A House Divided: SoCal Crosstown Rivalry Fandom-Which Side Of The Fence Are You On?

For every sports fan out there one of the most common questions that they have very likely been asked at some point is what team or teams do they like to root for. Finding out the answer to that question is likely more interesting if a particular city, state or country has more than one team that plays in the same league.

For example, in the greater Los Angeles area where my family and I live, both of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels (who play in Anaheim, California), play their games as members of the Major League Baseball (MLB) professional sports league. The Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers play in the City of Angels for the National Football League (NFL). Both of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers are yearly participants of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks call the National Hockey League (NHL) their home.

For those sports cities like Los Angeles who have more than one professional sports team in each league, fans will usually have only one team that is their favorite to root for most of the time. Up to this point in my life I don't think I have ever met or come across someone who has said that they root for both teams equally in a particular sport. They will usually have only one team or teams that they root for or are a fan of in a given sport. These various rooting interests for only one team in a particular sport served as the inspiration for this new series of blog posts at Tim's Sports World about crosstown rivalry fandom.

Without further ado I now present the first installment of this brand new series about crosstown rivalry fandom which will focus on the sports teams that play in the Southern California region or area!:

Clayton Kershaw Photo (Top) Courtesy Of:

Wikimedia and Arturo Pardavila III on Flickr

Under CC BY 2.0 License.

Mike Trout Photo (Bottom) Courtesy Of:

 Wikimedia and Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA  Under CC BY-SA 2.0 License.                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                 

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) Vs. Los Angeles Angels (LAA) (MLB)

Both of the Angels and Dodgers baseball teams of Major League Baseball (MLB) have called the Southern California area their home now for the last 50 to 60 years or so.

The Dodgers moved to the Los Angeles area from Brooklyn in New York in 1958 and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 1958 to 1961 before moving in to Dodger Stadium in 1962, while the Angels franchise played their first ever season in team history in 1961 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. After the 1961 season the Angels played their home games at Chavez Ravine (A.K.A. Dodger Stadium) from 1962 to 1965. Since the 1966 season the Angels have called Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California their home ballpark.

Both teams also play their games in two separate leagues with the Dodgers playing in the National League while the Angels take on competitors from the American League. Even though these two teams have played in separate leagues throughout their history, there are times throughout the season each year when both teams have played each other. When that happens, those series of games are referred to as the "Freeway Series" due to the fact that many of the fans can go to the games by driving on the freeways in the Los Angeles area. As a matter of fact, the one freeway that has access to both cities and stadiums is the 5 Freeway.

When it comes to figuring out the rooting interest of both teams, this is probably the one that is the most easy call for me to make as a fan. Since my family and I have been fans of the Angels for as long as I can remember, it's a no-brainer that they would come out on top in this contest.

There was even a period of time for a few years during which my dislike for the Dodgers was so intense that I would be really mad or upset if they were either beating the Angels in the head-to-head match ups or were having a much better season than the Angels were.

If I remember things correctly, this was also around the same time that Frank McCourt owned the Dodgers which also added to the intensity of my animosity of the Boys in Blue. Now that Frank McCourt no longer owns the team however, my negative views of the Dodgers have changed considerably over the last few years but not enough to the point where I would choose to root for them over the Angels when they play against each other.

Jared Goff Photo (Top) Courtesy Of:

Wikimedia and Jeffrey Beall Under

CC BY 4.0 License.

Philip Rivers Photo (Bottom) Courtesy Of:

Wikimedia and Jeffrey Beall Under

CC BY 4.0 License. 

2. Los Angeles Rams (LAR) Vs. Los Angeles Chargers (LAC) (NFL)

This same city National Football League (NFL) sports rivalry is the newest one to have arrived recently in the Southern California area. For the Rams this is now the second time in their franchise history that they have played a large part of their games in the state of California after a long detour in St. Louis, Missouri while the Chargers are currently playing in only their second season ever in the city of Los Angeles. Before that of course, they spent their previous seasons playing in the city of San Diego, California.

In terms of now having not one, but two football teams in Los Angeles after an absence of over 20 years, I'm still not quite used to knowing that the NFL has now had two teams come back and or move to the area once again and playing here over the last couple of years. As a sports fan when I was growing up, I actually got very used to not having a football team or teams in the city of Los Angeles for quite some time. As a result, I started to like the freedom of being able to choose which football team to root for if I wanted to do so. It was during that time that I became a fan of the Dallas Cowboys for a little while.

