March 7, 2022

Let me start by saying this, even though the Lakers are a disaster, Lebron just reminded us on Saturday night of just how great he is. He became just the 4th player in league history over the age of 37 to score 50+ points. He won’t be here forever people so you have to appreciate the greatness you are watching. With all that being said, he said he was fueled by “desperation”. Funny, because I would think “desperation” would have kicked in before they cratered to 9th place in the West with just 20 games left in the season, and on the verge of missing even the play-in tournament. I guess Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, or some other Rams player needs to be in the building at all times for these guys to actually show up and play. Hope they are available every night for the next four months. Especially since every loss the Lakers endure, you’re going to hear more leaks like the one we heard Saturday, which trashed Russell Westbrook and indicated that many in the organization want him benched moving forward. Saturday was nice, but the Lakers are a bad team with or without Lebron James and Anthony Davis at this point. I was going to rattle off some joke about the Lakers being like the Russian army, but Saturday Night Live beat me to it!

As for the Clippers, we know they won’t get Kawhi back this season, and it feel like they won’t get Paul George back either. However, they are still a remarkable story with their ability to stay in playoff contention. I also couldn’t help but notice how Reggie Jackson was loving every single moment of embarrassing Russell Westbrook the other night against the Lakers. Jackson clearly holds grudges like he’s Aaron Rodgers, because he tore up Russ the other night, and clearly has some hard feelings after their divorce a few years ago in Oklahoma City. I thought these two were going to fight after this happened.

The MLB lockout continues, as I told you it would last week. We know for sure they are cancelling games, which means the heat is now on the players since they are missing game checks. These idiots were only $50K apart from making an agreement, yet they pulled the plug on the negotiation last week. Now they are starting from scratch. Of course it was Arte Moreno who opposed increasing the CBT threshold, which is so on brand for that cheapskate. Arte is probably tired of getting outspent by the Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox, so he was just taking it out on them by turning down that part of the deal. However, it’s the Angel fans that are tired of Arte and his foolish ownership style, dictating to his front office the moves that should be made. He’s also looking like the slum lord of the MLB, with sub-standard conditions for his minor leaguers. When the lockout is over, we’ll see if all this negativity around him ends up hurting the Angels in free agency.

Speaking of MLB teams spending money, my expectation is regardless of what comes out of the new MLB labor agreement, the Dodgers will have money to spend. They should do everything they can to quickly sign Freddie Freeman, then re-sign Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen. That would give the Dodgers an excellent lineup that is arguably even better than last year. It would also fortify their pitching staff, which is littered with young talent, but just needs a couple of wily veterans in the rotation and the back end of the bullpen. None of those three should cost the Dodgers an unreasonable amount on an annual basis.

To College Basketball, where UCLA was looking healthier and in good form on Saturday night in their win against cross-town rival USC. They are also still undefeated when Jessica Alba is in the building. The Bruins finished in 2nd in the Pac-12 for the regular season headed into the conference tournament. Everyone seems to think Arizona might be the best team in the country. If the Bruins are healthy, they are quite capable of beating the Wildcats, or any team in the country for that matter. Jamie Jaquez suddenly looks like he has two good ankles, Jules Bernard is balling, and Johnny Juzang is starting to get healthy too. Mick Cronin indicated Juzang is not ready yet, but he will be. Joe Lunardi has the Bruins at a #4 seed, but if they can win the conference tourney, they can easily be a #3 seed. However, in either case, this is becoming a very undervalued team by betting standards. UCLA has the 12th best odds in the country to win the National Title. When healthy, they are no worse than a top 5 team. That’s especially important for all of us degenerates out there ready to open our wallets to bet on the NCAA tournament.

The NFL off-season is quietly going well for the Rams prior to free agency starting. They got a commitment from Sean McVay to return, and now Ian Rappaport is reporting the Rams are planning on giving Aaron Donald a big raise. You really think Sean McVay was going to come back without knowing that arguably the best player in the NFL was coming back? If you did, you probably believe the last thing Joe Biden said too. Even if the Rams also bring back OBJ and Von Miller, repeating is always an uphill climb. However, the best thing they could have going for them is Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson potentially heading to the AFC. I know many have been reporting that Rodgers is going to go back to the Packers, but if so, then why hasn’t it happened already? I still think he’s leaving because he wants to stick it to the Packers front office. People who hold grudges do crazy things, and he looks like he’s ready to do something crazy. I also love how people are just dying to know what he’s going to do and frustrated he hasn’t made a decision. This unfortunately isn’t the Netflix series you can just blow right through to the end to find out what happened. You’ve all been ruined by streaming TV.

Lastly, nice episode of The Walking Dead last night on AMC. Of course Eugene did the equivalent of online dating and got catfished during the zombie apocalypse. That’s very on brand for him. Meanwhile, Carol is now curing cancer and taking down drug lords at the same time. This felt like the Ozark episode of the series. Her level of badass continues to rise. Lance is shifty and suspicious. I wouldn’t trust that dude to tell me what he wanted on his pizza. I’m getting major Gregory vibes here. This show is very weird about swearing. Apparently you can smash someone’s head in with a barbed wire baseball bat, but saying the F-word is off limits. How can you not love Princess at this point? She’s hilarious and thriving in the Commonwealth. Also, people will always open doors for you if you bring them food whether it’s in the apocalypse or not. Props to the show for providing us with content that we can use endlessly in gif’s on Twitter.

February 28, 2022

Just when you think the Lakers can’t embarrass themselves any further, they go and get smoked by 28-points at home against the Pelicans. If Chick Hearn were still alive and called that game last night, he would have absolutely crushed the Lakers. This team simply doesn’t care. Even Lebron, who scored 32 points last night, showed a very lackluster effort on the defensive end, and isn’t even leading. Of course it’s gotta be hard for Russ to show up to work everyday, knowing that Lebron tried to have him traded a week ago. I’m beginning to wonder if the Lakers are even going to make it to the play-in game at this point. If they are really going to put this kind of effort out there with 22 games left in the season, then they are really just ready to book their vacations to Cancun. Now Lebron is mad at Bill Oram of The Athletic for reporting that he had beef with Rob Pelinka for not making a move at the trade deadline. He claims that information didn’t come from him. We’re apparently supposed to believe Lebron when a week ago in Cleveland he told us that he hasn’t dismissed the idea of re-joining the Cavs at some point. I’m also not even really sure why we are all still watching this team. Apparently none of us care about our mental health.

