Back in 1986, the Angels were one out away from going to their first ever World Series, ending years of mediocrity and suffering, but then, oh we all know what happened.
The team went into a deep funk, only seeming to rise from the ashes in 1995, where they built a 14 game division lead with a lineup full of young, exciting players, but blew the cushion and a playoff game.
It looked as if being an Angel fan meant inevitable pain, until that magical 2002 season when everything broke right and the team actually won a World Series. Lots of people still don’t believe it actually happened.
Then things got better when Arte Moreno bought the team, and proved to be a fan’s owner, lowering prices, making Angel Stadium fan friendly, the “Anti-Dodger Stadium”, and bringing a quality product on the field.
However, Arte, a marketing genius, made a big mistake when he chose to re name his team “The Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim”, hoping to get in on the Los Angeles name and shedding the image of small town Anaheim.
It was a big mistake because now Moreno had proclaimed himself a big time player, but judging from the events since another disastrous post season exit, Moreno looks like he is more big city talker and small town thinker.
The Angels, who lost again in post season due to an obvious lack of offense, let go an aging but productive Garret Anderson, and now a proven big time player Mark Teixiera, along with cutting ties with single season saves leader Francisco Rodriguez, and, in all likelihood, 14 game winner Jon Garland. In return, the Angels have received—-nothing…
Oh, they re-signed Juan Rivera, he of the .247 career batting average. And the Angels look like they are in lead to pay 10 million dollars a year to left handed reliever Brian Fuentes, 33, and his 17-27 career record, offset of course by his brilliant 3.41 ERA. Wow, should sell a lot of season tickets with that signing!
Moreno looks like he has become the biggest fake this side of say, Frank McCourt. At least with McCrook you know he’s cheap. After it appeared to Angel fans that getting Teixiera back would be less than a 50-50 proposition, Moreno got on with Dave Smith and Roger Lodge and waxed poetically about Manny Ramirez and his achievements and hinted at the possibility of Manny in Anaheim. Now that the door on Teixiera shut closed, Angel general manager Tony Reagins quashes any hope of clutch hitting and offense by saying, “Manny Ramirez will not be an Angel.”
He then goes on to say that with more at bats, he THINKS Rivera will be more productive, and that he feels comfortable with an Angel outfield of Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Mathews Jr., and Reggie Willits. Did he have his fingers crossed behind his back? Hunter and Guerrero (on the down side of his career) are still productive, but Mathews Jr, is, to put it mildly, terrible, and Willits can’t even crack the Mendoza .200 line.
And Tony then goes on to say that this gives the Angel younger players a chance. Does that mean more strikeouts from the overhyped and oh so over matched Brandon Wood and Sean Rodriguez? Oh, and will we have to hear more Rex Hudler drivel about the greatness of Howie Kendrick, who spends more time on the disabled list than the playing field, and went MIA in the playoffs?
That crushing loss in the playoffs might just send this team into another downward spiral, but the fact that the AL West is so pathetic will prevent that from happening. But now we all get to look forward to hearing Angel announcers gush over the major league leading 15th time that the Angel runners just went from 1st to 3rd. I don’t think going to third base scores runs. How about watching a guy hit a home run and trot around the bases? In 2002, the team won because they hit home runs. Winning Scioscia-type small ball in regular season means nothing in post season. The Tampa Bay Rays got to the Series because THEY HIT HOME RUNS.
Is it time to get pissed off and say “well, they didn’t spend so why should I?” Not if you realize what I just did.
Arte had us snookered when he became the Los Angeles Angels. He didn’t want to win the World Series, he wanted to win Los Angeles.
But he’s not even winning there.
Arte, change the name back to Anaheim. In this day and age, small market might win championships.

