In This Corner

My Blog Has Moved!!!

2007-11-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

I'm hazy on how all this stuff works. And I'm not sure whatever link you had before will redirect you to the new site.

In case you come here and wonder if I fell of the face of the Earth ... (Answer: Not yet) ... here is the new url that my blog can be found at.

insidesocal.com/SB/inthiscorner

And if that doesn't work, try sbsun.com ... and look for me under the blogs button on the side of the page ... or maybe even in the upper right-hand corner of the home page under the BLOGS tab.

Anyway, don't want to lose you because of the address change. This site will remain up, far as I know ... with the more than 1,000 postings from last September.

But the blogger.com stuff will NOT be transferred to the other blog system. Which is kind of a bummer, but there you are.

USC, UCLA Link: Injured Quarterbacks

2007-10-31T22:11:00.001-07:00

These are football programs with very little in common. But USC and UCLA do share one unfortunate reality this season:

Each has lost its starting quarterback. In UCLA's case, at times its top TWO quarterbacks. And no injury is more damaging than losing the guy who takes snaps.
USC starter John David Booty suffered a broken middle finger in the Stanford game. The offense struggled thereafter, Booty threw four interceptions playing with the bad finger and Stanford won, 24-23.

Booty's replacement, Mark Sanchez, wasn't awful in his three starts, managing victories over two bad teams but then struggling in a big game at Oregon, and throwing two seriously ugly interceptions in the second half.

Over at UCLA, Ben Olson won the job, got dinged and missed the Washington game, which the Bruins won ... but then his backup, Patrick Cowan, got hurt. Olson came back, only to suffer a knee injury early in the Notre Dame game ... and UCLA was stuck with redshirt freshman McCloud Bethel-Thompson ... and the offense imploded in an embarrassing, 20-6 defeat vs. Notre Dame.

Cowan came back, was OK vs. Cal, but struggled at Washington State (after not really practicing all week), and UCLA lost again.

Thus, of the five defeats combined between USC and UCLA ... quarterback issues were involved in four of the five. Which is not unusual, but perhaps overlooked in what has become a market with very high expectations for its college football teams.

Lakers Look Shaky, Very Shaky

2007-10-31T21:58:00.001-07:00

Losing 95-93 to the Houston Rockets is no shame. Houston is good. A few sober analysts are picking them to win an NBA title.

But it's the WAY the Lakers lost, Tuesday night, that was alarming to anyone who thinks this team can amount to anything.

Most alarming, these two concepts:

1. Kobe Bryant. The fans have turned against him, which is going to bruise his ego and dampen his enthusiasm. Also, he seems to have lost a serious chunk of his explosiveness in just the past year. He doesn't jump as quickly, go as high or stay airborne as long as he did even a year ago. It's as if he aged 4-5 years in the last year.

2. The Lakers have NO apparent offense, other than Kobe. Look at that starting five! Ronny Turiaf can't score, Luke Walton can't score, Kwame Brown sure as heck can't score, and D-Fish might have already had his best game of the season (17 points), unless we expect him to go 6-for-9 from the field regularly. If/when Lamar Odom comes back, that will help ... but the Lakers are so starved for scorers that you almost (ALMOST) miss Smush Parker. Who couldn't do anything but score ... but, jiminy, you can't win often scoring 70 a night.

Phil Jackson has no apparent rotation, hasn't decided on starters at center or at backup point ... and the team seemed to have little energy, spirit, cohesion against the Rockets.

At this moment, it's far easier to envision this team mucking around with the Clippers for last place in the Pacific Division ... than it is to see them in the playoffs.

I think Kobe needs to go. It's over. I didn't really grasp that till I saw him slogging around, and heard the fans booing. The sensible thing is to keep him, because you can't get equal value for a guy like him. But the whole atmosphere is poisoned now, and I honestly believe most Lakers fans would rather see the team start over with younger (lesser) players obtained in trade.

Maybe Lakers fans later on will regret a Kobe trade, when he starts scoring points for some new team in a new city which he says "he loves" ... but I just don't see his situation here as salvageable.

