November 1, 2021

Things might actually be looking up for the Lakers.  It’s sort of like when you feel bad about yourself, but then there’s always that friend you can talk to that’s living a miserable life and complaining all the time so you feel way better about yourself.  That’s how it feels with the Lakers right now.  After last night’s win over Houston, they’ve won 4 of their past 5 games.  They may be against crummy teams, but that’s ok because they need to bank wins right now while they iron out their chemistry.  The same can’t be said for teams like the Nets and Bucks, who are supposed to be title contenders, but they are struggling to start the season as well.  Kevin Durant is throwing the ball into the stands in frustration, while Kyrie Irving acts like he’s solving some type of world peace by not getting vaccinated.  It’s that type of circus that actually makes the Lakers look semi-normal.  Russell Westbrook is slowly getting more comfortable, but more than anything, the Lakers just need to get healthy and stay healthy.  That will make us feel much better about things. 

Meanwhile, the Clippers are just 1-4 and they are looking for offense the way Kawhi Leonard looks for chicken wings everyday. There’s nobody on the team that is proving reliable offensively other than Paul George. They’ve been held to under 100 points in consecutive games for the first time in 41 games. At this point without Kawhi, I don’t know what is considered success for this team. Is it just staying within striking distance of a playoff spot? Or is it actually being in a playoff spot? Whichever one it is, they need to start getting some wins or else Kawhi might as well take the rest of the season off.

To the NFL, where the Rams destroyed the Texans yesterday, and moved into a 1st place tie with the Arizona Cardinals. It turns out that Sean McVay doesn’t actually hate Robert Woods after all, and is suddenly finding creative ways to use him in the offense again. The Rams must have been drinking in that fourth quarter though, because they gave up 22 unanswered points to the Texans, which was largely because of sloppy special teams play. I’m sure there were gamblers screaming at the top of their lungs when their parlays were wrecked because the Texans scored some garbage points. That’s the life of a gambler. The Rams are no doubt in the mix as one of the best in the NFC, but they’ve got stiff competition from the Bucs, Packers, and Cardinals right now. They’ll also get some stiff competition from the Titans next Sunday night at SOFI, who are a monster to deal with as well. However, reinforcements are on the way, with the Rams trading for Von Miller this morning. Von Miller, Aaron Donald, and Jalen Ramsey on the same defense? Yes please! I have no idea how the Rams still have any picks left to deal, but Les Snead is finding a way. The honeymoon part of the schedule is over, but the Rams should be up for the challenge.

As for the Chargers, they have turned back into the pumpkin we know them as. They lost at home to a very average Patriots team that simply outsmarted them. Now it suddenly feels like teams are starting to figure out Justin Herbert, and it’s costing the Bolts on third downs. Herbert and the coaching staff will need to figure out how to adjust to defenses moving forward, especially as they take away the deep threat, and are content to just give up yards on the ground. This wasn’t some late game choke job like we’ve been seeing over the years, but with the Chiefs struggles right now, the Bolts are blowing a huge opportunity to seize control of the AFC West.

Elsewhere around the NFL in week 8, only Kirk Cousins could lose a game to Cooper Rush, as the Cowboys got by the Vikings on SNF. RIP to my fantasy team and yours if you have Derrick Henry, as well as the Titans season. AJ Green decided to retire on the last play of the game vs the Packers in the Cardinals loss on TNF. The Bengals should be demoted to the CFL after losing to the Jets. Baker Mayfield and the Browns broke Odell Beckham Jr. No wonder the Bears are losing, Justin Fields is out here wearing thong under wear.

USC took down Arizona on Saturday afternoon in a meaningless homecoming game that I’m not sure anybody actually watched. However, the story of the week is the fact Mike Tomlin’s name came up regarding the Trojan head coaching vacancy. Tomlin then scolded reporters like they were 5 years old when he got asked about it. I’m kind of hoping that LSU or USC step up and double his current salary so he has to go back to his wife and explain why he is turning down a college job, especially since he claimed “there is no blank check big enough” to get him to leave the Steelers. I don’t see Mike Tomlin leaving, but the story is pretty hilarious, and so was his reaction. I still think when it’s all said and done, USC is going to be James Franklin’s job, or Luke Fickell’s.

Finally, they still let Chip Kelly coach football? Haven’t we seen enough of this madness already? This is the best product we’ve seen from Chip Kelly at UCLA, and it’s still terrible. In a year where he has plenty of experienced players that he recruited, and where USC is down, they can’t even seize control of the Pac-12 South. They give you moments of optimism, followed by moments where they just look completely unprepared. That’s exactly how it looked over the weekend against Utah. That’s a team they should have handled, and instead they got run over by Utah’s running game. This program might as well be burning money with what they are paying Chip Kelly to lose football games for them. At this point, it looks like the best you’re going to get out of Chip Kelly is an appearance in The Jimmy Kimmel Bowl.

October 25, 2021

I’m so thankful that Max Scherzer saved his arm for game 7. I’m glad he’ll be nice and rested for that. Oh wait, there will be no game 7! In all seriousness though, the Dodgers were a team that just ran out of depth and ran out of gas. The pitchers looked exhausted from trying to catch the Giants and beating them in a grueling five game series. The offense could never find it’s groove, hitting just .244 with runners in scoring position. The injuries eventually caught up with them. There were plenty of terrible decisions Andrew Friedman’s computer forced Dave Roberts to make, but ultimately, they lost because they didn’t hit when it mattered. It’s the all or nothing home run or die approach that has been a problem for this team for a while now. It’s that approach will needs a bit of re-evaluation, but I doubt you’ll see it. It’s a disappointing end to the season, but it’s better that they lost to the Braves than than to the Giants, or an Astros team they would have been outmanned against. Now comes a potentially dreadful off-season, where five key free agents need to be re-signed. I would love to see all of them come back, but I have my doubts they all will, unless a few are willing take a discount.