To the NFL, where we can talk about much brighter news: Sean McVay has officially announced that he’s coming back to Rams! We heard for weeks that McVay was really considering walking away because he was burnt out, and flirting with the idea of broadcasting. I know many of you think this was some kind of a money grab by McVay, but I don’t really think it was. If that was the case, why did it take McVay a couple of weeks to publicly commit to coming back to coach the Rams? I think he was seriously considering calling it quits. I also think that by 2025, Sean McVay won’t be coaching anymore. If you put this kind of idea out there, the end is a lot closer than you think. Now the question is whether or not Aaron Donald is coming back, which we should find out shortly. He probably still has his shirt off celebrating somewhere.

In baseball, do you really think these idiots are going to come to a labor agreement today? Your odds of winning the Powerball are better. The owners are going to force the players to start missing game checks once they start cancelling regular season games, really putting the heat on the players association. There are 30 owners, and hundreds of players. Naturally, it’s a lot easer for the players to give in than for 30 owners to do the same. No matter what people say though, I don’t buy the notion that “fans won’t come back” if games are cancelled. They forgiven and forgotten before, and they will forgive and forget again.

UCLA basketball had a mixed weekend of results on their trip to Oregon. They lost to the Ducks, and then beat up on Oregon State. The Bruins will likely end up as the #3 seed going into the Pac-12 Tournament, and would probably need to win the tournament to become a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Otherwise the bracketologists of the world have them closer to a #5 seed. In any case, this team just needs to get healthy, rested, and in rhythm. They looked in rhythm on Saturday night, but they certainly aren’t healthy or rested. Jamie Jaquez is playing on two bad ankles, Johnny Juzang has his own ankle injury, and they are in the midst of playing 6 games in a 12-day stretch. One thing that might help the Bruins is that teams in the Top 10 AP Poll have been dropping faster than Joe Biden’s approval rating. With 6 of the top 16 teams losing over the weekend, they might be able to move up a little with a strong week against Washington tonight, and USC on Saturday.

The LA Kings are suddenly a very interesting and dangerous team to watch again. The Kings are surprisingly sitting in 2nd place in the Pacific Division with 29 games left in the season. That’s surprising because the Kings are in a developmental stage, with many younger players in their lineup and in their farm system. The Kings actually have the 2nd best farm system in hockey, according to The Athletic, and if anything, they have too many high-ceiling players that play the same position. For that reason, they are in an excellent position come the trade deadline in three weeks. They can make this team even better by adding a star player on defense, or even a star goal scorer. Even if they don’t the Kings might not be that far away from Stanley Cup contention again, in the next season or two.

Finally, props to The Walking Dead for learning from their mistakes from previous seasons. No, they haven’t brought back all their old characters, but in last night’s episode, they sped up the storyline instead of spending 5 or 6 episodes story telling about whether or not a new community should be trusted. Yes, it has a “Game of Thrones” feel to it, but most of you liked that aspect of GOT before they botched the ending. I also find it very hard to believe they are going to end The Walking Dead without bringing Rick Grimes back for another appearance at some point. Of course if you ask Scott Gimple and Angela Kang, they will tell you it’s not happening, but that’s also like believing Putin when he said he wasn’t really going to invade Ukraine last week.

February 21, 2022

Happy Presidents Day everyone! The Laker crisis has turned into a movie that we’ve seen three times before: Lebron setting himself up to leave in free agency. You can already tell with Lebron’s passive aggressive comments toward Rob Pelinka and the Laker front office, while heaping praise on other front office executives in the NBA, and even in the NFL. If you think I’m taking his comments and stretching them into something else, you need a history lesson. This is the exact same thing that occurred twice in Cleveland, and in Miami. Ramon Shelburne even validated this with her report last week that the Lakers are unlikely to make drastic changes in the off-season, because essentially, Lebron and Anthony Davis created this roster, so they need to make it work. That is the proper position to take. It sure would help if Anthony “Day-to-Davis” could stay on the court and dominate for more than a handful of games at a time. Still, without any draft picks, the Lakers would be smart to not make any salary commitments beyond next season. That way they can arm themselves with Anthony Davis and boat loads of cap space to re-make the team, even without any draft picks. And no, Anthony Davis isn’t getting traded for Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler as Chris Broussard says. He probably got this info from Drake while hanging with him at Tao night club. If Lebron wants to leave the Lakers, he’s certainly earned that right, but the Lakers need to protect themselves appropriately and prepare for the next era post Lebron in a smart way.

As for the Clippers, they’ve had plenty of injuries and plenty of excuses to lean on, yet they keep treading water. The Clips are sitting in the 8th seed, hovering right around .500, and playing hard enough to give teams some problems in a play-in tournament. It’s also funny how just a couple of years ago, everybody thought that Ty Lue was nothing more than a coach for Lebron, who was probably drawing clown faces on clipboards during timeouts. Instead, he’s now developed a reputation as one of the top coaches in the league, and one that players really like playing for. Kawhi Leonard likely won’t play this season, but if Paul George can make it back in a few weeks, they could make things even more interesting.

As for All-Star Weekend, Steph Curry put on show, and was making every shot from virtually the parking lot. It was fitting for Lebron to score the game-winner, but that’s also the hardest I think I’ve seen him play in at least a couple of weeks. That had to have been the longest halftime in the history of any basketball game. I think Scottie Pippen ended up being virtual for the Top 75 player ceremony just so he didn’t have to see Michael. Let’s all just pretend like that Slam Dunk contest never actually happened Saturday night. I get that we are trying to introduce younger players into the dunk contest, but that was a disaster with a bunch of no-names. I can appreciate what they did with the Rising Stars Challenge, making it more of a tournament format. However, they need to make the three-point shootout the final and main event moving forward. It has names, and lately seems to turn out a lot more exciting than many of the most recent dunk contests.