As of right now though, I have not really been a fan of any one football team in particular. That being said, if I had to choose which L.A. team football team that I currently prefer over the other, I guess I would have to go with the Rams due to their recent overall success. That endorsement however is not a ringing one when compared to some of the other rivalries that are included in this article.

Kobe Bryant Photo (Top) Courtesy Of:

Wikimedia and Keith Allison from Kinston, USA

Under CC BY-SA 3.0 License.

Chris Paul Photo (Bottom) Courtesy Of:

Wikimedia and Verse Photography

Under CC BY-SA 2.0 License.

3. Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) Vs. Los Angeles Clippers (also abbreviated as LAC) (NBA)

The next Southern California crosstown rivalry comes from the third of the four biggest professional sports leagues in North America. That is the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This is a Southern California sports rivalry that has, for the most part, been very one-sided throughout its overall history.

For the majority of time that this rivalry has been around, it has been dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers. Over the last few years though, the Clippers have done a good job at fielding some very competitive teams while the Lakers were not very competitive. That being said though, the overall dominance of the Lakers as one of the marquee franchises in the NBA cannot be ignored. From watching some of the greatest basketball players that have played for the purple and gold during my lifetime in Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to enjoying the excellent deep playoff runs of the three-peat championship Lakers teams from 2000-2002, there is one clear winner in this rivalry and that is the Lakers!

Now that they have added LeBron James to the fold as a free agent to start the 2018-2019 season, it will be interesting to see if the team can be good enough once again to get back to the playoffs after a drought of a few years and compete for a championship.


Dustin Brown Photo (Below) Courtesy Of:
Wikimedia and JulieAndSteve
Under CC BY 2.0 License.

4. Los Angeles Kings (LAK) Vs. Anaheim Ducks (ANA) (NHL)

The last Southern California crosstown rivalry comes from the sport that I have watched the least of. That is the rivalry between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Even though I don't really watch that many hockey games to begin with, I have watched enough of them to have a favorite team to root for and follow in this rivalry. That team would be the Los Angeles Kings.

Since my dad has been a fan of the team throughout the years, that is one factor which made it easier for me to be a fan of the team as well. Another factor that also influenced me along the way were the few years that they put together a solid stretch of being in the Stanley Cup playoffs from 2009 to 2014. During this time the team would end up winning the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 seasons.

As for the Anaheim Ducks, even though they have also won a Stanley Cup championship in 2007 and did so before the Kings won a pair of their own a few years later, I have never really been a fan of that team at all since the time they were established in 1993 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. At this point in my life when it comes to the Ducks team and how I view them, I probably feel a stronger connection to the Ducks' teams that were featured in the Disney movie franchise of the 1990's which served as the inspiration for the real team.

Since those teams weren't real ones though, I think I'll just stick with my original team allegiance pick of the Los Angeles Kings. That being said though, since my level of interest in the sport hasn't been at the same level of the other sports such as baseball, if either the Kings or Ducks are in the playoffs in a given year as has been the case previously, it wouldn't bother me too much to root for both of them. If that scenario were to happen in the future however, I would give a slight edge to the Kings.

Closing Thoughts:

As the famous saying at the end of the Looney Tunes cartoon series goes, "That's all folks!" With the exception of the local college teams that are in the area as well as those other teams who play for the Major League Soccer (MLS) professional sports league, I have discussed all the professional sports teams that play their respective games in the Southern California area and my subsequent rooting interests for each of them. The main reason why I chose to not include any of the other college or pro sports teams in the Southern California area such as the UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and the Los Angeles Galaxy is because I don't follow those sports as closely as I do when compared to the four main sports leagues that I chose to be a part of the discussion.

Now that you guys know where I stand as a fan with regards to those teams, it would be interesting to find out if we're on the same page or if there will have to be some lines drawn in the sand. In any case, feel free to continue rooting for whoever you want and I hope we can still be friends, even if we happen to be on opposite sides of the sports rivalry fence.

Tim Musick
Copyright 2018-All Rights Reserved

  

Hey Closeted Athletes!...Stop Worrying And Start Living!

Billy Bean-Major League Baseball's Ambassador of Inclusion.

