July 27, 2022

Let me make this clear. There is no market for Kyrie Irving. Nobody is going to give this guy a max contract. There are some pretty stupid people running NBA organizations, yet still, nobody is dumb enough to guarantee four or five more years of his bs. He’s going to find that out shortly, as the Nets have told him he can go look for sign-and-trades. Even for a team starved for talent like the Lakers, I wouldn’t even trade Russell Westbrook straight up for him, and I’m certainly not giving up draft picks. If Kyrie wants to leave Brooklyn and join the Lakers, it’s fine if he’s willing to take the $6 million tax payer midlevel exception for one year. I still have a hard time believing he’s willing to leave $30 million on the table by doing this, but this is also the same guy who believes the earth is flat, so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. Save Russell Westbrook’s contract for a trade to bring in some useful role players, especially now that John Wall is likely an option for them as well. Meanwhile, Lebron is the biggest troll I have ever seen, as he’s now posting Kyrie highlights on his IG story. On the bright side though, the Lakers drafting and scouting has always been on point, and they have some very interesting summer league players to keep an eye on after last week’s draft. Laugh all you want about Shareef O’Neal and Scottie Pippen Jr. on the roster, but the Lakers scouting department has earned the benefit of the doubt, and they know what they are doing.

Elsewhere around the NBA draft, I still think many of the UCLA kids made a big mistake entering the draft, and Thursday night did nothing to change my opinion of that. Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard went undrafted, and now will have to prove themselves in summer league for the Jazz and the Pistons, respectively. Peyton Watson did manage to successfully bet on himself, and was the last pick in the 1st round, before being traded to the Nuggets. I realize that every NBA team is desperate for wings and all, but we’ve reached the point of desperation where a kid who averaged 3 points and shot 32% from the field as a freshman is a 1st round pick. I hope these kids have successful NBA careers, but right now, I think they are getting very bad advice. Also, congrats to Isaiah Mobley for being drafted by the Cavs, and re-uniting him with his brother Evan. That’s good for USC Basketball. I also hope that Christian Braun has a very long and prosperous NBA career for many reasons, especially after his mom attended the draft.

A couple of thoughts before NBA free agency madness begins later this week. Are we sure Kevin Durant isn’t actually tired of Kyrie’s antics and is ready to see him leave? Dude hitched himself to the wrong wagon after leaving Golden State, and no matter how cool he is playing it, he has a right to be pissed at Kyrie for his antics. I know Suns owner Robert Sarver is cheaper than George Kostanza, but I have a hard time seeing him trade away DeAndre Ayton and make his team better, unless somehow they are getting Kevin Durant back. Can’t wait to see how the Sixers negotiate James Harden’s new contract. There should be a provision in there about how many strip clubs he can go to in a given month.

Congratulations to the Colorado Avalanche on winning the Stanley Cup. You’ve gotta be especially happy for former LA King Jack Johnson, who has had a hell of a rough ride prior to this season. Johnson was basically screwed financially by several of his family members a few years ago, forcing him to file for bankruptcy. There’s also several former Anaheim Ducks that got to hoist the cup last night as well: Josh Manson and Andrew Cogliano. Unfortunately for the Lightning, they got hit with the curse of Corey Perry, who has lost in three straight Cup Finals with three different teams. At least somebody got to three-peat.

To baseball, where the Dodgers took 2 of 3 from the Braves over the weekend, and are now 2 games up the on Padres in the NL West. Look, I get that Freddie Freeman played a long time in Atlanta and won a World Series so it’s a little emotional, but is he going to cry every single time he plays the Braves? Even Clayton Kershaw is beginning to think it’s a little overdone with his comments over the weekend. All things considered though with all the injuries, the Dodgers are still in decent shape. Losing Daniel Hudson for the season is a big blow to the bullpen, but they will need some trade deadline re-enforcements in the way of a high leverage reliever (if not a closer), a solid starter, and a bat that can just put the ball in play. Getting Dustin May and Walker Buehler back will help all this, but they could need more against the likes of the Mets, Braves, and Padres just to get through the NL. Cody Bellinger is not only destroying the Dodgers offensively by hitting .200, he’s also destroying their team by running into Mookie Betts and injuring him, making matters worse.

As for the Angels, thank goodness for that brawl yesterday against the Mariners, because all everyone seems to wants to talk about is trading Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. That’s the most fight the Angels have put up in weeks. Raisel Iglesias was especially angry after that, making me wonder if he just found out about Roe vs Wade getting overturned. After getting their heads kicked in for weeks, I was expecting the Angels to bank some wins against the Mariners and Royals. Instead, they pulled out a mediocre 5-4 record, and sit 6.5 games back of an AL Wild card spot. Another rough stretch against the White Sox and Astros this week, and we might be talking more about the Angels tanking than pushing for a playoff spot.

June 20, 2022

It’s rumor season in the NBA. The business of basketball sometimes seems more interesting than what happens on the court. The latest rumors have the Nets unwilling to give Kyrie Irving an extension, and resulting rumors in the Lakers, Clippers, and Knicks being interested in trading for him if it doesn’t work out for him in Brooklyn. Let me say this, as many problems as the Lakers have with Russell Westbrook, Kyrie would present a whole set of new problems that you don’t want to have. I wouldn’t trust this man to tell me what he wants on his hamburger. It’s no wonder the Nets would rather give themselves an enima than give him an extension. I would rather take my chances with Russ for a year, or better yet, trade Russ and picks for expensive but high level role players. Then there’s the garbage reporting taking place that Lebron won’t sign an extension before free agency. Anybody with half a brain knows that he won’t sign an extension, but he is literally unable to because of CBA rules. He can’t actually be offered and commit to it before August 4th. According to Brian Windhorst, who is basically about as close to Lebron as you can be without being up his butt, he still wants to be in LA, so I have no reason to believe he is trying to force his way out as of now. There’s also wild and crazy rumors of the Lakers being interested in Bradley Beal. Beal would be a dream, but let’s get real, that’s like me saying I’m interested in Jennifer Lopez.

