April 27, 2026

The Lakers somehow have a commanding 3-1 series over the Houston Rockets, and nobody should be worried about last night’s loss. Did you really think the Lakers were going to sweep the Rockets when most of you thought they were going to be swept about a week ago? The team was gassed after an emotional OT win on Friday, especially Lebron. Honestly, closing this series out on Wednesday instead of last night might actually be a blessing in disguise, because it will give Luke Doncic and Austin Reaves more time to get healthy and be ready for round 2 against OKC. To this point, you have to give Lebron a lot of credit. What he’s doing at his age is remarkable. Plus, seeing him on the court with Bronny in the playoffs is truly an amazing father son moment, especially that alley-oop connection they had in game 3. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant is a great player, but at this point he’s a pain in the ass and his teammates hate him. He’s like the star musician that somehow gets in a fight with his own fellow band members and ruins what could have been a good show. Whether he comes back or not, the Lakers should wrap this series up on Wednesday. I expect them to come with much more urgency than they did last night.

To baseball, where the Dodgers took 2 of 3 from the Cubs over the weekend to reclaim 1st place in the NL West. Dalton Rushing no longer looks like a little leaguer carrying a bat, and has suddenly turned into an impact Major Leaguer. They almost need to find a place for him in the lineup, even when Will Smith is healthy enough to resume full time catching duties behind the plate. The same can also be said for Hyeseong Kim, who is showing his talents at the plate, and on defense. Roki Sasaki hasn’t exactly been lights out, but he’s making progress as a starter. Then there’s Justin Wrobleski, who has suddenly turned into Randy Johnson overnight. When do we start the Cy Young campaign for this guy? He’s supposed to be a 6th starter that is suddenly taking the NL by storm right now. Ironically, it’s the top of the order that has just been ok by their standards. Shohei went deep yesterday for what felt like the first time in ages, but the Dodgers are still rolling. Losing Edwin Diaz is tough, but the Dodgers have enough arms in their pen to overcome this. Heck, the won the last two World Series without a bona fide Closer last year anyway.

As for the Angels, they have quickly returned to the team we all thought they would be. They were swept by the Royals over the weekend, in a series that was capped off by them blowing a 3-run lead in the 9th inning, followed by a walk-off homer in the 10th. The Halos are now just 12-17, and losers of 7 of their last 10 games after looking respectable for a couple of weeks. However, it turns out that putting together a patchwork bullpen for pennies on the dollar isn’t working out, as opposed to signing some established relievers like Kenley Jansen. On top of that, the starting pitching is leaking oil as well, after looking somewhat dependable in the first few weeks. Someone just tell Arte Moreno to take his $5 Billion from selling the team and get lost!

In the NFL, the Rams surprised us all by taking Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th pick in the draft. I know we should usually give the Rams the benefit of the doubt with the moves they make, but at face value I didn’t really like this move. They are getting a player who was a reach at #13, just so they might have a successor to Matthew Stafford whenever he retires. Yes the Rams are already Super Bowl contenders, but you can never have enough good players. Why not take another wide receiver like Makai Lemon? Or an edge rusher like Rueben Bain Jr? Or an offensive tackle like Blake Miller? Those guys would have positively impacted the Rams immediately in their attempts to win a Super Bowl right now, and beyond. In a perfect world, Simpson won’t see the field for another couple of years. It just seems like a wasted pick, but here’s to me hoping that I am wrong.

Speaking of the Rams, there is some video of some members of their staff wearing Colorado Avalanche jerseys at work. Everyone is making a big deal about this, since the Kings got swept by the Avalanche in the 1st round. More on that in a moment, but people fail to realize that because Stan Kroenke owns the Rams and the Avalanche, his employees are just supporting their boss. Heck, the staffs of those two franchises actually work very closely together, sharing information on training and nutrition, so they are simply supporting each other. Their allegiances are to their boss, not the city. I’m as big a Kings fan as they come, and a big Rams fan too, but this doesn’t bother me, and it shouldn’t bother you.