Photo Courtesy of:Wikimedia and Greg Hernandez from California, CA, USA under CC BY 2.0 License

Baseball has Major League umpire Dale Scott, a veteran official with 30+ years of experience on the job and Billy Bean, Major League Baseball's Ambassador of Inclusion.  There's also minor league ballplayers David Denson in the Milwaukee Brewers organization and Sean Conroy of the Sonoma Stompers, an independent minor league team not affiliated with any of Major League Baseball's 30 clubs.  Football has Michael Sam.  Basketball has Jason Collins, referee Violet Palmer and Sheryl Swoopes. Soccer has Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe and Robbie Rogers. 

Abby Wambach 

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia

and Hmlarson under CC BY 3.0 License

If you're having trouble figuring out what these athletes and sports officials have in common, it is that they are all out of the closet when it comes to their sexuality while enjoying various degrees of success in their careers at this point in time.  This post isn't necessarily about those individuals who have shown a willingness and a certain comfort level to be open to the public about their lives, but rather those athletes or officials out there who for one reason or another still choose not to disclose that part of their personal lives. I should also mention that I'm not saying you should go about your daily life worrying about what others might think about you when it comes to how you feel about your own sexuality whether you are an athlete or not.  The choice of opening up that part of your life to others should be yours and yours alone to make.
  

As I've grown older and have continued to watch sports and media in general over the years, one thing I've come to realize is the power that any athlete celebrity or other public figure has as a role model to kids and adults of society at large.  Now I generally don't view any athlete or celebrity as a role model as it relates to my life because I believe that term should be reserved for someone in a person's life who they feel a close connection to such as a parent, teacher or other close relative, but I can certainly understand why some people in today's society would view athletes or other sports officials as potential role models-especially among younger sports fans who start to form their own beliefs and opinions about what goes on in the world around them at an early age.  To those other individuals who fall under the Public Figure category who identify (secretly or otherwise), themselves as members of the LGBT Community, I hope you realize the potential impact your story might have on someone's life down the road.


So as we wait for the next big name athlete or sports figure to open their closet door as society becomes even more accepting of these individuals than they already are, it is my hope that 10-20 years from now, what someone chooses to do in their personal life becomes a non-issue and people can be free to go about their daily lives however they choose to do so without the fear of being judged by others.


Tim Musick
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved.

The Toy Department of Life: Ranking The North American Four

Baseball.  Basketball.  Football.  Hockey.  In no particular, these 4 sports are what I like to refer to as the North American Four.  Soccer doesn't count among them since it hasn't really been among the most popular sports in North America throughout much of its history.  Those four major sports can also be put into the so-called Toy Department of Life because they help serve as a type of distraction to help take our minds off certain things going on in our lives that may cause stress or other personal obstacles we may face on a daily basis.



As a sports fans throughout a given year, I like to focus my viewing efforts on the four sports listed above.  The one guideline I will use in ranking each sport is I will focus on my own opinions and viewpoints on each sport from the past year or so.

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia and

Frederick Dennstedt from Los Angeles, USA under CC BY-SA 2.0 License

1. Major League Baseball (MLB)-America's Pasttime will most certainly be at the top of this list no matter what season it is.  The fact that there's a game being played everyday of the week during the regular season is a definite plus.  I don't care if some fans out there view the sport as boring and slow at times.  At least teams not named the Boston Red Sox or New York York Yankees have joined in on the championship train in recent years.

2. National Football League (NFL)-The one sport that plays its regular season games on one of three (sometimes four, when Saturday games are added later in the season), days in a week.  The Sunday slate of games (Sunday Night Football included), to go along with Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football make it pretty easy to remember when a gridiron game is taking place in order to satisfy your weekly football fix.  What also beneficial for NFL fans watching on television is that the majority of each week's games can be found on one of the big three networks in CBS, FOX and NBC.  For those who have access to ESPN, the NFL Network and NFL RedZone, all your viewing bases are covered-so you should have no excuses for not keeping up with this gladiator sport if you consider yourself a die-hard fan of the yardage game.

Photo Courtesy of:Wikimedia

and Aude under CC BY-SA 2.5 License

3. National Hockey League (NHL)-The excitement of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is enough to put the game invented by America's neighbors to the North in the #3 spot on this list.  The emergence of the Kings and Ducks as perennial doesn't hurt either.  I also like giving my Grandmother a hard time whenever I watch because she has trouble following the puck from time to time.

