Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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We're posting a 2014 old story about Tyler Skaggs on the homepage. Nerves are raw, and he is missed, so let's talk about his life rather than his demise. Santa Monica will surely never know anyone quite like him. Tyler Skaggs, the Angels' 23-year-old starting pitcher, will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of this season and most likely all of next season. Skaggs has a 5-5 record and 4.30 earned run average. He was injured in a July 31 game and given the choice of surgery or a...
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This column by sports editor Mitch Chortkoff appeared two years ago in the Observer and is being run again due to recent requests from readers.) It was 1996 and I was in Honolulu covering the Lakers' training camp. It was an especially important one because General Manager Jerry West had made a spectacular move which resulted in the acquisition of rookie guard Kobe Bryant and center Shaquille O'Neal. In the first few days of the camp I found O'Neal to be outgoing, easy to...
Below are facts and gures about Bryant's historic career. • 48,527: Minutes played through April 7, 2016, the sixth most in NBA history • 33,521: Career points, third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) • 5,640: Points scored in the NBA Playoffs, third most in NBA history behind Michael Jordan (5,987) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762) • 81: Points in a 122-104 victory against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006, the...
Kobe Bryant ended his 20- year playing career with the Lakers by scoring 60 points Wednesday night in a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz. Bryant took 50 shots and made 22. He was given only token resistance on some of them after the Jazz learned they had been eliminated from playoff consideration when the Houston Rockets won their game. The Rockets finished eighth in the Western Conference and will op- pose the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the first playoff round. The Warriors fi...
There's no doubt that Yasiel Puig has a lot of baseball talent. But he's been so erratic with the Dodgers that he's inspired opinions from columnists and fans that he should be traded. But what's this? A new Puig as the 2016 season begins? It looks that way. In spring training we learned that Puig had contacted a trainer who used to help him out. Puig was eating right and wanted the guy to help him again. And that happened. Then there was Puig taking baseball seriously, cutting down on the...
I went to Staples Center Sunday to see a basketball game. Instead, I saw a workout. Blake Griffin was returning to the Clippers after missing 45 games due to a broken hand, a torn quadriceps and a four-game suspension. He was in the starting lineup but as the game progressed I realized he wasn't going to be featured in the Clippers' offense. He was beginning to get back in shape by running up and down the court, making careful passes and only occasionally taking a shot. He took only seven shots...
Many UCLA basketball fans are so eager to see Coach Steve Alford fired that they signed a petition requesting that. It's pretty shocking how UCLA recently finished its season, finishing 10th in the Pac 12 Conference and failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament it used to dominate. But Bruin Athletic Director Dan Guerrero remembers that UCLA fired Ben Howland in 2013 after a poor sea- son following three Final Four appearances. And he's taking a cautious approach. "We're not about creating a...
Last season the Dodgers had the highest player payroll in baseball history-- $291 million. They didn't reach the World Series and now there is evidence that the Dodgers have adopted a new strat- egy. They didn't bid high enough to keep Zach Greinke, a free agent they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks or other high pro le pitchers. Free agent Johnny Cueto went to the rival San Francisco Giants. The Boston Red Sox signed David Price. Meanwhile the Dodgers have been investing millions of dollars in...
The Padres were on the verge of beating the Dodgers Sunday in San Diego. With the winning run on base in a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning Juston Upton hit a drive to deep centerfield. Within seconds the game would be over. Instead, Dodger rookie Joc Pederson raced back, somehow caught up with the ball and caught it. "The catch of the year in major league baseball,' the announcer said. If Pederson hadn't made that catch Bud Black would probably still be the Padres' manager today. Instead, he was...
Okay, this season is over. The Golden State Warriors are champions – well deserved because they had the best regular season record with 67 wins and then proved in the playoffs they're for real. Now let's think about next season. Many teams who fell short will try to improve their rosters with trades, free agent signings and the upcoming draft. The first example came Tuesday when the Clippers made a trade that brought in Lance Stephenson, an outstanding defensive player. Most trades are a give...
How surprising. The Clippers went to Houston with short rest, learned that Chris Paul couldn’t play and proceeded to win Game 1 of their second round playoff series. But I have something to say to Clipper fans. Don’t expect to win this series unless Paul can play at his usual high level. On Monday night Paul was held out due to a hamstring injury even though they reported that no serious damage had shown up in an MRI. What happened in the game was something I’ve seen occasionally through...