I had a couple of friends that never had been to a big fight in Las Vegas, so we made arrangements and rolled into town last Thursday night. I ran into a couple of friends that are into boxing, and they told me in no uncertain terms that De La Hoya was a shot fighter, had trained for a quick knockout, and that Roach was a trainer very protective of his guy and would only take this fight if he was certain of victory. And then I remembered something that Dave Smith says that stuck with me as I made my way to the betting line—“Oscar De La Hoya is a full time businessman and part time fighter and those things don’t mix when you are in the ring with elite fighters.”

So I threw a bundle of money behind Pacquiao, and after three rounds I got up and my friend asked me if I was headed to the bathroom. “No”, I told him-
“I’m going to be first in line at the betting line to cash in.”
Twenty fives or so minutes later, I was a guy whose family would be getting some nice Christmas gifts thanks to Manny Pacquiao and in big part to Oscar De la Hoya.

I actually watched a couple of more rounds of an ugly one sided bout that reminds everyone that 90% of great fighters stay around too long and too many times the end is embarrassing.

Think of the old black and white films of a chubby and balding Joe Louis getting knocked out of the ring by Rocky Marciano. Not too many people remember this, but an old and shot Sugar Ray Leonard got knocked cold by one of the lightest punchers around, Hector “Macho” Camacho. I had tears in my eyes as Muhammad Ali turned sideways to avoid being hit by Larry Holmes. The great and granite chinned Roberto Duran got knocked stiff by somebody named William Joppy. History tells us that these fighters all have sad endings, and De la Hoya, who I have never considered a great fighter but a great credit to the sport and a reason to watch, was just another in a line of those to get exposed, to grow old in front of us.

He was a shell of himself, slow and unable to get out of the way of punches, cringing in anticipation of getting hit, offering no resistance while being belted around by someone who two years ago would have had no business being in the ring with him. De la Hoya, after seeing he could not get off a big punch, seemed lost and confused. Just like the rest of his career, when he was confused in a fight, he seemed lost. Much like my beloved USC Trojan offense this season, Oscar has never had a real boxing identity. And while he generically always talks about a game plan, he never has one to fall back on when Plan A doesn’t work. The ass kicking he took was painful to watch, and more than a couple of De la Hoya backers had misty eyes at Mandalay Bay, while a lot of haters had their day.

Somebody told me that James Toney, on local television, criticized De La Hoya for quitting on his stool, that he should have gone out throwing haymakers, trying to win. Geez, I think James may be a little punch drunk. I think that the bronze statue of Oscar that stands in front of staples Center had a better chance of throwing and landing a meaningful punch than the real Oscar Saturday night. With a lot of people booing Oscar Saturday night, it’s good to know he at least had a few friends in his corner to tell him enough was enough.

One irony that came out of the fight was that Oscar was criticized for avoiding the welterweight beast Antonio Margarito, yet he might have had a better chance of hitting the slower Margarito, and while Margarito would have blown Oscar out quicker, he would have been lauded for his courage than suffering a large embarrassment. Oh well, Oscar, as always, will take all that pain to the bank in the form of a very large paycheck.

Thanks for the memories, Golden Boy. You may never have been as great as you should have been, but you kept boxing alive in Los Angeles…

The other day Dave Smith was saying that Penn State would beat USC in the rose Bowl game come January 1. I think Dave must have absorbed some of the blows that Oscar did Saturday night. While USC’s offense has been less than brilliant, people who point to Penn State’s huge win over Oregon state and the Beavers’ subsequent win over USC as a reason to pick the Nittany Lions have it wrong.

PSU’s advantage over USC comes in the form of discipline and a bit more Big 10 athleticism than usual, and a great coaching staff.
But USC is better, much better.
Dave says the Pac 10 was weak and USC’s defense stopped nobody any good. I say Oregon, Cal, and Arizona would have scored 35 to 40 points per game in the Big 12. Oregon and cal are explosive teams that USC held to 13 points combined. Funny, the week before the Arizona game Dave was trumpeting the greatness of the Wildcat offense and its’ quarterback Willie Tuitama, but USC stopped them cold, only a fumble deep in USC territory setting the cats up for their only touchdown. But facts never seem to get in the way of Dave’s opinions.

