January 13th, 2013

Just because Laker fans want the team to tank doesn’t make Friday any less painful.  The Lakers were pounded into dust on Friday night by the Clippers 123-87 at Staples, which was the Clippers largest margin of victory over the Lakers in the history of the rivalry.  When Mike D’Antoni’s teams give up less than 125 points, he probably considers that “a solid defensive effort”.  How bad does the losing streak have to get before the Lakers have to fire D’Antoni and give Kurt Rambis a chance to coach?  Friday’s effort was so horrendous, I think Kurt Rambis was ready to clothesline himself.  Much harder than when Kevin McHale clotheslined him……

Mitch Kupchak was interviewed this week, and attempted to make a distinction between “tanking” and “rebuilding”.  He said that “tanking” is intentionally losing games for better draft position, which the Lakers would never do.  “Rebuilding” is going with young players and other assets and looking toward next year if you know you are a sub .500 team.  Let me translate for you folks:  The Lakers aren’t trying to tank, but if they keep sucking in the coming weeks, they’ll be tanking.  That may mean limiting Kobe’s minutes when he returns, or trading Pau Gasol for cap relief.    Have you seen LA’s schedule the next few weeks?  They may not win a game the rest of the month!  There were also some rumors that the Lakers recently called the Nets about point guard Deron Williams.  Makes perfect sense to me:  he’s a point guard, he’s injured, he’s expensive, and his best days are behind him.  Hopefully Kupchak’s next move will be putting Jim Buss on waivers.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are holding their own without Chris Paul in the lineup.  Although they haven’t exactly played against the ’72 Lakers, The Clipps have won 3 of 4 games since CP3 went down, and Blake Griffin is carrying the squad.  Is it me, or are Griffin and DeAndre Jordan actually getting better?  Jordan has been a defensive beast, leading the NBA in rebounding, and third in the league in block shots.  Griffin is shooting a career high 70% from the free throw line, and very quietly, his jumper is improving.  The real question is whether or not they can go to Griffin at the end of games, and can he be more of a consistent force in the post?  He’s not Karl Malone or Charles Barkley yet, but sometimes we forget……he’s only 24 years old.

The Clippers are also one of the teams bidding for the services of center Andrew Bynum, who was released by the Bulls earlier this week, after being traded from the Cavs for Luol Deng.  As badly as the Clippers need depth, whoever signs Bynum deserves to have their season go straight to hell.  Bynum has worn out his welcome in LA, Philadelphia, and Cleveland in a little over two years.  He has all the ability in the world to become a great NBA big man, but has no motivation, lacks passion for basketball, has wobbly knees, and is quickly becoming known as a locker room cancer.    Good luck to the fools that take a chance on this clown.  I like how SB Nation doesn’t even have him as a “good” fit with anybody……

As for the college ranks, it had to be considered a pretty good week for UCLA.  The Bruins nearly knocked off #1 Arizona on Thursday night, after putting together a fierce 4th quarter rally that fell short.  Then last night, UCLA dominated Arizona State 87-72, and Zach Lavine put on a show.  The Bruins defensive is questionable at times, but I’m beginning to think they are slowly peaking, and might even make a run in the NCAA tournament.  The only thing that makes me question that is that Steve Alford is their coach.

On to baseball where the Dodgers, Angels, and Yankees are battling it out to sign Japanese right handed pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.  Tanaka is expected to sign a contract worth over $100 million, and the team that signs him will also owe his Japanese team $20 million.  Let’s be honest…..this guy is probably a #3 starter, and a #2 at best.  Is he really worth $100 million?  For the Dodgers, he’d be a nice addition, but a complete luxury, given that they have Kershaw, Greinke, and Ryu.  He would be an insurance policy in case Kershaw leaves via free agency next winter, but signing him is a far greater necessity for the Yankees and Angels.  Both teams desperately need pitching, and the marketing exposure in the far east would be a huge plus.  The Halos have been rumored to have an interest in Matt Garza, who would certainly be nice, but Tanaka has far greater potential to turn the Angels fortunes around.  My money is still on him ending up with the Yankees though, especially with them freeing up some money after A-Roid’s suspension.

Speaking of A-Roid, he simply needs to give up his fight.  We get it A-Roid: baseball had a bunch of PED users for a long period of time, and you were one of them.  Don’t make things worse by acting like everyone around you has some major character flaws.  Did anybody catch the 60 Minutes interview with Anthony Bosch last night?  Bosch said that he personally injected A-Roid with PED’s, and that he was scared of needles.  I was waiting for him to follow this up by saying that Rodriguez cried like a little girl every time he was injected.  So much for doctor-patient confidentiality!  Bosch sang like a canary last night on 60 Minutes, and even though A-Rod is guilty,  Bosch was obviously in serious legal trouble to spill it the way he did.

The baseball hall of fame voting process has to be the most ridiculous in sports.  First of all, shame on anyone that didn’t vote for Greg Maddux to be inducted.  He’s as brilliant a pitcher as we’ve ever seen, and his greatness lasted for two full decades.  The 16 voters that left him off their ballots should be drug tested.  Secondly, I’ve never seen a bigger group of hypocrites than these writers, who were kissing the asses of all the PED users like Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire during their playing days.  They pretended as though the entire time they didn’t know what was really going on.  Now, they want to exclude these players from the hall because of these character issues.  You can’t tell the story of baseball without including the steroid era, so these players need to be inducted into the hall, even if an asterisk is by their name.  Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb are full of their own character issues, so if we are adding that element to the voting, then we should have excluded them too.

I guess Tom Glavine picked the right sport.  The LA Kings drafted Tom Glavine with the 69th overall pick in 1984.  Glavine was inducted into the baseball hall of fame last week, after a  phenomenal career with the Atlanta Braves.  That year wasn’t a total loss for the Kings though, as they got Luc Robitaille in the 9th round, who went on to be the highest scoring left wing in NHL history.

Speaking of the Kings, Saturday night was a disaster.  They were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings, who were missing most of their regulars, so they basically lost to an AHL team.  This crap was so typical of the Kings of late:  they put a ton of shots on goal, they can’t finish, while the opponent is far more opportunistic.  Are Mike Richards and Tyler Toffoli ever going to score again?  Although it’s gotta be tough to score when you are playing with Matt Frattin.  2nd time in a week the Kings blew it against an undermanned team, as they lost to Minnesota on Tuesday.  LA may still be third in their division, but they are quickly losing ground to the Ducks and Sharks.

I guess Jonas Hiller doesn’t like it when I talk crap about him on Jock Talk LA.  The Ducks goaltender won his 14th straight game last night, and he’s the 8th goaltender in NHL history to accomplish this feat.  The Ducks continue to be an offensive powerhouse too, and they won for the 17th time in 18 games by beating the Red Wings.

Another great weekend of NFL playoff games.  The Broncos held off a furious rally from the Chargers, to advance to the AFC Championship game.  Peyton Manning may not have been amazing, but he made the critical throws when the game was on the line to hold off the Bolts.  Early on Phil Rivers was about as accurate as Helen Keller playing Jenga, but he did help the Chargers make an admirable rally.  Even though the Broncos advanced, the Chargers should feel really good about themselves.   In the first year with Mike McCoy, they not only made the playoffs, but won 1 round, and lost to probably the best team in the NFL in a close game.  They’ve got a great young front 7, and an emerging star in Keenan Allen.  However, in the end, Manning had the the last laugh…..

Meanwhile, The Pats put a beating on the young Colts.  Andrew Luck had some flashes of brilliance, but it felt like Tom Brady just said “step aside son” when this one was over.  This is probably what Andrew Luck’s text inbox looked like when the game was over….

In the NFC, the 49ers took down the Panthers on the road, to advance to the conference championship game for the 3rd year in a row.  It must be an annual tradition for Jim Harbaugh to lose his mind, because he looked like he was going to murder the referee late in the 1st half, before Vernon Davis catch was overturned and ruled a touchdown.  That propelled the 49ers to the win.  My favorite part of the game was Cam Newton doing his best Lebron James impression…..

And finally, the Saints were no match for the Seahawks in Seattle.  It sure felt like the Saints had a $50,000 bounty on Percy Harvin, since he kept getting injured in his first game back.  Marshawn Lynch was just too much in this one.  The Saints tried to rally at the end, but I’m not sure why the hell Marques Colston thought he could throw the ball 10 yards forward after catching a pass on the last play of the game.  In any case, Seattle and San Fran should be fantastic next week.  If only Harbaugh and Caroll could put on the pads on and just go at it themselves!

