September 8th, 2014

It was an ugly game in Palo Alto on Saturday afternoon.  It was uglier than a USC freshman getting initiated into a fraternity.  It also took an ejection, and Pat Haden coming onto the field, but the Trojans got it done, beating Stanford in the Bay Area for the first time since 2008.  Heading to one of the commercial breaks in the first half, ABC played the song “Turn Down For What”, which was quite fitting since neither team could get much offense going.  The Trojan defense was resilient though.  It felt like the Cardinal spent half the game in USC territory, but just when you thought Kevin Hogan was going to put the Trojans away, he began to look more like Brooke Hogan.  Stanford was inside SC’s 30 yard line 9 times, yet they only scored twice.  USC didn’t exactly set the world on fire either with their offensive production, but they did show enough character and toughness to make you believe they will be a serious contender in the Pac-12 South.

Ok Trojan fans, I get it, you’re pumped and you should be.  But some USC fans are acting like we all thought their team was going to be some pile of crap this year.  USC won 10 games last year, despite all the turmoil.  They hammered Fresno State, and got by Stanford on the road, two teams that they happened to beat last season.  In fact, up until the last two games of the season against UCLA and Notre Dame, the Trojans should be favored on paper.  They haven’t done anything yet to shock us.  If anything, I’d be concerned with the hot and cold offense we saw in the first two weeks of the season.  As the Trojans continue their conference schedule, that could be an issue.

Speaking of issues, UCLA has a ton of them.  They survived another scare against a crummy team, beating Memphis 42-35 at the Rose Bowl Saturday night.  It looked like UCLA solved most of their problems on offense, only to start a whole set of new ones on the defensive side of the ball.  Brett Hundley threw for 396 yards and 3 scores, Paul Perkins rushed for 98 yards and 2 scores, and the Bruins offensive line was much more effective.  However, the defense looked like a bunch of high schoolers putting on the pads for the first time.  The Bruins had to have missed more tackles over the weekend then total tackles they actually made.  Memphis piled up 469 yards.  The Bruins should have blown them off the field in the first quarter.  The only good news is that UCLA is going to face a terrible Texas team that just took a beating from the Mormons.  After that it’s going to get a lot tougher, and potentially much uglier.   Here are the highlights and low lights from Saturday night……

I’d like to thank the Big 10 for participating in this years College Football Season, which is over for their conference after this weekend.  What a failure.  Notre Dame demolished Michigan 31-0, Oregon ripped Michigan State, and Ohio State got punked by Virginia Tech.  This was the worst weekend in the state of Michigan since General Motors was bailed out by the government.  Notre Dame looks great thus far, but their remaining schedule is brutal: half of their remaining games are against teams currently ranked in the top 25.

To baseball, where I think it’s safe to say the Angels have clinched the AL West, and shocked the baseball world after this weekend.  The Halos completed a four game sweep of the Twins while the A’s continued to sink like the Titanic, by losing two of three to the Houston Astros.  Even CJ Wilson deserves some credit, although most of you Halo fans would rather have him ejected from the universe right now.  Wilson gave the Angels more than 6 strong innings, and despite a shaky stretch, still retired 13 out of 14.  If the Halos offense is going to be even half as good as it was this weekend, the starting pitching can be as good as Wilson was yesterday.  I know what some of you are thinking: “The Angels are peaking too early.”  I disagree.  By securing the division now, the Angels can ready their playoff rotation the way they want it, which will be critical for them since they no longer have the depth they once did with Garrett Richards.

As for the Dodgers, they continue to hold off the Giants in the NL West, after completing a 3 game sweep against the D’Backs.  It feels like every time the Dodgers go into some losing streak or badly need a win, Arizona shows up on their schedule to save the day.  LA finished the season series winning 15 of the 19 games between the two clubs.  Adrian Gonzales and Matt Kemp are carrying the club offensively at this point, but these guys are going to need more support.  Offensively the Dodgers have yet to click on all cylinders all season.  Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez have yet to be hot when Kemp and Agon have it going, but that’s going to be critical down the stretch and into October.  Not only do the Dodgers need to keep winning to hold off San Francisco and win the NL West, but they are in a race for home field advance in the NL Playoffs.  Not having that last season was one of the deciding factors in losing the NLCS.

Andre Ethier must be losing his mind.  At the beginning of the season, he was the Dodgers starting center fielder.  Eventually, he lost his starting spot to Kemp, Puig, and Carl Crawford.  Then, he lost his job as the Dodgers 4th outfielder to Scott Van Slyke.  Over the weekend, Puig gets a stomach ailement, and rookie Joc Pederson, who couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat right now, gets the start in center field over Ethier.  I realize that Ethier has had a disappointing season, but at some point the Dodgers are going to need this guy before the season is over.  I’m not sure if Ethier slept with Don Mattingly’s wife, or insulted him in some other way, but it would be wise for Mattingly to find him some playing time and some at bats, so he doesn’t completely crush his confidence.

Finally, Week 1 of the NFL was a good one.  Great shootout between the Falcons and Saints yesterday.  Atlanta looks like they are back to a playoff team.  I realize it’s a shock the Patriots lost in week 1, and that they are in last place in the AFC East, but the last time they lost in week 1 they won the Super Bowl.  The Bills won, but I’ve been hearing “they’re back” for the last 10 years.  I’m not sold after 1 road win in Chicago, or Minnesota after beating the Rams.  The Chiefs look exactly how I thought they would.   Brian Hoyer didn’t look that bad against the Steelers, which is unfortunate, because I was really hoping to see Johnny Football get his ass kicked in the next few weeks.  At least we got to see Antonio Brown go Bruce Lee on the Browns…..

The Raiders still suck.  Why do people think Tampa is going to bounce back this year? Josh McCown is awful.  The Redskins don’t look too much improved from last year.  The Texans did for a moment, until Jadeveon Clowney got hurt.  I thought Chip Kelly was going to get fired at halftime of the Eagles vs Jaguars game, but good thing his boys rebounded in the 2nd half.  And how could I forget the Cowboys and the 49ers.  I thought Tony Romo was going to break Twitter from all the reactions after his awful play.  This is where we all find out that Romo is really color blind right?  The Cowboys look as bad as I thought they would be.  Here’s Dez Bryant paying for Romo’s mistakes…..