As for the Chargers, they helped their team with size, speed, and an o-line overhaul at the draft. The Bolts already ramped up their pass rush by selecting Miami’s Akheem Mesidor at No. 22, a player widely projected to be off the board by then. Doesn’t matter the division, a strong pass rush is always essential. The Chargers didn’t race to the podium to select offensive linemen — their undoing last season — but they have remade their offensive line anyway. They’re getting back Pro Bowl tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, who missed all or most of last season with leg injuries; signed center Tyler Biadasz and guard Cole Strange in free agency; and drafted Florida center Jake Slaugher in the second round, with the idea of him playing guard. So if the plan works out, the Chargers will start five linemen who weren’t even in uniform for them for the January playoff loss to New England. The club took Memphis tackle Travis Burke in the fourth round, presumably adding depth at the position because he’s not the type of player who is going to move inside to guard. Overall, a decent draft, but the question as always is if they can stay healthy, and can they contend with both Denver and KC, who are always a handful.

In College Hoops, it looks like UCLA’s projected lineup next year is Trent Perry, Jaylen Perry, Eric Daily Jr, Filip Jovic, and Xavier Booker. The Bruins got left without much in the transfer portal dance that took place just after the tournament. That teams looks extremely mid, and is probably a .500 team in the Big Ten. They are lacking a bigger body, and lost a lot of efficient scoring. At this point, Mick Cronin might be walking dead. This team isn’t 1 player away but more like 2-3. Perhaps Steve Kerr will want to be relocate to Westwood and be an advisor to Bob Myers for the next coaching search. Either way, UCLA Basketball looks like it’s going to be grim for a while.

Finally, the frustration that is the LA Kings. They were swept by the Colorado Avalanche yesterday in their 1st round series. This team has now last 5 straight 1st round series, and has not won a playoff series in 12 years. Happy trails to Anze Kopitar, who played his final career game yesterday, finishing what will be a Hall of Fame Career. However, the future does not look bright. The Kings are in no mans land. They aren’t bad enough to tank, and not nearly good enough to contend. They had built a bridge to to contention with the #1 farm system in the league 4 years ago, but that bridge collapsed when they failed to develop any of their young players into studs. Now they have a few nice players like Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke, but then a bunch of old aging guys that are not longer the stars they once were. The first thing that really needs to happen is to fire Luc Robitaille. Everyone knows this needs to happen, but unfortunately, that isn’t likely to happen right now. Robitaille is a franchise legend, and barring something unforseen, will probably continue to be enabled by Philip Anschutz and his boys from AEG. This team needs to look at themselves in the mirror and realize they need to tear down a rebuild, and that includes the front office as well. Unfortunately, they just refuse to have the honest conversation with themselves.

April 20, 2026

The Lakers surprised us all on Saturday by taking down the Rockets in game 1 of their best-of-seven, 1st round series. Lebron James, who is 105 years old, was out there playing a very cerebral game, finishing just 2 rebounds shy of a triple double. It sounded crazy before, but the Lakers have to believe they have a real chance to win this series. The Rockets are an athletic team, but with or without Kevin Durant, they are also a low IQ basketball team. When KD isn’t out there, they jack up shots like they are playing 5 pm pick up at LA Fitness. No structure at all, but they do offensive rebound very well. If the Lakers can clean up their turnovers, and continue to play smart, they definitely have a great chance to win the series. No, I don’t think that Luke Kennard is going to be shooting like Larry Bird every game, and I expect the Rockets to make their adjustments, but defense is supposed to travel. Houston is a good defensive team, and the Lakers found a way to be efficient offensively against them. I expect the Rockets to respond in game 2 and be desperate, but the longer this goes, the better chance the Lakers get Luka back, and then the series really shifts in their favor.