January 6th, 2014

Poor Pau Gasol.  I sure hope he stays away from social media, because it feels like he’s nearly been traded about 10 times in the last three years.  It happened again on Saturday night when ESPN Radio 710 AM’s Rick Schwartz tweeted that Pau had been traded to Cleveland for Andrew Bynum.  Rick has been an entertaining talk show host over the years, but he blew it on this one.  Anybody that knows anything about the NBA, knows that Gasol can’t even be traded for Bynum straight up, because it doesn’t work financially.  Mitch Kupchak usually doesn’t make trades with opposing GM’s unless he is destroying them, so he likely will not deal Gasol unless he gets Dion Waiters, or a 1st round pick, or Dan Gilbert’s unborn child in return.  Pau has been a great Laker, but it’s time to move on.

Do you realize how bad it’s gotten for the Lakers?  It’s gotten so bad, if you can dribble without bouncing the ball off your leg, you can play point guard for the Lakers.  It’s gotten so bad, Mike D’Antoni believes defense will actually win games.  It’s gotten so bad, D’Antoni is already preparing for a lineup when Kendall Marshall gets injured.  It’s gotten so bad, John Ireland is even negative about the Lakers.  It’s gotten so bad, I saw Mike D’Antoni chanting “we want Phil!” in the middle of last nights’ game.  It’s gotten so bad that that the celebrities asked management not to point to them during the Laker telecasts.  It’s gotten so bad, Staples is changing their lighting scheme to dim on the court and bright on the audience.  It’s gotten so bad, Phil Jackson called Jim Buss at midnight to thank him for not hiring him.  It’s gotten so bad, that the Clippers are better than the Lakers!

Speaking of the Clippers, they suffered a big blow this week when they lost Chris Paul to a separated shoulder.  CP3 could miss up to six weeks with the injury, and the Clippers got a taste of what life was like without him, when they got pounded by the Spurs on Saturday night.  The Clipps might slide a little in the standings over the next six weeks, but nothing too disastrous.  Blake Griffin has been playing well of late, but the real story surrounding him this week was the Griffin for Carmelo Anthony trade rumors, which i reported last week on Jock Talk LA.  Doc Rivers was irritated by the mere suggestion of the rumors, but some people are ignoring the facts.  There’s two people in the Clipps organization that would be interested in this move: Chris Paul and Donald Sterling.  Paul has wanted to play with Carmelo for years, and Sterling is impulsive enough to be contemplating a move.  Although the trade is unlikely, if the Clipps have a big slide in the next few weeks without CP3, don’t rule out Sterling thinking about it a little harder.

Let’s talk UCLA football, where Bruin fans were on the edge of their seats just a few days ago.  Bruins coach Jim Mora Jr. had discussions with Texas for their job opening, and it appeared as though quarterback Brett Hundley was leaving school to enter the NFL draft.  It looked like UCLA’s football success was going to be short-lived, and they were going to be bombed back to the days of complete suckage.  Now, just a few days later, Mora squashed the Texas rumors and said he was committed to UCLA.  Then, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hundley is expected to announce that he is returning to school next year.  Great news for UCLA, however, with it comes much higher expectations.  Being able to hang with Stanford and Oregon is no longer a cute story. The expectations will be winning the Pac-12 and going to the Rose Bowl, or else the program will soon be viewed as overrated.

Speaking of UCLA, the Bruins basketball team opened conference play by dominating USC at Pauley Pavilion, 107-73.  Ok…I get it.  UCLA can actually beat a real division I opponent.  However, the Bruins RPI is still pretty underwhelming.  Big, bad, Arizona is coming to town on Thursday night.  UCLA is yet to collect a signature win this season.  If the Bruins win, then they’ve got my attention.  By the way, I always find it interesting how USC fans almost never recognize when their team gets beaten down by UCLA in basketball.  I completely understand that UCLA is really a basketball school, and USC is a football school.  However,  USC should historically be a much better school in basketball, much like the Bruins have put together some quality football teams throughout history.

Let’s go to the ice, where the Kings and Ducks are beginning to find out which members of their team will be participating in next months Winter Olympics.  Team USA selected Kings forward Dustin Brown, goaltender Jonathan Quick, and Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler.  Both teams could each have 5 or 6 total players selected, but do you really want these guys beating the shit out of each other for two weeks in February, when they could be getting some extra rest?  I love the Olympics, and I love that these guys take it so seriously, but I love my hockey team a lot more.

Speaking of the Kings, I’m not sure what the hell is going on with them.  LA snapped a 5 game losing streak on Saturday against Vancouver, but that’s their longest losing streak since Darryl Sutter took over the team.   Tyler Toffoli has cooled off, Dustin Brown’s goal scoring ability has gone to hell, and Mike Richards has disappeared like hodini.  It’s not time  to panic, but if you lose a few games in the west, you can easily go from 3rd place to 9th in no time.  Get it together fellas, or you may have to dig yourselves out of a big hole!

What a great Wild Card Weekend we had.  The Colts had a great comeback, but it was more about the Chiefs collapsing.  You knew things were going Indy’s way when the ball bounced into Andrew Luck’s hands and he rushed for a TD.  I think Jim Irsay drew up this play when he was drunk at 2 am at Taco Bell….

The Saints and Eagles played a relatively boring game compared to the weekends other three games.  New Orleans proved once again, that it can be its own worst enemy with all the turnovers it committed.  However, somehow, they managed to escape with a win.  That last second field goal was the quietest ending to any football game I have ever seen.

Then there’s the Chargers, who pulled off the unthinkable by going to Cinci and handling the Bengals easily.  What Charger fan actually believed they would make the playoffs this season? Let alone, win a playoff game?  Mike McCoy’s play calling was more conservative than Muslim chick during Ramadan, but the Bolts benefited from Andy Dalton’s collapse.

Finally, the 49ers got by the Packers at Lambeau yesterday.  It’s pretty rare that the spread and the temperature are the same (+3).   It was so cold, I think I saw the Coors Frost Brew Train go through Lambeau Field.  Colin Kaepernick was pretty unstoppable, and if he plays that way the 49ers will be headed back to the Super Bowl.  Aaron Rodgers didn’t have the magic coming back from the broken collar bone, but the Pack are going to be dangerous next season now that they have a running game again.

Has anybody been watching the bowl games?  That Oklahoma-Alabama game was pretty amazing, and was probably the best bowl game I’ve seen over the past few weeks.  It should be known a the “I probably had sex with my cousin and I’m ok with it” bowl.  Meanwhile, SoCal has been invaded by all of those hillbillies from the south, with FSU and Auburn going at it tonight for the BCS Championship.  I’ve got FSU in this one.  How many games has Auburn gotten lucky this year and escaped with a win?

This past week had a few pieces of sad news.  Yesterday, Padres broadcaster, former Yankee player, and American ware hero Jerry Coleman passed away.  I had the honor of working with Jerry at The Mighty 1090, and anyone that worked with him would tell you he was a pleasure to be around.  I’ll always remember him for his exciting play-by-play calls like “You can hang a star on that baby!” and “Woooah Doctor!”  Condolences to the Coleman family, and RIP Jerry.

The other piece of sad news we received this week was the passing of James Avery.  Avery was literally my favorite TV dad, on my favorite television show of all time: The Fresh Prince of Bel-air.  Not only did Avery brilliantly play the role of “Uncle Phil”, but he was also the voice of “The Shredder” in the Ninja Turtle cartoons as well, so he was definitely an important piece of my childhood.  Here’s a classic Uncle Phil moment….

December 30th, 2013

This was supposed to be an “easy stretch” for the Lakers.  Instead, they’ve lost 5 straight, including a loss at home to the lowly 76ers.  Philly had lost 13 straight games on the road, and is the worst defensive team in the NBA.  Sorry D’Antoni, but when you’re losing games to Utah and Philadelphia, injuries are no excuse.  It’s about effort.  How come when the Lakers were over .500 before Kobe came back, nobody used the injury excuse?  D’Antoni’s coaching decisions are completely bizarre.  Anyone with half a brain knows that Jordan Hill is currently the Lakers best healthy big man on the team right now, yet Mike D’Antoni only plays him 27 minutes.  Shawne Williams can’t do anything except shoot three pointers, and for some reason D’Antoni has a man crush on him.  The Lakers are sinking closer to the bottom of the West, but the fate of their coach will give us a real indication of where this franchise is headed.

This was a tough week for the Clippers.  They managed to escape with wins at home against the T-Wolves and Jazz, but they lost two important road games at Golden State and Portland.  Some of you may think it’s no big deal because NBA Championships aren’t won in December.   You may think it’s no big deal because Blake Griffin put up monster numbers.  However, the issues are still the same as they were one year ago.  The Clipps still struggle to finish close games because Chris Paul is their only reliable option.  They still struggle in the half court offense, and as good as Blake Griffin looks at times, he can be so much better.  All of these issues were exposed in critical moments last week, and there’s little reason to believe they won’t be exposed again come playoff time.