I’m not going to sugar coat this one: The Lakers look like garbage to start the season. They were also fortunate Lebron avoided a catastrophic injury. Even with the win last night against Memphis, their offense is totally out of sync at times and completely disjointed. Their defense is now tanking like Joe Biden’s approval rating. Yes it’s early, but they didn’t even look competitive against the Suns, and the Warriors are already lighting them up without Klay. If this team is really the championship contender they say they are, they have a ton of work to do before it happens. Russell Westbrook played better last night, but looks completely awkward at times in this offense. I don’t know who Austin Reaves is, but he needs to play more minutes. My biggest fear is really that if things continue to go south, Frank Vogel will take the blame for it, and he could get canned. That would be terrible because the Lakers really lucked out when they hired him, and ended up with a pretty damn good coach. The schedule is soft, so if they don’t bank those wins now, it’s only going to get much worse, which is a huge concern. THT, Kendrick Nunn, Trevor Ariza, and Wayne Ellington can’t get back on the floor soon enough.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are off to a slow start after losing to both the Warriors and the Grizzlies. Paul George is actually doing his part so far, so I can’t really bring the jokes at him like I usually do, but nobody else is really earning their paycheck so far. They’ll get the Blazers tonight, who haven’t exactly been tearing it up in their first two games either, with losses to the Warriors and Kings. If the Clips are going to stay afloat without Kawai, they are going to need Marcus Morris, Terrance Mann, and Luke Kennard to step it up. Mann has the potential to do some special things at times, but Morris and Kennard are being paid for who knows what at this point given their inconsistent production. Of course Ty Lue says he expected a slow start to slow everyone’s roll on expectations, but that’s tough to do when you’re trying to hang in the Western Conference.

To the NFL, where the Rams got by the Lions yesterday at SOFI Stadium. This game was nearly Jared Goff’s revenge, but the Rams pulled it off. I’m not sure whether to look at this as just a Sunday where they took the Lions lightly, or if there is more to be concerned about. The Lions did take advantage of the Rams on special teams with opportunistic, “smoke and mirrors” type plays. However, we may not know for sure until they play the 49ers in a few weeks, because right now their schedule is softer than tissue paper. Cooper Kupp is still a monster though, and making me think that he’s the best receiver in the NFL more and more every week. That had to have been Jared Goff’s worst nightmare, getting smashed by Aaron Donald and throwing an interception to Jalen Ramsey.

Elsewhere around Week 8, Derrick Henry is throwing more touchdown passes these days than New York Jets QB’s, as the Titans dismantled the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes just hasn’t been the same since that engagement photo was taken. The Chiefs are in last in the AFC West, The Bengals are in 1st in the AFC North, and the Cardinals are still undefeated. Is this a simulation? The Dolphins are now just 1-6, and massage therapists all over Miami are trembling at the thought of DeShaun Watson getting traded there. Sam Darnold must miss his days a a member of the Jets, because he’s suddenly playing like he’s their starting QB again. The Raiders suddenly look a lot better without Jon Gruden coaching them, Tom Brady is still putting up video game numbers, and the Colts suddenly remember how to win football games again.

That was a predictable outcome with USC getting blown out by Notre Dame in South Bend on Sunday. If only Brian Kelly would stop playing musical quarterbacks, the Irish might actually get to that elite level. As for USC, I feel like every week we’re just watching the same undisciplined Trojan team take the field, and look completely unstructured. It makes everyone ask themselves who they want as the next head coach, and James Franklin seems to be the favorite to win the job. However, after watching Penn State’s offense over the weekend struggle with lowly Illinois, I’m not sure how fired up people are going to be about bringing that offense to USC.

Meanwhile, UCLA blew a great opportunity to give themselves credibility with a win against Oregon. It was a close game, but Chip Kelly could have validated himself and his success this season with a win. That wasn’t the case though, as Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Bruin offense just couldn’t make enough big plays when it mattered. On the bright side though, UCLA still has a chance to meet Oregon again in the conference title game, which could actually give them a shot at the Rose Bowl. They’ll need ASU to lose a game or two, but if the Bruins show up every week, which is a big if and all, they could have a nice finish to the season.

Finally, I was told that the LA Kings were going to be much improved this year. Their 1-3-1 record so far suggests that I was lied to. Now they might be without their star defenseman Drew Doughty for a period of time. On one hand I’m happy to see that they are finally putting some of their kids in the lineup like Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, and Tobias Bjornfot. However, it’s obvious now this is going to take time to see which prospects can play right now and which can’t. Through five games, they are already trending toward the bottom third of the league in goals allowed. They also seem to be allergic to hitting people these days. It’s like we’re watching the 1990’s LA Kings all over again. Right now this still feels like a painful rebuild from hell, but here’s to hoping it’s just early.

October 18, 2021

The Dodgers are down 0-2 in the NLCS against the Braves, and you can thank that to all the over-managing Andrew Friedman is doing. I feel terrible for Dave Roberts, since all these idiots out there think he is the one making these ridiculous decisions. Why did the computer put Julio Urias out there and why does the computer think it has to use every single damn player on the roster in these games? The Braves are a good team, but nobody has beaten the Dodgers like they have beaten themselves in these first two games. The offense has been horribly inconsistent, and they’ve had numerous opportunities to put these games away, yet they haven’t. They are just 1-15 in the series with runners in scoring position. I sure hope the Boys in Blue plan on sweeping these middle three games of the series at home and not get cute, because this Braves team isn’t going to let the Dodgers come back on them again if they go up 3-1 this year.

Before we jump to the NFL, let’s look back at their series against the Giants. Honestly, do you really think any Dodger fan cares about the fact people are focusing on a blown check swing call that was the final play of the series? Before you become prisoner of the moment remember: THE DODGERS WERE CHEATED OUT OF A WORLD SERIES TITLE BY THE ASTROS. Who cares about a check swing? It’s a shame people are talking about that instead of how great of a series it was. But if you’re still stuck on the check swing, if you were paying attention, the entire series had poor calls around check swings and poor calls all around. The Dodgers are also doing this without Max Muncy, Clayton Kershaw, and Dustin May, so I have no sympathy for the Giants, who got every break in the book to get to this point in the season. They had a great season, but the Dodgers made just a couple of more plays to get by them. As for the rivalry, it just felt so personal. Bay Area folks thinks LA is soft. LA folks think the Bay Area should shut up and keep living with their 12 roommates and collecting their $800K salaries from Google while living paycheck to paycheck.

