December 30, 2024

There is much to get to in this addition of Monday Morning Coffee, starting with the Lakers, who finally made a trade yesterday. They acquired Dorian Finney Smith, a 3-and-D player, and a reserve guard Shake Milton, for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and 3 2nd round picks. Finally! Rob Pelinka made a trade. Even Jimmy Carter waited until Pelinka made a deal before he passed away on Sunday (God rest his soul). At face value, I really like the move. The Lakers really needed better perimeter defenders, and they are getting that with DFS, who has also been a reliable 3-point shooter. Don’t sleep on Shake Milton either, who could be a useful guard off the bench who can replace some of D-Lo’s scoring. D-Lo was a solid shooter, but he was streaky, and he was becoming tougher to play in the backcourt with Austin Reaves, which exposed their perimeter defense a lot more. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers can do something to beef up their front court before the trade deadline with the likes of a Jonas Valanciunas or Robert Williams. In any case, the Lakers roster appears a lot more balanced now, but hopefully we can see a more consistent effort on the floor from them, like we have in last 6 games. By the way, I guess the Lakers and Warriors missed the memo that “the NBA is boring” given how they played such an awesome game on Christmas Day!

Meanwhile, believe it or not, there is actually a target return date for Kawhi Leonard. That date is believed to be January 4th, which is 5 days from now against the Atlanta Hawks at home. They key word here is “target”, and if you listen to Ty Lue, he will tell you, or I guess I should say he is being told by Kawhi’s people that he needs more time to practice 5-on-5. Sorry Ty, but you know this is a complete load of crap. You know that the only way Kawhi is going to get back into NBA game shape is by playing in real NBA games, not some 24-Hour Fitness like cardio in practice. If his people are telling you otherwise, it’s because they know he’ll be lucky to give you 30 games this year with the deteriorating condition of his knees. The fact Kawhi was able to pull of 60+ games last year to convince the Clippers to give him a massive extension is really astonishing. When his contract is up, there is simply no way any team could be bamboozled into paying this man that kind of money again.

To the NFL, where the Rams pulled out another victory over the weekend, and after a handful of teams lost yesterday, they have clinched the NFC West! It’s remarkable how far this defense has come in the last few months. Jared Verse is suddenly the favorite to win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of The Year. Who says the Rams have no fans? They absolutely showed out on Saturday night, and the place was as loud as I’ve ever heard it. On a slightly more serious note though, there are some concerns with the offense. Matt Stafford isn’t being protected like he was a couple of weeks ago, and Joe Noteboom might get Stafford killed. But the real concern is the passing game. There isn’t much of a vertical threat. It’s basically Puka Nacua on a bunch of screens, while Cooper Kupp suddenly can’t create the separation we used to see. That’s going to make it tough for Kyren Williams to be effective on the ground for long stretches. If the Rams have any hopes of beating a team like Green Bay and going on a deep playoff run, they will need to clean up this portion of their game, and quickly.

The Rams weren’t the only LA Football team that clinched a playoff spot over the weekend. The Chargers dismantled the Patriots on Saturday, locking up a postseason berth for the 2nd time in 3 seasons. Jim Harbaugh beat Nick Saban in the Rose Bowl, won the College Football Playoff national championship to give Michigan an undefeated 15-0 season and took the Los Angeles Chargers to the NFL Playoffs in the same calendar year. He’s a Hall of Fame coach in both the NCAA and NFL. Not only that, but Chargers may have drafted a franchise right tackle, a franchise wide receiver, and two franchise cornerbacks in the last draft. Just give Jim Harbaugh a little more time and this defense will only get better, and they’ll even add a few more weapons on offense. Justin Herbert doesn’t have the flashy numbers of a few years ago, but he’s been solid and a very good leader. The Bolts have not won a postseason game since 2018. But the best thing that could happen to them is to win next week and have the Steelers lose to the Bengals. That would give them a very favorable 1st round match up against the Texans.

Some of you Trojan fans may have forgotten, or tried to forget that the Las Vegas Bowl was over the weekend against Texas A&M. This was actually a great game, and USC had quite a rally to win this one. It was an exciting win, and something to feel good about for the Trojans going into next year. However, I don’t think Jayden Maiava is an ideal starting QB for USC moving forward. He had to overcome three interceptions in that game, and originally, everyone was led to believe that Maiava was much more mobile than Miller Moss. It turns out that really wasn’t the case, and Maiava really isn’t better than Moss, who is now transferring out of USC. Of course Maiava was praised by Lincoln Riley, because what else is he going to say? You’re only as good as your options are, and right now, he is the best and only option available to them moving forward, unless they are pleasantly surprised in the transfer portal.

Don’t look now but UCLA Football suddenly has the #4 transfer portal class according to rivals.com. Then there’s this. Ethan Garbers has exhausted his eligibility. Justyn Martin has transferred to Maryland. Former Appalachian State star Joey Aguilar, announced his commitment to the Bruins on Saturday. Aguilar put up some very gaudy numbers as the Appalachian State starting quarterback. Since no other QB on the UCLA roster has any college experience, the job is clearly Aguilar’s to lose. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but things are looking up in Westwood, and DeShaun Foster might actually know what he’s doing.

Speaking of UCLA, they finally broke through against Gonzaga, defeating them for the first time in the Mick Cronin era, at the Intuit Dome on Saturday. It was heartbreak after heartbreak against the Zags, but this time there was no half court buzzer beater, or other ridiculous devastation. It sure looked like Sebastian Mack tried with that stupid late game foul, but Skyy Clark made two clutch free throws to put the game away. The Bruins should move up significantly in the rankings after this one, and despite the loss to Kentucky, the wins against Oregon and Gonzaga should go a long way toward the their March Madness resume. This team is definitely going to win with defense, and that’s what they did on Saturday, along with some timely 3-point shooting. Dylan Andrews is really the Ethan Garbers of the basketball team. That’s not a good thing for this team.

The Dodgers made another big move over the weekend! They re-signed Teoscar Hernandez to a 3-year $66 million contract. Great for the Dodgers and great for Teo, who the team rewarded for having a fantastic season, and leading the team to a World Series Championship. Not only is Teo a big bat in the lineup, but he also was the emotional leader of the ball club this past season, which they desperately needed, given their playoff failures of seasons past. That cannot go unnoticed, and it’s a great thing that Andrew Friedman recognized this. So what’s next? This has been a fantastic off-season thus far, which can be capped off by signing Roki Sasaki, re-signing Kike Hernandez, and adding a high leverage reliever like Tanner Scott.

On the other hand, ESPN came out with a top 10 ranking of the most frustrated MLB fan bases. Sure enough the Angels came out at #1. The reasons cited were the fact they wasted prime years of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in their lineup, gave out a terrible contract to Anthony Rendon, and Arte Moreno refuses to spend more money on significantly improving the club. Knowing the Halos luck, Anthony Rendon probably injured himself opening Christmas gifts, so he’ll bee out for a significant portion of time I’m sure. This type of attitude for an owner just makes you look like a buffoon in the Southern California sports market, as opposed to the cool successful wealthy guy that is beloved by all his friends.

Finally, sports broadcasting legend, Greg Gumble passed away from cancer last week. The man was 78 years old, and in my mind is considered one of the voices of March Madness and the NFL. There was no other feeling in sports quite like 6pm ET on Selection Sunday, hearing the CBS music & Greg Gumble announcing the tournament field. Thank you for everything Mr Gumble!

December 23, 2024

Remember two months ago when some people said the Rams should tear it down and rebuild? Well those same Rams are 8-2 in their last 10 games and one win a way from clinching the NFC West. I will never figure out why this team starts so slowly, but they always seem to come up big in the 2nd half. Keep in mind, this is the first time all year they have been healthy, now that they’ve got a healthy offensive line, including Tyler Higbee back at Tight End. I’m not saying the Rams are going to win the Super Bowl, and they may be another year away. However, they are suddenly protecting Matt Stafford well, their defense is looking more and more elite every week, and they run the ball. All of those things make a recipe for an excellent team that will be very difficult to beat come playoff time.