As for the Clippers, they were eliminated in the play-in tournament by the Golden State Warriors last week. The Clippers once again don’t have a whole lot to show for the Kawhi Leonard era. They haven’t been out of the 1st round of the playoffs since 2021. I don’t care what Ramona Shelburne or Lawrence Frank are saying publicly, the franchise is ready to move on from him. They tried, they went all-in which you can’t blame them for, and it didn’t work. Except now that the league may punish them for circumventing the cap, they could be like the guy playing poker that not only loses his chips, but is now losing the shirt off his back, and his car as well. It makes no sense to hold on to Kawhi with one year left on his deal. I’m just not sure how you can trade a guy who’s contract may be terminated by the league in the next few months.

I know what you are going to say about the LA Kings. They made it close against the Avalanche and should be commended for their effort. Ok, yes they made it close, but this isn’t the same tough team to play against as the Stanley Cup era Kings of 12 years ago. The Kings barely generated any offense, and outside of the first line, nobody really generated any dangerous scoring chances. This is where the Kings really need Quintin Byfield to step up and become the player we all think he’s capable of becoming. Of course it also would have helped if Drew Doughty could have shot the puck into an open net when he had the chance in the early going. Game 2 is on Tuesday, but so far, nothing I’m seeing has made me think this is going to be a very long series.

As for the Ducks, they will get their shot tonight against the Oilers in game 1 of their 1st round series. This could be a very high scoring series, but I don’t know what to make of Anaheim. For a stretch of time they looked like the best team in the league, and then two weeks later they looked like the worst team. I do also have slightly more confidence in Anaheim’s goaltending than Edmonton’s, but does it even matter when Connor McDavid is on the other team? That guy is still the best player in hockey, and he can be the difference in the Oilers winning the series by himself.

To baseball, where the Dodgers ran into trouble over the weekend against Colorado, losing their last two games to the Rockies. The Boys in Blue will try to salvage a series split today at Coors Field. You can chalk up Saturday’s loss to some poor execution with runners in scoring position, and yesterday’s loss due to less than stellar pitching. Roki Sasaki remains a work in progress, looked dominant for 4 innings before running into trouble that he couldn’t get out of. Blake Treinen was going to give up a run eventually, so glad he got that out of his system. However, Edwin Diaz is still a mess after sitting out about a week. He didn’t record an out, gave up 3 runs, and his fastball velocity was down to 95 mph, which was previously 97. For a team with the best record in baseball, they have time to work all this out, but Diaz might be this year’s Tanner Scott!

Then there’s the Angels, who lost 2 out of 3 over the weekend to the Padres, and now get the Blue Jays for the next 3 games at home. The Halos are hovering around .500 at 11-12, but nobody in the American League is killing it, and certainly not in the AL West. The Angels have given away at least 6 wins like a 501C3 charity, so I wouldn’t call them a good team per se, but they could easily be 12-7 if they had a decent closer. Of course they had a decent closer in Kenley Jansen, and let him walk for nothing, and simply replace him with a bunch of bullpen guys that will likely be delivering your Uber Eats order in a few months.

Finally, the NFL Draft will take place this week and the Rams are licking their chops with the 13th pick in the 1st round. At this point it’s all about depth. The team should be looking at adding depth at inside linebacker, wide receiver, offensive line, and cornerback. At one point I thought the Rams should be looking at drafting a successor to Matt Stafford, but I don’t think that player is in this draft. In fact Fernando Mendoza at #1 will probably be the only quarterback selected in the draft. I’m not gonna lie though and I’m sure it’s the Golden Domer in me writing this: I love the idea of the Rams somehow drafting Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love. He was one of the best players in the country last year, and I’m salivating at the idea of what he could do in a Sean McVay offense!