To the NFL where the Rams dismantled the New York Giants yesterday in the Big Apple. Cooper Kupp looks like the best receiver in the NFL, and Matthew Stafford continues to look solid in Sean McVay’s system. However, McVay thumbed his nose at the win, citing that the offense started too slow. That may be true, but it’s an east coast game at 10:00 am PST, which is when most of these guys would be just coming out of their pajamas if they were at home. It was really nice to see the defense return to form though, because the last few weeks the Rams defense has been pretty average. The good news is the schedule is soft for a few weeks so they can keep banking wins while fine tuning the offense. The bad news is that the Arizona Cardinals are a house of fire and won’t stop kicking the crap out of teams. There’s time to get it together before they meet again. In the meantime, Matt Stafford is out here throwing no-look passes like he’s Magic Johnson.

As for the Chargers, they got smoked by the Ravens in Baltimore. I knew the Bolts might have a hard time stopping the run, but Lamar Jackson and the Ravens run game made them look like high school tacklers. The Charger receivers were also dropping balls like it was New Years Eve. It wasn’t their night and makes you second guess if they really are among the cream of the crop in the AFC. Nevertheless, the rest of their schedule lights up from here, with a game against New England coming up. What was extra weird about this one was seeing Justin Herbert struggle. I’m not even sure that’s ever happened in his NFL career, but it’s also tough to put up numbers when the other team dominates you on time of possession all day. For now, let’s just chalk this one up to a tough day, while there are likely much better days ahead for this squad.

Elsewhere around the NFL in Week 6, they found Jon Gruden on emails talking like he was playing Call of Duty against a teenager, so the Raiders fired him and then they went out and beat the Broncos. The Chiefs beat the Washington Football Team, and leaked emails showed that Andy Reid has 10,000 Grubhub receipts from the last decade. The Jaguars got by the Dolphins in London, and not only do we send crappy teams overseas, but we also send crappy referees. They might as well give Aaron Rodgers the keys to the city of Chicago, because he still owns the Bears as he shouted in the Packers win over the Bears. The Bengals beat the Lions, and Detroit is wondering if they can return Jared Goff to the Rams like a Macy’s department store. The Colts beat up the Texans, and Houston is probably wondering why TY Hilton finally played like he was 10 years younger against only them. The Cowboys outlasted the Patriots, and Jerry Jones celebrated by basically making out with his son. As for Thursday Night Football, the Bucs had more trouble with jersey swaps than playing against the Eagles.

To College Football where USC had a bye, but UCLA picked up another win, this time on the road against Washington. They are now 5-2 and 3-1 in the PAC-12. For a second there it felt like the Bruins were doing everything they could to give that game away and let the Huskies back in it. Thank God Dorian Thompson-Robinson decided to show up in the final quarter to help put the game away. I really have no idea what we will get on a game-to-game basis with DTR and Chip Kelly. Now here comes #9 Oregon. If Chip Kelly really wants to make something out of this season, he’s gotta win that game, and he needs DTR to come up big. I’m skeptical they can do it, but if there’s any hope left to winning the Pac-12 South and going to the Rose Bowl, this is where it has to happen. Plus, there has to some extra motivation for Chip against Oregon right? Right? Maybe that’s just wishful thinking at this point.

Finally, the NBA season gets underway on Tuesday, and the Lakers will get things going by hosting the Warriors. However, I’m not so sure they will really get things going because they have looked like crap in the early going. They don’t sound concerned about going 0-6 in the pre-season, but I’m even more concerned about it when I listen to the players talk. They all sound like they realize it’s going to take time to sort out chemistry and get on the same page. I get that, but the Lakers also had a bunch of new players during the 2019-2020 season, and it didn’t top them from coming out hot and eventually winning a Championship. These guys sound more like they are ready for an afternoon nap rather than an NBA season. There’s also the mounting injuries that are occurring to every good wing the Lakers have. They might want to consider bringing in Avery Bradley for the time being, who was waived by the Warriors. As part of the deal though, Bradley should have to stay in a 3-star Orlando hotel for 3 months since he bailed on the Lakers when they were in the bubble.

Finally, the Clippers are also gearing up for the season as well. They’ll open the season on the road against the Warriors on Thursday. It’s going to be up to Paul George, Marcus Morris, and Terrance Mann to carry the load with Kawhi out for a while. I’m sure the Clippers are feverishly trying to unload a can of coke and a bag of Dorritos for John Wall, but I don’t think the Rockets are into the idea of taking back Luke Kennard. Wall would definitely make the Clippers interesting, but for now, it doesn’t look like that’s happening. In any case, this team is still good enough to stay afloat in the West.

October 11, 2021

The Dodger offense gives us more ups and downs than riding a bunch of roller coasters and Six Flags Magic Mountain. They responded on Saturday night with a Championship level performance, blowing out the Giants 9-2, and tying the NLDS Series 1-1. This series is an absolute coin flip. Max Scherzer going in game 3 against Alex Wood feels like a huge advantage, but we said the same thing a few weeks ago when Walker Buehler was on the mound, and we thought the Dodgers were gonna take the division. It would really help if Cody Bellinger turned into at least half the player he was two years ago. He finally showed flashes of it on Saturday, but the Boys in Blue will need more from him if they expect to win this series. Prior to that, I don’t know who was worse: Bellinger or Joe West? This is a classic series that may very well go five games, and whoever wins will probably win the World Series. Buckle up Dodger fans!

To the NBA, where the Lakers are just a week away from starting the season. It’s good to see Anthony Davis healthy for now, but Russell Westbrook looks like he hasn’t touched a basketball in months. Trevor Ariza probably won’t either now that he’s out for the next 8 weeks with a foot injury. I don’t love to put a lot of stock in preseason results, but it sure would be nice if the Lakers found the win column a little more often. They sure don’t seem concerned, but maybe it’s just the fact I am still traumatized by the win-less pre-season back in 2012, when the Kobe-Nash-Gasol-Dwight Howard team didn’t live up to expectations. Speaking of Pau, he deserves a big time congratulations on a fantastic career after he announced his retirement. This guy is one of the greatest European players in NBA history, and also among the greatest big men in Laker history. He resurrected the Lakers in the 2nd half of the Kobe era, and made watching the team fun again.

To the NFL, where the Rams rebounded nicely against the Seahawks on Thursday night. They also took Russell Wilson’s finger in the process, like we were watching “The Blair Witch Project”. I’d really like to see the Rams involve Robert Woods more, as they did on Thursday night. He’s another huge weapon, but Matt Stafford ignores him sometimes like he’s some crazy ex-girlfriend. The schedule is looking great for the Rams though for the next 4 weeks. They’ve got an amazing opportunity to seize the division, so they should take every advantage of it.