As for the NBA Finals, congratulations to the Golden State Warriors on winning their 4th championship in the last 8 seasons. I’m very happy for Steph Curry, who finally won a Finals MVP award. Is it wrong at this point to have 12 guys in the Top 10 of all-time? Whether or not you agree, I think we can all agree on the fact that Drake’s new album is not Top 10. Jayson Tatum loves Kobe and the Lakers so much that he must have decided to play awful in the finals to prevent the Celtics from getting their 18th title before the Lakers. He’s still a damn good player and the Celtics are gonna be pretty good for a while, but the Warriors are still going to be at the top of the contender list next season too.

I was really excited about the Stanley Cup Final. Then I watched the first two games and had a stark realization. Avalanche vs Lightning would have been an amazing series a year ago. Not this year. Who wins a Cup Final game 7-0? They are crushing teams like grapes. In fact, this series is making teams that thought they were “one or two players away” realize they are not actually “one or two players away”. This is actually a memo to the LA Kings and others after watching this. On the other hand, Tampa Bay fans are one or two losses away from being blackout drunk.

To baseball, where the Dodgers are in the midst of a very rough stretch. They lost two out of three over the weekend to the Guardians, and they are hitting like Little Leaguers, especially with runners in scoring position. Overpaid Little Leaguers too! Cody Bellinger is a $17 million defensive center fielder that can barely hit MLB pitching. Justin Turner suddenly looks like Father Time has snatched him up, Max Muncy hasn’t figured it out after the injury, and Freddie Freeman is a $160 million singles hitter. The Mookie Betts injury is especially bad, he was the only guy hitting an an elite level, and now they have no reliable corner outfielders left. They also have no reliable closer, because Craig Kimbrel is about as trustworthy is Amber Herd is in the bedroom after dinner at Taco Bell. The good news though is after all that, the pitching is still phenomenal, and they are still hanging on to first place in the NL West. Tyler Anderson, Tony Gonsolin, and Andrew Heaney have been far better than anyone could have ever imagined. The Dodgers need some kind of a trade to fix some of these problems, but some of them will also have to be fixed with their top players just remembering that they are their top players.

As for the Angels, they found some wins over the weekend against the Mariners, and they need to petition the league to play them every week to get going again. In one months they went 9-23, had their stadium deal axed because of a corruption scandal, fired their manager, and lost Anthony Rendon for the season. I like how Rendon was on the verge of coming back, they gave him the option of sitting out and he’s like, “yea I’d rather stay home, watch Netflix, and collect a $36 million paycheck”. Sounds like the American way post pandemic. Then there’s the Shohei Ohtani rumors about signing him or trading him. I think the Angels need to do everything to sign him, but I disagree with the idea that if they do, they can’t win. The Angels aren’t going to win until they fix their scouting and player development, which is simply terrible. The Halos still have a farm system in the bottom third of the league. It’s the equivalent of buying Ferrari’s while refusing to fix the pluming in your house. When Moreno fixes this, which doesn’t seem like it’s happening any time soon, this is a different conversation.

Finally, in the NFL, this Browns-Deshaun Watson situation is incredible. They traded for a guy and gave him a fortune when he’s about to get one of the most harsh suspensions in NFL history. By the time you’re done reading this week’s MMC, you might see 5 more women file a sexual assault lawsuit against him. My favorite part of this though is the fact they might have to kiss and makeup with Baker Mayfield for just this season if Watson gets the suspension we think he will. That’s like breaking up with your girlfriend because you found someone better, but then telling her “it’s gonna be a few weeks before we make it official so let’s hang until then.” I’m sure that will go over really well with Baker.

June 13, 2022

Darvin Ham was formally introduced as the Lakers head coach last week. Of course everyone wants to convince themselves that because Russell Westbrook attended the press conference, he is going to be with the Lakers at the start of next season. I don’t buy it. Westbrook attended the press conference because he is being a good leader and a good teammate. By all accounts, he’s always behaved that way. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a terrible fit on this team, and the Lakers will at least try to trade him. Rob Pelinka isn’t stupid, although I’m sure some of you want to believe that after his previous off-season. The more Pelinka makes it look like the team isn’t desperate, the better chance he has of trading him. Also, it would be foolish to think that with Lebron James and Anthony Davis on their team, the Lakers aren’t going to do everything in their power to optimize their window to win now. It would make no sense otherwise. That means doing everything to trade Westbrook. Then there’s the ridiculous criticism of Anthony Davis, who was caught in a video on his driveway saying he had not touched a basketball since the season ended. In typical Twitter fashion, everyone jumped down his throat, accusing him of being lazy. In reality, this is part of AD’s off-season regiment. Rest for four weeks, lift weights for six weeks, and then do basketball activities for the next six weeks. For a guy that gets hurt all the time, that program actually makes too much sense for some of the keyboard nerds to understand.

As for the NBA Finals, this series could easily go 7 games, and I hate to tell this to Laker fans, there’s a decent chance the Celtics win it. To be honest, the only reason I like the Warriors at this point is because they have the home court advantage for at least the time being. Steph looked like he was playing hoops in the park when he took Marcus Smart to school in the last few moments of game 4. I don’t have an issue with Draymond Green podcasting at the end of game 3 in his hotel room. It sure beats those dudes that go out and party after the game. Would you prefer he swipe right on a few girls on Tinder and get them up to his room? I have no issue with this kind of stuff off the court he’s doing, but I do take issue with him playing like garbage or his antics that get him technical fouls that just put his team in difficult situations.

This had to be the worst weekend of the season for the Dodgers. They got swept by those hated San Francisco Giants. Those Giant fans are probably laughing all the way to that snobby organic super market they shop at this morning. Just an extremely frustrating series that saw the Dodgers leave man after man in scoring position. To make matters worse, they lost their ace, Walker Buehler for the next 6-8 weeks due to elbow issues. That always makes you nervous his season could be in jeopardy. Their lead in the NL West is also down to a half game over the Padres as well. I like how it took a Buehler injury for everyone to stop saying the Dodgers need to trade for some overpriced slugger that strikes out a lot, and instead they need pitching. I’ve been saying they need pitching forever. Tyler Anderson and Tony Gonsolin look nice right now, but come October they will look more like Laverge and Shirley rather than Johnson and Schilling. I’m just not sure where it’s going to come from, since at the moment there is no Max Scherzer type starter on the trade block right now.

