November 24,2025

The Rams look incredible. They beat up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last night on Sunday Night Football 34-7. Matt Stafford is playing some MVP ball right now, throwing 3 touchdown passes, while the defense looks elite, coming up with 2 interceptions. They are now 9-2, and are currently the #1 seed in the NFC with six weeks to go. There’s still a lot of football left to be played, including some touch matchups against the Lions and Seahawks. However, the Rams are going to be getting some guys back from injury, including Tutu Atwell, Tyler Higbee, Ahkello Witherspoon, and Rob Havenstein. The schedule may have some tough games left, but this team might be getting even better in the coming weeks The Rams are for real are looking like a real Super Bowl threat, which should have their fans in SoCal ecstatic!

Elsewhere around the NFL, don’t look now, but the Ravens have won 5 straight and are back in a playoff spot. Patrick Mahomes remembered he was Patrick Mahomes, as the Chiefs got by the Colts in OT to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Eagles were in a very generous mood given that it’s the holiday season, giving away a 21-0 lead and lost to the Cowboys 24-21. The Raiders got punked by Shadeur Sanders and the Browns, and then sent Chip Kelly packing. Something tells me UCLA fans don’t feel so bad that he got fired.

To the NBA, where the Lakers beat the Jazz last night for their 4th straight. Don’t ever give this team 5 days off like they just had, because they looked pretty rusty despite finding the win column. The Lake Show are 12-4 and 2nd in the Western Conference, which is pretty solid. They are also better with Lebron James, who returned from injury last week. If you think otherwise, you’re a fool. They are good, but it’s just a matter of whether or not they are good enough with a team like OKC in their conference, who are looking like monsters. The real story though is the firing of Jesse and Joey Buss from the organization last week. This is a clear reminder that family businesses are complicated and can get ugly. Jesse and Joey were running the Lakers scouting and G-League departments, and doing an excellent job mind you. However, their expectation was that one day they would run basketball operations, because that’s what their father, Dr Jerry Buss, wanted. However, once Jeanie Buss fired her brother and Mitch Kupchak in 2017, she was determined to abandon that plan and take the franchise in another direction. It’s clear that the Buss trust was ambiguous enough to allow Jeanie to take control and get enough support from the other siblings to sell the team and cash out. Joey and Jesse are 20 years younger than her, so of course they want to run the team, and voted against the sale to Mark Walter. That was enough for Jeanie to go act like Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, and get her brothers fired. Since the brothers said they haven’t talked to her or Rob Pelinka in months, did they just get a letter from HR with their Christmas Bonus letting them know they were fired? I can only imagine that Jeanie must truly hate her siblings to do this to them, and she must be walking around with a chip on her shoulder from things they have said or done to her in the past. That’s unfortunate. It’s amazing that Jesse and Joey were as successful as they were with the dysfunction that was going on within the organization. I do look forward to seeing what the Lakers can do with people that have better working relationships. With that being said, hopefully the scouting and development will be just as good, because it’s been great for the franchise.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are in really big trouble. They got Kawhi back yesterday, but it didn’t matter, as they got smoked by the Cavaliers. The Clippers are old, they don’t play defense, and they are lacking an identity. To make matters worse, OKC has their 1st round pick unprotected this year, so there is no benefit to tanking. In fact, the rest of the league is going to hate them for it. Now there are rumors about a John Collins for DeMar Derozan trade with the Sacramento Kings, in desperation to turn it all around. Why? So they can get even older? Imagine if after all they are going through, Adam Silver hands down a punishment for circumventing the salary cap with Kawhi’s contract. The Clips could be in shambles for the next decade, like they were still owned by Donald Sterling. Then there’s the retirement announcement by CP3. Paul is definitely among the top 5-10 point guards to ever play the game. It’s a bit surprising for a player as good as he was, he played for so many teams. He was an amazing competitor, but the real shame is that David Stern vetoed that trade to the Lakers. Seeing him and Kobe on a team together, and potentially an in his prime Dwight Howard, would have been fascinating and fun to watch. Paul’s career outlook probably would have been a lot different too.

