Viva Las Vegas!

The Yard moved our world headquarters to the Las Vegas Valley in December 2009.  It was the first time the Yard had lived outside of the Los Angeles area, and it was one of our better decisions.  Several other organizations have left California for the same reason; affordable housing and no state income tax. When we started our missives from the desert, LV was a sports town without any professional sports.  Since the Yard relocated, T-Mobile Arena was built and in 2017 became home to the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team.  The Henderson Silver Knights AHL team came in 2020. $2 billion Allegiant Stadium rose from a blighted industrial zone. The Raiders left Oakland and played their first game in LV with the 2020 season.  The Tropicana has been imploded to make way for the Oakland Athletics playing Vegas baseball in 2028.  In 2018, the Las Vegas Aces relocated from San Antonio to play their WNBA games.  The Las Vegas Aviators were purchased by the Howard Hughes corporation and crowned with their splendid new minor league park in Summerlin.   They are the A’s affiliate, and they outdraw them in attendance nightly. The Desert Dogs became one of the founding franchises for semi-pro lacrosse in 2021.  Is it just a coincidence that these franchises saw the way and the light after The Yard led the way.  We think not! 

 

The tremendous growth that the Yard has experienced since moving out east is dwarfed by the success of these teams.  Ok, maybe not so much the Raiders, oh boy.  The Vegas Golden Knights made it to Lord Stanley’s final in their inaugural season.  VGK came back in 2023 and won the Stanley Cup.  It was the first professional title for the state of Nevada and a proud moment for Las Vegas.  The Vegas Aces won consecutive WNBA titles in 2022-23.  Caitlin Clark has helped the WNBA, but the Aces were selling out their home games before she showed up.  The city of Las Vegas is now home to three professional championships. San Diego may find out one day what a professional championship feels like with the parade and all the trimmings, but probably not any time soon. The Padres are the last major professional sports franchise in San Diego.  They are also MLB’s oldest team that has never won the WS.  They have won 1 WS game in nine tries so there is that.  Charger Bobby Beathard built the only San Diego Super Bowl team in 1994.  Bobby Ross guided them to a Super Bowl slaughter by the 49er dynasty. Owner Dean Spanos guided them back to the grit of LA in 2017 after 56 years with the winsome winless fans.

 

The expansion of professional sports in Sin City has stoked the fires at UNLV.  The 1992 Running Rebels were world famous and played in back-to-back NCAA finals.  It would have been legend if they beat Duke both times, but it was not in the Baileys. Rebel football has had few highlights in their history.  Randall Cunningham was a shining star.  Johnny Robinson coaching UNLV after USC in 1999 was another.  There just have not been enough over the years. UNLV stepped up, paid the freight and moved into Allegiant Stadium when it opened. They are more entertaining than the Raiders and the tickets are priced for families. The Stations group Fertitta’s kickstarted a major fundraising effort.  With this backing, UNLV built the best training facilities in the Mountain West. Barry Odom arrived as head football coach in 2022.  He inherited a 5-7 unfocused wandering tribe of a football program. The former Missouri linebacker kicked in the doors and raised the bar.  He put Boise State on his dartboard. The Rebels went 9-5 in 2023 and 10-3 this year.  This week, they won their first bowl game since John Robinson was at the controls.  Odom did not stick around for the game and tripled his pay taking over the 1-11 Purdue Boilermakers.  He might need to slam a few of those in the stout Big Ten. Rebel fan is upset he left but he put the whole program on his back and took it up a few rungs.  He did not beat BSU, but he got their attention.  He raised the profile of the job. UNLV would never have been able to get Dan Mullen if Barry hadn’t built the road to that door.  Las Vegas high school basketball and football are exceptional.  Bishop Gorman is third among all HS for players currently in the NFL. If the Rebels can keep some of the talent, they will catch Boise and pass them.

 

Extra Frames: The NBA is determined to have an NBA team in Las Vegas.  The NBA summer league has consolidated its two-week summer league in Las Vegas.  It is one of the only places with enough hotel rooms and hard courts to accommodate the players. The nascent NBA Cup finals have matriculated to Las Vegas.  Lebron says he wants to part of the investor group that brings a team here.  The plans are being drawn for a major casino, hotel, basketball arena between the Sahara Hotel and Fremont Street.  Commissioner Silver has been coy while trying to keep Seattle in the conversation. The Seattle Supersonics becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder was not an NBA shining moment.  No San Diego, you lost the Clippers and didn’t know Sterling had moved them to LA. It is unheard for a city to lose to professional franchises to the same city! Except Oakland but that makes sense.

 

Final Thoughts: The Yard was looking for the Laker bandwagon.  It must be in for repair because no one rides that anymore.  Dodgers took back the town this year and from the looks of things, they are not giving it up any time soon.

 

The Yankees have one bad fifth inning in the WS and now are frenzied in the free agent market. They lost Soto to the Mets but signed gave Max Fried the largest contract ever for a left handed pitcher.  They took on Cody Bellinger contract and reupped Gerrit Cole. Cody is married to Chase Carter, a smoking 27-year-old Bahamian model in 2023. They started dating in 2020 after Chase broke up with New York Yankee Giancarlo Stanton.  She and Belli have two children.  There could be a few awkward moments.  We can only hope.

Whimsy and other nonsense.

Russia and North Korea have engaged in several strategic alliances for soldiers and weapons in recent months.  This week they jointly announced entering a strategic economic alliance.  These two fiscal powerhouses have the world economies shuddering with the market power they might wield.  Russia is the 11^th largest economy in the world at times. Fluctuations in the Ruble and frozen oligarch wealth plays like three card Monte with world valuations.  North Korea is somewhere around $23 billion give or take a few NPK’s.  Kim’s economic powerhouse is just ahead of Mozambique and trailing Haiti.  Haiti is in the news a lot but not for their thriving economy.  Vlade and Rocket man are having a bromance.  Sort of like DJT and his rocket man Elon.

 

Formula One returns to Las Vegas on Saturday night.  It is a frenzied time on the strip. During the day, tourists and traffic at night open wheeled racing at high speeds.  The hotel town cars, Ubers and family vans are replaced by McLarens and Ferraris barreling down the boulevard through the night.  The main event is Saturday night at 10:00 PM.  Jo and I are so excited.  We have our DVR queued up to record it. Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap and the winter’s nap scenario will override the necessity to watch it live. 10:00 PM on Saturday nights are a photo finish at the Yard.  Don’t worry about hiding the results from us on Sunday.  We love the spectacle more than the outcome.

 

Notre Dame and Army square off on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. In the 111 years that the Fighting Irish and the Black Knights have been facing off, 24 of those games were played at Yankee Stadium.  Army has won five of those games but trails the history 39-8-4.  They have lost the last fifteen in a row.  Army is ranked 18^th and undefeated.  Notre Dame is 9-1 and ranked sixth. There have been some strange goings on in centerfield at Yankee Stadium.  Too many dropped balls to bet this one but go Army!

 

Ohtani winning the MVP was predicted in the sushi rolls.  In a flash he tied Frank Robinson as the only player to win the award in both leagues.  He simultaneously equaled Barry Bonds record winning back-to-back MVPs with two different teams.  Shohei won his third MLB MVP to go with his 2016 honor in Japan.  It has been common that players who sign large contracts can struggle to prove their worth.  Ohtani ignored the distractions and blistered the competition.  He struggled in the playoffs but contributed to the title.  He will be contributing for the next decade.  The Dodgers have become a global product with Ohtani and Yamamoto.  Game 5 versus the Padres was watched by more people in Japan than the US with Yamamoto vs. Darvish.  The Dodgers are opening the 2025 season in Japan versus the Cubs.  Yard in terns are trying to confirm but we think they sold a few jerseys also.

 

USC vs UCLA this weekend as well.  College football has been tough to follow through dodgy NIL deals and athletes escaping through the transfer portal with their outgoing coach.  USC head coach Lincoln Riley shoved Caleb Williams through the portal to depart Norman.  Williams won the Heisman and the top pick in the NFL draft.   Riley can be an offensive genius we are told, defense not so much.  Both schools got major money to move to the Big Ten with middling results on the field in year one. Go Bruins!