ESPN is reporting that Cleveland Cavaliers center, and former Laker, Andrew Bynum, is suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team.  It’s also been reported that Bynum’s suspension will continue, but he will be on “paid leave”.  I’m trying to act surprised here but I just can’t.  I’m pretty sure that Bynum has been on “paid leave” for his entire career, and he’s probably loving this situation.  The guy doesn’t even like basketball, and at this point, has no desire to rehab his knees and get himself in shape.  It’s amazing that Phil Jackson got this to compete and even help the Lakers win two titles.  This feels very typical of America doesn’t it? Someone won’t work for you, and you still have to pay them!

Speaking of being an idiot, Yasiel Puig is at it again.  On Saturday night, Puig was arrested and charged with reckless driving for the 2nd time this year.  He was driving 110 mph in a 70 mph zone in South Florida.  There really isn’t a whole lot the Dodgers can do here.  He’s arguably their most important player, and they can’t trade him.  He’s simply a loose cannon, who needs to grow up fast, or else his career will implode.  This is exactly why the Dodgers need to hang on to all four of their outfielders, which will protect them from another Puig implosion.

That was some gruesome UFC fight on Saturday night.  Chris Weidman successfully defended his title against Anderson Silva, but the story was the fight ending in horrific fashion with Silva breaking his leg.  This was even more gruesome than the Kevin Ware injury in last year’s NCAA Tournament.  I’m no UFC expert, but I can say that into two fights against Silva, Weidman has looked like the far better fighter.  This sport is absolutely brutal.  A few years ago a friend of mine took me to an MMA fight to see his cousins’s professional debut.  It was over in 30 seconds when he split his chin open after taking a punch and falling to the ground.  It’s tough to stomach sometimes.  Seeing the women’s UFC is even more brutal.  It’s the only sports where the competitors are bleeding before the competition even begins!

On to the NFL, where we had some finish to the regular season yesterday.  It would have been so typical of the Chargers to blow that game yesterday against the Chiefs 2nd stringers, but somehow, they pulled it out.  The Chargers slipped into the playoffs, while the Dolphins and Ravens blew it.  Speaking of blowing it, for the third year in a row, the Cowboys lost the division on the final day of the season, and Kyle Orton did his best Tony Romo impression by throwing a pick late in the 4th quarter.  It took 3.5 quarters, but that final Packers drive made me think that Aaron Rodgers may really be the best player in the NFL.  I thought it was really unfair for the NFL to give the Broncos an extra bye week before the playoffs even started.  This Raider fan isn’t doing too much better than the guys running the organization….

I think Philip Rivers probably threw the worst block of all time yesterday…..

And here’s a good reference guide for Cowboys fans…..

December 23rd, 2013

Great job Jimmy Buss!  The ink isn’t even dry on Kobe’s two year contract extension, and he’s hurt again.  Maybe Jimmy boy will give Kobe another two year extension when he returns from his latest injury.  Look, I love Kobe, but this is exactly why you don’t give a 35 year old, coming off a torn achilles, a $48 million extension.  Kobe says this injury may actually give him a chance to get even stronger, but the only thing that is really getting stronger are the Lakers lottery chances.  There’s no doubt Kobe’s work ethic is as strong as ever, but there’s only so much his body can take after 18 years in the league.  At least now with Kobe out, the Lakers can tank without actually trying to tank.  Even Magic Johnson told CBS’s Jim Hill earlier this week that Kobe should sit out the season so the Lakers can get a high lottery pick, like the Spurs did in 1998, when they drafted Tim Duncan.

Now the Lakers have the excuse they need to trade Pau Gasol.  A Gasol trade may not bring back equal value in talent, but shedding his $19 million salary will get the Lakers under the dreaded luxury tax, and possibly even allow them to get back a future first round pick.  Do you realize that Steve Nash cost the Lakers 3 1st round picks?  Two in the trade with Phoenix, and one they gave up in the Ramon Sessions trade.  You do remember Steve Nash right?  You know….that point guard that’s older than a fossilized dinosaur, who will be making $9 million this year and next.  Getting rid of these guys is the first step toward rebuilding the Lakers.  But even if they do, does anybody believe LA will get back to winning titles with Jim Buss in charge?  In 1999, Charles Dolan put his moronic son, James Dolan in charge of running the New York Knicks, and since then we’ve all had some good laughs.  It’s scary to think that history might be repeating itself in LA.

Speaking of the Knicks, interesting rumors are floating around Clipper Nation.  Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Reports recently wrote an article discussing a possible Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony blockbuster trade between the Knicks and Clippers.  Last week, I suggested that the Clippers may have peaked with this group, and might need to look at a big trade to become the elite team they hope to be.  This isn’t exactly what I had in mind though.  It’s no secret that CP3 and ‘Melo would love to play with each other, but this would make the Clipps much older, and far worse defensively. The Knicks would have a star to build around for the future, and the dumbest owner in sports would have bamboozled the cheapest owner.  It’s sounds crazy, but it’s crazy enough for Sterling to do it.

The Clippers pulled out a wild win last night at Staples against Minnesota.  I still can’t figure out what’s up with the T-Wolves this year.  They got off to this great start, then they slipped to 11th in the West, and Ricky Rubio is afraid to shoot because he’s struggling.  Still a great game last night at Staples, and an epic battle between Kevin Love and Blake Griffin, as neither guy seemed to be able to guard the other.  The Clipps won the game, but when it was over,  it still felt like Love was the more polished player, while Griffin was only a more entertaining player.

On to college football, where the Trojans wrapped up their season on a positive note, with a win against Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl.  SC wasn’t exactly facing a powerhouse opponent, but they could have easily mailed it in, like they did in the Sun Bowl last season.  That does say a lot about the character of the graduating seniors and upperclassmen headed to the NFL, especially when they had to work with their third coach of the season, Clay Helton.  I’m sure that wasn’t awkward or anything.  Speaking of coaching, just a couple of weeks into the Steve Sarkisian era, and Trojan fans are already shaking their heads about recruiting violations that may have occurred under Sark’s watch at UW.  Now Sark has to beg Ed Orgeron to come back to SC to be a part of his staff, however, Orgeron might tell him to suck it, since he took the job he wanted.  That “gut feeling” Pat Haden had when he hired Sark, is probably more like a throbbing pain right now.

On to some college basketball, where the Bruins are who we thought they were.  UCLA put up a good fight against #8 Duke on Thursday night, but ended up getting pounded in the end.  Last night they continued to beat up on the little guys, taking down Weber State  in another blowout.  Who do the Bruins play next?  San Diego Christian Academy? Steve Alford is starting to feel like the Mike D’Antoni of Westwood.  Up tempo offense, no defense, great regular season, no post season success.  The Bruins could get exposed badly next month when conference play rolls around.

Let’s go to the ice, where Kings rookie goaltender Martin Jones is tearing it up.  Jones has won his first 8 starts in spectacular fashion, tying an NHL record.  I’m not one of those people crazy enough to think the Kings need to trade Jonathan Quick after 8 good games from Jones, but he has given the Kings some tough decisions to make when Quick gets healthy.  They’ll have to decide whether to send Jones back to the minors, or keep him as the backup and send Ben Scrivens to the minors.  Scrivens has to be wondering what it takes for him to play again, since he was leading the NHL in save % before Jones started playing.  Interestingly enough, Martin Jones now has a whole bunch of teammates following him on Twitter.  Ben Scrivens isn’t one.  By the way, Dwight King made maybe the creepiest face I’ve ever seen after he scored on Thursday night…..

Speaking of rookie goaltenders, the Ducks have a rookie goalie of their own who hasn’t been too bad either.  Frederik Anderson has done a commendable job filling in for injured backup Victor Fasth, and he’s won 9 of his first 10 starts.  He is just the third goaltender in NHL history to do so.  Anaheim has won 8 straight games, and coach Bruce Boudreau will make his return to Washington tonight, when the Ducks take on the Caps.

Week 16 of the NFL was a wild one.  How did the Lions manage to blow the division when they only had to beat the Giants at home?  Nice showing by the Bears defense last night.  I think the Eagles just scored again.  The Chargers are still alive for the playoffs….but barely.  The Seahawks don’t look so invincible anymore after yesterday’s loss at home, but they still may not have to leave Seattle until the Super Bowl if they clinch home field next week.  I can’t wait to see how the Cowboys will blow the division title for the third year in a row next week on Sunday night football.  I’m still not really sure how the Ravens managed to give up 41 points at home to the banged up Patriots, but I loved how Tom Brady was left hanging on this high five…..

I never want to hear the phrase, “they control their own destiny.”  Hello?  It’s “destiny”.  You can’t control destiny, because it’s your destiny!  My head hurts after looking at all the AFC playoff scenarios for next week.  Take two aspirin after reading…..