In College Football, USC’s playoff hopes went down in flames on Saturday with their loss to Oregon. This game proved what we thought all along. The Trojans have a good football team, but not a great one. Is that the fault of Lincoln Riley? Well somewhat. However, it’s also the fault of those that decided to move to the Big Ten. The competition is that much more fierce, and there’s nothing Riley can do to fix that. If USC goes 10-3 with let’s say an Alamo Bowl win, in their 2nd year in the Big Ten, you can’t be too unhappy about that. However, once the big guns come in next year with that recruiting class, the expectations should be higher. That means playoff or bust. Whether or not Riley wants to stick around though is another question worth asking.

As for the UCLA football, the went crashing back to earth win another loss, this time against Washington. The Bruins had a nice run in the middle of the season when they played with pride, but ultimately, the talent just wasn’t there for this team to compete. The Bruins will face the Trojans next week at the Coliseum for rivalry week, but the real questions that are more important than what’s happening on the field are whats happening with their coaching search, and where will they play their game next season.

To baseball, where the offseason rumors are cooking up on the hot stove, especially when it comes to the Dodgers. As I mentioned earlier, they shouldn’t be handing out a deal of 5 of more years and $400+ million to a player like Kyle Tucker. He’s nice, but not necessary. I don’t see them doing that despite the rumors. There’s also some noise around a reunion with Cody Bellinger via free agency, or Corey Seager via trade. Seager makes way too much money to be considered, and misses way too many games. Bellinger on the other hand might be a more reasonable option depending on the cost, especially if he’s a 3 year contract or less. He’s not MVP Bellinger, but he can still be productive at the plate, and can play multiple defensive positions very well. However, I still think the one move they should consider if available, is a trade for Tarik Skubal. He’s arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and you can never have enough pitching. Plus, he’s not going to sign a contract extension with anyone, so I don’t think the return the Tigers can get is as overwhelming as they think. Of course they still have to pay the man a few hundred million, but they can do anything they want. They are the Dodgers!

As for the Angels, they made an interesting move last week, trading Taylor Ward to the Orioles for Grayson Rodriguez. On paper when you first look at this move, you actually think the Halos made a great move here. Then you realize that Rodriguez missed all of last year with an arm injury. Here’s the thing, if any other team made this move, my reaction would be that it’s a very cagey move, with huge upside, and that Rodriguez could be a potential ace for the Halos. Rodriguez has 4 years that are cost controlled as a starter, while Ward is a pending free agent. It sounds great until you realize that Rodriguez has to revive his career after injuries with the Angels. There will be little player development help, so he’ll almost have to do it off of talent alone. That’s what happens when Arte Moreno is your owner!

On the ice, the LA Kings finally gave their fans something to feel good about, which was the fact they re-signed winger Adrian Kempe. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why a great player like Kempe decided to stay with an organization that is run by complete buffoons, especially when he could have made more money on the open market. Nevertheless, the Kings should be thanking their lucky stars he really like LA, and wanted to stay. Now their problem is that they need a top line center to replace the aging Anze Kopitar and Philip Danault. It also doesn’t help that Drew Doughty is injured again. The Kings need to be very careful because they are not winning regulation games against crummy teams. That could cost them a playoff spot down the line later in the season if they don’t get their act together.

November 17, 2025.

I had the privilege of attending the showdown between the Rams and Seahawks yesterday at SOFI Stadium, where the Rams came away victorious. Some might say that was an ugly win, but it really wasn’t as ugly as people might suggest. Sam Darnold always turns into Betty Crocker against the Rams, cooking up 4 turnovers, but LA only won 21-19, in a game that came down to a missed field goal at the end. However, the Seahawks have one of the best defenses in the NFL too, which prevented the Rams from ever putting the game away. There is no need to be apologetic. The Rams beat a Super Bowl contender, and they are a Super Bowl contender. I can’t forget about that spectacular 50-yard punt with 1:41 left by Ethan Evans. You can call it ugly if you want, but to me it shows that this team is healthy, deep and talented enough to win a game like this, against a very good team. It also shows they can win games in a variety of ways too. I’m usually not a fan of 3rd jersey’s, but I did really like those midnight black uniforms. Now if only Philly can lose another game so the Rams can move into 1st place in the NFC.