Meanwhile, the Rams enjoyed a nice celebration for the last week after winning the Super Bowl. It was an eventful week where we learned quite a bit. First of all, according to Veronika Khomyn, Sean McVay’s fiancé, who we basically all trust because she’s smoking hot, says that he’s not retiring on her Instagram account. I will wait until I feel a little more confident that nobody has been drinking at a parade, or in their home before I’m really confident that McVay is coming back to coach, but I feel a little better about it then a week ago. I also feel a little better about Aaron Donald returning, only because he laid out some requests to come back: OBJ and Von Miller re-signing. Both of those sound realistic, given the cap money coming off the books, and OBJ likely taking a discounted deal after his injury. Donald had his shirt off for most of Wednesday’s parade, and if my torso looked like his, I probably wouldn’t own any shirts. Then there’s the Matthew and Kelly Stafford incident, where they watched photographer Kelly Smiley fall off the stage and fracture her spine. The overreaction to this entire incident is the most 2022 thing I’ve ever seen. Yes, the Stafford’s reaction to the incident was completely insensitive, but it’s not like they could do anything anyway. The idea of them paying their medical bill is a nice gesture, but apparently these days all you need to do is fall in front of rich people and they will pay your medical bills. Then there’s all you idiots on Twitter that started a go-fund me instantly for her, only to want your money back when you found out Smiley had all these racist remarks from 5-10 years ago on her social media account. You people have way too much time on your hands.

On to UCLA basketball, where they handled business nicely over the weekend against both Washington schools. Mick Cronin deserves credit for digging a little deeper into his bench, rather than focusing on the same six dudes to get him by. That can pay dividends big time come the tournament. Their opponents may have stunk, but to dominate the way they did in the past two games without their starting point, or Johnny Juzang and Cody Riley speaks volumes about that depth. At this point for the Bruins, it’s about getting healthy, and peaking at the right time. When UCLA moves the ball and gets quality shots, they can beat anybody with the effort they put in defensively. The Bruins are also undefeated when they shoot 35% or better from 3, which tells you just how good that defense can really be. I still get weirded out hearing Steve Lavin talk about UCLA. He’s now picking them to win the National Championship this year. It’s like hearing your ex talk about you in a weird “I still have feelings for you” way.

By the time you finish reading this column, I’m guessing new USC Quarterback Caleb Williams would have signed another NIL deal. This kid is suddenly raking in the dough, with deals from “Beats By Dre”, “AC+ION Water”, and with a private equity group. This is suddenly becoming the Wild West, or maybe it’s the “Wilder West” because this was happening before, now it’s just happening everywhere because it’s legal. The NCAA is also in trouble now. They are losing control, like a parent over their kid going off to college. Wait until the College Football Playoff expands from four teams, then they will have nothing left. Rightfully so, as the NCAA is just a corrupt organization that has been taking advantage of kids for years to a large extent. Now they are getting what they deserve.

Finally, I don’t know about you but I’ve invested way too much in The Walking Dead to not watch the final 16 episodes of the series, which started last night. They’ve obviously had to re-make the show, due to many character departures, but last night got off to a bang with a lot to process for a mid-season premier. The entire Reaper organization has been decimated. Alexandria is lying in rubble. Negan takes off. The Commonwealth arrives, courtesy of Eugene, and invites our people to join the cause. Cut to six months later: Maggie’s defending the walls of Hilltop, someplace we haven’t seen in awhile, and a phalanx of threatening Commonwealth soldiers show up to do…something. Their leader? Daryl Dixon. Maggie has transformed into a women that is 56 weeks pregnant to a fierce soldier that is on a killing war path. It was pretty sad watching her lose Alden. Daryl could have been doing a shampoo commercial at the end of the episode when he took off his helmet, and shook his hair like he was a super model. Gabriel went from being a complete coward, to not even being phased by walkers or intruders at the gate. The final stretch is off to a good start, so I’m interested in seeing how it ends.

February 14, 2022

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Rams for winning Super Bowl 56! We really are lucky to be sports fans in Southern California. The Bengals were a handful, and everybody was underestimating them, but the Rams pulled through when it mattered and came out on top. The fact they made it to the end without OBJ, Tyler Higbee, Robert Woods, and without being able to run the ball speaks to how great Matt Stafford and Cooper Kupp were. The Rams stars delivered when it was all one the line. As fans, we have created a culture of expectations that in most cities, would be completely unrealistic: championship or bust. The Rams organization embraced that concept, went all in with the moves they made, and it paid off with a Super Bowl Championship. They maxed out their credit card, and it was worth every penny. I don’t see anybody questioning the Matthew Stafford trade now. I sure hope that Sean McVay and Aaron Donald don’t decide to retire, since we’ve been hearing rumors about them. Coaching is so important in the NFL, McVay has a chance to be one of the greatest coaches of his era if he continues to lead this team. Donald also has a chance to become arguably the greatest pass rusher of all time. Plus, the Rams still have a window to contend because some of their dead money with Jared Goff and Todd Gurley are coming off the books, so they could pay the likes of OBJ and Von Miller. Even with Beckham’s injury, he should recover and come back. For now, just soak up the glory Rams fans……..the city of LA has another championship added to it’s mantle!

As for the telecast, the halftime show was amazing. All the performers were outstanding, however, it feels like they told Mary J Blige and Fity Cent they were performing two weeks ago, since it looked like the just emerged from months of Covid quarantine. The commercials though were very underwhelming. These companies that are blowing $8 million on a commercial are just giving us a celebrity love fest, or trying to tell us how exciting it is losing boat loads of money gambling or trading crypto currency.

I’m very tired of this exercise. You know, the one where we talk about the Lakers and how they can turn it around. Stop it. They can’t this season. The season is over. If the Lakers consistently played with the kind of effort they did on Saturday night in their loss to the Warriors, they could probably make the postseason and make a run. However, I have no reason to believe they can play with that kind of effort consistently. Frank Vogel said “we believe in this group” after the trade deadline. You sure Frank? Because apparently your players don’t seem to think so, which is more or less what Lebron and AD indicated before and after the deadline. This team is a sinking ship, taking on water from one part of the boat after another. You plug one hole and another one is created. They either can’t put enough quality defensive players on the floor around AD and Lebron, or if they do, they can’t put enough quality offensive players on the floor around them. Oh, but what about the buy out market? Yes, I’m sure free agents are just itching to play for a minimum contract, with a team that has multiple ball dominant players, with zero championship hopes. This was simply poor roster construction, and it’s not all because of Russell Westbrook’s play. It’s because of his contract.

