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“NBA-Can You Top That”

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So you thought last week was wild in the NBA? Wait till we get to this weekend.

We came thru a wild roller-coaster week in pro hoops. And we’re not done..

Jerry West is back in LA, overseeing the LA Clippers, a move that has sent shockwaves thru the hallways at the Staples Center. Look him to do some deals.

The Lonzo-LaVar Ball soap opera and the Lakers decision to take him atop the NBA draft.

You have a perennial loser, the 76ers, kings of tanking, trading up for the first pick of the draft, adding another gem to the treasures of all those other first round picks they;ve taken..

There was Boston continuing to stockpile draft picks in deals.

De’Angelo Russell, who was supposed to be one of the great building blocks in the NBA return to glory by the Lakers, was sent packing to Siberia (Brooklyn Nets)

You had Chicago dealing the face and heart of its Bulls team, Jimmy Butler, dealt away to Minnesota.

Good old Dwight Howard, the chronic unhappy center, has been dealt again, this time out of Atlanta onto Charlotte.

Then the weekend bulletin, where Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, both informed the LA Clippers, they were opting out to test the free agent market.

Now we fast forward to what is next, because the trade window is open.

Cleveland remains a place of unrest, with a 4th GM vacating in a 12-year span, despite going to the finals 3-years in a row under David Griffin’s leadership.

The Cavs are trying to deal with the rumor, LeBron James to opt out, by trying hard to find trade partners. Kevin Love could exit is some type of mega deal

Indiana is committed to moving high scoring, headed to free agency star, Paul George. He told them he would exit after the 2017-18 season, and they then said no you won’t we’re moving you now.

Houston and Denver say they will both bid on the Clippers impending free agents, wanting to do sign and trade deals.

San Antonio wants to move LaMarcus Aldridge, and has seen Pao Gasol already exit, and of course, all this opening cap space for Chris Paul.

Golden State’s great players say they are all going to take less to keep the band together, but Andre Iguodala wants 20M and might exit the champion team.

The Knicks dysfunction continues. They still have unhappy forward Kristaps Porzingas, and are still saddled with Carmelo Anthony’s contract and attitude. And Phil Jackson is till calling the shots, good bad or indifferent.

Down in Miami, Chris Bosh will exit the Heat but it remains to be seen if anyone will take a risky run at signing him , with that history of blood clots trailing him.

Utah has one star player, Gordon Hayward, and he is going on the market this weekend with possibilities he winds up in Boston.

Minnesota wants to move prized guard Ricky Rubio.

This could be the most volatile summer the NBA has ever seen. Next on the calendar, the July 1st window that opens for free agency, and sign and trade deals.

Can you top what we just saw last week? Stay tuned for the rest of this week, in the NBA.

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“Dodgers-Make Everyone Else in the Division–Blue”

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It’s no longer a small sample size.

This Dodgers baseball team is pretty good.

Just look at what they did to the Colorado Rockies in what was supposed to be the “Fight for First Place” in the NL West.

When the Rockies left town they were reeling, getting swept, and falling 4-and-half back of LA in just a four day span.

Dave Roberts blue bunch are now (51-26). They have won 16-of their last 17-games.

There is pitching ace Clayton Kershaw, surprise starter Alex Wood, and relief ace Kenley Jansen, and not much else.

LA has a stunning rookie season with Cody Bellinger, a home run hitter, who was not even on the roster opening day.

They’ve won without much of a contribution from their iconic 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who has had 4-injuries this year. Gonzalez, a tower of strength his entire career, had never been on the disabled lit in his career. He’s visited in twice already this year.

The newly acquired 2nd baseman Logan Forsythe has been hurt twice. Ditto for power hitting 3rd sacker Justin Turner.

Star outfielder Joc Pederson, he of home run fame and big strikeouts, has been dinged twice, including a concussion.

Corey Seager is hitting (.298) and popping the ball, when a hamstring injury does not flare.

There have been limited contributions from Yasiel Puig, hitting just (.239) heading to the Rockies series.

The left fielder Andrew Toles is done for the year with knee surgery,and even super utility man Scott Van Slyke has been down with nagging hurts.

Guys like Chris Taylor, Brett Eisner and Alex Barnes have come from Oklahoma City and done things.

Kershaw is (11-2). Wood, a once promising Braves starter, sidetracked by injuries, is an amazing (8-0). And Jansen is Jansen, saving games, and striking out guys without issuing walks.

LA has done this with a myriad of other pitching problems. The age old blister problems for Rich Hill…the shaky health of Kenta Maeda…the slow recovery of Hyun Jin Ryu after nearly two seasons lost with shoulder surgery.

Brandon McCarthy is back, but seems like an accident waiting to happen to put him back on the DL.

And setup guys like Sergio Romo, Chris Hather and Adam Liberatore have all been on and off the mound, roster to the disabled list and back already.

It’s easy to dislike the Dodges and that near 220M payroll. Easy to dismiss their attitude about their still unresolved TV contract, as long as they get the rights fee every year, though 66% of the market still cannot see games on Sportiest LA.