Only the Browns could lose a game in which they scored 40 points and had 500+ yards, and 0 turnovers. The Chargers were the beneficiaries, improving to 4-1 on the season. Justin Herbert and Austin Ekeler look like they are playing in the arena league right now with the stats the are putting up, and the Bolts are looking pretty good. The only game the Chargers have lost was to a Cowboys team that is pretty good. The Bolts look like a playoff team right now, but I’m not counting out Kansas City just yet. The Chiefs have too much talent to think they aren’t going to get their act together at some point.

Elsewhere around the NFL in Week 5, England has said that if we ever send the Jets and Falcons to play there again, they will consider it an act of terror and declare war against the United States. Mason Crosby was kicking like he was drunk, but he came through in OT to help the Packers beat the Bengals. The Chiefs lost to the Bills, and you know that always means Patrick Mahomes fiancé is complaining about the refs. The Bears beat up on the Raiders, then the Raider fans beat up on each other. The Jaguars lost to the Titans, and Urban Meyer’s wife is about to enter the transfer portal.

To the College ranks where the Trojans got embarrassed by Utah on Saturday at home. USC and penalties. Name a more iconic duo…..I’ll wait. This team is a disaster and it’s probably a good thing because it’s exposing everything they need a quality coach to fix. Also, you have to wonder about Urban Meyer, and if he’s doing everything in his power to try and get out of the job in Jacksonville. Even if that’s true though, you have to wonder even more if the administration would hire him with all the controversy he brings to the table. This is one I’m keeping an eye on.

I’m also keeping an eye on the ups and downs of the UCLA Bruins. UCLA went on the road and smoked Arizona, and I still have no idea who this team is. They stink one week, and then they can look elite in another. I’m not so sure that’s acceptable because this is about as good as it’s going to get for Chip Kelly, with so many experienced kids at his disposal. I still think his biggest problem though is at quarterback, where Dorian Thompson-Robinson is the symbol of these week-to-week ups and downs. That mediocre development is largely on Kelly though. DTR was not great over the weekend, but it didn’t matter because the Bruins ran the hell out of the ball. We’ll see which Bruins team shows up next week at Washington.

Finally, nice episode of The Walking Dead last night on AMC. Spoiler alert for those of you who haven’t seen it and want to watch it later. Pope’s death definitely took me by surprise. Even more surprising was seeing Leah do it, and then seeing her turn on Daryl. Maybe it was the fact that Daryl sliced up one of her brothers like some sashimi that turned her. I bet most of you also missed the fact that one of the Reaper’s named “Deavor”, was on both “The Bold and The Beautiful” and “All My Children.” We’re a third of the way through the final season, and it’s actually been pretty good. I’m looking forward to seeing this show come back in February. It might not be with all the characters we wanted, but they’ve done a decent job re-inventing the show.

October 4, 2021

I don’t even know where to begin in this disappointing weekend. Let’s start with the Dodgers. I’m completely sick over Clayton Kershaw’s injury, and the fact he might be done for the season, let alone maybe done as a Dodger. As for the division, the Dodgers had their chances to overtake the Giants. They blew it in multiple head-to-head games that could have made up the one game difference. Since acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner though, the Dodgers have gone 43-13, yet they only gained one game on the Giants. Only six teams have had a stretch like that over the last decade. That’s how good the Giants have been this season, and also how good the Dodgers have been despite all the injuries. The Cardinals have been so hot, I’m nervous as hell for Wednesdays game. Even if the Dodgers are lucky enough to survive, I can’t say I feel great about a 5-game series against the Giants without home field advantage. Not to mention, they probably will be without Max Muncy for all that as well. Dodger fans can’t possibly tell you that they are confident going into this week. If they are, they are lying like a politician.

Before I get to football, I’ve gotta mention the Angels. Arte Moreno has been put on notice by Joe Maddon and Shohei Ohtani. First Maddon said he needs reinforcements, and then Ohtani suggested he would go elsewhere when he’s a free agent unless the team improves. Given that the team’s minor league operations have not significantly improved since the reports have come out criticizing Moreno, I can’t say I’m all that confident he’s going to respond to the criticism by improving the team. There might be plenty of pitching available this off-season, but I don’t see the Halos outbidding their competitors for it. I’m not sure how embarrassed Arte has to be to take action, but nothing has seem to make him change his behavior so far. I have no reason to believe yet that this will be any different.

To the NFL, where the Rams just got dismantled by the Cardinals yesterday at Sofi Stadium. I think we better slam the brakes on all that talk of the Rams being the best team in football, because they aren’t even the best team in their division anymore. Matthew Stafford looked completely average, Sean McVay was out-coached, and the defense got completely dominated by Kyler Murray. I’m not sure what to make of the Rams yet, but we don’t have much time to think about it because they play Seattle on Thursday night on the road. Hopefully Stafford and the Rams can turn it around quickly, or else they’ll have an uphill battle in the NFC West very quickly.

The Chargers and Raiders are going at it tonight at Sofi Stadium. I have the privilege of being able to attend the game tonight, but I’m sure we’re all thinking the same thing. How many Raider fans are going to be in attendance compared to the Charger fans? We already know more Raider fans are in LA, than any other place, so we can only assume tonight is going to be ridiculous with Raider Nation. Are there actually any Charger fans in LA? I doubt it, but I’m sure all 5 of them will be in attendance tonight.

Elsewhere around week 4 of the NFL, the Jets have actually won a football game. Please find a bomb shelter immediately. This is not a drill. The world is about to end. Tom Brady didn’t cook the Patriots like I thought he would, but he still played well enough to beat his former team. The real story though was Bill Belichick actually using a pencil as a toothpick on the sideline. The Colts destroyed the Dolphins, while Jacoby Brissett was busy destroying IPads on the sidelines. Even the Bears couldn’t even lose to the Lions, as pathetic as both teams are. Patrick Mahomes was playing PlayStation out there with 5 TD’s in the Chiefs win over the Eagles. And the Seahawks let Russ Cook and and that’s exactly what he did to the 49ers in Seattle’s win over San Francisco.

So USC obliterated Colorado over the weekend, but that’s really not the story. It’s the latest buzz around the coaching search. Luke Fickell’s name has been hot, but now rumors are he won’t want to move to the west coast. If USC can find a way to land him, or James Franklin, they should be ecstatic. However, neither seem like a slam dunk to make the move west, especially given the success they are having with their current programs. Cincinnati may very well end up in the CFB Playoff this year. Penn State has built themselves a hell of a program. Living in LA may be not as glamorous as it used to. We’ll find out soon enough. On the field, let’s be honest…..none of this really matters. The team will only go so far without a real caoch.

