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“Dodgers Baseball-Why They Are-Where They Are”

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What doesn’t kill you-makes you stronger.

And so the Dodgers are headed to the World Series, beginning Tuesday in Boston against the 108-win Red Sox.

From a team that was (16-26) early in the season, way off the pace, they became this, a Fall Classic team for the second year in a row.

From a front office that kept trying to make deals to strengthen the club, the trading deadline deals pushed them into the postseason run, and games in late October.

Think back to any month on the calendar and understand how much trouble they were in.

Exit SS-Corey Seager with a torn elbow ligament, replaced by utility men. Enter Manny Machado, he of big bat, good glove-large ego and strong emotional personality.

Power hitting 3B-Justin Turner had the fractured wrist, and missed a lot early, then got nicked up again, but when it counted the most, he was there to deliver.

Pick a pitcher, and they were all on the disabled list at one time or another.

Clayton Kershaw, a future Hall of Famer, remade himself from power pitcher, to location left-hander, so impressive if not any longer dominant.

Hyun Jin Ryu spent almost a year rehabbing from surgeries, and got rolling at the right time. Rich Hill battled back from all those blisters, and was there when needed most.

Kenley Jansen’s story of heart arrhythmia is scary, but thru medication-dedication, he is back storming out of the bullpen, even though he knows once the series is over, he faces another heart procedure. Nerves of steel, health wise and in baseball too.

Even the kid pitcher Julio Urias, knocked down by shoulder capsule surgery, is back now serving a roll out of the bullpen.

And then there are the surprise guys. Matt Kemp came home and was hitting into the .330s the first half of the season, helping win games that were as important as any, as they team had them in their pocket when they made the run up the standings at the end.

Joc Pederson came back like no-one thought possible, playing lots, hitting 25-home runs in a big bounce back season.

Max Muncy, dumped by the A’s hit 35-home runs this year, playing multiple positions, having a season, no one thought possible.

Pedro Baez, facing extermination off the roster last year, found himself, finishing with an amazing sub 1.00-ERA the second half of the season, when they needed innings.

And the hot shot rookie Walker Beuhler has been big, dominant, giving you downright dimensions like a young Kershaw did years ago.

No one could have forecasted this. Not when Arizona threatened to run away with the race in spring. Not when Colorado surged into the lead late.

But the Dodgers came together, when every sign you saw could have meant the season falling apart.

For Dave Roberts, Andrew Friedman, and everyone of their execs in between, this has been a Dodger season with lots of chapters in the book.

The Dodgers earned this trip to Fenway Park, overcoming anything, and most everything.

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. The Dodgers have proven that.

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“NFL-What Can They Do?”

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That must have been some weekend for NFL Commisisoner Roger Goodell, spening Sunday, watching football in LA in a futbol stadium, as he took in the Chargers-Raiders game at the Stub Hub Center.

You know, the stadium that was over-run by fans wearing Silver & Black, some 85% of the fans in the stands were Raiders fans.

So this week, the story leaks, the NFL is worried about about the viability of the Spanos-owned Chargers in Los Angeles.

It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about image, and the black eye the NFL and Chargers ownership is getting, for their arrival, how they run the franchise, and the disdain they are held in, by the media, and the fans.

In a year and a half, we know a couple of certainties. The team made a terrible mistakes selling large blocks of tickets to brokers in LA, who promptly sell them to fans of the other teams.

We also know the ongoing hatred that exists to this day in San Diego, over the Spanos family leaving here to go there, in search of the huge money in that market.

Except the market doesn’t want them. And now this piece of reality, the Bolts are playing 16-road games a season.

Now the NFL owners, the ones who voted to okay the move to LA, are concerned.

Not that they give a bleep about the Spanos family, nor Philip Rivers, or wins and losses. They now know that the struggle to sell tickets in the new stadium they are moving into in 2020, means less of a cut of revenue for each of them in their respective cities.

The Chargers, desperate to sell any type of PSLs, have decided to chop prices on some 26,000-seats in the new Rams stadium in which they will be a tenant.

In doing so, it cuts projected new revenue from 400M to 150M. I don’t believe these fellow owners expected ‘rock bottom’ prices for a team they’d allow to move into the 2nd largest market in the country.

Fans can buy tickets priced from 50-dollars apiece up to 150-dollars apiece. But the seat license fee will be anywhere from 100-dollars on cheap seats, to 3,000 for good seats. The response has been lukewarm at best, compared to the hot ticket in town, that is the Rams.

Add in the arrival of LeBron James to Lakerland, and the Dodgers likelyheaded to another World Series, and the Chargers have a huge off-the radar issue, despite the heroics of Rivers and friends on the field.

If you subscribe to the theory, what ‘goes around-comes around’ then betrayed fans in San Diego are having fun watching all this unravel in Carson, and spill over like sewage at Park Avenue-New York, the NFL headquarters.

