasn’t even competitive. What was the committee really impressed with? Their ability to actually score a touchdown in the 2nd half and not get shut out? They lost and should have dropped the way Ohio State and BYU dropped for losing their championship game. The same thing happened to USC in 2022 when they lost to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship game, yet nobody cared then and dropped them from the top 4. The same thing should apply to Alabama, they aren’t special just because they think it’s cool to marry your cousin. And for those of you that think Notre Dame should join a conference, they shouldn’t and will not just because this happened. They make way more money not being in a conference, and the conference system will be obsolete by the time they need to have one. Besides, if you know the history of College Football, you know that long ago Notre Dame was not allowed to join The Big Ten because of anti-Catholicism. Years later, they are sticking it to everyone because they make so much more money not being in a conference. I’m also proud of them for turning down a bowl game. Why let ESPN benefit from ratings from having them in that game, if they won’t be put in the CFP?

As for the local College Football squads, they both made news starting with USC. The Trojans have clinched the #1 recruiting class for 2026, which is the first non-SEC team atop the rankings in 18 years. They added 35 new recruits, with 20 signees rates 4-star or higher. The real significance of this is that the tide is slowly turning in College Football from all this SEC domination. Now paying all these players is above board, when in the south for so many years, they did it under the table, and the owner of the car dealership was paying these kids. Now that it’s legal, it’s the car maker that’s coming up with the deals to pay these kids in the bigger markets. Now for Lincoln Riley, he has to produce immediately, otherwise these kids are going to transfer. The pressure is on. Until then, you can see USC taking on TCU in the Alamo Bowl on December 30th.

Then there’s UCLA, who hired Bob Chesney as it’s coach. This probably isn’t who Bruin fans and alums were thinking about, but it could be a sneaky good hire. Chesney has James Madison University in the College Football Playoff, which the Bruins have only had the luxury of watching on TV every year. Chesney has won at every level, has a track record of developing players, and turning programs around. Can he do that in a P4 conference? Let’s put it this way. If it wasn’t Martin Jarmond that was part of this hiring process, I would have thought it was a spectacular hire.

Speaking of UCLA, in hoops they started Big Ten play last week, and rebounded nicely with two nice wins. After taking down Washington and Oregon, they can feel a little better about themselves. However, that game against Washington was a reminder of where this team can get into trouble. They try to protect leads by playing a prevent offense, and suddenly, their opponents are catching them. This is again, a Mick Cronin issue. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Cronin needs to be fired or anything like that. He’s a good coach, but he needs to adjust. He has great players, but he needs to unleash them on offense and give them more confidence to do what they do. He can still have that and maintain his defensive identity.

To the NBA, where the Lakers found the win column last night on the road against the Sixers. They are back up to the 2nd seed in the West, and look like a very nice team with Luka, Lebron, and Austin continuing to find chemistry together. However, in the background we are starting to hear noise about Giannis Antetekompo. There’s probably a very realistic conversation to be had with the Bucks that works for both teams if Milwaukee really wants to trade him. However, do you really think right now the Lakers would be better off acquiring Giannis, and giving up Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gab Vincent, and 2 1st round picks and 1st round swaps? I sure don’t. Giannis is a great but an aging player, while Austin Reaves is 4 years younger, and suddenly emerging as an all-nba player. I would take a chance on Giannis in two summers from now if I can just sign him with my cap space. By then, OKC will probably be impacted by the salary cap and may not be as strong. Austin Reaves may be even better then too.

Then there’s the Clippers, who now have the 4th worst in the NBA. That’s right, a team with Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac, just can’t string together any wins. They also had some drama with Chris Paul, who they are now in the process of moving on from. CP3 is an outspoken player who holds people accountable, but it sure seems to me like the Clips didn’t want to be accountable at multiple levels of the organization. I do hope he can finish his career with somebody else and not go out like this. It would even be a nice story for him to finish with the Lakers, but I just don’t see how they come up with space on their roster right now. When the season started, it looked like the Clippers were going to try and be competitive for this year and next year. However, now they look like they need to start trading pieces and blow it up immediately to recoup some draft capital. Kawhi probably has no trade value, but Harden and Zubac do. There’s another issue they may have on their hands now though. With the way they traded Blake Griffin and divorced themselves from CP3, superstars may have further doubts about signing with the Clippers, if their objective is to try and rebuild their team through free agency. Kawhi Leonard isn’t actually a good example of a normal superstar who signed with them.