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia

and Keith Allison under CC BY-SA 2.0 License

4. National Basketball Association (NBA)-If the Lakers of recent vintage would come out of their Dumpster Fire phase of the past few seasons, the squeaky sounds of sneakers running across hardwood floors would be moved into the third spot.  Until that happens, Adam Silver and company will have to wait a little longer for my full and undivided attention.



Tim Musick
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved.

Derrick Rose: The Cautionary Injury Tale

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia and

Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA under CC BY-SA 2.0 License

 

Will the real Derrick Rose please stand up?  The Chicago Bulls point guard's injury history brings this question to the forefront of my mind as well as fans of the Bulls and the NBA.  As we all may know, Rose suffered yet another knee injury at the end of February.

If my memory is correct, this is the third knee injury he's suffered in his career.  Hopefully by the time you see this writing, he will have undergone a successful rehabilitation program and is doing all he can do in leading the Bulls on what could be a deep playoff run.

On the other side of the coin, fans are instinctively going to be asking themselves what's going to happen if this same scenario happens again and praying for the best. Part of the good news this time around is The Bulls were in pretty good shape as the season wound down.  It could be that with all the time Derrick Rose has missed over the years, the organization has done pretty well adjusting to competing without their marquee superstar on a regular basis.  There is no question though that the Bulls are a better team when Rose is in uniform and on the basketball court.

While I'm not a Bulls fan myself, I can certainly picture what it would be like if my Angels played a significant amount of their games in a given season without Mike Trout.  Let's just say the results would not be pretty.  So here's to good future health to Derrick Rose and hope that the injury bug doesn't hit your favorite sports team anytime soon.

 

Tim Musick
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved    

My Vote For Potential NBA Playoff Format Change Goes To...

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia and

Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA under CC BY-SA 2.0 License

 

Whenever discussion starts to heat up in the world of sports concerning any potential change to a respective league's current playoff format I'm usually in favor of it as long as it doesn't cheapen the value of said playoffs.

To that effect, I applaud NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's efforts to look at any and all possible ways to improve the NBA'S current playoff format.  Under the current system a total of 16 out of a possible 30 teams make the playoffs from the league's two conferences. 8 from the Western Conference and 8 from the Eastern Conference make the playoffs under a seeding system based on overall records where the #1 seed from each conference plays the #8 seed, the #2 seed faces the #7 seed and so on leading to the winners from each conference playing each other in the NBA Finals to determine a champion.

This current system has been in place in some form or another for over 30 years.  It has worked fairly well for the most part during that span.  There have been numerous instances recently though when the 9th place team from one conference had a better overall record than the 8th place team from the other conference.  This scenario played out last season when the Atlanta Hawks made the playoffs with a record of 38-44 made the playoffs while the Western Conference's Phoenix Suns had a record of 48-34 and did not make the playoffs.  Historically the Western Conference has now become far superior of the two conferences to the point where it is almost laughable.  In what world does it make sense for a team with a clearly worse record than another to be granted the opportunity and privilege of competing for the league's top prize, especially when one of those teams has a losing record and the other does not?

The way I see it, the league could do one of two things to fix the current conundrum.  Do some form of conference realignment where you could have 3 conferences of 10 teams each based on geographical location and proximity where the top 4 or 5 teams from each new conference make the playoffs.  Or my personal favorite, have the best 16 teams regardless of conference affiliation qualify for the playoffs and the right to compete for the championship title.  Whatever new system is put in place for the future, it is quite clear that something needs to be done to give all teams a fair and equitable shot at potential playoff glory.

 

Tim Musick
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved
        

    

The Sports Elitist Lifestyle

All future Mike Trouts of the world will need to graduate to the varsity level for me to take notice.

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia and

Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA under CC BY-SA 2.0 License

One of my core beliefs in life is one should strive for the highest possible standards you can achieve. If you are not striving to be the best at something than you won't be able to fully appreciate true greatness and excellence.

This is the the way I approach all of my sports viewing today.  I consider myself to be living the Sports Elitist Lifestyle.  That means when I do watch sports, I only concern myself with what's going on at the major league levels of all sports.  So welcome to the club Nathional Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL).  Sorry NCAA and all other developmental leagues across America.