Could the NFL actually intervene, and do something about the stadium-ticket-credibility crisis Dean Spanos has orchestrated?

Could they send in new people to run the franchise, give it a fresh look?

Could they bring in execs to run the business side to give it credibility?

Are they willing to sit there and let this things fester, till an embarassed Spanos puts the franchise up for sale?

Would the league step in, remove the team from Los Angeles, and work to negate all the business contracts Spanos has signed in LA?

Would the league allow Spanos to say ‘I made a mistake’ , let me return to San Diego, with the promise of an apology, and the decision to reopen talks to build a new stadium in San Diego, with Spanos-NFL-City-County money?

If Spanos put the franchise up for sale, could the NFL help find an owner, with the proviso, it returns to San Diego, and the incoming owner helps fund a new football stadium?

It’s nice to float theories how the Chargers problems could be solved, but none of it would likely happen. I am sure a lot of fans in the 619-760-858 area codes would like to see a ‘total surrender’ from the Spanos family for what they did to the community.

And there’s another issue to be clarified. The estate tax the Spanos family may owe with Alex’s passing, or if not that, a tax that could be levied for Alex and Faye Spanos gifting their 36-% ownership into the family trust. The outcome of that is still to come.

The Joe Robbie family had to sell the Miami Dolphins, and the same with the Rankin Smith-Atlanta Falcons owned franchise.

In the modern day NFL, only 3-franchises have been forcibly removed from their ownership.

The most recent, the sudden sale of the Carolina Panthers, after longtime owner Jerry Richardson was implicated in a horrible sexual workplace harassment scandal.

Decades ago, the league forced Eagles owner Leonard Tose to sell the team, because of his implications in massive gambling debts.

And the legendary Super Bowl 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo was forced out in shame, for his part in a bribery scandal in the Louisiana governmental ranks.

The NFL has dealt with lots of ownership crisis before. They did not intercede.

Al Davis on going war in lawsuit after lawsuit with his move from Oakland to LA and back to the East Bay.

Ken Behring sold the Seahawks after a failed attempt to move them to Los Angeles.

The league allowed Georgia Frontiere to keep the Rams despite her greed filled move to St Louis till she died..

Art Modell had enormous money problems and was allowed to vacate Cleveland to Baltimore, till he finally sold out.

Robert Irsay moved out of Baltimore in the middle of the night, and his bouts with alcholism did not cost him the team, now run by his son in Indianapolis.

Billy Sullivan, the old owner of the Patriots, lost his team with a bankruptcy involving Schaeffer Stadium.and its business operations.

Mike Brown, penny-pinching, ran the Bengals into the ground, destroying his father’s legacy but still owns the team in Cincinnati..

Bill Bidwell, bow tie and all, was allowed to move the Chicago Cardinals to St. Louis, then onto Arizona, despite a poor history of business operations.
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No the NFL probably won’t do an intervention on the Chargers mess.

The league can legislate laws about ownership, what they can and cannot do, within the framework of the NFL bylaws.

The NFL cannot legislate intelligence and quality of ownership.

Sadly for longtime Chargers fans, the franchise isn’t coming back. And the NFL seems powerless to put out this oil fire Charges ownership has created in Los Angeles..

LA it’s your problem. Roger Goodell, it’s your problem. Dean Spanos, you’ve got a problem.

NFL owners are rich men. It doesn’t mean they can’t be incompetent.

Chargers ownership is proving that, and the NFL can’t do anything about it.

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“Rocky Long-Talks Winning-Losing-Rebuilding Football Programs”.

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The Aztecs host lowly San Jose State on Saturday, continuing their march to try and get inside the top 25 in the polls, and to get ready for tough road games at Nevada and Fresno State over the next 3-weeks., He talked winning-losing-injuries and rebuilding. Long’s quotes:

San Jose State record not indicative of what kind of team they have
Could have won 3-of-6 losses
Video shows they play really hard

Changing a football program from losing-you can turn a team quickly
It takes you 4-5 years to turn around a program
Install new players..attitude..system…
Some places harder than ever to turn program
Must give new coach enough time-not interfere with him
San Jose just 3-winning seasons in 25-years..

Coaching staff must evaluate players who can develop
(1-12) teams don’t get blue-chippers
There are a lot of good kids out there who will develop…
Recruits might be young..might be on a bad high school team-but can grow

Aztecs special teams very good-we recruit skill to play those positions
Special teams must be athlete-run fast-physical get off blocks-tackle someone
;Special teams are a team attitude-kids want to play
We run starters on special teams-change the flow
Special teams can win or lose games…need good kicker
Coaching standpoint-people more educated how important special teams are

Chase Jasmin-will likely play this week-no symptoms of concussion
He is still in concussion protocol
Juwan Washington still on same time frame-3 weeks out
Christian Chapman limited practice-getting better-but not moving around

Very disappointed to hear Nick Bosa leaving Ohio State to train for NFL
Not in favor of that-NCAAs allowing players change their mindset.
I’m old guy…1st round picks protecting themselves over earning power
Everybody is wired different…listen to different people around them.