September 1st, 2014

It was ugly, but UCLA got it done.  The Bruins escaped their matchup with Virginia on Saturday, to open the season 1-0, and avoid a complete disaster.  I know what most of you are thinking: the Bruins are overrated, they shouldn’t be ranked the #7 team in the country, the offensive line stinks, and Brett Hundley isn’t a Heisman Trophy candidate.  While it’s probably easy to be concerned after week 1, don’t become prisoner of the moment.  UCLA was missing two starters on the offensive line, and without them, not even a condom could provide these lineman with adequate protection.  The Bruins still have two weeks to go before facing Texas, and more than three weeks to prepare for their first Pac-12 game against ASU.  Keep in mind, two years ago, Notre Dame went undefeated before the BCS Championship game, and played every game close.  Sometimes, the sign of a good team is one that can win when they aren’t at their best, and UCLA showed us that on Saturday.

Meanwhile, at the Coliseum, the Trojans hammered Fresno State 52-13.  This game had a nice warm and fuzzy feeling for USC fans, who had to feel like they were watching the Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart team pile up points.  I’m not sure if that was really Cody Kessler at quarterback for the Trojans, or Joe Montana.  Kessler threw for 394 yards and 4 touchdowns, while rushing for another.  10 different Trojans caught passes in Sark’s new offense, including freshman JuJu Smith, who had 4 receptions for 123 yards.  Javorius Allen also had 133 yards rushing and a TD.  Watching Sark’s uptempo offense was like playing Playstation against my 5 year old nephew.  It’s only a few days from now when we’ll find out if this win actually means anything, because the Trojans will be visiting those corporately sponsored, Chardonnay drinking, Stanford Cardinal.  USC is only going to go as far as their freshman take them.

As for all the off the field shenanigans that took place this week, this is the world of college football today.  It’s so easy to forget that we are watching 19 and 20 year old kids learning to grow up.  I’ve always said that college isn’t completely about getting an education (I’m sure the NCAA would agree with that statement), but also about learning about yourself.  Nobody really knows what Josh Shaw was doing jumping off a balcony, and spraining both ankles in the process.  However, it’s safe to say whatever he was doing, was idiotic because he needed to lie about it.  Even more idiotic were the accusations made by senior running back Anthony Brown, who called coach Steve Sarkisian a racist before quitting the team.  It seems highly improbable that a well respected man who has coached college football for the last 15 years could be a racist.  Tough way for Sark to begin the job at USC, but being able to handle this nonsense is a huge part of the job, and he obviously handled it well this week.  So did the person that made this sign…..

Elsewhere in week 1 on the college gridiron, Notre Dame looked very sharp in their win over Rice.  Getting Everett Golson back as their starting quarterback already looks like it’s making a world of a difference.  I expect another wild finish next week against Michigan.  Kenny Hill looks like he’s going to be even better than Johnny “Middle Finger”, and Texas A&M should be a top 10 team.  Alabama is going to lose some games this year, Florida State doesn’t look as good as last year, but their schedule is pretty easy.

On to baseball, where the Angels have caught fire.  Did you Halo fans really think that on September 1st, you would have a 5 game lead in the AL West?  After the Garrett Richards injury, it felt like the Angels were going to have a funeral for the rest of their season, but it’s been quite the opposite since.  The Halos have won 5 in a row after a 4 game sweep over Oakland, in a series where they held the A’s to just 1 run in their last 31 innings.  Matt Shoemaker came out of nowhere to win 14 games as a starter, and the Angels pitching has held up.  All you need to know about the A’s and Angels right now is that prior to yesterday’s game, the Angels were preparing for their fantasy football draft, while the A’s were having a team meeting.  I like how the A’s traded for Adam Dunn yesterday, because they are so desperate for offense.  Apparently nobody listened to me weeks ago when I called them foolish for trading their cleanup hitter for Jon Lester, who would be a three month rental.  Last I checked you can’t win if you don’t score.  I believe you can tie though.

Speaking of inability to score, the Dodgers’ bats were nowhere to be found for much of the weekend in San Diego.  Once again, the pitching and the bullpen were solid, but LA couldn’t get any offense going against the lowly Padres.  Even more concerning is the fact the Dodgers lead in the NL West has been cut to 2.5 games with 25 left to play.  I think the Dodgers are going to win the west, but come October, it’s going to come down to whether or not Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzales, and Yasiel Puig can produce.  Speaking of Puig, does anybody know what happened to his power?  He looked like a superstar for the first half of the season, but in the 2nd half he’s looked like nothing more than “just a guy” in the lineup.  Puig and all his overpaid teammates need to get it together and start producing some offense.

Doc Rivers just pulled a fast one on Steve Ballmer.  Somehow, he managed to get his new owner to pay him $10 million a year for the next 5 years.  Look, I like Doc Rivers, and I think he’s a great coach, but he isn’t worth $4 million more than Greg Popovich.  He also isn’t worth $6 million more than Rick Carlisle, Tom Thibodeau, and $7 million more than Erik Spoelstra.  When you really think about it, the Clippers currently have the best team in the history of their franchise, the two best players currently playing in the history of the franchise, and the best coach in the history of the franchise, yet they haven’t been able to make it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs yet.  Do you really expect them to be any better next year?  That concept should be pretty scary for Clipper fans.

Are you ready…..for some football?  We’re just three days away from the start of the NFL season, and that means it’s time for some predictions.  In the AFC, my division winners are the Denver, New England, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati, while my wild card teams are San Diego and Pittsburgh.  In the NFC, my division winners are Seattle, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Philadelphia, with my wild card teams being Chicago, and San Francisco.  I will also take Seattle over Denver again in the Super Bowl.  As long as the Seahawks have home field, they will not be beaten.  If the Saints get home field, then it’s a different story.  The Broncos are the first team in history to have clinched their division without actually playing a game.  The Patriots will probably get back to the AFC title game, but Andrew Luck and the Colts will be tugging on Tom Brady’s cape.  The Cowboys, Raiders, and Texans will all stink, and you can count on a handful of players in the AFC north getting arrested before December.