April 13, 2026

The NBA regular season is in the books, and now it’s playoff time! What a bizarre situation the Lakers found themselves in yesterday, with an opportunity to get back to the #3 seed and play Minnesota rather than Houston, depending on what Denver did. In the end it didn’t matter because the Spurs decided to tank their game against the Nuggets. Think of it this way, the Lakers probably got the best possible 1st round matchup they can get, given that they are a walking infirmary. Do I think the Lakers can really beat the Rockets in a 7-game series without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves? No. Do I like the Lakers odds better against Houston than Denver or Minnesota? Absolutely. I’d rather buy a scratchers ticket knowing my odds are better than the Power Ball. That doesn’t mean my odds of winning either are all that great! You shouldn’t be concerning yourself with facing OKC in the second round. If the Lakers were to get there given how things are, it would be a minor miracle. Even though Lebron is 102 years old, I hope he can put his superman cape on and somehow lead this team to a series win against the Rockets.

As for the Clippers, they defeated the Warriors in their season finale, but they will still be relegated to the 9th seed and the play-in tournament. They will face the Warriors once again on Wednesday night. You never know with Kawhi, but assuming he is healthy, he can make any matchup interesting. Plus you know he’s going to be motivated to earn another max contract if his contract gets voided this summer, or when it’s up after next season. My expectation is they will beat the Warriors on Wednesday, and somehow get the 8th seed. However, for a team that began the season 6-21 and was also blindsided by James Harden’s contract demands, yet finished above .500, that’s impressive.

To baseball, where the Dodgers have jumped out to the best record in the big leagues in the early going at 11-4. It’s easy to talk about all the great things about this team. But since Dodger fans are hoping for a 3-peat, let’s focus on the areas of concern. I’m sure most fan bases would consider these critiques ridiculous first world problems, but the Dodgers still do have some. Roki Sasaki is incredibly talented, but he doesn’t have the command of his pitches. The question is how long they allow him to start and work through it, as opposed to letting him work things out in the minor leagues in Oklahoma City. For the time being, I think they can afford to start him in the Big Leagues without hurting themselves in the standings. Sasaki’s pitches these days are often as wild as Kyle Tucker’s swings, who is hitting just .246 on the season, and has really yet to get it going. For a guy that is making $60 million this year, I would hope he could do better than that, but at least he’s not Michael Conforto. I’m also a bit concerned about the velocity of some of the pitchers we’ve seen so far. Alex Vesia, Emmet Sheehan in later innings, and Edwin Diaz are all throwing at noticeably lower speeds. Whether that is due to too much usage last year or needing to build up arm strength remains to be seen. Nevertheless, this Dodger team is going to be fun to watch this summer, so for the time being, enjoy the ride!

Meanwhile, the Angels are 8-8 after taking 2 of 3 from the Reds. How seriously should we take this team? So far not too serious. There are only 5 teams in the league that have a worse team batting average than the Halos. Their pitching is right in the middle of the pack in terms of ERA, and they do hit a lot of home runs. However, if you struggle to put the ball in play, that’s going to catch up with you. I also question their overall depth. With that being said, not only the AL West, but the entire American League has been rather unimpressive so far, with everyone hovering around .500. If they haven’t fallen off a cliff 6 weeks from now, I’ll be a little more optimistic about this team’s chances.

Let’s go to the ice, where somehow, the Kings still have a chance to make the playoffs. Heck, it’s even crazier than that. As I type this, the Kings have a chance to win the division. They haven’t done that since 1991. I’m far more optimistic that the Kings will make the playoffs, despite the fact they are incredibly flawed, especially on defense. What’s even more bizarre is in the last month, we’ve seen this team go from a defensive identity, to an offensive identity, that can no longer defend. That doesn’t sound like a great recipe for long-term success. The division is weak as hell right now, so that’s giving them every opportunity to stay in the race. Their schedule is super weak, but that actually makes me nervous they could have a let down. I still wouldn’t trust this team with a cup of coffee. It would also be annoying as hell if they get to the playoffs just to face the Oilers again. I will say this though. If somehow the Kings can get Andrei Kuzmenko and Kevin Fiala back in the lineup, their top 6 forwards become much better than they have been in a long time. Hopefully the Kings can at least make the playoffs so Anze Kopitar can make the postseason in his final season.