The key will be ... the Lakers getting at least decent value in return.

Stars Don't Exactly Come Out at Staples

2007-10-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

I admit I'm not really good at this ... picking out stars. Especially the young ones with limited bodies of works. I just don't recognize them.

But it doesn't look as if Hollywood is all over the Lakers' home opener.

The only two stars I have ID'd are jack Nicholson, who came in late, but is in his customary seat near the opposition bench ... and Charlie Sheen, the comedic actor who likes far older in real life than he does on television.

Sheen is 42, but he looks 52. If the tabloids are correct, he's lived a hard life.

Have to give his makeup artists, on his sitcom, "Two and a Half Men," a lot of credit for making him look like someone young enough to remain a lady-killer.

Kobe Booed Loudly by Staples Crowd

2007-10-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't think he'd get some massive ovation, but neither did I expect Lakers fans to boo Kobe Bryant when he was introduced before the Lakers' season-opener tonight vs. Houston.

But he was. All those negative comments about the Lakers owners, its front office and his teammates finally registered with formerly adoring fans.
Marge Hearn, widow of Lakers broadcast legend Chick, did the introductions. She had trouble with feedback on the microphone, and eventually she held it so far away from her mouth that we couldn't really hear her.

She muddled through to Derek Fisher, former Laker, now back with the team, and a roar of applause went up. By far the loudest of any player so far. With Luke ("LooooK!") Walton a distant second.

Then, as Marge Hearn tried to get in Kobe's name, No. 24's picture appeared on the screen above the floor ... and boos erupted.

At first, I couldn't believe my ears. The fans must be saying something else, or maybe I'm sitting in some odd corner where a few booing fans are all I'm hearing.

But no. The fans were booing Kobe. Apparently because they were ticked off at his summer of whining and complaining and his demands to be let out of a town that had shown him almost nothing but love and adoration.

It was jarring. It was a first. It also was instructive.

And for the first time I felt as if the Lakers would be doing a smart thing by trading Bryant.

His time is over. It's time for him to go. Get as much as you can for him and start over. This isn't going to work. Too much has gone too wrong for too long.

Kobe Speaks! Before the Game!

2007-10-30T18:56:00.001-07:00

Man, is it my birthday, or something?

NBA locker rooms are open for 45 minutes ... up till 45 minutes before tipoff. But that doesn't mean any players actually are IN there who will talk.

But tonight, as we went through the usually pointless exercise of hanging around just to make sure nothing happened and nobody talked, Kobe Bryant came through ... and stopped and spoke for a few minutes.

He didn't say much of anything, but anything before the game has extra value since the daily newspaper deadlines are not conducive to waiting around for his postgame reaction -- which often doesn't come until, like, a half-hour after the game is over.

Among the few things he said were ... he is keen to begin the season. (Which could end with him on another team, or could have him on another team in a month.)

"It’s always exciting," he said. "The first game is always close to the playoff atmosphere as you’re going to get in the regular season because there's so much buzz around. After that, it becomes sort of status quo."

More on Kobe in the Wednesday newspapers.

My NBA Fantasy Draft

2007-10-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

Fantasy sports. Yeah, I know none of you care, but I've got this stuff already typed up, and maybe five of you will find interesting the order that the six guys involved in the Sun Hoops League drafted their NBA teams for the 2007-08 season. And the rest of you can ignore this post and move on.

I had the third pick ... and took Kobe Bryant. A crap shoot, for sure, because if Kobe stays with the Lakers he might mail in the season. I mean, I don't think he will, but ...

LeBron went first, Garnett second, Kobe third. I didn't really want Garnett, because I think his stats will erode a little in the presence of two other first-tier players (Ray Allen, Paul Pierce) in Boston.

Oh, and I can't believe I took that sleazeball Zach Randolph again, but it was amazing how quickly the truly elite forwards disappeared. Zach was the best around by the time I decided, "Hey, I better get a forward."

