Dave Smith

After the Clippers made a nice run a few years ago, winning a playoff series and taking the Suns to seven games in the second round, I went on the radio and called for the organization to fire Mike Dunleavy….

People thought I was crazy, but having watched him coach I knew he’d taken the Clips as far as he could….

Even though the Clippers made the second round, his coaching blunders cost them two games and the series….

On the road in Phoenix, with a chance to steal one, the Clips led by three with a few seconds left and looked as if they were going to take control of the series. The situation called for a foul, but instead Dunleavy inexplicably inserted rookie Daniel Ewing into the game to guard dangerous Raja Bell. Ewing hadn’t played all night and hardly at all during the season, so the move was idiotic….

Predictably, Ewing lost Bell, who got open in the corner and swished a three as the game ended. Then, of course, the Suns won in overtime….

When the series returned to Los Angeles, Dunleavy was at it again, sitting Sam Cassell on the bench for nearly the entire fourth quarter of a heartbreaking loss which cost them the series….

Sam I Am was the Clips best player and team leader, so his riding the pine down the stretch was shocking….

I’d seen this act before from Dunleavy in Portland and knew it was time for him to go….

It reminded me of the Chicago Bulls of the late ’80’s, who made the Eastern Conference Finals against the Bad Boy Pistons, only to lose in seven games….

After the loss, Doug Collins was suprisingly fired….

It seemed like a stupid move, but General Manager Jerry Krause showed what a shrewd basketball man he was….

He knew Collins had taken the team as far as he could and to get past the Pistons they were going to have to change course. His choice to replace Doug? A relatively unknown assistant named Phil Jackson….

Ten championship later, I think Krause has been justified….

With the young talent the Clippers have, the offense Dunleavy runs is never going to work. With Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby and hopefully Blake Griffin, they need a coach like Mike D’Antoni….

Run, run, run, play exciting basketball and give the fans a reason to go to the games. With the Lakers sharing the arena, the only way to draw interest is to have the most exciting, high scoring style in the NBA….

Unfortunately Dunleavy is going to retain his role as GM and will probably not want to hire someone who coaches a breakneck style; because it’s totally the opposite of his philosophy….

Donald T. Sterling needs to make a clean break, relieve Dunleavy of all responsibilities and say goodbye….

Hire a young GM along the lines of Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti, a coach with the D’Antoni philosophy and turn those young players loose….

We all know how tough and competitive Kobe Bryant is and how much he wants to suit up for every game. It’s also very important for the Lakers to keep winning and gain home court advantage throughout the playoffs….

But it’s time for the organization to insist Kobe sits out a week and get his body right for the stretch drive and post-season….

Even though he still puts up big numbers, it’s obvious he’s hurting. He still has the torn ligaments in his finger and now his knee and ankle are hurting….

A week off to get his body right would do wonders….

Knowing him, however, he will refuse to sit out and probably put up his usual numbers over the next few games….

With the 24/7 Super Bowl coverage on ESPN, my head is about to explode. One “expert” after another joins the ESPN team onstage, breaks down both teams and gives his opinion on who’s going to win….

This was boring a week ago and nothing has changed….

Nobody has any idea who is going to win and all these dopes are guessing just like the rest of us….

Both teams are really good and who knows how the ball is going to bounce, who is going to make mistakes or if a blown call will decide the game….

I like the Colts, because of Peyton Manning, but who knows?….

I think I’ll boycott the four letter network until the Super Bowl is over….

I can make a few guarantees, though:

-The pre-game entertainment show will be awful

-All the commercials will suck

-A great band like The Who will be awful

-The post-game music show will be an embarrassment

-All the “experts” will continue to bore the hell out of us after the game

Sure, it was nice to see Kobe Bryant break Jerry West’s franchise scoring record, but there’s a much more important development in Lakerland: Ignoring their post players and playing like they did in the Kwame Brown/Smush Parker days….

It’s just bad basketball to ignore Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and not play inside/out….

Kobe shot a high percentage and played brilliantly, but you can’t win championships with one guy scoring all the points….

But Bryant is not to blame, because he’s giving maximum effort, putting the ball in the basket and expending every ounce of energy….

The blame lies with Derek Fisher and and Phil Jackson….

Don MacLean was on the radio this afternoon and made a great point regarding the Lakers not playing winning basketball. “Hey Derek Fisher,” he said, “there’s a reason you’re wide open. It’s because teams want you to shoot and not give the ball to the big guys. You’re going to have to sacrifice your shots and make sure the ball goes inside.”….

I couldn’t have said it beter myself….

Every time Fisher, Jordan Farmar or Shannon Brown fires up a three-pointer early in the shot clock, I want to reach into the television and strangle them….

Run the offense, make sure the ball goes inside and make the defense exert energy. Get them to double team, rotate, move their feet and then take advantage. And once the ball goes into the post and the defense double teams, then it’s okay to take a three-point shot….