It’s a shame that lost in the Laker troubles is the unbelievable play of Lebron James in year 19. Lebron became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Saturday night (combined playoffs and regular season). Imagine having scored more points in NBA history than anybody else, and scoring isn’t even your greatest skill set? Year 19, and he might even win the scoring title. I don’t care what you think of his politics. With 4 Championships with 3 different teams, 4 finals MVPs and 4 regular season MVPs, this man is making his case as the greatest player of all-time.

UCLA basketball took another L over the weekend, this time to cross-town rival USC. The Trojans always play with a chip on their shoulder against UCLA, which explained why amazingly, Mick Cronin has never beat them since he started coaching UCLA. You can pretty much kiss hopes of winning the Pac-12 good bye after that one. You can’t win a basketball game shooting 30% from the field. The Bruins also can’t overcome that when Johnny Juzang, Jules Bernard, and Jaime Jaquez aren’t in peak form. Jaquez needs to shut it down until his ankle gets better. They also haven’t been getting much in the past five games from Myles Johnson and Cody Riley, who represent the only size on the roster. Until their big three scorers get it going, the Bruins also need to stop relying on jumpers like they are the Golden State Warriors. It would also help if Mick Cronin didn’t throw his players under the bus like has the past few weeks. However, it was only two weeks ago that the Bruins were in peak form. There is still time to get it back as we saw last season when they struggled around the same time, yet made a run to the Final Four. Let’s just hope this team can get healthy and can make that kind of run again.

I don’t know about most of you complainers, but I love the Winter Olympics. All I’ve heard from you is how difficult it is to find the events, but all you have to do is watch NBC, USA, or Peacock. Yes we have to deal with the time difference, but so does the rest of the world when they watch all our sports so deal with it! I really don’t know how a lot of these snowboarders and skiers do what they are doing with their incredible acrobats. It must be that if you don’t die during the training for these events, you automatically qualify for the Olympics. I’m enjoying it, but I just wish that the NHL had sent their players to the Olympics to represent their countries, especially since the players love playing in it. I’m sure Canadians are ready to move continents after the US Men’s hockey team defeated Canada 4-2 the other day in pool play. I do also wish that NBC would stop focusing on the favorites that lost their events and them crying their hearts out, as opposed to the winners that are on the podium and enjoying their gold medals. We’ve seen repeated examples of this, which is just sad. The LA Times is guilty of this too. Rather than featuring a shot of the medal winners hugging and rolling around together in celebration (with an American included), they decided to show Jamie Anderson sitting in defeat. And on the following page, they show an American woman ice skater and go on about her “nerves” after she lost to an incredible Russian skater.

Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer will not face any criminal charges after he was being investigated for sexual assault last year. Much of the discussion that has occurred after that has revolved around whether or not he should pitch for the Dodgers again. In fact, Bill Plaschke of the LA Times suggested he shouldn’t, while many readers wrote letters telling Bill he is a hypocrite, comparing him to Kobe, who everyone embraced after his sexual assault charge in 2003. First of all, this is entirely a moot point, because Bauer is going to be suspended by the MLB, and very likely for 1-2 years. Second of all, Bauer shouldn’t pitch for the Dodgers again because of all the other baggage he brings aside from this. This wasn’t a one time incident. He’s got lots of baggage, the Dodgers knew this was a risk when they signed him, and it was a risk that ultimately backfired on them. That situation can’t really be compared to Kobe, who did not have a questionable past, prior to the incident in Colorado. For those reasons, as well as the fact that Bauer’s teammates have written him off, he should not be allowed to pitch for the Dodgers again.

February 7, 2022

We’re just 6 days away from Super Bowl LVI kicking off at SoFi Stadium. The Rams might be favored against the Bengals, but it amazes me that everyone is discounting Cincinnati. I’ve heard so many of you saying “Is Joe Burrow really ready for this?” Guys….he’s in the Super Bowl. He’s defeated the top 2 seeds on the road…..he’s for real. The Bengals have a ton of offensive weapons on the perimeter, where Jalen Ramsey can’t cover them all. They also have a very underrated defense that has been making plays. This is going to be a razor close game, but I like the Rams because they have the pass rush that can give Burrow hell, and they should have an easier time running the ball than they did against the 49ers. Ultimately though, it’s going to come down to which Matthew Stafford the Rams get. If it’s the one we’ve seen throughout this years playoffs, the Rams should be Super Bowl Champions.

Meanwhile, Tom Brady made it official, he retired last week. Poor Jim Gray, 24 hours earlier he had Tom Brady on his podcast, and couldn’t even get a straight answer out of him. As if things aren’t bad enough for Gray with that gigantic forehead of his. For years though, I maintained that Joe Montana was the GOAT, since even in the twilight of his career, he took the Chiefs to the AFC Championship. However, I have to admit…..it’s Brady. He not only won 7 rings, but won with two different teams, and in many years did not have great talent around him. He also repeatedly defeated a guy who was one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, Payton Manning. Plus think about this: Tom Brady’s daughter has held Super Bowl Trophy more times in the last 20 years than the Cowboys have won playoff games.

To the NBA, where the Lakers scrapped a victory together on Saturday against the Knicks, but this team is still very much a disaster. At this point Russell Westbrook needs to be arrested for his play. How many jumpers do we have to see him clank off the side of the backboard? For a while on Saturday night, I couldn’t tell who the Lakers were trying to get fired: Frank Vogel or Tom Thibodeau. Mark Jackson also said on the broadcast that was one of the worst stretches the Lakers have played all season. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t seen nearly enough games, because they’ve looked even worse. The fact Lebron and AD are playing as well as they are (when healthy) and the fact this team is two games under .500 at the same time, shows you just how much Russell Westbrook and the lack of defense is destroying their value. It’s a phenomenon I’m not sure I have seen before. There is no trade out there that will fix this right now by the deadline on Thursday. At best, this team will be lucky to get out of the play-in tournament, and then get punished in the first round by Phoenix or Golden State. Then Rob Pelinka and Frank Vogel will have to see if one or both of them will take the fall.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are still treading water and playing hard. They also acquired two quality players from the Blazers in Robert Covington and Norman Powell. That move will not only help keep them alive this year, but also could pay dividends next year with a healthy Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. However, the real story out of Clipper-land this week was Jerry West publicly saying how the Lakers revoked his lifetime season tickets, and that the Lakers now treat him “like trash”. It amazes me that this relationship deteriorated the way it did, but if you look deep enough, you can see why. Jeanie Buss has always loved and adored Phil Jackson, who she was once engaged to. Phil Jackson and Jerry West do not like each other. That hatred started in the early 2000’s, and eventually led to Jerry leaving the Lakers. Naturally, Jeanie was always going to have her opinion of Jerry colored by whatever Phil had to say. It probably also explains why she didn’t bring back Jerry West in any capacity in the last few years when she had a chance to. I imagine that Jeanie probably wanted to stick it to Jerry too when he decided to work for the Clippers. It’s sad that one of the greats in franchise history has had his relationship with the Lakers completely dislocated. I sure hope that at some point, they can make nice, but I have my doubts this will happen anytime soon.