Here is the SHL draft: (Teams listed in order of first-round draft order.)

SUN HOOPS LEAGUE 2007-08 ROSTERS

MIKE D:
Forwards: James (1), Gasol (15), Butler (37), West (50)
Guards: Wade (8), Pierce (22), JJohnson (29), JRichardson (57)
Centers: Okur (36), Curry (43)

DAMIAN:
Forwards: Garnett (2), Bosh (9), GWallace (38), JoSmith (51)
Guards: Carter (23), Paul (30), DWilliams (31), Roy (44)
Centers: DHoward (16), Aldridge (58)

PAUL:
Forwards: Randolph (24), AJefferson (25), Maggette (39), Artest (52)
Guards: Bryant (3), Redd (17), KevMartin (45), Hamilton (59)
Centers: Duncan (10), JO'Neal (32)

MIKE T:
Forwards: Marion (18), Deng (19), Lewis (40), Granger (46)
Guards: Arenas (4), Nash (11), Gordon (33), RDavis (53)
Centers: Camby (26), Ilgauskas (60)

BRIAN:
Forwards: Nowitzki (5), Iguodala (27), Jamison (34), RJefferson (55)
Guards: Iverson (13), BDavis (20), Billups (41), Parker (47)
Centers: Stoudemire (12), SO'Neal (54)

GREGG:
Forwards: Anthony (7), Boozer (14), Durant (42), JHoward (49)
Guards: McGrady (21), Allen (28), Kidd (35), MWilliams (56)
Centers: Yao (6), Bogut (48)

Anyway, What Are the Dodgers Waiting For?

2007-10-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

Can't they just go ahead and name Joe Torre their manager? If it's the slam-dunk everyone says it is?

One theory out there is that Ned Colletti wanted to make sure Grady Little had the chance to say he resigned. Try to be kind to the old coot.

If so, that's quite retro and kinda sweet. But it led to some really awkward moments when Colletti had to pretty much lie about having a replacement already lines up ... And it got weird when Little insisted it was HIS decision not to come back, and that he didn't make it till today ... and Colletti suggesting HE (not owner Frank McCourt) was interviewing Joe Girardi and "some other" candidates ... just to have something on the burner if Grady decided to quit.

Something of a farce, basically.

Anyway, I'm at the OTHER big event of the L.A. sports day, the Lakers' opener at Staples. And even here people are talking about the Dodgers.

Locker rooms about to open. Time to get down the hall and see what Phil Jackson has to say ... and if Kobe makes any sort of statement before the game. Which he won't, but we have to go hang around in case he does.

Little Out, Torre Not Quite in Yet

2007-10-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Man, did that happen fast.

Everyone now is talking about how Grady Little was "dead man walking" as far as managing the Dodgers next year ... but did you read or hear that ANYWHERE before the past few days?

No, you didn't. But lots of people are acting as if they knew Grady Was Gone for MONTHS. If "everyone" knew that ... they sure did a great job of not talking about it.

Anyway, it's official. The Dodgers had a conference call at 4 p.m. and Grady came on the line and said he was resigning, that he could have kept the job had he wanted to (he had another year on his contract) ... and Ned Colletti backed him on that. But the Dodgers are refusing to budge on the "and Joe Torre is going to replace Grady" part of it.

Speculation on the hold up is all over the place. Maybe Torre is trying to get his mind around working for less than the $5 million a year he found "insulting" when the Yankees offered it.

Other versions of rumors have Alex Rodriguez as part of the Torre move ... not part of it so much as in tandem with it.

And the most pedestrian aspect is getting the Dodgers to agree to accept X number of Torre coaches. Don Mattingly, etc.

Grady Little? Not a bad guy. Seemed like a good human being. Slow to anger, folksy, friendly. He isn't a great manager. He did too many odd things, made too many strange pitching decisions, couldn't keep his clubhouse quiet.

