I admit that, as a guy who has bashed soccer unmercifully for years, I actually bought into the World Cup this year. I thought that after the United States team bowed out I would lose all interest, but the level of play was pretty good and I followed the rest of the tournament. Some of the guys that I know who are passionate soccer followers were impressed when they asked me before the weekend who I thought the best player in the tournament and I answered “Diego Forlan of Uruguay”, and I must have been right, as he was voted as the equivalent of that after the tournament.

Anyway, when the two finalists, The Netherlands and Spain , were set, I looked forward to the game, as they seemed to be very athletic and their attacks were more wide open and visually more pleasing. But, as the game went on, it reminded me of a horrible experience I had years earlier, A friend of mine was and is a huge Grateful Dead fan, and he got me a ticket to one of their shows, and I heard from him and others that I might not like the music, but to give it a chance because their shows were unique and not to be missed, and I would be hooked.

Well, like that Dead show, I was kind of pumped up to the soccer final, especially since, the day before, Uruguay and Germany put in 5 goals between them.

But, alas, the two teams played conservatively, not to lose, and liker the Dead show, was booooooooooooooooooooooooooooring, uninteresting, and seemed to take forevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvver! The saving grace as the game went on and on was that there would be a shootout, not sudden death, or golden goal, to decided the outcome. Thankfully, Spain scored in the 116th minute, and someone in the crowd woke up Laker Pau Gasol so that he could get up and wave a Spanish flag and look as if he were watching the game. A 1-0, excuse me one to nil, final? That was hard to imagine.

The Dutch and Spanish match seemed to offer a chance for an exciting match, but there penalties, uneven passes, and more flopping around than Euro basketball players going against Shaquille O’Neal. My daughter and her friends commented that “Boy, soccer players are good looking”, and I pointed out that that they were more actor than athlete, so they had to be…

In the aftermath, on ESPN, one of the commentators, Ruud Gullitt, a former Dutch player, commented that “the sport blew it. We had a chance to really reach out to the American audience with a great final, but the game was uneven, and boring.” Wow, aome real truth and objectivity from ESPN. Maybe the guys on “College Football Live” could take a cue from Gullitt.

But he was right. Soccer had made great strides during the tournament, and even the crappy officiating made for good print—any publicity is good, right? But the anticlimactic final left us not wanting more—just wanting out…

In the end, I thought back to an episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” celebrating the Laker championship, featuring some of the Laker team. Sasha Vujacic was one Laker, and the program was taped the same day as the controversial tie between the U.S. team and Slovakia, Sasha’s country, and Kimmel and Kobe Bryant were chiding him about the phantom off side call which cost the U.S. team a win, and Kimmel said, “If you think we’re mad now, just imagine if America actually cared about soccer!” Truer words were never spoken.

FINALLY—One sports event passed by recently with nary a word. In the world of sports, great events are often based on great rivalries. You have the Lakers vs. Celtics, Yankees-Red Sox, Michigan-Ohio State , Ali-Frazier, on and on. But one of the best and more compelling was the annual 4th of July Hot Dog eating contest pitting American superstar eater Joey Chestnut against legendary Japanese chomper Kobayashi. After years of dominating the sport and breaking records with ease, Kobayashi had his win streak broken and sense of invincibility stripped away by Chestnut, and their contests, if not aesthetically pleasing, were full of drama as they would gorge themselves with hot dogs at such a rapid pace I would find myself gagging just watching them. But, this year, due to some contract dispute Kobayashi sat out and All American Joey eased his way to a big win, as Kobayashi eyed him down from the crowd. There was no excitement, no gripping drama, it was almost, well, like soccer. Please Kobayashi, come back! Now the eating contest is just like an exercise in American excess instead of sport…

In the aftermath of LeBron James’ decision to go to Miami , the owner of his former team, the Clevelan Cadavers (yes, they are dead again), Dan Gilbert, issued a statement so over the top bitter I couldn’t believe it. Gilbert ripped The Princess about James’ narcissistic and self serving one hour special “The Decision”,that the Cadavers’ fans deserved better and he was correct about that. But he went on to criticize James as a quitter and of committing a “cowardly betrayal”, and saying he knew a lot of things about James that have never come out and threatened to reveal things about his mother and inner circle…

I know a lot of people in Cleveland have saluted him, but outside of that area, he is coming off, and rightfully so, as just bitter and a sore loser. Say what you will about LeBron James, but as Dave Smith correctly pointed out, the Cleveland franchise was dead in the water and in the seven years he was there James revitalized the franchise and the area and did so with minimal controversy. Sure, a lot of us old schoolers could have done without the pre game choreography and the monicker “King” before he won any titles, but he is a superstar, I term I rarely use, and the face of the NBA and deserved to make any decision he wanted. He owed Cleveland nothing. Gilbert sounds like a, well, fan, who let his emotions get the better of him and should have thought about what he was doing before he sent out his venom. He sounds like the high school kid whose girlfriend dumped him for something better and whereas before she was his queen, now she’s a slut. Grow up, Dan!

