June 24th, 2013

Donald Sterling was hoping he could take the easy way out again.  He was going to tell Chris Paul he tried to give him what he wanted and thought that would be good enough.  Sterling turned out to be more naive than Manti Te’o, because Chris Paul wasn’t going to let up.  Paul convinced Sterling to fork over 3 years and $21 million to Doc Rivers after a week of public pressure.  The Clippers have now taken a huge step in transforming the culture of their team by adding one of the top coaches in the NBA.  As a result, Paul is now expected to re-sign with Clippers in one week for 5 years and $107 million.

Now comes the tricky part.  The Clippers would complete their identity change by acquiring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but that will be impossible in a two team deal.  David Stern has already informed both teams he will impose his dictatorship and veto this deal for no other reason, other than being an a-hole, and pissing off Marcellus Wiley and the remaining 10 Clipper fans.  However,  the Clippers may still be able to acquire Garnett in a 3 team trade, which would be hard for Stern to veto.  At that point, how could Stern argue that the Rivers deal and the Garnett trade were contingent upon one another?  Garnett may be older than the bible, but he could vault the Clippers into championship contention.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are bracing themselves for the departure of Dwight Howard.  Laker general manager Mitch Kupchak mentioned to the media that Phil Jackson was serving as an un-official consultant for the team.  Dwight has expressed his desire for Phil to be part of the organization, but we all know that really can’t happen until Jimmy Buss starts to play nice with his future brother in law.  Maybe Jimmy is banking on the fact that Dwight changes his mind more than a teenage girl, however, even Donald Sterling was convinced to bring in someone to appease his star player. Are you really going to let Donald Sterling outsmart you Jimmy?

Yasiel Puig needs to be an all-star.  In 19 games this season, he has easily been the best Dodger player, and the most exciting in the entire league.  Of course baseball purists will say he hasn’t earned it, but I hear those people also enjoy watching paint dry.  The MLB instituted a rule that every team needs to have at least one all-star, and Puig should certainly be that for the Dodgers, with all due respect to Clayton Kershaw.  Besides, now that Bud Selig decided to make the all-star game determine home field advantage in the World Series, it’s that much more important to have a player like Puig in there, who is one of the hottest hitters in baseball.  That would be a small consolation in a season from hell for the Dodgers.

Speaking of hell, the Angels were swept away by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Big A this weekend.  Does anybody realize how bad the pitching is for these guys?  The Halos have now lost 8 times when they score at least 6 runs.  If they had won just 5 of those games, they would be back at .500.  Only 3 teams in all of baseball have a worse team ERA than the Angels, and one of them is the Houston Astros, who aren’t even trying!

Many Kings fans were surprised they didn’t get a bigger return for backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier, however, general manager Dean Lombardi really pulled off highway robbery.  The only thing that pisses me off is that we helped out that two-face bastard Tim Leiweke.  That guy deserves to go find his own damn goaltender after trashing Kings fans!  In any case the Kings got two useful players, and Toronto payed a third of their salary.  Sending Bernier out also improves their reputation of how they develop players.  Plus, how can you not love your new backup goalie when he posts this on his twitter feed?

I’m hip! I’m with it! https://vine.co/v/bVUnQKwBLKl 

I hope nobody in my keeper fantasy football league was planning on having Aaron Hernandez on their team this season.  Even if he is somehow able to avoid jail time, Rodger Goodell is going to suspend this guy for eternity for being a dumb ass.  Why does this guy feel the need to carry so many guns?  He’s busy carrying guns, while Tom Brady is carrying the Patriots.

I just have one question for Kim and Kanye: WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?  North West?  I wonder how old that child will be when she comes to the realization that her parents were senseless morons?  Then again, by that age, I’m pretty sure that her parents will be long separated by then, since Kim changes partners more frequently than a Nascar Driver changes tires.

Doesn’t the name “Edward Snowden” make you think we are talking about some Game of Thrones character?  Everyone is all up in arms about their rights when this story came out, but people are freaking out over nothing.  The US government isn’t reading emails and listening to phone conversations to find out what color panties your girlfriend is wearing.  As long as you aren’t talking to Al Qaeda, or some other terrorist group, I’m pretty sure the government doesn’t really care.  I don’t complain when I have to go through a long security process at the airport because it keeps the airport safe.  I see this the same way.  As for Snowden, who is now in Russia, here’s an idea: Putin should give the U.S. Snowden and Robert Craft’s Super Bowl Ring, and we’ll give them George Zimmerman and Frank McCourt.