His coaches were a collection of mediocrities. He didn't help himself there. Rich Donnelly forever will be remembered for allowing J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent to be tagged out, in succession, at home plate in the 2006 playoffs with the Mets. The other guys ... massively unspectacular, too.

So, the Dodgers are about to get another gang of non-Dodgers to run the team. Which doesn't seem right, but there you are. Torre and his Yankees pals. Wonder if Frank McCourt will want to put the Dodgers in pinstripes next year,

Joe Girardi Seems Kinda Creepy

2007-10-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Just look at his eyes, and the haircut. He looks more than a little like Private Pyle in "Full Metal Jacket," and if you saw that movie, you know that ain't good.

You can almost feel the guy's intensity burning right off the page, or the screen. Which might be something you like in a squad leader, or even a football coach, but probably isn't the right idea for someone who has to lead a team for 162 games.

Meanwhile, Joe Torre is mellow as can be. So I'm conflicted about this Dodgers manager situation.

If we figure that Grady Little is toast (au revoir, G-man; enjoy kicking back in North Carolina, spending that guaranteed 2008 money and riding your motorcycle) ... it apparently was going to be Girardi or Torre -- whomever the Yankees didn't hire.

The Yankees have hired Girardi, who may be nuts. But the Dodgers of the moment might have NEEDED someone like that. This is a lazy, uninspired team, and somebody willing and able to put his cleats up someone's backside might have helped tons, short-term. (Jeff Kent would have loved Joe Girardi, I'm thinking; Kemp, Loney, Ethier, Penny would have hated it.)

Torre is, what, 67, and his approach will be measured and intelligent. He will be working with far less talent ... but what the heck. He should be OK, and far easier with which to deal, just talking selfishly, as a journalist.

Clippers and the Mark of the Beast

2007-10-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

OK, this is fairly silly, but it's the sort of thing I often notice.

A pattern where the numbers "666" come up.

Heck, I work at a company where the main switchboard number ends in 666, and I assume somebody CHOSE that number 30, 40 years ago.

Anyway, the Clippers already seem to have luck/karma issues, and then I get an email from them that is exactly 666,000 bytes in length. I'm not sure I've seen that before.

How do I know this? My company email lists the lengths of every piece of mail that comes in. And there was the Clippers' "opening night roster" at 666K. Not 665, not 667. 666.

Are the Clippers doomed? If so, it's because Elton Brand (Achilles) won't play before February, and maybe not before 2008-09. And because Shaun Livingston will miss the whole season.

Anyway, just a weird coincidence ... but it IS the Clippers.

Bruich, Kaiser Lose a Sunkist League Game?

2007-10-30T03:15:00.000-07:00

Yep. True story. Took two overtimes, but Jurupa Valley edged Kaiser 27-26 Monday night, ending Kaiser's league winning streak at 32 consecutive games.

Heck of a run. That includes six consecutive league titles for Kaiser and a 2-0 start this year.

And it means Dick Bruich, winningest coach in San Bernardino County prep football history, really was NOT kidding when he told us, back in August, that this was going to be a tough season for his Kaiser Cats.

The Sunkist League now officially is a mess. Kaiser, Jurupa Valley, Bloomington and Norte Vista all are 2-1 in league play.

Bloomington perhaps has a leg up here. The Bruins finish out with Summit (0-3) and Patriot (1-2). After beating Norte Vista 20-13, the Bruins are done with the other three schools that are 2-1.

Norte Vista would seem to have the toughest road, with games still against both Kaiser and Jurupa.

Kaiser (Patriot) and Jurupa Valley (Summit) each have one game against the bottom two.

Kaiser beat Bloomington, so Kaiser is the league's No. 1 representative in the playoffs if those two tie at 4-1.

But Bloomington holds a tiebreaker over Jurupa Valley -- which holds a tiebreaker over Kaiser. If they finish in a three-way tie at 4-1, which is my guess ... we're probably looking at coin flips to determine who goes 1, 2 and 3 into the playoffs.

Yeah. A mess. And only Jurupa Valley (5-3) has a winning overall record of any team in the league. Bloomington is 4-4. Everyone else is 2-6.