December 16th, 2013

So you actually thought for just a second, with Kobe getting back in the lineup, the Lakers were suddenly going to be an elite team didn’t you?  You forgot didn’t you?  You forgot that the pieces just don’t fit together.  You forgot that the Lakers two best players don’t fit the coaches game plan.  You forgot that this team can’t really defend.  You forgot that they just don’t have the talent.  A disappointing loss to Phoenix at home, and a beat down in Oklahoma brought all of these realities back into focus.  Saturday’s win against Charlotte made us feel like Kobe is getting healthier, but that’s not enough to overcome the sad realities of Laker basketball these days.  Kobe never publicly complains about D’Antoni, because he knows as the leader, he has to be accountable.  The same can’t be said for Pau Gasol, who’s been alienated more than anyone else in D’Antoni’s system.

Now that Pau is complaining about D’Antoni again, the Lakers have considered trading him again in the last few days.  I’m sure it won’t take long for Mitch Kupchak to realize he’s not going to get much for him.  Unless opposing general manager’s are drinking on the job, LA won’t be acquiring Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, or even Rajon Rondo in a trade for Gasol.  Pau may be in decline, but he can still be an effective big man when operating in the post.  The Lakers have demolished his trade value the last 3 years, by pushing him further and further away from the basket.  Sources say LA is even interested in re-signing him for a reduced rate, but you think Pau wants to stick around to play for D’Antoni?  He’s probably looking at teaming up with his brother Marc in Memphis next season.  The Lakers are broken, their fans are depressed, and it’s going to take more than one move to put the team back in championship contention.  If you ask Mike D’Antoni he’ll get defensive, and that would be the first time.

Oh yea….then there’s the Clippers.  A solid team, but still a mere afterthought in everyones mind.  Great teams are better than .500 on the road, and know how to lock you up defensively, which the Clippers aren’t.  Is this really as good as it gets with the great Doc Rivers as their coach?  When you watch this team, you would expect them to get better and better with every game they play.  Instead, they simply look like they have reached their ceiling.  If the Clipps were serious about contending, they might even consider making a big trade before everyone else realizes this is as good as Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan will ever be.

Let’s talk baseball, where we found out just how desperate the Angels were this week.  The Halos traded 27 year old slugger Mark Trumbo, for pitchers Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs.  We can all agree that the Angels badly needed pitching, and didn’t have a whole lot of money to get it, so they had to give up something of value.  However, did they really get enough value in return for a guy that hits 30 homers and drives in 100 runs? Santiago was just 4-9 with an ERA of 3.56 in his first full season as a starter.  Skaggs has an ERA over 5.00 in 13 career starts.  I’m sure all those baseball super stat nerds who defend the trade will bring up Trumbo’s declining on base percentage, but that doesn’t excuse not getting his full value in return.  If the Halos decided to trade Trumbo to Arizona a few months ago, they could have had Ian Kennedy, who has won 20 games before, and their rotation would be in much better shape.  Maybe Arte Moreno has given up on helping his own team, and resorted to sabotaging the Dodgers by sending Trumbo the NL West?

Speaking of the Dodgers, good thing they re-signed Juan Uribe because they had no other options at 3rd base next year.  Now The Blue Crew won’t have make a silly trade with one of their 4 outfielders to fill that hole.  I’m sure Matt Kemp was relieved when his agent was told by Ned Colletti that he wasn’t going to be traded.  Kemp has clearly pissed off somebody in the Dodgers front office with his recent behavior, because LA has seemed so determined to trade him for the last few weeks, regardless of what they were getting in return.  Maybe it’s because they found out he could be dating Khloe Kardashian, which increases the likelihood of his career going to hell?  The last time Kemp’s attitude was questioned, he responded with a career season.  Hopefully the same happens this time.  Then again, Rhianna had herpes which literally had to have lit a fire in his pants to get him going.  Kemp may be dating the wrong Kardashian if that’s going to happen again.

It’s looking more and more like USC jumped the gun, and hired their head football coach a week too soon.  No, I’m not talking about Chris Peterson.  I’m talking about Mack Brown.  Trojan fans were insisting on having a big name on their sidelines.  Is there a name bigger than Mack Brown out there right now?  I think not.  His last few years at Texas may not have been the greatest, but he’s won a national title, and a fresh start at USC would have energized him and the Trojan fan base.  It’s hard not to think that Pat Haden is having buyers remorse.

The Kings were rolling.  Until they ran into the Chicago Blackhawks.  Once again, the Hawks completely took the Kings out of their game, and dictated the tempo in last nights 3-1 victory in the windy city, which snapped LA’s 6 game win streak.  The game felt like it was straight out of a time machine from last seasons Western Conference finals.  The Kings just can’t seem to neutralize the Hawks speed, and they continually get forced into making turnovers, while giving up outnumbered attacks against them.  The Kings were the top defensive team in the league going into last night’s game, and I don’t recall them giving up an outnumbered attack for weeks, until they ran into the Hawks.  If the Kings are going to make another run for the Cup, they’ll likely have to go through Chicago to make it happen.

The irony of it is, even though the Kings seem to knock the Ducks around, the Ducks probably stand a better chance of beating the Hawks in a 7 game series.  Anaheim made it 5 in a row last night, with a 3-2 win over the Oilers.  The Ducks are practically unbeatable at home, with a record of 13-0-2, and their style of play matches up far better with the speedy Hawks in a playoff series.  However, home ice didn’t mean much for Anaheim last year when they got beat by the Red Wings in game 7 at the Honda Center, in round 1.  The Ducks are looking elite in December, but there remain questions about their toughness and grit come playoff time.

Week 15 of the NFL was the week of let downs.  The Pats blew an opportunity to clinch the division and move closer to taking home field.  The Saints blew a chance to clinch a playoff spot, and may not even win the division anymore.  The Broncos may have blown home field advantage by losing to the Chargers.  The Cowboys blew it against the Packers, but it’s December, and they usually choke around this time.  Knowing the Chargers, they’ll probably lose at home to the Raiders next week, after coming up huge in Denver.

Speaking of the NFL, and more specifically, old-time players, Jim Brown’s comments about Kobe Bryant this week were extremely shortsighted.  Look, I get it.  Jim Brown was playing football in an era where terrible things happened to African Americans in the United States.  However, he’s basically saying that Kobe isn’t black enough because he grew up in Italy.  In Brown’s mind, that means Kobe wouldn’t be recognized as a leader in the black community.  Keep in  mind that Brown was also very critical of Michael Jordan, and other black athletes for not being involved enough in their community.  Brown reminds of my 80 year old uncle, whose views on race you just have to dismiss, since he is simply a product of his generation. Props to Kobe for realizing this fact, and also not shying away from the the conversation about race, which many athletes do.

Florida State Quarterback Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy over the weekend, but there is certainly a cloud that will remain over the freshman quarterback.  Winston is most deserving of the trophy, but the recent rape allegations against him by a woman have him guilty in the court of public opinion.  Winston was cleared of any criminal wrong doing, but nobody knows for sure whether this allegation is real or bogus.  In any case, this incident will forever cast doubt on the character of both Winston, and the woman who accused him of the crime.

Finally, the season finale of Homeland was last night on Showtime.  Spoiler alert for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, and have it on DVR.  This episode ended without any cliff hangers, and was wrapped up nicely with a bow on top.  It almost felt like it could have been the series finale, because I’m unsure where the show goes from here.  I was shocked that Brody was killed off, and I was a little bit disappointed because his character, along with his interaction with Carrie made the show fantastic.   Despite an intriguing ending to season 3, overall, this season was a rocky one.  Brody’s family was just too damn annoying, and didn’t really fit into the show anymore without him playing a major role.  Heck, if they were going to kill Brody off, why did they focus half of the season on his family?  The focus of the show should remain on terrorism and national security, because that’s what Homeland viewers want to see.  So now what?  Does Carrie have the baby and become a mother while remaining in the CIA?  Does Saul return to the CIA?  Then again, is Brody really dead?  It’s hard to see how they can make the show as exciting as the first two seasons, but we’ll see where it goes next fall.

December 9th, 2013

That didn’t exactly go as planned.  Kobe Bryant finally made his return to the lineup last night, after  recovering from a torn achilles tendon.  The return didn’t go as planned.  Kobe looked rustier than an old nail in my garage, and the Lakers got beat by the shorthanded Raptors on their home floor.  Yes, I realize it’s only his first game back, so I won’t make too big of a deal out of his 25% shooting and 8 turnovers.  However, where was the energy level from his teammates?  Why does it seem like superstars can’t play effectively in Mike D’Antoni’s dumb ass system?  If I didn’t know better, after watching Kobe’s Facebook video announcing his return, I would have thought Jesus Christ was going to be making his return to the Lakers.  Too bad, because I hear Jesus has some great handles, and the Lakers could really use a point guard right about now.