Meanwhile, what the heck happened to the Chargers? They got dismantled by the Jaguars on the road 35-6. The Bolts offensive line offered about as much protection for Justin Herbert as a busted condom. Herbert threw for only 81 yards and was under constant pressure. The Chargers acquired Trevor Penning from New Orleans to try and overcome their offensive line woes. However, after yesterday they probably want to send him back to the Saints for a couple of beignets and an iced coffee from Cafe Du Monde on Bourbon Street. There have been some inconsistencies with the injuries, but there’s still good news. The Chargers are still in a wild card spot, they have a bye week to get some reinforcements back with Eric Rogers, Savion Washington, and maybe even Omarion Hampton. They’ll also get to play the Raiders after the bye week, so things are looking up despite the rough week. Kansas City is also just a mere 5-5 and the Broncos are a questionable 1st place team, so the Chargers need to take advantage of their opponents struggles, especially with an AFC that is feeling more and more wide open.

In the NBA, the Lakers are off to a really nice 10-4 start and Lebron James hasn’t even played a game yet. I don’t want to overreact too much to the complete beat down they suffered against Oklahoma City last week, but I think there’s a few things that are apparent right now. OKC is the best team in the league right now, and it’s going to take a very disciplined style of basketball to beat them. That means limiting turnovers and moving the ball and not taking bad shots against their elite defense. It just so happens that this guy Lebron James is still pretty good at basketball, and can help the Lakers in those areas. I suppose some of you may not be familiar with him because you think he should be traded for a pair of used socks, but trust me, he will help. The Lakers shouldn’t worry about OKC right now, they should worry about getting better everyday as a team, and getting healthier, while building chemistry. That by itself could make them as good, if not better than everybody else other than OKC in the Association.

As for the Clippers, they have a major catastrophe on their hands so far, starting just 4-9 on the year. The Clips got off to a slow start a couple of years ago and recovered, but this situation is far more precarious. The team is older, and they don’t seem to have much of an identity as they did in previous years. They also aren’t nearly as good defensively as they were then. That’s been problematic, and even when Kawhi Leonard was in the lineup, they didn’t look much better. However, the real problem with them not turning things around is that OKC has their 1st round pick this year. So the last thing the entire league needs is for OKC to get another top 3 lottery pick to make their team even stronger than what they are now. See Laker fans….it’s all fun and games with the Clips losing games, until you learn that they are really screwing the rest of the league.

Speaking of the NBA, I have to address this Nico Harrison situation with the Mavs. Harrison was fired by the Mavericks last week, and of course the casual NBA fan are going to say it was because he made one of the worst trades of all-time by trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers. However, anybody that knows anything about basketball knows that Nico is just the fall guy here for new owner Patrick Dumont, who gave him the greenlight to trade Luka. Nico also made moves that put the Mavericks in the finals the year before, so he’s not some complete disaster of a GM people will make him out to be. I also think that firing him now is simply a weak PR move by Dumont because fans in town are calling him an idiot. Of course your team isn’t going to be good when Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis are injured. What did you expect? If he had any real guts, he would let Nico stick around and see what happens once Kyrie and AD get on the floor together. I mean that was their vision right? So why not at least see the vision through? It’s not like fans will think Dumont isn’t an idiot anymore because he fired Nico.

To College Football where USC came up with a big win against Iowa at home on Saturday against the Coliseum. You have to be fair to Lincoln Riley for this one. USC showed toughness, their defense stepped up, and they did it in rainy conditions. We haven’t seen much of that type of resiliency and fortitude from them. Makai Lemon and Jayden Maiava reminded everybody that they are not only talented, but tough too with big catches and throws when it mattered. USC’s playoff hopes are still alive, but it’s very simple. If they go to Oregon next week and win, they get in. There’s probably more people that believe in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy, than those that believe the Trojans can go up there and beat the Ducks. I’m actually surprised that the line opened at only -9.5 for Oregon, which shows much respect to USC. Maybe even too much.

Then there’s UCLA, who got trounced by Ohio State. The magic of the Bruins win streak is definitely over, and they really didn’t have much of a chance against the top team in the nation. Nico Iamaleava was out with an injury, and even though Luke Duncan performed respectably after half time, this thing was over when they got off the team bus. The real question for UCLA will be whether or not they are going to play at SOFI Stadium next year, and who their next coach will be. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be James Franklin, who would have been a great hire for the program.