Which reminds me ... no Dick Bruich team has ever lost seven games. But this one will, unless it wins a CIF title.

And Colletti Better Watch His Back

2007-10-30T02:54:00.000-07:00

If my L.A. News Group colleague, Tony Jackson, is right about the Joe Torre stories emanating from Dodgers ownership, and not from the GM ... we could be about to see a replication of the fall of 2005.

That was when McCourt alleged allegiance to GM Paul DePodesta, and then DePo went out to replace Jim Tracy, and was all set to go with Terry Collins ... when McCourt decided DePo was part of the problem and dumped DePo and hired Colletti.
If McCourt goes over Colletti's head to hire Torre ... is Colletti in trouble, too?

DePo and Colletti are vastly different personalities (cerebral, Ivy League vs. Average Joe, baseball old-schooler) ... but their circumstances after two seasons are quite similar.

Dodgers made the playoffs in DePo's first year.

Dodgers made the playoffs in Colletti's first year.

Dodgers started well, ended badly in the second year for both DePo and Colletti.

DePo didn't get a third year, which I believe was a major mistake. Colletti might not get a third year, which would be no problem, far as I'm concerned. Colletti has made as many mistakes as did DePo, and his have been more expensive. (Jason Schmidt, Juan Pierre, Bill Mueller, etc.)

I think Colletti will stay ... but I'm just pointing out the dynamics of the situation seem fairly reminiscent of the 2005 shakeup, which started out as a managerial change ... and ended as a GM change, too.

Torre to Dodgers? Must Be McCourt's Idea

2007-10-30T02:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure we can underestimate the Dodgers owner's fascination with all things Boston/New York.

And since he can't have Joe Girardi to manage the Dodgers, he may settle for Joe Torre, instead. Hey, he managed the Yankees. He MUST be special!

That's the world view, inside McCourt's head.
Now, I'm not saying Grady Little ever will be confused with Jim Leyland or Tony La Russa. But he's not awful. Give him real talent, and Little would be fine.

But McCourt seems to believe that anyone who once wore pinstripes or red socks is special.

So Joe Torre could be here by the end of the week.

Torre would represent a strong, dignified presence in the managers office. And he probably would enjoy the laid-back Dodgers lifestyle, as opposed to the New York madhouse.

We shall see. I'm ambivalent about this. Little is so ... blah ... but if a dope like Clint Hurdle can get to the World Series, are managers really all that important?

More UCLA Woes: Kahlil Bell Done

2007-10-30T02:42:00.000-07:00

Kahlil Bell, UCLA's best running back (by miles) this season tore ligaments in his knee at Washington State on Saturday and is done for the season.

This is very, very bad news for the Bruins. With Chris Markey hobbled all season by turf toe (and how you get turf toe when you spend 95 percent of your season on grass is something I don't get) ... and Bell now gone ... UCLA has no credible running game.

Unless you consider Christian Ramirez and Chane Moline credible threats. Probably something only their moms would endorse.

What this means for UCLA is even more pressure on its rickety quarterbacks (Patrick Cowan, Drew Olson, when he gets back) or its novice ones (McCloud Bethel-Thomspon, or Bethel McCloud-Thompson, whatever, Chris Forcier and Osaar Rasshan).

Without Bell, UCLA's opponents can just focus on stopping the pass. And that may not be hard to stop if Brandon Breazell, UCLA's best receiver, can't play because of a rib injury.

Ack.

The Bruins are imploding. They absolutely could lose their last four and finish 5-7.

Angels, Dodgers: Leave A-Rod Alone

2007-10-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

In a vacuum, sure, it would be nice to have Alex Rodriguez on your team, batting cleanup. Normal year, he's going to hit 45 homers with 125 RBI, and everybody could use that.

Now that he has opted out of the last three years of that 10-year, $252-million contract, A-Rod is available to whomever will shower him with the most cash.

But he would cause too much damage to the local baseball teams for them to enter what figures to be insanely high bidding for the future Hall of Famer.