As a kid I have many memories of attending my fair share of minor league sporting events.  While they were each fun in their own way, I always felt I could never get fully invested into learning about the future athletes whose ultimate dream is to make it on the big stage.  That maybe due to the fact that in the minor leagues of sports, winning is secondary to making a name for yourself and getting noticed.  The enjoyment of minor league sports seems better suited for someone who has the time and patience for evaluating the pros and cons of the future talent the bigger leagues have to offer.  The future Mike Trouts will have to make the big show for me to take notice of their talents.  Until then, they are only prospects with potential to be great.

Another area of my life where my only interest is in seeing the best aspect of a certain sport is my lifelong goal of seeing all 30 Major League ballparks in baseball.  I have very little interest in seeing every single minor league ballpark throughout the United States.

Yes I'm a sports snob and I'm proud of it!

 

Tim Musick
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved
    

March Madness?!...Not So Fast My Friend.

 Living the life of an uber sports fan can be hard to juggle at certain times of the year. Right now I'm doing all I can to balance this juggling act.

Sports is no different than any other aspect of everyday life in that events unfold at an always increasing pace. As in any other aspect of everyday life, there are four very distinct and very different seasons a la Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

The new year begins with a bang as the NFL gets things going in January with the arrival of its playoff journey to crown the ultimate champion.

February continues on the natural leisurely path with the world's most watched television of the year at the beginning of the month.  You may have heard of it.  Advertisers call it the big game because that's what the league tells them to call it.  They have to do this because whatever the shield wants the shield gets.  If advertisers stray from this doctrine, you better believe they are going to be hearing from the almighty Commissioner Goodell and his cronies.  We fans call it what it is...THE SUPER BOWL!

Once March rolls around, the sports dialogue gets ratcheted up EVEN MORE to an insanely high volume.  As Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap put it so eloquently in perhaps the film's most memorable scene, the sports speakers are pushed to eleven as we reach the end of yearly cycle's first quarter pole.

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia and

Ucla90024 under CC BY-SA 3.0 License

This is when brackets are busted, spring training signals the dawn of the 7 month marathon that is the Major League Baseball season and the march, (no pun intended), to the NBA and the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs hits full bore! When you put it those various ingredients all together simultaneously, it is enough to drive the senses crazy.  

This is where I am right now.  I just need to remember to and remind myself from time to time to adjust adjust my internal head noise when needed. Right now the speakers are at eleven.  Level five would certainly be nice.  Not too loud and not too soft...JUUUUUUUUUST Right!

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia and

Frederick Dennstedt from Los Angeles, USA under CC BY-SA 2.0 License

At least I can find solace in knowing that a new baseball season is so close I can almost taste it. BRING ON THE 7 MONTH LOVE AFFAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tim Musick
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved.

Is Tanking Worth It?

Long gone are the AI Glory Days for 76ers

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia

Keith Allison under CC BY-SA 2.0 License

That is what the Philadelphia 76ers will find out at season's end in the NBA.  Their losing streak has reached 25 games.  This shows that the 76ers are going through a definite rebuilding period right now.

In this rebuilding period, they will definitely be the odds on favorite in the draft lottery to win the number one draft pick for this year's draft.  The draft process in the NBA works differently than the other major sports because the team with the worst record from the previous season won't necessarily have the right to make the first pick of the draft in a given year.

As far as I know, the NBA is the only sport that holds a draft lottery to help determine the order in which teams can make their draft selections.  In that sense, the time leading up to the draft is essentially a game of chance.

This brings us back to the 76ers and whether tanking a season is really worth it.  Under the current rules in the NBA, I would say tanking is not worth it.

Even though it's probably safe to assume the 76ers will end the season with the league's worst record, there is no guarantee that the franchise will come out victorious in this year's lottery.  It would be hard to buy any explanation of the team not tanking at this point though.

As a fellow fan, I can understand what 76ers fans are going through somewhat.  For years I went through a similar experience as a fan of the Angels when they were no good for several years before winning a championship. Even these last couple years when they were expected to contend for a World Series it was really tough to watch them day in and day out, even though it got a little easier to accept reality as the season wore on.

For the record, I have no problem with the 76ers playing out the string of games in order to position themselves for a better draft pick opportunity.  They just need to be prepared for the possible outcome where they don't end up with the top selection.