But this is not manager Dave Roberts rolling the ball out to the mound and telling his stars to go win. His team has been challenged with injuries, and by the early season success of the Rockies and the other guy in the neighborhood, the Diamondbacks. Roberts has managed egos, moving parts, and sometimes a patch work lineup.

But here we are almost halfway thru the season, and this team is real. Just ask everyone else in baseball.

Maybe a potential showdown with the Houston Astros is coming, and they look like they might be for real too.

The Dodgers are winning everyway possible…and that makes the rest of the NL really blue

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“Frantic Friday-Life in the NBA”

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Random roundball thoughts watching all things NBA draft

Lakers…They are better this morning than they were the last game of the season. They get Brook Lopez and his 21-point a game offense and 7′ size replacing the staffs masquerading in the paint last year. They get Lonzo Ball’s talent, his ego, his immaturity and his father, though I think coaching, guidance, and peer pressure will change some things around the UCLA kid.

Lakers II…Keep in mind, they still have resources to try and do a deal to get Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. They have now accumulated 27M cap space for the summer of 2018. They still have bargaining chips if they have to do a sign and trade right now. And most importantly, George wants to be a Laker, come home, not go to Cleveland or somewhere else.

Clippers…No first round pick and not a better team now than they were the last night they got beat in the playoffs. But Jerry West influence will be everywhere, and that might include a significant deal. Can you say Blake Griffin to Indiana for George? Can you say Chris Paul in a sign and trade to San Antonio? What they have this morning, might not be what they will have the day camp opens in mid-fall.

76ers…Some horrid years of basketball, but tanking works. Look at the stockpile of young players in Philadelphia, though they have to get them healthy, and they have to learn to play together. Bunch of bad years, most everyone thinks good years are coming.

Celtics..That could be a gem they drafted, in taking Jason Tatrum of Duke to add to a growing list of really good young players. Made the playoffs last year, probably take the next step forard next year, and they still have 7-first round picks over the next couple of years stockpiled.

Chicago..That was painful dealing away Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, but the Bulls get 3-young players in the deal including 7′ shooter Laurie Markinnen, and the T-Wolves add big time quality to go with Andrew Wiggins, Riby Rubio and others.

Sacramento..Not sure I understand the Kings trading out of the 10th spot, when they could have had Zach Collins of Gonzaga or Malik Monk of Kentucky or Justin Jackson of North Carolina to go with the 5th player taken, Kentucky guard DeAaron Fox.

Indiana..What a bad day for the Pacers with Paul George, resident superstar saying he’s not staying, and will exit as a free agent. Every right to do it, but the real blow to a Pacers team trying to restore identity and success. No wonder Larry Bird left.

Adam Silver…The Commissioner is powerless to stop what is happening, though I maintain it is not good for the NBA. The formation of the Dream Teams has made 20-to-25 teams irrelevant in the league. Milwaukee, Sacramento, Phoenix and the sorts cannot match up to the great teams like Cleveland-Warriors-Spurts…where they have loaded up on talent.

New York..The tabloids are killing Phil Jackson, his team dreadful in the last couple of years. Stuck with Carmelo Anthony’s contract, tried to deal-but did not, Kristaps Porzingas, trying to run the triangle with no quality guards, and coaching changes. Guess life is alot tougher when don’t have Jordan-Shaq-Kobe or the likes. A real mess at the Mecca-Madison Square Garden.

Next up….NBA free agency on July lst…guys opting out…sign and trades, and surely changes coming in LA..San Antonio…Indiana and a few other spots.

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“Play as a Team-Do It By the Book”

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Andy Green, the Padres second year manager, is a baseball lifer.

Loves the game, respects the game, wants his players to grow by playing the game.

He’s boxed into a corner, force feeding young players given to him by a front office in full rebuild mode.

Lots of losses, some really bad, some really sad, most attributed to young kids mistakes, or a sub-stardard pitching staff.

The stats do not lie. Too many errors, too many missed cut off men, too man bad angles to fly balls in the outfield. Most of that will be corrected by experience, more practice, and attention to detail.

The pitching solution is still way down road, for this staff is made up of journeymen pitchers at best, and a group of kids thrown into the rotation before most of them were ready. It will be an aging process, though there will be casualties along the way.

Green is an interesting case study. The ‘Gospel according to Green’ involves a lot of old time baseball theology, work hard, respect the game, learn from your mistakes, embrace the opportunity, and the process.

Old school baseball used to be also known as the code. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

Two controversial plays this week in that Cubs-Padres series at Wrigley Field.

Cubs star Anthony Rizzo going out of the baseline to target catcher Austin Hedges, trying to score. He crushed Hedges, who held onto the ball, but suffered a thigh injury, and has been out since.

Lots of rhetoric about whether MLB made a mistake not fining Rizzo. Past history has shown fines and suspensions for guy who blew up players at second base as they tried to turn double plays.

Joe Torre, the 2nd in command in baseball, admitted Rizzo violated Rule 7.13. How come no discipline?

And how come no Padres pitcher took things in their own hands, by at least knocking Rizzo down in his next-at-bat. I am not saying hurt him, bean him, but maybe plunk him, or dust him back

Been going on since the 1900s in baseball.