Then there’s the Angels, who actually found the win column over the weekend. That of course wasn’t before getting Joe Maddon fired, and losing a franchise record, 14 straight games. Let me start by saying this, guys like Joe Maddon are like outdated versions of the IPhone at this point in baseball. Whether you like it or not, managers are now just people managers that execute game plans and instructions from their front office superiors. You have to be completely bought into the idea of analytics to accept being a baseball manager, and not being the decision maker the skipper used to be. That was not Joe Maddon, and he admitted that. I don’t think it’s necessarily Phil Nevin either, but it’s probably somebody that is on nobody’s radar right now. As for the team, the losing streak was the perfect storm of a bad bullpen, troubled starting pitching, and no hitting throughout the lineup. However, given the talent the Halos have, they aren’t as bad as the streak looked. The problem is, making up that deficit in the standings will be tough, given the teams flaws. Nevertheless, at least you can say the Angels are still in the mix to get a playoff spot? For now.

To the NFL, where the Rams found a way to get it done. They signed Aaron Donald to a massive extension, as well as Cooper Kupp. At this point everyone seems to be under the impression that the Rams are basically printing money, especially with the rumors that they might be coming to a deal with OBJ this week, as well as the surprising rumors they have interest in Saquon Barkley. It’s clear that Les Snead knows loop holes in the salary cap like DeShaun Watson knows massage parlors. Repeating as a Super Bowl Champion is pretty difficult to do in this era, but the Rams are at least doing everything they can to try to.

Finally in golf, I can’t believe all of these people that are criticizing Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, and others for leaving the PGA Tour for the LIV Tour in Saudi Arabia. Sorry but if any media member got offered a boat load more money to go work elsewhere, even in Saudi Arabia, they would do it. Then the PGA decided to suspend these players. This would be like stopping the broadcasting of NBA games with all the money they get from China, or suspending those players. Besides, this move by Dustin Johnson to the LIV Tour is giving us more Twitter bikini pictures from Paulina Gretzky, so not sure why you guys are complaining!

June 6, 2022

James Worthy is really acting like the “get off my lawn” old man these days. He came out recently and said NBA players have no fundamentals or life experience and that all they want to do “is practice threes, lift weights, get tattoos, tweet and go on social media. That’s it.” Ok the lack of fundamentals and life experience is fair, and that it can hurt both the college and pro game. However, if players do put the work in, you can argue that today they have to be more skilled to stay in the league than before, since everybody has to be a three-point threat these days. He also said that the Lakers refuse to build like other teams, and develop players like Memphis, Boston, and Milwaukee. I think James is forgetting that all those really nice players all those teams have has only resulted in one title. The Lakers mortgaged the future to win now, and they got their title. I would argue the Bucks title came because they got the best player in the league, Giannis. It’s a little bit prisoner of the moment thinking by the Hall of Famer, but a different way of doing things than the rest of the league because the Lakers are in the biggest, best, and most glamorous basketball market. Also, congratulations to Lebron James who’s net worth has exceeded $1 billion. This story also goes to show you how people just don’t understand money though. I love all the people on Twitter who are saying that Lebron is worth more than Jeanie Buss. The Lakers are worth $4 billion according to Forbes, so people should check their math. There’s also the people saying Lebron could pay for the Lakers payroll for a whole year and not feel it. If I stripped you of 10% of your net worth, I’m pretty sure you would feel it people. In any case, amusing nonetheless.

As for the NBA Finals, the Warriors really turned it around last night to tie the series at 1-1 against the Celtics. Jordan Poole came to life just in time to save the Warriors season. I’m really not sure what happened in game 1 in the 4th quarter. Al Horford turned into Reggie Miller, and Steve Kerr thought he was playing a preseason game at the MGM Grand by playing his reserves a little too long. In game 2 it was a different story though. I have no problem with the referees not giving Draymond a 2nd technical foul early in the game for his altercation with Jaylen Brown. As much as I criticize referees for being completely inconsistent with their calls, they were aware that ejecting Draymond would have been a greater compromise on the integrity of the outcome of the game. That’s a lot bigger than just ejecting him for the sake of being consistent. For now, Laker fans can breathe a sigh of relief since the series is tied, but I’m still awfully nervous that this could be a seven game series, and the Warriors could get dominated on the road in Boston.

To baseball, where the Dodgers just ended a brutal 31 game in 30 day stretch by splitting a series with the Mets at home. The split with the Mets is ok all things considered. Sure those east coast homers are going to say the Mets were without Scherzer and DeGrom, but the Dodgers were without Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Blake Treinen, and Max Muncy. That’s not just a wash, it’s actually a slight advantage for the Mets. In any case, a 19-12 record in that stretch is pretty good, and the best part is they don’t have to play the Pirates again this year, who have owned the Boys in Blue in the first few months. Where I am concerned though is about the lack of power from Freddie Freeman. He’s on pace for about 12 home runs, despite the fact his average is decent. Walker Buehler also has some things to figure out as well with his mechanics, but I’m confident he will get it right. I still think the Dodgers need another starter to beef up their rotation come playoff time, but there is plenty of time for that. I don’t think anybody would have imagined Tyler Anderson would ever put together 26 straight shutout innings. Andrew Friedman’s computer won that round. However, I’m not sure you can count on that come October. All things considered, the Dodgers are still in a good place.

As for the Angels, they have lost 11 in a row, and fans are about to put on a suicide vest the next game they watch. How does a team with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout lose 11 in a row? Their pitching has regressed toward the mean, with the starters getting dominated of late. Entering Sunday, the starters were 0-5 with an era of 7.96 in the previous 9 games, and the games they didn’t pitch like garbage, the bullpen imploded. That was the case yesterday. On top of that, Mike Trout is 0 for his last 26 at bats, and is apparently a terrible fantasy baseball commissioner on top of that. Ohtani hasn’t exactly been killing it at the plate either, so it’s really the perfect storm of disaster. If this keeps up, the Angels are going to be forced to move to Palmdale instead of Long Beach. If the Angels don’t turn it around soon, Joe Maddon may also end up taking the fall.

