The Chiefs-Eagles showdown on Super Bowl Sunday is 5-days away, and this event has such a strange and distant feel from other Super Bowls.
Is it Super Bowl burnout…the fact the Chiefs are back again going for their 3rd straight win, a feat never-ever accomplished in modern day football?
Is there a dropoff in attention, because NFL-TV ratings have dipped in some segments this year, including many of the playoff games, even though this game could break last year’s 123M-viewership high mark?
Is it because there are no controversial storylines? No Spygate, no Deflategate, no Coach hate? No players caught breaking curfew rolling thru Bourbon Street?
Is it because there is no brother rivalry story..Travis-vs-Jason Kelce
There is no Harbaugh Brothers showdown.
The novelty of Travis and Taylor Swift has worn off
Why is there not more being made of the brilliance of Andy Reid, his in season record, his amazing post season record?
Why is there so little made of the front office football decision makers, Brett Veach and Howie Roseman, who built the Chiefs-Eagles rosters almost entirely thru the draft?
Is it because there are no combustible owners trying to steal the spotlight like Jerry Jones or Robert Kraft?
Is it because there are no loudmouth QBs in the likes of Jim McMahon, replaced by seldom quoted Patrick Mahomes-Jalen Hurts?
Even the Commissioner’s State of the League address was mundane, with inflammatory questions about Concussions, expansion, the Rooney Rule, NFL media, replaced by generic comments on future Super Bowl sights, expansion of instant replay etc.
There seems to be no special spin of who gets in-who gets left out in this weekend’s Hall of Fame vote-anyone talking about that?
The ticket price market has collapsed, hotel room rates have rocketed, and the get-in price for a game day ticket has gone from (7300-to-3400) as of Tuesday morning. Hotel vacancies are popping up, because it appears the hotels demanded 8X the room rate and 3-day stays if you wanted to rent downtown.
I think the game will be spectacular, but there is very little buzz right now nationwide, and very little substance in what used to be a ‘can’t miss a day-series-of media events’.
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“LAKERS–WHAT IS NEXT”
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The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 12-noon-Pacific.
The Lakers stole the headlines with the weekend trade for Dallas superstar Luka Doncic in the blockbuster Anthony Davis transaction.
Doncic arrives with a strong offensive resume. But he also arrives with lots of baggage. Things like a lack of commitment to playing NBA defense. The on going issues about maturity, conditioning, the injury factor.
Now the report the Mavs had no interest in retaining him because of all the glitches, part of it as a player, the rest of it as a person. The latest that he let his weight balloon up to nearly 270-pounds while he’s been on the injured list with this long-drawn out rehab for his calf problem. A weight far above what Dallas wanted, a weight assigned 245-pounds.
The Lakers have needs still.
Who is going to be the tough guy in the paint on defense? Is there a solid rebounder on this roster? How do you get points on the block or on the baseline?
Do you really believe Jaxon Hayes and Jared Vanderbilt scare anybody in the paint?
Is the new Mavs acquisition, the other guy, Maxi Kleber, tough enough at (6’10-240) wide enough to hold up in the paint, after being a role player in Dallas?
Are there some bigs out there still to be had on the trade block?
The best of the bunch is Utah’s Walker Kessler, but the Jazz are not going to move him and just take a 2031-first round pick. They want Austin Reaves in a deal, and that cannot happen for the Lakers.
Atlanta has journeyman pivot Clint Capela, but he’s not a banger, and he’s been on multiple NBA rosters and not really a difference maker.
Toronto wants to move its center Jakob Poelti, and Washington has veteran Jonas Valenciunas. But if you’ve seen those guys play, they do not bring much to the table.
Indiana has veteran wide body Myles Turner, but then again there is a price to pay, and if it is not Reaves, who else carries any clout in a deal.
Rui Hachimura is just a hot and cold player. Gabe Vincent has a history of injuries. Cam Reddish is just a guy.
You are not giving up on Dalton Knecht, last year’s number one, are you, already?
The rest of the roster is riff-raff.
Why didn’t Rob Pelinka demand one of Dallas’ two centers be part of this deal? They have 3-bigs on that Mavs roster. Should have tried to get Daniel Gafford included in the package.
Pelinka’s body of work is still lacking, despite pulling off this trade. You know, the Kyle Kuzma give away; the Russell Westbrook acquisition; letting Kantavious Caldwell Pope escape. It goes on and on.
So we await Doncic’s debut, at 266-pounds. We wait to see if this is a LeBron James offense, or one that runs thru the newly acquired guy wearing #77.
And we wait to see what the NBA Western Conference landscape looks like when the deadline is come and gone. Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma City, even the Clippers, are obstacles up ahead heading to post season.