Finally, watching Nic Wallenda’s high wire across the Grand Canyon on Discovery was one of the most amazing, and simultaneously, one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.  For a man who has made Christianity such a focal point in his life, even Jesus has to be wondering what kind of idiot would high wire across the Grand Canyon in jeans?  Obviously, if this guy were blacked out drunk he could still pass a sobriety test with skills like that.   I love how he jogged across the wire for the last few feet as well.

June 17th, 2013

Well folks, it’s that time of the week where I remind you all how much our So Cal baseball teams stink.  The Angels found a way to be pathetic on and off the field this weekend.  The Angels were promoting Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera coming to town this weekend, and even gave out collectible certificates commemorating his career.  Are you kidding?  Don’t we have enough douchy Yankee fans that are showing up to the Big A when NY comes to town?  Arte Moreno must be getting desperate to fill all the empty seats at the stadium.

The team was equally as horrible on the field yesterday as well, with a 6-5 loss against the Yankees.  Once again, Jered Weaver looked more like Sigourney Weaver after getting lit up for 5 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings of work.  The Halos tried to rally, but Albert Pujols proved that $250 million just doesn’t buy what it used to, when he struck out with the bases loaded to end the game. One a positive note, Josh Hamilton’s batting average didn’t drop any further, and that’s a relief because Mike Scioscia kept him chained to the bench.  Oh by the way, Torii Hunter is making half of what Hamilton is this year, and he’s batting nearly 100 points higher and driven in more runs.

Then there’s the Dodgers, who continued to take one step forward followed by three steps backward.  The Boys in Blue dropped 2 of 3 to the Pirates, and are now a season worst 10 games under .500.  This team couldn’t hit water if it fell out of a boat.  Yasiel Puig is hitting .479, and he can’t even save this team.  Don Mattingly did announced that Puig is going to remain in the major leagues for the rest of the season, so at least the team will be entertaining.  The Dodgers are 5.5 games behind the Padres, who have a payroll that’s not even one-third of LA’s.  Now I see what the Dodgers meant by “A Whole New Blue”.  Watching this season hurts more than blue balls.

Why is Clayton Kershaw so upset over details of his contract extension leaking?  Kershaw claims it’s a distraction, but let’s be honest,  we all need a distraction from this piece of crap season the Dodgers are giving us.

The NBA rumors surrounding the Clippers this weekend were crazier than Justin Bieber speeding through a neighborhood full of kids.  The Clipps were deep into negotiations with the Celtics, and were attempting to acquire Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, and eventually Paul Pierce, while giving up Deandre Jordan, Caron Butler, and some draft picks.  Both sides reached an impasse after the Clippers refused to put Eric Bledsoe in the deal.  The most shocking part of this deal would be the fact that Donald Sterling would be willing to pay Doc Rivers $7 million per year.  I’m still waiting for Sterling to call the deal off when he finds out it’s really Doc Rivers and not Doctor Jack Ramsey.

Even if the Clippers pull this off without including Bledsoe in the deal, the rumor that Blake Griffin and Bledsoe could be dealt in a sign and trade for Dwight Howard is hard to imagine.  Although Griffin and Bledsoe solve a lot of the Lakers current problems, Jim Buss isn’t going to help another franchise in his own building put together a super team with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard.  The Lakers end game is to try and acquire Lebron next summer, even if the chances of an asteroid hitting LA are greater.  Letting Dwight Howard go to the Clippers would not only reduce the Lakers chances of landing Lebron, but would also increase the chances of the Clippers landing Lebron next summer if Pierce and Garnett retire.  In other words, Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak would have to be drinking jet fuel in order for them to trade Howard to the Clippers.

Speaking of the NBA, ESPN insider Marc Stein is a fantastic and reliable reporter, however, he’s a bitch.  Back in 2002, Stein refused to come on my Jock Talk radio show at UC Irvine, and he said “sorry, you are an Anteater, and I’m a Triton, can’t do it.  Great show though”.  Good reporting this weekend Marc.  You’re still a bitch though.

Phil Mickelson is the Kevin Durant of the PGA.  Mr. 2nd place!