The Chargers also came up big on Thursday night against the Broncos. Once again, that was the type of game the Bolts would have lost in recent years. Now that we are in the Jim Harbaugh era, they have way more confidence to rally from the deficit that they did, and are far more mentally tough. I think we may have forgotten how good Justin Herbert is until he made that ridiculous throw to Darius Davis, who most of you probably never heard of until he made that catch. I’m sure everyone wanted the free kick rule explained to them like they were five years old after that went down. I also think Sean Payton is a total liar, trying to convince us that they practice the fair catch free kick. It looks like the Chargers are going to clinch a playoff spot, and end up facing the Ravens or Steelers on the road in Wild Card Weekend. I think they would prefer the latter, but either way things are looking up for the Bolts.

Elsewhere around the NFL in Week 16, the Eagles got to 10-1 and then thought the job was done and they could go home. They are also clowning the Commanders for beating them without Jalen Hurts. They lost a tough one to Washington. The 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Dolphins, and those snobby Bay Area fans are going to be crying on their drive down “The 5 Freeway”. The Cowboys were eliminated from the playoffs, then of course they turned into the 90’s version of the Cowboys and started winning meaningless games. Bryce Young bounced back this season for Carolina, and then proceeded to bounce Kyler Murray and the Cardinals out of the playoffs race. Joe Biden accused the Giants of quitting yesterday against the Falcons. The Bengals decided to wake up like they usually do towards the end of the season, but may not be in time to make the playoffs, after beating the Browns. The Lions are 13-2 after taking down the Bears. Do we live in the Twilight Zone?

To the NBA, where the Lakers are trying to re-group after a rough couple of weeks. They’ve won 4 of their last 5 games after sweeping a two-game series with the Kings. Lebron looked great after an extended time off. And no….Lebron wasn’t taking time off for your stupid theories about his involvement in the Diddy parties. The time off does make you wonder if they should be giving him 8 days off every 15 games. The problem is the Lakers can’t afford to do that. The West is so close, and the Lakers are so dependent on Lebron and AD to succeed. Honestly, they aren’t even playing that well right now, but the difference is their effort defensively has been great. Max Christie suddenly looks like a very good wing defender. However, now that Gabe Vincent is playing well, the Lakers need to trade him while his value is up. Dude has played well for a couple of months the last few years, and the only reasons he got the contract he did was because it came during the playoffs, when people were actually watching basketball.

The Clippers lost to the Mavericks last night on the road, and they are now 16-13. Of course we’ve been hearing people say “that’s pretty good without Kawhi, wait until he comes back!” Those people are hilarious. You’ve been fooled by the “Wait until Kawhi comes back” myth for 5 years, so I guess what is a 6th year? Sure he will supposedly be back in the next few weeks, but how long can the guy possible last without getting hurt again? He’s coming back with a new haircut, but the team is probably really concerned he was going to get injured receiving it.

Well you finally got your 12-Team College Football Playoff and the first weekend looked like a dumpster fire for casual football fan. Notre Dame fans, among other winners, don’t care about casual football fan. The Irish looked much better than they are being given credit for, and wiped out Indiana in the 1st round of the playoffs. If they can beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, winning a National Championship isn’t out of the question. As for the rest of the playoff, it’s still way better than having a 4-Team Tournament. If anything, we learned that 18 and 19-year old kids don’t play well on the road, since none of the road teams came close to winning. The seeding will have to get better over time, and maybe they will even re-seed teams. It doesn’t make much sense to punish Oregon by playing Ohio State this early, when those are arguably the two best teams left.

In College Basketball, UCLA was in a very giving mood over the weekend, giving away a 16-point lead to North Carolina, and falling to the Tar Heels. This was a team that looked much closer to a top-5 or top-10 team for most of the game, before collapsing down the stretch, and now we don’t really know what they are. Next week against Gonzaga will tell us a bit more, but for now we can consider the Bruins at least a Top -25 team and not sure beyond that. One thing that was exposed in that game: UCLA doesn’t have a go-to scorer with a go-to move down the stretch. Tyler Bilodeau is nice, but doesn’t quite look like a late-game prime time player. He’s predictable. The same goes for Skyy Clark, and Sebastian Mack, who just puts his head down and goes to the basket on every play. That doesn’t work with less than 10 seconds left. The rest of this is correctable, like free throw shooting. However, it does make you question just how high the ceiling really can be for this group.

The Dodgers learned this morning that playoff hero, Walker Buehler will be signing a one-year deal for $21 million with the Boston Red Sox. I was really hoping the Dodgers could bring him back, but I completely understand the reality of why both sides couldn’t make it work. Buehler still have a very high ceiling, especially if you look at what he did in the last month of the season. However, this is a guy who is coming off two Tommy John Surgeries, who only pitched well for a month, even though it was the most important month of the season. Obviously the Dodgers weren’t comfortable with $21 million, and probably more likely in the range of $10-$15 million given what we saw. For Buehler, he knows he needs to re-establish his value, and he looks at the Dodgers with a stacked rotation, and maybe not having the opportunity re-establish that value with so much competition. It’s unfortunate, but this was probably the best decision for both sides, and both sides can be better off for it. Buehler gets his opportunity and maximizes his 2025 earnings, and the Dodgers probably got the best years out of Buehler, including multiple World Series Titles. He also gets nothing but respect from me because he pitched until his arm was cooked in the playoffs against Atlanta in 2021, while that punk Max Scherzer complained of “arm fatigue” and quit on his team. As for the rest of the rumors, stop trying to make this Nolan Arenado trade to the Dodgers happen. The Dodgers have no place for him. This isn’t 2018. He’s old and washed, and the Dodgers currently have a better and cheaper 3rd baseman. They should figure out a way to make it work with Teoscar Hernandez though. Teo and the Dodgers are a measly $5 million apart, which is nothing. Oh and while they’re at it, sign Roki Sasaki!

Finally, I’m not going to buy into this LA Kings hype. I’ve heard some of you people praising Rob Blake for his poverty off-season moves. Give me break. This team is the exact same as last year. The division got worse outside of Edmonton, and everybody else is status quo, which will allow the Kings to stay a playoff team, but they have no chance of being a cup contender. On the bright side they are finally allowing their kids to play like Alex Turcotte, Brandt Clark, and Akil Thomas, but outside of that it’s going to be the same old story with this group.

December 16, 2024

Let’s start with a realistic talk about the Lakers. Yes, they won last night, but they’ve got a lot of work to do. Some of you want to trade Lebron, while some of you want to trade Lebron and AD and blow up this whole roster immediately. That’s just not as realistic as you think right now. Lebron received a no-trade clause when he signed his extension. There’s a reason he asked for it. He dictates where he wants to go, and chance are he doesn’t want to go. From the Lakers perspective, sure it would be nice to get a couple of 1st rounders, but the reality is trading a 40-year old Lebron isn’t going to yield a whole lot of useful assets. From Lebron’s perspective, where can he possibly go and win and be a championship contender, without gutting a team of all its key role players? That’s actually the problem he’s experiencing on the Lakers. The bottom line is both sides are stuck with each other, so you can stop with the Bill Plaschke “let’s blow it up” takes. Then there’s those of you that have been pleading to upgrade the roster. However, if the Lakers are going to trade a 1st round pick or two to improve this team, they need to show a lot more than they have to prove they are worth investing future assets in. The way this team is playing now, acquiring Dorian Finney Smith, Jonas Valanciunas, or Cam Johnson isn’t going make this team any better than a play-in team. If Lebron wants a roster upgrade, he needs to get more out of what they have now, and show us they are worth investing in. Thus far, they have not. Otherwise, once Lebron retires, the Lakers are well positioned with all their own draft picks after this year, over $60 million in cap space in 2026, and a superstar they can either choose to build with, or get more assets for in AD.

Then there’s the Clippers. They are still hanging in there without Kawhi, 14-12, and there’s noise that he will come back soon. As usual, Ty Lue and the organization sound completely in the dark as to when he is actually going to be back, despite the fact they are seeing him go through practice. It sure would be nice for them to get him back though, because the attendance at the Intuit Dome has suffered. By all accounts, the experience at the arena has been great. However, since the on-court product has suffered, there is only about 75% attendance on many nights. They may be announcing sell-outs because brokers are buying up the tickets, but they aren’t putting butts in the seats, which is exactly what Steve Ballmer had to have been concerned about coming into the season. Unfortunately for the Clips, they tied their franchise to the poster boy of load management, and a big reason why NBA ratings are suffering.