Finally, what the hell happened to UCLA on Saturday against ASU? There’s a level of consistency that this team just hasn’t been able to achieve under Chip Kelly. They were consistent for about 2 weeks. Then they looked like the same Bruins we’ve seen for the last few years under Kelly. This time the defense let them down. They were lifeless in the 2nd half, and that tells me Kelly is just not making adjustments. So much for thinking this team might be one of the better ones in the Pac-12.

That was a big time statement win by the Rams yesterday at SOFI over the Bucs. Matt Stafford continues to look amazing in Sean McVay’s offense, and the defense kept delivering big hit after big hit. Tom Brady hasn’t taken that kind of punishment since Gisele scolded him for not taking out the trash. 3-0 is a very nice start for this team, but one that I’m not terribly surprised at. This team is very good. Whether or not they are a Super Bowl team might depend on whether they can get home field in the playoffs, in a wildly competitive NFC, especially NFC West. I’m sure come November, the Bucs are going to be a lot better as well, and in the mix for home field too. For now, the Rams biggest concern should be San Francisco, who has owned them for the last few years. They won’t have to play them until November, and now the Cardinals and Seahawks are up next.

The Chargers really almost found a way to blow it against the Chiefs.  It turns out Brandon Staley  is actually a mad man, opting to go for a touchdown on 4th down, instead of running the clock down and trying a game winning field goal.  Maybe nobody told him he was playing against Patrick Mahomes.  To be fair though, it’s a bottom line business, he took a gamble, and it paid off.  Of course the Chargers missed that PAT.  Where do the Bolts find these kickers? It’s like they only want to sign kickers who suck.   Justin Herbert is on his way to being a star, and for now, the Bolts are an opportunistic 2-1.  Some of the close games are going their way, but the fact the Chiefs lost the turnover battle 4-0 yet were in it until the last play suggests they might be the better team in the long run.

Elsewhere around week 3 in the NFL, I think I want to see the Raiders and Broncos play a few more games before declaring them elite. They are each 3-0, but the teams they have beaten are a combined 0-9! Cliff Kingsbury thinks he’s playing PlayStation and is attempting 68 yard field goals in the Cardinals win over the Jags.  Only the Lions would lose a game on a 66 yard field goal that bounces in. Ryan Tannehill remembered how to play quarterback in the Titans win over Colts.  Big Ben suddenly has a wet noodle as a throwing arm, as the Steelers got pounded by the Bengals. I guess Aaron Rodgers also isn’t mailing it in anymore, since the Packers took down the 49ers yesterday.

To college football, where USC got dismantled by Oregon State over the weekend.  The last time the Trojans lost to the Beavers at home, JFK was hooking up with Marilyn Monroe.  Donte Williams should probably start cleaning up his LinkedIn profile for his next gig after a blowout like that.  This was another game where the Trojans had way more talent than their opponent, yet they made their opponent look like an NFL team.   That’s how important coaching is in college football, and there is none at USC.  There’s also no tackling, no discipline, and Kedon Slovis is nothing close to a Heisman Trophy candidate that people thought he was.  The good news is that barely anybody was at the Coliseum to watch it, and that will probably be the case for the rest of the season

The Bruins got back in the win column with a win over Stanford.   I don’t know if I would call this an impressive win, but you’ve gotta give Dorian Thompson-Robinson credit for being tough and coming back after a shoulder injury.  He came up with a big 75 yard TD pass.  It still feels like Bruin fans are stinging from their loss to Fresno State last week.  However, they still have a great chance to be an elite Pac-12 Team.  We’ll see if Chip Kelly lives up to thatnhype because this is his last chance as far as most UCLA fans are concerned.

Elsewhere around college football, Notre Dame crushed Wisconsin at Soldier Field.  Brian Kelly became the winningest coach in school History for the Irish, and for him to don it in a game where he needed his backup QB is the most Brian Kelly thing ever.   6 other ranked teams lost, so it’s going to be fun pretending like it’s wide open and someone other than Alabama will win the title this year.  Clemson lost to NC State, and their CFP chances lasted about as long as the rap career of Vanilla Ice.  I think it’s been all downhill for the Tigers since Dabo appeared on Tik Tok.  

Let’s be real….the Dodgers aren’t winning the division.  They had their chances but the Giants win more often than Andrew Friedman updates his computer software.  However, now they should be worried because the St Louis Cardinals might never lose again.  They are hotter than the sun, running away with the 2nd wild card spot in the NL, and suddenly pitching like Greg Maddux is on the mound for them every night.  Meanwhile, the Dodgers offense can disappear on any given night, and so can their defense, which happened over the weekend.  Now their pitching looks vulnerable too, with Scherzer, Buehler, and Kershaw getting knocked around like bowling pins in their last few starts.  Dodger fans might as well be preparing for imminent doom, because most of us can see how this season ends.

Finally for the the Angels, the last few weeks they’ve been fielding a lineup of Uber drivers and Shohei Ohtani.  Joe Maddon basically called out Perry Minasian and Arte Moreno for not spending money on pitching in a very tactful way last week.  However, pitching isn’t all they need.  They need their highest paid players like Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Justin Upton, to be healthy and playing at an elite level.  They don’t have enough depth for them not to be.  There is pitching available this off-season, but I still don’t believe the Angels can outspend teams to get it.  They’ll need to get creative or else it will be rinse and repeat for another year.

September 20, 2021

Everyone’s goal in life should be to find someone that looks at you the way that Matt Stafford looks at Cooper Kupp. Kupp came up with 163 yards receiving and two huge touchdowns, in yesterday’s big road win against the Colts. It was also a small coming out party for Sony Michel, who picked up 46 yards late in the game. There are few things that are certain in life: death, taxes, and Daryl Henderson getting injured. That definitely explains why the Rams gave up picks to get Michel, who stepped in nicely for Henderson. Two weeks in and two nice wins for the Rams. Next week will be tough against the Bucs, who have been tearing up the NFL themselves.