Did anybody catch the Miss USA pageant yesterday?  Miss Utah stumbled and rambled through a question regarding income disparity in the U.S., and ended her bizarre statement with a  “to create better education” phrase.  This was not as bad as Miss Teen South Carolina’s legendary jibberish back in 2007, but still gave everyone watching a good laugh.  I’ve never really understood the concept of the Q&A portions of these pageants.  More often than not, it just makes these women look like morons.  It’s a beauty pageant, not a Model United Nations Conference!

June 10th, 2013

Saturday night was a reminder to all Kings fans what being a sports fan is all about.  That is enduring 99% kicks to the ball and 1% glory.  Kings fans experienced that 1% glory last year, but it’s back to another kick in the balls this year.  This came after Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane ended the Kings bid to repeat as Stanley Cup champions with his game winning goal in double overtime of game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Kings fought harder than Mel Gibson resisting arrest in this game. They could have easily packed it in after trailing 2-0, and 3-2 late in the game.  However, LA continued to battle back while I sulked and threw pillows across my living room.

Now that its over, we’ve learned that the Kings were more beaten up than Rhianna when she hangs with Chris Brown.  Justin Williams played with a separated shoulder, Dustin Brown had a torn PCL in his knee, and Drew Doughty had an injured ankle.  Anze Kopitar insists that he wasn’t hurt, but he looked like he was skating with a piano on his back for much of the playoffs.  Nevertheless, the Kings made too many mistakes against a skilled Chicago team.  Jonathan Quick wasn’t quite as sharp as he was previously, and the Kings made costly turnovers that the Blackhawks capitalized on.

Nevertheless, the Kings made it further than the last 3 defending champions have, and are poised to be contenders for at least 2 or 3 more years.  Many of their core players are under contract for quite some time, and in case you haven’t noticed, their twitter handle is hilarious!  After Saturday’s loss, they tweeted this gem: “@penguins you guys wanna grab a drink later?”

Now that the NHL is over, we can all focus on how crappy the Angels and Dodgers are.  Do the Halos really not have anyone better than Joe Blanton to send to the mound every 5 days?  This guy is a human launching pad, giving up 3 more home runs in Boston yesterday, and he’s now on pace to lose 20 games.  Blanton was asked if his next start was a critical one, and he responded by saying “Why should I feel urgency now? I don’t have anything to prove.”  Nice to see you are ok being the worst starting pitcher in baseball Joe.

As for the Dodgers, it’s becoming clear now that even Yasiel Puig can’t save their season.  They’ll need to win about two-thirds of their remaining games, and that’s not happening if they have to send Stephen Fife and Matt McGill to the mound on a regular basis.  At least Puig has given the Dodgers something exciting to watch despite the carnage that is their season.

I like how the new Dodger owners are trying to conceal the details of their business partnership with Frank McCourt, because they claim it will hurt their chances of the NFL wanting to bring a team to LA.  I’m pretty sure that just by admitting that they have torpedoed their chances of an NFL team coming to LA.  At this point it’s pretty obvious that the NFL is only going to do a deal that works for them.  They like the idea of a stadium at Chavez Ravine, but they aren’t dumb enough to do a deal that involves McCourt.

So Lane Kiffin just recruited a 13 year old quarterback who hasn’t even played a down of high school football yet.  What good does it do any 13 year old to commit to a school when you are in 8th grade?  And will Lane Kiffin even still have a job with USC in 2015?  My guess is he won’t.

Why haven’t the Clippers hired a coach yet?  They should have contact George Karl 5 seconds after he was fired by the Nuggets.  The Clippers seem to have lots of good options in Karl, Brian Shaw, and Lionnel Hollins, however, the real issue is whether or not Donald Sterling’s people can convince him to pay one of these guys what they are looking for.  The Clipps should be getting really nervous because the Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to Houston rumors are heating up, and Chris Paul has been strangely quiet about the entire process.

The irony of the Nuggets firing George Karl is that Mike D’Antoni is the perfect fit for them.  The Nuggets roster is loaded with young and athletic players that would allow D’Antoni to play his uptempo system.  Unfortunately, the Nuggets probably won’t call the Lakers about him, since they currently have a few options on the coaching market.  That means the Dwight Howard breakup with the Lakers is coming.  This is starting to have the feel of that sometimes crazy girlfriend that you want to stay with, but you can slowly start to feel her pulling away.  The really depressing part is that when Dwight signs with the Rockets, it will be as though your girlfriend left you for Urkel.

