goingyard

In case those in L.A. have missed it, the L.A. Galaxy have made the playoff’s.

And not only did they make it, they turned their entire season around from a dismal beginning to win the west.

Maybe this David Beckham deal wasn’t such a bad thing after all…

As a life long Lakers fan it pains me to say that the Boston Celtics scare me.

Cleveland did NOT get better. Shaq’s numbers from last year were infalted because of the way the Suns play offensively and of course because of Steve Nash.

The Orlando Magic were lucky to get into the NBA Finals last year. Vince Carter is not the missing link and they are still too young.

The only team that stands in the way of the Lakers repeating as champions in the 2009-2010 season will be the Boston Celtics. They have the players, the experience, and the best defense in the league. The latter being the biggest reason they will win the east and give the Lakers a run for their money.

All this depends on injuries of course. But remember what you read here today. You can thank me later.

No it’s not seeing Albert Pujols smile just as you let go of your pitch. This is much worse.

 It’s hearing of these songs play as you leave the bullpen:
http://sportales.com/baseball/the-top-five-worst-songs-for-a-relief-pitcher/

You might be saying to yourself: What kind of idiotic headline is that?

In all honesty your assesment of my headline would be right. Afterall the Angels bats have been on fire as of late and they have Major League Baseball’s best team batting average (.289 as of 8/7/09) so far this year. So what’s wrong with the Angels? Well, I’m not talking about right now, I’m talking about later on down the league rode.

Batting is never constant in Major League Baseball. It’s a rollercoaster ride with huge peaks and valleys. You could go 4 for 5 one night and 0 for 5 the next night. When you think about it the best hitters in baseball get 3 hits out of every 10 at bats. That’s 30% (.300 batting average) of the time you get a hit. But more importantly it’s 70% of the time that you don’t.

So while the Angel’s bats are on fire and they are winning games left and right. I’m just hoping that they didn’t peak to early. Im hoping that when playoff time comes around the Angel’s bats aren’t as cold as my ex-wife’s stare.

Jim Hill of KCAL TV in Los Angeles is reporting that Lamar Odom called Jerry Buss yesterday Saturday July 19. He is apparently trying to repair any bridges that might have been burned by his agent Jeff Schwartz when he didn’t respond to a Laker offer.

I for one hope this is true. I want Lamar back. It will make a huge difference to have him coming off the bench. That is if he’s willing to do that again.

I don’t know what kind of contract players sign with agents (why is it that agents seem to have so much power over players when negotiations start. ie Trevor Ariza). Maybe they have to put all their trust in their agents and can’t enter contract negotiations. I have no idea. But even in that case can’t they fire them?

Source: http://cbs2.com/sports/lakers.lamar.odom.2.1090930.html

Here’s the 2008-2009 stats comparison:
Ron Artest: PPG 17.1, RPG 5.2 ,APG 3.3
Trevor Ariza: PPG 8.9, RPG 4.3, APG 1.8

Let me be the first to say that those stats don’t mean a damn thing. What does matter is this: will Ron Artest play nice in the triangle and what does this mean for Lamar Odom?

Ron Artest is not neccessarily known for his passing. Yes he can score and play defense as if his life depended on it. But how will he fit into the triangle? Will he be willing to pass as much as shoot?

One of the reasons for the success of the Lakers the past couple of years is that everyone on that team is willing to make the person playing next to him look better. They were all willing to pass. The only player on the court who would take charge at points in the game and say give me the ball would be Kobe. At times that’s what the Lakers needed. What we don’t need is two players doing that.

Now for the good news. I don’t think any of that will happen. Here’s why. The Lakers have a commander in Phil Jackson that has dealt with this before and wont let it get in the way of championships. They have an elder statesmen in Derek Fisher that will put people in their place without them knowing they are being put in their place. And they have a leader in Kobe who has a drive to win championships and wants to succeed. Not to mention he will put you in your place and let you know that he is putting you in your place.