Yes the deadline is Thursday. Lakers…what is next, for what you just did is not enough?
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“LAKERS…TRADE TO REMEMBER”
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No one saw this coming.
No one heard about this possible deal.
No one could believe it, from the players on the bench, to the media, to the fans.
Pick any type of adverb to describe the Lakers-Mavericks superstar trade of Luka Doncic in a package for Anthony Davis in a package.
Anthony Davis was having a superstar season at the big forward-center position. Yes he had injury issues, but he is always on the floor ready to play. He was the Lakers Batman to LeBron James Robin.
Doncic is the young icon who has led the Mavericks to never imagined heights at age 25 with a very inconsistent group of players around him. Despite his successes, there are injury and lifestyle issues around him.
LeBron James did not know this deal was coming down. Davis was never told in advance he was being shopped. Both had said on Friday, they wanted the Lakers to make a deal to get another big man for the playoff push. No one could have imagined one of them would exit LA.
Doncic delivered at such a young age, the heir apparent to the greatness that Dirk Nowitzke left behind. But there were issues with him, on the court, off the court.
So as the week begins, the Lakers no longer have AD, and won’t have Luka as he heals from calf problems.
What they do get is a superstar scorer and rebounder and passer. But they also get a box full of questions about his dedication, his conditioning, his diet, his off court lifestyle.
The Mavs don’t get AD yet either, he is out with this abdominal muscle injury. They do get big scoring, they do get rim protection, rebounding and defense, even if they get someone at age 32.
Interesting questions spin off in the aftermath of the trade. Who does the Lakers offense run thru, King James or Doncic? Does LA become strictly an outside shooting team? Who is going to do the rebounding and play defense in the paint now that Davis’ size is gone?
Did the NBA change its rules this weekend? Last I checked, you can only use 1-basketball at a time on the floor right?
This doesn’t happen very often, one superstar changing teams for another.
Yes, Milwaukee did trade Kareem Abdul Jabbar to the Lakers.
Yes, Golden State shipped Robert Parish to Boston
Yes, the San Francisco Warriors did deal Wilt Chamberlain to the 76ers.
Yes, the St Louis Hawks moved Bill Russell to the Celtics.
Yes, the Lakers flipped Shaquille O’Neal to Miami.
Yes, mega stars like Kevin Durant-Kevin Garnett-Julius Erving have been moved.
But this one is unique, one superstar for another, and both with lots of time left on their playing career clock.
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“SPORTS & TRAGEDY”
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It is with the heaviest heart, we as sports journalists, have to cover the sports story of the week. it’s not about the upcoming Super Bowl. Not about what the Padres may do or what the Dodgers did. Not about the Lakers critical needs and the upcoming Trading Deadline.
It’s about the horrors of the mid-air collision that killed 67-people, including 16-members of the Boston Club Skating club, young potential Olympians, and family members.
It’s about 2-former Russian Olympic medal skaters who were on the Washington, DC plane that went down.
It’s about having to watch Olympic skating legend Nancy Kerrigan weep in talking about those members of her Club, who perished.
It’s also, sadly, about the horrific comments President Trump made about potential causes, with little information, just 3-hours after the NTSB arrived at 3am, searching for wreckage, bodies and causes. It was as despicable as Trump could be, placing blame, without knowledge or facts as America grieves.
It also brought flashbacks to tragedies past, that impacted sports, some individuals who died, some of teams wiped out by crashes.
Sports has lost great talent and personalities in private plane crashes: Kobe Bryant-Lakers..Roberto Clemente-Pirates..Thurmon Munson-Yankees…Kenny Hubbs-Cubs..
Roy Halladay-Blue Jays..Payne Stewart-PGA…Davey Allison-Alan Kulwicki-NASCAR…Knute Rockne-Notre Dame…Rocky Marciano-boxing.
But the death of teams staggers the imagination as written by the Associated Press:
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Manchester United football club
On Feb. 6, 1958, a plane carrying the Manchester United team and officials crashed as it attempted to take off on a slush-covered runway in Munich. The team was returning from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade, and the plane stopped to refuel in Munich. Among the 23 people were killed were eight Man U players and three team officials. Among those who survived was England great Bobby Charlton.
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U.S. Figure Skating team
On Feb 15, 1961, a commercial flight carrying all 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team to the world championships in Prague crashed near the Brussels airport, killing everyone one board. Six coaches were also on the plane, along with four team officials and six of the group’s family members.
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Wichita State University football
On Oct. 2, 1970, one of two chartered jets carrying the Wichita State football team to a game in Utah crashed near Silver Plume, Colorado. Of the 40 on board, 31 died, including 14 players along with coaches, boosters, administrators, trainers and three crew members. The NTSB later said the crash could be attributed primarily to pilot error.