To the NFL, where the Rams still have not come to a deal with Aaron Donald, and he is making noise about it. Donald said last week that he is at peace if ended up retiring and doesn’t come to a new contract agreement with the team. I love the fact that AD says it’s not about the money, it’s about winning, but football is still a business. Good one AD, we get it, you want to get paid, and you deserve it. Just don’t tell me it’s only about winning for you right now. There is definitely some risky business even paying somebody like Aaron Donald $28 million a year in a salary cap league when he’s 30 years old. However, AD is talking like a guy who isn’t going to play another 5 years in the league. It certainly would make a guy like Les Snead think about what he could do with an extra $28 million of cap room, however, in the end, I still think they will get a deal done.

Finally, UCLA Basketball got some tough news last week, which was that Jules Bernard has played his last game as a Bruin. It appears as though Bernard is going to put everything into pursuing an NBA career, even if it means playing in the G-League next year. I once again think Bernard is getting bad advice here, as he’s not ready. That leaves Tiger Campbell, Amari Bailey, Jaylen Clarke, Jaime Jacques, Adam Bona, and a bench of David Singleton, Will McCkeldon, Marc Etienne, and David Nwuba. That’s a nice starting five, but a much thinner bench than Mick Cronin probably thought he was going to be operating with. Here come the Bruins looking into the transfer portal for more help.

May 30, 2022

Happy Memorial Day everyone! The Lakers finally stopped messing around and hired Darvin Ham as their Head Coach over the weekend. They also finally adjusted to what they had not done previously: gave their head coach a 4-year deal and let him hire his own staff. The coaching market wasn’t exactly littered with big names, but this was way better than hiring some re-tread and hoping for the best. Ham is more than qualified to be a head coach with his tenure as an assistant. It also puts an end to the ridiculous idea that they could hire Doc Rivers, which would have been a disaster. Now if they can just fix the roster. All this talk about not wanting to move a first round pick in order to move Russell Westbrook is ridiculous. If the Lakers aren’t willing to move a 1st rounder that is 5 years from now, they might as well start rebuilding now. The Lakers need able bodied wing players, and moving Westbrook with that pick might be the only way to get them, even if it means taking on additional years of salary. Besides, there are no super star free agents available in the next couple of off-seasons that they should be trying to maintain their flexibility for. Can we stop it with the Zach Lavine rumors too? Yes, I realize that even he is interested in playing for the Lakers, but apparently his agent hasn’t explained to him how the salary cap works.

As for the NBA Finals, this is every Laker and Lebron fans worst nightmare: Celtics vs Warriors. It’s the Bay Area organic snobs vs the Clam Chowder snobs. Make no mistake about it, if you’re a Laker fan, there’s no way the Celtics win this series, and if they do you are jumping off the Santa Monica pier because they have more championships than LA at that point. As great as Steph Curry’s legacy is if he wins this series, it’s still not better than Lebron’s, who has been compared to the greatest player of all-time. Nobody is comparing Steph to that. I did come away very impressed with the Miami Heat though, even though they lost in 7. Not sure how they made it as close as they did with a hobbled Jimmy Butler, and no reliable 2nd scorer. This was all guts and grit, and they almost pulled it off, had Butler made that 3-pointer in the final seconds.

To baseball where complaining about the Dodgers right now is like complaining that the red wine isn’t as good as the white wine. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are basically like Shaq and Kobe, just dominating every game they play. Betts suddenly looks like an MVP candidate after a slow start, and the pitching staff has been the best in baseball so far. Of course you can complain about the ups and downs of Justin Turner (who is up right now), Cody Bellinger, and Max Muncy (who is injured and down right now). However, when the lineup is this deep, not everybody needs to be hot at one time, and you can afford to have those ups and downs. There’s also these wild rumors about the Dodgers trading for Juan Soto. This is purely a fantasy baseball idea. There’s no need for the Dodgers to add another power hitting outfielder to their lineup. It’s overkill. It’s adding a Ferrari to your garage when you already have 5 of them. If the Dodgers should add anything at the trade deadline, it’s pitching. Unfortunately, there really are no elite pitchers to be had at the deadline like last year. More than anything, they just need a healthy Clayton Kershaw to hold up in October.

As for the Angels, the last week has been hell for them. They’ve lost 5 in a row, and are now 3 games back of the Astros in the AL West. Apparently the concession stand registers weren’t working the other night at The Big A, so they were giving away some food. I didn’t realize though that the malfunctioning of the registers meant giving away baseball games as well. This is a $90 million bullpen that is pitching like a 9 cent bullpen. How do you lose a game in which Ohtani homers twice, while Taylor Ward and Max Stassi drive in a total of 7 runs? I’d complain about the durability of Anthony Rendon, but he can’t pitch anyway. Not sure there are any immediate answers for that group other than to just hope they pitch better in high leverage situations, especially with the Yankees looming this week. Then there’s the Anaheim Stadium sale corruption scandal, which forced the resignation of the Mayor of Anaheim, Harry Sidhu. This makes you wonder whether the Angels will really stay in Anaheim for the next decade, or if there is still a possibility they end up in Long Beach. Not that Arte Moreno did anything wrong here, but is anyone really surprised that this happened while Moreno owned the team? It was going to be a sweet-heart deal for the Angels, which Arte has to have to be able to afford to stay in Anaheim.

So Colin Kapernick was invited to workout for the Raiders last week, and supposedly it went “really well”. Weird, because I’ve been looking everywhere for the “Colin Kapernick signs with the Raiders” news and can’t find it anywhere. It must be somewhere right? Nope. This was nothing but a publicity stunt by Mark Davis. Stop wasting our time with this Kapernick thing. It’s been six years since he’s been in the league. The guy isn’t coming back, and when he started his whole BLM movement, he was already a backup QB in the league. At that point, nobody wants a backup QB on their team who is going to make a lot of noise about anything (even if you think it’s a worthy cause). They also don’t want one that has been out of the league for 6 years either. I credit Kapernick for the efforts he’s made on racial injustice, but let’s stop pretending like he’s coming back to football.