For those of you considering taking Adrian Peterson in your fantasy draft be careful!  Clearly, Peterson is suffering from concussion like symptoms, since he said to Jerry Jones that he would be interested in playing for the Cowboys.  Gotta love Roger Goodell changing the NFL’s disciplinary policy on domestic abuse after the public outrage over the Ray Rice situation.  Even after increasing the suspension for domestic abuse incidents, it’s still nothing in comparison to the penalty for smoking pot.  In other words, the NFL wants to remind you to hit your girlfriend, and not the bong.  And poor Michael Sam.  Where is he supposed to shower now?

And finally, I had the misfortune of being selected as a juror last week for a criminal trial here in Newport Beach.  Like most people, I tried to make up ridiculous excuses to avoid being selected, but the judge just wasn’t buying it.  However, after going through the miserable jury selection process, the case itself was somewhat interesting, and it’s good to see how our legal process works.  What I really mean by that is, it’s good to see how your tax paying dollars are going to waste.  I actually had to sit on a criminal case for three days because a few 16 year old kids decided to go play “ding-dong ditch” and urinate on a guys house in South Orange County.  Oh, and it wasn’t the kids who were the defendants in the case either.  It was the home owner, who chased the kids down with a gun(allegedly), and smacked a kid over the head.  The district attorney actually thought this was a good case to waste our tax paying dollars on.  A case in which the testimony of three 16 year old kids (whose idiotic stories weren’t even the same) was their primary argument.  More importantly, did anybody actually play “ding-dong ditch” at 16 years old?  I thought most of us guys were out hitting on girls then.  Those kids must be the biggest losers in the history of high school.

August 25th, 2014

The Angels looked like they were conducting a funeral in Boston earlier in the week.  Once Garrett Richards was carried off the field earlier in the week, it looked like he carried off the Angels AL West and post season hopes with him.  However, when the week was over, the Halos had completed a 4 game sweep in Boston, and salvaged a game in their series with Oakland, to regain the best record in baseball.  Mike Trout hit a ball so far last night, that you would have thought he was using a Callaway driver instead of a baseball bat.  Even more important is the fact that Josh Hamilton is starting to remember how to hit, which is suddenly making a huge difference in the Angels lineup.  Since the moment Richards went down, it’s like someone informed him he needed to start earning his paycheck, and he listened.

The Angels need Bartolo Colon, but they aren’t going to get him on waivers.  This should also be a relief for the clubhouse staff, who would have had to double the amount of pregame food for the team with the addition of Colon.  Yes, it would be nice to find a replacement for Garrett Richards, but it isn’t going to happen.  However, don’t count the Halos out yet.  CJ Wilson is very capable of putting together a quality couple of months now that he is off the DL, and he looked very good on Saturday night.  Wilson is easily a front of the rotation pitcher when he’s on his game, and could easily keep the Angels as a major threat in the American League.  Funny that Richards and Josh Hamilton are two former Texas Ranger players, who are extreme head cases.  If both of these guys could get their heads right, the Angels could still go to the World Series.

I’m surprised they actually played that game last night after the earthquake in Napa.  Hopefully everyone up there is safe after a state of emergency was declared.  More importantly, hopefully everyone actually checked on their reservations at all those fancy wineries and restaurants, and made sure they were still good to go.

Then there’s the Dodgers.  Kevin Correia got quite a birthday present yesterday from the Mets.  He got a 7 run beat down, which included three home runs.  The Boys in Blue got bombed yesterday by New York, but still managed to take two out of three, and extended their NL West lead to 3.5 games over the Giants.  Yesterday might have actually been an audition for Bartolo Colon with the Dodgers.  It wouldn’t shock me if LA claimed him as an insurance policy with the recent injuries to their starting staff.  Amazing how Andre Ethier is getting the shaft.  He’s not even a 4th outfielder anymore, as Scott Van Slyke is seeing more playing time than him.  That’s like telling Kim Kardashian she can no longer appear on her television, and instead, she’s just relegated to collecting fat paychecks.

I don’t know about the rest of you Dodger fans, but I have great fear that Zack Greinke’s season could come to an end at any time with his complaints about an elbow injury.  Greinke looked pretty good on Saturday, and is on track to start his next game, but is still not the dominant pitcher we saw for the first quarter of the season.  Considering that Hyun-Jin Ryu and Josh Beckett are already on the DL, the Dodgers should do what they can to get Bartolo Colon off of waivers.  Bart is another serviceable arm, that might even be good enough to start a playoff game if necessary.

Here we are….one week away from the start of college football season.  The storylines for the Bruins and Trojans are interesting, and expectations are high for both.  However, history is not on UCLA’s side, despite being ranked 7th in the country.  The best two quarterbacks in UCLA history were Gary Beban and Troy Aikman.  Beban won the Heisman Trophy in 1967, but lost to USC that year, and the Trojans went on to win a national title in a year where the Bruins were considered title contenders.  In 1988, Aikman was a Heisman Trophy candidate, but ended up finishing 3rd, and also lost to USC, while once again, the Bruins were considered preseason national championship contenders.  Maybe this is part of the reason why I’m concerned that QB Brett Hundley and UCLA are getting too much hype from the coaches and writers before the season starts?

Why do NFL players keep getting shot at night clubs?  I’ve been to a lot of night clubs in my life, especially in my 20’s, and I didn’t seem to have a problem with flying bullets in the club.

Tough break for Rams QB Sam Bradford, who tore his ACL for the 2nd straight season, and has an NFL career that is very much up in the air.  This would be a good time for the Rams to call the Redskins about Kirk Cousins, or even the Eagles, who are hoarding a pair of former Trojan QB’s in Mark Sanchez, and Matt Barkley.