Contrast Gilbert with Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss. Buss once sat courtside and was embarrassed as his highly paid star Shaquille O’Neal was shouting “Pay me mother f*cker!” to him. And, after he traded Shaq, endured a lot of personal rips by the ungrateful O’Neal, but instead of ripping Shaq for never being in shape until after the season started and playing half assed for half the season, Buss played a tribute to Shaq upon his return and has never uttered a bad thing about him and will, in all likelihood, raise his number 34 Laker jersey to the rafters when his playing days are done. It’s called class..

Everyone knows that ESPN has been the station of the SEC, and for a while West Coast and especially USC fans have found it hard to stomach the strong bias the station has had for that conference. But ever since the NCAA sanctions hit USC, the station has jumped on every negative detail about the school. USC has had to endure the loss of a top recruit, but four transfers were not even starters, and the station has treated them as Armageddon. There is no doubt the program has been rocked, but the constant, merciless trashing of USC has been brutal. They are finding the old “they love you when you’re on top and love it even more when you’re down” to be oh so true. For a week straight “College Football Live” started with a USC story. These guys think Lane Kiffin is the second coming of Osama Bin Laden. More and more you get the idea that, even though his timing was bad and he should not have uttered it in public for all to hear, Mike Garrett was right when he said, “There is a lot of Trojan envy out there.”

I had an associate who is a Florida alum tell me, “From what I gather, USC is on a two year bowl band and losing 30 scholarships because ONE player was ineligible and received pay from an agent, a felon who wasn’t a USC booster? Wow, we have no love for USC, but it doesn’t seem fair from here.”

I know some soccer boosters are bemoaning that the end of the World Cup is near, but, as I tell them, if you miss it, just watch the Angels on “offense”—lots of running around with no scoring. Talk about pathetic! I was laughing the other day as Angel homer Jeff Biggs was on the radio defending the team, and the only guy less active than their hitters, general manager Tony Reagins, for their non moves, and said fans should not panic. He said it was because, by the end of the July, teams would be looking to dump salaries and players would become available, So I called the station to get on, and when the screener asked what I wanted to talk about, I said, “I wanted to ask Jeff if, the way things are going, if the Angels were going to be one of the teams looking to dump salaries at the end of the month, guys like Abreu and Matsui.” Funny, I never got on. There’s nothing quite like homer radio to quiet the masses, huh? By the way, that can’t miss turned can’t hit prospect, Brandon Wood, is hitting .168. But, compared to minor league call ups Paul McAnulty, who in 11 at bats has 9 strikeouts and the hitless Toby Aldridge, he looks like Tony Gwynn..

The other day my daughter googled “Dave Smith” and came into the living room and said, “Dad, I didn’t know your friend Dave had passed away.” So I went to the computer and told her it wasn’t him, it was an old news item about the former Houston Astros pitcher. She said, “Oh, I should have known when it said he was 53 years old, he’s younger than that, right?” I said she should have known when the article said, “He was known for his generosity”, now that was a red flag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, let’s say you are being wooed by different companies because you’ve proven to be one of the best in your field. You’re available because, frankly, you’ve outgrown your present company and they can’t afford you. You feel a sense of loyalty, yes, but you have to think of your family. So you do the only logical thing, move on, make more money, take on new challenges.

Yet, as I watched the recent Laker parade, I’m amazed by the old school thinking by the likes of Stu Lantz, who talked about the selfishness of the new breed of players, who would rather make money than win championships. Well, I don’t know, championships and rings are great, but when you’re asking people to take million dollar pay cuts, well, that’s easy for you to say. It also makes me laugh when they talk about players giving “home town discounts”. Ask Dave Smith, long time Angel fan who worked a double shift for a year for Angel management, about home town discounts. They don’t seem to work out too well…

Has there ever been more hype with less results than the long awaited “Summer Of 2010” NBA free agency? With the exception of Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade in Miami , and the woefully overrated Amare Stoudemire going to New York , what has changed? The NBA is still looking up at the Lakers. And, while he is no doubt the best player in the league, shouldn’t LeBron James give the whole “King” monicker a rest until he has actually won a title?..

If, if the rumors are true, Shaquille O’Neal actually does go to Boston , does that make him a candidate for all time Laker turncoat and delay the cries for his jersey to hang in the Staples Center rafters? Has any superstar ever played for so many different teams?

Dave made a great point in his article praising Uruguay ’s Luis Suarez for his game saving, if illegal, hand ball the other day in the World Cup. Maybe it wasn’t “in the spirit of the game”, but it was a winning play. If sports, you do what you have to do. I watched a replay of Game 3 of the Laker-Jazz series, and in the final 4 seconds, with the Lakers holding a one point lead, and inbounding the ball on their end, Derek Fisher was blatantly held and the Jazz got a steal. Even if they were called for the foul, the worst that could happen to the Jazz was they would be down 3 after free throws, and no time was taken off the clock. It’s called playing to win. Of course, some would say it was karma that they missed the ensuing shot and follow up, but you do what you have to do to win…

I have to wonder, does Dave really think that America does not take pride in being the best? He’s been drinking too much tea…

Okay, I have to admit that I bought in to “The Beautiful Game” more than ever before. I probably would have to attribute it to getting older and a growing lack of senility. But I see where people could appreciate the game, but mostly because when you throw national pride into the mix, it becomes more of a passion. Believe me, when ABC showed shots of people watching from Kansas city, Tennessee (or any portion of the country from the Bible belt), where soccer is hardly a hot bed, those fans were watching only because “USA” was on the shirts of the players, not because of their affinity for corner kicks or knowledge of the off side rule. It’s much like the casual sports fan’s passion for hockey or track and field or swimming every Olympics, you know, it’s more exciting than I knew, but, oh we just lost, who cares—it’s only fill in the blank….

