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“Lakers–Memorial Service-1 For Memory”

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They laughed…they cried.
They had heavy hearts and forever memories.
They expressed thanks and extended hands and hugs.

20,000 showed up at the Staples Center to remember Kobe Bryant.

It was moving, it was pretty, it was sad, sometimes it was fun.

Vanessa Bryant, the grieving widow, showed enormous strength talking about the death of her oldest daughter, Gigi.

She wept, paused, and you could sense those in the arena weeping too.

She spoke openly of the player, the man, the father, the husband,  that Kobe Bryant became.

Michael Jordan had tears streaming down his face during his eulogy, talking about Bryant, as his ‘little brother’.

Shaquille O’Neal cracked jokes, dropped an MF-bomb telling stories, and then got choked up saying farewell to his fallen teammate.

Rob Pelinka, Kobe’s agent-turned Lakers GM, described Bryant’s philosophy, ‘enjoy the road-even the hard road.’

Gino Auriemma, the legendary coach at U-Conn laughed talking about Bryant, the most uncoachable player, calling him for advice on how to coach…then got choked up talking about hard it is for the family left behind.

It was a who’s who of greatness.

I wish Lakers owner Jeannie Buss would have spoken.  She has returned stability and glitter to the franchise.

Phil Jackson and Pat Riley and Jerry West were there, but silent, people the most responsible for putting Bryant in a position to excel.

Name an NBA star of the past, Bill Russell to Elgin Baylor to Kareem Abul Jabbar-they arrived.

Lakers players, Clippers players, modern day stars from James Hardin to Steph Curry, to Klay Thompson were there to remember.

It was two hours of heartache, but somewhere by the end, you hoped it gave help to those who grieved the most.

If it were held at the LA Coliseum, it would have been 72,000 on hand.  They had 80,000 requests for tickets in the arena and sold out to raise money for Kobe’s Mamba-Charity.

In modern day sports, I don’t think we have ever seen a turnout of such dignity for an athelete.

Maybe never since Babe Ruth’s funeral in 1947 in baseball thruout New York.

I got choked up, it was so sad.  I hate funerals of families and friends.  But I am glad I experienced this.

It will be reshown on the Lakers Sportsnet Channel.  Give it a glance.  It is worth the time, despite the price of the emotions you will pay.

There may be other great players to come to the NBA.  There will be great teams in the future, maybe even a dynasty somewhere.

I don’t think there will ever be any more loved in LA than Kobe Bryant was, an amazing accomplishment when you consider the greatness of the franchise, and its banners, and its stars of years past.

As Bryant would say…”Mamba-out”.  But as I say “Mamba-never to be forgotten”

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“Aztecs Basketball–End of Historical Run”

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Legacy lost.

A chance to do something never done before by anyone wearing the Red & Black on Montezuma Mesa.

The opportunity to finish a college basketball season unbeaten, at (29-0) and be the #1 seed in the Eastern Regional going into the NCAA championships, gone.

The memory to wear the colors and splash the name Aztecs across Madison Square Garden, the basketball Mecca, for everyone to see, lost.

We probably won’t see it ever again…a near perfect college basketball season at San Diego State.

It should not have ended the way it did, this ugly (66-63) lost the Nevada-Las Vegas.

Maybe it was insulting, or arrogance, that led to the decision to hoist this years Mountain West championship regular season banner before the game, infront of the Running Rebels players.  They did that   without giving consideration there is still a MWC tournament to be played.

Gone is the (26-0) season start.  Gone will be the #1-seed in one of the regionals.  Gone the opportunity to accomplish a once-in a lifetime, once in a university achievement.

Coach Brian Dutcher made the comment to me just a week ago, and it came back to ring true.  “The 3-point shot is the great equalizer in college basketball”.  That was accompanied by his oft repeated comment “Northing surprises me in college basketball, weekend to weekend”

Both came to pass in the noise, the bedlam, infront of the show and a sold-out crowd.  UNLV hit a ton of threes early.  The Aztecs were miserable behind the arc.  And across the nation,  #1 Baylor lost at home and #2 Gonzaga was beaten too.  We have now had 6-different #1-teams lose games this year.

This loss hurt so bad, not just the perfect season hopes, but the chance to maybe climb as high as number 2-in the national polls.

Maybe we should have been concerned all along, though I wondered some in private moments amidst the hoopla of win-after-win.

What would happen if SDSU could not hit three point shots, and the other guy did.  Almost happened in an early season scare with San Jose State.  Almost happened again in a near home loss to Utah State.  Finally did happened vs UNLV.

I also asked what would happen if the big man, Yanni Wetzel, the Vanderbilt transfer, had a bad night, or got defensed out into the parking lot?  Happened Saturday didn’t it.