I guess he conveniently ignores that Ohio State, a team slaughtered by USC, actually outgained Penn State, that a terrible Michigan team moved the ball at will against them, and that a very unathletic and speed challenged Iowa team actually, er, BEAT Penn state.
Yeah Dave, you are living up to your credo, better to have an opinion and be wrong than not to have one at all. With a month to prepare, Pete Carroll will prove Dave VERY wrong.

My fellow columnist Paul Cass irritated me to no end in his last column when he wrote that my beloved USC Trojan football team and their head coach, Pete Carroll, were, over rated when it comes to the elite teams in this country. He wrote that, sure USC improves as the season goes along under Carroll and wins their BCS games but that they beat up on the Big Ten and lost their REAL chance for immortality when they couldn’t stop Vince Young and Texas in the BCS Title game in 2006 in the Rose Bowl. I guess Paul shouldn’t have to know that USC was without 3 defensive starters that Rose Bowl, and some questionable offensive play calling deprived USC of at least 21 more points. And I guess that winning 11 games a season and going to SIX straight BCS games makes them overrated. No program in the country is better than USC. It’s that simple. Only a bad half against Oregon State is depriving USC of being in the title game. Funny no one remembers that Florida lost AT HOME to Ole Miss in a very OVER RATED SEC.

But paul is a hockey guy, so maybe he can explain something to me.
When I was but a child and used to come to my parents complaining about other kids making fun of me, my dad gave me a stern look and basically told me what we all hear- “Sticks and stones can break your bones but words can never hurt you.” Well, in the National Hockey League, you can fight every night, a crime that in public would put you in the slammer but on the ice makes you a hero, but you call a former girlfriend “sloppy seconds”, as Sean Avery did, and you get suspended SIX games? Gary Bettman said, “It’s very hard to explain to our kids how offensive that is”, but it’s okay to watch them as guys drop gloves and fight? And it seems to me that the best way for Avery to get his just due would be to MAKE him play and let someone knock him out, right? I guess that might make too much sense…

Throughout this NBA season, my Laker buddies have been all over me for being a non believer. Raiduh myopia has nothing on Laker myopia. Laker fans are dazzled ny theuir fast start, exciting basketball, and athleticism, Well, the Lakers were rolling at 13-1 but won’t be winning 70 games; the schedule and grind of the NBA won’t allow that, after all. And any team that starts Vlad Ramonovic is far from the best team in basketball. In fact, while they may in fact be the best team in the Western Conference, that statement doesn’t quite carry the clout that it used to. The team’s meltdown in Indianapolis, blowing a 16 point last quarter lead by playing no defense and turning the ball over like a high school team, showed my friends that I’m not as dumb as they think—this team just doesn’t play tough enough.

The Lakers may very well win between 60 and 66 games and wind up with the best record in basketball, but, much like my beloved Angels discovered after winning 100 regular season baseball games, it won’t mean much when the playoffs roll around.

I’ll take Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, and even Atlanta over any team in the West not playing in Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, throw Philly and Orlando in there. The West is filled with a bunch of “used to be goods” such as San Antonio and Dallas, “never have beens” like Houston and Utah, and “up and coming” like New Orleans and Portand. But the East is tougher physically and play better basketball. Vic The Brickhead may have a heart attack or not “feeling me” but his beloved Kobe Bryant is no longer the player he used to be, replaced by LeBron James as the basketball player in the world. And, for my money, while their depth may be questionable, the Atlanta Hawks may be the NBA version of the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that realized how good it can be and will build on it this season…

The Lakers, no doubt, have talent and depth. The addition of Trevor Ariza from the injured list, the return of Andrew Bynum and continuing development of Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic have made the Lakers better. But there is one thing that the team is—SOFT. Too many times this team relies on offense, and the lack commitment to tough, physical defense will be their undoing again. They could use a physical presence like a Kenyon Martin or Ron Artest, yet they have Pau Gasol, as good an all around player as there is but a guy who winds up on the wrong end of a poster too often, who just won’t be tough when the times dictate it. And Lamar Odom will never change, whether he starts or comes off of the bench, he is not a winner. Until the Lakers get that toughness they will be the best team in the West, but not good enough to win the real prize…