As you’ve probably heard, NBA ratings have been down, while every other sport has been up. Why? Well first of all, don’t tell me it’s because “The NBA is too woke.” That storyline is from 4 years ago, and we’re past most of that nonsense. There’s three main issues. First, the blackout rules and accessibility to games hurts. If you have NBA League Pass, you can’t even watch in-market games. Then there’s the on-court product, which let’s be honest, isn’t great. Every NBA team thinks Steph Curry plays for them, so they do nothing but launch 40-50 three pointers a night, and there’s little to no defense being played, with no physicality. There’s also the fact the best players think their heads are gonna fall off playing back-to-back games throughout the season, or anywhere near 82 games. The NBA needs to think about how to fix these things, especially if they want to appeal to Gen Z.

To the NFL, where the Rams are on a nice little run. After defeating the 49ers on Thursday Night Football, they are now 7-2 in their last 9 games, and they’ve moved into 1st place in the NFC West. With 3 games left against the Jets, Cardinals, and Seahawks, the Rams control their own destiny to win the division. They are also looking much healthier, on the offensive line especially, and it’s been showing. The Rams found a way to win a high-scoring affair against the Bills, followed by a defensive slug fest in the rain against the 49ers. All of a sudden, the Rams are dangerous, and if things break right, they might even be able to make a deep run in the NFC. This could be a fun couple of weeks!

As for the Chargers, I don’t know what team that was that played the Bucs yesterday, but it didn’t look anything like the team we’ve seen all season. Baker Mayfield and the Bucs cooked the Bolts, hanging 40 points on them. The defense was non-existent, and the offense couldn’t convert on 3rd down. That’s a game where you take the film and just burn it. The Chargers need to win just 2 of their last 3 games to get in the playoffs, and their schedule includes Denver, New England, and Las Vegas. The latter two teams aren’t even trying to win games at this point, so if the Bolts can’t get in the playoffs, they have some serious issues.

Elsewhere around the NFL in Week 15, the Chiefs won a game in bizarre fashion, a game where it wasn’t close and didn’t require help from the referees! The Bills got by the Lions, and Josh Allen was committing flops and getting calls like he was James Harden. The Cowboys beat the Panthers, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say they actually look better with Cooper Rush as their QB than Dak Prescott. The old guys came through for the Jets, as Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adam’s hooked up for two touchdowns in their win against the Jaguars. The Bengals beat the Titans, but they are hoping for a Christmas miracle to get in the playoffs at this point.

Nice win by UCLA Basketball over the weekend at Arizona. The Bruins are now 9-1 after rallying from a 13-point deficit against the Wildcats. Going into the game they were ranked #24 in the AP Poll. This team is looking very typical Mick Cronin. Very gritty with some absolutely dominant defense at times. They have some playmakers on offense that they need to give them timely buckets, which they did on Saturday. This team is not nearly as young as they were last year, led by the likes of Junior Forward Tyler Bilodeau, and Junior Guard Sky Clark, but of whom came up big against Arizona. UCLA will take on North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday, and then they’ll get #8 Gonzaga at the Intuit Dome 3 days after Christmas.

To baseball, where the hot stove continues to simmer for the Dodgers. I’m much more optimistic that they can re-sign Teoscar Hernandez. Teo seems to have over estimated his market, even after Juan Soto signed. There is clearly motivation on both sides to get a deal done, which is great. Roku Saski is about a month away from making a decision. I’m optimistic Kike Hernandez will return, but I’m growing less optimistic about Walker Buehler. It sounds like there’s teams out there that are willing to give him a multi-year deal with opt outs, but the bigger issue he may see with the Dodgers is that if they have a lot of starters, he may not have the opportunity to fully re-establish his true market value. For the life of me though, I don’t understand why some of you want the Dodgers to trade for Nolan Arenado. The guy is expensive and way past his prime. The Dodgers currently have a cheaper and more productive 3rd baseman in Max Muncy. I love the idea of Boys in Blue signing a high leverage reliever like Tanner Scott. You can never have enough pitching and bullpen, so hopefully that comes to fruition.

Finally, many of you are waiting on the Angels to make a big move, but don’t hold your breath. Corbin Burnes is available, but do you really see Arte shelling out $300 million for a guy like that? They sure need a guy like that, and a big-time reliever like Tanner Scott. The Halos could also use a bat like Cody Bellinger or Nolan Arenado, but what could they possibly give up that would interest the Cubs or Cardinals? I sure can’t see them taking on any of these big salaries, so you should expect more of the same.

December 9, 2024

What a surprising and phenomenal win by the Rams yesterday against the Bills! Some of you forgot that the Rams are actually coached by Sean McVay, who is in fact one of the best coaches in football. Matt Stafford was a play-action passing killer, and the Rams condensed formations gave the Bills a hard time all game. Say what you will about LA benefitting from some poor officiating, but they still did a great job involving their running backs in the passing game with quick dump-offs, and taking well timed shots down the field. McVay should never give up play calling duties. The Rams could easily win their next 4 games, and they still have an opportunity to make the playoffs by either winning the division or a wild card berth. This team is still dangerous and can play with anybody when it’s healthy. Hopefully they continue to show that over the next 4 weeks.

As for the Chargers, they hung with the Chiefs right until the end on Sunday Night Football, but sure enough, the Chiefs won another close game. At some point you would think KC is bound to lose one of these close games, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Say what you will about the refs and all, but they just know how to execute when the game is on the line, and they have the best quarterback in the game in Patrick Mahomes, even though he sounds like Kermit The Frog. The flip side to all this is that the Bolts have 8 wins with the worst Wide Receivers and Tight Ends in the league. It’s only going to get better. I could still see the Chargers upsetting any of higher seeds in the 1st round of the playoffs given how tough they are becoming to play against.

Last night we learned that Juan Soto signed a 15 year deal with New York Mets for $765 million. The contract actually has escalators to make it worth up to $805 million. Good for Soto for getting the bag, but it’s hilarious that Jeff Passan and others are out here claiming the Mets had a better future. Good one guys. The Yankees have Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gerrit Cole. The Mets have Francisco Lindor and no pitching. The Yankees offered $760 million, which he and Scott Boras thought was poor people stuff. That means he thought he probably thought whatever the Dodgers offered wouldn’t even be able to feed his family. Funny, I haven’t seen any “The Mets are ruining baseball” tweets yet since this news broke, even though they will have a higher payroll than the Dodgers. The Boys in Blue dodged a bullet not signing this guy, and all you need to see is how much better the Padres were last year without him. Nice move though bringing back Blake Treinen. Hopefully they can do the same with Teoscar Hernandez, Walker Buehler, and Kike Hernandez. Michael Conforto was a nice addition as well.

I didn’t really want to talk about it, but at some point I guess I have to address the train wreck that is the Lakers. They may have won last night, but this team just looks like they don’t care for many stretches. How can a team with Lebron James and Anthony Davis play like that? I don’t want to hear about injury excuses from Lebron. There are no circumstances where you should just get blown off the floor in games like the Lakers have been the last couple of weeks. Many fans have just about had it with this team and want to trade Lebron and AD to start rebuilding. I’m just not there yet with this group. We’re only a quarter of the way into the season. With that being said though, if they don’t show us they will start caring, this team is certainly not worth investing more assets and draft capital to win-now.

The Clippers meanwhile are treading water nicely in 6th place in the West, but the questions about Kawhi remain. Bill Simmons tweeted out that he has heard from sources that Kawhi will be back by Christmas. However, when you ask Ty Lue, he has no idea. This is so typical. People see this guy ramping up his activities and he looks fine, prompting the speculation that he will be back soon. You know though that his people are going to keep holding him back from playing to preserve whatever he has left in his knees. It’s Ground Hog day all over again!

To College Football, where the 12-Team playoff bracket was announced yesterday. America definitely won yesterday when Alabama was not part of the field. My Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will be the 7th seed and face Indiana in the 1st round, for an in-state cold weather battle in South Bend. That should be a good one, and a very winnable game for them. In fact, I don’t hate their chances against Georgia either. If there is one thing we learned though, it’s that the committee does value not just winning the Conference Championship Games, but even playing in them. That’s why the likes of Penn State and Texas were the 5th and 6th seeds.

Meanwhile, the Trojans are going to wrap up the season in the Las Vegas Bowl, facing Texas A&M. Ok, it’s kind of cool that they will play at Allegiant Stadium, but that’s about it. USC fans can’t be happy about playing in Vegas in a year where 12-teams can now make the playoffs, Big Ten or not. To put more salt in the wound, the Trojans have an alarming number of High School California recruits who ended up going to other programs, which isn’t a good look for Lincoln Riley. This program is going to have to rely on the transfer portal for some significant improvement next year.