Let's see: A-Rod's agent, the evil Scott Boras, says A-Rod will walk away from $72 million over the final three years of the contract he signed with Texas in 2001.

That works out to $24 million per year he is giving up. Which, apparently, is not enough for Alex Rodriguez or Boras. Let's put it this way: He didn't just opt out to sign for less cash.

So, what would it take to sign A-Rod? He is going to want more money and more years. That's the point of opting out, as Boras client J.D. Drew did a year ago.

We probably can look at the Drew situation as a guide to how this will play out -- albeit it for a far smaller dollar amount.

Drew gave up the final three years of a five-year, $55 million Dodgers deal ... and got a new five-year deal with the Red Sox, but for $70 million. That's nearly a 30 percent jump in salary, over the five years ... and extends the contract until Drew is 35 years old.

In A-Rod's case, his opt-out will be exponentially more expensive. For sure, it will instantly bloat any payroll and completely skew it, as well. Let's guess $25-30 million a year. We have to think he will want at least five years, at perhaps $150 million, or seven at maybe $210 million ... or maybe even 10 years (A-Rod is 32 now) at $300 million.

Go back and look at those numbers. That's just crazy. And you KNOW the costs would be passed down to consumers.

The Angels and Dodgers each spent about $105 million and change on payroll in 2007.

Are they ready to jump those payrolls by $30 million per year for ONE player -- who could roll his ankle or blow out his knee at any moment?

Vladimir Guerrero makes about $14 million. Are the Angels willing to pay another guy twice what Vladdy gets?

Jason Schmidt made $15.7 million for the Dodgers in 2007, their highest-paid player, and we saw how he turned out. Rafael Furcal made $13.7 million. And both those guys are overpaid.

A-Rod is just too big a risk. It's too much money for one guy. Having him around weirds out your whole salary structure. Plus, teams every year demonstrate that there is no absolute connection between big payrolls and lots of victories.

If there were a connection, the Rockies, Diamondbacks and Indians wouldn't have made the playoffs. The Indians wouldn't have come within a game of eliminating the Red Sox in the ALCS -- after ousting the even more expensive Yankees (with famed non-clutch A-Rod in the 4 hole) in the divisional series.

I imagine both the Dodgers and Angels will take Boras' calls.

I can't imagine either club will sign Alex Rodriguez, and I don't believe they should.

Worst USC Defeat in 70 Games: Seven Points

2007-10-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Oregon 24, USC 17.

By "worst defeat" I'm not talking big picture here (though a case can be made for that, too), just talking pure points.

The last time USC lost a game by as many as seven points was Game 3 in 2002, at Kansas State, a 27-20 defeat. Actually, that was the last time USC lost by more than four points, before Saturday.
That's a heck of a stat. USC had not lost by as much as a touchdown in more than five full seasons of games.

USC's defeats, since the K-State game:

3 points: Washington State 30, USC 27; Game 5, 2002

3 points: Cal 34, USC 31 (OT); Game 4, 2003

3 points: Texas 41, USC 38; Game 13, 2005

2 points: Oregon State 33, USC 31; Game 7, 2006

4 points: UCLA 13, USC 9; Game 12, 2006

1 point: Stanford 24, USC 23; Game 5, 2007

Meanwhile, in USC's 63 victories since that K-State game in 2002, it won by 1-9 points 11 times, 10 or more 43 times, 20 or more 34 times, 30 or more 22 times and by 40 or more eight times.

So, yeah, USC won more games by 40 or more, in its last 70 games (eight) than it lost, total (seven).

Clearly, USC could have won all seven of those games. Even at Oregon, they had the ball at the Ducks 33 with 23 seconds left.

Been a heck of a run. Now we'll see if it's over.

And You Think I Never Write about the Clips

2007-10-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

I went to the Clippers shootaround at Staples Center on Friday and talked with Mike Dunleavy and Sam Cassell.

I wouldn't say they are in a state of denial. They both were fairly frank about their team's prospects: It's going to be a slog, without Elton Brand.