Practice is challenging..switching defenses from 50-50 team-to wishbone-to spread
You cannot flip your defense in last 5-days when opponent so different
We must get back to running ball we are used too..

Blowout games-will give younger players chance to play.kids under new redshirt rule..

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“Baseball Playoffs-Emotion-Drama”

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I’t pretty electric, regardless of where the games are.

Fenway Park fans are frantic. In Houston, they howl.

In Milwaukee, the nose level was spectacular. At Dodgers Stadium, LA fans showing things they hardly ever show-fire.

And so the ALCS and NLCS have bought us some spectacular plays, big home runs, great defense, and tons of strikeouts.

The Red Sox lead Houston in that American League series, by virtue of a stunning home run late that blew the game open at Minute Maid Park.

As dominant as Boston has been, they bombed their way a big win in Houston, this from a team that hits (.282) at home and just (.236) on the road.

Houston oddly hits better on the road than they do at their homer-happy own stadium.

Both teams have amazing lineups.

Houston needs a win now with Charley Morton coming off the DL to get this critical Wednesday start.

Boston has to be concerned about the health issues around Chris Sale, and the fact David Price has no history of any post season success.

Rookie Betts or Jose Altuve could well decide this series.

This Dodgers-Astros series has been on the edge.

Some long ball hitting, but lots of strikeouts, 17-last nite by LA and 15-via Milwaukee’s order. .

Some really nasty play, thanks to 3-incidents involving Manny Machado. Some fabulous catches and near catches involving Cody Bellinger.

And some risky play involving glove challenged Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal.

The managers will be questioned when this is all over. Milwaukee’s overuse and reliance on Josh Hader.

The Dodgers use or is it mis-use of its long relievers, Kenta Maeda and Alex Wood, when they pitched, how many guys they pitched too.

This drama on Tuesday night was really something. LA’s strikeout totals are staggering thru the first 4-games of the series..17-strikeouts in the last game…and 49-k’s in four games.

The Brewers bullpen has to be exhausted, 10-shutout innings last nite alone and they lost. Do they have anything left?

So we march forward.

Houston has to win on Wednesday. The Dodgers are at a crossroads too. They could take the lead in this series with Clayton Kershaw in a short turnaround.

We’ve seen so much, and we’ll see a little more.

Don’t know if the World Series can top what we’ve seen in the AL-NL Championship series.

Emotion….drama….tension….you name it-we’ve seen it, and this baseball postseason is not over yet.

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“NBA Season Opens-Taking 3 Point Shots”

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It’s here. The beginning of the NBA season on Tuesday night, and the dawning of the next era of Lakers basketball. The Lakers and the LeBron James era begins, as we wonder if it will rival Shaq & Kobe, Magic Johnson and Showtime, or the West-Baylor-Chamberlain era of decades ago.

Here’s a look around the NBA-and talking points.

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LAKERS…LeBron James is the greatest player in the league right now, equal to all things Michael Jordan in terms of productivity. He walks in the door with the challenge to grow a team around him. Will be fun to see his impact on the growth of Lonzo Ball, and budding young stars Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kozma. The bench has experience, but some volatile personalities. And they seem to have a void at center. This will be a fun basketball season, considering what the Buss family gave us for 5-straight seasons.

WARRIORS…All hands on deck, a unique mix of star players, minus ego, playing together to get rings, not worrying about getting max-contracts. And now you add DeMarco Cousins on a 1-year deal, trying to rally off an injury riddled season. Curry-Klay-KD-Draymond, a very special mix.

BOSTON…They built this with tons of young players, good draft picks, and now the sprinkling of free agents. Gordon Hayward, who came from Utah, got hurt opening night and missed the season. Then Kyrie Irving got hurt and needed surgery, and yet they were there at the end of the season. Brown-Tatum-Horford rounds out a star group staring five.

76ERS…They lost forever, had lots of crippling injuries, and now they believe it is the time to be great. Embid-Simmons-Fultz-Saric. Very good, but very young still-do they have enough depth.

TORONTO..Kawhi Leonard joins a talented roster, and could be to the Raptors what LeBron is to the Lakers. We shall see if this is the NBA version of ‘1-and-Done’ for Leonard, headed to free agency, or whether his unique personality is a perfect fit in a foreign country. The other question, does Kawhi’s quad injury return?

OKLAHOMA CITY…Firepower everywhere, in Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Andre Roberson. Big concern, a lot of miles on Westbrooks’ surgically repaired knee. How long can he keep this pace of playing tons of minutes every night, up?