Then there’s the Clippers, who just make you wonder.  You wonder, why haven’t they become better defensively under Doc Rivers?  You wonder, why  Blake Griffin hasn’t come the next Karl Malone?  You wonder, why their bench is more inconsistent than Katy Perry’s hair color?  The Clipps have lost 3 of their last 4, and Rivers called out the team for pouting when things weren’t going their way the other night in Cleveland.  It’s hard to watch this team and think they are any better than last year’s team, which has to make Donald Sterling’s head explode.  It’s early, but a team performing poorly on the road, atrociously on defensive, and inconsistently off the bench does not represent an elite team.

On to college football, where both USC and UCLA made some serious headlines on the coaching front this past week.  The Trojans hired Washington coach Steve Sarkisian to be their new head, which has most Trojans fans ready to jump off the Santa Monica pier.  Let’s be honest, this was the best coach USC could find.  Every Trojan fan fantasized about unrealistic names like Nick Saban, Jon Gruden, and Mack Brown.  Although USC can be criticized for obsessively trying to recreate the Pete Caroll era, Sark knows how to recruit in the SoCal, and he’ll have far better resources at his disposal with the Trojans than he did at UW.  It will likely be a tough next year for SC with many of their upperclassmen leaving, but with the scholarship ban lifted the following year, the Trojans may not be down for too long.

As for the Bruin football program, they can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Jim Mora Jr. agreed to an extension, and will not be leaving for the vacated Washington job.  Had Mora left, it likely would have meant Brett Hundley would have bolted for the NFL, and the UCLA football team would have instantly been bombed back to the stone age next season.  Mora’s new contract was announced, along with the opening of a new football facility on campus.  I still don’t understand why, after all these years, the Bruins haven’t figured out a way to put a football stadium on campus, or at least in Westwood?  It’s no wonder all of the previous coaches have complained about this, as it’s definitely prevented the Bruins from building a consistent winning program.

Speaking of UCLA, their basketball team is exactly who we thought they were!  They actually played real competition on Saturday morning, at Missouri, and they lost 80-71.  It’s hilarious how many UCLA basketball fans are in complete denial that the season has even started, because they are so disgusted with the state of the program.  It’s obvious what most Bruin fans were thinking this week:  Yes!  Mora is staying…..crap….so is Steve Alford.

I don’t know how many times I have to yell about it here on Jock Talk LA, but I’m going to say it one more time, so hopefully Dodgers GM Ned Colletti can hear me:  DO NOT TRADE MATT KEMP, OR ANY OF YOUR 4 OUTFIELDERS!  Kemp doesn’t want to be traded, and his agent, Dave Stewart, says that he is very nervous something could happen this week at the Winter Meetings.  On one hand, Colletti told the LA Times that he can’t just give up an outfielder because the free agent market in the coming years is weak.  However, he also said, he wouldn’t mind giving up an outfielder, if it means strengthening the farm system.  So what’s it going to be Ned?  Why give up any of these outfielders when you have to pay a significant portion of their salary anyway, and you’re getting .50 cents on the dollar back?  Bringing back Brian Wilson was a good move, but LA needs to keep the team together and give them a chance to make it to the World Series. They nearly did last year, with an unhealthy team.

I still can’t seem to figure out how the Angels are going to improve their team.  They don’t have the money to go get any real pitching, and they don’t want to give up Trumbo, Kendrick, or Aybar anymore.  So where does that leave them?  With the same damn team as last year.  At least they weren’t dumb enough to spend $240 million for the next 10 years on Robinson Cano like the Mariners.  They were dumb enough to do that two years ago with Albert Pujols.

Let’s go to the ice.  Most of the Kings fans probably don’t remember this, or just choose to block it out, but for years the Kings had been a team with terrible goaltending.  I was absolutely amazed to see the job rookie goaltender Martin Jones did against the Ducks, followed by a shutout against the Islanders.  It feels like just yesterday, the Kings were saddled with the likes of Dan Cloutier and Roman Cechmanek, who couldn’t even stop a beach ball from getting by them.  Whenever Jonathan Quick gets healthy, the Kings should now feel comfortable giving him regular rest, knowing that there are two capable goaltenders behind him.

Week 14 of the NFL Season may have been a death blow to the New England Patriots.  The Pats fear that Rob Gronkowski may be lost with a torn ACL, which probably just handed the Broncos a bye all the way to the Super Bowl.  Seeing so many of this week’s games played in the snow was pretty cool, but I still think a cold weather Super Bowl is a terrible idea.  Part of the novelty of playing in the Super Bowl, and even for fans going, is to go to a warm weather city.  Apologies to all those people that live in New York, Philly, and all those other cold ass cities.  You just shouldn’t be hosting Super Bowls, unless your stadium has a roof.

Lastly, the USA really got screwed when the World Cup group’s were announced this week.  Ghana, Portugal, and Germany all in our group?  The oddsmakers say the US has just a 39% chance of advancing out of pool play.  So much for my interest in soccer every 4 years.  Remember, we lost to Ghana in the last World Cup, and now they are in our group in 2014.  I feel really bad for this US soccer fan, who nearly lost his mind after the last World Cup…..

December 2nd, 2013

The last time it happened, I was in high school.  No, I’m not talking about the last time I went to Prom.  I’m talking about the last time the Bruins beat the Trojans in the Coliseum.  Well, up until Saturday night, when UCLA took down their cross town rivals, the USC Trojans, 35-14, for their first win at the Coliseum since 1997.  The win was also the Bruins second straight over the Trojans.  Brett Hundley simply could not be contained.  He passed for 208 yards, while rushing for 80 more, to go along with 2 touchdowns.  Imagine if the Bruins offense was in this kind of rhythm against Stanford or ASU?  They would probably still have a chance to make it to the Rose Bowl.  It always feels good for the Bruins and their fans to beat the Trojans.  But the performance Bruin fans saw on Saturday night is a little bittersweet, knowing they a good football team, but not elite.  If Brett Hundley returns next season, UCLA will have a chance to once again, prove they can hang with the big boys.  Next time, their fans won’t settle for being close to great.

As for USC, the fact this team ended up 9-4 was simply miraculous.  Any Trojan fan who thought they would be better than that this year has had one too many drinks at The Nine-O.  Pat Haden was smart enough to promote Ed Orgeron as interim coach, who inspired confidence in his quarterback, and energized his players.  However, he’s also smart enough to know that Orgeron is not the long term answer.  The notion that Orgeron was going to get the job based on beating UCLA was as ridiculous as that Trojan Horse galloping around the Coliseum.  He did a respectable job, but if he’s hired, it’s simply because the Trojans couldn’t get who they wanted, or they are looking for another coach to keep things competitive until all of the sanctions are over in 2015.

The rest of the weekend in college football was very exciting.  What was Brady Hoke thinking going for the 2 point conversion to try and beat Ohio State instead of forcing overtime?  Hoke said it was his players that wanted to go for it.  If that’s the case, then what are they paying him $3 million a year for?  The Auburn and Alabama finish was one of the most exciting I’ve ever seen in a college football game.  Then there was another pathetic performance by Notre Dame’s Tommy Rees against Stanford.  The Irish had a chance for the upset, but Rees had more turnovers than Betty Crocker, and the Irish had to settle for a mediocre 8-4 season.  The only thing more pathetic was the showing by Stanford students, or lack thereof for a team that was top 10 in the country.  Take a look at the lower corner of the stadium.  Thanks to my fellow Domers for sharing.

Is anybody excited about the UCLA Basketball team’s 7-0 start?  Well considering not many people seem to be showing up at Pauley Pavilion, I guess not.  The Bruins have defeated Drexel, Oakland, Sacramento State, and a bunch of other crummy teams that aren’t ranked.  On the other hand, UCLA is playing an exciting uptempo offense, and nearly scored 100 points in three straight games, which hasn’t happened since 1971.  Only time will tell, but UCLA faces only one ranked opponent before conference play begins in January.  My gut tells me this is who Steve Alford is.  A dominant coach in the regular season, who will be badly exposed come tournament time.

On to the NBA.  Imagine what is going through the mind of Lakers owner Jim Buss right now.  He’s probably thinking he’s actually got a pretty good basketball team, and that we are all idiots, since his team is hovering around .500 through the first month of the season without Kobe Bryant.  Jimmy just doesn’t get it.  He took a team of hall of famers last year, and alienated them by hiring a coach that works better with less talented players.  He then brought in less talented players to make it work with Mike D’Antoni, and it appears to be working thus far.  Chemistry is important, but talent wins out when things matter in the playoffs.  It’s as though Jim Buss is determined to be mediocre no matter how hard everyone around him tries to convince him otherwise.  This team is destined for first round purgatory, until Buss figures this out.