Hail Flutie: On this day in 1984, Doug Flutie dialed up the OG Hail Mary to Gerald Phelan.  #10 ranked Boston College was trailing #12 defending national champion Miami Hurricanes 45-41 with six seconds left. Jimmy Johnson was the Canes HC and Bernie Kosar was the starting QB. Before the bankruptcies, he was a great player.  The Hurricane defensive backs did not think the 5’10” Flutie could throw the ball that far, so they covered the up receivers.  Phelan snuck behind them and cradled the pigskin for the victory.  Jimmy would leave for the Cowboy job.  Flutie would win the Heisman. Bernie would go to Cleveland and suffer another ignominious defeat during John Elway’s The Drive in the 1986 AFC Championship game.

 

Creepmeter:  Lamar Odom has always lamented that he blew up his marriage to Khloe Kardashian. His NBA career was winding down while his drug use was ratcheting up. Keeping up with the Kardash clan was not the therapy Odom needed.  Khloe did race with local news teams to Las Vegas.  She was at his bedside after he ended up in a coma from a weekend of hookers and blow.  She has always been supportive of his mental health struggles.  Odom announced this week he has purchased a life size replica doll of Khloe that helps with that struggle.  He lives blissfully with his Khloe doll. That is flattering, right?

The End of the Beginning

Whew!  That was exhausting. The election cycle was pitiless. There is not a media outlet that provides relief from the rhetoric. We were enjoying UCLA’s upset win over Nebraska on Saturday on the Big Ten network, and they found me. Text messages, emails and phone calls pervaded each day long into the night.  It is estimated that there was almost $16 billion spent on the 2024 election.  In 1758, George Washington ran his and the country’s first presidential race in Virginia.  He spent his entire budget, the equivalent of 50 British pounds to purchase 160 gallons of alcohol. He distributed this largess to 390 voters who carried the election. With the massive spending in this election, it would be noble if the candidates could siphon off 1-2% and maybe send pizzas and Pinot Noir to all of us survivors.  Regardless, if you feel this is the apocalypse or MAGA 2.0, a little postgame nosh would be well received by all.  Here, here to GW the OG!

 

2024 had all the trappings of another Dodger postseason distress. The upstart Diamondbacks blitzed the Azul last year.  The Padres did the same disservice to them in 2022.  The truncated 2020 title seemed hollow with a 60-game season and a World Series in the bubble without a parade. Kershaw has been a great cheerleader, but he was not going to pitch in the postseason.  Freewheeling Tyler Glasnow flamed out early and had to be shut down.  Walker Buehler had been ineffective since returning from his second Tommy John surgery. Yamamoto had been brilliantly unpredictable. The Yankees gave Gerrit Cole $324 million to win important playoff games over nine years.  The Dodgers pay several pitchers well to be that person and many were useless this fall.  Occupational hazard in the pitching industry.

 

We now know what was not certain previously.  Dave Roberts knows what he is doing.  It has not always seemed that way in years past. His managerial skills were questioned perpetually and with good reason based on results. He became the unquestioned leader the team trusted.  He flipped the narrative. Each series was a chess match of burning arms to saving arms for another game. He outfoxed Mike Shildt in the NLDS. The Padres were at the precipice of history before they succumbed to it and fell into the hole. That series was the best series of the playoffs. New rivals to the south, fading rivals to the north and vanquished rivals to the east. Winter is coming to Westros.

 

Andrew Friedman joined the Dodgers in 2015. His first hire was Dave Roberts, and they started the long grind through the lofty expectations.  Friedman’s genius was already anointed by the agency of his years in Tampa Bay.  In 2005, he took over as GM of the Rays. He was just 28 years old.  By 2008, the Rays were playing for a WS Title.  Friedman was patient in the 2023 free agent market lying in wait for the Ohtani prize. Every move he made at the trading deadline was exaggerated in the playoffs.  Tommy Edman, Jack Flaherty, and Michael Kopech all were on other teams in July but helped the Dodger win the title in October.  

 

In 1988, Kirk Gibson hit the miracle 2-run homerun to upset the favored A’s and propel the Dodgers to the title.  Freddie hit his historic grand slam this year reminiscent of Gibbie. Orel Hershiser won game 2 CG shutout 6-0.  The Bulldog came out of the bullpen to save deciding game 5 in that series.  Walker Buehler would conjure his inner Orel to save deciding game 5 in 2024.  Ferris would wear the same number 55 jersey at the championship celebration last Friday.

 

For Giants, the beginning of the end was 2015.  San Francisco had won three WS titles in five years and had a young, talented everyday lineup. The pitching was aging.  Lincecum was the freak who had pitched two 130+ pitch no-hitters but lost that gear along the way. Bumgarner was now the star, but the Giants run of homegrown talent evaporated. Posey broke a leg, adopted twins and retired early.  They jumped the shark when they gave Jeff Samardzija $90 million for five years on December 5, 2015.  The Yankees beginning of the end might have been Giancarlo Stanton running like a pizza delivery person trying not to drop pizza in WS game 3. With the Yankees down 3-0, Bigfoot was waved home, and he didn’t ride it well, washing up on the beach three feet short.  The 5^th inning in Game 5 will live infamously in Dodger Yankee lore. It is still surreal that if Gerrit Cole covers first the score is 5-0 Yankees bottom of the fifth.  It was otherwise.  Aaron Boone reupped so there may be a rematch.

 

This is the end of the beginning for this Dodger edition.  With two titles in this decade and all the major pieces under contract, they are locked and loaded for more.  Ohtani will pitch next year.  Yamamoto has broken through and ready for what comes next.  Glasnow will be back with his eclectic stuff. The Dodgers have never won consecutive titles or three if five or something cool like that. It all will be laid plain in the coming years. They will have the pitching to win titles.  Dave Roberts joined Tommy Lasorda and Walter Alston in Dodger lore. The Dodgers won their record 24^th NL pennant and tied the Giants with 8 overall titles.  Odds are the Dodgers break that tie.

 

Juan Soto is now a free agent and hoping to cash in with Ohtani kind of money.  Soto had a dazzling season and playoffs.  His agent Scott Boras will press for every Benjamin for his client.  Ohtani and Soto have similar stats albeit Shohei will be MVP, Soto not.  Ohtani will pitch for the Dodgers when he can and could win a CY Young, Soto never.  Soto is a $30-40 million a year everyday player.  Ohtani is a $30-40 million a year everyday player.  He is also a $30-40 million a year starting pitcher.  He is the unicorn. Unicorns get $70 million a year.

 

UCLA plays Iowa tonight for the first time since the 1986 Rose Bowl.  The Yard was at the game.  There was a sea of Hawkeye yellow that made the pilgrimage to Pasadena in the winter.  Heavily favored Iowa had an explosive offense featuring Ronnie Harmon and Chuck Long.  Harmon fumbled on his first carry of the Rose Bowl.  He would go on to fumble four more times and drop a wide-open pass to round out the futility.  UCLA would romp 45-28 behind Eric Bell’s Rose Bowl record four rushing TD’s.  We will be rooting for UCLA tonight in the first rematch between these schools since that game.  UCLA is a 6-point dog.  Love to see them win, need them to cover.

The World Series Issue

Yard PTSD has been traced directly back to the New York Yankees.  The Yanks were 6-0 over the Dodgers before the Boys of Summer finally broke through in 1955.  It would be Brooklyn’s first and only WS win. The Brooklyn Bums became the Los Angeles Dodgers when they departed for the West Coast in 1958.  The Pinstripes would slap those Boys from the fall into a long winter one more time in 1956.  Moving away from Robert Moses and NYC was the best decision in Dodger franchise history and one of the best in baseball history.  Professional baseball was not played west of the Mississippi.  MLB convinced the NY Giants to move with the Dodgers so there would be at least two teams on the left coast.  There are now 8 teams in the West. The Dodgers would win six titles since the move to Los Angeles.  The 1959 WS title would be the second title for the city after the 1951 Rams. The Yankees have swept eight WS 4-0.  They have only been blanked in one WS against the 1963 Dodgers led by Koufax and Drysdale.