The USC Football team got some big news last week: Quarterback Kaleb Williams is transferring from Oklahoma. What the hell took so long? Williams and Lincoln Riley must think we are all idiots, claiming that they have had no contact with each other since Riley left the Sooners program. Did you really expect us to believe that Williams was going to go to UCLA and play for Chip Kelly? Especially after Jaxton Dart transferred? This definitely makes USC a lot better. They still have a lot of work to do to get back to where people expect them to be. Apparently the Trojans will have to deal with another issue with Williams though, after some sorority girls at OU outed him upon hearing that he was transfering.

Dear UCLA Basketball: please do not play like you played on Saturday during the month of March. Please do not behave like you did on Thursday night against Arizona. That was one embarrassing week. To be fair to Mac Etienne, Arizona fans should be given a life time prison sentence for some of the things we’ve seen them do and say over the years. Sometimes we forget that these are just teenagers that are growing up. Etienne is a kid who made a mistake when he spit in the face of Arizona fans, and he will learn from it.

Finally, I really believe that this season of The Bachelor would get back to what made the show entertaining and an enjoyable train wreck to watch. However, it just hasn’t been that way. Instead, we’ve been listening to grown women fight about shrimp, while our expectations for Clayton as a Bachelor are falling faster than our expectations of the Lakers. I’m actually convinced that Clayton’s either dumb as a ROCK to give Shanae a rose or the producers have held his entire family hostage and this is the only way to get them back. Clayton has more chemistry with Clarence than all of these girls combined. Given how this season is going though, I have my doubts they end up together.

January 31, 2022

The Rams are going to the Super Bowl! Yesterday’s NFC Championship showdown with the 49ers was a game that up until the final minute, I never really thought they were going to win. No matter how much of a bum Jimmy Garoppolo is, they always come up with big play after big play, and they always seem to get the breaks. It felt that way for 3.5 quarters yesterday, until the Rams rallied in the 4th quarter. I’ve gotta give Sean McVay and his squad credit for bearing down and playing tough against a gritty, and very physical football team. However, I do think Sean McVay with his challenge flags has become the drunk guy at the bar that needs to be cut off. He must also be getting terrible insight from his coordinators in the booth. Matthew Stafford deserves all the credit in the world for delivering on the big stage, when nobody believed he could do it, just because he once wore a Detroit Lions jersey. It was also impressive how the entire roster contributed in that win, especially for a team that is typically dependent on it’s stars. There’s plenty of time ahead to break down the matchup with the Bengals, which won’t be easy by the way. As for the fans though, I can tell you after attending yesterday’s game, a 60-40 split in favor of the 49er fans was accurate. It doesn’t matter though. Half of those 49er fans are going to flip to Rams fans the next time those teams play!

Meanwhile in the AFC Title Game, everyone should have known that the Bengals were gonna win when Joe Burrow walked in the building like he was Leonardo DiCaprio about to claim a couple of Oscars. The Bengals completely stunned the Chiefs in the 2nd half, rallying from a 21-3 deficit to advance to the Super Bowl. There’s also no question the NFL fans across Twitter couldn’t have been happier that Brittany Matthews and Jackson Mahomes were eliminated from the playoffs as well. The Chiefs were looking unstoppable for weeks, then their offense completely stalled in the 2nd half. It was like they went back to being the Chiefs of the first 5 games of the season. Meanwhile, the Bengals look like the have the pieces to become the NFL’s next dynasty for the next 5 years. I’m also pretty sure their fans are going to be selling their houses to afford Super Bowl tickets because they haven’t been to the playoffs in 30 years.

This Tom Brady retirement story is hilarious. Everybody is so desperate to be first on a story, they fail to consider the consequences of being inaccurate. Tom Brady is probably retiring, but he wants to control the narrative, and wants the news to come out on his own terms. I can’t wait until Brady comes back and win comeback player of the year in 2022. Then again, Gisele is probably going to win this battle in that household, and finally get him to retire, which she’s been trying to do for years.

On to some topics that are not as enjoyable to discuss these days like the Lakers. I don’t want to hear this crap that Anthony Davis is back and looks like 2020 AD. I don’t want to hear it because Lebron went out of the lineup the next night, and so did AD against Charlotte. The team can’t stay healthy, and even when they are healthy, they stink. We’re more than 50 games into the season. This is what it is, and there is no trade out there that is going to fix this by the trade deadline. I’m also beginning to think that Frank Vogel could murder someone in the middle of broad daylight, and that the Lakers wouldn’t fire him. I’m actually ok with it, because none of this is his fault. Sure a lot of you are hanging your hats on the fact “nobody wants to see the Lakers in the postseason.” That’s cool and all until things keep going the way they are and nobody actually sees the Lakers in the postseason.

On the other hand, you’ve gotta give the Clippers credit. They have been completely undermanned all season long, yet they are the 7th seed in the West. It’s really amazing how many games you can win just by playing hard. Of course it also helps when the Washington Wizards are willing to hand over a 35-point lead and give away games, but they are where they are because they have consistently given maximum effort. That alone looks like it will get them in the play-in tournament. Whether or not they become sellers at the deadline will tell you everything you need to know about how they feel about a potential return of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George this season. I have my doubts either will come back, but come mid-February, you will get your answer.