As for the Kobe Bryant contract extension, it’s just downright moronic.  Kobe is easily my favorite NBA player of all-time, but why would you guarantee him $48 million for two more years without even seeing him play after tearing his achilles tendon?  I realize that Kobe is worth far more to the Lakers than the $48 million he will be earning over the next two years, but that’s besides the point. The Lakers could have manipulated this ridiculous system the owners put in place, and built a powerhouse team overnight.  Instead, they’ll be hard pressed just to add one more max contract player this summer.

As the Lakers chase mediocrity, the Clippers are battling the injury bug.  JJ Redick is out for the next 6-8 weeks with a broken hand, and Chris Paul is already dealing with a sore hamstring.  This doesn’t seem like a big deal given that the Clippers came into Sunday 4th in the West, with a 12-5 record.  However, the Clipper bench has taken quite a step back this season.  The Clipps are just 14th in the league in bench scoring, compared to 3rd last season.  Much of this is the result of trading Eric Bledsoe to the Suns for a pair of starters.  The irony of it is, it’s the Lakers who have the highest scoring bench in the league this season.

There are some incredibly disappointing teams in the NBA thus far.  The real question is what the hell is going on in New York and Brooklyn?  The Nets are just 5-12, Kevin Garnett looks like he left his game in Boston, and Jason Kidd looks way over his head, and resorting to tactics like spilling soda to win games.  The Knicks are just 3-12, Mike Woodson is about to get canned, Carmelo is talking like he’s ready to leave, and Amare seems like he can barely walk.  Then there’s Cleveland, who has somehow gotten worse defensively under Mike Brown, has no offense, and everyone in the locker room seems to hate each other.

Let’s go to the ice, where the LA Kings loss to the Flames on Saturday was embarrassing on so many levels.  For the first time this season, the Kings lost to one of the worst teams in the league, and both times it happened in the last 30 seconds of regulation.  Goaltender Ben Scrivens looked like he had put on skates for the first time, when he slipped in the corner handling the puck, which led to the Flames first goal.  Then the Kings were beaten in the last few moments by former King, Mike Cammalleri.  I get it, LA isn’t going to win every game, but it sure would be nice if they beat the teams that aren’t even trying to win anymore.

Meanwhile, the Ducks may have lost their grip on first place in the Pacific, but they certainly aren’t having any problems scoring goals.  Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Dustin Penner, have all scored nearly as many goals as they did all of last season.  Strangely enough, they can’t seem to score on the powerplay though.  Tuesday should be interesting, when the Kings and Ducks lock up at the Honda Center for the first time this season, and two opposing styles of play will be on display as well.

After 13 weeks of NFL Football, here’s what I’ve learned:  The AFC belongs to Peyton and the Broncos unless Tom Brady and the Pats can knock them off.  The Chiefs had a nice run, but they are coming back to earth.  Nobody disappoints like the Chargers, and nobody shows up for their games either.  Just when you think the Redskins franchise is about to turn around, the next season they miss the playoffs for the 17th time in 21 years, and are 0-5 in prime time.  That means it’s probably unemployment time for Mike Shanahan.

Although I never read the books, I’ve saw the sequel to Hunger Games this past weekend, “Catching Fire”.  I thought the first movie was fantastic, and Jennifer Lawrence delivered a tremendous performance.  However, in the sequel, I found myself leaving the theatre completely unsatisfied.  This movie felt like it was building up to something big, but didn’t really build up to much, and simply left the viewer on a giant cliff hanger, with a few twists and turns along the way.  Now I have to wait a whole year for the next one? Damn you Hollywood!

I was very sad to hear the news about Paul Walker’s death this weekend.  Walker was only 40, and he lost his life in a car crash, right after doing a good deed, helping at a charity event.  I’m sure Walker’s acting career will most be remembered by his “Fast and The Furious” films.  However, my two personal favorites were “Varsity Blues”, and “Joy Ride”.  Thanks for entertaining us Paul.  RIP.

Finally, the fall finale of The Walking Dead took place last night, and I was absolutely exhausted when it was over.  A big spoiler alert for those of you who haven’t seen this episode, because there were some shocking deaths that took place in the fall finale called “Too Far Gone”.  To quickly recap, The Governor convinces his new crew to attack the prison, and tries to convince the group that they won’t use violence, just intimidation.  When the Governor and his crew show up at the prison, he calls for Rick to come out and speak to him.  The Governor demands that Rick and his people leave the prison, or else he will attack.  He also threatens to kill Michonne and Hershel, who were taken prisoner, if Rick doesn’t leave.  Rick tries to convince him that they can share the prison, but of course, The Governor refuses.  When Rick proclaims that they will not leave, all hell breaks loose.

The Governor immediately kills Hershel with a katana blade, and a shoot out takes place with Rick’s people and the Governor’s crew.  The Governor and Rick end up beating the crap out of each other, then Michonne stabs The Governor before he strangles Rick.  Half the group at the prison escapes on a bus, which included Glenn, and the other half are scattered into small groups to escape the chaos, which included Maggie, Rick, Carl, Daryl, and Beth, among others.  Despite outnumbering the group at the prison and having tanks, it appears as though the Governor’s group was soundly defeated, while the prison was overrun by Walkers.

This episode left the audience emotionally devastated, while trying to figure out what actually happened when it was over.  Let’s start with Hershel, who in many ways was the heart of The Walking Dead.  Over the last few seasons, Hershel saved Karl, and more recently, Glenn and Sasha during the plague.  He came close to death at a few other points in the show, but of course the creators of the show had to dramatize his death with a “Kill Bill Style” decapitation.  It almost seems like the more important the character is, the more dramatic the death.  Then there was the Governor’s death, which took me by surprise.  I suppose it now makes sense that they focused on him for the last 2 full episodes before killing him off.  It also took a tag team effort of Michonne, Rick, and Lily to kill him.  He simply went crazy with his power, and wanted to do whatever he could to regain it after losing Woodbury.  Obviously Rick didn’t watch “Kill Bill Volume 2”, otherwise he would have known he needed to samurai The Governor’s ass to kill him.

I’m really going to miss this show until it returns in February.  This episode felt a lot like the chaos that occurred at the end of season 2, with characters scattered everywhere.  Where is Beth?  Where is Judith?  What happened to Daryl?  So many questions that won’t be answered for two months.  The real question is who the new villain of the show will be.  It’s obvious now that the real danger in the show show is the human beings, rather than the zombies.  Shane was a villain who snuck up on all of us, while The Governor was unbelievably evil.  Who will be next?  Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the 2nd half of the season, but I’m sure these two months will give me time to catch my breath after what I saw last night.

November 25th, 2013

It’s a story that’s gotten annoying.  The Bruins are good, but not quite good enough.  Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, we had to listen to this tiresome storyline after the Bruins lost to Arizona State 38-33.  I don’t care that the Bruins outscored ASU 20-3 in the 2nd half and made a great comeback.  I don’t care that their only three losses this season have come against quality top 25 opponents.  Why has Brett Hundley not taken his game to an even higher level yet?  Why does the UCLA offensive line get manhandled against good teams?  And if Myles Jack was going to only play running back, then why didn’t he touch the ball 30 times?  He probably could have been more useful on the defensive side, since the Bruins gave up 38 points.  Jim Mora Jr. and his Bruins may show flashes of brilliance, but until they start meeting the moment, they will soon start looking more like underachievers than rising stars.

Then there’s the angry Trojan fans, who are furious that their cross-town rival couldn’t take care of ASU, which ended USC’s slim hopes of playing in the Rose Bowl.  Of course, leave it to all the myopic USC fans to claim how “overrated” the Bruins are, and they’ll likely spend this upcoming rivalry week pretending like their team should be playing for the BCS Championship.  Still, USC did beat up on lowly Colorado 47-29, which continued their feel good story under Ed Orgeron.  The Trojans are now 6-1 under Coach O, but they’ll need to beat UCLA next week to give him any chance of retaining the job permanently.  This a nice feel good story for the seniors, but if Orgeron were coaching this team one year from now, most Trojan fans would probably be feeling like morons for wanting him in the first place.  On 2nd thought, most of the Trojan fans are sleezy morons, who aren’t even alums, that jumped on the bandwagon when they ditched their Raiders jackets for Trojan sweatshirts, which they bought at K-Mart.  Expect another classic game between the Bruins and Trojans next week at the Coliseum!

Let’s talk baseball for a moment.  The Angels made their first significant move of the off-season, trading outfielder Peter Bourjos, and touted prospect Randal Grichuk, to the Cardinals for 3rd baseman David Freese, and reliever Fernando Salas.  For some reason, many Halo fans seem like they are ready to jump off the top of Space Mountain after hearing about this trade.  Bourjos isn’t Fred Lynn or Jim Edmonds.  He’s a nice player, but an expendable one.  Grichuk may be a quality major leaguer, but his path to the big leagues was blocked by all the Angels expensive outfielders.  The question for this team remains whether or not they can find decent starting pitching, which I have my doubts about.

