OK, Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program

Enough of sports that pass the time from football season to baseball season. I know baseball season officially started last week, however this blog's season starts after the Dodger home opener, one that featured the dreaded failure of Lon Rosenburg's brain child, ten dollar cups of cheap beer, a cheering section that reminded me of a walk I took down Boyle Heights, and a loss to mediocre Rockie ball club. But hey, the tickets were free and the kid enjoyed himself, so what more can I ask for?

All these two bit hacks that suggest Jason Schmidt is a shell of what he used to be are full of crap. He made his mistakes, however the shot that Garret Atkins hit in the first was a good fastball, clocked at 82 but really more like 89, that Atkins turned on and smacked out of the park. Some Yahoo! Sports "analysts" make the claim that Atkins could have caught that ball with his bare hands and tossed it back to the pitcher like Jack Parkman did to Rick Vaughn in Major League 2. All I have to say to an unnamed writer, Tim Brown, is when have you ever tried to hit big league pitching? Atkins could have caught that with his bare hands had he wanted to shatter his hand.

One thing that is painstakingly clear is that this club has no home run threat. Matt Kemp may be it, however he can't play right field, as witnessed by his face meeting the wall incident in the fifth. James Loney, the team's best hitter in spring training is down in AAA, they could sure use that bat right about now as the team once again made a mediocre Jeff Francis look like a Cy Young candidate. One digression, I hate it when pitchers strike out a batter to end the inning and walk off the field like someone just pinched them in the taint, walk off like a normal human being Jeff and get the hell in the dug out.

That's all I got for now, Schmidy will be back, only a leg cramp, but Matt Kemp looks like he could use some time off after smacking into that wall like an AFL player. That was nasty and it sounded like that time when you were a kid and you get pushed into the aluminum trash cans and, any one? Anyone? No? OK, but in any case, it was bad and hopefully he is able to come back without the need of a shoulder or backiotomy.

The parking situation didn't help matters either. Getting in was not a problem, however I knew I was in for a rough time when I entered the lot and began follow a long line of cars into an area of the stadium I never even knew existed. Needless to say, they don't call lot 15 "the hole" for nothing. The place reminded me of the yard at San Quentin from the movie American Me, and all the "esses" and "homeboys" made the walk to the stadium a bit of the adventure for my party and the kid. Needless to say, the "ear muffs" rule went out the window for the day. This new parking system isn't worth the paper they signed Lon Rosenburg's contract on, and here is hoping the VP of Customer Experience gets canned ASAP.

In any case, the game was blast and everyone enjoyed themselves that of course is the reason we all go. Never mind the game, if the Dodgers win it's a bonus, but you really go to hang out with friends and family and take in the entire pomp and circumstance. With that said, they better win tonight, because from this point forward, it's all about the game.

More Ridiculous Hockey Videos

In the ever growing list of why the NHL is becoming increasingly unwatchable, I submit for your consideration a video of Islander "tough guy" Chris Simon, who apparently thinks graphite shaft on face makes for a pleasant experience.

I Went to a Boxing Match, and a Hockey Game Broke Out

This video illustrates why the NHL can never really shake the image of on ice goon squads and is definitely a niche sport.

Becks Hams It Up

So by now all the really annoying office know-it-alls have exclaimed about how David Beckham is coming to America, more importantly, coming to the greater Los Angeles Area. Just what this city needed, another prissy bastard with a superiority complex.

I am a big Beckham guy, when he is delivering quality service balls to Ryan Giggs or Teddy Sheringham. Since his departure from Old Trafford, he has gone without winning one major trophy with Real Madrid and has contributed to more bench time then actual pitch time. But hey, he looks pretty.

I fear that this is just another Carlos Hermosillo move, bringing in a big time name soccer star that ends up flaming out and collecting a paycheck. I hope that it isn't the Hermosillo model and more the Hristo Stoichkov model with the Chicago Fire, where a player in the downside of his career was able to come in and play serious minutes making the Fire one of the better and more stable franchises in the MLS. Stoichkov had a brilliant playing career in Europe and actually won titles with Barcelona, however he didn't have the face for the American media. In any case, the MLS has made it a habit of signing guys with big name value, but little left in the tank.