Memo to Bill Plaschke of the LA Times:  Although i appreciate your genuine effort to cover my LA Kings, and give the Stanley Cup Champions the attention they deserve, your article on Darryl Sutter was waaaaaaaay too long.  By the middle of the 2nd page, I gave up, as did many of your other readers.

August 18th, 2014

All year long I thought it was the Cardinals the Dodgers had to worry about the most.  It’s actually the Brewers.  Over the last 10 days, the Dodgers have been owned by Milwaukee, losing 5 out of 6 games, and gunned down like a teenage kid by the cops in Missouri (too soon for that joke?).  The Brewers beat both Clayton Kershaw, and Zack Greinke this past weekend, and were hitting the ball out of the park like the steroid era was back in full effect.  The Boys in Blue may still have a nice cushion over San Francisco, but they can’t feel good about a potential matchup with the Brew Crew in October.  LA’s middle relief has been inconsistent of late, and Brian Wilson isn’t earning a dime of the $10 million he’s being paid.  To make matters worse, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Juan Uribe, and Hanley Ramirez were all placed on the DL last week.  The Dodgers are near the top of the NL, but things aren’t going to be easy for them in the coming weeks.

Speaking of Hanley, the Dodgers have reportedly tabled contract talks with their shortstop until the end of the season.  Ramirez had asked the Dodgers for a contract in excess of $100 million a few weeks ago, however, his inability to remain healthy has clearly created some pause for the Dodgers.  Hanley’s bat is extremely valuable, but he’s also become a defensive liability at shortstop, and LA has a promising shortstop in the minors in Corey Seager.  This is actually a very good thing.  Hanley’s price tag is going to fall.  At the most, he’s going to get around 3 years and $60 million, which is a price only the Dodgers can afford to pay.  He’s also going to have to move to third base, which means Juan Uribe will be gone after next season.  More importantly, this will be the start of the Dodgers developing more and more young players to inject youth into the team over the next few years, instead of spending money like a USC sorority girl at the mall on a Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Angels blew it yesterday.  Even though Huston Street was due to blow a save, there is never a good time for it to happen.  The Halos got more great starting pitching, and their bullpen was solid too, until the 9th, when Street failed to hold a 2-1 lead, and the Angels lost the game 3-2.  Fear not Angel fans, you are right there with the A’s, battling it out for 1st place in the west, and you’ll get to play them 7 times in the next two weeks.  There’s also another 3 game set in late September.  That will decide whether its No Cal or So Cal that’s going to win the division.  Even with Tyler Skaggs having season ending surgery, I still like the Halos chances with Richards, Weaver, Shoemaker, and even CJ Wilson, who for some reason you all hate.  Maybe you all hate him because he’s down with those lame Christian Rock bands, but either way, Wilson is going to get his game together and surprise you doubters.

If there’s one thing that would really help the Angels it would be Josh Hamilton getting his game back together.  This dude is cashing in $15 million in his checking account this season, and he’s got 8 home runs with a .266 average.  I get that he was hurt for a few weeks, but this guy’s offense needs to check into rehab.  I’m thinking the only way Hamilton is going to turn it around is if he starts boozing again.  His teammates need to take him out in Newport for a night where he can go on a 24 hour binge, and get smashed.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  It worked in Texas, so why can’t we get it to work in Anaheim?

I will never understand whose idea it was for a baseball manager to wear the same uniform that his players are wearing.  Some of these guys just shouldn’t be wearing it, and have to be wondering why they have to look ridiculous 162 times a year.  Can you imagine if they did this in the NBA?  I’d love to see Phil Jackson or Greg Popovich wearing an NBA uniform, and you know it would include those ridiculous 80’s shorts that were so tight they’d be picking their wedgies all night.

Speaking of the NBA, Steve Nash just completed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  He’ll be out for the next 6-8 weeks.  Ok, Nash isn’t hurt yet, but he probably will be shortly after training camp begins.  However, I’m not counting the Lakers out yet.  LA has a new coach, who tends to overachieve in his first year wherever he goes.  They also have one of the most NBA ready rookies  from the past draft, and Kobe Bryant back.  Houston lost two starters, Dallas overpaid for one Chandler and acquired another aging one, Portland might have caught lightning in a bottle last year, while Phoenix and New Orleans may not be playoff teams yet.  I’m obviously painting a highly optimistic picture here.  The most reasonable expectation is for the Lakers to finish 12th in the west, and for Kobe to be in and out of the lineup.  Still, Phoenix and Portland were surprising last year.  All I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if the Lakers are this year.

Just when you think Notre Dame is done disciplining a few football players for some academic issues, here comes another 4 football players that are about to get kicked off the team.  Still, this isn’t really the total disaster that some people are making it out to be, as only two of the four players are starters.  I still expect ND to be a 10 win team this year, and battling it out for a big time bowl game.  As for the academic issues, this speaks volumes about Notre Dame as a University, and what it means to be a student athlete there.  The university is actually conducting an investigation about academic fraud, which would be unheard of at an SEC school, and many other universities around the country.  Athletes can’t get away with taking garbage classes like pencil sharpening 101, and ball room dancing at Notre Dame.  They have to take real classes.  That’s why it’s remarkable that Notre Dame is able to be as competitive as they are in sports, since they are recruiting the real student athletes.

This weekend I had the privilege of going up to Pebble Beach for the 64th annual Concours d’Elegance.  For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it is one of the world’s largest exhibitions of exotic and expensive automobiles.  Many of these are old vintage cars that have been restored.  However, the cars that I enjoy looking at the most are the futuristic concept automobiles that are on display, or new ones that are debuting.  One of these ridiculous cars was the Porsche 918 Spyder, which is actually a hybrid.  By “hybrid”, I mean it can travel up to 18 miles on electricity. 18 miles???!!!!! Wow, way to do your part to help the environment Porsche!  Look, I’m no tree hugger, nor do I hate on people who want to protect the environment.  However, we need to stop building cars that go only 10-30 miles on electricity, and stop calling them “hybrids”, while pretending like we are doing are part.  Especially at a price of $1 million for that Porsche.