Speaking of pitching, the Dodgers have signed pitcher Dan Haren to a one year deal for $10 million.  Haren is a decent starter on a reasonable contract, but his addition should make fans lose hope in the Dodgers assembling a powerhouse starting rotation with David Price and Masahiro Tanaka.

A-Rod is unbelievable.  He holds one press conference, in which he basically admits to doing performance enhancing drugs, and now when he’s about to get kicked out of the game, he goes on some NY radio station earlier this week, trying to convince us that he never did PED’s.  I also like how he’s demanding a sit down with the commissioner, over brunch.  I can just see it now:  “I want Mimosa’s! And I want answers damn it!”

On to the NBA, where some interesting developments occurred in Laker land this past week.  ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, or who I liked to call “Scream’in A Smith”, claimed that according to his sources, Carmelo Anthony, as of now “is gone.  He’s going to LA to play with Kobe.”  I know this is hardly official, but keep in mind, this is the same guy who reported that Lebron, Wade, and Bosh were going to join forces in Miami, well before it actually happened.  Of course the problem with the Carmelo to the Lakers theory is that Mike D’Antoni is still their coach, and Carmelo had issues with him in New York.  Since the Lakers are a miraculous 7-7 without Kobe, and have faced one of the toughest schedules in the NBA so far, D’Antoni seems to have overachieved and has a case for retaining his job at the moment.  In fact, D’Antoni feels so good about his team so far, that he took shots at former Lakers Dwight Howard and Antawn Jamison in last night’s post game presser.  “They don’t go grab a stat sheet,” when asked about the team sharing the ball, and “I don’t have to worry about a guy pouting because I didn’t put him in.” Here’s Stephen A on Carmelo…..

As for the Clippers, they pounded the Derek Rose-less Bulls yesterday at Staples.  The 39 point win was the largest margin of victory in the NBA this season.  The Clippers look good, but poor D-Rose.  Now, he likely has to endure another 6 months of rehab in his other knee, which will probably cost him the rest of this season.  Rose is one of the best players in the NBA when healthy, but his career is slowly starting to resemble that of Grant Hill’s, who could never stay healthy in his prime.

Let’s go to the ice.  The Kings endured two disappointing overtime defeats in their last two games, but Ben Scrivens has been absolutely sensational.  Jonathan Bernier has become that once hot ex-girlfriend that has become fat and ugly, while Scrivens, the man he was traded for, currently leads the NHL in goals against average, and is 2nd in save percentage.  The Kings are banged up, but Scrivens is keeping them right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.

Meanwhile, Dustin “Pancakes” Penner scored two goals for the Ducks on Saturday, in their victory over the Coyotes.  Kings fans are rolling their eyes right now, because Penner has already scored almost as many goals this season as he did in 3 seasons with the Kings!  I guess it probably helps when Penner actually starts the season in shape, as opposed to playing his way into it.

Week 12 in the NFL is in the books, and it’s become clear now: Charger football simply defies logic.  San Diego went on the road to shock the Chiefs to vault themselves into a 6-way tie for the final playoff spot in the AFC.  The Bolts play 4 of their final 5 games at home, and those 4 are very winnable.  Don’t worry though they won’t, because remember, Charger football defies logic.  How did the Broncos blow that lead against the Patriots?  Tom Brady remembered he was Tom Brady in the 2nd half.  The Vikings and Packers played to a tie?  Somewhere, Donovan McNabb is very confused.

Anybody watch the American Music Awards last night?  I thought the show was relatively tame, without any wardrobe malfunctions, or scandalous performances.  However, I thought if anything, Justin Timberlake should have hosted the show, instead of Pitbull.  Pitbull wasn’t bad, but JT is simply the best the industry has to offer right now, and he probably would have had some better jokes.  I was most curious to see how Miley Cyrus would be received after all her recent controversy.  I suppose this went much better than the VMA’s, and her outfit wasn’t nearly as shocking.  However, nobody seems to be sure why her performance included a giant cat floating above her, which was lip-synching and crying.

Finally, The Walking Dead returned last night with another episode.  This episode was called “Dead Weight”, and spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to see it.  Once again, this episode continued to focus exclusively on The Governor and his new family.  However, now, The Governor has reverted back to his older murderous ways, and his “ends-justify-the-means” mentality.  After joining Martinez’ new camp, he informs The Governor that he is in charge.  This doesn’t last long though, as The Governor murders both Martinez, and the morally righteous Pete.  Now, The Governor has reclaimed his status as the leader of a new camp, and they appear poised to attack the prison.

Interestingly enough, Lilly and Megan still don’t realize what kind of monster The Governor, or “Brian” as they call him, really is.  They don’t know what kind of transformation he has gone through, which ultimately puts targets on their heads.  The Governor is probably going to do everything he can to protect them, but that just means they are probably more likely to die, just like his previous family.  I guess in the end, the characters are who they are.  Just as Rick reverted back to his position of leadership, The Governor is reverting back to his monstrousness.  Looking forward to the fall finale!

November 18th, 2013

What a scene at The Coliseum on Saturday night.  The Trojans shocked the college football world by knocking off #5 Stanford 20-17, and it was kicker Andre Heidari, who secured the win with a 47-yard field goal with 19 seconds left.  Moments later, the Trojan fans rushed onto the field to celebrate with the players.  The SC offense was just sturdy enough, but it was the defense that came up huge again, including two huge 4th quarter interceptions.  I can’t believe after all this Kiffin drama, the Trojans could still win the Pac 12 South and end up in the Rose Bowl.  USC is now 5-1 under Ed Orgeron, who is making a strong case to be the head coach for the long run. If he beats Colorado and UCLA, Pat Haden has to give it strong consideration.

Orgeron has completely re-energized his players, and has done a great job preparing and implementing game plans.  But let’s not lose perspective here.  He was 10-25 in his only previous head coaching job at Mississippi, and simply giving him the job after a few nice wins would make Pat Haden a prisoner of the moment.  A full season under Orgeron would probably feel a lot like the Paul Hackett years, which most Trojan fans like to forget.  USC needs to explore its options with the likes of Chris Peterson, Jon Gruden, and even Jack Del Rio before considering Coach O.

Meanwhile, UCLA handled Washington 41-31 at the Rose Bowl on Friday.  Freshman linebacker turned running back, Myles Jack, scored 4 touchdowns on 13 carries, and should never play on the defensive side of the ball again.  Jack is the 13th player in Bruins history to score 4 touchdowns in a game, and the first defense player in the last 10 years in college football to accomplish this.  The Bruins will need Jack and Brett Hundley to come up big in their final two regular season games against ASU and USC.  Bruin fans should be very nervous about those matchups, especially with what took place at The Coliseum on Saturday night.

The rumors that are surrounding the Dodgers have me very concerned.  First of all, why the hell hasn’t Clayton Kershaw signed an extension yet?  The Dodgers reportedly offered him a 10 year $300 million deal, which he wasn’t comfortable with.  It’s obvious the Dodgers can pay him more than anybody else, so if he wants to be in LA, why hasn’t he signed?  Kershaw recently said he was becoming more curious about free agency as it approaches, which makes me think he isn’t sure if he wants to be here.  Then there’s the Matt Kemp rumors.  The Dodgers and Rangers reportedly had discussions about Kemp and Elvis Andrus at last week’s GM meetings.  Look, I get it.  The Dodgers have an extra outfielder and could use another infielder.  The Rangers have an extra infielder and could use another outfielder.  However, that doesn’t mean the Dodgers should trade a $100 milion superstar, for a $100 million underachiever.  Andrus is a useful defensive player that gives you nothing offensively. Give Kemp a chance to get healthy again and be the player we know he can be.

The Lakers got back in the win column last night against the Pistons, and Jordan Hill was a beast, scoring 24 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.  This is probably going to be a lost season for the Lake Show, but they have probably found a few useful players they should look to keep beyond this season: Hill and Xavier Henry.  As for the Kobe watch, even though he’s returned to practice, he’s still a few weeks away from returning to action.  Do you really want him to return to action this soon though?  Let’s be honest, after watching Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky play on ESPN earlier in the week, I’m sure many of you are drooling over the thought of the Lakers having a lottery pick and drafting the likes of Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, or Julius Randall.  Each of those players look like they are going to be franchise changing players.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are rolling.  They’ve won 4 straight games, including victories over Brooklyn and Oklahoma City.  At 7-3, the Clipps look good on paper, but I can’t say I’m sold on them being a championship team yet.  Typically, championship teams are in the top 5 in defensive field goal percentage, defensive rebounds, and in turnovers.  The Clippers are in the bottom half of the league in all of these categories, which is very surprising for a team coached by Doc Rivers, who hangs his hat on defense.  Until further notice, this looks like a team built for the regular season.