Speaking of UCLA, basketball season is underway, and the new look Bruins are 3-1 in the early going, ranked #15 in the country. They suffered a close loss to #5 Arizona on Friday at the Intuit Dome, which is nothing to be ashamed about. Overall it seems like the Bruins have a lot more talent on offense this year, especially with Donovan Dent in the backcourt, a more experienced Tyler Bilodeau in their front court, and a versatile center in Xavier Booker. However, the last few seasons during these big games, UCLA tends to go stretches without scoring in crunch time. UCLA blew an 8-point lead in the final 7-minutes. In that stretch and many others we’ve seen, the offense looks befuddled and disorganized. Look it’s a long season, and Cronin teams tend to get better as the season goes on, so the Bruins are going to be in the tournament and compete against some of the top teams in the country. Their defense will be good. However, if they really want to be a true contender, they will have to play better in crunch time on the offensive end. That’s on Mick Cronin.

Not much to report on the Dodgers off-season activity, as baseball usually gets off to a slow start in the off-season. However, congratulations to Shohei Othani on winning his 4th MVP last week, and 3rd consecutive. He beat out Kyle Schwarber and Juan Soto. Sometimes, we take people’s greatness for granted, but don’t do that with Ohtani. The man is modern day Babe Ruth, and every time he takes the field, there is the potential for something amazing to happen. Meanwhile, everyone seems to be waiting to see how aggressive the Dodgers will be spending money this offseason. They can certainly do whatever they want, but I don’t think dishing out 5 years and $100 million for Edwin Diaz, or 10 years and $400 million for Kyle Tucker are in their plans. However, I’m sure those players would be quite interested in joining the Boys in Blue.

Finally, we’ve unfortunately been hearing a lot about gambling in sports these days. We heard all about the NBA scandal with Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and potentially others. Then there was the indictment of some MLB players such as Emmanuel Clase, recently for their role in allegedly giving out information on prop bets. We also heard over the weekend that the NBA has asked a number of teams, including the Lakers (and yes they had to say the Lakers to get people to read the headline) for their cell phones to further investigate any gambling wrong doing. Perhaps now Jared Vanderbilt will finally go to jail for all those airballs he’s been shooting. In all seriousness though, the idea of legalizing gambling sounded great, until more illegal activity started popping up. That’s far more problematic to all sports leagues, because if suddenly people believe that sports aren’t real or they are fixed, it’s meaningfulness is irrelevant. We haven’t even fully legalized it in all states yet, and we’re hearing more about these incidents popping up in baseball, basketball, and I’m sure you’ll hear more about it in other leagues too. More than anything, it makes you ask yourself if we should back off on the legalization of sports gambling, because we’re losing the integrity of it all, which comes first.

November 10, 2025

It’s been over a week now and Los Angeles is still basking in the glory of the Dodgers 2nd straight World Series title. I’ve been hearing a lot of questions raised about who the better team was in the series against the Blue Jays. The Dodgers needed to have about 10 things go right in that series to win it, especially in the last 2 games. In those big moments, it was the Dodgers that came out on top, whether it be due to luck, skill, or some combination of the two. As great as the Blue Jays were, they simply weren’t as great in the biggest moments of the series. It certainly doesn’t make them a failure by any stretch of the imagination. It’s cruel someone had to lose, but just don’t tell me that the better team didn’t win.

There’s also the question about what the Dodgers do from here to try and make it a 3rd straight World Series title. While the core of their team is still very good, they are not young. Freddie Freeman is 36, Shohei Ohtani is 31, Mookie Betts is 33, Blake Snell is 32, Teoscar Hernandez is 33, Tayler Glasnow is 32, Max Muncy is is 35, and Tommy Edman is 30. These guys definitely deserve the right to compete for another title, and glad to see the options for Muncy and Alex Vesia were picked up. However, the Dodgers should really not be signing anybody this off-season to any 7-10 year deals that are another $400-500 million. As tempting as it is to make a push for a Kyle Tucker or Tarik Skubal, they are likely to age poorly. The good news though? They have arguably the #1 farm system in baseball. Most of that talent is in the outfield and about 2 years away, but it’s certainly a good problem to have as they will have to figure out how to get younger in the next 2 years.