Is Becks washed up, well he is injury prone and the "Galacticos" declined to resign him or even offer a new contract for a reason. Since the World Cup he has garnered more attention for having his captaincy with the FA taken away and his subsequent departure from the national team. Again, there was a reason Steve McClarren took the armband away and didn't make a big fuss when Becks left the squad.

So the future for the MLS looks somewhat brighter. They have proven that given the right circumstances, they can go out and sign a guy with name value. Is Ronaldo to the Red Bulls next? That has yet to be determined due to the influx of money being pumped into world soccer by Dubai and the United Arad Emirates, two countries that have made it "business as usual" employing the Gabriel Batistutas and Rivaldos of the world. In any case, the MLS has their franchise guy to go along with another guy, Landon Donovan, that needs to be the poster boy for American soccer. Surely the move is seen as a positive for Donovan, who needs a swift kick in the arse after his rotten egg at the 2006 World Cup.

However the Galaxy and the MLS risk re-opening pandora's box. They can end up with a guy with little left in the tank that collects paychecks for a living, something that they desperately tried to get away from after the countless number of disasters in league signing history. "El Matador" anyone? This would do a lot to stop the growth of young, promissing American soccer talent that this league was supposed to showcase. As it is, the league already has shipped out some of the better American talent to Europe. That is of course the point of the league and American Soccer has come a long way from John Harkes and Alexi Lalas. However the MLS is in that critial period where it has to land some credibility on the world stage if it is going to ultimately survive. American soccer settled with the appointment of Bob Bradley as US national coach and failed miserably in trying to legitimise the program with a big name like Jurgen Klinnsman. So that gauntlet has been dropped and this move must bring some legitimacy to the MLS and American soccer or come 2010 no one will really care about US soccer and the development of the program.

Will I go watch? Perhaps. I mean, it is going to be a circus for the first few months when he is around and games will probably be sold out. As people realize that the product on the field is still soccer, the true hard core fans will remain, and I will be there supporting my guy Sasha and company with the thousand or so fans that frequent the Home Depot Center. Besides, I really don't feel like being part of that whole Scientology Revival the first couple of months as all of Becks' Hollywood friends like Tom Cruise and Will Smith make the Galaxy games the new "sports" experience.

Life is Complete Again!!!

From Tom Hoffarth's Blog:

-- Official word finally came out that, at last, Petros Papadakis will return to the L.A. sports-talk airwaves, teamming up with Matt "Money" Smith in the KLAC-AM (570) afternoon drive 4-7 p.m. slot starting this Monday. Papadakis, who left 1540-AM a few months back after starting his radio career and picking up a No. 1 ranking in our 2006 Best/Worst of L.A. Media poll for sports-talk hosts, had been rumored to be going to 570 for some time now, but nothing could be said until the contracts were worked out. The announcement was finally made Friday after station program director Don Martin gives Joe Grande and Wayne Cook the standard "we're going in a new direction" speech. “Right now the crazy thing is I haven't worked on the radio in three months so I've got so many things built up in my brain that my head is about to explode," Papadakis said. Smith added: "Of all the talented people I’ve had the privilege to work with, I say with great certainty Petros is right at the top. His passion, creative genius and unique perspective on not just sports, but all talking points is a refreshing change from what this city was accustomed.“ Daily News USC beat writer Scott Wolf, a regular on Papadakis' 1540 show, has already posted a blog item on this. The 570-AM website has already taken down the bios of Cook and Grande from the "Good Times" show promos.

The news comes as KSPN-AM (710) went ahead and hired Kevin Kiley to babysit D'Marco Farr on the 1-3 p.m. slot., starting Tuesday, Jan.16. Good luck with that one. Kiley has assignments as an NFL sideline reporter for Westwood One coverage of the NFL playoffs for the time being and is willing to relocate to L.A. since he has a kid attending UCLA. Will the show get better? At least Killey will challenge Farr on all his half-baked ideas about what makes the sports world go around. And on NFL picks, we're guessing Kiley would at least win against a dog.Knowing these two hirings were on the way, we decided to hold off the release of the 2007 Best/Worst of L.A. Media series until February to give these guys a chance to settle in and work their way into the Top 10 list, where they belong.