Not long after last week’s edition of Monday Morning Coffee came out, we learned of Robin Williams sudden and tragic death.  Thus, I would be remiss not to mention it this week.  What I love about Williams is the fact that people of so many different generations can connect with him, and he found a way to make them all laugh.  From his early days of Mork and Mindy, to making us all laugh in Mrs. Doubtfire, or even entertaining kids with his voice in Aladdin, he could do it all.  People also forget that as funny as he was, it was his ability to be a serious actor, like when he won an Academy Award in Goodwill Hunting, that showed off his real talent.  Many of us didn’t know how bad his addiction and illness was until now.  It probably was his ability to laugh which kept him alive for so long, fighting that illness.

August 10th, 2014

It was looking like a very rough weekend for the Dodgers in Milwaukee.  Zack Greinke was beaten like an NFL players wife, Hanley Ramirez was injured like he always is, and the Dodgers offense was absent like Ferris Bueller.  LA was on the verge of getting swept until Clayton Kershaw stopped the bleeding.  Kershaw was brilliant again in 8 innings yesterday, and the Boys in Blue salvaged a win, which actually pushed their NL West Lead to 4.5 games over the Giants.  In his last two starts, we’ve seen why he’s becoming one of the best pitchers of the era.  Against the Angels, he “struggled”, by giving up 3 runs.  However, he eventually willed his team through some critical moments by striking out Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton.  Yesterday, he got off to a rough start by allowing the leadoff man to get on base in four of the first five innings, but once again willed his team to victory with 8 strong innings.  The Dodgers also gave him some run support as well, which was absent for much of the weekend.

You know Kershaw is great, but he’s even better than that.  He has the lowest ERA among pitchers who have started at least 100 games since 1920!  It’s nice to have a weapon like that, who can stop the bleeding of a losing streak.  There’s still issues with the Dodgers though.  Hanley Ramirez just can’t seem to get himself healthy, which is hurting his offensive production.  Hanley is in a contract year, and his agent is currently giving him advice about as good as your high school friend who told you it was a good idea to take a few bong rips.  Hanley is trying to prove he’s durable, except he’s so banged up that he isn’t always hitting.  He’d be much better off going on the DL, which he finally did,  then he can produce at a high level more often.   I like the addition of Kevin Correia and Roberto Hernandez, but the bullpen has been getting lit up of late.  I’ll take the 4.5 game lead in the NL West, but it’s clear LA has to shore up these issues before the post season.

As for the Angels, the last 6 days have been terrible.  They’ve lost 5 of their last 7 and fallen 4 games back of Oakland in the AL West.  Although the Halos and Dodgers played an exciting four game series, the Angel bats were shut down as the series went on.  Then they lost two out of three to those clam chowder head Boston Red Sox, who have nothing to play for, and are simply counting the days to oyster season in New England.  If it weren’t for Albert Pujols late inning heroics on Saturday, the Angels would have been swept.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Halos learned that Tyler Skaggs is going to have season ending Tommy John Surgery.  A division title is starting to slip away, and their wild card lead is shrinking fast.  The Angels are hitting just .223 since the All-Star break, which is the worst in the AL.  Suddenly the Halos are sinking faster than an Italian cruise ship.

I think it’s time for Jerry DIpoto to call the Mets, and see if he can squeeze old friend Bartolo Colon through the waiver wire, and acquire him.  Of course, it would be pretty hard to squeeze Bartolo through anything, since he’s weighs close to 300 LB’s, but the guy can obviously still pitch.  The Angels actually have the 8th toughest remaining schedule in the American League, which should bode well for them if they can ever swing the bats again.  Here’s the lone bright spot this weekend from Saturday night, since most of you were probably in bed when it happened…..

Look, I get it.  Rory McIIroy is an excellent golfer.  However, he’s just not holding my attention.  I appreciate the fact that he’s only the 4th guy to win four majors before turning 26.  But I need Tiger.  Admit it….you need him too.  You probably didn’t even watch the PGA Championship this weekend did you?  I don’t live and die by knowing what Tiger is doing, but I know that with him healthy and playing good golf, these major tournaments become that more more riveting, especially for the average fan.  Now if we could get Tiger healthy, and to rival Rory, then we’d have a great plot.  That’s a long way from happening though.  Tiger probably injured his back again while trying to change the channel so he didn’t have to watch Rory win another major.

Very tragic news in Nascar over the weekend.  Nascar driver Tony Stewart struck and killed sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr., who had climbed out of his car and tried to confront Stewart during a race in New York.  Stewart did the right thing by deciding not to race on Sunday, and condolences to the Ward family.  However, this incident highlights an aspect of Nascar that needs to change.  It is a culture where drivers competitiveness turns into anger when things don’t go their way, and leads to confrontations like we saw on Saturday, in very dangerous situations.  Stewart himself has had similar incidents in the past where he has even thrown his helmet at another car.  Hopefully this incident will put the culture of the sport into perspective for all these drivers.

I know it’s only week 1 of the NFL preseason, but I feel like it’s safe to draw a few reasonable conclusions.  The Raiders are going to stink.  The Cowboys are going to stink.  The Houston Texans are going to stink.  There’s a pretty strong likelihood that those three teams will be picking near the top of the draft next spring.

Finally, it’s that time of year again.  One of my favorite TV programs is on for the next week: Shark Week on Discovery.  I really enjoy all of the Great White Shark encounters with Chris Fallows, and how he truly makes you realize how beautiful these animals are.  On the other hand, there still is quite a bit of dramatization with some of the other programs Discovery airs, such as last night’s “Shark of Darkness.”  Even though most scientific evidence points to the fact that Sharks are not man eating machines, and most attacks are simply a case of mistaken identity, we still see programs that hint otherwise, just to keep the viewers engaged.  The reality of it is, people don’t really tune in to Shark Week for that.  If we want to see that then we would just be watching Sharknado, and all the ridiculous movies on SyFy.  The Shark Week promo is a little odd this year, and I can’t say I’m as big of a fan as other people are.  I like Rob Lowe, but I’m still trying to figure out where he fits into this whole thing.  Here it is if you haven’t seen it….