Right after the USA ’s dramatic win over Algeria (how many people actually knew Algeria was a country? How many know where it is?), LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke, on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters”, had the nerve to temper his enthusiasm. Plaschke pointed out that the US team was in a group that wasn’t that difficult and was expected to move on, and that they shoukl defeat Ghana , a country with a population the size of Oregon , or this tournament would be a failure—and I have to agree.

This was soccer’s time to grab the attention that its’ biggest supporters say it deserves. It had the eye of the country, and if the US team had lost to a soccer super power like Germany , Brazil , or Argentina , fine, but to lose to Ghana is unacceptable. Sure, a lot of soccer experts will say Ghana was the home team and probably should have been favored, but that doesn’t sit well with the American fan. It was like watching a fledling program win its’ first big game, and then lose to an inferior opponent because they don’t know how to handle the expectations that success and publicity bring—it’s called pressure. Watching the team start out flat and end up losing to this small country made me realize what it feels like to be a Dallas Maverick, Buffalo Bill, or any team in Cleveland fan feels like—how in the hell did that happen?

I’ll the first to admit that I’m no soccer expert, but it sure seemed to me that the difference between the US team and the more successful teams is the striker position, the guys who are supposed to score the goals. Jozey Altidore and Clint Dempsey certainly are creative and get themselves in position to score, but never finish, much like a basketball player who gets to the hoop but can’t make the play, or the wide receiver who gets open but can’t make the big catch.

So Dave loved the fact Mexico was eliminated and it made his weekend? So he has become the equivalent of the UCLA honk who loves USC getting beat more than his own team winning. It’s a bit sad that he recalls things from a decade ago and doesn’t let it go, much like a jilted girlfriend who has a long memory. All I know is that, the other day, when I was on a construction site where there were a lot of laborers from Mexico, El Salvador, and other Latin American countries, the US game with Algeria was blaring on the radio, and when Landon Donovan scored, the cheering was tremendous, just as if the ball had dropped on New Year’s Eve. Then again, maybe they were all happy because they knew the States were not all that great and an easy touch…

By the way, I’d have to say, in my humble and definitely uneducated opinion, that the favorite to win would have to be Brazil —but watch out for the Netherlands …

While I know it’s tough to tear yourself away from the soccer, I will to watch the continuation of what I think is the greatest story in American sports, that of the Williams Sisters at Wimbledon . In an elitist sport like tennis, which is definitely for the privileged and devoid of much diversity, it would be an amazing achievement for a black girl from the streets of Compton playing in public parks against inferior competition could rise up to become the dominant force in the sport. But to have two sisters do it is unbelievable, and to present a movie based on this story would be laughed at. The best part is that Venus and Serena have done so without losing their identity, and have been as graceful and classy representation of America at its’ best…

I actually went to a Dodger game in Chavez Ravine on Sunday, or so I thought. After the home team secured a 4 run lead, many of their fans headed for the exits in the 7th inning, and Dodger Stadium was suddenly move into the Bronx, and Yankee Stadium, as the crowd was so pro pin stripes, it was amazing, and the Yankees came back to win…

Dodger fans are in a state of panic, but as I pointed out to them, now that the team has finished its’ death march against real major league teams, aka the American League in interleague play, they can go back to looking like the best team in baseball against National League competition..

I’ll be in Anaheim standing and cheering for the return of Vladimir Guerrero, and he should be given a long and loud ovation….

The clinching score could have been a 50-49 triple overtime stinker, and it still would have been sweet—NOTHING tops the Lakers beating the Celtics in the seventh game of the NBA Finals. All the bad memories of bitter losses, victory cigars, “Beat LA:, towel wavers, all got washed away when the supposedly veteran and poised Celtics blew a 13 point lead and got out-toughed by a gritty Laker team that blew all the stereotypes out of the water. There were a lt of Celtic whining about the officiating, but the fact is, when the other team is longer, more athletic, and wants the ball more, and you’re older and getting tired, you grab and hold—and those are called fouls. Game, set, match, and TITLE—to the Lakers..