New Year Round Up

Rose Bowl
Vegas listed the line as Michigan -3, I think a lot of people lost their parlay on that one. Michigan apparently forgot that New Year's was a time to show the world what your squad is made of, you bring out the best and you try to prove the fans and voters that you belong. In Michigan's case, it was also a chance for them to prove that their BCS title game snub was a mistake. Had they brought the house to the Trojans and completely dominated their PAC 10 opponents, they could have made a legitimate argument that they should have been included in the BCS party. After further review, the call stands.

Michigan was completely overwhelmed by Pete Carrol and the fellas, got dominated like they had been last season, when the Maize and Blue lost 7 games including a pre-New Year, who cares bowl. With it, the onced hyped and celebrated Woverine team that had only lost once all season, a thriller to rival Ohio State, has reopened the question everyone wants answered, is Lloyd Carr history?

After an uneventful first half, the Trojans went three and out on what looked like really bad play calling. Lane Kiffen and Steve Sarkesian called ISO right with Chauncy Washington that resulted in a loss of yardage and a fourth down. That is when Pete Carrol decided enough was enough. A Lawrence Jackson interception at mid field, and the Trojans decided the antiquated running game was done and over with. An offensive onslaught insued with John David Booty picking appart the Michigan secondary on what seemed like easy pitch and catches to Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the Woverines. Their desire to stick with the run resulted in digging themselves a huge whole in the third quarter that they could not get themselves out of. Mike Hart was useless, and the offensive line was being overmatched by a quicker defensive squad that often times met Hart or Chad Henne in the backfield. It got to a point where the best defender for USC was the clock in Henne's head that made him hear the foot steps and feel the pressure and release the ball early, underthrowing his wide open recievers.

What was left was a game that lacked any real interest, despite the touchdown strikes Michigan had in garbage time. With the game all but wrapped up, the only thing Bob Davie and "Mush Mouth" Brent Mussberger could zero in on was Dwayne Jarrett's taunting display toward the Michigan secondary. I guess they didn't watch the first half when the Michigan corners got away with holds and illegal contact down field, or when Michigan safeties would stand over Jarrett and Smith after they broke up a play and flap their gums. I think pointing at a guy and handing him the football pales in comparison to some of the crap Michigan was trying to pull. It's not DJ's fault the Wolverine secondary is slower and softer then they think they are.

So, officially the UCLA loss was a fluke, and the Bruins never won that game, they Trojans lost it. UCLA's blow out loss to a down Florida State in another preseason, whatever bowl that has come to be the symbol of the Karl Dorrell era is proof of that. With that said, the preseason hype will be much deserved, USC will be the preseason number, end of story. A distant second will be Michigan.

Fiesta Bowl
The only thought I have to say about what Boise State did to Oklahoma is to display my disgust for the officiating crew. If the NCAA wants OU to win so badly to make this "mid-major" argument go away then they should have just named the Sooners Fiesta Bowl champs. A phantom pass interference call on an uncatchable pass set up the tying touchdown for the Sooners, who would have won the game had Jared Zabrinsky not been a real "G" and led his squad down the field. A couple of trick plays later, and the Broncos pull off the "annexation of Puerto Rico" play win. God bless the WAC, Mountain West, WCC, and all mid majors everywhere.

By the way, how far has Bob Stoops fallen when he is cheering a game tying two point conversion like he just won the Super Bowl and gets out classed by a first year WAC coach. I guess the Big 12 isn't what it used to be anymore.

Defeat From Victory

Like several things in life, the actions of today may not come back to bite you in the ass until several years later. It is true when it is said that the displacement of wind by a butterfly in Indonesia will lead to a hurricane in the North American atlantic. That moment struck last Saturday, as the number 2 ranked USC Trojans surprisingly lost the unranked UCLA Bruins. Now knowing me, yeah I root for the fellas, however that doesn't stop me from being objective. I stated as early as April that this Trojan team was losing a lot and that all the controversy surrounding the program would lead to a tough season. Regardless, what transpired Saturday on the grounds of the Rose Bowl did more to damage the Bruins in the long run.