 

Baseline anxiety readings are trending up with occasional spikes as we grind through the day.  The Yankees batting order is a scary group of large people who hit the ball hard and far.  The Dodger pitching staff is a patchwork quilt of survivors, trading deadline moves and luck.  It is perilously close to midnight for this expensive Cinderella story.  It is well documented that the Yankees and Doyers have met 11 times in the series.  Yanks lead 8-3.  Since moving to LA, their series records are 2-2.   After the 1963 shellacking, the teams would not meet again until the 1977-78 World Series. The Dodgers would be in their traditional spot losing four games to two with the parade in Manhattan.  1981 was when Fernandomania erupted into a decades long Latino love fest at Chavez Ravine. El Toro won Rookie of the Year and the CY Young during that historic season.  His biggest win was Game 3 of the WS.  As usual, the Dodgers lost the first two games in NY with games saved by Goose Gossage. Tommy handed the ball to Valenzuela for the critical game three.  Fernando delivered a 149-pitch complete game victory.  He walked seven, gave up to nine hits and 2 HR’s but finished for the W. The momentum swing was contagious, and the Dodgers sprinted to their first title since 1965.

 

The PTSD is gurgling up as the day progresses towards the first pitch.  The Yankees paid Gerrit Cole $324 million in 2019 for this game. NY has 27 titles to the Dodgers 7, but the Yankees have not won the title since 2009.  This series could outduel the hype.  With combined annual payrolls of over $500 million, these two should be playing for the title. The Mets almost paid their way into the big game with the largest payroll.  Owner Cohen still has a massive karma deficit from his days on Wall Street.  He has some paying forward to burn still. The Cubs spent a surprising $213 million for bupkas.  The Giants continue to spend like a contender while retreating from our memories. The Angels are always a shock with their payroll.  Arte Moreno won a title and Gene Autry never did but the Cowboy was a better owner.  Payroll does matter this year with #2 vs # 3 playing the series that was foretold in the cabbage.  The Yankees are formidable.  The series comes down to Mookie Betts. If Mookie does what his capable of doing, we get our parade.  Batting behind Ohtani helps.  We think he looks ready. The last three times LA-NY played the series was 4-2.  The Yanks won 1977-78 titles 4-2.  The Dodgers won the 1981 title 4-2.  Dodgers win 2024 title 4-2! Where is the Prilosec?

 

The Yard always hated the Dallas Cowboys growing up.  They also seemed to smash the Rams in important playoff games. Our emotions have mellowed with the Cowboys irrelevance. Wasn’t Dallas America’s team at some point in recent NFL history? Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, and Drew Pearson played in Super Bowls almost every year.  When Jimmy J and Jerry got together and won three Super Bowls the world was their gulf shrimp.  Jerry and Jimmy’s ego could no longer co-exist, and neither was the better.  Together they won the last one in 1996.  Johnson still beams as the smallest studio host on Sundays.  He never again had NFL success as a coach. Jerry is the oldest GM in the NFL.  He has not proven himself as the GM since Johnson left and he is not getting better.  He has his own radio show.  No other owner has his own radio show.  Jerry needs to bring in a GM and not just yes people he can blame later when the team fails.  We have seen that fealty before, and it fails.

 

“Hi, everybody, and a very good evening to you wherever you may be. It’s time for Dodger Baseball.”

 

Who Knew?

Know one knew. Who could really know?  Most sports prognosticators had the Dodgers on life support. ESPN talent had 22 picking Padres and 5 going with Dodgers. Fernando Tatis Jr., the manchild, was on fire. Each time he came to the plate Dodger fans clenched their cheeks and Padre fans hissed their pent-up venom. The Padres won eight of the thirteen games this year. The Padres Dodger Rivalry has evolved suddenly.  Do we need another?  Everyone wants to hate the Dodgers except their fans. The Padres posterized the Blue Crew in Game 2 a lifetime ago behind Superhero Tatis. In “must win” game 3 had Walker struggling and the defense was Keystone Cops. The Dodger nominal lead became a 6-1 deficit in 34 pitches. Tatis launched a 2-run bomb to cap the scoring.  Still, no one knew what was coming. San Diego fans were delirious. The Padre batting order was being lionized. Dave Roberts’ future was being questioned with another NLDS failure. There were no breadcrumbs to the future.  Who could know that the Tatis bomb in the second inning of Game 3 would be the last run the Padres would score?  Tatis might have known because he watched it like he was taking a selfie. For the Padres to not score another run from that moment through almost three games seems impossible to allow for. It would have been FU money on a FanDuel bet.  What would be those odds? Do these Dodgers have a shot at the title?  Magic 8 Ball says Future Uncertain. Many difficult situations will test our intestinal walls. But our chances are better than San Diego’s!

 

With the Dodger’s game one shutout of the New York Mets, the Dodgers tied the playoff records for scoreless innings at 33.  The record ended abruptly but the record was set in the 1966 World Series.  That fall classic pitted the Dodgers of Koufax and Drysdale against the Orioles of Jim Palmer and Moe Drabowsky.  LA scored in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings of game 1 and would not score again in the last 3.5 games.  It would take almost another decade before the Dodgers scored a WS run. As a young Dodger fan, The Yard learned a very early lesson in Dodger PTSD-Playoff Traumatic Stress Disorder. Since Brooklyn the Dodgers have won the National League pennant 24 times.  They have the NL record for most appearances.  Saint Louis is in 2^nd place with 17.  Where the PTSD comes in, is the Dodgers have only won the title seven times in those two dozen tries.  The Yard was witness to several of these falls.  The Yankees and Dodgers faced 11 times in the WS with the Pinstripes winning 8 times.  The World Series in 1977, 78 & 81 were some of the bests in history with the Yankees winning the first two and then the first two games in 1981.  Coming back to LA for three games seemed like another fiasco awaiting. The Dodgers roared back and swept the last four games to win their first WS since 1965. Are we anxious today? You bet and we are not.

 

The Padres with the Sons of O’Malley managing went all in with this 2024 team.  There is still a runway in the San Diego future, but the sands of time are starting to cover it.  Padre management took big swings with Machado, Snell, Soto, Hader and others. The bar was set to beat the Dodgers.  The road to the promised land goes through Los Angeles. Could be I-5 or the 405 to the 605 depending on time of day but that is the route.  The Padres had already swept the Dodgers in the NLDS and so had the Diamondbacks. The next step was so tantalizingly close. The cost was their farm system.  The Padre top prospects are now another team’s future.  When that happens, you become the San Francisco Giants. Padre nation, the Giants have three titles to show for it, what say you? That very first title for San Diego should be special. Let us know where we should send the Participation Trophies for 2024.

 

Peter Rose was one of our favorite baseball players growing up.  He was one of our first Topps baseball cards. He died in Las Vegas which is appropriate. Charlie Hustle was an old school grinder. His all-time hits record will never be broken. Pete did not play for the money, and it was not great back then.  It was for the love of the game. He played every game like it was game 7 of the WS.  He practically ended Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse’s career on a play at the plate in the 1970 All-Star game.  He famously brawled with Bud Harrelson in the 1973 NLCS after the inning was over.  Rose's body slammed him into the infield dirt while everyone else was headed to the dugout. He was also a hustler.  He liked to bet, and it was his ultimate undoing. He denied the allegations for years.  When contrition was suggested, he admitted his misdeeds.  Baseball maintained the lifetime ban.  Maybe now he can get recognition for his unparallelled hitting instead just for his mistakes.  RIP PR.

Legends of the Fall

On September 29, 1941, Ted Williams would become the last major league baseball player to hit .400 for a season.  A batter hitting .400 for a season has always been a mystical thing for baseball fans.  There have been thirteen .400 seasons in the World Series era.  Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby each accomplished it three times. George Sisler did it twice. On this day, Williams defined his legend. The Red Sox had to play a doubleheader on the final day of the season against Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s.  The Red Sox were 17.5 games out and nothing was at stake except Williams hitting .400.  New York Giant Bill Terry in 1930 was the last player to achieve the milestone before Williams. Statistically, Ted had already qualified with his average at game time .39955. Baseball now rounded statistics up.  Williams could have sat and secured .400.  The tempestuous Williams would have none of that. He played both games and went 6 for 8 for a final average of .406. It has never happened since.  Tony Gwynn .394, George Brett .390 and Rod Carew .388 all gave it a run in our era.  Pitching dominates today’s game. The Splendid Splinter will be the last .400 hitter in baseball history.