Perhaps the most interesting thing either said was from Cassell, who said the Clippers would have made the playoffs last season had he been healthier.

"We're in the playoffs if I play 65 games," he said. "Simple as that."

Sam played in 58 games, but started only 30. He had a variety of injuries, but that tends to happen to guards pushing 40 years old.

"People say 'Sam's not that big a factor.' But I am. I am.

"I know for a fact that I'm one of the first things other teams talk about when they're playing us."

Also interesting: Dunleavy's recollection of where he was when he heard about Elton Brand suffering a ruptured Achilles, on Aug. 3.

"I was on vacation at Nantuckey (Mass.). Kinda ruined the vacation."

The Clippers seemed fairly well chilled out. In Monday's papers I suggest they're more comfortable seen as an also-ran than as a contender.

They could be competent, at least, if Cassell stays healthy, Corey Maggette has a huge year (and he could, given how many shots he might get) and Chris Kaman lives up to that monster contract the Clips gave him a year ago.

Remember a year ago, when people suggested the Clippers were better than the Lakers? In theory, they could be, but now it would be the better of two bad teams. Hard to imagine either team winning 40 games. The Clips, because they're bad; the Lakers because of the Kobe situation.

Dorrell: USC Loss Obscures Another Flop

2007-10-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

Karl Dorrell is getting his timing down well. Two of his team's three embarrassing defeats this season came the same day USC also lost.

And since USC is the bigger story ... UCLA managed to stay a little under the radar even as it crashed. Which makes you wonder if Dorrell would be in bigger trouble, in terms of keeping his job, if the Notre Dame disaster hadn't happened as USC lost to Stanford, and if the Washington State wreck hadn't happened as USC lost to Oregon.
I'm thinking Karl Dorrell may, finally, be in some trouble if he and the Bruins go to Tucson this week and lose to a truly mediocre Arizona team.

Weird thing about the Bruins is ... they're still 4-1 in the Pac-10 and, still, control their destiny. If they win out, they're no worse than a co-champ with Arizona State, and the Bruins would go to the Rose Bowl because they beat ASU head-up.

But, realistically, I don't see UCLA winning another game. The Bruins are not as good as Oregon, ASU and USC ... and on the road I don't think they win at Arizona.

That would make them 5-7, ineligible for a bowl, and perhaps that would be enough for UCLA to uncouple itself from Dorrell's limp, erratic coaching and teams.

When Will We Have Another Good Series?

2007-10-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

Been awhile since the World Series was genuinely competitive and dramatic. Which is something of a drag.

Last four World Series:

Boston 4, Colorado 0
St. Louis 4, Detroit 1
Chicago White Sox 4, Houston 0
Boston 4, St. Louis 0

Ugh.

In 2003, Florida needed six games to beat the Yankees, but it wasn't exactly a nail-biter.

The 2002 World Series was the last that was genuinely fun and competitive, when the Angels needed seven to defeat the Giants. But even in that one ... THE game was Game 6, when the Angels overcame the five-run deficit then sorta rolled over the shocked Giants in Game 7.

I guess we have to go back to 2001, when the Diamondbacks won Game 7 on that jam-shot single by Luis Gonzalez to find a Series that went down to the wire ... Arizona scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth to beat Mariana Rivera and the Yankees. But even that wasn't some dramatic homer or something.

Anyway, just seems as if the World Series has been an anticlimax pretty regularly for 20 years or so. Same thing often happens in the Super Bowl, too, but it's a one-day inevitability. Not one that spans days, like a lopsided World Series does.

Red Sox, Champions: Ick

2007-10-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

I saw this coming, and hated it all along. I predicted in print, and I think somewhere here, too ... way back before the Angels and Red Sox opened the playoffs ... that Boston would win the World Series.

Even got the sweep right.

Rarely have I been so disappointed to be so right.

Didn't help that the Rockies didn't show up. Didn't help that they had eight days between games. Didn't help that the National League is lousy.