 

August 4th, 2014

How pathetic were the Dodgers this weekend against the Cubs?  70% of you Southern Californians were fortunate enough to have missed out on this display of atrocious baseball at the Ravine, since most of you don’t have Time Warner.  I wasn’t so fortunate.  On Friday, Dan Haren pitched more like Dan Aykroyd.  Both have recently delivered extremely laughable performances.  Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford have forgotten how to hit a baseball, and the Dodgers were about as unclutch with runners in scoring position as the Dallas Cowboys are on a Sunday in January.  Josh Beckett also didn’t make LA feel any better about the back end of their rotation with his performance yesterday, not even sticking around for 5 innings and getting knocked around by former Dodger pitcher Edwin Jackson.  The last place Cubs punked the 1st place Dodgers by taking two out of three in their own house.  Adding insult to injury is the fact that it rained in SoCal over the weekend, which devastated all those fans with spray tans that were washed away.

As for the trade deadline, the Dodgers did the right thing standing pat.  Of course it would have been nice to trade for David Price or Jon Lester, but not at the expense of LA’s three best prospects, who will likely play key roles for the organization in the very near future.  Lester is nothing more than a rental for the A’s, who I think were insane to trade their star cleanup hitter for him.  Of course it’s easy to say you want Price after watching Disaster Dan and Josh Beckett pitch this weekend, but LA is still good enough to get to October with them, and then we won’t have to watch them pitch.  A Kershaw, Greinke, Ryu trio is still as good, if not better than the Tigers or A’s rotation in October, and surely better than anybody else’s in the National League.  As for you Matt Kemp haters (yes I’m talking to you idiots in the Dodgers organization that don’t actually like him personally), do you still want to trade him and pay half his salary? Yea sounds like a great idea for a guy that just hit five home runs in the last week.

On to the Angels, who took two out of three against the Rays over the weekend to close within 1 game of the A’s.  That was an important series win for the Halos, who had lost two out of three in Baltimore earlier in the week, in a series that was tighter than a Kim Kardashian jump suit.  Every game in that series was a one run game, and two went into extra innings.  Once again, that’s a tribute to the much improved starting pitching and bullpen the club is experiencing this season.  If Josh Hamilton and David Freese could show anything that resembled consistency, the Angels might actually be the best team in baseball.  Now the Angels will get ready for a big four game showdown with the Dodgers this week, starting tonight at the Ravine.  Both teams need wins badly, so it should be a fun four days.

I find it amazing how all of the ESPN baseball analysts are claiming the Angels are the big losers of the trade deadline because Oakland and Detroit improved so much.  Apparently these analysts haven’t noticed that the Angels have had their own ace who is rapidly emerging in Garrett Richards.  Richards, Jered Weaver, and the experience of CJ Wilson easily make the Angels as dangerous as the Tigers and A’s.  It just so happens that over the last week, David Price and Jon Lester have received more attention than a girl in an MBA program, which would make one think they are the best pitchers in the game.  Oh, and how soon we forget that the Angels also have the best player in baseball in Mike Trout.  Don’t sleep on the Halos folks.

I feel terrible for Paul George, and the horrific leg injury he suffered over the weekend during a Team USA basketball scrimmage.  However, all you people, like Mark Cuban, that are lining up with pitch forks and tiki torches to end NBA players participation in international competition need to settle down.  NBA players have been doing this for 22 years, and this is the first crazy injury we have seen.  George’s injury could have just as easily occurred while he was playing in that stupid Drew League that NBA players play pickup in during the summer.  NBA teams should actually feel much better about their players working out under an organized and structured environment too, where injury is actually less likely to occur than from some punk taking their guys out in a pick up game.  Creating a World Cup of basketball, as some have suggested, would be meaningless, and wouldn’t reduce the chance of injuries.  Cuban’s argument has more to do with revenue sharing or compensation from the IOC, which is understandable, but a different argument altogether.  As for George, he’s only 23 years old, and he had a clean break of his leg, with no ligament damage anywhere.  He’ll be out for a while, but no reason he can’t still be an elite player again in the NBA.

Meanwhile, Donald Sterling looks like he’s toast.  Earlier this week a judge ruled that Shelly Sterling  has the right to sell the team.  Donald will surely appeal the ruling, but that process cannot delay the sale of the team.  That means barring some wild turn of events in the appeals process, Steve Ballmer should officially be the new owner, and there should be no boycotting from Doc Rivers or Clipper players.  I’ve gotta admit, Sterling’s legal drama has been pretty entertaining to watch, and while I hope the sales goes through and the players can move on, I hope the legal process continues just for the entertainment value Donald is providing us.

In college football, the coaches poll has been released.  UCLA is ranked #7, USC #15, and I must point out the my alma matter, Notre Dame, is at #17.  I like the Bruins, and they are on the rise, but #7 seems a little too high for them.  In fact, if anything, it works against the Bruins because they will now have a target on their back.  Brett Hundley needs to prove he can be great every week, and not average every other.  More importantly, the Bruins need to prove they can beat the big boys like Oregon and Stanford, which they have yet to do.  As for USC, their #15 ranking is simply a product of their recruiting class, but that also seemed high for them.  The defense should still be solid for the Trojans, but Cody Kessler isn’t even one of the 5 best quarterbacks in the conference. Should be a fun college football season that is fast approaching.

Speaking of UCLA, Pauley Pavilion is home for Bruins basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics, however, now it can be home for swimming and diving.  After a water main broke in Santa Monica last week, parts of the campus flooded, including the newly renovated Pauley, as well as Drake field.  I’m sensing some serious insurance premiums going up here, and a potential law suit if the city doesn’t cover the damages.  Here’s a perfect opportunity to start offering boating classes at UCLAKE.

