January 30th, 2017

What are you waiting for Doc Rivers? Just pull the trigger on the Carmelo trade already.   How many times are you going to try and convince us that your team is good enough to win as currently constructed? We all know it’s not, and deep down inside, you know it too.  ‘Melo isn’t Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard, but he’s still an All-Star caliber small forward that will make Clippers better.  Even if you have to give up J.J. Redick to get it done, you’re getting a massive upgrade at the position you need the most help.  Yea I get it, most of you think ‘Melo is some one dimensional ball hog.  However, if you put great players around him like CP3 and Blake, just like in the Olympics, he becomes a huge asset.  Not to mention the fact he’s a much better locker room guy than people give him credit for.  Even if ‘Melo doesn’t get the Clipps by the Warriors or Spurs, they are still a better team with him, as well as a more entertaining one.

Speaking of trades, it’s time for the Lakers to find a trade partner for someone to take Lou Williams and Nick Young.  By trading those guys, they might even be able to get another 1st round pick, shed some longer-term salary along with them, and get some of the kids more playing time to develop.  With that development likely comes more losses, which is actually much needed as well.  The Lake Show are trying to hang on to their top 3 protected lottery pick this year, and if they are successful, they would also keep their 1st round pick in 2019 as well, which is a result of the Dwight Howard trade.  In other words, by losing they are protecting not one but two future 1st round picks.  Drafting NBA players in the lottery is a crapshoot, but if you keep picking, eventually you find your franchise guy.  Just ask the 76ers and Bucks.

So the NBA players and coaches complained about the fans having too much say in the All-Star selection process.  This year, when they changed the voting process to give players a say, it turns out most voted for themselves, their friends, or didn’t even bother to vote.  Many didn’t even have Lebron James on their ballot! Perhaps the NBA has forgotten what the All-Star game is about: it’s a game for the fans, so they should get to see what they want.  If the fans want to see Steph Curry start over Russell Westbrook then they deserve it to see it.  For the most part, the fans do a pretty good job, and a much better job than the players themselves.  Without the fans, there is no NBA.  After this idiotic display by the players, the next player, coach, or member of the NBA that suggests anything is wrong with the fan voting should be slapped.  As for the Cavs, according to this reporter, they do some pretty interesting things in the huddle…..

The Dodgers finally made a big move to acquire a second  baseman you’ve probably never heard of.  It was Logan Forsythe of the Tampa Bay Rays, and it cost them one of their better pitching prospects, Jose De Leon.  I sure wish the Boys in Blue were able acquire Brian Dozier from the Twins instead, however, Forsythe is just as good, but without the power.  He also fills a lot of needs: an everyday second baseman, leadoff hitter, and someone who hits well against left handers.  That sounds great and all, but the Dodgers aren’t in any better position to win a World Series than they have been the last 6 years.  They are probably good enough to win the division, and then get abused by another midwest team in the playoffs.  The Dodgers wouldn’t have had a need to acquire Forsythe had Andrew Friedman not made that stupid Dee Gordon trade a few years ago, as Gordon is now a very affordable all-star second baseman.  The team would also probably perform a lot better if Friedman didn’t insist on changing his outfield lineups more frequently than Kim Kardashian changes husbands.

Remember when I didn’t mind that Steve Alford was coaching the Bruins basketball team? After losing to USC, I think every UCLA Basketball fan should mind.  The Bruins should never lose basketball games to the Trojans.  Even Trojan fans know that.  UCLA returned to the team we saw against Arizona, which couldn’t play defense, and had an offense that was totally of of rhythm.   It’s like Alford forgot he had to coach this team when they ran into trouble.  Speaking of Alford’s forgetting things, it feels like Bryce has suddenly forgotten how to play in the last two games.  Even Lonzo Ball shares some blame in this, serving up more turnovers than Betty Crocker last Wednesday.   These are still eighteen and nineteen year old kids, which is hard to remember, but their development and focus falls at the feet of the coaching staff.  The more adversity the Bruins seem to face this year, the more that coaching seems non-existent.

I wish they would permanently do away with the bye week prior to the Super Bowl.  Just give us the game already!  By the time we get to Super Sunday, NFL analysts will be forced to analyze issues like what color hoodie will Bill Belichik be wearing? Or whether or not Tom Brady wears Gisele’s underwear for good luck in big games? You’ll just have to hear about this stuff for the next seven days.  The game features the Patriots #1 defense in the NFL, vs the #1 offense of the Falcons.  These games never end well for the offensive juggernaut, so this game has Patriots blowout written all over it.

It’s one thing to have a sport with an All-Star Game that’s less than ideal.  However, the Pro-Bowl takes this concept to a new level by making the NFL just look like garbage.  The entire game has become a joke that nobody watches anymore, in which the players hardly try so they don’t get injured.  Many deserving players don’t even want to go or are playing in the Super Bowl.  This is one league showcase they should have ended five years ago.  Unfortunately, as successful as the league is, it isn’t necessarily run by the smartest people.  Roger Goodell even came out last week and claimed that Thursday Night Football is a good product.  It seems that even the NFL Commissioner is suffering from CTE.

Then there’s the NHL All-Star game which may have finally gotten an All-Star Game right.  They made it an exciting three-on-three tournament, with teams broken up by division.  There’s probably more goalies that are named “All-Stars” who probably shouldn’t be because of the divisional format, but the goalies don’t really matter.  It’s a huge showcase of skill, with enough competitiveness and entertainment for the fans.  That’s what they came to see.  Yesterday, it was nice to see the present LA Kings, Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty, play well in front of the home fans, but also a lot of former Kings make their presence felt as well.  From former King Wayne Simmonds getting the MVP, to former Kings Luc Robitaille, Marcel Dionne, and Wayne Gretzky being honored among the top 100 players of all time, the hometown heroes were well represented.  The most epic part of the weekend though was the NHL letting Snoop Dog open for the Skills Challenge on Saturday night.  It just so happens though, that the league forgot to tell him to censor his lyrics…..

On a much more serious note, I am happy to hear that LA Kings broadcaster Bob Miller is in good spirits and doing well.  Miller suffered a mild stroke on Saturday, and was admitted to USC Keck Hospital, where he is resting comfortably.  Miller is not only a Hall of Fame Broadcaster but a great guy as well, who is very loved in the hockey community.  Thoughts and prayers with him and his family, and here’s to a speedy recovery.

Ok folks, somebody on The Bachelor is going home tonight, and I have a feeling it’s not going to be Corrine, even though she’s making most of us “cor-ringe”, every time she speaks.  Mind you, on the last episode Corrine claimed that even Michael Jordan took naps.  However, none of his teammates during the Olympics remember him taking any naps and were pretty amazed by that.  Corrine, you are no Michael Jordan.  You are more like the seven dwarfs in one episode: sleepy, happy, grumpy, and slutty (if there was such a dwarf).  Taylor is likely to be the one to go tonight, mostly because if it’s not Nick who says so, it will probably be the producers.  Raven beating her cheating boyfriend with her home wrecker’s stiletto is one of the best “please love me because I’m damaged” stories I’ve heard in a long time.  Why are there so many Danielle’s on the show? The producers really blew it on that one, even though Danielle L. is my favorite.  Nick definitely knew what he was doing when he took all the girls to the farm to check out their skills milking cows.   The more I think about it though, I think Corrine is really just Tiffany Trump living a double life to troll all of us right now……