The Red Sox could be a team to deal with for a while. Huge payroll, more intelligently run than the Yankees, some decent young talent, lots of pitching, and their old guys aren't ultra-old.

Ack. Another Boston champion. This is getting old. And we've got the Patriots coming up next. Perhaps followed by the Celtics?

Ick.

Trojans: End of the World as They Know It

2007-10-27T15:58:00.001-07:00

For the first time since 2001, Pete Carroll's first year at USC, the Trojans will not be a factor in the BCS bowl picture.

The Trojans came to life in the waning minutes at Eugene, scoring a quick TD, and had an outside chance of forcing OT -- or even winning with a two-point conversion, but the second of the two interceptions Mark Sanchez threw killed USC's final drive, and Oregon won 24-17.

That's two defeats for USC, which would seem to take them out of the national title picture, barring an absolutely incredible rash of upsets (like, MORE than we already have seen) to just about every top-25 team in the country.

That's also a 3-2 mark in the Pac-10 and, again, barring everybody beating everybody else, 7-2 isn't going to get you a piece of the conference title.

The Trojans, many of them, appeared sell-shocked in the cramped Autzen Stadium visitors locker room. Rey Maluaugua was in tears. Pete Carroll seemed about ready to break down. A few players were defiant (we've got a lot of games left to play, etc.), but many (such as Sanchez) were self-critical. And shocked, shocked to have two defeats before October even is over.

Especially when, remember, this team was pegged as one of the best in college football history -- back in August.

Turns out, it's the worst USC team since 2001, Pete's 6-6 first season at USC.

Going to write about this now for the daily newspapers.

Stick a Fork in the Trojans

2007-10-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Oregon leads 24-10 wityh 11:39 to play, and it's really hard to imagine this USC team scoring two touchdowns in the time remaining.

USC was tied at 10-10 thanks to a 2-0 lead in turnovers.

Then the Trojans gave away the ball twice, and now the game is about to get out of control.

The first turnovers was a fumble by Stanley Havili at the USC 16. I thought he was down, but no one else did, apparently, and Oregon quickly turned that into a 16-yard TD run by Jonathan Stewart.

USC had a nice drive going, a few minutes later, but Mark Sanchez appeared to underthrow tight end Anthony McCoy in the deep flat, Matthew Harper intercepted for Oregon and the Ducks went 58 yards to go up two TDs.

Key play in the drive was a 15-yard, tackle-busting run by Stewart oion third-and-14. A killer. A USC face-mask penalty on a sack didn't help, either.

Don't like USC's chances. Not at all.

Trojans Hanging Around: 10-10 in Third

2007-10-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

Oregon's offense definitely feels more dangerous than does USC's, and the Trojans got only three points out of two great turnovers ... but the 9-yard TD pass from Sanchez to Patrick Turner a moment ago makes it 10-10 in the middle of the third quarter.

USC has achieved a bit of statis, at lead for the moment, by holding onto the ball for some time, and keeping Oregon offense at least sorta in check.

I don't necessarily like USC's chances, not with a sophomore Qb against a senior, not with Oregon's apparent speed advantage ... but there is a bit of a sense that USC's defense (playing well, with Sed Ellis playing tremendously) might be frustrating the Oregon offense.

Oops. The Havili funble at the Oregon 16 looks very bad.

USC Failing to Take Advantage of Breaks

2007-10-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

USC got a fumble on the opening kickoff, and got nothing out of that after the screwy Joe McKnight sweep on fourth-and-1 at the 12.

The Trojans just got a second gift turnover, when a wildly caroming punt hit the two of an Oregon player and Rey Muauluga covered at the Oregon 33.

All USC got out of that was a 30-yard David Buehler field goal, after a first-and-goal at the 9.

So, USC could have 14 points if it had managed TD drives of 21 and 33 yards. Both short fields weren't short enough for Mark Sanchez, who appears a bit rattled, and his receiver corps, which can't get open.

Wasted opportunities come back to haunt you.