Tim Musick
Copyright 2014
All Rights Reserved  

Jason Collins Has Top Selling Jersey After Debut

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia

Marissa Gawel under CC BY 2.0 License

Shortly after Jason Collins made his debut with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday February 23rd, the NBA announced that Collins' number 98 jersey was the top selling jersey in terms of both physical and online sales a mere two days after said debut.  The number 98 is significant because it is a reminder of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, an American college student at the University of Wyoming, who was targeted and bullied for his own homosexuality.  

The timing of the jersey sales is important to a certain extent because Collins has just embarked on what is hopefully the rest of a successful pro career since making the big announcement nearly a year ago in Sports Illustrated.  He has since come to an agreement on a 2nd 10-day contract with the Nets as of March 3rd.

The bigger picture that shouldn't get lost in the media cycle though is that the general public is sending a message loud and clear that they fully support Collins' future endeavors regardless of his sexual orientation. Now there are people out there who certainly don't agree with Collins' lifestyle choice, but that shouldn't mean we can't support him if we choose to do so.

Collins' may not have the top selling jersey by the time you see this, but if everything continues to develop the way it has up to this point, we can all look back at this whole saga as possibly the one moment in time that changed the perception of gays not only in professional sports but also in today's society as well.

Tim Musick
Copyright 2014
All Rights Reserved

Los Angeles Lakers Slipping Into Irrelevancy

Jerry Buss must be turning over in his grave over the state of his once beloved franchise.

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia 

flipchip/LasVegasVegas.com under CC BY-SA 3.0 License

The above headline is nothing shocking if you're a sports fan living the L.A. area.  The fact is over the past couple of years, the Lakers have just flat out stunk on all levels as a whole.  Don't be fooled into thinking their recent 2-game mini win streak has cured all that ails them.  That said 2-game win spurt came to an end last night at Staples Center in a 132 to 125 defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans. 

This year, the team has been beset by injury after injury to just about every player who at the beginning of the season were considered crucial to the team in order to have any sustained success.  They have a coach in Mike D'Antoni and an Executive VP of Player Personnel in Jim Buss, the son of the late owner Jerry Buss, who players, fans and even former Laker great Magic Johnson have little faith and trust in.

Now the franchise has entered the territory of what I would call a dumpster fire.  They are quickly getting passed up in popularity by the exciting and energetic squad of the co-tenants of Staples center, the Clippers. The sad part is I see no end in sight to this train wreck of a mess.  They need to clean house and start rebuilding the franchise back to the glory days that fans should come to expect from such a storied franchise.    

Tim Musick
Copyright 2014
All Rights Reserved

NBA To Join Party of Major Sports Looking to Evolve Into 21st Century?

Could a wider court be coming to an NBA arena near you?

I'm sure you've heard by the now that the NBA has considered the ideas of widening the court and adding the 4-point shot.  While both ideas are interesting, I have a completely different view on each one.

First, I'm not sure what good widening the regulation court would do.  The current dimensions of a regulation NBA court are 94 feet long by 50 feet wide.  In order to increase the dimensions, the league would probably have to decrease the capacity of seats in each arena to accommodate the possible change.  Of course less seats means less money, which just makes bad business sense overall.

On the other hand, I'm all for a potential 4-point shot.  The only question is where would it go?  My initial thought would be to make a half court shot worth 4 points.  Players already attempt enough
half court shots anyway.  Heck why not stop there?  Why not make a full court shot worth 5 points?

Tim Musick
Copyright 2014
All Rights Reserved

Tim's Two Cents-March 8

Lakers in Unfamiliar Territory.  It's finally happened.  The Lakers have lost three straight for the first time in two years with a 96 to 94 loss against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic yesterday.  Not even Ron Artest's new hair do could stop the downward spiral. 

I'm fairly certain that the sports radio scene in Los Angeles is in a panic today.  I am not worried however.  We've seen the Lakers go through this before and they are playing more road games now.  A lot of teams struggle on the road.  They will look to end the losing streak tomorrow against the Toronto Raptors, a team they should beat, at Staples Center. 

Phoyo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Eric Molina from San Francisco, USA, under CC-BY 2.0 License

Tim's Two Cents-February 10

Kobe Bryant Questionable for All Star Game.  The Laker guard said yesterday that he would play in the All Star game if he's healthy.  My advice is to skip the game, healthy or not, and rest his tender left ankle.  A few days off would do some good.  To his credit, he has sat out the last two games, both of which the Lakers won and is a game time decision for tonight's game at Utah.  Let's not forget that Andrew Bynum also missed Monday's game against the Spurs with a hip injury.  I say let them sit out at this point of the season.  As long as the Lakers are winning, I see nothing wrong with it. 