I have always been of the opinion that Andrew Bynum reminds me of the kid on the block who was the great athlete, but didn’t love sports, and only played to be part of the group. Bynum has struck me as only playing basketball because he’s 7 feet with some great athletic skills, but didn’t possess a passion for the game, and only played because there was money to be made. But his playing through pain and contributing valuable minutes showed me he’s truly a player. As for the Celtic fans who keep bemoaning the los of Kendrick Perkins in Game 7, if Bynum was 100%, it’s pretty obvious that the Lakers win the series in 5 or 6 games at most.. Now the Lakers are facing the tough decision of whether to trade the oft injured Andrew for Chris Bosh or a point guard, and that’s a tough call because Bynum is only 22…

Why is it that Kobe Bryant’s team can win a title, and instead of getting the adulation he deserves, the media and fans continue to rip on him for not being Michael Jordan? Bryant was horrible offensively in the clincher, as it was obvious he was trying too hard, but he sucked it up, played tough defense, made some key passes, grabbed 15 rebounds, and made enough plays down the stretch to contribute to the Laker win. Yet instead of celebrating him, we’re subjected to one of Jordan ’s kids criticizing him, and others piling on him as well. Kobe Bryant is not your lovable superstar, he’s always come across to me as scripted, phony, and self serving, but damn if he doesn’t work hard and give it his all, and that’s all you can ask for. And he does have one more than Shaq, and you can “take that to the bank”…

Another guy really taking it is Tiger Woods. He’s the only guy I know who could be 5 shots behind the leader going into the final round of a major, and get ripped for choking because he didn’t win. It’s pretty obvious his physical game is all over the place and that mentally he’s not close to being the old Tiger. The guy screwed around on his wife and ruined his reputation, has lost millions of dollars and will lose more, isn’t it time to stop roasting him?

The other day, before the final round Rick Reilly was on ESPN, after Tiger thrilled millions with a patented stirring display of golf magic on the back nine Saturday commenting that “it’s all right, don’t feel guilty for cheering the golfer, even if you don’t respect the man.” I enjoy Reilly’s work, but excuse me, Rick, you self righteous blow hard, who are you to tell me that it’s all right to cheer for someone?

I’ve been on the record for ripping soccer mercilessly, but I have to admit that I’ve invested some time watching the World Cup and have come to appreciate “the beautiful game”. There is some athleticism, and while there are not enough scoring chances, I’ve come to appreciate the constant playing, the lack of timeouts, and some intricate passing. And, as my daughter and her friends say, you never see a fat soccer player. I could do without the theatrics, the mullets, those noisemakers, and the rules I can never figure out, especially the off side and “extra time”. And it’s pretty apparent that all the time and money the United States has put into developing the sport is starting to pay dividends, as the Americans actually look like they are genuine contenders, maybe not this year but in the future. American kids are turning to soccer as their first sport not just an alternative, and it is showing in its’ results on the field, I mean “pitch”…

I hear all the time from Dodger fans how upset they get after their team loses to the Angels and they see Mike Scioscia sitting the Halo dugout, and how he should be in Dodger blue. I feel the same way when I see UCLA in the College Baseball World Series, with John Savage in the dugout taking the program to great heights with some amazing pitching quality—and depth—and just an all around solid team. Meanwhile, the once proud USC program has taken a dump, with the pathetic Chad Kreuter at the helm. Tales abound of nepotism, favoritism, and players dropping out because of poor coaching. The fact is that when Mike Gillespie was at USC winning their last national title, the key man on his squad, the pitching coach and head recruiter was none other than John Savage, and Mike Garrett let him get away to UC Irvine before Savage landed at UCLA. USC people think Garrett should be fired for this alone, but there’s also those little football and basketball matters, also..,

As for the local bats and balls guys, it’s pretty apparent that the ugly divorce between the McCourts may cost the Dodgers, with as good as a lineup as there is in baseball, a shot at a World series, because, behind Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, is a veritable “Who’s That?” of starting pitchers. John Ely, Carlos Monasterios, Charlie Haeger, and Vicente Padilla sound more like they should be pitching in some independent minor league instead of Chavez Ravine…

As for the Angels, “The Curse Of Dave Smith” hit them hard with the injury to Kendry Morales, and the subsequent injuries to Erick Aybar and Maicer Isturiz, along with the continued ineptitude of Brandon “Can’t Get” Wood and relief pitching from hell. But the reason they won’t win the AL West is because the Texas Rangers are simply better top to bottom and have better pitching. In fact, with their power pitching, and power lineup, I think the Rangers could make it to the World Series. And the major reason other than the pitching is they have a guy who should be a leading candidate for the Most Valuable Player award. You might know his name—Vladimir Guerrero. Gee thanks, Tony Reagins. You guys dumped him like he was Dave after all he did for you, and now you’re paying the price…Ouch…

Garrett’s remarks to a USC booster club that “This proves there is a lot of USC envy” turned off not only the USC haters but Trojan supporters as well. I freely admit that USC and arrogant are two words that will be forever connected, and Garrett’s words proved that, but Garrett’s words went beyond arrogance to obnoxious.

I read the Sports God’s latest diatribe about Pete Carroll’s comedy act, and while it’s easy to be in denial about things, the majority of USC fans that don’t see the world through Cardinal & Gold colored glasses would admit that things were out of control, but not to the extent that a two year bowl ban and the loss of 30 scholarships would indicate.

The NCAA had a five year search into USC’s sports program and found two high profile athletes (Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo) in violation of their rules along with a woman tennis player? Wow, 3 players in your entire program after a massive colonoscopy of the program, and Paul Dee, the NCAA head of the committee (and former AD at the oh so clean Miami, okay we WILL go there later) not only wanted the aforementioned penalties but wanted a television ban as well, which would be tantamount the NCAA death penalty? Yet Alabama had FORTY players getting more cash than those 3 student athletes (okay, I laugh at that term all the time, too) and received less? If the NCAA spent five years going through USC’s program and that was all they found, I cringe at what would happen if they were looking for WMD’s. If they were Columbus , the world would still be viewed as flat.