But only AFTER the ball goes insdie first….

As for the Zenmaster, I have no idea why he doesn’t insist his players pound the ball inside to Gasol and Bynum. Every time Fisher launches a three-pointer early in the shot clock or drives to the rim to miss a lay-up, I keep waiting for Phil to send a sub to the scorer’s table and then curse Derek as he heads to the bench….

Yet game after game Fisher and the other wing players take ill-advised shots and give the opponent chances for run outs….

Phil needs to strictly enforce a new rule: Only Kobe can pull up and shoot without going inside first. Anyone else who doesn’t play inside/out gets a comfy seat on the pine….

Ten shots combined between Bynum and Gasol is completely unacceptable….

There also seems to be a problem between Gasol, Jackson and Kobe….

After the game, when he was asked if he got enough touches, Gasol answered “No.”….

When asked about Bryant breaking the franchise scoring record, Pau said the following: “I’m proud of him; I congratulate him. Now we can focus on winning games again.”….

You have to love Pau. He speaks the truth and isn’t afraid to call out Phil and Kobe….

He is 100% correct and should continue to make an issue of this. He probably shouldn’t go public again, but needs to make regular appearances in Jackson’s office to get his point across….

But the point needs to be made that Kobe is not at fault for the big men not getting enough touches. The fault lies mainly with Derek Fisher….

I don’t know if the Zenmaster is playing one of his mind games or trying to teach lessons, but this needs to stop….

Last week, after Oregon rolled USC by 27 points and seemed poised to make a run at the National Championship, I warned about their next game; at much improved and physical Stanford. This thing had letdown written all over it and I pointed out that the Cardinal would win if Toby Gerhart had a big game….

Well, the Ducks worst nightmare came true, as Stanford “upset” Oregon, 51-42. Yes, the Ducks scored a lot of points and still had a chance late in the game; but for the first time this season their defense let them down….

So, the run was fun while it lasted, but a national championship and Heisman for QB Jeremiah Masoli now seem to be finished….

How about Gerhart for the Heisman? Since no other player has jumped to the forefront, he has to be a leading contender. He doesn’t look fast and doesn’t jump off the screen athletically; but his vision, cutting ability and toughness are unbelieveable….

He rushed 38 times for a school record 223 yards and seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. This guy is remarkable and a throwback to another time; when coaches routinely gave the ball to their star running backs 35-40 times a game….

It was like turning back the clock to the John McKay era, when he would hand the ball to Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Anthony Davis and Ricky Bell. No matter what the defense did, those guys just kept coming and eventually pounded them into submission….

Once, when a reporter asked McKay if worried about overworking giving Simpson, he replied, “No, the ball isn’t that heavy.”….

Nowadays coaches are so worried about injuries they remove a back from the game after a long run….

Gerhart has 1,217 yards rushing, and 16 TD’s and already carried the ball 233 times. If there is another player more important to their team I haven’t seen him….

Add Freshman QB Andrew Luck, who looks like he’s going to be a star and Heisman candidate himself, and the future looks bright for Jim Harbaugh and his Cardinal….

It really is strange to see formwr national power USC struggle mightily and barely hold off 4-5 Arizona St, but that’s what it’s come to for Pete Carroll and his Trojans….

The Sun Devils are horrible, but had the ball with two minutes left and a chance to win. But there’s a reason they have a losing record and ASU managed to lose the game, 14-9. Things are not going well for Troy and they might lose twice more this season….

The Trojans showed absolutely no offense, the play calling was predictable and the game plan incompetent. Other than that, they were great….

How about those Irish? It’s bad enough to lose at home to Navy, but to lose to the Midshipmen in South Bend twice in a row should signal the end for Charlie Weis….

Old Charlie came in with great fanfare and lots of boasting, but so far his tenure has been a disaster….

As a person who despises Notre Dame, I love seeing this, but I’m also worried they’ll s***-can Weis and hire a good coach; like Brian Kelly of Cincinnati….

Kelly could have an Urban Meyer-like impact on Notre Dame, which would not be a good thing….

The BCS is again a huge mess, with six teams undefeated with a month to play. And with Cincinnati, TCU and Boise St. all looking like they’re going to stay unbeaten, hopefully there will be more cries to investigate the NCAA for anti-trust violations and force them to institute a playoff….

If form holds, Texas will face the Florida-Alabama winner for the BCS championship, but this will settle nothing, as usual….

I could waste a lot of time ripping NCAA officials and pointing out how elitist, condescending and hypocritical they are, but why bother? Nothing is going to change and they will continue to go against the will of 99% of college football fans….

Unfortunately, they have enablers like Fox and ESPN, who pay them millions to promote and broadcast the games. Last year Fox signed a multi-million dollar deal to televise all the BCS games, which only strengthened the BCS….

If they withheld money unless their was a playoff, maybe things would change, but now it’s only going to be more of the same….