 

Williams' exploits have stood the test of time and so will Shohei Ohtani’s.  He cost a billion but so far it looks like a great investment.  He is a unicorn.  The first 50/50 person in baseball history is a ridiculous stat in a career full of them and he is only 30.  Any team would love for their leadoff batter steal 50 bases but to hit 50 home runs also WTF?  Ricky Henderson never did that. After the season, he will be named MVP of the National League, becoming only the second player to win the award in both leagues. Next year, he starts 30 games on the mound and bats leadoff.  Who has ever done that or will ever do that in the future? This is a generational player for generations to come. Shohei is not done for this season or with his legend.  Fans will be discussing his exploits for decades after he is done playing.

 

After the first 150+ games, baseball becomes a must see for baseball fans.  There are many outstanding regular season games and an evening at Chavez Ravine is special.  Baseball in the fall is where heroes are revealed. Exploits and errors are exaggerated.  Billy Buckner could never get that squibbed roller between his legs back.  Carlton Fisk willing his walk off homer fair in 1975 will never get old.  David Ross hitting a game 7 homerun in the last at bat of his entire career is ridiculous. Madison Bumgarner trotting out to pitch five innings of relief to help the Giants win the 2014 WS title is legend. There will be stories in the coming weeks that will be told for years.

 

Padre fans are all clamoring with the second half play of San Diego.  They have the best record in baseball since the all-star break.  They played the Dodgers tough and swept them last year in the playoffs.  They will be a handful for any team this postseason.  The Yard forecasted this when the sons of O’Malley’s bought the franchise in 2012.  The Padres have been middling for most of their history.  Dodger fans would go to see the Blue play at San Diego because the tickets were cheaper and more readily available.  Those games were like Dodger home games. The Padres have won one WS game in franchise history in nine tries.  The city is a proud one but has suffered the ignominy of having the Clippers and Chargers both leave for the verdant pastures of LA.  The city is eager for their first championship in any professional sport. The Padres won’t ever match the Dodgers six titles, but this might be their best chance for a first.  The Yard is rooting against it but won’t begrudge them if it comes to pass.

 

Billy Joe Armstrong called out Las Vegas from the stage at whatever the name of the place the Giants play is.  He laid some serious expletives on LV about being an accomplice in the A’s moving to the desert.  Since his outburst, Green Day has been banished from the airwaves in Las Vegas.  They will never play another date or festivals in Las Vegas. Rock and Roll bands generally want to play dates here. And Armstrong could not have been more wrong.  The real criminal in this story is the San Francisco Giants.  The Oakland Athletics had several proposals over the decades to relocate the team to the San Jose/Santa Clara area.  The SF 49ers got that deal done. But every time the A’s started to get traction on a new stadium, the Giants cried sovereign market and the A’s could not close the deal.  MLB supported the Giants claim and forced the A’s to make a deal with Oakland or leave.  The investment in the Raiders has been great financially.  Allegiant Stadium is the most profitable venue in the world.  That Yard does not care about those metrics because the team sucks.  Good for the city, not so great for the fans and we are not sure if we are one?! The jury is out on the ROI on a baseball stadium and this version of the Oakland Athletics sucks also.  Mark your calendars, The Tropicana is getting imploded on October 9, 2024, at 2:00 AM.  This might be the last LV hotel implosion in our lifetimes.  There will still be personal implosions in the casinos nightly.

 

Local News: UNLV football has their best team in 40 years.  One must go back to the halcyon days of John Robinson coaching the Rebels to recall such football success.  Head coach Barry Odom has done an outstanding job of building a team in his character.  After a 3-0 start, starting QB Matthew Sluka resigned from the team declaring the team had reneged on promises.  Sluka contended the offensive coordinator told him UNLV would get him $100,000 to transfer from Holy Cross.  The NIL money did not materialize and Sluka left the program to pursue his last year of eligibility somewhere else. Casino owner Derek Stevens offered to pay the $100,000 but that was against the rules. With the transfer portal and NIL money, rules are being broken faster than they are written.  Barry Odom’s UNLV football team crushed Fresno State with their second-string guy.  With the transfer portal and NIL money, rules are being broken faster than they are written.  Story for 30 for 30.

The Olympic Edition

The Yard and our loyal staff have always held the Olympics atop our Mount Olympus.  Legends and goats, heroes and villains, triumph and tragedy are spread across 16 days every four years.  COVID truncated 2020 into the 2021 Olympics so it has only been three years since last we gushed.  It is truly a world stage for 205 delegations from around the world to send athletes to compete in mainstream to obscure sports, some with weapons.  With traditional television and streaming platforms so much content is available to every possible device. With war going on all over the world, the Olympics persists.  Iran, Iraq and Israel all have delegations at the Games.  Fortunately, the flag ceremony is not in alphabetical order or there could have been trouble.  Afghanistan has athletes in attendance and surprisingly none are women.  Haiti is a country without leadership and violent gangs are running the place, yet they have a delegation.  The Olympics can’t solve the world’s problems but at least it can keep the Russians at home. No one else has been able to do that.

 

After WW2, Russia retained “influence” in eastern Europe for decades.  This influence was ensured by Soviet troops and tanks. One of these satellite countries was Hungary.  The Hungarian People’s republic was a shadow government of Russia. Nikita Khrushchev was the Putin of the 1950’s.  When the Hungarian people revolted against their puppet government in 1956, Nikki released the Kraken just like Vlade in 2021 against Ukraine.  NK KO’d Hungary quickly killing 2000+ and seeing 200,000 flee the country.  Putin is still trying to figure out how to claim a W with his incursion of Ukraine.

 

 The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia commencing in November in the southern hemisphere.  This was approximately 60 days after the Hungarian rebellion. The Hungarian men’s water polo team were the Olympic defending champions winning the gold in1952.  The Russians studied the Hungarian Water Polo teams training methods and strategies while occupying the country. Hungary and Russia would meet in the semifinals.  This epic match was immortalized with Ervin Zador’s blood in the water.  The Hungarian team's plan was simply to taunt the Russians and force them into fouling. The supremist Russians lost their composure in their battle against their subjugated foe.  Hungary won 4-0 and won the gold medal the next day over Yugoslavia.  The iconic picture of Zador standing defiant in his speedo with blood streaming down his face will forever define an Olympic hero.

 

The 1984 Olympics still burn brightly in Yard folklore.  The Games were in Los Angeles and were forecasted to host a biblical traffic jam and financial black hole for city coffers.  The Yard was a fledgling downtown sales rep watching the preparations in rapture. Lanier BP afforded us tickets to see several events. Peter Ueberroth was the chairman of the Los Angeles Organizing committee that was going to oversee this potential municipal fiasco. The 1976 Olympics left the city of Montreal with a $1.5 billion deficit that took 30 years to pay off.  In the end, Saint Pete delivered the goods for the city.  The Los Angeles Olympics generated a profit of over $233 million. It was the first Olympics completely funded by the private sector. The city planning for work schedules and traffic patterns was amazing. It was the easiest time ever to get around Los Angeles during those Olympics.  It went right back to road rage immediately following the games.

 

Beyond the logistical and financial successes, the US athletes delivered feats of greatness.  The Russians petulantly did not participate because the US did not attend their show in 1980.  The US did not attend because Russia had invaded Afghanistan! The US had righteous indignation back then, go figure. Anyways, it was good not to have those douches there.  They would always win gymnastics and volleyball gold medals.  The US won Men’s and Women’s gymnastics team gold.  Mary Lou Retton and Peter Vidmar lead the way.  US men won their first ever volleyball gold medal with a sprinkling of Bruins and Trojans leading the charge. US women’s Olympic volleyball coach Karch Kiraly was the fierce leader of the squad. Michael Jordan led a dominant men’s team to the title.  Head coach Bobby Knight famously clashed with Charles Barkley and cut the basketball HOF star from the team.  The women’s team lead by Cheryl Miller would win their first Gold medal in the sport and have won every one since 1984. Flo Jo, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner, Edwin Moses dominated the track and field when the Coliseum had a track. The US won 174 total medals, 83 of which were gold.  With the gold Peter U generated, Los Angeles had a financial windfall that is still felt to this day.  Bring on the games in 2028. Peter will be 90, I hope he can be a part. Was Katie Ledecky in the 1984 Olympics?