The NCAA report, if you were to spend the time to look at it, is pathetic at best and laughable at worst. They cite one instance when a recruit was picked up late and then taken to a party where “there was evidence of underage drinking.” Imagine that, at a college campus, underage drinking! While there is no doubt that underage drinking is no laughing matter and not to be taken lightly, underage drinking and college life go together like Dave Smith and Irish whiskey. Does underage drinking indicate some form of “lack of institutional control”? I don’t know—does 28 arrests for DUI for football players in the past 4 seasons in Gainesville , the University Of Florida , where St. Urban Meyer is the head, indicate a lack of control in the program? It’s okay to look the other way, St. Tim Tebow absolved them of all sins.

I can sit here all day and go over the total lack of solid evidence other than the hearsay of two convicts who were stiffed by a greedy stepfather. Dave points out that bush’s stepfather, was known for “having his hands out” the moment Reggie stepped on campus. One of the most disgusting things I’ve seen was, after Reggie’s final dismemberment of UCLA, running for over 200 yards in 3 quarters, was a sideline interview with Griffin , telling everyone Reggie was leaving for the NFL before Bush had a chance to say anything. Of course, a couple of weeks later Reggie was in tears accepting his Heisman trophy, thanking Griffin for “making me the man I am and giving me the values I have.” Hey, Reg, might want to rethink those values…

Like most USC people, I am not of the opinion Pete Carroll left before the posse got there. I wrote before of a talk I had with someone close to him who told me after the Notre Dame game he had tired of the b.s. and was leaving, and this was before the announcement of any hearings. Was Carroll guilty of running a loose program? Hell yes. But almost comical is the NCAA’s reprimanding of USC for running open practices. It’s been like that at USC for a long time, a recruiting tool and a way to get families involved. The most closed practices were run by Paul Hackett, and we know how that went—he should have been sanctioned for being a horrible coach. Pete Carroll promoted growth in the inner city and being at a USC practice was a place to be. Should they have been more scrutinized? Yes. But I tend to believe you attend any college football practice and there are unwanted elements there.

I could go on and on, and there are so many holes in this “case’ that a halfway decent lawyer could punch holes in it, and people ask why USC doesn’t sue the NCAA. It’s because the NCAA is a dictatorship and doesn’t base things on fact, just hearsay, and on their opinion. Where else in this country could USC get penalized because of the testimony of two felons and not get the opportunity to confront its’ accusers?

I was going to rail on Paul Dee’s sanctimonious rant as opposed to the outlaw program he ran at Miami , but why? There was public pressure on the NCAA to put the hammer to USC, and to me five years of investigations and 3 athletes found cheating is probably cleaner than 99% of all college athletic programs. By the way, I hear snickers from UCLA people, and I tell them I have too much respect for the recently and dearly departed John wooden to mention the name “Sam Gilbert”.

Right now, as a USC honk, you endure all the laughs and taunts, but you live on and fight on, because this program isn’t going away. But I feel bad for any program that gets caught with its’ hand in the cookie jar, because a precedent has been set. If hearsay gets you this penalty, anything with concrete proof gets you death…

I love to spar with UCLA folks and they are all on fire over Rick Neuheisel’s latest recruiting class, which they point to as proof that “the monopoly is over.” Truth is, Neuheisel HAD to get a big recruiting class. After USC’s off year and questions about Lane Kiffin’s ability to coach, the Trojans were ripe for the picking. But New Weasel was under the gun, because he loses two huge trump cards that he plays when recruiting against USC—the Pete Carroll is leaving and the NCAA is going to put them on the death penalty threats won’t be there to use. Ricky can be quite a charmer , but he negatively recruits more than maybe anyone in the country. A friend of mine has a son headed to Oregon State, and after Carroll left, it took Neuheisel all of an hour to have his assistants get on the phone to Beaver recruits to tell them that “Mike Riley has already signed to be the new USC head coach.” And, a USC recruit told me that his parents were turned off by Rick’s pitch to “spend a weekend on their campus and then spend a weekend on ours and tell me why you’d want to live there” as elitist and racist. All’s fair in love and war and one of my sources at USC told me that one reason Carroll threw the rub it in touchdown against UCLA was his disdain for Neuheisel and that Carroll was truly turned off by Rick’s negative recruiting tactics…

But give Ricky credit for building up his talent, and trying to level the playing field, now he has to do something that gets lost in all his bluster—actually coach…

So Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley really are going to actually get in the ring? It was a great fight—two years ago. At 38, I don’t think Shane has enough quicks to neutralize Money and in another boring fight, Mayweather will dominate and win…

I laughed at Dave’s account of his day watching one of my guilty pleasures–

“Man Vs. Food”. Wow, now I have a tough time wondering who has the better life, the host of MVF, Adam Goldman, who goes around getting paid gorging himself, or the fictional Charlie harper from “Two And A Half Men”, who sits around, drinks, does nothing but live off of residuals and get laid. Tough choice..