Finally, “Top Gun: Maverick” just posted the biggest opening movie weekend of Tom Cruise’s career. It did $156 million. Although it’s not the forever pop culture icon that first one was, it’s still a really good movie that is very entertaining. It was also released with brilliant timing. Memorial Day Weekend, and a movie that didn’t have anything political thrown out at you. Even though I’m not a fan of sequels, this one was actually worth seeing.

May 23, 2022

The Lakers have reportedly narrowed down their coaching search to three finalists: Darwin Ham, Terry Stotts, and Kenny Atkinson. Those reports also indicated that Ham is the frontrunner, and that is Lebron’s preferred choice. Knowing how the Lakers coaching searches have gone in recent years, that probably means they will hire Mike Dunleavy. In all seriousness, I wish they would hurry up and hire Ham so that they don’t overthink it and do anything stupid. Then there’s the wild Zach Lavine rumors Lavar Ball started, suggesting he wants to be a Laker this summer. Not only would this be extremely difficult from a salary cap perspective (which Eric Pincus can tell you all about), but it’s not even a good idea. Lavine has consistently missed a chunk of games the last few years with a knee issue. The Lakers don’t need another $30+ million player who is going to be hurt all the time. They need effective 3 and D role players that can surround Lebron and AD. This is also something they shouldn’t overthink.

Elsewhere around the NBA Playoffs, ESPN should be embarrassed. They spent the entire Celtics-Heat game 3 post game talking about how “depleted” the Celtics were. Are you joking? The Heat are losing players left and right, including their best player, Jimmy Butler, and it’s the Celtics that are depleted? I’m convinced that both Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart just crapped their pants, and weren’t really injured. Andrew Wiggins just murdered Luka Doncic and put him on a poster last night in game 3 of the West Finals. The Warriors are basically a lock to go to the Finals, and we all should have known when Charles Barkley predicted the Mavs would win in 7.

The Dodgers had their 7-game win streak snapped yesterday in Philadelphia. Things are still going well, but not exactly for Max Muncy. He can’t hit right now, and he also can’t seem to field either, committing an error yesterday that cost the Dodgers the game. At this point, Edwin Rios and Will Smith should be in the 4th and 5th spot in the lineup everyday. Rios has 4 homers in his last 21 at bats, and on average homers every 9 plate appearances. However, I don’t hear anybody complaining about Mookie Betts and his contract anymore. All those idiots said he was the worst contract in baseball after seeing like 3 weeks of the season. Instead, he’s now reminding people why he’s one of the best players in baseball. The Boys in Blue are off to Washington today.

As for the Angels, they bounced back by taking 2 of 3 against the A’s over the weekend. That came after getting swept by Rangers. The Angels are right there with the Astros, but if there’s one thing that’s cost them so far it’s Joe Maddon’s super weird decisions. For instance, why is Jared Walsh not in the lineup everyday? Also, what is the guy’s obsession with Matt Duffy, who is hitting just .229 on the year? A month ago we saw him pinch hitting with the bases loaded for a guy who hit a grand slam earlier in the day. Then when it comes to Jo Adell, feels like he would rather play with 8 guys then put him in the lineup, which explains why Adell got sent to the minors. At this point, it’s not the pitching or anything in the lineup that would worry me. It’s Maddon’s decision making.

In the NFL, the Rams are still trying to work things out with Aaron Donald on a new contract. I also like how Donald’s camp is still floating rumors that he might retire if he doesn’t get the deal he wants. This is no doubt this is nothing but a leverage play to get the deal he wants from them. We’re now hearing something in the neighborhood of $28 million a year, which sounds nuts, but the guy is arguably one of the best defensive players of all-time. With the way Les Snead does salary cap gymnastics, I’m sure he will find a way to figure this out.

The LA Kings are reportedly going to give GM Rob Blake a 3-year extension. One of the things I make a point of here on Jock Talk LA is that when I am wrong (and let’s be honest, that doesn’t happen very often) I own it. I was super critical of Blake for his rebuild that has been as slow as molasses, his poor coaching choices, and what I felt were questionable trades. However, he has really proved me wrong, and I’m happy to see it. He made the best free agent acquisition last year by signing Philip Danault, his patience with the prospects is starting to pay off, and he actually made a great trade by acquiring Trevor Moore and Sean Durzi. His 3-year extension is well deserved, and the Kings may be competing for Stanley Cups again sooner than we think.

Finally, Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher went at each other last week over NIL and it was quite amusing. Saban says Texas A&M bought every player on their team to get the #1 recruiting class, and Fisher fired back by basically saying the GOAT is a cheater. Saban is a total hypocrite here because let’s be real, no way Alabama (or at least through back channels), hasn’t paid off players to build the dynasty they have in the last 15 years. Just because now that there is some legal component to it where A&M is benefitting (and others) Saban doesn’t like it. Saban also said that without NIL, there is more parity in College Football. Are you kidding Nick? College Football is the biggest waste of time the last twenty years because you’re team has dominated, along with Clemson. Maybe NIL might actually bring parity back into the game!

May 16, 2022

I almost forgot how horrible game 7’s are until the Kings played on Saturday night against the Oilers, and we’re eliminated. If you’re invested, it’s miserable. You’ve been spoiled by the fact that they’ve dominated game 7’s for the last decade. That was not the case with a different and younger Kings team over the weekend. The fact the Kings made it this far is impressive. Nobody expected them to make the playoffs, and they took the Oilers to 7, while missing two of their best players. Still, it doesn’t make it any less disappointing knowing the series was winnable, and that they could have closed it out in 6. However, the Kings have some huge opportunities in front of them. They have plenty of young talent, draft capital, and cap space to go improve their team. They badly need more scoring. They also need a better power play. Jonathan Quick is still amazing, but he can’t play forever, and at some point they will need another elite goalie. Cal Peterson isn’t that guy. They probably also need a #1 center, because Anze Kopitar is still great, but getting a little long in the tooth. Big salute to Dustin Brown, who played his last game, but had an amazing career. Now that Florida is playing Tampa, and Edmonton is playing Calgary, you have the battle of Florida, and the battle of Canadian Florida going on simultaneously.