UCLA B-Ball is finally looking like they are back in rhythm. The Bruins took care of #3 Arizona at home last week, and then took down Stanford over the weekend while shorthanded. Do you realize that the Bruins are +1500 to win the National Title? Since I’m assuming that not all of you that read this column are degenerate gamblers, that means that if you bet $100 you win $1500. That is basically saying that the Bruins are the 15th best team in the country. I think the Bruins are no worse than a top 5 team, and probably even higher than that, which gives them a real shot at winning the National Title. Everyone is also loving the energy Jake Kyman is bringing off the bench. When this kid gets in the game, he is making the most of it, and now everyone wants to “feed the Keaster!”

January 24, 2022

The Rams probably didn’t deserve to win that game yesterday with how they played that 4th quarter. However, Matthew Stafford came up big when they needed it most. The final minute of the game. That was nearly a devastating loss, and the way it would have happened seemed so predictable with Tom Brady on the other side. Sometimes it feels like Brady inevitably gets every break in these games. It’s like he has a lifetime contract with the devil. Yet Stafford made incredible plays that yes, Jared Goff couldn’t make. How the heck did Cooper Kupp get so wide open? He’s only the best receiver in the NFL. It was domination for 3 quarters, but the Rams were very lucky to hold on and win. Now they get their arch rivals at home in the NFC Championship, the San Francisco 49ers. There’s not a team I would rather see less. Kyle Shanahan has Sean McVay’s number, as the Niners have won six straight against the Rams. The Rams can’t seem to run the ball against these guys, and the Niners dominate the line of scrimmage. That can’t happen next week. However, it’s really the Rams passing game that can exploit a beat up San Francisco secondary. This is going to be a tough task to beat San Francisco, but you would think the Rams are due for a win against them.

Elsewhere around the divisional weekend of the NFL, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen were human video games last night. It’s a shame that one of them had to lose. You know you are fast when you are Tyreek Hill, and you are hitting defenders with the peace sign before running by them into the end zone for a late touchdown. One of the best football games I had seen since the previous three the playoffs gave us. Meanwhile, we all thought that Aaron Rodgers had a shot, but it wasn’t the first time this year he fooled us. It’s pretty wild that with natural immunity he couldn’t get any protection against the 49ers. In all seriousness, it’s really not that surprising the Packers lost to the 49ers, given that they never handle business at home in the playoffs. Their special teams play was historically bad. Aaron Rodgers has a plan and will likely leave the Packers now. As for the Bengals and Titans, Ryan Tannehill turned into Miami Dolphin Tannehill at a bad time for Tennessee. Funny because Tannehill is who everybody thinks Kirk Cousins is. Neither can get you a Super Bowl though. However, if the Titans had just run the ball more in the 4th, they probably would have won that game by 10 points. The Bengals are a young and dangerous team though, and could easily beat the Chiefs next week on the road.

To the NBA where you should probably just stop watching the Lakers right now if you care about your mental health. This team is so aggravating to watch, and losing to a shorthanded Miami team yesterday provided more of that. I’m also very annoyed at all the talk that Frank Vogel is on the verge of getting fired. Vogel coached up one of the best defenses in the league for the last two years. Now suddenly he just can’t coach defense? He’s been saddled with an old team that doesn’t want to play hard defensively. Anthony Davis is at least close to coming back, but unless AD turns into his 2020 version, this team is toast.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are at a serious cross roads in their season with some decisions to make. They have lost 6 of their last 10 games and slipped to ninth in the Western Conference. However, the worst part is that Paul George may not return this season, and Kawhi Leonard may not want to either if George is done. For that reason, they may want to consider trading off spare parts like Marcus Morris or Ivica Zubac for some draft picks. I’m sure they’d love to do what Golden State did last year when Klay was hurt, so They can get a high draft pick. However, they can’t really do the same thing the Warriors did because they don’t have a lottery pick since they traded everything for Paul George. However, nobody would blame them for waiving the white flag on the season.

UCLA Basketball looks extremely rusty after having about a month off. They’ve fallen to #9 because the voters forgot about them. Their lineup is in flux because of injuries and illnesses, and the Bruins’ keep hunting for reliable production from their big men. Cody Riley still doesn’t look like himself, and Myles Johnson doesn’t look ready for prime time. They managed to get by Utah on the road Saturday, and their fans will be coming back to Pauley Pavilion tomorrow night to cheer the team on against Arizona. The Bruins are just a game back, but with all the injuries impacting their depth a wing, and the lack of rhythm, I’m not sure how ready they will be to match up with the #3 Wildcats come tomorrow night. At least they are back on the floor with fans.

We are exactly halfway through the NHL season, and the LA Kings have quietly climbed their way to 2nd place in the Pacific Division. I feel like Rob Blake must be reading Jock Talk LA, because their rise in the standings has coincided with the fact I urged them to start playing all the blue chip prospects they have at the NHL level. The Kings got a nice win yesterday against the Devils after getting beaten by the the elite Lightning and Avalanche earlier in the week. Not sure why everybody is making a big deal out of the the Lightning beating the Kings while shorthanded, while the Kings have been forever shorthanded with Rob Blake as their GM.

The MLB lockout is still going, but there’s a lot of noise around what the Dodgers could do when they can start signing players again. I’m not sure if people realize this, but after Corey Seager and Max Scherzer departed, the Dodgers have money to spend like you have when you get all those gift cards from Christmas. Plus, according to Dodger Insider David Vassegh, Clayton Kershaw is expected to return, and the Dodgers are strong contenders for the services of Freddie Freeman, and even yes……Carlos Correa. If they were to sign Freeman or Correa, no matter how much you hate Correa, they might be even better than last year. Congratulations to Brandon Gomes as well, who was just promoted to General Manager. Gomes isn’t that far removed from being a big league player, when he pitched for the Rays in 2012. I’m curious though if Andrew Friedman will have the computer tell Gomes what to do like he does with Dave Roberts.