Would this loss of Nathan Mensah, to the blood clot scare, catch up to them, when they needed someone to block shots, get rebounds, keep plays alive.

It was an odd night.  An SDSU team went 8-minutes without a basket, to dig a 14-point deficit.  They had come from behind before in emotional comeback wins vs Creighton, Iowa, USU and more.  But not this time, because Vegas did not crumble under the intense choke-hold defense SDSU threw at them in the final ten minutes.  And UNLV hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to maintain that breathing room lead, staving off the comeback.

State was so out of character.  2-of-12 on 3’s in the first half.  8-minutes without a basket in the first half.  Turnovers.  Sloppy passing.  Got out rebounded for 36-minutes.  Finished the night shooting just 37%.  Just (8-of-27) on 3’s.

Excuse me for feeling it was an appalling loss, losing to a team that was (1-16) at Viejas Arena dating back to a long time ago.  And then you had to sit there and watch UNLV go (10:45) and score just 1-basket, and parade off the floor win the win.  Yes a (14-14) team should feel good about themselves and what they just did.

The stars, who triggered that great season, seemed to ge running on empty.  Wetzel disappeared.  Micah Flynn  was just (4-13) shooting.  KJ Feagin went (2-for-8).  The defense was a step slow.  There was no Matt Mitchell magic this night. And there were fouls and fouls thruout the night.  A sloppy Saturday.

It only counts as one loss.  Dutcher’s sales pitch heading into the final home game with Colorado State…”Don’t let this one loss lead you to another one”.

Of course there is a season ending road game at Nevada, and now what appears to be a much tougher MWC tourney still ahead, with a bunch of teams improving.

You wonder if SDSU has peaked its abilities, and if other teams scouting reports are catching up to them, because the road just travelled over the last couple of weeks in conference has been more challenging.

I felt a knot in my stomach, and it’s not even my Alma Mater.  I had wished for all Dutcher and former coach Steve Fisher have done, how this has become a college basketball town finally, that a (29-0) season would have been an experience of a lifetime.

Shame it ended this way.  Good team, good chemistry, good leadership, but on this night, not a good game.

I don’t think we will ever see this again, here, in this city, at that university.

Legacy lost on a lousy Saturday night.

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“Dear Boxing–Where Have You Been”

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It should be as big a night as boxing has seen in a long time, but then again, it has been a long time since boxing meant anything to anyone.

The names in neon lights…Tyson Fury-vs-Deontay Wilder.
The headlines..heavyweight championship of the world.

It’s a rematch many wanted to see, at least those who paid attention before, when Fury got off the canvas twice to earn a split decision draw against Wilder in a title fight in Los Angeles.

That fight was not on anyone’s radar, this one is.  Wilder is (40-0) with 39-knockouts.  Fury is (27-0) with 19-ko’s.  One is (6’9), the other (6’7).

Boxing has been down for so long.

I remember Howard Cosell, Don Dunphy, boxing on radio, and the Gillette Calvacade of Fights was along time ago.

I recall watching the grainy black and white videos of Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Max Schmeling.

The superstars, the sluggers, the personalities made the sport special.

Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali.

It was the era of the sluggers and brawlers, Sonny Liston, Earnie Shavers, George Foreman, Joe Fraizer. Ken Norton, Ron Lyles, Larry Holmes, Lenox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.

Oh there were bad heavyweight winners too, Gerry Cooney, Chuck Wepner, Pinklon Thomas, Buster Douglas.

Boxing’s seemingly heavyweight division went the way of your Dad’s Packard, Hudson and DeSoto.  It’s as if when Mike Tyson went to prison, that division went away.

Somehow it lost its way and its belts and crowns wound up in Russia with the Klitschko Brothers.  They fought no-bodys and no one paid attention any longer.

Maybe it was the demise of the Golden Gloves tourneys in New York. Maybe it was the clubs closing down.  Maybe it was the lack of interest in the Olympics.

Yes as the heavyweight division went away, we did have the birth of the great lower weights.  Sugar Ray Leonard, Ray Mancini, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Oscar DeLaHoya, Julio Cesar Chavez, Manny Pacquiao and so many more.

But something was missing.  The ‘Thriller in Manila’.  The fight in Zaire.   The ‘Rumble in the Jungle’.  The ‘Rope-a-Dope’.  A screaming Ali ‘I am the Greatest’.  Cosell yelling ‘Down Goes Frazier’.

Saturday night, a re-birth of the heavyweight division possibly.  Won’t be on radio, not on your TV, not in a movie theatre, unless you want to pay 79-99 PPV.

But for the first time in what seems like decades, some people are talking about the heavyweight division now.  Somebody is going down.  Someone will go to sleep.  It’s what the Sweet Science should be all about.

Heavyweight Boxing as we once knew it-we welcome you back.