December 2, 2024

Let’s start with the most positive and exciting piece of news! Last week the Dodgers signed two-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher Blake Snell to a 5 year contract. The fact the Dodgers just signed an elite starting pitcher just a few weeks after winning the World Series is phenomenal. This is exactly how all baseball teams should be operating, and how a franchise in Los Angeles should be acting. Snell comes with risk because of age and some recent ups and downs, but it’s worth it for the Dodgers. They badly need pitching and will need even more. It’s adorable that all of you keep trying to pencil in 6-8 guys into the Dodgers rotation, but the reality of it is pitchers get hurt all the time in 2024. The Dodgers need 10-12 guys just to get 4 healthy and good performing ones in October. Even if they have more than 4 healthy guys, the rest can serve as great bullpen depth come the postseason. That’s why they still need to sign Walker Buehler and Roki Sasaki. Not Juan Soto, or to even trade for Carlos Correa, which is a rumor that popped up yesterday. My favorite though is all of “the Dodgers are ruining baseball” people, and “the MLB needs a salary cap or salary floor” people. I can appreciate the opinions of many of you who watched the World Series for 5 minutes every year, but baseball has more parity than any other sport. It was all fun and games for these same people when the Dodgers were “choking” every year in October. Now that they finally won a World Series against another big market team in the Yankees, these people are crying that every other team is both stupid and poor compared to the Dodgers and need institutional changes to make it fair. Hilarious!

While we are on the subject of baseball though, we have to mention the Angels. They signed left handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to a 3 year $63 million contract. The Halos badly need pitching, but this is basically the best they are going to get given where the franchise is. They paid $21 million a year for a guy who is basically a middle of the rotation pitcher, who will give you some good stretches and some bad ones. That’s basically all Arte Moreno was willing to spend, because as we learned last week, he’s dumping his money into a commercial real estate project in Arizona. The man is worth $5 billion. He has money to spend, and if he had any intention of properly competing he would give Perry Minasian the greenlight to sign a Max Fried or Corbin Burnes, and supplement his young promising talent with quality major league starters. Instead, he’s basically doing the equivalent of shopping at a thrift store.

To the NFL, where it wasn’t pretty at all, but the Rams found the win column against the Saints. The Rams offense got off to another horribly slow start, but this is no longer a trend. Their offense is now feeling predictable and boring for long stretches. You’ve gotta give Sean McVay credit though for making the adjustments necessary to solve their constant pass protection issues. They stuck to the run, made some well designed passes off play action, and ran a lot of screens. That offensive line was absolutely killing them on 3rd down for much of the game. With all that being said, the defense has some incredible young studs on it that are getting better and better every game. Still, the Rams only hope of getting to the playoffs is winning the division. They’ll get thrashed by Buffalo next week, so they’ll have to handle business against the Jets, and all their remaining division opponents.

As for the Chargers, they rebounded from a loss against the Ravens by defeating the Falcons on the road. In the last three weeks Ladd McConkey has turned into Jerry Rice, and he’s suddenly on pace for over 1,000 yards receiving. All of a sudden, he’s the #1 rookie wide receiver this year. They are also winning games with their defense, which is exactly what you expect from a Jim Harbaugh team. Remember Derwin James? He had 10 tackles yesterday, and 1 interception. Tarheeb Still had two interception himself. This team is becoming just grittier and mentally tougher very slowly. In a rebuilding year, the Bolts are a very comfortable 8-4, and firmly in a wild card spot. Don’t be surprised if they go into Kansas City next Sunday night to beat the Chiefs, given how both teams are playing right now. Bolt up people!

What’s with the Lakers? Why can’t this team put together a sustainable effort every night? We’re about a quarter into the season and there are nights where they just look completely lazy and lethargic, in the 3rd quarter especially. This isn’t a coaching issue. It’s a player accountability issue, and the likes of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Max Christie, and even Gabe Vincent (despite last night’s showing) are the biggest culprits. Don’t sit here and tell me that Lebron got old overnight because he’s had a couple of 18 point games, or that Anthony Davis is slumping because putting up “only” 20 a game for the last few. Some days I think this team can compete with anybody, other days I just think they are too inconsistent. It’s the latter that truly makes you wonder if it’s worth giving up assets to help this team win now. Rob Pelinka is probably thinking the same thing.

The Clippers on the other hand have been more than respectable. They play hard every night, and it’s keeping them afloat at 12-9 in the West. At some point they will need to get Kawhi back, but that’s like hoping you’re going to win the Power Ball. In reality, what the Clippers are doing is showcasing their franchise for the next star player to sign with them after Kawhi. They have a new arena, good ownership, and they want to carve out an identity that is different from the Lakers. The latter isn’t easy to compete with, but once you have the cap space, anything is possible.

In College Football, USC was defeated by my Fighting Irish of Notre Dame at the Coliseum 49-35. The Trojans finished the season 6-6, and they really got beaten in the trenches on Saturday, as they have all season long. The Irish racked up 258 yards on the ground and a total of 436 yards of total offense. USC was right there at the end, as we’ve seen in many games all year, but a couple of big Pick 6’s for the Irish helped them pull away. For the Trojans, everyone wants to crucify Lincoln Riley, including Matt Leinart who thinks they have no identity, but given the switch to the Big Ten and the adjustment they went through, you have to give him a pass. They could have easily won 9 or 10 games this year, but some critical mistakes late in games cost them. Some of that can be fixed through different types of recruiting. I’m sure USC will be on the hunt for another big time QB in the transfer portal again. Meanwhile, my Fighting Irish may have the best rushing attack in the country. Riley Leonard has come a long way since the first couple of weeks of the season as a passer. If he could really throw though, this team would be the best in the country. Sure they can probably win a game or two in the playoff if they get the right matchup. However, let’s be honest……Oregon is by far the best team in the country, and will likely destroy anybody in their path.

Somewhat notable as well is the fact that UCLA defeated Fresno State to finish the season at 5-7. Many of you looked at the schedule and said that UCLA would be lucky to win one game. Instead they came out with 5 wins and winners of 4 of their last 6 games. It took Chip Kelly 4 seasons at UCLA before he had a single season where he won more than 4 games. DeShaun Foster was left with a dumpster fire that Chip Kelly created, and actually did pretty well with it under the circumstances. Let’s see what he can do with some time to actually recruit, and how he fares in the NIL era. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Speaking of UCLA, they are about to start their Big 10 Basketball schedule next week, after going 6-1 through non-conference play. I really don’t know what to make of this team yet. On paper, their roster looks promising, but I’m not sure yet if it’s going to translate into success against elite competition. The loss against New Mexico was disheartening given they aren’t even ranked, but they really have gotten a lot better on the defensive end especially since then. That’s something we’ve seen frequently from Mick Cronin teams. The Bruins will find out very quickly just how good they are, because their schedule is about to get tough. They will face #24 Arizona, #12 North Carolina, and #3 Gonzaga in December. They really need to win at least 1 or 2 of those games to help their NCAA Tournament resume.

November 25, 2024

Saturday night it was like I entered a time machine and went back to every playoff series the Lakers have had against the Nuggets in the last two seasons. The Lakers had the lead, the Nuggets came storming back in the 2nd half, and blew them away. This has become more than just a suggested trend. The Nuggets are definitely a worse roster than the last two years, yet they psychologically own the Lakers. Jamaal Murray and Michael Porter Jr look like Hall of Famers against them, and Joker turns into Ivan Drago when he gets to play them as well. I’m not even convinced the matchup is bad, it’s that at this point, the Lakers don’t believe they can beat them. JJ Redick is going to have to do something about that. He’s got time, but a good start would be finding a way to get a center and a defensive wing. Perhaps D’Lo could remember how to shoot the ball as well. This also makes that loss to Orlando last week even more brutal, where AD, Lebron, or Austin just had to make a free throw or two and that game is in the bag. I’m thinking the Lakers need to petition the league to allow them put the NBA Cup signage on their floor every game, because they seem to take those way more seriously. Time to regroup Lake Show!