I’d be pretty fearful of a flood happening at UCLA after watching Sharknado 2 last week on SyFy.  Then again, the movie was pretty unrealistic, since someone actually married Tara Reid.  The movie was as epic as advertised, and just when you thought it was over, we learned that there is going to be a Sharknado 3 on SyFy next summer as well!  Terrible TV has never been this entertaining folks.  The only thing better than Sharknado was a whole week of Shark related movie programs on SyFy.  My favorite was the Top 15 Shark Bites, which was a program where celebrities discussed the top 15 shark movies with ridiculous deaths.  If you’re looking for some good laughs set the DVR when SyFy airs it again.

July 28th, 2014

Take that San Francisco!  The Dodgers went into the Bay Area and swept a 3 game set from the Giants over the weekend, and reclaimed a 1.5 game lead in the NL West.  San Fran stood no chance against Zach Greinke or Clayton Kershaw, while Hyun-Jin Ryu was solid last night.  Admit it….some of you Dodger fans were nervous that Jake Peavy was on the hill last night for the Giants, since he’s owned LA over the years.  You probably forgot that this isn’t the same Peavy that was the ace of the Padres.  The Boys in Blue rattled Peavy for four runs, which was enough for Ryu and the bullpen.  As for Kershaw, watching this guy pitch is simply amazing.  He is a once in a generation player that makes me stop what I am doing to watch him.  It’s about time that the team with the highest payroll in baseball started playing like a real team.  It remains to be seen if it continues.

Somebody needs to tell Dave Stewart, Matt Kemp’s agent, to shut the hell up.  If there’s anybody creating unnecessary drama between the Dodgers five outfielders, and straining the relationship between Kemp and the Dodgers, it’s Stewart.  Kemp has been swinging the bat well of late, and the Dodgers need his bat in the lineup to be an elite team.  It’s Stewart that has been creating these ridiculous Kemp for Jon Lester rumors.  As I’ve been saying for weeks, the Boys in Blue just need a little bullpen help, and then take their chances with the roster they have.  Adding another starter is overkill on a team with three aces.  That’s like ordering another round of dessert after eating a couple of ice cream sundaes.  For all of Kemp’s issues he’s working through, he’s still a better player than Crawford or Ethier.  As good as Joc Pederson could eventually be, it doesn’t make sense to depend on him in an everyday role in the middle of a pennant race either.  Matt, tell your agent to keep his mouth shut until the off-season, when everything can be sorted out.  In the meantime, be a team guy, and just be happy you’re in the lineup everyday.

The Angels are also continuing to play great baseball.  The Halos took three out of four from the Tigers over the weekend, which kept them 2 games back of Oakland in the AL West, and comfortably leading the AL Wild Card.  When the season started, we all thought the Halos had no pitching, a questionable bullpen, and few minor leaguers that could make an impact at the major league level.  We were obviously about as wrong as ESPN NBA analyst.  In their last three games the Angels have given up two runs, and none of those games were started by the front end of the rotation.  Efren Navarro should now be referred to as “F’in Navarro!” because the kid can play.  I could swear that I have seen just about all six of David Freese’ home runs this year, in person.  It’s like he’s trying to convince me not to rip him on Jock Talk LA, even though he’s been terrible for most of the season.  More importantly, the new and improved bullpen has been lights out so far.  The Halos are looking like a dangerous ball club.

The Lakers have finally hired a head coach.  After going through three rounds of interviews and endless waiting, Byron Scott agreed to a 4 year contract with the team he once played for.  Most people think that it won’t matter who the Lakers coach is because they won’t be any good next year anyway.  However, this was a very important move for the Buss Family.  Jim Buss has made two horrendous hires in a row.  He has finally made a move that will at least bring stability to an organization that has been in turmoil for years.  Scott is a disciplinarian.  So is his star player, Kobe Bryant.  Scott believes in defense first.  Resolving those two issues alone could go a long way toward putting the Lakers back on the right track, even though it will likely take time.  Most importantly, Scott was a Laker.  He understands what it means to be one, and what it will take to restore the franchise to what it once was.

Rumor had it that the Lakers were waiting things out on hiring a coach, in order to see if Doc Rivers would eventually quit his job with the Clippers, and potentially coach the Lake Show.  Obviously that never came to fruition, but that doesn’t mean Doc won’t quit.  Donald Sterling is refusing to let go.  He just doesn’t get it.  Doc Rivers, Chris Paul, and other Clipper players have been telling people they are considering sitting out the season if Sterling is still the owner.  Wouldn’t that be something? Just when you think the Clippers are on the rise and building something to be reckoned with, Donald ends up being the one to blow the whole thing up.  I definitely believe that Doc would quit, but I also have a hard time believing the Clipper players are going to sit out and forgo millions of dollars in salary over this.  It’s an interesting situation to keep an eye on if Sterling refuses to let go of his ownership.  But for the Clipper players, these seem more like idol threats.

Speaking of the NBA, what are the Cavs and Warriors thinking?  Both of these teams should have acquired Kevin Love weeks ago, and are holding the deal up over players that are nothing more than spare parts.  The Cavs were actually debating whether or not to include Andrew Wiggins in their offer for Love.  Wiggins could be a great player in three years, but during that time with Love they will be contending for titles.  The Warriors are refusing to offer Klay Thompson, who is nothing more than a nice role player, who will be overpaid very soon.  Both these teams could build a super power by adding a player like Kevin Love.  A Steph Curry-Kevin Love combo would shoot right to the top of the Western Conference for the next a few years.  A Love-Lebron-Kyrie combo in Cleveland would be winning titles in no time.  This is just another example of how there are many more terrible GM’s in the NBA, than good ones.

Well this is awkward.  ESPN’s Stephen A Smith is in trouble for some comments he made regarding Ray Rice and his domestic abuse incident with his wife.  “Screamin” A Smith said “let’s make sure we don’t do anything to provoke wrong actions, because if I come, or somebody else come, whether it’s law enforcement officials, your brother or the fellas that you know, if we come after somebody has put their hands on you, it doesn’t negate the fact that they already put their hands on you. So let’s try to make sure that we can do our part in making sure that that doesn’t happen.”  This of course resulted in a strong response from Smith’s co-worker, Michelle Beadle, who’s tweet you can see below.  I’m not sure if these comments are a fire-able offense, but they are a little thoughtless and insensitive.  This is probably where Smith takes his act to satellite radio where he can rant and rave all he wants.