Watching the Lakers play reminds me of myself during my senior season in high school—just counting the days until, graduation—bored, with nothing to look forward to, and only there to look at the ladies, and my effort just enough to get by…

Laker coach Jim Cleamons made me laugh the other day when asked what advice he gives to Laker center Rip van Bynum—“Run, Andrew, Run!”

Really now, Lamar Odom couldn’t do better than Khloe Kardashian? As Roger Lodge said, she’s a dead ringer for the WWE wrestler Chyna…

Quite honestly, I don’t get into politics too much because I find myself getting aggravated over public servants worrying more about their reputation and getting re elected more than actually serving the public…

Back in 2008, when the election was going on, I asked my dad, an older gentleman who has no problem speaking his mind, what he thought would happen in the election. He told me thought that although he was unqualified, Barack Obama would win because he was bringing a message of hope and change to young America , but that after he won he would realize hope and change always run smack dab into reality. Also, he said, “You know, the most embarrassing situation in sports is the lack of minority head coaches in college football. The only time a school hires a black coach is coming off a winless season, with no real hope, and then they can say, ‘Well, he got his shot.’ Well, right now with the economy and divisive feelings in this country, this nation is kind of like a hopeless football program, so the black man will finally get his shot—and it won’t be pretty.” Well, looks like he’s right on…

Wow, Super Sunday is coming up—let’s see, Colts 48, Saints 28 in a game not that close…

She has really gotten into the college life, and while LMU doesn’t have a football team, they do have a basketball team, well, kind of. The last two seasons of LMU basketball produced less than 10 wins total, but this season, in a very good West Coast Conference, the Lions were picked to finish last, and are 2-6, but overall have 11 wins and have posted upset wins on the road against USC and Notre Dame, and start a very young team so the future looks bright…

But the glory in LMU basketball is in the past, specifically 20 years ago when they became the nation’s darlings scoring 122 points a game, including 181 points in a single game. Of course their fast break offense was one of a kind, but, sadly, what drew the national attention was the death of Hank Gathers in the conference semifinals. Gathers was a perfect player for the “system”, a 6’7 flyer who in 1989-1990 once scored 48 points against an LSU tam that included Stanley Roberts and a guy named Shaquille O’Neal. Imagine that, a smaller, hustling guy taking advantage of Shaq—who would have ever thunk it? Gathers was a notorious bad free throw shooter who started shooting free throws left handed to try to get better, and as a tribute in the tournament, his best friend, Bo Kimble, shot every first free throw left handed left handed—and made every one of them. There were definitely moments that made the eyes tear up.

In one of the most exciting games I’ve ever seen, eliminated defending champion Michigan in the second round of the NCAA playoffs by a whopping 149-115 count. The frenetic style and three point barrage was everything a basketball junkie enjoys. They were so good that a far superior athletic team, Alabama , chose to slow the pace in the Sweet 16, and ended up losing to LMU, 62-60. Unfortunately, the magical run ended there as eventual national champion UNLV was too good and beat LMU, but the Lions got their 100 points.

I read an article recently about the 1989-1990 LMU team, and a national sportswriter noted that only two teams that he had covered in his career really caught the imagination of the national sporting public, the 1980 US Olympic hockey team and 1990 LMU Lions basketball team.

Last Saturday, as LMU took on a really good St. Mary’s team at Gersten Pavilion, there was a halftime reunion of the 1989-1990 team, and it was truly special. All the familiar names were there, a little less hair on top and a little more paunch around the middle, There was the star, Kimble, all smiles recalling his buddy Gathers. There was the hustling Finn, Per Stumer, the human body bruise, Tom Peabody.The Mad Bomber, Jeff Fryer, brought huge applause as did the super sixth man, Terrell Lowery. They all stayed around after the game to mingle, and it was great to hear them recount that season.

But the biggest applause was saved for Gather’s mother Lucille, who raised her arms to the sky and cried as the student section joined with the rest of the crowd and yelled, “This Is Hank’s House! This Is Hank’s House!” You looked around the pavilion and the emotion was palpable, you just don’t get special times like these…

Loyola Marymount lost by 18 points that night and might never experience the success that the 1990 Elite Eight run brought. It was probably a blip on the radar screen never to be seen again. But that’s what made it so memorable and special. And at the end of the night, my daughter, with a “HANK” headband on said, Now I do feel like a Lion”. Oh, the college experience…

A) Bye Bye Pete- Right after the Halloween Massacre known as the Oregon game, I went to a USC football practice to get together to get a feel for the team along with some Trojan insiders. USC losing was not a surprise, but the margin, and more importantly, the seeming lack of leadership and direction was stunning. I couldn’t get the image of Pete at halftime saying he was basically clueless as how to stop Oregon , and that hopefully the offense would score enough points to hang in there, It was a startling admission that the team was unprepared. It was at this practice that one of the guys I know who is usually straight with me about the team told me, “Don’t be surprised if Pete is out the door this season.” I took him at his word and as the dismal play continued throughout the season and the lack of preparation and discipline from the players continued, I continued to remember what my USC friend had told me, so I was hardly stunned when Pete announced he was leaving for the USC. Pete is, in the vein of most NFL coaches, a “10 year guy”, a firm believer a coach can rarely stay in the same place more than 10 years before he burns out or his players tire of listening to him. Pete is 58 years old, and the window of opportunity for him to take off was closing.