Meanwhile…
I was of the belief that Oscar de La Hoya’s waning interest in boxing, the “just in it for the payday’ attitude and Manny Pacquaio’s fierce commitment to the sport would result in an embarrassing loss for the Golden One Saturday night in Las Vegas. But the more I watch of HBO’s 24/7 series of the days counting down to the fight, the more I realize that this fight was made because Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, believes his fighter can win more because of what De La Hoya can’t do more than what his fighter can do. Roach believes De La Hoya is shot and ready to be taken down, and while that may be true, his whole attitude reminds me of that of the management team of Kelly Pavlik prior to his beatdown by Bernard Hopkins. Pavlik’s team had little respect for Hopkins, and I get the idea that Roach is a lot more confident than his fighter is. Roach obviously has a personal agenda against De La Hoya and in essence is sending out Pacquiao in his place to do the job. I’ve never thought de la Hoya was a great fighter, though he has great skills, and is definitely on the decline. But in watching the training, you get by Oscar’s generic “I’m in the best shape of my life” routine, and you see a much bigger, much more powerful fighter. I see concern in Pacquaio’s face, not confidence.

I know Roach is planning to have his fighter take De La Hoya into the later rounds and take over the fight, but Pacquaio is an attack, a seek and destroy fighter, and I think his warrior instinct will be his undoing. I’ve seen Manny wobbled by smaller fighters, and I just think that, in what promises to be an exciting fight, he’s going to walk into a well timed left hook which will suddenly end the fight inside of 6 rounds.

By the way, unlike Dave, I se nothing wrong with De la Hoya having a statue in front of Staples Center. Unlike Magic and Wayne Gretzky, he actually performed in Staples Center. And Oscar is an L.A. kid, who, like him or not, has breathed life into boxing and done a lot for the city of Los Angeles. But, of course, outside of Shaquille O’Neal, Dave almost bashes Oscar more than he does anyone else…

Am I the only one who, when he sees C.C. Sabathia, get reminded of Bartolo Colon, and say, NO to the Angels going after him? It seems that the American League was catching up to Sabathia and the National League is where he should be…

Wow, I was really attracted to the annual “Skins” game last weekend. Nothing says ratings and excitement more than Phil Mickelson, Rocco Mediate, Stephen Ames and K.J. Choi walking around saying “Nice shot!” Stephen Ames????……

I know the media loves Oklahoma and their point a minute offense, but their defense is horrible and Texas actually beat them, so why are they playing for a shot to be in the BCS Title game? And has any team, and I include Ohio State, been more woeful in BCS games than Bob Stoops’ rightly nicknamed “Chokelahoma” bunch?

I think the winner of the SEC title game between Florida and Alabama rightly deserves a shot in the title game, but while going ga ga over Florida, not too many media types point out that they have not beaten one Top 10 team this season and the SEC is horribly over rated…

As a USC honk I admit the Pac 10 is pathetic, and that USC’s offense has been inconsistent to say the least, but I don’t see any team out there going video game offense on that defense, not with a month for Pete Carroll to prepare. Too bad one bad half against Oregon State killed the chances of seeing that defense against Florida, Texas, or Oklahoma…

Looks like Charlie Weis is staying at Notre Dame for one more season. Thank you, South Bend!!!!