In the NFL, the Rams took down the 49ers yesterday in Santa Clara. I know you are what your record says you are, but this could team easily be undefeated right now. They should have beaten the Eagles in Philly a few weeks ago, and they should have also beaten the 49ers the first time as well. In any case, the Rams are firmly in the hunt for the #1 seed in the NFC more than halfway through the regular season. They will have a monster matchup next week at home against the Seahawks, with the 1st place on the line. The play calling on 3rd and 4th down has been much better by Sean McVay, and the offensive line has been doing a brilliant job protecting Matt Stafford. I’d really like to see the defense get more pressure on the opposing QB, but we’ve seen them do that earlier in the season, so hopefully yesterday was just an aberration. They will also have to get more consistency from both their punting and kicking game if they want to do some damage.

Meanwhile, the Chargers dominated the Steelers yesterday 25-10 on Sunday Night Football. The Bolts defense completely smothered the Steelers all night, holding them to a mere 221 yards. Aaron Rodgers looked like he should be hosting Jeopardy, rather than staring an NFL game last night. Justin Herbert was solid, and for a team with as many injuries as the Chargers have, a 7-3 record is pretty impressive. Ironically, the Broncos 8-2 record seems like complete garbage even though they are in 1st place, while it’s the Chiefs and their 5-4 record and building momentum, who seem the most dangerous. Also congratulations to Keenan Allen, who made his 956th career reception last night, which gave him the most receptions in franchise history.

In College Football, UCLA got taken down by Nebraska. All the momentum they had after a few wins in a row is gone, and this is pretty much who we thought they were. However, the real story is that the Bruins are close to an agreement to move to SOFI stadium, by ultimately breaking their lease at the Rose Bowl. I don’t really think this is as great of an idea as it sounds. SOFI might be a slightly smaller stadium and 13 miles closer, but the traffic from Westwood to Inglewood makes the distance negligible. SOFI stadium is also not exactly the collegiate feel that the Rose Bowl is, and obviously doesn’t have the history they do in Pasadena. Ultimately though, if UCLA doesn’t fix their product on the field soon, they can play at SOFI or on the moon and nobody will show up.

As for the Trojans, they took down Northwestern at home on Friday night at the Coliseum. They are 7-2 and now up to #17 in the AP Poll, and 4th in the Big Ten. If the Trojans can win out, which would include wins against #20 Iowa and #9 Oregon, that would probably be enough to get them into the College Football Playoff. That might also quiet down a lot of the noise that Lincoln Riley and the Trojans are both looking for a divorce from one another. That’s still a tough road for the Trojans to get through just to get to the playoff though. Jaiden Maiava will probably take some heat for Friday’s mediocre performance, but he had a lot of good throws that were just dropped by his receivers. They’ll need to show a lot more if they want to win out.

In the NBA, the Lakers were starting to roll, then they decided not to show up in Atlanta. The Hawks have even more injury problems than the Lakers do. I’m going to chalk up Saturday’s loss to having a few too many chicken wings at Magic City the night before. The Lakers are probably another week away from getting Lebron, Austin, and Gabe Vincent back in their lineup. In the meantime, in the Western Conference you simply cannot bank enough wins, given how competitive it is. Right now however, it feels like it’s OKC’s world and everybody else is just living in it.

Then there’s the Clippers, who fell to 3-6 over the weekend with a loss to the Suns. The Clips have now lost 4 in a row, and this is a familiar story. Kawhi Leonard has missed the last 3 games because of an ankle injury, and is expected to miss at least 3 more. Kawhi is definitely a big deal, but the Clips have been relatively healthy otherwise for the first 9 games. James Harden has only missed 1 game, and Bradley Beal has missed 2. However, the Clips built their team on the idea that they have the depth to overcome some absences here and there from some of their veteran players. So far that seems like the same story we’ve seen from them for the last 6 years. The idea of the Clippers sounds promising, but never really translates into any real success on the court.

