POOF!!

It was a “My Name is Earl” sort of August at the Yard. It seemed like the Yard was headed towards a "Shawshank Redemption” September minus the unfortunate shower scenes. Blackberrys can be replaced.

The Bruins beat the Volunteers and the Yard was on fire. UCLA loses to BYU 59-0 and the Yard enters the witness protection program. UCLA loses to UofA 31-10 and $700,000,000,000 sounds like a reasonable number. USC loses to an unranked Oregon State in Corvallis on a Thursday night in September on National Television and all is well in the world.

It is going to be a long season in Westwood for Football. Ricky the Nue is the guy and I think he will march UCLA football back to acceptable mediocrity. UCLA will never have the payroll, commitment or myopia to really compete with USC in football. USC has so much more at stake. If USC is not a national power in football, there are many lost souls in the city of the Angels. Most never went to USC but they still buy the jerseys, sing the fight song and cheer on the only professional football team in Los Angeles.

It is always dicey when a Trojan and a Beaver intersect. Tonight, it was not good for the Trojan. USC’s season ended. There will be no National Championship hopes for the Trojan’s this year. Teams do lose and still get to the dance, USC will not. They will not because the Pac-10 is horrible this year. USC WAS ranked #1 but no other Pac-10 team is in the Top 25. Their only remaining non-conference game is Notre Dame. In the SEC, teams can lose a game but there are big games down the stretch and suddenly 1-loss LSU is in the dance. Florida can rally, Alabama will be in the hunt and we have not heard the last of Ohio State. USC put a fork in it. Computer rankings will torture the Cardinal and Gold until December 7. OJ might lose in Las Vegas and he also lost in Corvallis in 1967. Trojan fan, it all seemed so sweet when Mark Sanchez and the boys were on the cover of SI.

The Dodgers were 4 ½ games out on August 30, 2008 and 21 games later, they clinch the National League West. The West is not that good but now it is down to the first team to win 11 games. The Dodgers have the pitching, bullpen, defense to do it and the bats are coming alive. The Dodgers are grinders at the right time of year. This team plays with heart and maybe SPF 35.

Manny is the butane at the Azul campfire. He has lit the torch up and down the line-up. People seem to care if the Dodgers can re-sign him. WTF-LA is paying him $0.00 per game for every game now. Manny is the best investment the McCourt’s ever made not counting the $20 million dollar 3600 square foot Malibu property that they bought at the top of the real estate market. Other than that shrewd deal, Manny was a steal.

Red Sox vs. Dodgers in World Series?! Cubs do not want to see Manny at Wrigley with the wind blowing out and 100 years of futility on the line. I like Lou Pinella but Lou is a tortured as the Chicago faithful. He is a bad three strike call away from kicking dirt and pulling up 3rd base. I think Joe Torre was flossing in the 5th inning of a one run game this week. He is the reason the Dodgers are in the playoffs. Not Manny, not Ned and certainly not Frank or Jamie. It is all about the Joe.

Yankee Stadium hosted their final game at The House that Ruth Built. Baseball in New York and LA has become more about real estate than the hit and run but that is another blog. That night all of the Yankee dignitaries were trotted out that were still alive. Roger Clemens was upset that he was not mentioned or included. Rog, you were a money whore who used steroids, retired, un-retired and shamed the Yankee’s with your ridiculous behavior. Jose Canseco will still have you over to his house but the rest of us hope your testicles fall off in jail. No one was going to mention your inflated buttocks on this night.

But Yanks, not mentioning Joe Torre during the final ceremonies at Yankee Stadium was shameful. Apparently, winning four World Championships in ten years is not commendable in the rich Yankee history. Joe would never own Manhattan but he is omnipresent in Los Angeles in a transparent way. I think he lives next door to me. In the last 40 years, what other Yankee manager guided four teams to a championship? In the last 20 years, what manager/coach has guided any franchise to four championships? There are two and they both now coach Los Angeles Teams.

Hey Hank Steinbrenner, you were born at third base with no outs. Your comments, that the Dodgers would never win the AL East bespeak your DNA and your pretentious ignorance. First, the Dodgers are in the NL West so it might be geographically challenging to compete in the AL East. Secondly, the transparent jab at the Dodger Manager who you ran out of town sounds like some rich kid who’s daddy paid for everything and then gave you the company to run kind of thing?! But you worked your way up through the organization, right? It was the other Steinbrenner that got the preferential treatment.

When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.
MARK TWAIN, Mark Twain's Notebook