One more reason it won’t happen. Ron Artest knows his role. He’s third fiddle (as he was in Houston) and he’s ok with that. Otherwise he wouldn’t have come.

That last thing that I’m wondering about is Lamar Odom. How will he feel about having his minutes cut even more. With Bynum, Gasol, Artest, Kobe, and Derek starting will he be ok with having his minutes cut even more. Artest will garner more minutes than Ariza/Walton did last year.

I hope Lamar will be ok with that. In fact he is one of the few players in the NBA who I think would be OK with that.

Only time will tell what will happen. Until that time passes (barring injuries) I can’t wait for the Lakers to meet the Celtics in the finals next year…

Lakers in 6. That has been my rallying call since game one in the Western Conference Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers ended up beating the Denver Nuggets in 6 games. How lucky am I? I can tell you that luck had nothing to do with the Lakers winning. They did it by learning from their mistakes in the past. From facing adversity. From growing into a championship calibur club. The Denver Nuggets are not ready to make that step yet. And I don’t believe neither the Cavs nor the Magic are ready either.

Another big step is the maturity of Kobe Bryant. And I’m not talking about his stats (although it is nice to see such balance). I’m talking about his leadership. Time and time again Kobe lead the team. By letting players know when they made a mistake, when they made the right move, and he reminded them what their main goal was. And this team responds to that.

The Lakers will only lose the championship if they lose the championship. In other words, they won’t lose it because the Cavs or Magic play better. They will only lose it if the Lakers don’t show up. Neither one of those teams is better than the Celtics last year and I think this Laker team might have beaten that team also.

So I’m saying it now. If the Lakers play the Cavs they will win in 6. If they play the Magic they will win it in 5.

That is unless A) they don’t show up or B) an injury occurs. Mark my words.

I had bought tickets to last nights game a couple of months ago. Who would have known I was going to attend the first suspended game for Manny.

The mood of the fans entering Dodger Stadium was a somber one. The crowd seemed very subdued. That  feeling quickly went away after the first inning. The Dodgers came out swinging.They built a 6 - 0 lead with the help of a grand slam home run by Matt Kemp. The crowd woke up and it was a great feeling to be amongst craziness in the stands.

The euphoria disappeared when the Nationals took the lead in the 8th and never looked back. The Dodgers bull pen obviously didn’t hear the same speech the offense heard in the locker room before the game. The Dodgers clawed their way back and almost pulled off a come back victory but ultimately fell short.

If nothing else this showed that the Dodgers are not going to just lay down their bats and wait for July 3rd to arrive. They will move on without Manny. And they will be a better team for it.

I’m tired of hearing all these ex NBA players and NBA analyst say that what Derek Fisher did against Luis Scola was a horrible thing. Your wrong. It may not have been the smartest thing he’s done but it was not the dumbest either.

The ting all of you have missed is that Fish was defending one of his own. He was telling the Rocket’s that if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Team unity is what he was preaching. Missing one game won’t hurt the Lakers.

I doubt any of the Rockets would do the same for Ron Artest.

In case you have been living in a bubble and have not heard yet, Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug. Per Section 8.G.2 of the Program.

Here are the facts as of today (10:36 am, May 7 2009): Manny suspended 50 games. Tested positive. He will not fight the suspension. He will be eligible to be back July 3rd. Manny will be losing 1/3 of his salary (around 7.7 million dollars) from his 45 million dollar contract. Xavier Paul will be called up from triple A to take Manny’s roster spot.

Here is what is not known: What Manny tested positive for. According to Manny, in a statement he released earlier , that he was given a prescription drug from a physician for a personal illness. The doctor thought this medication was not on the banned list. And they are also saying it was not a steroid.

Being a Dodger fan I hope that what Manny is saying is true. I really really want to believe it. But it’s almost like “here we go again”. Another great baseball player showing us he’s not so great. What Manny needs to do now is come out with everything. Have the doctor come out and speak, tell us what ailment he has, show us the prescription, and let us know what drug he took. If he can’t or doesn’t do that, why should we believe him?