Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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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...
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who is recovering from a fractured lateral tibial plateau of his left knee, was examined Wednesday by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo, who determined that Bryant's injury has still not healed. With this diagnosis, Bryant will not return to play this season, it was announced by the team. "With Kobe's injury still not healed, the amount of time he'd need to rehab and be ready to play, and the amount of time remaining in the season, we've simply run out of time for him...
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...
The UCLA Bruins winning the NCAA College World Series for the first time in school history was named the top sports moment for 2013 at the 9th Annual LA Sports Awards, held Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton. UCLA completed a two-game sweep against Mississippi State in the finals to capture its first-ever baseball national title. The Bruins wrapped up the title on June 25 with an 8-0 win in the clinching game, played before a stadium-record crowd at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska....
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)...
Every player on the team is subjected to two opposing forces: Negative Force: drives the player to detach from the team Positive Force: bonds and connects the player to the team In my opinion Steve Blake is the player who contributes most significantly to the group's bonding force on the court. Sadly, it seems like the Lakers have given up the strongest positive force on the team, the BG bond that unifies five players into one cohesive unit that keeps running forward. Then despite the many...
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?...
Stop me if you've heard this story before -- like last month -- but the Lakers are trying to trade Pau Gasol. If you don't follow pro basketball closely you probably wonder why they'd trade a proven player who averaged 20 points per game in January. If you do follow the NBA you know it's a common practice for teams out of playoff contention to unload players with high salaries. These teams aren't going to get the lucrative playoff revenue, so reducing the payroll makes sense. One deadline...
The Los Angeles Sports Council has named Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten as the 2013 Sports Executive of the Year. Kasten will be honored during the 9th Annual LA Sports Awards on Wednesday, March 5 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A highly respected sports figure for more than three decades, Kasten has developed a reputation for creating winning franchises. In his second year with the Dodgers Kasten helped mold a team that last season won the Western Division title and advanced to the...
January 31, 2014 Dear Mitch, As my 30-year tenure as NBA commissioner concludes, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your reporting on our league. That reporting – favorable or not – played no small part in helping our sport grow. It is a source of great satisfaction to me that the NBA will now be led by Commissioner Adam Silver, for whom I have tremendous admiration, respect and expectations as he and his experienced and dedicated team take the NBA to successes that were uni...
The most interesting part of the remaining NBA regular season games involve teams driving toward favorable playoff position. There’s a big difference between having home court advantage and not having it. There’s a big difference from playing a powerhouse opponent right away or getting a series first to work your way in. I’ve traveled with great Laker teams with players who understood this. Shaquille O’Neal used to emphasize to me the Lakers had to finish in the top four to get a home court e...
The NHL's 2014 Coors Light Stadium Series made a stop at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night which featured the Southland rival Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks in the first-ever regular season outdoor hockey game in league history on the West Coast. Even though the Ducks shut out the Kings 3-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 54,099, it was the experience that mattered most. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman summed it up best after the historic game when he said "hockey in California won this game."...
The Dodgers will be paying Clayton Kershaw more than Sandy Koufax ever was paid. More than they’ve paid any pitcher in club history At 25, Kershaw has had six spectacular seasons. In one year he would have been a free agent. Can you imagine what the upcoming season would have been like if the Kershaw negotiations were going on? The new Dodger ownership preferred to get the matter settled early so everyone could concentrate on baseball. That was the right decision. Kershaw has had the best e...
The Culver City High boys basketball fans were treated to an early Ocean League showdown between the Centaurs and visiting Santa Monica High last Friday night in Del Goodyear Gymnasium. But to their dismay the Centaurs fell to their arch rival, 62-53, as the Vikings' consistent pressure and execution earned them a comeback victory. The loss dropped Culver into a third place tie with Inglewood at 1-1 each in early Ocean League standings. Santa Monica's victory kept them in a first place tie with...
A bombshell announcement may be heading to the Culver City High football program. If Stanley Norman transfers to Serra High in Gardena, as is being speculated, the Centaurs would be without perhaps their best player next season. The Los Angeles Times' Eric Sondheimer, the premier high school sports reporter in Southern California, writes that Norman has taken out application papers to transfer to perennial powerhouse Serra. Norman is considered one of the top juniors in the state and already...
SportsNet LA, the exclusive new local TV home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, officially announces that the network will launch on February 25, the night before the Dodgers’ first Spring Training game. SportsNet LA will take fans behind-the-scenes and offer in-depth access into the Dodger organization, providing an immersive experience with never-before-seen content, and thousands of hours of comprehensive Dodger programming. SportsNet LA will televise 24/7 Dodger content, including live and classic games, live studio shows, numerous original p...
Speaking to several members of the media recently, the subject came up of outstanding college football coaches who had failed in the NFL. Lou Holtz was high on that list. His college teams won 388 games, including 132 at Notre Dame, but one year he went into the NFL and his New York Jets had a 3-11 record. When Pete Carroll was presiding over a collegiate dynasty at USC from 2000 to 2009 he seemed to find his niche. His Trojans were nationally prominent, so why would he leave? The Trojans had...
An injury-depleted Lakers team was dominated by the Clippers, their intra-Staples Center rivals, being blown-out, 123-87, on Friday. The 36-point victory margin was the Clippers’ largest ever against the Lakers, besting a 125-94 victory in 1992 at the Sports Arena, then the Clippers’ home. Some might say that an asterisk needs to be printed next to this game in the record book since both teams were playing without their injured superstar guards, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. The Lakers were also playing without Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jor...
The Los Angeles Sports Council has named L.A. Clippers point guard and six-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul the 2013 Sportsman of the Year. Paul will be honored during the ninth Annual LA Sports Awards, which will be held on Wednesday, March 5 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The LA Sports Awards are presented annually by the Sports Council to celebrate the greatest moments of the year in sports in the Los Angeles/Orange County area. The Sportsman award is given to the local male athlete whose...
In order to promote its sport the National Hockey League began having an annual outdoor game a few years ago. Known as the Winter Classic, the Kings and Ducks will play at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25. A sellout crowd of 55,000 is expected for the first outdoor hockey game in Southern California. One goal will be near first base, the other near third base. The opening faceoff will be near where the pitching mound is on baseball nights....