Something tells me the Clippers really enjoyed giving the Sixers a beating yesterday on the road. I’m sure they wish that Paul George and Joel Embiid were in the lineup as well to receive that beating, but James Harden certainly got his revenge on Philly. Paul George has barely been available this season, and the same goes for Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia has a massive hole to pull themselves out of just to make the playoffs, while the Clippers feel like they are just playing with house money these days, staying afloat without their biggest star, Kawhi Leonard. The Clips are getting the results they hoped for to this point without Kawhi, but whether or not that is a practical for their franchise is a different discussion.

To College Football where the Trojans defeated the Bruins at The Rose Bowl on Saturday night. USC managed to rally in the 4th quarter, otherwise let’s face it…..this would be a very embarrassing loss for their fan base. I get that this was a rivalry game and anything can happen, but USC did not expect to need this win just to become bowl eligible. You can say that the Trojan defense is looking much better and has come a long way since last year, but the offense is kind of train wreck. UCLA put up a really good fight against them, but they simply lost because SC just has a little more talent that made the big plays in the 4th quarter. They’ll fix some of that over time when DeShaun Foster hits the recruiting trail. However, USC fans should not walk away from that game feeling good. The way Lincoln Riley used Jayden Maiava in that game makes you wonder why he ever bothered benching Miller Moss. He did not use the kid’s legs and not force UCLA to respect the fact that he could tuck the ball and go at any moment. Their offense looks broken, and they look like a team that may be talented, but simply lacking confidence, and a solid game plan. But hey….they are bowl eligible now.

To the NFL, where the Rams unfortunately showed us who they were last night. They are incredible mid. Not a bad team, but not a good one either. I guess, luckily for them, the NFC West is just a battle of 4 mid teams, so they still have a chance to make the playoffs if they can squeak out the division title. They did not have one answer last night for Saquon Barkley. On the other hand, Kyren Williams, for as good as he can be at times, has some absolutely awful fumbles that kill momentum, and last night was one of them. I will gladly take a playoff spot over a draft pick, but the bottom line is this Rams team unfortunately just isn’t good enough to be where we all hoped they would be.

Are you ready for the Harbaugh Bowl tonight? The Chargers host the Ravens tonight at SOFI Stadium. The Bolts are 7-3 and sitting in 5th place in the AFC, with the top wild card spot. They are in good shape to make the post season, and probably won’t finish any higher due to the Chiefs big 10-1 record. That’s ok though because they can just focus on building momentum toward the playoffs. The Ravens are just half a game behind them in the standings, and an excellent team. However, think about this. The Chargers are 7-3 in the new Jim Harbaugh era, but this is the worst roster they will have under Jim Harbaugh. You’ve gotta think it will only get much better from here, and look how great they are doing already! It’s not going to be long before we start looking aft this franchise differently.

Elsewhere around the NFL, imagine if the Giants actually had a running back like Saquon Barkley. They might actually win some games! The Dallas Cowboys actually won a football game! Except at this point nobody cares. You can probably go watch the Giants and Cowboys on Thursday for cheaper than the price of a Turkey. The Chiefs barely got by the Panthers, are the most 6-5 team that is really a 10-1 team. The Lions are still rolling and did you ever think in your lifetime you would be excited to see them play on Thanksgiving Day? The Packers dismantled the 49ers, but hey, at least Brock Purdy beat the “System QB” allegations! Who knew that Bo Nix was going to look like a franchise quarterback? The Broncos are going to be in the mix for a playoff spot as well after they took down the Raiders.

Not much news yet during the baseball off-season, but one thing to note on the Dodgers side. They did release Brett Honeywell over the weekend. Before you say something like “who cares he was terrible during the postseason”, let me remind that you don’t actually get it. The Dodgers needed Honeywell to eat innings during the postseason to protect their elite arms in the bullpen during several games in the NLDS, NLCS, and the World Series. As far as I’m concerned, the man is a hero, and played a critical role in helping the Dodgers win the World Series.

As for the Angels, they non-tendered Patrick Sandoval last week, which is surprising to me. He’s a cost controlled arm for the next two years, and they are desperate for pitching, yet they gave up on him? That’s bizarre, but what do you expect? You may recall that in 2021 the Angels had an all-pitcher draft. After the rule-5 eligible draft, there are only 2 pitchers left in the organization from that draft. They are Sam Bachman and Chase Sileth. That just goes to show you how awful the Halos have been at developing players.

November 18, 2024

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Lebron James is still really good at basketball. In fact, he can still be the best player in the game on most nights at 40-years old. The Olympics were a reminder of that, and it’s continuing to play out that way in the first 13 games of the NBA season, with the Lakers off to a solid 9-4 start. Enjoy this man while he’s still playing, because you’ll miss him when he’s gone, and it’s a privilege to watch him play every night. Anthony Davis is also back to playing at an MVP level, which is a complete game changer for this team. If only the Lakers could get more consistency out of D’Angelo Russell, hope Gabe Vincent remembers how to play basketball, and get Max Christie to look more like he did last spring. All these problems, and a completely depleted front court, yet the Lake Show is making it work. By the way, the fact 16 NBA GM’s allowed Dalton Knecht to drop to the Lakers in this years draft is a reminder that the National Basketball Association is employing a number of people who aren’t even qualified to serve me fries at McDonald’s, let alone run a basektball team.

The Clippers snapped a 3-game losing streak Sunday with a win against the Jazz, but are at an interesting cross-roads. They play hard every night, are putting up a respectable showing, but let’s be honest. This team’s ceiling is dependent on a franchise player, who cannot be relied upon anymore to stay healthy when the team needs them most. In fact, even if Kawhi got healthy, with a running mate like James Harden, who is looking older by the game, can you really expect a whole lot from this team? If the Clippers were smart, they would try to trade James Harden by the deadline while they can get something for him. I’m sure all the LA strip clubs business would be devastated, but it’s the right thing to do for the franchise. The same goes for Ivica Zubac, who they can get quality draft capital for. Behind closed doors, I can’t help but think that the Clippers are hoping that Kawhi just decides to retire so they can get out from under his massive contract, never hear from Uncle Dennis again, and find a more reliable star to spend the majority of their cap on.

To the NFL, where the Rams got back in the win column with a big victory over the Patriots yesterday on the road. Although it was a bit of a slow start, the Rams offense was on full display with their two stud receivers, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, both finding the endzone. Kyren Williams also provided a balanced running attack too, and the young upstart defense continued to make big plays. Most importantly though, the offensive line looked way better than they did last week, which was a very costly loss against Miami. That is basically going to be the key to how effective they are going to be the rest of the season, even as the defense continues to get better. The only problem is that the red hot Eagles are coming to town next week, and they will be coming off extra rest after playing on Thursday night. The Rams are tied for 2nd place in the NFC West, and they are in the thick of the NFC Wild Card race, but they’ll need to do more than just beat the division opponents moving forward.

The Chargers also picked up another win last night, this time on Sunday Night Football against the Bengals. That game somehow felt like every Bengals and every Chargers game all rolled into one. Until the final minute, when we learned that these aren’t your fathers Chargers! The pulled it out in a game they would frequently lose in the past decade. The story in the first half though was the Chargers pass rush absolutely dominating the Bengals. Joe Burrow had no time to do anything, which was even more impressive without Khalil Mack. Justin Herbert was dropping dimes to his receivers, and even showed some nice mobility. The Bolts are suddenly a team to be feared, and are quietly rising up in the AFC. If Justin Herbert and the defense look like this, they could be a surprise team come playoff time. It will be the most ‘Un-Chargers” thing in the world, but so was last night. You can think Jim Harbaugh for that. I will never understand why Joe Burrow walks into these games dressed looking like a lesbian women’s basketball coach.

Elsewhere around week 11, the Chiefs lost to the Bills, and America thinks the check to the refs must have bounced since a close game finally didn’t go their way. The Jets lost to the Colts and have found a way to be even worse after firing Robert Saleh. The Seahawks beat the 49ers for the first time in 3 years, and Geno Smith was barking pretty hard at them about it. Taysom Hill had his annual blow up game, as the Saints took down the Browns. The Vikings beat the Titans but their fans are confused why they can’t win every game by 47 points. I guess all that knee cap biting is working because the Lions are now 9-1 and are the best team in the NFL. The Dolphins smashed the Raiders, but it’s the ’72 Dolphins that are doing the celebrating after the Chiefs loss keeps them as the only undefeated team in NFL history. And Bo Nix turned into John Elway, and the Broncos destroyed the Falcons.