Then there’s the Chargers. The referees clearly didn’t do them any favors yesterday, but some things still haven’t changed. The Chargers still can’t seem to get it done in close games, and their home games are largely attended by the opposing teams fans. Not even a new stadium can stop that from happening. You would think Clay Helton was coaching the Bolts yesterday with all the penalties that were taken. Even Lebron and Magic probably went to that game yesterday to see the Cowboys, rather than to see the Chargers play. It’s a whole new season with a whole new stadium, but nothing feels like it’s changed.

Elsewhere around the NFL, the Steelers were as terrible as their towels in their loss to the Raiders yesterday. Lamar Jackson put the Chiefs defenders on ice skates, in the Ravens win over KC. Baker Mayfield and the Browns are really good, and Mayfield hasn’t even started grabbing his crotch yet this season. Zach Wilson had more turnovers than Betty Crocker in the Patriots beat down of the Jets. The 49ers beat the Eagles in a game that was sloppier than a happy hour with the Kardashians. The Bucs dismantled the Falcons, and Tom Brady continues to just give the middle finger to Father Time.

To the College ranks, where it’s safe to say it was an eventful week for USC Football. The Trojans shocked the world by firing Clay Helton after the Stanford game. It remains to be seen if this was just a publicity stunt to appease the fan base, or if they really plan on getting serious about winning again. If James Franklin, Luke Fickell, or Matt Campbell ends up as the next coach, they are serious. If not, they are still the same underachieving program of the last decade. On the field though a win over Washington State isn’t anything to make you want to go party on fraternity row. However, the Trojans might have a QB controversy on their hands. Jaxson Dart looked damn good, and it makes you wonder if he’s the best quarterback on the team right now, given the ineptitude of the previous coaching staff. Plus if nothing else, Jason Dart sounds like a great QB name. Only time will tell, but it seems like Dart might get another chance next week against Oregon State.

As for UCLA, they came crashing back to earth on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins lost to Fresno State late in the 4th, and they looked about as prepared as I am to date Jennifer Aniston. The defense was simply not there. The offense was unable to execute. For a team that beat “the mighty LSU” this was a trap game they badly fell into. I don’t know about you, but Chip Kelly suddenly looks like the same scrub coach he’s been for the last few years. There’s still time, and Fresno State might even be solid, but Bruins fans can’t be nearly as optimistic about this team as they were a week ago.

The Dodgers have only 12 games left in the regular season, but they still trail the Giants by one game in the NL West. The good news for LA is that Clayton Kershaw is back, and he looks great. The bad news is that the Padres are sinking like the Titanic, so they might not be able to help the Dodgers catch the Giants like we thought they might. It’s ridiculous though that Giants broadcaster Dave Fleming was talking smack on the Dodger pitchers, suggesting that the foreign substance crackdown has harmed the LA pitching staff. That’s simply an ignorant take since the Dodger pitchers are statistically far superior to the Giants pitchers. Then again it’s the Giants, so why should we be surprised? Here’s to hoping the Dodgers can stick it to Flemming and the Giants before the season is over.

The Clippers had an adorable ceremony to celebrate the ground breaking of their new Intuit Arena. It should open in 2024-2025, and Steve Ballmer is hyping up the fact there are more bathrooms in this arena than any other. That’s really not a selling point Steve, unless the bathrooms are symbolic of all the toilet bowl worthy playoff performances we’ve seen from the Clips. On the court though, the Clippers are rumored to be pursuing John Wall. Wall is a distressed asset, who would actually be a nice addition for anybody. He’s expensive, but he can still play. I have a hard time seeing anybody come up with matching salaries to make a trade for him though.

Finally, The Walking Dead went down on AMC last night. Name a more cheesy video than the Commonwealth introduction clip. I’ll wait. It had some real “Lost” Dharma Initiative vibes. Aaron basically turned into Shane right there and lost his mind. Herschel almost being the same damn age as Judith makes no freaking sense. That one Hilltop walker has some gorgeous looking hair. It’s so perfect. Makes me think someone in the apocalypse is styling the hair of walkers. Where did Heath go after all this time? Does anybody remember him? I would ask the same thing about Connie, but AMC spilled the beans that we’re going to see her next week. There’s a weird almost sexual tension between Negan and Maggie. Looking forward to the last three episodes of this year!

September 13, 2021

It’s only one game, but that’s exactly how I expected the Rams to look in their season opener against the Bears. It turns out Matthew Stafford might actually be a lot better at this football thing than you thought he was, now that he has receivers, a good defense, and an elite coach I’m a little unconvinced of the effectiveness of their run game long-term, but they’ve got time to figure that out. That NBC Broadcast got a little awkward when Al Michaels incorrectly identified a woman as “Matt Stafford’s wife”. Meanwhile, I’m not so sure how badly the Bears offense needs to look for them to start Justin Fields. He’s clearly the QB with the higher ceiling, who gives them a better chance to win now.

Meanwhile, the Chargers did not look like the Chargers yesterday, and that was a good thing. That was a game that the Bolts would almost always lose in previous seasons, but Justin Herbert stepped up. So did Austin Ekeler, and I love the fact he has a complete love affair with his fantasy football owners. It’s such a strong affair, it’s awkwardly better than many people’s marriages. The Bolts have lost so many of these close games in seasons past, it feels like they have to have some positive regression to the mean. Yesterday was a good start, and Brandon Staley may be the guy to finally turn that around.

Elsewhere around the NFL, Dak Prescott was great, but Tom Brady, Gronk, and Antonio Brown played like it was 2012 in the Bucs win over the Cowboys. Bills Mafia is probably going to be jumping off bridges instead of on tables after their loss to the Steelers. The Browns turned back into the Browns late in the game in their loss to Kansas City. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers looked like clowns against the Saints, after a whole off-season of noise. The Texans don’t even know how to tank after beating up on the Jags.

To the college ranks where all you people calling for the firing of Clay Helton after USC lost to Stanford are hilarious. It’s like you have been asleep at the wheel for the last 6 years, pretending like Pete Carol still coaches this team. Saturday’s result was no surprise for those of us that have been paying attention. The USC administration isn’t prioritizing football like you think they should be. They just wanted a coach like Helton who can be under their thumb. If you are delusional like Bill Plaschke of the LA Times, you think SC is going to fire Helton before the season ends. Think again. He’s not getting fired until the school gets serious about winning again. Until then, expect more losses to Chardonnay drinking nerds like Stanford.

