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“LOTS OF TOPICS & THOUGHTS”
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Watching, following and sounding off.

PADRES DISAPPOINTMENTS…They continue…they wipe out all the good feeling from the weekend wins with the Dodgers by losing back to back to the last place Rockies…tons of men left on base..errors…streakiness in the bullpen…they come off the high of winning the Dodgers series to now falling 7-and-a half back of LA.

MANNY MACHADO…Does not look right at home plate…Maybe it is elbow related…maybe he needs to just be a DH and not force the issue to play 3B-constantly.  .but this is not vintage Manny (2-26)..1HR-in-91 at bats…and a (.226) average…just not the same player.

WALKER BUEHLER…This comeback takes time, especially since he did not pitch for 23-months…yes his velocity is there at times, but his secondary pitches have not been consistent…of course you have to be patient coming off Tommy John surgery…maybe pitching him once a week will allow for more recovery time.

RON WASHINGTON…Feel sorry for the Angels manager…manager of Team Utilityman…Look at the Angels roster…fringe players or young players everywhere…just a horrid way to run a franchise-Arte Moreno…this might be the worst team of all time dating back to their expansion seasons.

CHARGERS…Jim Harbaugh should be excited, he has a really good quarterback, his team drafted well, and they will play the 5th easiest schedule in the NFL.

LAKERS…Coaching search underway and the burning question..what kind of coach do you hire…somebody who is young…somebody with experience…do you want a hard nose leader who runs the lockeroom…is there a risk if you go young, LeBron and AD walk all over the coach..big challenge…the names are interesting..veteran Kenny Atkinson…former player Sam Cassell…ex player and media guy JJ Redick…who knows?

DENVER-MINNESOTA…A wild series with the real storyline how the big men have disappeared in certain games…crummy nights by Gobert-Towns and ditto the same with Jokic-Porter-Murray…could have been a great series but play has been so spotty.

KNICKS-PACERS…New York looked so tough as the playoffs started, then got people hurt, and now are in trouble…looks like Coach Tom Thibodeau is running out of options to find bodies…the Pacers played really well down the stretch and sure has firepower…would be a shocker if the Knicks cannot get bodies back on the floor.

CAITLIN CLARK…So much expected and not delivered…the Indiana Fever got buried by the Connecticut Sun…Clark seemed to have trouble with the speed of defenders and the physicality of the game….she shot (2-7)..had 2-fouls..and 5-turnovers…all in her first 15-minutes…the WNBA is a different world.

COLORADO AVALANCHE..Devastating week-losing these games to Dallas..then having their leading scorer Val Nichushkin leave with another drug relapse…he left the club in last year’s playoffs after an alcohol related incident in a hotel with a woman…and now this year’s positive drug test that has led to a 6-month suspension into next season…all while scoring 9-goals in the playoffs…a devastating blow

OILERS…NHL history shows you can ride a hot goaltender in the Stanley Cup playoffs…but history also shows you are in trouble if you don’t have goaltending, thus the crisis in Edmonton where the high scoring Oilers benched starter Stuart Skinner, when his save percentage cratered at (.793) a historically awful stat in postseason play.

BOB BAFFERT…He is back, so is his top 3-year old Muth, heading the Preakness at Pimlico. after bypassing the Kentucky Derby…yes that 3-horse photo finish at Churchill Downs was exciting, but Muth is better than any of those three at the finish line.

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