Finally, UCLA Basketball opened the season last week, and collected a couple of unimpressive wins over Eastern Washington and Pepperdine. Mick Cronin nearly lost his mind after the first game, given that the Bruins allowed 53% shooting from the field, which allowed the Eagles to hang around and make the game competitive. The defense got much better against Pepperdine, and so did Xavier Booker, who made a huge impact in the paint. UCLA will need to sharpen up quickly because after tonight’s game against West Georgia, they’ll take on #13 Arizona at the Intuit Dome on Friday. I wouldn’t freak out too much yet though. Mick Cronin teams have a tendency to get better as the season progresses. This week will give us a much better idea of just what kind of potential this team really has this year.

November 3, 2025

Somehow they did it! The Dodgers came back from the dead over the weekend to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in game 7 of the World Series.  They are now back-to-back World Series Champions.   I thought for sure this team didn’t have the bullpen, or plate discipline to do it.   I thought the Blue Jays had too good of a team.  It turned out that the Dodgers have more than just talent money can buy.  They had high character role players that stepped up in big moments to deliver a championship.  That’s something the Blue Jays didn’t have.  Miguel Rojas won the series with both his glove, and his game tying l run in the 9th inning of game 7.  Andy Pages went from getting benched to making a heroic defensive play in the 9th inning of that game.  Let’s not forget Will Klein throwing 70 pitches in game 3 when he had never thrown more than 30 in a game.   Those are the guys you need to win a title.    Also, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was worth every penny of that $325 million contract he signed, even if he never pitches again.  The rest of the starters were outstanding all postseason, and I’m so happy to see Clayton Kershaw retire as a World Champion.

I’m sure much of the talk will be about whether or not the Dodgers are ruining baseball. However, what they are doing is actually great for the game.  20 million people watched the World Series.  Dynasties in the making are great for any sport, and the Dodgers can become one in my mind with 1 more championship in the next 2 seasons.  This is a brilliantly run organization that as fans, we should be so proud of and enjoy for as long as this run lasts, because they don’t last forever.

To the NFL where the Rams handles business yesterday against the Saints at home.  Matt Stafford threw for 4 TDs, and the team dominated on both sides of the ball.  When Stafford is well protected, it feels like he can be one of the best QBs in the league.  That’s a problem the Rams have been having for a few years now, but appear to have finally fixed it.  There’s a lot to be excited about.  The Rams are a Super Bowl contender now, will have $90 mill in cap space, and 2 1st round picks this spring.  They are set up nicely for a big run!

The Chargers found the win column as well against the Titans, but it was a costly one.  The Bolts suffered injuries to two key offensive lineman, including Joe Alt, who is arguably the teams most important lineman.  In case you weren’t sure how big of a loss that was, Justin Herbert was sacked six times after that.  He still managed to come up big though, and the Chargers won a game they had to have against a team they had no business losing too.  Hope they can get creative on the o-line moving forward though, or else they could be in trouble.

In College Football, the Trojans got a solid win on the road against Nebraska on Saturday.   USC is now up to #20 in the AP Poll and looking respectable,  it probably no shot for the CFP.    I know everybody wants to bag on Lincoln Riley for not being tough, but the Trojans rallied and used the toughness of a run game to overcome a bum passing night.   They’ve got Northwestern and Iowa coming up next at home, which are two very winnable games.

The Lakers have won 3 in a row and are now 5-2 to start the season.  If your first thought is that they should trade LeBron or Austin, I have news for you: you’re an idiot.   Put aside your “I don’t like LeBron” agendas, and your “Austin isn’t a big enough star” agendas.  Those three together can easily be on of the best trios in the NBA.  On top of that, most of you owe Rob Pelinka an apology because DeAndre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake  LaRavia have been fantastic so far.  I’m liking this teams chances of quickly emerging as the 2nd best team in the West.  After that we’ll see if they can challenge OKC.

As for the Clippers, they are off to an ok start with a 3-2 record.  You would hope it wouldn’t take a buzzer beater from Kawhi to beat a winless Pelicans team, but at this stage a win is a win.The Clips at least have to feel good that Kawhi doesn’t need much ramp up and is playing at an elite level already.  Considering the Clippers have wins against the Suns, Pelicans, and Blazers, but losses against the Warriors and Jazz, it’s pretty hard so far to figure out just how good these guys are going to be.