 

Alas, what has become of the Dodgers? It seemed that starting pitching would be a strength at the beginning of the season.  Now, we are not sure who is pitching daily.  Buehler is trying to work himself into form, but the current one is not for the MLB.  Kershaw’s first start was a disaster.  Dustin May ruptured his esophagus and is lost for 2024.  Yamamoto is out for now.  Muncy has been missed all season. Mookie should be back, but this pitching is not getting out of the first round of the playoffs against anyone.  Then Freddie Freeman’s young son Max was stricken with a rare neurological disorder. Suddenly, baseball is not that important. #Maxstrong!

Good night and Good luck.

The much-ballyhooed Pac-12 network went dark Sunday night.  It was a media experiment of arrogant proportions led by former chairman Larry Scott.  The network was launched in 2012 when college athletics transcended into their pimp daddy phase.  Their unpaid athletes were their product and misguided sense that there was an endless desire for that product.  The PAC-12 was not in the basic cable plan; they were an add on. Collegiate sports networks sprung up across America during this period.  Comcast was the underlying network for the PAC-12.  The league and Uncle Larry built magnificent facilities right in the heart of downtown SF.  They were in the same area as Twitter, Salesforce and all the fast-growing companies.  They built a state-of-the-art broadcast facility. As a media startup, the nascent Pac-12 built their own 30 Rock without the rocks to pay for it. The rent was exorbitant for the product and the revenue it created.  The location was completely unnecessary.  But the PAC-12 was printing money they thought they had.  Larry Scott had a 12-year media deal, but he only signed an 11-year lease.  The league has since abandoned their Taj Mahal for San Ramon on the AT&T campus. And besides living outside of their means they were overpaid $72 million per year some of the years by Comcast for their product.  Comcast figured this out in 2022 but Larry and the team knew about it as early as 2015.  Since everyone has left except OSU and WSO good luck collecting Xfinity. Larry Scott was paid $50 million for his efforts from 2009 until his hasty exit in 2021.  Good work if you can get it and you don’t even have to be that good.  WSU and OSU are sitting on the $65 million bankroll that is left of this debacle.  Good luck trying to recruit the Mountain West to the last reiteration.

 

There was mild outrage that Caitlin Clark was left off the Women’s Olympic basketball team.  Clark has been the national darling since leading Iowa to the NCAA finals this past March.  She broke every college scoring record, both men’s and women’s during her collegiate career.  Because of COVID, Clark could have played one more season, but she graduated with her class and was the first pick in the WNBA draft.  The Indiana Fever has sold out all over the country as fans clammer to see this generational talent.  How could she be left of the Olympics?  Many have suggested that there would be tremendous marketing potential to have Clark on the team.  That could be true, but the reality is Clark is not one of the best 15 players in US women’s basketball.  She could be some time but her numbers in the WNBA are down.  She shot 47% from the field and 40% from 3-point.  In the WNBA, she is shooting 40% and 35%.  She averaged 31 points a game in college and now 16 in the pros.  She is good and will get better, but the players on the US team are bigger, stronger and more experienced than Clark.  Caitlin has better shoe deals than all of them.  We hope to see her play on the 2028 team in Los Angeles.

 

In our last blog, we lamented the passing of many sports heroes in the past year.  It is impossible to keep up but say hey?  Say it ain’t so, Jo?  The OG of five tool players died last week at 93.  Willie Mays stole home and slid into the great beyond.  Willie came up with the Birmingham Black Barons playing at Rickwood Field.  MLB scheduled a tribute game at Rickwood between the Cardinals and Giants.  Mays died a few days before the event, and it became a tribute to him.  Say hey was promoted to the New York Giants in 1951.  This was just four years after Jackie Robinson broke the MLB color barrier.  Let’s just say it was not Mr. Robinson’s neighborhood yet.  There was still a virtual color barrier, but the great negro athletes could not be ignored any longer.  They brought fans to the ballpark even if they would not share a bathroom with them.  By the time Jackie was finally “allowed” to play for the Dodgers he was already 28.  Willie was one of those generational talents and he made it to the show at age 20.  It took Jackie eight seasons with the Boys of Summer in 1955 to win Brooklyn a pennant.  Mays led the Giants to their first WS title in 21 years over the heavily favored Cleveland Indians in 1954. The then Indians had won 111 games in a 154-game season for a .720 winning percentage.  The Giants swept them with Willie making “the catch”.  Mays moved with the Giants to SF but would never win another title.  He was the first player with 3,000 and 600 home runs.  He led the league in homeruns four times and stolen bases four times.  He was a 24-time all-star.  God bless, Willie.  The Baby Bull is on his way, keep an eye out. In the Field of Dreams, a power hitting first baseman is important.

 

The major league baseball season is a battle of attrition.  Baseball is not as physical a style of play as the NFL or NBA. But those leagues don’t have a rawhide rock that gets thrown at 98 mph at their players and can leave the bat at 114 mph.  The NFL and NBA do not keep exit velocity stats.  Hard balls batted hard at players without pads running bases on dirt surrounded by grass the opportunity for injury is exponential.  Losing key players and injured pitching can derail any season.  The Dodgers lost Mookie for 6-8 weeks, but they are hanging in there for now.  The Phils just lost Harper and Schwarber to soft tissue injuries which can linger longer than a clean break.  Kershaw is supposed to be back soon but for how long?   Every team in first place is ahead of the second-place team by at least five games. All will all be revealed with deliberate precision. Go Dodgers!

 

Epilogue The conference that produced the UCLA basketball dynasty, Steve Prefontaine, USC football dynasties and eight Heisman winners, Stanford Women’s basketball dynasty, Jackie Robinson, Reggie and Cheryl Miller, Oregon State baseball championship and many others have left the building.  Tiger Woods golfed for the Cardinal.  Who can forget Pat Tillman? John Elway and Aaron Rogers never won an NCAA title, but they did win three Super Bowls. The Pac-12 won 561 national championships, 200 more than the 2^nd place conference.  The Pac-12 women’s water polo won all 23 NCAA titles.  Men’s water polo won the last 26 in a row.  The Stanford Cardinal Women’s golf team won the very last of those titles in May. The UW Boys of the boats won the last Pac-12 Rowing championship. So much great history is now history.  Thanks for the memories.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fathers Day

The US government has been ratcheting up the trade war with China in recent weeks. It was announced that China’s $10,000 EV would have a 100% import tariff.  There were similar tariffs on solar panels and other stuff. US politicians' visits to the disputed Taiwan island have raised Xi Jinping’s ire. Putin and Jinping have been trying to ally themselves when Putin has few. With no threat to ever get voted out of their job, they are having a bromance moment. Xi likes to poke the US.  Putin likes to lambast. For China, Russia as a trading partner is a nonstarter. Russians have an average income of $15K USD. Besides second tier Russian oil, Putin does not have much to leverage.  Benjamins are still the desired currency, not rubles. Russian rubles are worth .011 USD.  What should XI Jinping do?  Send in the Pandas. Americans always seem thrilled to get pandas.  Happy 71^st birthday Xi! 

 

It seems like many of our Yard heroes have been dying lately.  It is not an epidemic; they are just getting old.  Roman Gabriel was 83.  Jerry West was 86.  Big Bill Walton was only 71 when cancer took its fee.  The stark reality is that the heroes we grew up with are older than us and the body count is going to be rising in the coming years.  If the Yard just focused on legendary rock stars and athletes passing, it would be more work than we can commit. Contrary to pop culture, Keith Richards is not going to outlive us all.  But he may outlive Mick. Magic 8 Ball indicates doubtful.

 

The passing of Jerry West was more of a surprise than a shock.  The Logo had finally retired and was out of the public eye of late.  The only recent comments from the West family were regarding the portrayal of Jerry West in the MAX series Winning Time.  Jason Clarke’s unsympathetic version of Zeke was pilloried by the family.  In the series, West was butting heads constantly with owner Jerry Buss over the direction of the franchise.  Jerry W. had been with the Lakers longer than the swashbuckling Jerry B.  The former had the pedigree and the reputation.  The latter had the Benjamins and the cajónes to make the Lakers champions.  West would play a key role in that story, but he was dragged along by Buss’s vision.  West’s family may have had issues with how petulant the series made West appear.  It is true that he initially opposed the Lakers drafting Magic Johnson with the first overall pick.  He wanted to pick Sidney Moncrief.  Moncrief was a defensive stalwart with an HOF career with his number retired by the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Milwaukee Bucks’ He never won any titles. Magic won five plus an NCAA title at MSU.  West and Johnson partnered to build the Showtime dynasty out of their rocky origin story. Adding Big Game James worthy and Byron Scott would cement West’s legacy for Laker Nation.