To the NBA, where most Laker fans are breathing a sigh of relief. The Sixers want Doc Rivers back as their coach. You can keep him Philly, as well as that lazy lard butt James Harden. I’m still a little nervous, because Doc hasn’t committed to coming back knowing that Harden is still there, and clearly doesn’t like him. It’s not out of the question Doc backs out, especially if he knows he has another job lined up. For now, it may have been accidental, but the Lakers dodged a bullet if Doc is staying. Now they will likely go with Darwin Ham, Terry Stotts, or Quinn Snyder. Ham is the obvious choice here, and not a complete re-tread, unlike the other two choices. As for Lebron, if you’re watching the NBA playoffs, you have to ask yourself whether or not it’s a good idea to extend a 37-year-old player more than one year at a time. Chris Paul’s ability seemed to deteriorate in a matter of a week. He’s got about $90 million left on his contract and he’s 37. Lebron is already missing games, which has been a problem in 3 of the past 4 seasons. With that being said, I still have a feeling that both the Lakers and Lebron will talk themselves into doing this deal come August. It’s how both sides tend to do business. Apparently Laker coaching candidates have been asked how they would use Russell Westbrook if they were to get the job. Hopefully their answers are “as trade bait”.

I think it’s pretty obvious at this point that the Rams want to bring OBJ back and OBJ wants to be back with the Rams. This feels like all it really takes is carving out just a little bit of cap space, and a nice sit down at Nobu between OBJ, Les Snead, and Sean McVay. McVay just came out and said that he wants OBJ back. OBJ said that he wants to be back with the Rams. That should be enough motivation for both sides to get something done.

I’m not sure what in the hell happened to the Dodger pitching over the weekend. The Dodgers made the Phillies look like the ’27 Yankees with the way they were giving up runs. Apparently the Dodgers only lose to crummy teams like the Pirates and Phillies, otherwise they have been pretty solid. I’d say they should feel good about Arizona coming in next, but Arizona stinks too, which means they could give the Boys in Blue more problems! I still can’t believe we have to hear more criticism about these Dave Roberts in-game decisions. After all these years you people really still think it’s Dave Roberts who is pulling the strings here with the pitching and lineup decisions? You guys must think it’s still 1995, and have never heard of artificial intelligence or analytics. Roberts is just reading the next move off of line 54 of the spreadsheet, for all intents and purposes. Losing Clayton Kershaw to the IL hurts as well, however, at least it’s not an arm injury. I also think Kershaw could probably use the rest anyway. I’m sure this makes some of you even more annoyed that he was pulled from the perfect game to protect him, yet he still got hurt. However, think of it this way: he might have suffered an even more serious injury if he wasn’t taken out of that game.

The Angels might not be the best baseball team in LA, or the most popular by any stretch of the imagination. However, they appear to be the most fun team to watch right now. Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and some decent pitching this year has put them in 1st place in the AL West. They’ve won 7 of their past 10 games, and have a +57 run differential, which is 2nd best in the AL. Were it not for those pesky Houston Astros who have caught fire, they would be in sole possession of 1st place in the West right now. Instead they are sharing it, which is still pretty good for the Halos. As sad as this is to say, this is probably what Arte Moreno wants. He wants to win and all, but probably cares more about having an entertaining product that will sell tickets and merchandise. For the time being he has that, so in his mind, being stingy is perfectly justified.

Finally, if you think the NIL model is shaking up College Sports you haven’t seen anything yet. There’s a new bill in the CA legislature that will be discussed this week, which would potentially force Universities to revenue share with athletes. If that happens, you can completely kiss the NCAA goodbye, and they can start posting their resume on LinkedIn. This is going to take collegiate sports to the next level, and at this point, it’s probably the most sensible and just thing to do for those that are actually making the money. It might even make collegiate sports better, because kids could stay in school longer since they are making money, and develop longer. That means by the time they get to be pros, the quality of their game will be that much better, and they’ll be more mature as well. That benefits the professional leagues too. What a concept!

May 9, 2021

I could not be more impressed with the LA Kings. I definitely wrote these guys off after getting dismantled by the Oilers in games 2 and 3 of their playoff series. Then they find a way to pull it together, missing two of their best players, and shut down Edmonton last night to tie their best-of-seven series at 2-2. Jonathan Quick is still a gamer, who has been the difference in both LA wins, but the Kings are also a tough, prideful, and gritty group. They’ve got guys like Carl Grundstrom who are pushing pucks across the goal line with their faces, and dudes like Trevor Moore that belong on the third line, yet are holding their own against elite players like Connor McDavid. NHL teams have been getting dunked on balls in the face style, giving up 5-7 goals a game, but the Kings are still playing steady defense when it matters, no matter how much criticism they have received over the last few weeks. I’m honestly shocked the Kings have made it this far, couldn’t be prouder of the team, but have zero expectations that that they could actually win this series. Have crazier things happened? Well sure. It’s skill vs will, and last night will was king. They’ll need more of that to happen if they are planning on winning two of the next three games, with no home-ice advantage.

I’d like to issue an apology to every NBA team out there that is still in the playoffs.  The Lakers had a zoom meeting with a couple of coaching candidates and suddenly that’s all anybody wants to talk about, rather than the teams in the playoffs.  A freaking Zoom meeting!  I also realize that everybody wants to play fantasy basketball and trade Lebron, trade AD, and trade Russ, but everybody needs to back away from the trade machine.  Lebron and AD aren’t going anywhere.  Try as they might, even moving Russ won’t be easy.  The bigger story though is how terrifying it is that Phil Jackson is still advising the Lakers on coaching decisions, and that they still have their eyes on Doc Rivers, if he were to become available.  What a disaster if both of those things are true.  Doc is certainly making a good case to be the Laker coach though with his insistence on playing DeAndre Jordan, who would probably be picked last in a YMCA pick up game right now. The Lakers shouldn’t overthink this. Hire Darvin Ham and let’s move on. He’s a bright young NBA mind, who deserves a shot, and is the kind of “out-of-the-box” thinking they should have when hiring a coach.