To baseball where the Winter Meetings are going down, and thus far its been a quiet offseason for the Dodgers. They did decide to bring back Miguel Rojas, which was a great move. However, they do need some bullpen and outfield help. Their high end bullpen options are dwindling though with Ryan Helsley, Devin Williams, and Raisel Iglesias off the market. I don’t see them giving lots of years and big money to Robert Suarez or Edwin Diaz, and nor should they give their age. There’s also some rumors according to Bob Nightengale, that the Dodgers are shopping Teoscar Hernandez. If that’s true, I can see why. I like Teo and think he’s been an emotional leader and huge contributor to the back-to-back World Series titles. However, he really wasn’t great defensively and the team does need to get younger. I wouldn’t move him just to move him, but if a team wants to take him and assume his full salary for the last two years, and it allows you to get Cody Bellinger or Tarik Skubal, it’s probably worth considering. Keep in mind though it’s Bob Nightengale, who’s sources aren’t exactly highly reliable.

Finally, the Angels added another cheap pitcher with hopeful upside in Alec Manoah. This guy was actually a Cy Young Finalist 3 years ago, but has struggled with injuries since then. I can see the vision on paper. Manoah, Grayson Rodriguez, and Reid Detmers all high upside pitchers they can put in their rotation next year, along with Yusei Kikuchi. The problem with this theory is it’s assuming that the Halos player development can elevate the performances of most of those pitchers. That’s a very bold assumption, and not one I would bet on.

December 1st, 2025

The Rams suffered a tough loss yesterday, but it really wasn’t a bad one. They went on the road to the east coast and got caught in a trap game, against a very hungry Panthers team in pouring rain. Matt Stafford was due to eventually turn the ball over, and that he did, 3 times. That’s ok. Better to happen now than in the playoffs, or other critical games down the stretch. If anything, this loss might actually make the better down the stretch. It would have been nice to build a bit of a lead over Philadelphia and Seattle in the NFC, but that’s ok. The mindset now should be to win the next 3 in a row. Games against Arizona, Detroit, and Seattle sound challenging, but the Rams also won 3 in a row just before this too.

As for the Chargers, they took down the Raiders at home, but there was a price in doing so. They lost Justin Herbert to a broken hand. It remains to be seen if Herbert will miss any time. Let’s be real though, if he does miss time, the Chargers could be in danger of missing the playoffs. The Bolts have had their injury woes, but they are still the 5th seed in the AFC with 5 games left to play in their season. The Chiefs are out of the playoffs, the Ravens are struggling, the Bills look beatable. The Patriots and Broncos look flawed and inexperienced. The AFC hasn’t looked this wide open in a long time, and the Bolts can take advantage of it if things break right for them. However, it all starts with whether or not their star quarterback is going to miss time.

To the NBA, where the Lakers keep rolling. They took down the Pelicans last night for their 7th straight win. They have the 2nd best record in the West and the 2nd best record in the West and the 3rd best record in the Association. Are all you casuals still waiting to see how it goes with Lebron waiting to fit in with Luka and Austin before deciding how good this team is? Spoiler alert, they are an excellent team. I never said they were going to beat OKC, but at this point who can? However, they should be considered as a team that could end up in the Western Conference Finals. To get beyond that they will need to improve their 3-point shooting, their bench scoring, and their ability to defend the rim. Much of that can be improved just by moving Rui to bench and shooting more 3’s. They’ll have to find a way to defend better too, but I think more Gabe Vincent in the lineup will help the perimeter defense, and more Lebron will help their rebounding and defense too. There’s still a lot more upside to this team than you may think, despite what those buffoons that call themselves NBA analysts might tell you.