In College Football, the Trojans got back in the win column with a win over Nebraska on Saturday at the Coliseum. Did USC finally benefit from some questionable officiating? Absolutely. Will most Trojan fans care? Absolutely not considering they have been screwed on some late calls earlier in the year. Jayden Maiava filled in for Miller Moss and not only made important plays, but also the kinds of plays Miller Moss simply wouldn’t have been able to make.  Ultimately though, it’s critical the Trojans win 1 of these last 2 games against UCLA or Notre Dame because they need to be bowl eligible to keep practicing into December. That’s the only way this team can get better, which it needs to. The offensive line is still a disaster and Nebraska really isn’t all that good, yet they were right there at the end of the game. If USC is going to turn things around, they’ll need to kill it in the transfer portal in a few weeks and at the moment, it’s hard to see that happening.

Then there’s UCLA, which lost to Washington over the weekend. But do you really care about that? What you really care about is the idea that the Bruins might actually be able to beat the Trojans next week at the Rose Bowl. A few weeks ago, this idea would be completely preposterous. However, in reality, UCLA has been improving and USC has be regressing. The Trojans may be 5 point favorites, but they have to be a little nervous facing their cross-town rival, because a loss would send Trojan fans to jump off the roof of the Sigma Chi house, and the pitch forks and tiki torches would really be out for Lincoln Riley.

To baseball, where you’re all probably wondering what’s going on with the Hot Stove. The answer? Not much because most of the big free agents on the market are Scott Boras clients. That means you shouldn’t expect many of them to sign anytime soon. With that being said, you also shouldn’t expect Roki Sasaki to sign before Mid-January, when he is posted. In case you haven’t heard, the Dodgers are the front-runners for his services, and anybody else that tries to tell you otherwise is probably the same person trying to tell you that Kamala Harris still has a chance to be the next President of the United States. What I’m really liking though is the latest Jeff Passan insight, which is that the Dodgers aren’t going to chase after Juan Soto unless his market softens, and that they plan on investing in pitching. That’s exactly what they need. Sasaki, Walker Buehler, and one of Max Fried, Blake Snell, or Corbin Burnes. Signing Juan Soto is like buying a Ferrari when you just need to fix a leak in your roof.

It’s Mid-November and the Angels have now signed a washed up middle-of-the-order bat (Jorge Soler). They’ve signed a backup infielder (Kevin Newman). A backup catcher (Travis D’Arnaud), and a back end starter (Kyle Hendricks). If we’re being honest, this is nothing but a bunch of veteran rejects that don’t cost much to fill out the roster. If this is Arte Moreno’s idea of “competing in 2025” then he isn’t going to fool anybody. If they are serious about competing, they need at minimum a front line starter, 1-2 high leverage relievers, and a reliable everyday corner infielder. It’s really hard for me to imagine Arte Moreno opening his wallet and giving Perry Minasian the green light to sign one any player of significance here. I’ll be stunned if that happens.

We learned over the weekend that Inside The NBA is going to continue to be produced by TNT, and aired on ESPN after this season. Memo to you Bozos at ESPN. If you screw up this show and stick Stephen A Smith on it, NBA Twitter is going to re-create January 6th of 2021 at the ESPN HQ.

Finally, I’m sure many of you saw the fight over the weekend between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, which aired on Netflix. First of all, Netflix is clearly a total disaster when it comes to sports, as you can see by the fact their site crashed. I can’t wait until they start showing football games, where you can expect better quality viewing on Tecmo Bowl for Nintendo. As for the fight itself, it’s hard to believe that these celebrity boxing matches aren’t fixed to be quite honest. You’re telling me that Mike Tyson, even at 58-years old, couldn’t knock out Jake Paul? I saw plenty of evidence that Mike had plenty of opportunity to, but held back at certain points to ensure that the fight was going the full 8 rounds. Honestly, good for him for getting the $20 million payday. If people are willing to tune in for it, which we were, then why not? You can be sure this isn’t the last of these ridiculous fights we will be served since none of the real heavy weight boxers actually fight regularly anymore, which is just very unfortunate and our loss.

November 11th, 2024

Happy Veterans Day Everyone! The Lakers found the win column last night, but they have certainly had their ups and downs so far, and once again, Anthony Davis suffered an eye injury. I’m going to start a petition to force this man to wear goggles. How many times does he need to get smacked in the face before he takes preventative measures? As for their 6-4 record, they definitely had one completely awful loss against Detroit where they showed little effort and engagement. Despite the wins, they didn’t really show great effort in a handful of them either. With that being said, at this point they should be able to reel off a good 4 or 5 straight wins with their upcoming schedule. Given how tough the West is, this is definitely the time to bank as many wins as they can right now. If Anthony Davis stays healthy and keeps playing at this level while the Lakers do rack up wins, wining an MVP is certainly a possibility. The Lakers do really need to figure out how to get more out of their bench, and more consistency from D’Angelo Russell. Getting Jared Vanderbilt and Christian Wood back in the lineup would help immensely as well. Only problem is there is still no indication of when that might happen. It was great to see Bronny with a nice debut in the G-League. Hope his time and development there continues so we don’t have to hear all of you continue to bitch about him on the NBA roster.

You’ve gotta hand it to the Clippers. They are 6-4 after taking down the Raptors on Saturday, and finding a way to outhustle teams in every game. I had no idea that Norman Powell could do what he’s doing, and they also have some young athletic players like Derek Jones Jr, Kris Dunn, and Kevin Porter that are holding their own. I’m sure if there’s one thing the Clippers wish they had, it was Kawhi Leonard and a capable star to take them to another level. The second capable star might be just as much of a problem as the Kawhi problem. James Harden is supposed to be that, yet he’s only shooting 36% from the field and under 30% from 3. That’s the type of shooting that Philip Seymour Hoffman would be doing on the streets in the movie “Along Came Polly”. Only time will tell if the Clippers will get their biggest star healthy, and their other one back on track. I’m skeptical on both.

To the NFL where the Chargers took care of the Titans yesterday at SOFI. It was their 4th win in 5 games, and the Bolts are very much in the thick of the AFC Wild Card race. Catching the Chiefs at this point is probably out of the question but that’s ok. This is already turning into a great first season for Jim Harbaugh, and you can see the identity changes that are taking place for this team. Going into yesterday, do you realize the Chargers had not allowed a first quarter touchdown since week 1? That’s the type of tenacity and toughness that this team has needed for a long time. Of course we were all just worried about the skilled position players or lack thereof, but it turns out you can find guys like Lad McConkey and Quintin Johnston much easier than you think.

This Monday night game for the Rams against the Dolphins makes me extremely nervous. The Rams really need the win. The Dolphins have been playing much better now that Tua is back. They are extremely dangerous, and if the Rams aren’t careful, they may get caught up drinking their own Kool-Aid, and thinking they can just waltz into this game and wipe the floor with this team. That’s certainly not true. It has the makings of a very good game. Yes, the Rams defense is playing much better in the post Aaron Donald era, but they are still young and prone to mistakes. They badly need the win though if they want to keep pace in the NFC West.

Let’s go to baseball, where the hot stove is simmering and we’re hearing all kinds of rumors around the Dodgers. If you’ve been following the noise, it sounds like the Dodgers are very hot on the likes of outfielder Juan Soto, Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki, and shortstop Willy Adames. Adames makes perfect sense because the Dodgers need an upgrade at shortstop, and Sasaki is an incredible talent who would be cost controlled. However, adding Juan Soto seems like complete overkill. As great of a hitter as Soto is, for $700 million you should be getting much better defense than they will get from him. Keeping Mookie in right field would be much better, and so would Gavin Lux at 2nd base. I’d much rather take $150 million of that money for half the term and spend it on the likes of a quality pitcher like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell, and bring back Walker Buehler too. You simply cannot have enough pitching. I also don’t think the prospect cost of someone like a Garrett Crochet is worth it either, and we’ve heard a lot of trade rumors there as well. In any case it will be fascinating to see how this all unfolds over the next few weeks.

Don’t forget about the Angels signing Kyle Hendricks. I’m not sure Arte Moreno has been watching baseball since 2016, because that’s the last time this guy was an elite pitcher. I’m sure the Halos will try to sell this to us as a guy who can “eat innings”, and the fact he’s cheap. He wasn’t great last year as a starter, and only cleaned things up in the 2nd half when he went to the bullpen, but best case scenario, this guy can be a mentor for some of their younger pitchers. Maybe he can even help develop some of them, since the Halos apparently have nobody in their organization that can help with that.