 

West was always a tortured soul during his tenure with the Laker franchise.  He led the Lakers to the NBA finals nine times but only won one title as a player. In 1969 he became and still is the only Finals MVP from a losing team. His famous 60-footer against the Knicks in the 1970 NBA finals would only force OT.  The Lakers would lose the game and the series.  The Lakers won a still record 33 in a row in 1971 and finally an elusive NBA title.  West would go on to be the Lakers head coach from 1976-79 and surprisingly resigned as head coach before Magic Johnson’s career began.  He was so competitive, and he was dealing with cocaine in the cocaine 70’s and 80’s in the NBA.  Spencer Haywood was not his favorite player. He became GM and built the purple and gold dynasty from Magic through Kobe that dominated LA sports for decades.

 

Zeke was always the kid from Cabin Creek.  He and Jerry Buss were opposites in lifestyles.  Buss’s string of young maidens on his arm, DUI’s and his daughter dating the head coach was not bringing them closer.  The real disconnect was that for all the titles West engineered for Buss, he never paid him like the elite GM he was. Jerry B liked to hang out with the players and go to strip clubs and the like.  West would never do that in this life or wherever he is now.  West’s top salary with the Lakers was around $1 million a year. Buss gave Magic part of the team and West had to be outraged but seethed privately.   He had to chafe watching Pat Riley, who he found in the broadcast booth, ended up being Head Coach and GM in Miami while getting 10% of the team in the deal. He was among the lowest paid NBA GMs for his Laker loyalty.  Then after he built the second coming with Shaq, Kobe and later Pau, he still did not get the bump in pay he richly deserved.  After the 2000 title, he quietly disappeared from the franchise without a press conference or a reason.  The Lakers would win two more West inspired titles with Kobe and Pau.  Jerry W would resurface as GM of the Memphis Grizzlies.  He would famously trade Pau Gasol for his brother Marc among others to the Lakers.  The Lakers would win two titles, but Marc Gasol would play much longer, and Memphis became relevant.  West worked with Golden State and the Clippers over the balance of his career.  He did get paid but never got another ring.  The Yard will always remember him for the blockbuster free agent signing of Shaq and drafting a 17-year-old Kobe Bryant out of Merion HS.  RIP Zeke, we loved you even if you never felt it.

 

Happy Father’s Day to all of you fathers.  Father’s Day is always the US Open Men’s final.  The US Open is one of the toughest tournaments of the season.  USGA moves the location each year.  The courses spend 2 years and lots of PGA money to enhance the degree of difficulty.  This week Pinehurst Number 2 is all tricked up for these fescue warriors.  Not Chambers Bay tricky from 2015 but it will be a grind.  23-year-old Swede Ludvig Aberg took a narrow one stroke lead to the first tee of the third round.  He took a triple on 14 and fell off the television. Bryson DeChambeau was flexing his muscles, but he is not a great front runner. The winner will be revealed on Sunday afternoon. Cheers to all the dads!

21 Notes for Big Red

Memorial Day always brings a flood of emotion to the Yard. Big Bill, Yard legend and father, served in Korea in the 1950’s for the US Army.  He was an artillery operator and company bartender.  He was drafted and not enlisted.  If he could have maintained a C average at LMU, he probably would have stayed stateside. He also had a hot romance with one Mary Jo Williams and his being drafted became them being married. Besides making a great cocktail in the Korean jungles, he saw no action. He came home with many friends for life to the woman who would grow the Seber progeny.  I think of him always when I see these images on the last Monday of May.  When the 21 notes of Taps are played, I usually lose it. My wife is used to it by now…kind of.

 

Bill Walton passed away on the last Monday of May. This one got to me also.  One would think that the Big Red and the Yard would have crossed paths over the years, but it was not meant to be.  He had already graduated UCLA when I began my UCLA journey.  Yes, he graduated from UCLA and was the #1 pick in the NBA draft.  When was the last time that the #1 pick in the NBA draft was a graduating senior.  Heck, when was the last time there was any senior taken in the NBA draft.  There was a time, the NBA was drafting HS seniors like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.  Many more careers were ruined by trying to make that leap than made.  Youngsters giving up their college eligibility for their NBA dreams only to flame out. In Walton’s day, freshman could not play on the varsity. The biggest game of the season for many years for Wooden’s teams was the Varsity-Freshman preseason game.  

 

Walton finally “made” the varsity for the 1971-72 season.  The Bruins were five-time defending NCAA champions when Red jumped center in his first varsity game.  The Bruins were under tremendous pressure to continue the dynasty.  Bill would lead the Bruins to two straight 30-0 seasons and two more titles his sophomore and junior years.  The hallmark of Big Bill’s UCLA career with an 87-66 win over Memphis State.  Walton scored 44 points in that game on 21 out of 22 shooting from the field while scoring a still standing NCAA record 44 points.  He broke Gail Goodrich’s record of 42 in a championship game.  Interestingly, Walton went 2 of 5 from the line.  He also had 4 baskets reversed because of the “no dunking” rule. Those eight additional points were overturned and called offensive goaltending. The NCAA was a killjoy even back then.  Point guard Greg Lee had 14 assists, most to passes to Walton.

 

Eventually, UCLA would win 88 in a row but not another title during the Walton era.  In 1974, Walton and Wooden clashed often both on and off the court.  The red headed rebel got arrested on campus while protesting the VietNam War.  He smoked dope and began his lifelong affinity for the Grateful Dead. Notre Dame was the bookends of the 88-game streak, the last opponent to beat the Bruins and the winner 71-70 on January 19, 1974, to end it.  Two weeks later, UCLA would lose at Oregon and Oregon State on the road.  It was the cover story that week on Sports Illustrated “Bruins in Ruins.”.  The invincible now appeared vulnerable. This UCLA fan was shaken to the core.  Two defeats in a row had not happened in over a decade. 

 

UCLA would win the Pac-8 in 1974 edging a talented USC team led by Gus Williams.  USC would not make the dance with a 24-5 record. UCLA was led by seniors Walton, Keith Wilkes and Tommy Curtis.  Freshman could play on varsity now and Marques Johnson was on that squad also.  The Bruins would get the top seed in the west and reach the Final Four for the ninth straight time. In the national semifinals, the Bruins ran into the NC State Wolfpack.  They had David “Skywalker” Thompson and 7’4” Tom Burleson.  They would score 25 and 20 points each while Walton Wilkes only scored 21 and 17. UCLA lost the game 80-77 and the end of the dynasty.  Bill would be the first pick in the 1974 NBA draft and lead Portland to its only NBA title.  Marques Johnson would lead UCLA to the 1975 NCAA Title.  It would be Wooden’s 10^th and final title.  He would retire after the championship.  Gene Bartow who had coached Memphis state in the historic loss to Walton was named new head coach.  Greg Lee who had all of those assists in 1973 became a beach volleyball legend. He was the first rock star of Southern California beach volleyball.

 

Bill Walton’s NBA career covered many seasons, but he played only 468 games.  His foot and ankle injuries were chronic.  He staged a healthy comeback from 1983-86 playing for the Clippers and the Celtics.  He won another title with the 1986 Celtics playing 80 games averaging 20 minutes and 8 points off the bench.  He scored ten points off the bench in the championship game to beat Hakeem the Dream and the Houston Rockets. He would retire ten games into the 1987 season.  He was elected to the Basketball HOF in 1993.  After retirement, he found a new calling and his lane in broadcasting.  He stuttered so terribly in HS, that he did not give interviews.  He was the most celebrated HS player who was trying to hide his speech impediment. As a broadcaster, he was bold and loud.  He was more Grateful Dead loud than Craig Sager loud.  His on-air musings became iconic for their irrelevance to the action on the floor.  His tie-dyed apparel and toothy grin were refreshingly bizarre.  He will never be forgotten.  Bill, I am playing your 21 notes on my iPhone, RIP.

Blame the interpreter!

Montana Shack called me out a few episodes back regarding the political banter the Yard can take at times.  He is one of my oldest friends and avid Yard subscriber, so I paid heed. The Yard has strayed from our basic tenets at times. It has been difficult to ignore the foibles of our current presidential candidates.  It is a target rich environment with Mayor McCheese and Dozing Joe squaring off this fall. These septuagenarians will provide unusual theater this summer and fall.  It is not 100% that they both will make it to the November election.  It is turbulent times and Yard staff is working hard to shift the yacht back on course. Thanks for the feedback, Shack.

