Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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With the college football season coming up, Lane Kiffin is my topic for the day. A brief resume: Kiffin has been head coach with the Oakland Raiders and with Tennessee and USC. The Trojans fired him last season after they got off to a slow start. Now Kiffin has become offensive co-ordinator at Alabama on Nick Saban’s staff. “Considering everything I’m very happy to have this job before I reach 40,” said Kiffin. “I thought this would be a great opportunity if it ever presented itself. Kiffin ad...
It's not a lot of fun being hospitalized following surgery but idle time is available. My choice the last month was to focus on baseball, especially because the Dodgers and Angels are doing well. All opinions, of course, come from someone watching on television, listening to radio rather than being at the games along with getting information from colleagues on the phone. Nobody in either the National or American League Is running away from the field. Parity is the proper decryption of this seaso...
As Donald Sterling prepares for a lawsuit against the NBA that could last for many years he has dismissed his longtime council and chosen an old ally. The firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips is out. Veteran anti-trust lawyer Maxwell Blecher is in. Sterling is 80. Blecher is 81. Blecher last represented Sterling when he moved the Clippers from San Diego to Los Angeles in 1984. Blecher sent a letter to the NBA last week that said Sterling will not pay the $2.5 million fine the NBA has charged him...
Donald Sterling, the disgraced owner of the Clippers, went on the Anderson Cooper television show over the weekend and apologized for racial remarks that have the NBA attempting to force him to sell the franchise. "I said a terrible thing but I am not a racist," he said. "I feel so sorry for the people I've hurt." Despite the apology, Sterling is investigating the possibility of suing the NBA for $1.7 billion. In a related development, Sterling's wife Shelly went on the Barbara Walters televisio...
Donald Sterling has been confrontational during his 33 years as the Clippers' owner so it isn't surprising that he isn't taking his lifetime suspension without a fight. Sterling has a $1.7 billion lawsuit against the NBA in mind after he was banned for life by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. He is considering several major law firms. Sterling's advisors aren't disputing the fact that Sterling's comments were racial but they are disputing the fact the tape he made was private. So, in court the...
The Lakers have indicated they plan a long search for a coach to replace Mike D'Antoni, who resigned last week following two unsuccessful seasons. The Lakers are in the difficult position of being without a coach or many players. Only three players, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre have a Laker contract for next season and Nick Young has a player option. It is believed the Lakers may interview as many as 20 coaching candidates. Two college coaches, John Calipari of Kentucky and former LA...
What other news, what other developments could there be from the Clippers' bizarre week as they await a deciding Game 7 of their opening round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors? Well, there is one more development. The New York Post reported that 80-year-old ousted Clipper owner Donald Sterling has been battling prostate cancer for several years. Most Clipper players and Coach Doc Rivers said they weren't aware of the situation. "I hope it isn't true," said forward Blake Griffin....
Magic Johnson issued the following statement concerning rumors he might buy the Clippers. ´I am not going to buy the Clippers,” he said. The NBA is attempting to force disgraced owner Donald Sterling to sell the team soon. Unlike Johnson, Oprah Winfrey has expressed interest and has two highly qualified partners....
After NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday morning the voice on the racial rant alleged to be Clippers owner Donald Sterling is indeed Sterling the commissioner took action. Sterling has received a lifetime ban from the NBA and fined $2.5 million. He will not be permitted to attend Clipper games or practices or appear in the team's offices. Silver also said the league will attempt to convince Sterling to sell the team. Pressure is on to get a quick vote from the NBA Board of...
Shelly Sterling, the estranged wife of ousted Clippers owner Donald Sterling, wanted to attend the team’s Game 5 victory over the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night but didn’t know if she’d be welcome. Considering the fact her husband had been banned for life from NBA arenas earlier in the day she had reason to be concerned. She sought out Coach Doc Rivers for permission, which was granted. Shelly, who usually sits in a courtside seat, watched this game from a suite, protected by secur...
I saw two versions of Blake Griffin in the opening games of the current playoff series between the Clippers and Golden State Warriors. In Game One I was wondering why Griffin was committing useless fouls, scrapping too hard for rebounds even as the whistle was blowing. Get away, I thought. You don't need this. Being competitive is good but, man, use your head. Griffin has been a star from the day he joined the Clippers but he took a significant leap this season which elevated him right behind...
The Lakers said they had no position for Phil Jackson, so he joined the New York Knicks and made his first move this week, firing Coach Mike Woodson. The Knicks didn't make the playoffs and needed a change in direction. As the new man in charge Jackson acted quickly. Had he been given the same position with the Lakers Mike D'Antoni would most likely have been fired by now. Instead, the Knicks are moving toward hiring someone with a background in the Triangle Offense, which brought championships...
A year ago, when the Lakers completed one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, I wrote Anatomy Of A Disaster and had no intention of following with another similar article. But throughout this season, the worst since the Lakers moved here in 1960 from Minneapolis, readers have frequently requested Part 2 of this story. So here it is. It was bad enough last season when Kobe Bryant averaged 45 minutes a game down the stretch trying to get the Lakers into the playoffs. They made...