Finally, congratulations to Taco Bell for coming to their senses and finally bringing back the Mexican Pizza. I haven’t seen a debacle like this since the last time the Chargers played football. I’m sure they just got tired of answering those questions on the corporate Twitter account, but it’s coming back in the spring. The Mexican Pizza is considered by many to be one of the most reliable and consistent parts of their childhood, if you are of a certain generation. This was all apparently due to environmental concerns with the packaging but this is 2022, there is packaging out there you can find that can still be environmentally responsible. Now if only McDonald’s would bring back the snack wraps.

January 17, 2022

Welcome to the MLK edition of Monday Morning Coffee!  We start with some NFL Football, where the Cowboys collapsed like they usually do in playoffs yesterday.  Nice work Mike McCarthy.  That was the most Mike McCarthy way to lose a game.  Meanwhile the Eagles will probably now ask the Sixers to include Jalen Hurts in any Ben Simmons trade given how awful he looked.  Travis Kelce looked like a better quarterback than Big Ben, as the Chiefs dismantled the Steelers.   The Bengals took down the Raiders, but the referees were a disaster, and are going to have to polish off their LinkedIn profiles.  Josh Allen went into beast mode for the Bills, and did everything he can to send Bill Belichik into retirement.  I’m sure Bill has thought about those New Years resolutions by now.

Meanwhile the Rams and Cardinals will go at it tonight at SOFI.  I think it’s total crap that this game is on Monday, because the winner will be at a disadvantage on a short week.  However, if the Rams do win tonight, they should feel good about the fact they won’t have to go to Green Bay next week, since the 49ers took care of the Cowboys.  As for tonight though, the pressure is on Matt Stafford to take care of the ball, and perform.  Jared Goff would win this game.   Jared Goff got the Rams to the Super Bowl and almost won.  Matt Stafford was brought here to take the Rams to the next level, so a first round loss would be considered a failure.  Other than that no pressure at all.

To the NBA where the Lakers are still a disaster in every way.  We’re halfway through the season.  This team is what they are: old and mediocre.  I think Russell Westbrook is the first player to actually be able to stop both Anthony David and Lebron James.   He’s that bad of a fit!  Now there’s talk about Myles Turner or Jerami Grant being traded to the Lakers.  Neither one of those guys will move the needle and make the Lakers good enough to be true title contenders.  Especially not for the cost to acquire them.  I also keep hearing about a lack of effort.  That may be the case in some instances, but this team isn’t even that good when they have been healthy.  Don’t be fooled.   Effort or no effort, this team doesn’t have the depth, or the defense to be what we thought they would be.

So the Bruins made the ridiculous decision to extend Chip Kelly’s contract. Don’t you just love this country? You can fail upwards and make millions of dollars. In this case, this is nothing but a bad marriage on both sides between two people that looked around and couldn’t do any better. Martin Jarmond apparently does not have UCLA Football on his priority list. This is still very much a basketball school.

Speaking of basketball, UCLA Basketball is finally back in action after some trouble with COVID. However, the Bruin defense got gashed by Oregon last week. I’m going to chalk this one up being a little rusty and not playing some elite level competition for some time. However, the Bruins are still pretty damn good, and they’ve shown it against some elite competition already this season. It’s also nice to see Peyton Watson getting some more playing time and starting to look like a real contributor.

Leave it to the LA Times to take a story about the National Championship game and turn it into some homer piece about USC Football. What a joke….”this could be us?” We get it, USC has the potential to become a powerhouse again with Lincoln Riley coaching them. However, there is a lot of work to do before that happens. In fact, they should probably start by locking up a quarterback. I’m not sure what the hell is taking Celeb Williams so long to make a decision since he’s boys with Lincoln Riley.

January 10, 2022

That Rams game yesterday was a total disaster. When this team plays teams that are more physical than them, they suddenly turn into Anthony Davis. Yesterday was especially disastrous because they blew a 17-0 lead and had the chance to knock out the 49ers from the NFC Playoffs, while getting the #2 seed. Now they will likely have to go through Green Bay or San Francisco if they want to get to the Super Bowl, which won’t be very easy for them. The 49ers have their number, and Aaron Rodgers has Matt Stafford’s number. The Rams also are extremely dependent on their stars. If the stars don’t make the big plays like yesterday, it won’t happen. Jalen Ramsey can’t make up for the rest of the flawed secondary. Aaron Donald can’t make up for the rest of the flawed d-line. Cooper Kupp and OBJ can catch anything, but the running game is inconsistent. Matt Stafford can make some amazing throws, but when he’s bad, he’s awful and can cost you a game. It’s these type of flaws that make me think this isn’t a Super Bowl contender, even though I think they can get by the Cardinals next week at home.

Then there’s the Chargers, who missed the playoffs after losing to the Raiders. This is extremely on-brand for this team. The way it happened wasn’t typical Chargers, but the final outcome was. There’s no excuse for the Bolts to give up 35 points to an undermanned and under coached Raiders team. The defense totally let them down. The Raider were just happy to be in this situation, but they managed to do the unthinkable and win. Justin Herbert is incredible, but even his 4th quarter heroics weren’t enough. That’s probably because Brandon Staley was out here pretending like he’s playing Madden with the playoffs on the line. The reason the Chargers converted so many 4th downs is because they stunk on 3rd down, and have stunk all season on 3rd down. The Raiders probably would have settled for the tie if the Chargers had not called timeout towards the end of OT. Still, the concept of playing for a tie intentionally on both sides was one of the dumbest sports stories I’ve heard in a while. These are division rivals that are playing to win. In the end, the Chargers are gonna Charger.

Elsewhere around Week 18 of the NFL, the Colts went from a team that nobody wants to play in the playoffs, to a team that nobody will be seeing in the playoffs. The Antonio Brown situation is so fascinating because the man has a complete lack of self-awareness. There’s so many idiotic things you can call out, it’s like going trick or treating and getting good candy at every house you go to. The Vikings are money when the games are completely meaningless. Even Big Ben has to be shocked that the Steelers made the playoffs. The Lions actually beat the Packers, and even though the game was meaningless, if you lose to the Lions you should be kicked out of the league.

Just when you thought the Lakers were turning it around they reminded us last night that there are still problems. They may have won 4 in a row prior to getting owned by the Grizzlies, but they were mostly against crummy teams. Lebron is balling, but the team has too many needs. More defense, a true center, more wings, better rebounding, and fewer turnovers. It’s also safe to say that Russell Westbrook is a terrible fit, and they are likely to just be stuck with him for a while.