So I was just forced to watch this morning’s First Take. A) I’ll never feel clean again B) I’m now aware that I can provoke my own beating.

— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) July 25, 2014

Finally, it’s coming.  You’ve been waiting a whole year for it.  This Wednesday, on SyFy, will be the sequel you’ve all been waiting for: Sharknado 2.  That’s right folks.  The first movie just wasn’t terrible enough, that they had to create a second one.  I don’t know about you guys, but I am going to be firmly planted on my couch on Wednesday evening for this historically bad television that will be airing.

July 21st, 2014

What a strange team the Los Angeles Dodgers are.  The Boys in Blue managed to salvage a win last night against the Cardinals, their only one of their 3 game set in St. Louis.  Clayton Kershaw gave up three runs, which happens about as often as it snows in Los Angeles.  Hanley Ramirez was hit not once, but twice, which only added to his various ailments, but Adrian Gonzales came through in the 9th to put the Dodgers back into a 1st place tie with the Giants.  The more I watch this team, the more I realize that it’s a talented lineup that lacks fundamentals and discipline that could cost them in the long run.  It starts with four expensive veteran outfielders, all of whom have yet to find consistency at the plate, and are playing defense as if Mike D’Antoni were coaching them.

If Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, or Carl Crawford played halfway decently, the Dodgers would be running away with the league.  Kemp isn’t the same superstar after all his injuries, neither is Crawford, while Ethier’s consistency has been in question for years.  Even Yasiel Puig’s power numbers are down, while Adrian Gonzales has struggled for over a month.  Maybe Mark McGwire needs to introduce steroids to his hitters, because thus far, it looks like he’s teaching his hitters a complete lack of plate discipline.  To make matters worse, the fat contracts of these outfielders are forcing the Dodgers to play their most talented players, but not their best.  Joc Peterson is easily the best center fielder in the organization right now, and one of the best prospects in baseball, yet the Dodgers won’t call him up.  It seems as though the only way LA will be fix this situation is by eating some salary on one of these outfielders through a trade.  In the meantime, it seems like a good bet that this situation will cost the Dodgers on the field this season.

Meanwhile. the Angels are on fire, but unfortunately they play in the same division as the Oakland A’s, who have the best record in baseball.  The Halos took two of three over the weekend against the Mariners, to remain 1.5 games back of Oakland.  For a team with one of the worst farm systems in baseball, according to those baseball nerds at ESPN, the Angels have quickly developed some solid major leaguers that are helping them right now.  CJ Cron, Garrett Richards, Kole Calhoun have all come out of nowhere to make Jerry Dipoto suddenly look like he knows what he’s doing.  I don’t know who Efren Navarro is, but the dude sure looks like he can play ball.  On Friday, he had the game winning RBI single in the 16th inning, and he even threw out a runner at 2nd base on a nice defensive play.  It probably doesn’t hurt either to have Mike Trout on your team.

Obviously Jerry Dipoto has been reading Jock Talk LA, in hopes of saving his job.  For months I’ve been saying that Dipoto needs to add at least two arms to the bullpen to give the Angels a chance down the stretch and in the playoffs.  Over the last three weeks, Dipoto has traded for Jason Grilli, Joe Thatcher, and Huston Street.  The Angels have now completely revamped the backend of their bullpen, which was a must.  The bullpen is really one of the easiest problems to fix for a team.  The Halos pen was giving away games like they were some charity organization.  Now the Angels seemed poised for a great duel with the A’s down the stretch, and possibly a deep post season run.  Just think how good this team could be if Josh Hamilton remembered how to play baseball?

When the Lakers acquired Carlos Boozer off of amnesty waivers this week, somewhere, Jack Haley was screaming “I told you so!”  For those of you who don’t remember, the former Laker player, and Fox Sports Analyst put his reputation on the line in 2005, when he declared that the Lakers were going to acquire Boozer in a blockbuster trade with Utah.  That trade never happened, Haley lost his credibility, and eventually, his job.  Back in those days, Chris Broussard and Ric Bucher would have been out of a a job much faster than Haley.  As for the Lakers, they rounded out their roster this week by signing Xavier Henry, Ryan Kelly, Ed Davis, and Wesley Johnson in addition to Boozer.  I really don’t see the point of adding Boozer.  He’s half the player he used to be, and he’s only going to take minutes away from Julius Randle’s development.  For those of you that missed the Lakers Championship drought video from Funny or Die, you’ll get a good laugh….

The NFL to LA rumors are picking up again.  Well, not really.  It’s just that the LA Times is trying to make us think that they are picking up.  The NFL has decided to hold next years draft in Los Angeles, which has begun to fuel this speculation.  There’s also the fact that the Chargers, Rams, and Raiders, can now opt out of their stadium deals at any time after this season, and potentially relocate to LA.  None of that matters though.  Those teams can’t get a stadium in their current city, and they won’t be able to get one here in LA.  We’ve got two different proposals, and the league likes neither, yet they are the ones who desperately want a team or two back in LA.  The tax payers of Southern California refuse to fund a stadium, and rightfully so.  If the NFL wants back in LA, then they should be the ones to pay for it.  Football has been gone so long that nobody here knows they miss it, which mean nobody is going to pay for a stadium.

Finally, Rory McIlroy cruised to an easy win at the British Open over the weekend, but what a boring tournament it was to watch.  Rory is a very good golfer, and I love the story about his dad placing a bet on him years ago, and cashing in on it yesterday.  However, the average fan doesn’t care.  The average fan wants to see Tiger, and wants to see him dominate.  I’m not sure we’ll ever get to see Tiger play at that level that he was at back in 2006, but at least seeing him back near the top of the leader board would make things much more interesting for the viewer.

July 14th, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July 7th, 2014

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

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

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

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

— Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin32) July 6, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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