Pete Carroll’s time at USC was absolutely magical, and there is no reason for any

USC fan to be bitter for him leaving. He brought a moribund program that was

dead in the water and drawing 50,000 spectators and stuck with offensive

“stars” like Petros Papadakis, and brought big time players, 90,000 screaming

fans, and national prominence. He owned Notre Dame, UCLA, and the Big Ten.

He brought pride to the school and attention to the plight of the inner city. In the

End, he probably spread himself too thin, but he will always be up there with

John McKay in my book. Thank you, Pete…

B) The Lame (Lane) Hire- A head scratcher to say the least. According to some people that I trust, Jon Gruden was very nearly the hire after Mike Riley turned USC down, but the hiring body wasn’t comfortable with the fact that he might not be a very good recruiter and weren’t too enthralled with the coaches he might bring in. Kiffin is a great recruiter who has great energy, but very immature and undeserving of the jobs he has corralled FL head coach and coach of two of college football’s great programs (USC and Tennessee ) at age 34? Okay, I take that back— Oakland should not be considered an NFL team. Ironically, winning 5 games with Oakland might be Kiffin’s greatest accomplishment!

Kiffin was hired because he has come with the promise of a “dream” coaching staff of his dad , defensive guru Monte Kiffin, an old USC favorite, defensive line coach and recruiting legend Ed Orgeron, offensive line coach Tim Davis (still not here) and offensive coach Norm Chow—not here—more on him later.

I personally would have hired a guy who wanted the job, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, not a big marquee name but a tough minded, disciplined coach who tutored under Urban Meyer, and who has won some big games against big name programs.

I’m willing to give Kiffin a chance, what choice do I have? But at this point, as Dave pointed out, he is less Pete Carroll and more like UCLA coach Slick Rick, more con man than coach, more about bluster and style than substance. Is that what USC has come to? I say Lane Kiffin won’t be USC coach when my daughter graduates from college—2013…

C) The Chow Disaster- First off, let me break away from the pack and say I’m more than happy with Norm Chow not being the USC offensive coach. The popular refrain around here is “Pete couldn’t win without Norm”. How about “Pete’s players made Norm look good?” Norm Chow is a dinosaur whose two seasons in the NFL and two seasons at UCLA have been abysmal. Norm comes across as this cerebral Dr. Frankenstein of offense but, having been around people that I trust, he is one bitter guy who right or wrong, felt he was pushed out the door at USC. Yet a USC alum, Jeff Fisher, hired him and got him a high paying NFL job, where he got fired because he simply didn’t produce. When I saw on the ESPN ticker that he was going to be hired at USC, I knew the chances of that happening were about as good as Shaquille O’Neal and Dave Smith going all BFF. He and Kiffin detest each other. Chow going to UCLA had nothing to do with the “chance to work with Rick Neuheisel”. Norm was like the girl you dumped and her way of getting back at you is going out with some guy you don’t care for. Norm’s move wreaked of vindictive and more the chance to give the bird to USC, but he couldn’t beat his old buddy Pete. Yet USC is getting hammered, and rightfully so, for getting turned down by Chow in their courtship. Mike Garrett should be ridiculed for getting on television and being giddy about going after Chow. Chow saw a chance to get an extension from UCLA and embarrass USC, and he took it.

Other Notes-

Kiffin is getting drilled for leaving Tennessee after just one season—hey I wish he would have stayed—but how can anyone blame him for passing up the opportunity? Loyalty is one thing, but when your dream job is right in front of you, then you take it. Life is about upward mobility. And sorry, Los Angeles is better than Knoxville in any world…

If any of these ESPN moralists would take a look at the NCAA rules, they’d see what Ed Orgeron did was within the rules. But they’re too SEC-centric and hurt to be objective when it comes to USC, What about Notre Dame hiring Brian Kelly before a huge bowl game? It’s all in the timing…

So Blake Griffin is out for the season? As Phil Jackson noted, it’s not a curse, it’s karma. Donald Sterling is a bad human being and eventually things even up when you screw people over…

Vladimir Guerrero is a Texas Ranger—and will get a standing ovation from me every time he bats in Anaheim this season. By the way, Andre Dawson’s election to the Hall Of Fame bodes well for Big Daddy Vladdy, as their career numbers mirror each other, except for Guerrero’s higher batting average and impact on the game was much bigger…

So Mark McGwire WAS on steroids? And, in other news, the sun rises in the East…

Kentucky ’s John Wall is the best all around college basketball player I have seen in a long time…

For a long time, local newpaper writer Tom Hoffarth, who covers radio and television, always had Dave Smith rated in his Top 10 of local sports talk hosts, and I believe it was 3 or 4 times he had him rated tops. I think Dave would know. Anyway, in his last poll he had Dave’s former partner Roger Lodge rated the best, if you looked from the bottom up. Yup, he had ole Roger rated the worst sports talk host and I couldn’t agree more. I would further comment but since I don’t listen to the self promoting blowhard anymore I can’t. Dave Smith not having a job in this market while bums like Lodge and screamers like Stephen A. Smith do is just brutal. Dave might be a moron, but he’s OUR moron…