Finally, congratulations to Rory McIlroy on winning his 2nd straight Masters! He is the first to go back-to-back since Tiger Woods, but the reality of it is, he isn’t Tiger Woods. In fact, for the longest time when he burst onto the PGA Tour, everyone thought he might be the next Tiger. No disrespect to everything he’s accomplished, including 6 major titles, he does not command the audience that Tiger does. Frankly every one of these major tournaments I find myself asking if and when we might be able to see Tiger again, and if he can capture the magic for just a weekend that made us watch golf when we didn’t before. That seems so far away at this point.

April 6, 2026

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently operating under the bold medical strategy of “Have you tried…Europe?” With both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves dealing with significant injuries, the franchise has apparently decided that crossing the Atlantic Ocean is the basketball equivalent of turning your phone off and back on again. Look, I respect the urgency. When your two primary creators are hurt, you don’t just need help—you need a miracle, a time machine, or at minimum, whatever fountain of youth Tom Brady has bottled somewhere in Switzerland. But even if Luka comes back speaking fluent Slovenian and Reaves returns with a European skincare routine, the bigger issue remains: this team goes as far as its stars can limp.Right now, the Lakers aren’t chasing a title—they’re chasing MRI results.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers have achieved the rare double milestone of being both locked into the play-in and spiritually bracing for a potential front-office plot twist involving Kawhi Leonard.On the court, this is a team that screams “just good enough to be dangerous” and whispers “but probably not.” Off the court…well, let’s just say everyone is still waiting for the NBA equivalent of a “We need to talk” text regarding alleged cap circumvention.The Clippers’ season feels like a suspense movie where nothing actually happens, but everyone insists something might.

Out in Chavez Ravine, the Los Angeles Dodgers are doing what they do best—hitting everything that moves and a few things that don’t. The offense is humming, which is great, because the pitching and health reports occasionally read like a WebMD warning page.Roki Sasaki is still a work in progress, which is a polite way of saying hitters are currently treating him like a batting practice intern. Meanwhile, Mookie Betts’ back injury is a not-so-subtle reminder that even superteams eventually meet Father Time…who apparently throws harder than anyone in the bullpen. The good news? The arrival of Hyesong Kim injects some youth and energy into a lineup that occasionally looks like it remembers dial-up internet. Next up: Toronto. The Toronto Blue Jays are coming in with revenge on their minds—for the World Series and, apparently, for hockey-related emotional damage. Nothing fuels interleague baseball like unresolved international sports grudges.

Over in Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels are shocking the baseball world by not being eliminated from playoff contention by April 3rd. Let’s give credit where it’s due: Jo Adell made three home run–robbing catches in one game. Three. For a guy whose defense has historically been…let’s call it “theatrically adventurous,” this was like watching your friend who burns toast suddenly cook a Michelin-star meal. Is this sustainable? Probably not. Is it fun? Absolutely. The Angels may not be good yet, but at least they’re interesting—which is a huge upgrade from “mathematically eliminated with vibes.”

Huge congratulations to the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball for winning the National Championship. Dominant, deserved, and a reminder that Westwood still knows how to produce winners. But can we talk about the viewing experience? Playing championship games in massive domes might look great on TV, but for fans in the upper deck, it’s basically a live-action version of watching ants compete. You’re paying premium prices to watch elite athletes perform…on what feels like a distant planet. At some point, we have to ask: is this a sporting event or an eyesight exam?

Speaking of pricing absurdity, let’s discuss the 2028 Summer Olympics. Two years ago in Paris, you could attend multiple marquee events—opening ceremony, swimming, gymnastics, track finals—for under $500 a pop. Reasonable, accessible, and actually in the spirit of global sport. Now? For LA 2028, “decent seats” are being priced like they come with partial ownership of the stadium. Thousands of dollars…for track and field. Track. And. Field. At these prices, you’re not buying a ticket—you’re making a financial commitment. You might need a co-signer just to watch the 100-meter final. The Olympics are supposed to bring people together, not require them to refinance their homes.