It is more important to have a healthy Kobe Bryant down the stretch for the playoffs.  For the Lakers to make a deep run in the playoffs, a healthy Kobe Bryant is essential.  Anyone who says otherwise is living in a fantasy.

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and michael248 under CC-SA 2.0 License

Tim's Two Cents-February 6

The look on Baron's face says it all.

Mike Dunleavy Stepping Down as Clippers Coach Symbolizes Another Forgettable Season.  Mike Duleavy  chose to focus more on his GM responsibilities when he resigned as head coach on Thursday.  Kim Hughes is now the interim coach as the Clips get ready to face the San Antonio Spurs tonight at Staples Center as their season continues toward a downward spiral.

I'm not shocked at all that Dunleavy decided to step down.  As a matter of fact, I could care less that he did so.  I don't have anything against him, but the reality is Los Angeles is a Laker town when it comes to basketball, no question about it.

Dunleavy's tenure as head coach is just like any other who have held the position in the past.  Not very memorable.  There was only one season in which the Clippers made the playoffs.    Other than that, it has been business as usual. 

This season was supposedly going to be a breakout year for the Clippers with playoff aspirations, especially with Baron Davis entering another year with the team and the arrival of the number one overall draft pick Blake Griffin.  Instead, it has been the same old thing this season.  

The silver lining was they did make it farther than the Lakers that season when they beat the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2006 playoffs while the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns.  The Clips would go on to lose to those same Suns the following round.

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Eric Molina under CC-BY 2.0 License

      

Tim's Two Cents-February 4

Phil Jackson Reaches Coaching Milestone.  What do you know?  Last night's Laker game played out almost according to my earlier prediction. 

I said that the Lakers would get Jackson his 534th win as a Laker coach within the next two games, passing Pat Riley with 533.  Check.  I said the Charlotte Bobcats would give the Lakers all they could handle.  The final score was 99 to 97.  Check.  The only thing I didn't see coming was Kobe Bryant scoring only 5 points and aggravating his injured ankle.  Lamar Odom deserves credit for stepping up his production last night as he led the Purple and Gold with 19 points off the bench.  Way to go L.O.! 

Next up is the Denver Nuggets on Friday.  It looks like right now, Carmelo Anthony will not play for Denver because of his ankle injury.  Let's see if the Lakers can use that to their advantage to get another win!

LaDainian Tomlinson's Future in Question.  The Chargers running back says he won't take a pay cut to play in the NFL next season.  That essentially means his days in San Diego are numbered.  It's possible his days in the NFL are numbered too. 

In his career, Tomlinson has been one of the most dynamic running backs in the league, but his production has been declining over the last few years.  Compared to his regular season production, Tomlinson has been almost nonexistent in the playoffs the last few seasons, due to various injuries and decreased playing time. 

Tomlinson needs to figure out if he's willing to accept a lesser role with another team.  If not, there just aren't very many opportunities where he can be a star running back.  I just don't see it.  He's the Vladimir Guerrero of the NFL, an aging star who is no longer the star player to build your franchise around.

Photos courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA, under CC-SA 2.0 License
Wikimedia Commons and SD Dirk under CC-BY 2.0 License     

Tim's Two Cents-February 2

Kobe Bryant Reaches Peak of Laker Summit.  Thanks to a 44 point performance in a 95 to 93 loss, Kobe is now all alone as the Lakers all time leading scorer surpassing Jerry West of NBA logo fame.  If the purple and gold would have come away with the win, not only would my road trip prediction have come true, but Phil Jackson would have become the Lakers all time leader in wins as a coach, surpassing Pat Riley.

Good for Kobe on acheiving another milestone in a stellar career.  I'm not surprised he is now at the top of the Lakers franchise in scoring.  It will be a longshot for him to become the leading scorer in NBA history.  I don't think it will happen even if he stays reasonably healthy, but he will get very close. 