To College Football, where USC made a big decision during their bye week. The Trojans will start sophomore Jayden Maiava at quarterback and bench Miller Moss. This move is interesting, but it certainly isn’t one that makes you think they are going to salvage their season or even qualify for a Bowl Game. Moss has actually played very well for the most part. He has the 3rd most yards in the Big Ten and is 4th in touchdowns thrown. He’s no scrub by any means, and I don’t think the issues the Trojans have had have much to do with him. We saw some of the same issues pop up when the great Caleb Williams was still the quarterback of this team. If anything, Maiava might give the team a different dimension of having a QB that can run, but that just tells you how concerned Lincoln Riley is about the offensive line. That might give USC some marginal improvement, but by making this decision, they have essentially given Miller Moss a reason to start looking for another school next year through the transfer portal.

As for UCLA Football, it’s time to give credit where credit is due. UCLA just beat Iowa, and has now won 3 straight games. Of their 5 losses, 4 are to Oregon, Indiana, Penn State, and LSU. That is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. DeShaun Foster has in fact done a hell of a job in year 1, and he has limited talent to work with. He simply cares about his kids and cares about the program, and he’s accomplished a lot more than you thought he could. Imagine if he had a quarterback that didn’t turn the ball over? Hey Dante Moore, do you want to come back to UCLA and play? We no longer have a moron who doesn’t give a crap coaching the program.

Then there’s UCLA Basketball, which everyone was excited about until Friday night’s loss to New Mexico. It’s unfortunately going to be a climb to get back into the rankings given the Bruins upcoming schedule. We thought the offense was fixed, but there were more turnovers than Betty Crocker. We thought the defense was back, but it looks like they couldn’t guard a parked car. On the bright side, Tyler Bilodeau looks like he can play, and Trent Perry has some spirit in him. I’m not going to write this team off yet, but they certainly have a lot of work to do. Hopefully this doesn’t turn into last year.

I don’t really wanna get overly political on here, but it’s gotta be addressed. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that Donald Trump is going to be the 47th President of The United States. I don’t care what your political preference is, a few things have to be acknowledged out of this. First, neither candidate was great, and you had to compromise on one thing or another, but that’s why we have a democracy so you can vote on what is important to you. Not what’s important to anybody else, but you personally. That’s how this works, and you should not be criticized for those choices. Next, now that we know who our next President is, can we all just come together and unite, working in one direction? That’s how we will actually succeed as a nation. Lastly, at the end of the day you just can’t take things too seriously. No matter the outcome, life will go on and you will be fine, but I think we can all agree that as long as you don’t take things too seriously, the entertainment value of the memes is incredible!

November 4, 2024

The Dodgers are World Series Champions! That’s a phrase that I don’t think anybody thought we would be saying in 2024. The most baseball thing in the world is for the Dodgers to win their 8th World Series in franchise history, in a year where they were ravaged by injuries, and nobody actually thought they were gonna get out of the NLDS. Of all the years they’ve made the playoffs and even been the favorites at times, this is the year they win it. Now all those idiots that think the 2020 championship doesn’t count can shut the hell up because this championship is like winning 2, validating the first one. Suddenly, 4 World Series in 8 seasons and 2 World Series Titles in that stretch makes you realize this is arguably the best organization in baseball. I was never overly critical of Dave Roberts like most of you were for decisions he never actually made, but in any case, he deserves credit for getting the players to buy in to their roles, and the analytical decisions. Andrew Friedman, it took a while but you sold me. You are the master of building a team with a phenomenal lineup, outstanding bullpen, and pitching. You’re also way more adaptable than I gave you credit for, actually spending money on elite players, while developing some too. Thank you Walker Buehler for reminding everybody that you still have it. Mookie, remember weeks ago when people thought you couldn’t perform in the postseason? You’re now an elite postseason performer and a winner. Freddie Freeman, you are amazing doing what you did on one leg. Will Smith, you played brilliantly behind the plate no matter what you did on offense. Don’t ever questions Shohei Ohtani’s toughness either, playing with a bum shoulder. Teoscar Hernandez, you bring so much grit and passion to the Dodgers, in addition to your talent. Gavin Lux, I don’t care what anybody says, you are a solid player that can start on my team any day. Max Muncy, you made yourself into a very good defender at 3rd base when nobody said you could. Clayton Kershaw, this championship is just as much yours as it is theirs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, you are the ace we thought you could be. To the entire bullpen, you were lights out! Lastly, I want to thank the Yankees for their charity, in giving away game 5. They should be given the Robert Clemente Award this year for being so giving!

With all that being said, it’s not too early to look to the baseball off-season. Even the Dodgers have decisions to make. I realize there is a lot of talk about Juan Soto, and how the Dodgers could create the Death Star lineup with him, but do you really need another $700 million outfielder? Soto is saying bring the cash, and get a reservation at Nobu to talk. Meanwhile, Teoscar Hernandez would do anything to remain a Dodger. The Dodgers need to re-sign him to a reasonable contract, and invest in more pitching. You need 10-12 pitchers to net out at 4 healthy and reliable pitchers come the postseason. Max Fried or Corbin Burnes, come on down! Bring back Walker Buehler too. The Angels have already started making off season moves too, but stupid ones. Mike Trout can’t play the outfield anymore so they acquire Jorge Soler, who also can’t play the outfield. Savvy move by Perry. What else you got up your sleeve? I hear Josh Hamilton and Stephen Strasberg are available. Arte Moreno was so mad the Dodgers won, he decided to light $13 million on fire.

To the NFL, where the Rams had a tremendous win yesterday against the Seahawks. They are now 4-4 and in second place in the NFC West. A great throw by Matt Stafford, and an even better catch by D-Rob to finish it off. That “punch” by Puka to get ejected was complete nonsense. The defense is making plays and getting better and better every week. Jared Verse might even be the defensive rookie of the year, especially since he’s going to be playing in even bigger games as the season goes on. Suddenly we went from talking about rebuilding to being buyers at the trade deadline. It’s amazing how much better you can be when you have an offensive line, and your top offensive players are healthy. They can easily beat Miami next week on Monday night at home. This division is going to come down to the final game or two to determine a winner, but that just means we’re going to see some serious prime time games before it’s over, which is great. In case you forgot, Sean McVay can coach, and he’s reminding you of that every game.

As for the Chargers, they took care of the Browns easily. Slowly this is becoming a team you don’t want to play with. Much more physical and nasty, and you can thank Jim Harbaugh for that. Justin Herbert also has the fewest interceptions in the league this season, and the Bolts are the #1 scoring defense. These are things that would have been unheard of under the previous Bolts regime. At 5-3, this team is firmly in the mix for a Wild Card spot, but there is lots more upside to come.

In the NBA, the Lakers are off to a decent 4-2 start, but there is some drama coming up. Jaxton Hayes, who was investigated for domestic abuse a few years ago, is having his case re-opened by the NBA after some TMZ footage was released. Hayes was previously sentenced to community service and counseling, and was not suspended by the league. After seeing the tape, I don’t personally see anything that could have come to light that would make the punishment any different. However, if the Lakers lose Hayes they will need more help at center immediately. That was already a weak position. Christian Koloko has yet to suit up, while Jared Vanderbilt and Christian Wood are still recovering from injuries and are weeks away from playing. The Lakers also have a serious bench problem, with Dalton Knecht their only real productive player off the pine. With that being said, the Lakers schedule is exceptionally soft for the next 5-6 games, so this is a great time to bank some wins, unlike what we’ve seen from them in the early going of the past couple of seasons.

Then there’s the Clippers, who are struggling to finish games. The Clippers are 2-4, playing hard in every game, but losing control in the 4th quarter. That’s unfortunately what happens when you’re missing your star players like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and James Harden isn’t exactly the MVP version of himself anymore. There’s also unfortunately no end in sight to when Kawhi might have a better string of health. The Clippers are being very vague, and his people are being vague with the Clips. It’s safe to say they probably don’t see eye-to-eye on it, especially when you consider the litigation going on with their former trainer.