Finally, season 3 of Game of Thrones is in the books, and it was outstanding.  Although the season finale was not quite as exciting as the previous week’s episode, the show is riveting.  I’m still astonished at the morons that are threatening to cancel their HBO subscriptions after complaining about the deaths of Rob, Talisa, and Catelyn Stark.  If you’ve been watching the show from the beginning, you know that the show isn’t about love, happiness, and moral righteousness.  It’s about a world where those who use cruel, devious, and underhanded tactics come out on top.  Not that I’ve read the books, but the writers of the show seem determined to deviate from plot in the books a bit in order to emphasize these points.   It’s going to be a long wait until season 4, but looking forward to it!

June 3rd, 2013

The sky is falling Kings fans! Time to hit the panic button!  The Kings were abused in games 1 and and 2 of their Western Conference Finals matchup with the Blackhawks, and find themselves trailing 2-0 in the series, with game 3 Tuesday night at Staples Center.  The scary part about game 2, was that the Kings played much better than in game 1, yet they were beaten like Rodney King.

The Kings have won 14 straight at Staples Center, but does anybody really think they can win 4 of the next 5 games after what they saw this weekend?  The Hawks are imposing their speedy and uptempo style of play on LA, which is a problem for a Kings team who’s success is dependent on playing a slower, grind-it-out game.  Is it too late to get a refund on Robyn Regehr?  He signs a 2 year extension with the Kings on Friday, and managed to score an own-goal in game 2 on Jonathan Quick.

Quick has often bounced back after poor outings, but the rest of the team needs to start playing their style of hockey Tuesday night.  Otherwise, they will be dusting off their golf clubs later this week.

The Dodgers finally called up Yasiel Puig, but what the hell took so long?  The team is going down faster than a Thai hooker, and this guy supposedly has a “Bo Jackson like” set of skills, according to Don Mattingly.   Heck, why stop at Puig?  With Andre Ethier playing like hell, the Dodgers should bring up Joc Peterson too and stick him in center field, while moving Puig to right.  At least that will give LA two outfielders who can potentially earn their paychecks.

Then there’s the Angels,  who continue to get dominated by the worst team in the American League, the Houston Astros.  The Halos need to create a new promotional opportunity for the fans: every time Josh Hamilton strikes out, all beers go for 10 cents for the next half inning.  This really isn’t all that unreasonable, considering the Angels fans will need plenty of booze to make it through the rest of this season.

Once again, Donald Sterling is unable to get out of his own way, and he is on the verge of screwing up his franchise again.  Sterling opened his big mouth to TJ Simers of the LA Times, and essentially blamed the firing of Vinny Del Negro on Chris Paul.  According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, Paul is very angry with the Clippers for placing the blame on him.  This is exactly the excuse that Paul needed all along to take his talents elsewhere, which is what I believe he will do.

I also don’t believe for even one second that the Clippers will land any of the big coaching names that are being talked about such as Jeff Van Gundy, Lionel Hollins, George Karl, or even Brian Shaw.  None of these coaches are dumb enough to agree to become the Clippers coach without knowing whether or not Paul will be staying with the team, not to mention the fact Sterling is too cheap to pay any of them the kind of money they are looking for.

I’ve got the Heat over the Pacers tonight in game 7.  Lebron isn’t going to let this team lose, and neither is NBA dictator, David Stern.

May 27th, 2013

Many Kings fans are pretty unfamiliar with this concept of game 7, especially after last season’s cup winning playoff run.  The last time the Kings played in a game 7, I was taking my frustration out on a poor waitress at the UC Irvine campus pub because the Kings just couldn’t get their act together.  That was back in 2002 when the Kings lost to the Avalanche in the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and when Jock Talk was born.

The good news for the Kings is that game 7 is at Staples Center, where they’ve won 13 in a row, and the home team is 6-0 in this series  The bad news is the Sharks have the momentum again, and somebody is bound to win a road game sometime soon.  This series has been close throughout, and figures to be that way for one more game.  Kings fans should be more nervous than a new prison inmate that just dropped the soap in the shower.

Don Mattingly really sacked up last week by benching Andre Ethier, and then Matt Kemp.  Mattingly definitely bought himself some more time with the Guggenheim Group with his tough guy act, but at this point, everyone realizes the team is going nowhere until Kemp and Ethier get it together.  Adrian Gonzales and Carl Crawford may not be the players they used to be, but they have been serviceable.  If Kemp hasn’t been healthy, he should be placed on the DL and Yasiel Puig should be brought up.  The Dodgers need offense badly.