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“Padres Blue Print-Remind Me Again”

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So here we are in spring training, and so are the all the rumors that GM-AJ Preller is still trying to make trades, anytime, anyplace for anyone.

The guy who signed Eric Hosmer one day before spring training two years ago.

The guy who signed Manny Machado just after spring training started.

The guy who trade for reliever Craig Kimbrel just before opening day.

And now, after all this wheeling and dealing, he is trying to move another name player, the streaky Will Myers.

Preller has spent all winter trying to find a buyer for the 60M-mistake he made, the contract extension given to Myers right after his All Star season, the one where he did so well the first half of that year, and faltered after that, and hasn’t done much since.

The guy who hasn’t really been a star since, but rather a shining Comet for a short period of time, who always falls to earth and flames out.

Now the reports that the Padres-Red Sox-Reds have reopened trade talks about a Myers deal to Boston.  But Preller would have to pay 30M of the remaining 60M to get the Red Sox to do the deal.

Myers might become a terror at Fenway Park, rather than a failure at Petco Park. This deep into his career, you would have hoped for more from him.

But for the Padres, it begs the real question, aside from getting rid of the contract, this team dealing for another centerfielder?

The rumor that Cincinnati is the third part of this trade, means the Padres want to move on young outfielder Nick Senzel, coming off injuries with the Reds.

Lots of upside they say, but how many centerfielders, unproven as they are, are you going to drag in here.

The Padres dealt away Franmil Reyes, Hunter Renfroe, Manny Margot, and now they want to exit Myers.

If they get Senzel from Cincy, you add him to the list of of flychasers San Diego have brought in.

Oft-injured Juan Lagares from the Mets.  Young flychaser Taylor Trammel from Cincinnati at the deadline last July.  Trent Grisham, who came from Milwaukee in the Luis Urias trade.  Journeyman outfielder Abraham Almonte.  How many do you need.

Last I checked, Trammell hit (.223) in Double A over a whole season.  Grisham hit (.224) with Milwaukee late in the season.  Lagares was let go by the last place Mets.  Almonte has been on and off how many rosters recently?

And you still have Josh Naylor a defensive liability, and the prospect-suspect Franchy Cordero, who hasn’t shown much when he’s been healthy, and he’s been hurt alot.

That’s an awful lot of ‘ifs’ for a team that thinks it might be. a wildcard playoff team.

Also alarming is the fact the team might have to include Cal Quantrill in the next deal, just like they had to include Eric Lauer in a winter deal along with Urias.  So how many young arms are you giving up, and for what, question marks?

Don’t know about all this.  I might like Tommy Pham in my outfield, but he can’t play all 3-positions can he?  Maybe Renfroe-Margot-Myers-Reyes in a batting order with Hosmer-Machado-Tatis-Mejia might have been pretty good, coupled with all the additional pitching they have stockpiled.

Seems to me Preller is having to make more deals to make up for some of the bad deals of the past.

Remind me again….’What’s the Blue Print?’.

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“Chargers Worst Fears–About to Happen?”

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The future of the Chargers could be decided in the next couple of weeks, and it may not be a very good future.

The Bolts decision to cut loose QB-Philip Rivers could lead to a series of dominoes that fall that could leave this team looking like an expansion team.

Connect the dots.

Rivers could be headed to the Indianapolis Colts, and just last week I asked the question would other impending Bolt free agents want to stay on a team that no longer has Rivers as the triggerman?

Now come reports that the New England Patriots, who always wheel and deal around the draft, and make trades, are targeting Chargers tight end Hunter Henry.  Asking the question who would you rather catch passes from, Tyrod Taylor or Tom Brady?

And running back Melvin Gordon, whose holdout hurt the team, could be targeted by another team that runs the ball and throws to its running backs, the Steelers.  Do you think   Gordon is better served to run and each passes from Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, or Derek Carr in Las Vegas, compared to stay in a Rivers-less team in Los Angeles?

Just think of the collateral damage from the early decision Tom Telesco, John Spanos and Anthony Lynn made on Rivers. Dominoes about to fall here?

Think about what this team would be like next season without its QB-RB-TE?

And if that is not enough of a negative vibe, remember Joey Bosa become a free agent next March and indications are he’d like to team with his broker, Nick, as a member of the 49ers.

I don’t think the rumor Tom Brady exiting New England to play for the Charges has any legs to it.  I don’t think drafting a Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert guarantees you an instant winning season.  And I don’t think putting all your Tyrod Taylor chips on the table puts you in a race for the AFC-wildcard spot in a division owned by the Chiefs.

This has the potential to be a horrible off season, possibly followed by a horrible next season.  Maybe the front office didn’t think about this when they made decision one on the quarterback.  Now it might be out of their control.

Chargers fans, connect the dots.  This could be a messy ‘Etch-a-Sketch’ picture in a couple of weeks.

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