Meanwhile, the Clippers quietly made a nice move by re-signing Robert Covington to a two-year deal.  Covington proved to be a useful role player for the Clips, and fortunately for the Clip Show, Covington didn’t have many options out there where teams had cap space to pay him.  The moral of this story is that it doesn’t matter if you’ve been passed around the NBA like a Kardashian, players like Covington can still be important on the right squad like the Clippers.  Every team needs wing depth these days, and the Clips just added more of it.

As for the NBA Playoffs, James Harden “turned the clock back” yesterday with a big performance. Dude is only 32 years old, so by “turn the clock back” we mean to whatever week he wasn’t at the strip club and then showed up to work. This dude was being compared to Kobe a few months ago. Now he’s more comparable to Marlon Brando. Amazingly enough, the Sixers still have a great chance to win the series, despite having Harden and Doc Rivers in their organization. Meanwhile, Chris Paul was hit with 4 fouls yesterday once he got to the parking lot for the game. I still have a hard time seeing the Mavs winning this series. The Warriors and Grizzlies series is cool until we have to obnoxiously hear about each player that “broke the code” and supposedly tried to injury another. That’s just a dumb story line. The Warriors look more experienced and poised though. I’m beginning to think the winner of the Celtics and Bucks will end up winning the NBA Championship though, and since Giannis now looks like the best player in the world, it looks like Milwaukee’s to lose.

On to baseball, where the Dodgers have dominated the last week by sweeping the Giants and Cubs. The Boys in Blue have the best record in baseball, and have been dominant on the mound, sporting the best starting era in baseball. It’s hard to complain about much, but believe it or not, they aren’t even clicking on all cylinders yet on offense. Max Muncy and Justin Turner have been doing some weird mechanical adjustments to their swings, and they look like little leaguers. They should get it together, but the rumors of Trea Turner’s departure in the off-season are more concerning. Turner has a home in Florida and reportedly has a strong desire to play closer to that home of his. Who wants to live in Florida though? 1,000% humidity and gators going for a swim in your pool every now and again? In any case, those same sources said he isn’t ruling out re-signing with the Dodgers, so that may be his way of telling Andrew Friedman that if you overpay him, he’ll stay.

Meanwhile, the Angels are playing their best baseball in 7 years, and yet their fans are still finding a way to complain about them. The Halos have won 4 of their last 6 and are in 1st place in the AL West. Their pitching has looked sturdy, and their run differential is among the best in the AL. They also had a wild walk off- rally yesterday afternoon against the Nationals, capped by Anthony Rendon’s RBI single. Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon have had the batting averages or Mickey and Mini Mouse so far, yet the Halos are still looking like one of the best teams in the AL. Things are really looking up so far in Anaheim.

Finally, Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Dude was an 80-1 longshot. The owner actually found out he wasn’t going to be in the race until the night before. Of course when he was asked if he expected to win, he said of course he did. That was completely believable until you actually saw what dude was wearing on TV, like he was going for a Saturday at the park instead of the winners circle at the Derby.

May 2, 2022

It’s been weeks since the Laker season ended and we’re still getting nasty leaks from the front office. Those leaks are directing blame at Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Rich Paul for pushing the Lakers to trade for Russell Westbrook. This has to be coming from a member of the Lakers staff that knows they are getting fired, and taking their shots on the way out the door. It might even be coming from Judy Seto, who was their Director of Sports Performance, who was recently let go. In any case, the Lakers have people that work for them that have been perpetuating the same rumors for weeks, and basically acting like a bitter ex-wife. However, I am impressed that the Lakers are actually thinking slightly outside the box with a potential coaching hire, requesting permission to speak to Darwin Ham. We haven’t heard much in the way of coaching rumors since the season ended, which makes me think the Lakers have had their eye on coaches that are still in the playoffs.

Elsewhere around the NBA, we’re on to the 2nd round and the Bucks look like they are ready to successfully defend their NBA title, after Giannis dismantled the Celtics in the Garden in game 1. Meanwhile, if you don’t think Chris Paul is amazing, there is something wrong with you. He’s getting older, and feels like he’s only getting better. 14-14 from the field in an elimination game? When I look at the Suns, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Mavs, and T-Wolves, I see five really good young teams that I think the Lakers are going to have problems surpassing in the next year.

To the ice, where the LA Kings are back in the playoffs for the first time in four years. This is going to be quite a retro 1st round playoff series too, facing the Edmonton Oilers for the first time in the playoffs since 1992. This isn’t exactly the same Kings team that last won the Cup in 2014, as they have a whole lot of young players, and a lot less depth. They still have Anze Kopitar, but Drew Doughty is out injured for the playoffs. However, they seem to be playing for both Jonathan Quick and Dustin Brown, who announced that he will be retiring when the season ends. Dustin Brown is the LA Kings equivalent of Kobe Bryant. He’s been an incredible leader for 18 years with the Kings, the captain of a two-time Cup Champion, Olympic Champion, and scored over 300 goals in his career. He’s a borderline hall of famer, but should instantly have his jersey retired. The Kings can find inspiration in trying to win in the playoffs for Brown, and they are already finding it with Jonathan Quick’s stellar play the last couple of weeks. This team probably doesn’t have enough defensive depth to beat the Oilers, but making the playoffs with this many injuries is a nice accomplishment and good progress for a rebuilding franchise.

