Rumblings & Grumblings

Just some randoms thoughts over the past few days regarding sports and life here in L.A.

- The Lakers: I'm not that concerned about the whole Kobe Bryant situation. Our Lakers and NBA correspondent Dan Noyes and I will be discussing this issue this week and we will post our thoughts on the Kobe melodrama later in the week. I think he will stay for various reasons, but what does concern me is what we saw last night in their season opener. A game the Lakers should have won, and should have won by at least 10 points. What pisses me off, is the 18 missed free throws, 1 own basket by Luke Walton, Kobe shooting well under 50%, and the Lakers not being able to hit the broad side of a barn in the 3rd quarter. All that and they only lost by two. Now I know Lamar Odom isn't playing, but this lineup put out by Phil Jackson in the 3rd quarter while the Rockets were making a visible run actually scared me: Andrew Bynum, Chris Mihm, Luke Walton, Maurice Evans, and Jordan Farmar. Holy Christ! At least the defense played a bit better.

- The Dodgers: Finally, the Dodgers actually make some noise during the offseason, in a way that actually takes attention away from the Yankees and Red Sox. Grady Little officially 'resigned" yesterday, making the possibility of Joe Torre look even better. The Dodgers had apparently offered Joe Girardi a 3 year deal worth an estimated 7.5 million, which the Yankees ended up matching. As we all know, Girardi went with the Yankees, and the Dodgers turned their attention to Torre, who would most likely include Don Mattingley as his bench coach. I'm starting to get a bit excited if that's true, but I guess anyone who thinks that Mark Hendrickson should sit on the bench is an upgrade. As for the A-Rod rumors (that he may follow Torre to L.A.), I don't really mind them. A lot of peole I've talked to would hate to have A-Rod on the Dodgers. Well, he's better than anyone the Dodgers have had in the last10 years of so, and if he chokes in the postseason, who cares? At least we're there.


- The L.A. Kings: Just kidding, the NHL is lame....

- Loyola 9 - Notre Dame 26: Normally, I would loathe losing to anyone named Notre Dame. But, the Cubs put up a valiant effort against a very good team, a team that most people thought would run up the score (as they did last year, scoring on nearly every drive in the first half). The defense played exceptionally well against a high powered offense, while the Loyola offense couldn't get much going. It looks like the Cubs will have to win their next two games to make the playoffs, and will have to surprise some people as they come in as underdogs against Crespi.


- The fires: Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone displaced and effected in some way by the fires that raged across Southern California. Unbelievable. The fires displaced more people than Hurricane Katrina, and the worst part about it is that some of the fires were started by arson. I personally think that the arsonists who started any of these fires, should be hunted down and publicly humiliated and reprimanded. If you are such an asshole that you decide to start a fire when you know full well that it will turn into something devastating that will leave a wake a burned buildings and house-less people, then you should not be allowed to be in the public setting anymore. There is something mentally wrong with someone who would do that, and although it is not quite the same as committing cold blooded murder, that implications are the same, as starting a fire of that magnitude does endanger people's lives and can lead to death. Lock em up I say, and throw away the key.


MUSIC COMING SOON!!