HOUSTON….It’s about firepower, with James Hardin and Chris Paul, and now you add Carmelo Anthony. Wow. But who plays defense, and does the loss of some defense to free agency hurt Mike D’Antoni’s team?

MINNESOTA…Explode with all that talent, or implode with all those personality issues? A bad preseason with Jimmy Butler making noise all the time about wanting a trade, and the questions about chemistry problems with Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Some soap opera season ahead of us in Twin Cities.

WASHINGTON…The Wizards have John Wall and Brad Beal, and now they add Dwight Howard, the soldier of fortune center, who changes teams yearly, and an underrated shooter in Austin Rivers. Lots more talent. Don’t know if this works or not. The key word, team chemistry.

SAN ANTONIO…Life after Kawhi now begins. They’re all gone, now, Leonard-Ginobli-Parker and of course Tim Duncan. Gregg Popovic will be coaching the youngest team ever had.

NEW ORLEANS…Anthony Davis has become a beast of a big man. They lose DeMarco Cousins, but add Julius Randle, the ex-Laker, and still have Jrue Holiday.

PORTLAND…Firepower every night from Damian Lillard and CJ Mccollum, but who else is there to help. Young pups Anfernee Simmons and Gary Trent bear watching.

MILWAUKEE….A superstar no one knows much about, Giannis Anteokoumpo, gets help now with the addition of shooter Brooke Lopez and Ersen Ilyasova. See if they have enough to compliment their star.

MEMPHIS…Grit and grind basketball has gone away with all the injuries to Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, but now they get help from Kyle Anderson and others. Don’t know if it will be enough.

CLEVELAND…King James came home, got them a ring, and now has left for LA. Kevin Love, JR Smith, Larry Nance, but not much else. It will be a long winter in Cleve-town.

DALLAS…The hot Euro rookie Luka Doncic might be the next Dirk Nowitzki, and DeAndre Jordan comes in to play the paint, and the kid Dennis Smith is now a second year player. This is an intriguing roster.

INDIANA…Victor Oladipo became a star last year, and the rest of the young players followed him in a fun season. Holiday-Bogadanovic-Turner all return to the Pacers fold.

UTAH…What a good season, led by Donavan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Ricky Rubio fit in and was the glue in the backcourt. The Jazz play team basketball, in the spirit of Jerry Sloan.

MIAMI…Josh Richardson, Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, make up a good starting group, but salary cap problems continue to plague this team, and seem to stop the Heat from adding an additional key part.

CHICAGO…The injury history to Zach LaVine seems to take the shine off what could be a good young team. Jabari Parker joins a front line anchored by Lauri Markkanen, dealing with his own injury issues, but Kris Dunn, budding star is back again.

DETROIT….Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, but not much else in what has seemed to be a forever rebuilding job in Piston land. The Bad Boys were a long time ago.

CHARLOTTE…Michael Jordan hired Mitch Kupchack to try and get more talent there. It still seems to be Kemba Walker against the world.

LA CLIPPERS…The rebuild is underway. Tobias Harris is a budding star, and Shai Alexander could have a fascinating rookie year, but all the stars are gone, and it will take free agent signings to fix the franchise next summer. The Clippers seem ready to fall of the radar.

DENVER…The Nuggets have young talent, led by Nikola Jokci and Jamal Murray, and they have defense and leadership in Paul Millsap, but they don’t appear to have enough firepower.

ATLANTA….Trae Young-Mikel Bridges-Dennis Shroeder are really good young players, but this is the NBA not the ACC, and the Hawks don’t have enough veteran players.

NY KNICKS.. .David Fizdale inherits a mess. Star Kristaps Porzingas is out till midseason with surgery. They just waived Joakim Noah, taking an 18M salary cap hit. Kevin Knox could be an upcoming star, but the ownership-leadership-roster makeup is a mess.

SACRAMENTO….Marvin Bagley, it’s your turn to lead the Kings out of the abyss. DeAndre Fox, Buddy Hield, and forever losing in Northern California. Don’t know how Vlade Divac keeps his GM job, but then again, the ownership doesn’t know what they’re doing. Cowbell Hell days of Chris Weber are a long time ago aren’t they?

BROOKLYN…..All the oil money of Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov hasn’t made a bit of difference. The team is either a dumping ground for bad contracts, or stocked with too many kids. Who helps DeAngelo Russell?

PHOENIX…Dysfunction-Junction, the ownership of Robert Sarver. Firing coaches, GMs, front office scouts, bad trades, questionable contracts, bad drafts. Yes, they have top pick DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker, but what else. You name it-the Suns have done it recently-wrong. Once upon a Jerry Colangleo time, this was a special place to play. And you thought Donald Sterling or Ted Stepien were bad guys?

ORLANDO….A franchise that once had Shaq, Penny Hardaway, and GM-Pat Williams, doesn’t have much nowadays, does it?

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