Meanwhile, the Clippers have to be pumped up. They are hanging in the playoff race, and they just got news that Kawhi Leonard’s rehab is going ahead of schedule, and that he’s looking likely to return this year. That makes the Clips pretty dangerous given how they are playing already without their stars. The Clips also must be hoping that somebody will donate their elbow to Paul George, so they can get him back in the lineup as well.

We are in January and we still have no idea what’s up with Chip Kelly and UCLA. It’s getting extremely awkward, because there is no extension in place, and if there isn’t, should both sides just agree to part ways with one another? We know it’s certainly what the Bruin fans want. There are some interesting names in the transfer portal that might help Chip Kelly’s cause in the short-term if he can land one or two, but I’m not so optimistic. This could be a great chance for UCLA to start fresh, because most likely, next year won’t be great with or without Kelly.

Finally, The Bachelor is truly back to it’s roots. Clayton Echard is The Bachelor this season. 30 women are so fed up with online dating that they are going to humiliate themselves on National TV by chasing a middle class dude from Missouri. How about Sally, who said she was supposed to get married on the day she started the show. Hopefully the producers of the show got her a really good therapist. Clayton and Jesse Palmer look exactly alike. I’m surprised they didn’t do their alumni handshake. It’s like they were fraternity brothers shaking hands at a tailgate. Seeing the two of them on screen was like the real -life Spiderman meme. The show is ridiculous, but it might actually bring back ratings.

January 3, 2022

Happy New Year everyone! The Rams started off 2022 nicely with a clutch road win against the Ravens. This game made me nervous as hell as to what bad Matthew Stafford could look like come playoff time, especially in the first half. However, Stafford made some clutch throws late in the game to both Cooper Kupp and OBJ to secure the win. I was beginning to wonder if Justin Tucker was going to break the Rams hearts with a field goal from the parking lot to win the game, but the defense came up big when it mattered. Just curious, but has the acquisition of OBJ still hurt the Rams locker room like everybody said it would? He’s been great, and so has Sean McVay in figuring out how to maximize his effectiveness in the offense. OBJ looks like he’s having a great time out there too. Getting Cam Akers back is going to be huge. Now the Rams just need to figure out how to avoid the 49ers in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Chargers dismantled the Broncos at SOFI. The Bolts just overwhelmed the Broncos with their skill. Justin Herbert and Austin Ekeler put on a show, which they desperately needed. Now comes a massive showdown with the Raiders for the right to go to the playoffs on Sunday Night Football. Make no mistake about it: The Chargers SHOULD win this game against the Raiders. They have more talent, the Raiders are outmanned, and they have an interim head coach who is probably still trying to find the playbook. Then again, this is the Chargers we are talking about, and it’s a big game. So for all the logic that suggests they should win, I can easily see a scenario where they blow it.

Elsewhere around the NFL in week 17, the Bucs rallied to beat the Jets, but Antonio Brown quit the NFL in the middle of the game. That’s the kind of thing you do when you find out you won the lottery at work. He’ll probably be fighting Jake Paul in an Octagon in six months. Joe Burrow has suddenly turned into Peyton Manning overnight, and the Bengals took down the Chiefs. The Bills clinched a playoff spot with their win over the Falcons, and Bills Mafia is celebrating by jumping off of more tables at tailgates. The Titans dismantled the Dolphins to take over the top spot in the AFC, and Miami is probably ready to send every 1st round pick they own for the next decade to Houston for DeShaun Watson. The Eagles took down Washington, and Jalen Hurts almost got sacked right after the game, but managed to avoid that too.

To the NBA, where the Lakers climbed back to .500 last night with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The good news is that Lebron is in beast mode and everybody got tacos last night. The bad news is that this team is struggling just to beat terrible teams, and they are so bad defensively, they can’t stop a parked car. DeAndre Jordan is completely useless and should we waived immediately. As good as Rondo was two seasons ago, his time has passed, and I’m glad that they opened a roster spot for Stanley Johnson by trading Rondo. I would have liked to see more of an investment in Darren Collison, but after he was inactive last night, it looks like they are ready to part ways with him. He was quite a player when he was last in the league, and there are still signs he can get some of that back for a team that is starving for the qualify defense he can bring. Then there’s Anthony Davis. The Lakers are going nowhere unless he gets healthy, and gets back to 2020 AD. I also think that Lebron needs to take the same approach that Kobe took with Pau 10 years ago. He got to be tough on him, Pau toughened up, and they won a title. Lebron is capable of doing the same, and desperately needs to right now.

It’s amazing how many games you can win in the NBA just by playing hard on a nightly basis. That’s exactly what the Clippers are doing without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clips found a way to beat the Nets the other night on the road without their stars, and they are clinging to the 5th seed in the West. With the Clippers playing hard, they are benefitting from many other teams that just can’t get their chemistry together, or that don’t play hard. Considering they play the T-Wolves tonight who are on a back-to-back, they have a great chance to keep the winning going.

I cannot believe that the Holiday Bowl ended up getting cancelled. Yes, I realize that COVID-19 is a problem. However, regardless of your feelings on COVID, it’s probably not going away any time soon, and we’re not going to shut everything down again because of COVID. So why couldn’t UCLA, NC State, and the Holiday Bowl figure out a way to reschedule this game? These teams have been practicing for a month. You’re telling me they couldn’t have just waited another week and stayed another week in CA to play what would likely be the last football game for many of these Seniors? It’s not like these kids have school to go back to the first week of January. As usual, the administrators that run these Universities have very little imagination and brain power.

Finally, congratulations to Alabama and Georgia for making it to the CFP National Championship Game. This game is basically going to be a Trump Rally to start 2022. Where are all the people to tell us that Cincinnati and Michigan don’t belong in the playoff and that they belong in a women’s league instead? Oh that’s right, people only do that with Notre Dame because they hate Notre Dame. Of course, leave it to those same people to pile on after the Irish lost a close one to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. All those same idiots are forgetting that the Irish played without their starting running back, starting safety, and that their head coach left three weeks ago. Still, they almost beat Mike Gundy’s best team he’s ever had at OK State. One thing you can count on: Notre Dame will continue to live rent free in the heads of many of these fools that call them “overrated”.