Kemp may be hurt, but what’s Ethier’s excuse for sucking?  He couldn’t hit lefties before, and now he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of of a boat.  Worse, Ethier’s salty attitude is killing the clubhouse, and making the fans and media alike want him shipped out of town.  Maybe he and Mike D’Antoni can make their travel plans together.

Meanwhile, the Angels have won 8 in a row, and the fans are drinking the kool-aid again.  Sorry Halos fans,  but this hole is deeper than the Grand Canyon. They team is still 9 games back in the AL West, and 4 games under .500.   Jered Weaver is poised to return to the mound on Wednesday, and that could keep them alive in the wild card race, but I’ve seen this movie last year, and even Hollywood wouldn’t be this crappy script.

Finally, I do admire Bill Simmons’ breakdown of the Dwight Howard situation, but Mr. Simmons has been bamboozled by Mike D’Antoni’s ridiculous system.  Dwight may not be the best post player in the NBA, but he is still the best center in the NBA, and should get the “mega-max contract” simply because there is a lack of quality big men in the NBA today.  Simmons and others have conveniently forgotten that Dwight is a three-time defensive player of the year, and this past season played for a coach that doesn’t even like to post up players.  If Eric Gordon and Roy Hibbert can command “mini-max deals”, then Dwight Howard can surely command a “mega-max deal”.

May 20th, 2013

What a bunch of garbage that took place in San Jose on Saturday night.  I’ve always said that NBA  referees are by far the worst in sports, but the nonsense I saw on Saturday night made me think that NHL refs might get that dishonor.  Trevor Lewis was clearly shoved into Sharks goalie Anti Niemi at the end of regulation, but the referees called an interference penalty on Lewis.  That of course, led to a 5 on 3 man advantage for the Sharks in overtime, and a 2-1 win.

Sure, for the last two days I’ve heard crap like “the hockey gods evened things up”, or “justice was served”, since the Kings stole game 2 in controversial fashion.  That however, is a bunch of monkey crap.  The referees set a tone for the players by not calling a lot of penalties throughout the game, including numerous contact the Sharks made with Jonathan Quick that was not called.  Then, when the game was at its most crucial moment, they decide to call a penalty.  A players aggressiveness is determined by how the referees are calling a game, and when there is no consistency, it screws up the game.

FINE.  Take your game 3 victory San Jose.  In a game 3 must win on your home ice, you needed a two man advantage in overtime, which you couldn’t even score on until the very end of the powerplay.  That’s all you’ve got?  Quick and the Kings have got this.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly could be fired on Thursday if the Dodgers perform poorly over the next 3 games against the Brewers.  Just one year ago, Mattingly was overachieving with a crappy roster.  Now, he’s been saddled with a bunch of overpaid underachievers, and he’s about to be canned?  Firing Mattingly isn’t going to fix Matt Kemp’s swing, or keep the Dodgers any healthier.   It was Ned Colletti that traded for reliever Brandon League last season, when the Mariners gave him away for a bucket of KFC Chicken.  Now’s it’s Colletti that’s choking on the bone after signing him to a 3 year extension.

Here comes another Phil Jackson book, so prepare for more drama.  This time he felt the need to compare Jordan with Kobe, and he favored Jordan in almost every way.  I like how Phil  briefly mentions that he always resented Kobe for the sexual assault charges that were filed against him in 2004, because it symbolized his daughter previously being victimized by sexual assault.  Phil has always enjoyed criticizing Kobe, and it’s the nature of their relationship.  However, for a guy that’s responsible for your last five championship rings, you would think he might be able to say a few more positive things about Kobe.  How about the duration of Kobe’s greatness lasting longer than MJ’s?  How about Kobe’s superior shooting range and ball handling skills?  Glad to see that Phil’s hiatus from the NBA hasn’t altered his ego in any way shape for form.

Apparently, nothing has changed for the Clippers.  ESPN LA’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Donald Sterling is actually considering keeping Vinny Del Negro around because he doesn’t want to give a coach a multi-year contract, and he knows Del Negro is probably one of the few who would accept such a crappy deal.  I wonder how Chris Paul feels about this?  I have a feeling we’ll find out in July, when Paul and Dwight Howard leave LA together.