"What the hell are you talking about Gaffer? We won the freakin game, score board, in your face, suck on that!" Sure, on the surface that is the gut reaction reaction to the above statement. But consider this for a moment Bruin fan. All indications pointed to the fact that the Bruins were looking to get rid of the very mediocre and often over matched Karl Dorrell in favor of bringing in a class coaching name like Steve Mariucci. Yes, that Steve Mariucci, the guy who made a very average Jeff Garcia and the San Francisco 49ers into perrenial playoff contenders. The same Mooch that came to mentor Brett Favre and made him into one of the better quarterbacks in the league before he started to turn into the interception machine he is now. Yes, that Steve Mariucci, who dispite having a losing record at the Detroit Lions, still got the team to some level of respectability had Matt Millen actually known what he was doing. Yes, that very same, good looking NFL coach, was being rumored to be interested in the UCLA job had Dan Guerrero come knocking. With the win on Saturday all that changes.

It all changes because now Karl Dorrell has that "signature victory," the kind that most coaches get when they are able to finally cross over into the somewhat respectable class. Carroll had his in 2003, when his two loss Trojan team trounced the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Orange Bowl to mark the beginning of the latest SC dynasty. For some coaches the wait takes several years in developing. Mack Brown didn't have his until last year, when his Texas team was finally able to overcome Oklahoma while winning a critical game at the Horseshoe in Columbus. And for others, the wait continues. Take Charlie Weis for instance, he is still searching for his "signature victory" as Lloyd Carr, Jim Tressel, and Pete Carroll still have his number. Dorrell, for all intents and purposes, had his, as much as a gift that it was from Lane Kiffen and Steve Sarkisian, two offensive coordinators that could not figure the complex zone packages that DeWayne Walker was able to use. Yes, Dorrell's "signature win" is in every bit owed to the hard work of Walker.

So, this leaves Dan Guerrero at a crossroads. With Mooch days away from being named the new Bruin head coach after another UCLA loss to the Trojans, the unthinkable happened. Blame Eric McNeal. Had that interception in the 4th hit the ground, or at least been ruled to have hit the ground, as it did, then the Bruins would have fired Dorrell the very next day and no one would have been the wiser. They would have even gotten away with it without much uproar by the media and the NAACP because all they had to do was say he didn't take the program to a big time bowl, and never beat his cross town rivals. Instead, the interception was made, and with it Dorrell's career as a head coach. He is untouchable.

So again, what good does the win bring with it? Well the Bruins are still going to a no name pre-New Year Bowl game to play a very mediocre Florida State team. They go into another season with no real passing game and no big time runners in the back field. They also lose a major portion of the defensive unit that helped stop the vaunted Trojan offense. They also get to keep their lack luster coach, who will get another shot at a sub par season due to his "signature win." Mooch gets to look at other options, most likely Arizona State, where the future is in place in the form of All CIF quarterback Rudy Carpenter who grew on the job at A-State after Sam Keller left for Nebraska. Pete Carroll is Pete Carroll. All he will do is reload and look forward to next year's game at the Coli with what seems to be a Heisman candidate in JD Booty.

So again, what does the win bring? It's like the Dodgers sweeping a weekend set in the Bay only to get swept in the first round of the playoff or the Lakers putting in a great season only to make an early exit from the show. It is all for not. Not because the win doesn't mean anything, sure revel in the fact that you beat a number 2 team in the country, however your coach, your cancer, stays in place with very little that can be done to correct the situation. Just sit back and hope that Dorrell doesn't turn in another 6 or 7 win season and leads the team to another pre-New Year, no name bowl game.

Of course when pressed, Guerrero backed off the rumors that the calls were made to Mooch, what else is he going to say? It was really interesting that Guerrero was quick to attack the line of questioning posed by beat writers, yet he never actually denied the reports on their merit. All this, I'm sure will be talked about as the Bruins embark for their Emerald Bowl appearance that is given to the PAC 10 number 4 or 5 team.

So sure, soak up the victory, fly your flag high and wear your colors proudly Bruin fan, your mediocre season is a success with this latest victory. However think about the fact that in this era of big time football, your program is still without an appearance in a New Year Bowl game since 1999, and have not won a New Year Bowl since 1986. That's a pretty long time, but hey, 2005 Sun Bowl Champions is a major achievement.