   Some time ago I found myself listening to “The Sportslodge” and Roger Lodge, when talking about Phillies’ shortstop Jimmy Rollins, referred to him by his nickname” J Roll”.  I could just imagine Dave Smith cringing through the radio as I heard him chide Lodge for using the nickname, and wow, I agreed with Dave. When a member of the “media”, which sportscasters are loosely a member of, use nicknames of people, they lose all credibility.
   As a matter of fact, I find myself slowly tuning out sports radio as I realize just how phony these talking heads are. I don’t mind when they cast their opinions on a sports performer’s talents or lack thereof, but when they opine about the way a man or woman acts, these guys are out of their realm. And what really irks me is that the majority of these guys are white guys talking about the behavior of minorities, when they have not walked a mile in their shoes or even begin to know what life is like to be a minority.
  I watch programs like “The Sports Reporters” or “Pardon The Interruption” and while they can be entertaining and everyone has a right to an opinion, old codgers like Woody Paige, Mike Lupica, Jay Marriotti, and others just love to tell others how to live their lives. They are outraged when a kid from the ghettos of America or a slum from Latin America has the nerve to walk out on a contract for greener pastures. They love to criticize or, in the case of someone like Jim Rome, poke fun at sports figures like Shawn Kemp, Evander Holyfield or Travis Henry for having multiple kids out of wedlock and blowing their vast fortunes. They all must really like to have watched “DiffrentStrokes” when the kindly old Caucasian raised the balck kids “the right way”. They love to lecture the minority athletes, tell them how to be a father. I notice that a lot of sports talk hosts love to put on Jason Whitlock, a black man and great writer. Whitlock is not afraid to spout opinions condemning the actions of African American sports figures, which makes him real popular on the sports talk circuit. I notice Spike Lee doesn’t get a lot of air time because his views make people squirm and feel uncomfortable.
  Well, let me tell you the ways these talking heads are the real phonies, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting to lecture.
   Let’s start with Rome. I honestly have grown to respect his show, and a lot of his interviews are good, informative, and he does ask tough questions. But his whole hip schtick is downright embarrassing. He loves to act black, use the ‘urban language”, but the truth is, like a lot of his compatriots in his field, I doubt he spends much time breaking bread in his home with minorities. The other day he talked about growing up in a neighborhood where people rode horses. Don’t think there was much graffiti or hardships there, nobody to “make it real”. I laughed the other day when he had Dolphins’ linebacker Joey Porter and was calling him by his full name, and Porter told him playfully to “stop calling me by my government” , government being an urban slang for using your full legal name. Rome, of course, then went on to use the “government” term multiple times the next couple of days like a kid uses a new toy. Wow, he’s a real original that Romey, and really ghetto. I’m sure when he parks his late model sports car and sees a couple of minorities, he’s sure to make sure that “rig” is locked. He’s not that real…
  We all know Scott Van Pelt, the lanky, geeky anchor on ESPN who started out on that most hip and urban of sports fields, golf. He has his own afternoon gig on ESPN, and I was shaking my head as he referred to himself as, okay seriously folks—“Van Peezy.”  He was extolling his program’s producer with his stories of how his I pod is filled with the likes of rappers Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, Common, and Kanye West. Somehow, I think his taste runs more to Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, or Bon Jovi, but that wouldn’t be hip enough. At least our boy Dave sticks with his 1970’s classic rock theme “Focus” as his theme song and instructs Corn Dogg to fill with Hendrix and other classic rock songs. Dave may be a goofy white guy, but he’s no phony.
  Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about his morning partner Roger “Don’t You Dare Call Me Chavez” Lodge. It’s well known he was born Roger Chavez and he was adopted and changed his name. And I understand that his step father did a great job of raising him and the name change honored him and it may have easier to get ahead in the entertainment business with a non Latin surname. I was listening to him and Dave one morning and one of my employees asked me why I bother “supporting that Uncle Tom.” And wow, after listening to Roger for a while, it seems quite apparent to my Mexican American friends and me that Roger not only runs away from his heritage, he’s embarrassed by it. I was pretty appalled on Election Day by Roger’s prediction that Barack Obama would “smooth talk his way to a win”. like he was lying about everything. Maybe Roger is the expert on “smooth talking his way” ahead.
   After listening to his show and the way he butchers his attempts in Spanish, I’m pretty sure his attempts to master use the language are when he goes by Taco Bell and orders burritos and tacos. Tiger Woods may not go out of his way to promote his African American side as some black leaders would prefer, but compared to Roger, he’s downright radical. Geraldo Rivera once went by the name “Jerry Rivers” to advance his career, but returned to his roots to show a Puerto Rican Jewish man could achieve something. At what point does Roger actually go out and promote his Latin side to inspire others? Hey Roger, the Mexican blood doesn’t go away! Call me harsh, but yup, I live in a nice affluent side of town, but it doesn’t stop me from opening a business in a “bad part of town”, try to help others less fortunate or support businesses in East Los Angeles and other Latin neighborhoods to show that having a Latin surname should not deter you from your dreams.  Hey Roger, join the party, you might find that it’s not a bad club to be in…
   That’s my rant, back to sports nest time. I think….