 

It is hard to ignore the US college campus turmoil.  The House of Troy celebrated Caleb Williams being the first pick in the NFL draft the same week they cancelled their 2024 graduation. These seniors in 2024 are the same class that had their 2020 graduations COVID cancelled. It seemed like UCLA had avoided the morass until this week.  It is unclear what the goal is on either side.  Many world diplomats on all sides are trying to resolve the conflict. Students or opportunists are joining the fray to no end. These are disturbing images not seen since the 1970’s.  The VietNam war was their common enemy and it was a consistent rallying cry for the generation of love.  The police clashed with the local campuses until finally the National Guard was called in on some campuses.  Kent State was one of those campuses that called in the Ohio National Guard.  On May 4, 1970, at 12:24 PM, the guards fired 67 rounds into the rebellious crowd of 300.  Miraculously, “only” four students died that day and nine were injured. It is a tragic reminder of what can happen when rebellious zealots threaten armed combatants.  At press time, LAPD had reclaimed the UCLA quad.

 

Baseball is here and just in time.  It is our national pastime, and we all need to pass some time these days.  The Yard has espoused the virtues of baseball since our earliest missives.  2024 baseball is just the elixir our sports cocktail needed with a twist.  The Spring training Ohtani gambling scandal looked like it might derail the Dodgers before they got on their rails.  Ohtani, the Dodgers and MLB had a vested interest in blaming the interpreter.  He was and it all has disappeared…for now.  Shohei is blasting balls out of the yard at 118 mph, Mookie is off to his best start, and Will Smith is proving he is worth the big contract.  The Dodgers have reclaimed LA from the Lakers. Staples, Crypto or whatever has more bronze statues, but the Dodgers are far more fun and entertaining. 

 

The New York Yankees have been struggling to claim another title for over a decade.  The franchise doubled down on Aaron Judge during last season’s free agent sweepstakes.  Judge had a middling season LY, batting .267 while playing in 106 games.  He was injured a bit and fortunately for A-dog, Yankee fans are a patient group, right? The Yankees hosted Aaron Judge Bobblehead night on April 24.  The fans cheered the 6’7” Judge when he came to bat in the first inning waving their treasured bobbleheads before putting them on eBay.  On his night, he struck out on four pitches on the first AB. He would strike out four times on his BB head night, seeing a total of 18 pitches, none of which was hit.  Yankee fans were booing him after that last at bat. Only in NY.

 

The Lakers had owned the Denver Nuggets for decades in the playoffs.  They seemed to play the Doug Moe coached Nugs every season in the Western Conference finals.  The Lake show would win out and go onto the finals. Denver never did until the past two seasons. The Lakers all-time playoff record versus Denver is 26-16 which includes losing 8 of the last 9.  LA cannot beat Denver in the regular season either having lost 11 in a row. Lebron is going to play 2-3 more years and wants to sign the max $134 million deal to play out those years.  He is not making any comments or commitments currently.  He is building a $100 million dollar compound in Los Angeles for his family.  He wants to have oldest son Bronny to play with him at the next level.  Considering Bronny did not really play at the last level, it is a leap.  The Lakers will give Lebron whatever he wants to finish his career in LA.  If James wants a statue out front, he needs to win a few more titles before it is over.

 

RIP Roman Gabriel.  The flame throwing Pilipino was our first sports hero.  The 6’5” 220-pound Gabriel was an anomaly back in those days.  Big QB’s were not as common back then. He played ten seasons with the first edition of the Los Angeles Rams. From 1967 to 1970, Gabriel led the Rams to a 41–14–4 overall record and was named to three Pro Bowls during that four-year span.  It always seemed that his huge frame was gobbled up by the Vikings purple people eaters every winter playing outdoors in the Minnesota snow.

 

RIP Whitey Herzog.   Herzog guided the St. Louis Cardinals for over a decade.  During his tenure, the Cards went to the WS three times and won one. Where Whitey lives in Yard psyche is 1985 when Tommy Lasorda pitched to Jack Clark with two and two out in a decisive game 6.  Yard was playing hooky that day for the afternoon game.  It was a brilliant day.  The Dodgers jumped to an early lead and were one out from forcing game 7.  With first base open, Lasorda decided to pitch to Clark and he lasered the first pitch into the seats for the game-winning three run HR.  It was the agony of defeat in all its dimensions.

The Madness is coming!

The longest presidential campaign in history is off to an immediate bloodbath.  Never have two presidents had a rematch in an election.  God save us as we have eight months of these two snarling at each other in the press and on television.  The Yard is turning our focus to March Madness. The outcome of either event is far from certain.  Basketball is much more fun.  The Yard does support many forms of escapism, some which are now legal.  Our favorite distraction in our history is the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament aka March Madness. Beginning Thursday March 21 @ 9:10 PST, 48 D-1 single elimination games will be played over four days.  By Sunday afternoon, it will be down to the Sweet 16.  If you don’t know this already, the Yard might not be for you. This event only buys us three weeks of detours.  I am hoping the Dodgers come roaring out of the gates and leave The Big BLT and Captain Aviator out of our dreams.

 

The tournament has never been as wide open as it was this year.  Defending champion UCONN is the prohibitive favorite, UCONN has never won any of their five NCAA titles as a prohibitive favorite.   The Huskies and coach Hurley are revving their engines and ready to throttle the field on the road to Phoenix.  The other three number one seeds all lost their last game before this national diversion.  Houston was to be the overall # 1 but come on Kelvin, you can’t lose by 28 on March 16 and be top dog on March 17.  In 2023, Purdue was the second number 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. This calamity had never happened prior to 2018 so the 1-16 game is not such a clear choice in your pool.  The Boilermakers are seeking a championship after the agony of 2023. The Virginia Cavaliers won the 2019 title after their first round KO year prior.  Possible big Zach and company are ready for that narrative.  The Boilers giving up an uncontested layup at the buzzer to Wisconsin and losing the Big Ten Championship game in OT, does not foretell a deep run in my bracket. North Carolina lost to their rivals at NCST, that can happen.  The first-round upsets by 16 seeds had never happened and now it has twice.  Your bracket always looks good before the games start.

 

During the National Distraction, one of the bigger stories is Cal State Long Beach sneaking into the dance by winning the Big West tournament.  CSULB Dan Monson had been coaching the 49ers since 2007.  He did not know this was his last season. With his team mired in a five game losing streak to end the season, CSULB athletics let Monson know this would be his last season.  He could coach the team until their final loss.   The team has not lost yet and has the mighty Arizona Wildcats next.  Coach Monson was an assistant coach at Gonzaga for nearly ten years before he became the head coach in 1997.  He was the chief recruiter that convinced talent to come to Spokane and play basketball.  Ever been to Spokane during basketball season?  The Zags were on the uptick but not of national prominence.  That came in 1999 when the 10^th seed Zags beat Minnesota, Stanford, and Florida on their way to the Elite Eight. His record was 52-17 in his two seasons as head coach.  He was a hot commodity and Minnesota came calling and Monson answered the call.  His assistant coach Mark Few took the job and still is leading the program Monson built.  Disgraced MN coach Clem Haskins had left the program in NCAA hot water for academic fraud, say what?  He hung in there for six seasons of recruiting restrictions and scholarship reductions before he finally resigned in 2006.

 

Cal State Long Beach in the NCAA men’s tournament was not always a surprise.  The 1970-71 49er team was ranked as high as 3^rd in the final poll.  CSULB was led by their irascible head coach Jerry Tarkanian and sophomore superstar Easy Ed Ratleff.  They were an exciting team and fun to watch.  Yard as a youth went several times over the years to see them play at the Long Beach Arena.  We saw Led Zeppelin there a few times, but the basketball was fun without the haze. Long Beach could have contended for a national championship if the regionals were seeded the way they are today.  Back then, they were truly regionals and the west coast teams were in a regional with other western teams.  The only teams that made the tournament won their regular season title.  There were no season ending tourneys.  John Wooden was able to win seven consecutive titles, ten in twelve years because the Bruins won the league title 13 straight times.  The 1970-71 USC team was 24-2, ranked as high as #2 in the country and did not get in the dance as Pac-10 runner-up.  In the 1970 regional final, Tarkanian had his best chance to unseat the legendary coach. He had a young Ratleff and a rebound machine named George Trapp.  UCLA was down 11 midways through the second half and Sidney Wicks was on the bench with 4 fouls.  UCLA did what they did back then and pulled out the win 57-55.  UCLA shot 29% for the game but they fouled Ratleff out with five to go and that was the difference.  CSULB would face UCLA again in the regional finals, but Walton and Company had arrived by then and the outcome was never close again. Tarkanian needed to get away from UCLA and Wooden so took his show out to the desert and UNLV and won a title.  Interesting side note, Lute Olsen replaced Tarkanian at CSULB before taking his show to the Arizona desert and won a title. Both coaches had legendary success in their deserts. Go 49ers!