Elsewhere around College Football, Notre Dame barely survived against Toledo. Even Touchdown Jesus was covering his eyes for the majority of that sloppy game. The Irish victory against FSU a week earlier sounded impressive until the Seminoles lost to Jacksonville State on a last minute miracle. Oregon shocked Ohio State, and I’m pretty sure the Buckeyes were going to lose when this happened.

To baseball where the Dodgers swept away the Padres over the weekend, but it looks like they have no chance to catch the Giants with 18 games left in the regular season. On one hand, I respect the idea of the Dodgers keeping dudes like Will Smith and Corey Seager fresh for the playoffs and not burning them out in September. On the other hand, we need to see a lot less of Cody Bellinger before this dudes confidence is shattered like a beer mug at fraternity happy hour. At this point, even if the Dodgers brought up a minor leaguer hitting .220, he would be more productive offensively than Bellinger. If the last week has shown anything, it’s that this team is capable of exploding offensively at any time, or forgetting how to hit entirely with their swing for the fences approach. That’s a scary thought with a one game wild card on the horizon. Max Scherzer is somehow even better than Trevor Bauer though, and may just be all the magic the Dodgers need in October.

The Lakers traded Marc Gasol last week, which was really a bummer. I liked Gasol because he could stretch the floor, unlike DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard. However, the real issue with trading him is that the team doesn’t really have much salary to move in future trades, and even fewer draft picks I trust Rob Pelinka and all, but hopefully the Lakers don’t need any tweaks during the season, because their tool box is pretty limited.

Finally, the Walking Dead went down last night on AMC in another episode that really “caught fire” by the end of it. I think most of us were rather pleased that the dog survived so we didn’t have to show up at the AMC studios with pitch forks and tiki torches in protest. Why is it always Daryl who ends up getting taken prisoner? The better question is who will end up with final custody of that dog? It should be Daryl when its over. Every time a missing character returns, you can always count on them being a part of the villain group. Carol would probably have shown Leah the flowers at this point. Pope is one scary villain. He’s not Negan with Lucille or Alpha, but if you are BBQ’ing dudes in a fire, you’re pretty scary.

September 6, 2021

The Lakers must be determined to sign every player they struck out on in free agency in the last decade. Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, and now DeAndre Jordan. I’ve been happy with all the signings to this point, except for DJ. DJ is an aging player with fading athleticism, an outdated skill set, at an outdated position. His free throw shooting is also so bad, he makes Shaq look like Rick Barry from the charity stripe. I’d much rather see the Lakers split their center minutes between Dwight and Marc Gasol, who can at least stretch the floor with his shooting. This is really starting to play out like the script of an Expendables movie.

To College Football where USC was in typical season opener form on Saturday at the Coliseum. I haven’t seen a season opener that bad since last year. Or the year before that. Or the four years before that! They found the win column against a lowly San Jose State team, but it was pathetic. Six straight years of this rinse and repeat Clay Helton nonsense. The offense is a mess, the o-line can’t protect anything, and the play calling has no imagination. I’m beginning to think Helton could get away with sending e-blasts with porn content throughout the University, and they still wouldn’t fire him. That seems to be how low football is on the priority list at USC. The good news (or maybe bad depending on your perspective) is that Stanford is coming to town next week and those Chardonnay drinking nerds aren’t very good at football right now.

Meanwhile, UCLA looked the best we’ve seen in years in a huge win over LSU. It’s been four years of hate on Chip Kelly, and rightfully so. The Bruins looked like they were playing a high school team with a high school size crowd last week vs Hawaii, so I wasn’t sold yet. Now they’ve got my attention. The running game is solid, the defense is making plays, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson is suddenly playing better. I still don’t know how good this team can be, but thus far, they are making me think they can contend for a conference title. That would be a miraculous turnaround, but let’s see if this is the same elite looking team that shows up against Fresno State, and the same Chip Kelly that suddenly remembers how to coach for the first time in 10 years.

Nice win by Notre Dame yesterday vs Florida State. Jack Coan looks like much more than a capable successor to Ian Book. However, the story that made headlines afterward was Brian Kelly making a joke by saying he’s a fan of execution and maybe his entire team needs to be executed. Of course the Twitter police was out in full force ready to arrest him for this comment. Those people definitely need their lives re-examined if they are offended by what he said. I think it’s safe to say the delivery of the joke could have been much more polished, and was rather poor, but what kind of idiot thinks that Kelly meant he was going to kill those kids?

Walker Buehler picked a bad day to forget how to pitch. Buehler didn’t have it yesterday, while Max Muncy and Chris Taylor didn’t have it all weekend. The Dodgers dropped 2 of 3 and now trail the Giants by a game with 25 to go. The Dodgers and Giants are going to go down to the final games of the regular season to decide the NL West. It’s somewhat of a shame these two rivals aren’t going to play again during the regular season. I say somewhat because these games have been stressful. So stressful, there’s probably not even a software update for Andrew Friedman’s computer that can adapt to that stress. Despite losing two of three over the weekend, the fact the Dodgers are in this position is somewhat amazing. Cody Bellinger has been awful, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Corey Seager, and Mookie Betts have been injured. Trevor Bauer has been an idiot. Now AJ Pollock is injured. That’s not easy to overcome, even for a team with a payroll as large as the Dodgers. The real shame though is that regardless of who wins the division, these two teams are likely to meet in a 5-game NLDS rather than a 7-game NLCS.

As for the Angels, all you need to know about them is that they started some dude named Jansen Junk yesterday. This is not surprising because the Angels have been starting junk on the mound for years! The Angels can stop pretending like they are in some kind of a pennant race anytime now, and officially shut down Mike Trout for the season. On the bright side, the Angels are getting a nice look at younger players like Brandon Marsh, who has been tearing it up lately. The Halos are going to need a lot more Brandon Marsh’s to develop to support their top heavy payroll.

Well here we are, just one week away from NFL Football. I fully expect the Rams to beat the hell out of the Bears next Sunday. The Bears offensive line is older than Joe Biden. The Rams defensive line is going to eat them alive, and Aaron Donald should have a field day. The Bears secondary could also easily get manhandled by the likes of Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Van Jefferson. If this doesn’t happen in the opener at Sofi Stadium, you should be supremely disappointed.

Then there’s the Chargers, who should be in for a battle with The Washington Football Team. Washington has one of the best defenses in football, and at 1:00 pm EST, the Bolts would rather be drinking coffee in their pajamas at that time. A year ago you might pencil this in as a win, but now this feels like a much improved Washington team, and a Charger team we still can’t trust in big games.