LEFTS AND RIGHTS- I used to have a friend named Danny, who passed away some time ago, who, after he had a little alcohol in him, was in the mood for lovin’ or fightin’. He could literally charm the pants off of some of the nicest women you’d see, but if there were no women around in a bar, he would usually end up fighting with anybody who gave him what he perceived to be “the wrong look”. I loved the guy, but it got old real quick, dragging him out of bars before he would start throwing blows.
  He always used to tell me that he loved to fight the bigger guys, because there was nothing to lose, except maybe, your consciousness, and that the fights were over quickly, he got them or he got nailed. Most of the time, the combatants ended up buying the other a drink before the night was over, just “boys being boys.”  He would tell me that he tried to avoid the smaller guys, the ones with the chip on their shoulder, because they didn’t hit hard enough to knock you out, but they would battle and battle, and it wasn’t worth it, losing a fight to a little guy.
  I bring this up because Oscar De La Hoya is going to test my late friend’s theory, and he will find out it is true when the smaller, but faster, and hard hitting Manny Pacquiao embarrasses him in las Vegas on December 6…
   De La Hoya took a lot of grief from boxing aficionados when he announced, as his alleged final bout, that he did not want to face another Mexican, the strong and constantly attacking Antonio Margarito. I can see why Oscar turned down this wrecking machine, because the 15 or so million dollars he stands to make may not be worth the physical beating he would most certainly get. But his decision to fight Pacquaio will be one that he may come to really regret. At age 35, Oscar will be going down in weight to take on Manny, and though the Filipino superstar is coming up, he is younger, faster, and, most important, hungrier. This fight points to disaster for De La Hoya.
  At this point in his career, De La Hoya is fighting for the money, not the greatest inspiration, and Pacquaio is fighting for history. Oscar walks around at probably 170 pounds and will have, at 35, 3 months to get to 147 pounds, and be more worried about making weight than getting into fighting shape while Pacquaio will have 3 months to add muscle while losing little quickness. And, in what may be a first, when Oscar steps into the ring he probably won’t even be the crowd favorite. The adoring Filipino fans that follow Pacquaio will be out in full force and throat and will be joined by the anti Oscar Mexican fans who think he is trying to avoid the threat Margarito presents to pick on a little guy and will be fully behind the action warrior. They will love to see the Pretty Boy get his comeuppance, and he will. Even in his prime, De la Hoya, for all his natural skills and the money he has made, never reached his potential partly because he never defined what type of fighter he was, but mostly because his penchant for tiring in a fight.
  When Pacquaio gets past the first 3 rounds and De la Hoya, who has only knocked out human punching bag Ricardo Mayorga, and lost more than he has won in recent years, starts to tire, the Filipino will hit Oscar more than he has ever been hit. Oscar has stated this is his last fight, and only his great will, which, no one can question, not  even the “Chicken De La Hoya” haters, may keep him erect as his legs and reflexes begin to betray him. Pacquaio will win by big decision or late stoppage, and I get the feeling, that, as his face puffs up and he keeps getting hit in the 10 th round, Oscar may be thinking, “Damn, this guy never stops. I should have fought the bigger guy. It would already be over.” And people would have respected him more…

See you soon…