As for the Zen Master, he should get the all time wins mark within the next few days.  The Lakers will return to Staples Center on Wednesday to face the Charlotte Bobcats.  This has the makings of a trap game as the Bobcats have given the Lakers a run for their money over the last few years.  That is followed by Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles on Friday.  Let's hope they can get a win or two in these games because the Purple and Gold will head to the house of horrors that is the Rose Garden in Portland on Saturday.   

Tim's Two Cents-February 1

Lakers Stun Celitics.  Kobe does it again.  Ray Allen played about as good on defense as you could possibly play and it still didn't phase Kobe with 7.3 seconds left as the Lakers commit grand theft with a 90 to 89 triumph against their rivals from Beantown.  They were down at one point 81 to 70 in the fourth quarter.  Ron Artest set the tone before the game even started.  It was nice to see him jawing with Paul Pierce from the get go.  That's how you show your opponent that you're not going to be pushed around.

With the win, my original prediction for the road trip is still intact.  If they beat the Memphis Grizzlies tonight, which they should, the Lakers will finish having won 6 out of 8.

Roger Federer Sparkles Down Under.  New year, familiar result.  Make it 16 and counting for the Swiss gem.  The latest victim was Andy Murray as the Australian Open came to a close yesterday.  We didn't get to see the Federer-Nadal matchup due to Nadal retiring in an earlier match with a knee injury.  That definitely increased the odds in Federer's favor. 

Federer will most likely go down in history as the greatest men's tennis player ever once his story comes to an end.  For right now, his story will continue in May on the clay of Roland Garros, where he will defend last year's title.  It was special last year because it was his first title in Paris, completing the career grand slam, having won in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon and New York.

Photos courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison from Kinston, USA under CC-SA 3.0 License
Wikimedia Commons and Steve Collis from Melbourne, Australia under CC-BY 2.0 License 

Tim's Two Cents-January 27

Lakers Longest Road Trip of the Year at the Halfway Marker.  With the Lakers beating the Washington Wizards yesterday 115 to 103, they have now played four games and are in the middle of an eight game road trip, the longest of the year. 

It was a nice time in the nation's capital for the purple and gold.  They got to exchange pleasantries with the President, who couldn't help himself to saying how much better he liked the Chicago Bulls when Phil Jackson was the coach.  Come on Barack, the Bulls haven't even been close to winning a championship since Jackson left.  What a way to disrespect the (not Chicago Bulls) guests of honor.  Good one Obama.  The Lakers did what they should have done by beating the Wizards.

The road trip continues tonight against the Indiana Pacers.  That is followed by matchups with the 76ers, Celtics and Grizzlies.  I know I predicted the Lakers would win 6 of 8 on the trip.  I'm not backing off.  That means they would have to gio undefeated for the rest of the trip.  One thing that didn't help was the loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.    

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison under CC-SA 2.0 License

Tim's Two Cents-January 22

Cavs Sweep Season Series With Lakers.  It is just me, or do the Lakers seem to be playing like they did two seasons ago when they lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals?  They just don't seem to have the same intensity and focus as last year. 

It was nice to see Kobe Bryant become the youngest player ever to reach 25,000 career points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  If he stays reasonably healthy, he has a chance to become the league's all-time leading scorer.  The only problem was that LeBron James put up better numbers once again with 37 points compared to Bryant's 31 in a 93 to 87 loss.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Lakers will do reasonably well come playoff time, but it is becoming quite clear that they need to ramp up their intensity and focus in their overall game.  Otherwise this season will end as a failure.  Playing for home court advantage throughout the playoffs would certainly help. 

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison under CC-SA 2.0 License 

Tim's Two Cents-January 19

Lakers Embark on Longest Road Trip of the Year.  After spending much of the season in the friendly confines of Staples Center, the Lakers now hit the road for an 8 game, 13 day road trip after beating the Orlando Magic 98 to 92 yesterday.  We will finally see what they're really made of.

It all starts on Thursday with LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers.  That is followed by tilts with the New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, and the Memphis Grizzlies.

This has the makings to be a very good road trip for the purple and gold.  They just need to keep their focus and concentration at the highest level.  I can almost certainly guarantee that Kobe Bryant will play injured or not injured.  Pau Gasol and Ron are slowly but surely settling into a groove since coming back from their injuries.  Right off the bat, I think the Lakers will end up winning 6 out of 8 on the road trip.  If previous history is any indication though, my prediction isn't worth the screen it's typed on.   

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Eric Kilby under CC-SA 2.0 License