Finally, nice episode of The Walking Dead last night on AMC. PETA is probably going to come after the producers of the show once they saw that a horse was killed and the meat was fed to the people of Alexandria. Bet you’ll never look at horses the same. That last walker kill by Negan hit a little bit too close to home, and felt a lot like him murdering Glenn six years ago. Alden probably wanted to get left behind because hanging out with Negan and Maggie is like hanging out with your two divorced parents who still don’t get along to this day. The Reapers are creepy, the Commonwealth are weirdos, but they don’t creep me out as much as Alpha and the Whisperers. You think people were upset when Glenn died? If dog dies next week at the hands of the Reapers, people are going to show up with pitch forks and tiki torches at the AMC studios.

August 30, 2021

The Lakers are really taking this whole “bring the band back together” concept to the next level. They are about to sign Rajon Rondo this week after he was bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies. Some of you people were absolutely up in arms when Jared Dudley wasn’t going to be brought back and you claimed his leadership would be missed, so those of you can’t be complaining about this move. Rondo brings leadership, and might even be a slightly bigger contributor on the floor than Dudley at this point of his career. Can you guys imagine what Laker practice is going to be like with Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo going at each other? It’s going to be like the Taylor Swift vs Kanye West rivalry, but on a daily basis. There’s two roster spots left and I’m really hoping that Kevin Love is just patiently negotiating his way out of Cleveland, and will sign with the Lakers. If Blake Griffin can get his butt in shape after looking like he was done, then surely Kevin Love can coming back home to play in LA on a championship contending team.

To the NFL, where the Rams made an interesting trade last week, acquiring Sony Michel from the Patriots for a couple of draft picks. That move was interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, there are a number of free agent running backs that are sitting at home without a job. The Rams could have brought in Le’Veon Bell, but they probably thought he was fat. They could have brought in Todd Gurley, but he probably still has beef with Sean McVay. They probably could have brought in Adrian Peterson, but he’s older than the Dinosaurs that roamed the earth. Instead, the felt that Michel was a better fit for their offense, and would likely be motivated in a contract year. Second of all, this move speaks volumes about how they really feel about Daryl Henderson. At times, he appears to be a very explosive running back. However, he’s not very big and has some durability concerns as we see more of him. The Rams are going to miss Cam Akers, but this seems to be a good move to patch up their running game in the meantime.

As for the Chargers, they must be pumped up that they’ve gone through training camp without any injuries. This team has been so cursed the last few years, it feels like they need to put up a banner at Sofi Stadium for this accomplishment. That’s good news because the Bolts first three games of the season will be like trying to dance through a field of landmines. They have to go east to play a very improved Washington Football Team. They come home to play a Dallas Cowboy team that can put up a lot of points. Then they have to go to Kansas City to play against Patrick Mahomes, which is like having to go up against Jesus Christ. Could be a tough start for the Chargers.

To College Football, where most UCLA fans were ready for the Bruins to devastate them for the next three months. However, UCLA showed up in the first game, dismantling Hawaii 44-10. Really nice to see Chip Kelly decide to show up for this one given the enormous salary he is taking home. That $5 million per year he’s earning finally earned UCLA their first non-conference win. I’m clearly not the only one that is sick of Kelly, because if you looked at the stands on Saturday, it appears as though UCLA fans are social distancing themselves from Kelly and his team until they clean up their act consistently. The 32,000 fans were the 2nd lowest the Rose Bowl had seen since UCLA started playing their in 1982. I can’t blame them. It was nice to see the Bruins find the win column early, but I’m especially nervous for their matchup against LSU next week, and the fact that Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s play at Quarterback isn’t exactly inspiring.

In baseball, I don’t know what more the Dodgers can do to catch the Giants. They’ve been on fire the last month, yet they’ve barely shaved off a game and half from Giants’ division lead in the NL West. It’s obnoxious that the Dodgers can’t catch the Giants, but they shouldn’t be afraid of the Wild Card game. Yes, I know you’re all envisioning a 1-0 Wade Miley shutout at Dodger Stadium, with the Dodgers swinging for the fences on every pitch. However, I don’t see that happening. Of course anything can happen in one game, but the Dodgers have great pitching and a great lineup of their own to work with. If you get one game at home against the Red or even the Padres, they should win. I’m also beginning to wonder if Cody Bellinger is going to find himself on the bench pretty soon. Bellinger is still hitting well below the Mendoza line, and it’s only a matter of time before those analytics geeks start calling him the worst player in baseball. Since AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor have been phenomenal, and since Mookie Betts is back in the lineup, benching Belly until he figures things out is starting to make some sense.

As for the Angels, I don’t know who they think they are fooling. They should just do the smart thing and shut down Mike Trout for the season. It’s obvious that Trout hasn’t been able to get himself right from the calf injury that’s taken down most of his season. Trout claims he hasn’t given up on getting back in the lineup, but why? So he can come back and risk a much greater injury for a team that has no chance of making the playoffs? The guy should just spend the next couple of months getting his calf right to play next year. Imagine of Trout came back and something disastrous happening like tearing his Achilles. That would destroy the 2022 season even before the off-season starts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear Trout or Maddon feel this way at all, as both have suggested he’s coming back in September.

Finally, The Walking Dead was back on AMC last night and as I told you last week, I’m ready to finish strong until the end. Boy, things got awkward when Negan just left Maggie to die, yet she showed up five minutes later. I’ve seen some dark things on this show, but Gabe stabbing himself to prevent the feeling of pain of Walkers eating him is one of the worst things I’ve seen in a few years on this show. Amazing that Gabriel has reached the point of calling dudes cowards when his character began as somebody who was rolled up in the fetal position every time he saw a zombie. Good thing Eugene asked the Commonwealth about “process” since the last time he asked about it, the people at Terminus told him they were processing people as meat. “He’s a dick but he makes sense” is something Negan should print on a T-Shirt and start selling as an apocalyptic side hustle. Props to the writers of the show for adding some “Karen like” pop culture to the show with the line “we’d like to speak to the manager”. Maggie’s new character is becoming more and more unlikable with each passing episode. Heck, Negan seems like a better dude at this point that you can root for. Then again, most of you are just happy that the dog survived another episode. Looking forward to seeing what goes down next week.