Then yesterday, catcher Wellington Castillo blocked home plate with his foot, pinning Craig Stammen’s ankle into the ground. It could have been a horrible injury if Stammen’s spikes had caught in the dirt on his slide.
In this case, the plate was blocked illegally.

The three blind mice umpires failed again to to see or make the right call, or penalize the Cubs for the second day in a row.

And for the second straight day, no Padres pitchers did nothing. None jammed Castillo in his next at bat?

Andy Green preaches lots of things in baseball. Why not the code of the game? Do not take liberties with my players on cheap-shot plays, or answer to it in the next at bat.

Sure this is not much of a season. Sure this may be a 100-loss team. But it is a team, and there is a code, and two risky plays could have badly hurt Padres players.

And nobody had their backs. Nobody threw at the Cubs. And the manager jut decided to carry on with his sermons about baseball.

Teams get unified with incidents like that. We always talk about teachable moments. This should have been one of them for the Friars. “1-for All…All for 1”.

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“Hottest Day of the Year-Ice Cool Time in Hockey”

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It’s the first day in the life of the NHL’s newest expansion team, the Las Vegas Golden Knights…and it will likely be hotter than hell in the Nevada desert as they put together the team that will play on the new ice at the T-Mobile Center.

118-degrees in Las Vegas, but that’s not hot if you consider 120 in Palm Springs and fears of 121 in Phoenix.

This will be the 12th time the NHL has expanded, remembering they began life as the ‘Original Six’.

They shocked the world in 1967 by adding 6-expansion teams, the birth of the LA Kings, Minnesota North Stars, the Flyers-Penguins and more. Owner Jack Kent Cooke arrived in LA and hockey boomed in its home state Minnesota.

In 1970-hockey hotbeds Vancouver and Buffalo came on board, that brought us the French Connection to the Niagra Frontier.

In 1972, the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames joined, an Atlanta team that later would gives us Olympic goalie Jim Craig.

The 1974 expansion was a disgrace, with a woeful Washington Capitals team that would go (8-67-5) and a Kansas City Scouts team that would go bankrupt.

In 1979, the holy war with the rival World Hockey Association ended, and Edmonton-Winnipeg-Quebec and Hartford paid a steep price to get in, and were allowed to protect just 4-players. The Oilers would become dominant in the Great Gretzky era. Quebec and Hartford wound up moving, and sadly so did Winnipeg.

What followed were trips to the Sun Belt. Here came the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning in 1991-92-93.

Hockey Tonk Nashville arrived in 1998, and we know where they were just weeks ago in the Stanley Cup finals.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild were part of the last go-round in 2000.

Hockey history will tell us legendary Red Wings Goalie Terry Sawchuck was the first pick of the LA Kings, headed to the last years of his career.

The Mighty Ducks top pick was goalie Guy Hebert, who was credible for years in the net at the Pond.

Oh there were bad teams. Washington went (1-39) in its first year, and their captain, defenseman Yvon Labre had all time worst (-60) plus minus rating for the year.

Winnipeg, in the post Bobby Hull-WHA era, won just 9-games its maiden season, that included a 30-game winless streak.

Ottawa, an early 1900s hockey success and cup winner, suffered thru a 10-win season that first year back in the Dominion’s capital.

The Kansas City Scouts went bankrupt and became the New Jersey Devils.

The history of the NHL has also been about money grabs. Make these teams pay lots of money to get in, then give them scraps for their roster.

Anybody remember the Flyers getting Bernie Parent, who would be the foundation of the great teams there? Picks like that were few and far between. .

They’ve forgotten the top pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets was goalie Rick Tabaracchi, here today-gone tomorrow.

But tonight at 5pm, the NHL will unveil the roster of the expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights.

They really changed the rules for the dudes in the desert. They gave them a 72-hour advance window to sign the myriad of free agents, who hit the open market next week.

They allowed NHL teams a limited number of protected players, 8-skaters and a goalie, or a 7-3-1 combo. Thus the arrival of Penguins goalie Marc Andre Fleury.

They’ve given the Golden Knights the freedom to work out pre-draft trades, with reports GM-George McPhee has made at least 8-deals so far, bypassing some players in the pool, to take on future picks and additional players.

Vegas was allowed to go into Europe and sign free agents early, and the same with NCAA free agents.

They sold 14,000-season tickets. They will play in a shiny new arena and be the only team in town for at least 3-years till the Raiders get there with the NFL brand.

So today will be different than the last two decades of NHL-expansion. The oldtimers will tell you about the amazing arrival of the 6-expansion teams in the 1960s, and how good some of them became. NHL people think this franchise will be good quicker than later. You hope so for a 500M-expansion fee. .

This should top that, though it is a surprise, hockey in the Silver State. But then look again what happened in Orange County (Ducks), in Dixie (Predators) and other places.

Sure the NHL should be in Quebec City. Maybe they mishandled the entire Hamilton, Ontario situation because of territorial issues and old time politics.. They next, will be casting a glance towards Seattle too, a vibrant hockey history market.

But today, it’s about the coolest thing in sports, NHL hockey, on ice, on the hottest days of the year.

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