Meanwhile, the Clippers catastrophe continues. They have lost 4 straight, and are just 5-15 on the season. Don’t tell me it’s because they need to get healthier, or even because they don’t have Kawhi. Even when they’ve had him in the lineup they still look old as hell, playing at a slow pace, and terrible defensively. They relay heavily on isolation ball from Kawhi, Harden, and Zubac, which can be somewhat predictable. My favorite part of all this though was after a loss the other night Kawhi said “We need more talent”. Good one Kawhi. Perhaps if you quit your job as a part-time Amazon worker and showed up to play basketball for the Clippers more often, the talent part wouldn’t be an issue. For those of you that are naive enough to believe this was a championship team at any point in the last 3 years, now you know that is far from the case. The only question now is whether or not they can just be a respectable team and not give OKC an excellent lottery pick this coming summer.

In College Football, USC took down UCLA at the Coliseum over the weekend. The Bruins have ended a disastrous season, and have a lot to figure out. The Trojans on the other hand have to leave you asking yourself if this is going well or not. USC got 9 wins, and if they go to the Alamo Bowl and win, it’s 10 wins. That’s better than last season, and after making a move to the Big Ten, it represents progress. Is that progress good enough for Trojan fans and are they behind Lincoln Riley? I’m sure you will get a lot of mixed reviews. Multiple things can be true at the same time. Riley is making progress with this group, and he’s going to be bringing in more talent. However, we are now in a place where 12 teams make the College Football Playoff. In Los Angeles, you are judged by a much higher standard of excellence, so the expectation should be that Riley need to get this team into the CFP consistently. We’ll have to wait another season to see if he can live up to those lofty expectations.

Just when it looked like UCLA basketball was getting better, they lay a total egg against Cal. The Bruins offense looked extremely sluggish, and Donovan Dent has been having his struggles. I think we are reaching the point with Mick Cronin where we have to start asking if he is the right fit for UCLA. I don’t doubt that he is a very good coach. However, his “tough love” approach to big-time recruits at UCLA doesn’t always seem to work. It may have worked with guys like Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell, but it doesn’t work in the era of NIL and for a lot of the glitz and glamour players. Over time we see his players lose confidence, end up in his dog house, and it crushes the morale of his team, and limits the teams ceiling. The tough love approach might be more appropriate in the Big East, or schools that aren’t recruiting 5 star recruits. This might also explain why we’ve seen the Bruins be in close games against a lot of elite teams over the last few years, including in the tournament, but unable to finish them. Let’s hope he can prove me wrong and regain momentum, but at this point, one has to ask themselves the question.

To baseball where there still isn’t much news on the Dodgers to report. However, a couple of things did pop up that are worth discussing. The Blue Jays signed former Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease to a 7 years $210 million contract. While I credit the Blue Jays for spending money to try and improve their team, I’m convinced that they didn’t actually watch Cease pitch last year. Dude is basically a #3 starter at his best, and had a one year outlier where he looked closer to a #2 starter 2 years ago. If Cease got that much, then I’m sure Tarik Skubal is probably thinking he’s worth about $60 million a year. If the Dodgers are going after him, they should be prepared to pay him that for about a decade. There’s also a few trade rumors floating around about Tyler Glasnow and him being on the trade block. However, I have a very hard time believing that the Dodgers would trade him. The Dodgers just need him to be great in October, and that’s exactly what he was. No reason to trade him when he’s on a reasonable deal.

Finally, the Angels are in talks to buy out Anthony Rendon from his disastrous contract, and the final $38 million on it. Rendon will likely retire, but if I’m the Halos, that’s not good enough. Rendon should be punished by making him play out the the final year of his contract in AAA, staying on army cots or in one star hotels, while eating at Applebee’s most nights. He was totally lazy, and a terrible professional the last 6 years. Rendon was so useless and buying him out gives the Halos no more financial flexibility, so buying him out does nothing. In fact, it’s also really annoying buying him out because we can’t tell anymore jokes about him if he retires.