 

As always, there were teams that got snubbed for the NCAA tournament this year.  Not as bad as USC in 1971 but back then there were only 32 teams in the tourney.  Now there are 68 with those pesky season ending tournaments that can give a bid to a team that would not have been invited. There are too many alleged snubs to review this year.  Saint Johns was one of those snubs.  The Johnnys had played well down the stretch and through the first three rounds of the Big East tourney.  In the semifinals, they faced the UCONN Huskies and were double digit underdogs. They rocked 90 points against one of the best defenses in the country and covered. The Yard could not ask for much more, especially the cover.  Coach Rick Pitino stated publicly he felt the same way.  The New Mexico Lobos raced through the Mountain West Tournament and grabbed the guaranteed bid.  The Lobos might have gotten in anyways but maybe not.  NM Coach Richard Pitino was thrilled with the win.  It would be fun if they were both in, but the kid did what was needed, and dad is probably going to the NM games. Go Lobos!

 

From the couch: Women’s basketball is having a season.  Caitlin Clark and her quest to obliterate every college basketball scoring record has been a huge influence. It is a wonderful empowering story.  The women’s game has evolved, and it is fun to watch.  Clark breaking Kelsey Plum’s D1 Women’s scoring record was a bummer because Kelsey is our homegirl, but it happens.  It is also true that she also has broken Pistol Pete Maravich’s all-time men’s scoring record.  It is a NCAA Men’s scoring record in a men’s sports.  Her accomplishment is meteoric against the competition in her lane and not diminishing her accolades. In context, Caitlin played all four years notching 133 games.  The Pistol could not play as a freshman and played just 83 games in his career.  Clark made over 520 three pointers and counting.  They did not have the 3-point shot during Pete’s era.  The one record that will never be broken was Maravich scoring average 44.2 per game.  Clark averages 28.4. Go Bruin Women!

 

Super Bowl LVIII Blog

Lifetime immunity for former presidents has been all the rage from the redheaded rager. That would be an added perk for after the presidency.  Elon Musk might consider buying in if that was a benefit. Herr Trump is contending that the only way a president can serve is with blanket immunity forever.  There are few if any people who knew that was a thing.  No president has ever been criminally charged as DT now has been so this need for immunity has never been debated. Big Red is having a relatively easy campaign season with Republican hopefuls bailing out faster than Chip Kelly at UCLA. It will be a fascinating fall while our country’s hopes and dreams get splintered.

 

It is exciting for the world to have the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.  The hype can hardly keep up with reality. The NFL is falling all over itself having a wonderful time.  Roger Goodell was feted at a bash full of celebrities.  He indicated he could see a Las Vegas SB as a regular thing in the coming years.  In 2003, the NFL would not allow the TV network to run an ad during the SB for the city of Las Vegas. It was the original what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas campaign.  The NFL vetoed running the ads during the game.  In 2017, Tony Romo wanted to host a Fantasy Football Party in LV.  The NFL crushed that as well.  Whatever small part the Yard played in helping the NFL see the light we ask no credit.

 

The Yard has been a frenzy of activity with the Super Bowl occurring just 8.3 miles from our World Headquarters.  The staff worked feverishly to locate tickets to the Big Game.  We could not justify the $6280 for Section 400 up against the roof.  The $21K for a nice 50-yard line bucket seemed more bucket list except for the 21 large.   We opted for the SB LVIII Cap, shirt, and comfy reservation on the recliner staring at 65 inches of LG goodness.  The bets are being placed and squares drawn up and accounted for. 120 million people in the US will be watching the football pantheon.  There will be 330,000 people laying siege to the LV resort corridor.  Only 65,000 get the coveted golden ticket to Wonka Land so most will be watching the game just like the Yard…on TV.  This city which has 250,000 strong every year for the game without the game, so fun will be everywhere across the valley.  Having the game adds a layer of temporal insanity that Las Vegas has never experienced.  Shaq is throwing a party, Gronk is bringing his show, U2 is at the Sphere, Kelly Clarkson is singing her hits and there is a Super Bowl game on Sunday.  

 

In 1983, the Yard won a sales contest as a rookie salesman for Lanier. The prize was a ticket to Super Bowl XVII at the Rose Bowl. The legendary Ronk managed the office at 1930 Wilshire Blvd adjacent to MacArthur Park.  Lanier was using Arnold Palmer for national television ads and tickets to the Super Bowl were given to the LA office.  Ronk put them up for the contest and the winners got to go.  John Riggins rushed for 166 yards that day and the Washington Redskins belted the Miami Dolphins.  The face value of those tickets was $36.

 

The betting handle for this year’s game Super Bowl LVIII in LV will be colossal.  San Francisco fans are feeling that the dynasty that has been foretold since 1994 might finally happen. Colin K could not get over the line when the lights went out in NOLA.  Jimmy G could not complete the wide-open winning pass in Q4.  Is Brock Purdy the savior for these fans of pretense while returning this proud franchise to the top?  Will Patrick Mahomes solidify his dynastic claim? Will Bieber join Usher in the halftime show?  There is much to be revealed.

 

The Yard is backing Kansas City in this rematch.  The trend line seems to be that it will be a 49er home game.  49er fans generally have more cake and available credit than their midwestern counterparts in their pursuit of attending.  Getting points and Mahomie is sweet when you can find it. This was the year; he was to be exposed without the home field advantage.  The Chiefs would have to win in Buffalo and Baltimore to make it back to Lombardi land. They did just that with efficiency and poise.  Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are unquestionably more talented than Brock Purdy.  SF has a very explosive team and stout defense so it won’t be easy for KC, and games can always go unpredictably sideways.  The Chiefs won their playoff games.  The 49er’s escaped the early rounds to get here.

 

Mahomes vs. Purdy and Reid vs. Shanahan. This KC rent a fan likes those talent matchups.  San Francisco has a powerfully built team starting with Christian McCaffrey.  They have not skimped at any position except place kicker.  The real big mismatch in this game is at kicker.  Last year, the 49ers had Robbie Gould who was a seasoned veteran poised for Super Bowl fame but also earning $5 million.  3rd round pick Jake Moody is only $ 1 million for 2023-4.  He already missed two FG in an early nationally televised MNF game. The 49ers got an L that night. The Super Bowl is not that much bigger, right? Harrison Butker for the Chiefs made 33 of 35 including all five from more than 50 including a 60 yarder.  He kicked the game winner in last year’s game.  If it comes down to this, and it probably will, Chiefs get the W.

 

At the Window: This year bets on proposition bets will exceed the traditional game itself.  Prop bets first started in 1985 with Super Bowl XX.  During the season, Bears coach Mike Ditka had used defensive lineman William “the refrigerator” Perry as fullback in short goal line situations. Perry scored two TD’s during the regular season, but they had not used him in that role in months.  The Bears were a juggernaut, and the 350-pound Perry was just as big a personality. Fans wanted to see the Fridge score a TD in the Super Bowl.  He became a prop bet if Perry would score six in the game.  It opened at 20-1 and was heavily bet.  Perry did score a TD in the game and the books lost nearly $200,000 on that bet but a lesson and opportunity was found.  Today, there are 1000’s of prop bets across multiple betting platforms.  Interestingly, HOF Walter Payton did not score a TD in his only SB in the 46-10 win against the pre-Belichick Patriots.

 

 

After the game: This nonsense talks of Andy Reid retiring if the Chiefs is just that.  Patrick Mahomes is 28 years old and under contract until he is 34.  He is a generational player, and any head coach would want that gig.