As the Houston Rockets begin play in the second round of the NBA playoffs I can’t help wondering what might have been for the Lakers. You see, Dwight Howard wasn’t ready to commit to the Lakers when he became a free agent but he decided to give it a try by signing a one-year contract. Unfortunately, Howard was quickly disenchanted with Coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense which didn’t revolve around a center. So he left and joined the Rockets. Fast forward to this season when the Lakers...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Clippers were dazzling in the first quarter of Game 5 Tuesday night. They raced to a 28-13 lead over the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center The Clippers have the reputation of possessing the best starting five in the NBA and were living up to the reputation. Then Coach Doc Rivers inserted three substitutes and the Spurs scored the next 16 points. From there the teams engaged in a dramatic, thrilling game that the Spurs won, 111-107....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When an arbitrator ruled that Josh Hamilton would be entitled to his full 2015 salary from the Angels despite a relapse of cocaine addiction the club responded with harsh words. "From the moment Josh came here two years ago there's been turbulence," said Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto. Angels owner Arte Moreno said he couldn't guarantee that Hamilton would play for the Angels again. On Monday, the Angels traded Hamilton back to the Texas Rangers, where he...
Major League baseball has announced it won't investigate the Josh Hamilton case, and that means the Angels are stuck with his sizeable contract for this season. Recovering from a relapse of substance abuse, Hamilton probably won't help the Angels much this season even though the Angels signed him for five years for $125 million which includes $23 million for this season. In all the years I've been a sportswriter I've seen teams often back their players, asking for the public to understand a...
The Clippers will have home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs but will have to play the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Game 1 is set for Sunday at 7:30 pm at Staples Center and Game 2 will be played Wednesday night at the same time. The teams will move to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. The Clippers will have the home court for Games 5 and 7, if they are necessary The Clippers won 14 of their last 15 regular season games. The Spurs won 21 of 24 before losing to New Orl...
John Wooden guided UCLA to 10 national championships and there's a solid case that he's the greatest coach in college basketball history. But if you're a fan of Mike Krzyzewski your man is building a solid case too. When Duke defeated Wisconsin, 68-63 in the NCAA Championship game Monday night it was Krzyzewski's fifth national championship in his record 12th appearance in the Final Four. And this was one of his best coaching jobs. Even with spectacular freshman Jahlil Okafor, the likely No. 1...
When John Wooden was coaching 10 UCLA basketball teams to national championships there was no ESPN. Times have certainly changed. Now the schools best identified with the network rule college baskrtball. The conferences that have Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky etcetra have a big advantage in recruiting. High school stars want to be seen nationally, getting the exposure that will help them be recognized by NBA teams. That’s the reality of the situation. Steve Alford, the UCLA coach, has to...
UCLA’s loss to Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 last week was the final game for Chris Roberts, who has broadcast Bruin football and basketball for the last 23 years. Roberts recently announced he would retire after the Bruins conclude play in the NCAA Tournament....
So many times during the Lakers’ feat of winning 16 NBA championships I’ve been in the building, feeling the excitement, eager to do my work and being thankful I’m in the sportswriting profession. On Tuesday night those years came back to me as I watched the Golden State Warriors, who have the best record in this NBA season, outlast the Clippers, 110-106 before a raucous sellout crowd in Staples Center. The playoffs haven’t started yet but you wouldn’t know it judging by the energy in...
How important are the results in spring training? The popular belief is the results aren't very important since minor leaguers often replace major leaguers in the latter innings of most spring training games. But there's an important test case coming up. You see, the World Series champion San Francisco Giants have been awful this spring in Arizona. They've lost constantly and their championship roster has changed a lot, first with the departure of third baseman Pablo Sandoval through free...
For many years the Pac-10 champion and Big Ten champion capped a football season by playing in the Rose Bowl game. This time the conference's best teams, Oregon and Ohio State, will also cap a season. But it won't be in merely one of many bowl games, it will be in the first college football national championship game. Oregon has already conquered its Rose Bowl opponent, Florida State, 59-20 in the playoff semi-final. It now moves on to the Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington, Texas Monday,...
Just like USC, UCLA concluded its 2014 football season with a bowl victory. Oh, it wasn't on a par with Oregon's season, and there's no arguing that the Ducks were the Pac-12's best team. But it sure beats losing. UCLA defeated Kansas State, 41-35 in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on January 2. The Bruins recorded seven sacks and held their opponent to 31 rushing yards. But now let's evaluate where the Bruins are going into the 2015 season. The highlight of a 10-3 year in Jim Mora's third season...
On Christmas day folks annually gather for a festive occasion. But the National Basketball Association has another idea for this holiday. Marketing. The league puts on an extravaganza, Five nationally televised games on several networks, attractive matchups of the most popular teams, and a gimmick to sell merchsndise. The players always have their last name on their jerseys. But on this day the first names were on it. And starting the next day replicas of those jerseys could be purchased...
USC, which lost its annual football game to UCLA for a third straight time this season, ended 2014 with a harrowing 45-42 victory over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego Dec. 27. The Trojans, who had won four of five games after losing to the Bruins, outlasted the Cornhuskers despite being outscored 8-0 in the fourth quarter of a game which was played before 57,000 and a national television audience. Several underclassmen made strong contributions, which left first-year Trojan head Steve...