Marshall University football
On Nov. 14, 1970, a chartered jet carrying the Thundering Herd crashed in fog and rain into a hillside upon approach to an airport near Huntington as the team returned from a game at East Carolina. All 75 on board were killed, including 36 football players and 39 school administrators, coaches, fans, spouses and flight crew.
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Uruguay rugby club
On Oct. 13, 1972, a chartered Uruguayan Air Force flight carrying the Old Christians Club from Montevideo Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, crashed in the snowy Andes Mountains. The wreckage was not found for two months and only 16 of the 45 people on board survived. Facing snow storms, avalanches and starvation, survivors awaiting rescue were forced to eat the flesh of those who had died, and their ordeal has been chronicled in books and movies.
Evansville University basketball
On Dec. 13, 1977, an Air Indiana chartered plane with the Evansville University men’s basketball team crashed 90 seconds after takeoff from the Evansville airport. The 29 people killed included 14 players and first-year head coach Bobby Watson.
U.S. Boxing team
On March 14, 1980 the U.S. amateur boxing team was flying from New York to Poland for international events ahead of the 1980 Moscow Olympics when their plane crashed near Warsaw. All 87 on board were killed, including 14 boxers and eight team staff members. Two months later, the U.S. decided to boycott the Olympics due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
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Zambia national soccer team
On April 28, 1993, a military aircraft carrying Zambia’s national soccer team to a World Cup qualifying match crashed into the sea minutes after takeoff from Libreville, Zambia. The team was on its way to play Senegal in the second round of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. Eighteen players and five team officials were killed.
Oklahoma State University basketball
On Jan. 27, 2001, a turboprop plane carrying 10 men associated with the Oklahoma State University basketball team, including players Nate Fleming and Daniel Lawson, crashed shortly after takeoff near Boulder, Colorado, after the Cowboys had played at the University of Colorado. Six team staffers and broadcasters also were killed.
Russian ice hockey team
On Sept. 7, 2011, 36 players, coaches and staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team were killed when their plane crashed near Yaroslavl in central Russia. Investigators said one of the two pilots accidentally put the wheel brakes on during takeoff. Of the 45 people on board, 44 died. The only player who survived the initial crash later died of burns. A flight engineer was the sole survivor.
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A long back at teams who travel daily on flights, and the black days sports has had to live thru.
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“AZTECS BASKETBALL-WHO ARE YOU”
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They are surely not the team we expected at this point of the season.
Definitely not the program who we have seen over the last group of years.
Something is missing at San Diego State right now, and even Coach Brian Dutcher, admits his team is not the same one night to the next.
The team that played so well in beating Houston early; the one that always gives Gonzaga fits; the side that loves to play in big non conference tournaments, is staggering.
How do you explain the hot-cold outings?
Yes you can scream, ‘back off dude-they are (14-5)’.
But the bracketologists are now saying this is a bubble team, a likely 10th seed if they get in, and wondering if they even survive their own MWC tourney.
Aztecs basketball, at home, used to sledgehammer teams. Not so much now.
This SDSU team was outscored by lowly Air Force (18-2) at home and trailed. And could have-should have lost to Air Force last week.
This Aztecs team trailed sub.500-San Jose State (30-10) early at home and needed a hair on fire comeback to win.
They blew an 18-point lead and got creamed at home by Utah State. They got torched at New Mexico
Something is missing. The back-court which hit tons of three point shots early in wins, is clanking more. We have had first halfs where they scored 20-23 and trailed by 20-at home this season.
The two legitimate bigs have some good games but then games where Magoon Gwath and Jared Coleman-Jones go MIA.
Miles Byrd, their star outside shooter, has gone streaky on them, and this is from a veteran player, who yes is a marked man, but has so many dynamics to his game.
And veteran transfer guard Nick Boyd has had more substandard offensive outings than dominant games you would expect from an NCAA experienced lead guard.
The clock is running out on veteran guard Reese Waters rehab from foot surgery whose rehab seems behind schedule. But the team problems are more than just him being out.
Maybe we expected too much growth in too short a period of time from a rather young roster.
Don’t want to hear about lack of charter flights, transfers, NIL money, tampering, altitude, or guys who transferred out. SDSU played so well so early. Not so much now.
Time is growing short. Once upon a time, they were in the AP-weekly rankings, now no longer a consideration.
Stunning too this is such an up and down year considering, this will not be a year where six MWC teams wind up in March Madness like last year’s assault on the tourney.
Here comes the conference tourney in a couple of weeks and there seems no clear solution to problems. Who is going to score constantly; where did all these turnovers come from; explain these long scoring droughts; where is the tighten the screws defense that was part of the Red-Black personality?
Not jumping off the bandwagon. Just asking one thing.