The Dodgers have been favored by numerous media outlets as favorites to win the World Series. Their off-season spending spree, totaling a record $240 million, is the primary reason. But championships are decided on the field, and on the Dodgers' home-opening weekend they got all they could handle from the long-time rival San Francisco Giants. As the Giants won two of the three games they proved to be a worthy opponent for the Dodgers. A very worthy opponent. I'm impressed that the Giants, who wo...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Here's that time of the year again when talented teams with excellent coaches are in danger of finishing as failures. It gets crazier every year because only eight Western Conference teams qualify for the playoffs and several more barely miss. There's even talk that Golden State's Mark Jackson could lose his job if the Warriors lose their first round playoff series against the Clippers. What a shame that would be as the Warriors have won 19 more games than they'v...
Just a few more weeks and the Lakers' season will be over. No playoffs this time. Of all the negatives that have occurred the one that bothers me the most is the way Pau Gasol hasn't been appreciated. This is one of the top 100 big men ever to play in the NBA, a professional who has had championship seasons here but now is struggling against age and injuries, plus a coach who doesn't want the center to have the ball in the post. Instead of Gasol being celebrated as obviously the Lakers' best...
After Phil Jackson was introduced Tuesday as president of New York Knicks basketball operations no player immediately changed teams. But the initial impact is that it was a grand day for the Knicks and a dreadful one for the Lakers. Both teams began the day in horrible shape, both out of playoff contention, both needing a change in leadership. Both with a dominating owner. But James Dolan of the knicks said he is gladly yielding authority to Jackson in building a more cohesive Knicks roster....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The last of John Wooden's 11 UCLA national championships was won 37 years ago. It's too bad that Bruin fans remain spoiled. How else can we explain the lack of enthusiasm for the program in the recent past? UCLA has a fine team with a 26-8 record this season, a championship in the Pac-12 tournament and respect from the media across the country as it begins March Madness this week in San Diego. But crowds have been embarrassingly small all season at Pauley...
Jackson To Knicks? Former NBA Coach Can't Believe It As of this writing, Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks are making progress on details of a contract that will bring him to the team with total control in running the basketball operation. This is what the man who won 11 NBA championship rings as a coach and two as a player has sought in recent years from the Lakers. Apparently, however, Laker owner Jim Buss isn't interested. Avery Johnson, who played in the league for 16 years and then...
Based on my actions of the last 30 years or so, I made a startling decision last Friday. Without question, if the Lakers were playing that night I'd go there. It's been my work. I need to know what's going on with the team. But reality set in. The story wasn't at the Lakers' game. They're out of playoff contention and they were playing the Sacramento Kings, a similarly awful team. No, I needed to spend the day at the Clippers' training facility, where there was plenty of action. The Clippers, on...
At the start of the 2014 baseball season most authorities believe the Angels' Mike Trout is the best player in either the American or National League. Trout is only 22 and has spent just two years in the major leagues. But he has batted .314, hit with power and stolen 86 bases. In addition he has played superbly in the outfield. The Angels are so impressed they've begun talks that could bring Trout $150 million over six years. The baseball authorities I've talked to think the Angels are doing...
It happens every year late in the National Basketball Association season. Teams believing they have a chance to win the championship add potentially important players. Teams out of contention release players to lighten their payroll. What's different here is the reversal of roles by the Lakers and Clippers. Hopelessly out of contention, the Lakers have traded away Steve Blake. Usually they're adding a key part. With a championship on their mind, the Clippers have signed forward Glen (Big Baby)...
When Jim Fregosi died last week I was jolted into a trip down memory lane. I was fresh out of college in 1963 and had an ambition to become a sportswriter. I sent out resumes and received a call from Bud Furillo, sports editor of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. We set up an interview. He seemed to like the articles I had included from the college newspaper but he was a no-nonsense kind of guy. "I have a position for you but I know it isn't what you want," he said. "You'd be putting together...
What If Wooden's Prized Assistant Had Stayed? John Wooden won 10 national championships as the UCLA basketball coach from 1964 to 1976, the greatest dynasty in the history of the sport. Since Wooden retired, UCLA has won only one more in 37 years. In an intriguing new book by Southern California author Steve Bisheff, In The Shadow Of A Legend, the case is made that the Bruins missed out on several more championships because Wooden's prized assistant coach, Jerry Norman left the program at age...
The Super Bowl game was decided early as Seattle humiliated Denver. But the controversy surrounding Richard Sherman will linger for awhile. This was the featured sub-plot of pro football's biggest game. Is Sherman a jerk, as he appeared to be two weeks earlier in a classless interview following the Seahawks' victory over the San Francisco 49ers? Or is he a bright guy as appeared to be the case when he earned straight A's at Dominguez High in Compton and went on to classroom success at Stanford?...