To the ice, where the Kings are doing an amazing job staying competitive given all the injuries they are dealing with  I think the entire season flashed before my eyes when Jonathan Quick went down  with a groin injury.  He’ll be out for 4-6 weeks, but “The Professor”, Ben Scrivens, has been solid in his place with two straight shutouts.  LA has won three straight, all coming on the road, and they are getting great production from their rookies as well.  The Kings are 7th in the West, but their conference is so stacked, they currently have more points than every team in the Eastern Conference.

As for the Ducks, they’ve lost three straight games on the road against those lowly Eastern Conference opponents.  I think the question the Ducks need to ask themselves is whether or not they need Jonas Hiller.  Hiller is a very average NHL goaltender that benefits from a team that scores a lot of goals.  If the Ducks act quickly enough however, they can probably trade him for a tough defenseman, or a gritty two-way forward, which they desperately need.  There are also plenty of teams out there in desperate need of a goaltender, like Nashville and Edmonton, who would probably be willing to take the chance on Hiller.

A few quick thoughts on week 11 of the NFL.  It’s amazing to think that the Chiefs are 9-1 with their offense being as pathetic as it is at times.  The Giants are making a move, and there’s still plenty of time for the Cowboys to choke away the division.  There’s simply no way that the Eagles can go back to having Michael Vick as their starting quarterback, with Nick Foles playing like he has been.  The Chargers playoff hopes went down in flames yesterday with their loss to the Dolphins, which has to be considered an embarrassing loss, given the state of the Dolphins.

Finally, The Walking Dead continued season 4 last night with episode 406 called “Live Bait”.  Spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to see it.  This had to be one of the strangest episodes I’ve ever seen, but interesting nevertheless.  The Governor has returned to the show, and this episode is all about him and his journey since the battle at the prison.  I think after last week we expected The Governor to make some full fledged attack on the prison for revenge.  Instead, we see him wandering aimlessly,  and on the edge of survival.  He is eventually provided shelter by a family that includes three women, Lilly, Lauren, and Meghan.  The Governor taught them how to kill walkers, got oxygen for their dad when he was on his death bed, and he later saved them all from walkers when they hit the road.  At the end of the episode, he runs into former henchman, Martinez, in what can best be described as an awkward ending to the show.

It seemed strange that when we wanted to know the state of Gllenn’s health, and Daryl’s reaction to Carol’s departure, the show focused exclusively on The Governor.  However, this episode was actually terrifying when you put it in perspective.  I was waiting for the moment when The Governor might rape and kill the three women in the family that took him in, but instead, he acted like a decent human being.  The thought that he could transform back and forth from what appeared to be a good person early in season 3, to a terrible person later in the season, and back into a good person early in this season is horrifying.  Just think….if this can happen to The Governor, it can probably happen to any character on the show.  A perfect example of this is the psycho path that Rick appeared to be at the beginning of last season.  It’s just more proof that the greatest danger isn’t the zombies themselves, but it’s the human beings.

November 11th, 2013

What a game in Arizona on Saturday night!  The Bruins and Wildcats had a showdown that was more wild than spring break in Cancun.  UCLA hung on for a sketchy 31-26 win, and won in Tucson for the first time in 10 years.  The Bruins raced out to a 24-10 lead, before the Wildcats mounted a furious comeback.  Fortunately for UCLA, they were rescued by freshman linebacker Miles Jack, who appears to be the Bruins version of Yasiel Puig.  Jack rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, on only 6 carries, while playing on both sides of the ball.  As mentally tough as the Bruins appeared to be on Saturday, this team appears wildly inconsistent at times.  Their remaining schedule is a minefield, with games at home against Washington and Arizona State, followed by a showdown at the Coliseum with the Trojans.  The Bruins still control their own destiny in the Pac 12 South, but they aren’t making things easy on themselves.

Meanwhile, the Trojans are a different team after pounding Cal 62-28.  Even though the Golden Bears are golden garbage at this point, did anybody expect USC to be 7-3 after Lane Kiffin was fired?  The mere fact that Kiffin left Javorious Allen chained to the bench should have been enough to fire him.  Ed Orgeron has completely transformed the offense into what it was supposed to be at the beginning of the season, and suddenly, Cody Kessler doesn’t look completely inept.  SC will probably get crushed by Stanford next weekend, but their matchup with UCLA at the end of this month is looking more and more exciting by the minute.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Tommy Rees for shattering the hopes and dreams of Notre Dame fans, who were hoping the Irish would earn a BCS Bowl berth this season.  Rees was once again, a turnover machine on Saturday night against Pitt, and successfully self-destructed when it mattered most.

On to college basketball, where very quietly, the Bruins and Trojans opened the season on Friday night.  Both teams are beginning new coaching eras, and neither one got off to very impressive starts.  The Bruins barely beat Drexel in Steve Alford’s debut at Pauley Pavilion, and Alford’s run and gun offense was slowed to a crawl.  The Bruin faithful clearly expressed their displeasure with the Alford hiring, since less than 6,000 people actually showed up to watch it.  The new Trojan run and gun offense wasn’t too successful either against Utah State, as the Andy Enfield experiment began with a pathetic 37% shooting night.  It feels like most Bruin and Trojan fans are conveniently in denial that their teams have started the season already.

Week 2 of the NBA season is in the books, and I’ve gotta admit, I’m concerned about the Lakers.  I’m concerned that they might actually be better than I thought.  I’m concerned that they may not be in the lottery, and actually make the playoffs.  I’m concerned that Mike D’Antoni will be the coach beyond this season.  Even after getting a beat down from Minnesota last night at Staples, I’m still worried the team isn’t going to tank hard enough.  There’s also been rumors of a Steve Nash trade to Toronto, which would be amazing, but unlikely.  Even Canada isn’t dumb enough to take Steve Nash off the Lakers hands, when the guy can barely get up and down the court.  As enjoyable as the victories over the Clippers and Rockets have been, things could get really ugly in the next few weeks for this team.

Then there’s the Clippers, who have left many people scratching their heads after beating Houston twice this week, and losing to Miami and Orlando.  Isn’t this team supposed to be much better defensively now that Doc Rivers is their coach?  Aren’t they supposed to actually have a half-court offense too?  We’re only 7 games in, but remember, Donald Sterling is paying Doc Rivers more money than he’s ever paid a coach, and his payroll is as high as it has ever been.  That also means Sterling is going to be a harsher critic on these guys than ever before.  I don’t think anybody expected the Clippers defense to be the worst in the NBA, and at the moment, that’s where they stand.

Ladies and gentleman, thank you very much.  I’ve been saying for weeks that all the LA Kings need to do in order to fix their offense is call up youngster Tyler Toffoli.  Sure enough, in just two games, he’s tearing it up, along with rookie Linden Vey.  The only reason Toffoli should return to Manchester, is to pick up the rest of his belongings and move them to LA.  As for the Ducks, they continue to roll, winners of 5 straight, and still undefeated at home.

It’s amazing how stupid fans drunk fans can be.  Check out Winnipeg Jets defenseman Adam Pardy getting his helmet ripped off by a drunk fan….

A few quick NFL thoughts.  Arian Foster has suffered a season ending back injury, which was the result of carrying the Texans on his back all these years.  For a while it looked like the Chargers might be on their way to sneaking into the playoffs.  Now, they are on the verge of having their season slip away, and Mike McCoy looks like he’s in over his head with play calling duties.

I think there’s one thing that we are all thinking about this Miami Dolphins situation: What kind of dumb ass name is Richie Incognito? But in all seriousness, the fact that Jonathan Martin is willing to walk away from football over this, tells you the Stanford grad knows he has a future after football.  Meanwhile, Richie Incognito has nothing, but a stupid name, and a stupid hazing incident to explain to people.  Martin handled things with dignity, but I think most of us would have punched Incognito in the face at this point.

Finally, The Walking Dead continued on AMC last night, and this latest episode was called “Internment”.  Spoiler alert for those of you who have it on DVR, and have yet to watch it.  To quickly recap, Hershel battles an outbreak of walkers, sickness, and poor spirits inside one of the prison cell blocks.  Meanwhile, Rick and Carl take down a pack of walkers with machine guns, Maggie learns that Carol was sent away by Rick, and the governor is seen briefly watching the prison at the end of the episode.

This episode wasn’t too eventful.  The big question I was wondering was what the group’s reaction would be to Carol’s departure.  After a full hour, we still don’t know much.  Hershel seemed too preoccupied with saving Glenn to have much of a reaction, and we still don’t know what Tyreese and Daryl’s reaction will be.  Maggie seemed supportive of Rick’s decision, but her approval or disapproval seems insignificant compared to Daryl and Tyreese.  Also, even though the show has a habit of killing off a significant character or two early in every season, I still was never really convinced that Glenn was going to die.  He seems like far too interesting of a character to eliminate from the show.  The Governor’s return was inevitable, and it will be interesting to see how he looks to get his revenge.