On to College Football, where USC should be feeling rather embarrassed after this weekend. They fell to Washington on the road, and are now 4-5 on the season. I’m beginning to wonder if 6 or 7 wins is really in the cards for this group, and if they can actually reach a bowl game, which would be disappointing considering how things started. I know there’s a lot of arrows slinging at Lincoln Riley, but everyone needs a reality check. He has a $90 million buyout. The NFL isn’t going to come calling for him to be an offensive coordinator, and he doesn’t want that. You shouldn’t want that for USC either. You knew it was going to take time to adjust to The Big Ten. You ultimately need to give it time either way.

Finally., UCLA even found the win column again Nebraska! Did you really think they were going to even get 3 wins this season? I sure didn’t. But everyday, DeShaun Foster is showing you that he at least cares enough to continue keeping the job. Nebraska isn’t some team of bums either. Ethan Garbers looked solid, and the defense held up. I’d really like to see what Foster can do from a recruiting perspective, especially in this new NIL era. This program might have a little more upside than you think.

October 28th, 2024

The Dodgers are just two wins away from winning the World Series! Coming into this series, you would have thought it was the Yankees that had the advantage in starting pitching. Instead, it’s been the Dodger starters that have dominated. Jack Flaherty was every bit as good as Gerrit Cole in game 1, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto was every bit the ace we thought he could be in game 2. The bullpen continues to be phenomenal, and the offense continues to hit. It’s not all about swinging for the fences either, as their at-bats have been smart and strategic, which have enabled the long ball to be a byproduct. Don’t the Yankees know? Never pitch to a Dodger player who can barely walk in a World Series walk off-situation. Freddie Freeman was Kirk Gibson all over again, except Freeman was able to play the entire game. It appears as though the Boys in Blue dodged a bullet with Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder injury. It sounds like he will be in the lineup in game 3, despite a scary incident trying to steal 2nd base in game 2. The Dodgers will need to have at least 2 games in this series that will need to be bullpen games, which is likely to be games 4 and 5. That would give them an opportunity to use Buehler, Flaherty, and Yamamoto in games 6 and 7 at home. As we learned in the Mets and Padres series, those bullpen games aren’t necessarily a huge disadvantage for a Dodger team with an elite bullpen. The Dodgers are looking good, but as Kobe has told us, the job is not finished.

Speaking of Kobe, that brings us to the Lakers, who are off to a 3-0 start.
They’ve also beaten 3 opponents that are playoff caliber. That’s their best start in 14 years! For a team with two championships in that stretch, that’s pretty surprising. Of course it helps that Anthony Davis is looking like a dominant two-way force, and Lebron James continues to amaze us in year 22 of his illustrious career. However, more than anything, JJ Redick is doing exactly what I told you he needed to do. He is playing sensible lineups that include his best players. He also knows the proper way to use his timeouts. Again, nobody is asking him to be Phil Jackson or Pat Riley, just don’t be a complete buffoon like your predecessor. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the Lakers are definitive championship contenders, but I can tell you that there is a world where they are much improved from the last two years, and you’re getting a peek into what that looks like.

As for the Clippers, they began play in the Intuit Dome last week, which is a pretty cool arena. “The Wall”, which is a 4,500-seat section exclusive to Clippers fans, located behind one of the baskets, and half of which is standing room only. It’s a pretty cool idea by Steve Ballmer, and has even caught the attention of players around the league who are complimenting the concept. That’s the most exciting news for the franchise, because it’s been a mixed bag on the court to start. The win over Denver was nice, and Norman Powell had a nice night. However, the Kawhi Leonard injury saga is putting a cloud over the franchise. The latest drama is former Clippers trainer Randy Shelton suing the franchise for wrongful termination, and within the lawsuit alleges unsafe treatment of the franchise’s star player. Shelton claimed that Kawhi’s torn ACL he suffered in 2021 required two years to heal from, which was a timeline the Clippers were unwilling to accept. This sounds all too familiar, because the same thing happened in San Antonio. Kawhi needed time to recover from his knee injury on a timeline the Spurs were unwilling to accept. It’s even worse for the Clippers, who are paying him more than $50 million a year, so of course 2 years for a knee injury is unacceptable. It’s become more and more apparent the idea of Kawhi as a full-time NBA player is nothing more than wishful thinking at this point, and I think in a perfect world, the Clippers would love to divorce themselves of this problem and move on from it.

To the NFL, where the Rams took down the Vikings on Thursday night at SOFI Stadium. That was a huge win, mostly because it should make the Rams evaluate themselves completely differently than they were in the days leading up to that game. The Rams are a game out of 1st place in the NFC West, and there is really nobody in the NFC that truly scares you. They also have a lot of very winnable games coming up on their schedule, and they are going to get healthier on the offensive line. There’s no reason to think the Rams can’t go on a run, given what we’ve seen from them in the past. As for the idea of trading Cooper Kupp, or even Matthew Stafford, I can understand the rationale. You can get great receivers in the draft for cheap given the new rules, and Kupp’s availability has been in question. However, Matthew Stafford is 36 years old, and the time to win with him is now. Trading Kupp is counter productive to that idea. I do love Sean McVay’s reaction to the question about the trade rumors though. He had a great answer, but didn’t actually say anything. Sure teams are calling the Rams, but you didn’t say what the Rams are saying on the other end. That’s why I love Sean McVay. Still, the team isn’t that far away, and should look to get healthier and win before they look to blow it up and rebuild

As for the Chargers, they found the win column against the Saints to get back over .500. What a dirty play by that Saints lineman, nearly taking off Justin Herbert’s leg. That game had a lot of PTSD like moments for the Bolts and their fans, like wide receiver drops and missed extra points with shoddy kicking. However, the Chargers still managed to pull it out. I can’t help but think the Chargers would be so much better served trying to acquire a quality wide receiver like Amari Cooper or DeAndre Hopkins, and I can’t imagine the cost would have been that high. Justin Herbert is dying out here throwing to all these Door Dash Drivers every week. Still, with games coming up against the Browns and Titans, there’s some opportunity to make up ground in the standings.

Elsewhere around the NFL in Week 8, Jameis Winston and the Browns shocked the Ravens. Winston is going to be telling stories with Uncle Rico about how far he can throw a football over dem mountains after that one. The Bills dismantled in the Seahawks in a game where Josh Allen was inventing new ways to get 1st downs by kicking the ball on the ground to his teammates. It took National Tight Ends Day and the Raiders for Travis Kelce to have a really good game, as the Chiefs topped the Raiders in Vegas. The Eagles blew out the Bengals, and at some point with Joe Burrow and his hair, you knew it was gonna go from Eminem to Lance Bass. The Cardinals got by the Dolphins, but Tua slid instead of went head first on a play, and everybody was ready to celebrate with a parade. The Texans beat the Colts, yet they are by far the most stressful 6-2 team for any fan base to deal with. The Packers also took down the Jaguars, but their fans will be lighting candles and sacrificing small animals in hopes that Jordan Love will be healthy next week.

In College Football, USC finally found the win column again, taking down Rutgers at home on Friday night. It’s a win they were definitely supposed to be have, but 8:00 pm on Friday night for a Big Ten Conference game? Not to mention it’s occurring on a night where the Dodgers and Lakers are playing on the same side of town as them! This could not be what USC was hoping for when they switched over to The Big Ten, even if they did get $15 million more out of it. On the field though, that was definitely a nice rebound game for Miller Moss, and for the critics, there is really no need to make a change. USC’s issues really don’t have much to do with him. The Trojans could be favored in 3 of their last 4 games, and could easily go 3-1, which frankly is what they will need to do just to have a respectable finish for their first season in The Big Ten. It still won’t be anything the alums will be happy about it, but certainly beats the alternative of people calling for Lincoln Riley’s head.

Finally, after 9 games the LA Kings are looking exactly like we thought they would look. Perhaps a decent team, but one that probably won’t do any damage in the playoffs. A growing issue for the Kings is their goaltending, which they probably took for granted for a long time with Jonathan Quick manning the net for over a decade, and ultimately leading them to two Stanley Cups. Darcy Keumper is just a guy they hope can be decent given his bloated salary. At this point, David Rittich and Phonix Copley should really be playing in a beer league somewhere, even after putting up some respectable performances the last two seasons. I’m not sure that the Kings have the next guy in their organization that will be the man between the pipes, but they need to figure that out, because it’s the most critical element to winning a Stanley Cup.