But this season, remembering Oregon ’s dismantling of USC, a lot of people were calling for a similar dismemberment of Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. The conventional thinking is that the Pac 10 schools have a significant advantage in speed over their Midwestern opponents, and with Oregon ’s fast break offense, on the outside, it looked like they could be right…

But as Lee Corso might say as I thought about the match up—not so fast my friends. To me, Ohio State has always been as athletic as any team in the country, and has really only been embarrassed a couple of times in their recent BCS failures. So the night before the game, as my friend took his annual trek to Las Vegas for a weekend of debauchery, I told him to bet my money on Ohio State and under the total points…

My reasoning was that Oregon was unlike USC, in that as potent as their offense was, they presented Ohio State with just another Big 10 type offense, albeit much faster. They run to set up the pass and don’t threaten you downfield. The reason USC has continually dominated their Big 10 counterparts is that they come in with a diversified offensive attack and expose the simple Big 10 defenses with passing schemes that they don’t see in farm country. Big, physical Ohio State teams can find a way to slow down a running team, and it didn’t hurt that they would attempt to (and successfully) control the ball. Their conservative, get points, even if was field goals offense (the reason I took the under) philosophy wore down and frustrated Oregon …

One thing the Buckeyes did, to their credit, was devise a game plan to neutralize Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, a plan which was so simple that it made USC fans cringe. When Pete Carroll was approached at halftime of the disaster in Eugene , he looked as confused as Mike Tyson’s corner the night he got destroyed by Buster Douglas, and basically admitted the offense needed to score because his defense was clueless. What Carroll should have learned from Ohio State was to use his big, athletic defensive lineman to attack, rather than to react, to Masoli, and make him make quick decisions. He is not a great passer, and will make some dubious decisions, as will all quarterbacks when pressured…

Also, Ohio State ‘s offense was on the field an unbelievable 42 minutes out of 60, so, in retrospect, Oregon was lucky that Jim Tressel is so conservative offensively, so it could and should have been worse..

After the game, I was at my local gym, and there are a couple of Ohio State alum who frequent the place, and they, while rabid Buckeye fans, are pretty knowledgeable and objective college football fans. I congratulated them on their big win, because they had been in a BCS game slump, but while they were happy, they weren’t that impressed with a win over Oregon . As Buckeye Jim told me, “Everyone knows that USC is the king of football out here. Winning the Rose Bowl and a BCS game is nice, but since it wasn’t USC that we beat, it’s kind of like winning the heavyweight championship, but you didn’t beat Tyson, you beat the guy who beat Tyson”…..Well said, my friend..

I have a lot of respect for Boise State ’s football program and believe their head coach Chris Peterson is as good as any one in the country. But I get a little peeved when I hear the media and their fans constantly crying about them not getting into the BCS title game. Sorry, blue field bellyachers, beating one Pac 10 school and winning your weak conference every season does not constitute a championship team. I hear from Boise state boosters that they could beat USC on a regular basis if they were in the Pac 10, and they’re right, but my question is—what would they do the week AFTER they beat USC? Getting up to play a Pac 10 school and a big name school in the bowls is easy, but playing in a big conference against bigger, more athletic programs is much harder if only because the physical aspect, let alone the mental grind. Arizona State used to dominate the WAC with their great athletes, but once they got into the Pac 10 they became just another school with some big wins but mostly inconsistent. Boise State is a great program in a little pond, but put them in a bigger pond, they’d get swallowed up just like the Sun Devils. And believe me, no high school superstar really wants to live in Boise , Idaho …

My wife got me a great gift for Christmas. I know UCLA fans and Dave Smith were all up in arms about Pete Carroll’s decision to score a “rub it in” touchdown after Ricky New Weasel, er, Neuheisel, called a meaningless time out in a long decided game. She got me a shirt that, in front, in baby blue letters, “You call timeout:, and in cardinal letters below it, proclaims, “WE CALL TOUCHDOWN”…Just beautiful. Nothing like pouring a little salt in the wound…

I really like Floyd Mayweather Jr., but the recent news that the proposed fight between him and Manny Pacquaio isn’t coming off because the two sides cannot agree on a drug testing policy is all on him. His claims of being the greatest ever fall on deaf ears because I can’t ever remember Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Duran, or even Oscar De La Hoya appearing to look for a way out of a fight. The guy has all the physical and boxing advantages and is looking at, in my opinion, an easy—and LARGE, payday. He needs Pacquaio, not the other way around. C’mon Floyd, ma n up! This is why boxing is getting overtaken by MMA—the best refuse to fight each other. Meanwhile, Shane Mosley awaits…sad state indeed…

God bless recently deceased Angel and USC basketball broadcaster Rory Markas, a solid play by play man whose humorous exchanges with Mark Gubicza made for fun listening on Angel broadcasts. It is just another in a long history of Angel passings. To paraphrase Rory’s signature sign off, it is unfortunately, “Just another Halo tragedy…”