May 13th, 2013

I’d like to thank the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for crushing the hopes and dreams of all Southern California hockey fans over the weekend.  The Ducks had two chances to close out the Red Wings, but instead, folded like a deck of cards.  A series win would have meant the Ducks and Kings would have an epic Southern California hockey showdown in round 2, but the Red Wings would have none of that after their 3-2 win in game 7 in Anaheim on Sunday night.

After last night’s game, Corey Perry was seen kneeling at center ice in disbelief.  He was probably thinking “I can’t believe I fooled this dumb asses into giving me $66 million when I can’t even score a goal in the playoffs.”  Then there’s coach Bruce Boudreau, who is notorious for putting together great regular seasons, followed by disappointing playoffs. Boudreau is the Marty Schotenheimer of hockey.  He’s never made it past the 2nd round with the Capitals, and consistently comes up short in game 7’s.

Meanwhile, the Kings are going to have home ice advantage in round 2 against the Sharks.  Do the Kings even know how to win a series with home ice advantage?  The last time they had home ice in a playoff series Pearl Jam was cool, and Bill Clinton had started banging interns.  Dustin “Pancakes” Penner scored one of the greatest playoff goals in Kings history on Friday, as time expired at the end of the 2nd period, and his club will need much more of that to beat the Sharks.

I think it’s safe to say the Angels season is already over, and the Dodgers probably aren’t too far behind.  The Halos are 10 games back in the AL West, and that’s after taking two of three against the White Sox over the weekend.  Now, Arte Moreno is starting to hear it from TJ Simers and his friends at the LA Times.  The more I watch this team, the more it’s becoming obvious that Mike Scioscia is now forced to deal with a mess that he didn’t create.  His sluggers aren’t producing like they should, and when they aren’t, they are incapable of executing his small ball style of play.  His starting pitchers are not only ineffective, but are tuning him out.  Last night, after CJ Wilson came out of the game in the 7th for giving up 3 runs, Scioscia repeatedly asked Wilson about his pitch selection, yet Wilson was lifeless in his response.  Good luck managing these guys the rest of the way Mike.

As for the Dodgers, I love the festive atmosphere in the clubhouse this weekend, after taking two of three from the worst team in the National League.  Their season should end this week after facing the Nationals, followed by the Braves in Atlanta.  Dee Gordon and Scott Van Slyke now have as many home runs as Matt Kemp, who has become a $165 million singles hitter.  The Dodgers need to find a way to get Yasiel Puig into their lineup with Kemp and Andre Ethier trying to pull their heads out.  Heck, even Clayton Kershaw has as many home runs as Kemp!

Lastly, my heart goes out to those three girls in Cleveland, who were tortured for 10 years by Ariel Castro.  Those three girls are extremely courageous.  I would definitely kill myself if I were ever held captive in Cleveland.

May 6th, 2013

May just started, and it already feels like the 2013 baseball season is toast for the Dodgers and Angels.  Don Mattingly says he actually feels pretty good about his team after getting swept over the weekend against the Giants.  Imagine how bad things would really be if he didn’t feel good about his team!

The Dodgers have the 5th best batting average in the NL, and the 2nd best on base percentage, yet only the Marlins have scored fewer runs than them.  This team can’t hit when it counts, and I’m starting to question the legitimacy of Matt Kemp’s power numbers the last couple of years.

Things are even worse in Anaheim, where the Halos are off to their worst 31 game start in franchise history.  Everyone wants to blame Mike Scioscia for this disaster, but it isn’t really his fault that his starters can’t even give him 6 innings, or that Josh Hamilton is a $125 million scrub.  One could actually make a case that if Scioscia were the manager of the Dodgers, his small ball style would be far more effective in the NL, and if Mattingly were manager of the Angels, his ability to manage big names would make him more successful.

Even though the Kings won game 3 on Saturday night, the team can’t feel that great about their inability to impose their will against the Blues.  Jonathan Quick has been spectacular, but Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter haven’t scored since the first Iron Man was in theaters.   Apparently, Jake Muzzin needs to cost the Kings a game in this series before Daryl Sutter benches him for good.

The Ducks are catching a big break with the suspension of Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader.  Gotta love Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau telling it like it is: “The Wings are a good team.  We’re not playing the Florida Panthers here.”  With Abdelkader out, the Wings may be a lot closer to the Panthers, and the Ducks need to take take control of the series with a win tonight.