In baseball, the Dodger finally got some closure to the Trevor Bauer situation. Bauer is suspended for the next two seasons for his involvement in an alleged sexual assault incident last season. That means the Dodgers are off the hook for the remaining $64 million they owe him. I’m happy that the Dodgers are off the hook and all and can move on, but this is incredibly unfair to Trevor Bauer. There were no criminal charges filed. There are text messages from this woman telling her friends that they can go to Europe in style after a few more rough sexual encounters. So now Bauer’s career is effectively over. Bauer gets suspended for two years, meanwhile, the Houston Astros actually cheated on the field, got to keep their World Series trophy, and not a single player was suspended. Good to see where Commissioner Rob Manfred has his priorities.

Meanwhile, the Angels are looking pretty good, winning 8 of their last 11 games. They are sitting in 1st place in the AL West in the early going. It’s strange seeing the Halos with some nice pitching too between Syndergaard, Ohtani, and now suddenly Michael Lorenzen has emerged as a force. Taylor Ward has also been doing his best Ted Williams impersonation, and cannot be taken out the lineup anytime soon either. Considering that Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon haven’t really gotten going yet, there is much to be excited about right now for the Halos.

The NFL Draft went down over the weekend, and I’m going to say something super unpopular: it’s extremely overrated and overhyped. Most of these dudes are going to be out of the league in 3 years, yet teams are falling all over themselves to get more draft picks. I have no idea what the hell the Titans were thinking when they traded AJ Brown to the Eagles. The Rams didn’t have a pick until the 3rd round, but they have managed to find some useful players, and even starters over the last few years. You can also never have enough offensive and defensive lineman, so the Rams were wise to take Logan Bruss in the 3rd round, who can compete for the starting right guard spot. The Chargers did the same by taking Zion Johnson, the best lineman in the draft, with a 1st round pick. I feel like we’ve said they had a great draft the past few years, but the talent just hasn’t led to wins on the field. Can’t say I’m going to be surprised if that happens again.

April 25, 2022

We’re halfway through the 1st round of the NBA playoffs, but the only thing people can talk about is the Lakers. I guess they must be pretty important to the ratings or something. Fans have kind of lost their mind though. I just saw a petition to get Russell Westbrook off the team. I want him gone and all, but how childish though. I signed it from two different devices. It’s funny how a few weeks ago everybody loved the idea of Quinn Snyder or Nick Nurse, but now after watching the 1st round, nobody wants to touch them. It’s also funny how each and every moment that goes by, you might actually realize how good of a coach Frank Vogel was. There’s a lot of work to do to clean up this mess, and I’m curious to see if the Lakers still ask stupid things of their coaching candidates: to pick their staff, and to take less than a 5 year deal. This mess is fixable, but it’s simply a matter of whether or not the Lakers will learn from their mistakes of the past.

I’ve seen about 3 episodes of the series “Winning Time” on HBO. It’s really good, and I plan to continue watching it. However, I can understand why Jerry West is upset. He’s portrayed like a complete lunatic that hates his job, and hates people. Magic is probably also pissed too because Cookie has to be raising an eyebrow knowing that they are portraying him having sex with every woman in LA in the 80’s. That’s not hard to believe though, and neither is how they portrayed Kareem, since he shunned the media in the 80’s. Unfortunately, as upset as West is, he, nor anybody else can do anything about it. It’s a TV series that is based on some true events, but obviously over-dramatized. West hasn’t been this embarrassed since he started telling people he works for the Clippers. Sorry Jerry, I know you want an apology and a retraction, but this is showbiz, and that’s not how it works in this case.

As for the NBA Playoffs, the Nets are on the verge of getting swept by the Celtics. It’s all fun and games to root for KD and Kyrie to lose because they are annoying, but then Laker fans realize the Celtics are in the finals, and they might have to jump off their roof. Kevin Durant must have given up shooting for Lent. He only had 11 shot attempts in game 3 against Boston. You know, KD left a championship dynasty with the Warriors where he was the best player, just because some 10-year olds on Twitter think his legacy isn’t worth crap and he had too much help. Now that he has less help, he’s not elevating his game in the playoffs. This is what he wanted, yet he’s not answering the bell. Yes, it’s completely unfair how we judge these NBA stars, but if KD is going to feed into the narrative, then he needs to step it up. Don’t ever try to tell me that KD is the best player in the world right now, because as great as he is, he’s not that. Also, I’m not saying the 76ers are going to blow a 3-0 lead in their 1st round series against the Raptors, but eventually someone will come back from a 3-0 deficit and win a series in the NBA. Any team coached by Doc Rivers stands a good chance of being the team to lose that series.

To baseball, where the Dodgers are rolling, taking 2 of 3 from the Padres over the weekend, and maintaining 1st place in the NL West. Cody Bellinger turns into Barry Bonds every time Clayton Kershaw pitches. Kershaw continues to look great, and Belly is looking a lot closer to the MVP we saw a few years ago. I’m not terribly worried about Mookie Betts and Max Muncy, who have been off to slow stars. Of course everybody wants to kill Mookie because of his monstrous contract, but the baseball season is 162 games, and we’re only 3 weeks in. If those two guys are hitting less than .200 at the all-star break it’s a conversation, but they certainly looked pretty good over the weekend, and they haven’t looked bad in their at bats. This is also what a “road game” looks like for the Dodgers in San Diego.

As for the Angeles, they had a rather disappointing weekend against the Orioles. They lost 2 of 3 games in a series they really needed to dominate. Ironically, it isn’t the starting pitching that has been the problem. It’s the bullpen and the bizarre managing decisions by Joe Maddon. Maddon is pulling his pitchers after 5 innings of domination, and 70 pitches. Then his $93 million bullpen is giving away games like they are some 501C3 charity. The best news for the Angels is really that nobody in their division, or even the entire AL looks that great so far. With four games coming up against the Guardians at home, the Halos really need to bank some wins in this part of the soft schedule.

Finally, a whole week went by and it was weird, the Rams didn’t actually acquire another superstar player. However, the got great news that 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel has requested a trade. That means every team in the division on paper is getting much worse, while the Rams have only gotten better. You can guarantee that Les Snead is calling the 49ers and at least trying to find out what it will take to get Samuel in a Rams uniform. However, John Lynch would rather get in the octagon with Aaron Donald before trading Samuel to his division rival.