We can now add the Miami Dolphins to the list of teams that are using Los Angeles as leverage to get a new NFL stadium in their city.  Dolphins CEO Mike Dee told WFOR-TV in Miami that he has to have a public-private partnership in order for a new stadium to be built.    The NFL isn’t coming back to LA anytime soon, and any hope of it coming back disappeared when Tim Leiweke was fired by AEG, and took a job north of the border.

Finally, people need to stop crucifying the one writer who voted for Carmelo Anthony, instead of Lebron James for the MVP.  Nobody even knows what the criteria is for the NBA MVP award, so at the end of the day, you can make a case that one player is “more valuable” than another.  I’ve always thought the NBA needs a player of the year award, and an MVP award, but that will probably never happen because the league enjoys the MVP debate every year.

April 29th, 2013

Thank god it’s over.  The Lakers season mercifully came to an end on Sunday evening at Staples Center.  This has been the most disappointing season in franchise history.  Great effort on behalf of Dwight Howard as well.  2 shot attempts in 3 quarters of play while playing with bunch of D-League players?  No wonder he got himself ejected from the game.  Dwight might have some maturing to do, but it’s not going to happen with D’Antoni coaching him.  Now some fans can pretend to care about the Clippers for the next couple of weeks.

Everyone is applauding Jason Collins for coming out and admitting he’s gay, but why should we care?  Your sexual orientation is nobody’s business but your own, and it’s not something you need to wear on your sleeve.  The fact that everybody is making such a big deal out of this tells me that the sports world isn’t comfortable with it yet, no matter how much people try to say things have changed.

Why do people who watch the NBA have the memory of a 3 year old?  Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have been playing great, but after 4 great games people wanted to anoint them the greatest shooting backcourt in team history.  Most of these people have probably never heard of John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek, Mark Price and Craig Ehlo, or Jerry West and Gail Goodrich.

Carl Crawford has been on fire.  I thought this guy’s arm would have fallen off my now, but he’s easily been the Dodgers best player this year.  Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier need to start earning their paychecks for the boys in blue to go anywhere.  Speaking of not earning your paycheck, the Angels trio of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Josh Hamilton have combined to hit .167 over the last 6 games with 16 strikeouts.  The Halos have equaled last year’s horrendous start of 9-15, and now that the Lakers are toast, we can focus our attention on how badly our two expensive So Cal baseball squads stink.

The Kings ended up getting a great 1st round matchup against the Blues.  Although they won’t have home ice advantage, they’ve beaten the Blues like they stole something over the last 8 games.  I’ve got the Kings in 5.  Meanwhile, the Ducks may have a little tougher time with the upstart Red Wings, but they should have enough fire power to win the series in 6 games.

I sure hope Matt Barkely had fun in his senior year and slept with as many sorority girls as possible, because he cost himself about $30 million by not coming out for the draft last year.  The Eagles seem like an awkward fit for Barkely with Chip Kelly’s system, which will only make things tougher for him.  Barkely’s free fall to the 4th round reflects poorly on USC quarterbacks, and it will definitely have a negative impact on Lane Kiffin’s ability to recruit quality talent at that position.

April 22nd, 2013

So Mike D’Antoni was bothered by Kobe’s in game tweets.  Give me a break!  We all know that Kobe isn’t saying anything that we all aren’t already thinking.  Besides, Kobe’s tweeting makes the game that much more entertaining for all of us watching at home.    What’s with Mike D’Antoni’s man crush on Steve Nash anyway?  Nash gets back in the lineup after missing about a month, and D’Antoni thinks he’s back in Phoenix running play after play for Nash, who was rustier than an iron nail in the ocean.

What will it take for the Clippers to get some attention in this town?  They dominate the Grizzlies in game 1 on their home floor, yet the Lakers are still dominating the headlines.  It’s going to take a deep playoff run for these guys to make a serious dent in the LA sports landscape, and maybe even to save Vinny Del Negro’s job.

The Dodgers are sinking like the titanic, and now they are out of starting pitching.  Chad Billingsley will likely need season ending surgery, which only makes Zach Greinke look like that much more of an idiot for intentionally hitting Carlos Quentin.   Meanwhile, the Angels finally remembered how to hit, but when you’re $240 million first baseman claims “I’m dying” from a foot injury, you have to be pretty concerned.

The Ducks have just about wrapped up the Pacific Division title, but I still have my doubts about this team style being effective in the playoffs.  The Stanley Cup playoffs are about grittiness and toughness, which the Ducks don’t have.  As for the Kings, last night’s win makes me think they have another gear they can take their level of play to.