Dreams and Demons

 These are elevated times for UCLA athletics. 1999 was the last time UCLA men’s basketball, football and women’s hoops were in the top ten at the same time. In 2026, they are partying like it's 1999.  It is late season for Bruin football to be ranked in the top ten.  It has been a decade since UCLA was breathing November top ten oxygen.  The baby blue and gold have never sniffed CFP helium.  There was some nitrous oxide but not the premium playoff air. UCLA Women hoopsters won their first NCAA crown in 2026 finishing 37-1.  All five senior starters were drafted in the WNBA first round. Their teammates are challenging themselves to repeat in 2027. Men’s basketball has had flashes of dazzle in the Mick Cronin era, earning a few Final Fours.  There is buzz about 6’9” Serbian Nikola Kusturica. He received a major NIL cake and is spreading the frosting. Bruin’s football team has not played a nationally significant game in decades. This momentous season looks promising but historic demons are in every corner.

In September 1998, Hurricane Georges destroyed the US Gulf Coast. In anticipation of the catastrophe, millions of people were evacuated and events were cancelled. UCLA vs. Miami was one of the cancelled games. UCLA had exploded out to an 8-0 start and were in playoff position.  Who knew Bod Toledo could coax such results? UCLA did not want to reschedule the cancelled game in the 1998 season and offered alternative dates in 1999. UCLA was ranked #3 and had just crushed cross town rival USC 34-17 with another Cade McNown gem. Unfortunately, they had an open weekend on December 5, 1998. The NCAA and UofM demanded the game be played to finish the 1998 campaign. It was the trap game of all trap games.

UCLA was led by college legend Cade McNown playing his senior season. Cade is the only starting quarterback in the history of the USC-UCLA rivalry to go 4-0.  With today’s NIL bullion and the transfer portal, he will likely be the only QB who will accomplish that record in this rivalry. 1998 was the penultimate season for the Heisman candidate. Miami was propelled by 220 pound running back Edgerrin James. It was a game by land and by air. Captain Cade was 26 of 35 for 513 yards and 5 TD’s and no INT.  He had a ridiculous QB rating of 244.5 for that game. Edgerrin James had 39 carries for 299 and 3 TD’s. Whoever had the ball last was going to win this thriller.  Miami had the last dart in the 49-45 upset victory. UCLA would lose in the Rose Bowl and finish 10-2.  It has taken decades for the Bruins to climb that mountain again.  There are scary valleys between now and December.

UCLA won only 3 games last year, so every fan is wary of the perpetual precipice.  An impact game with giant slayer Illinois is at the  Rose Bowl Friday the 13^th night. The Illini have been on a dragon roll.  A tough road game at The Big House follows against an ornery, underachieving Michigan Wolverine. The regular season closes with the horse and the privileged itching for a ruinous upset in Pasadena.  Bob Chesney has given us all hope, belief and swagger.  His Ray Ban confidence envelopes the Westwood nation.  He is the leader of men that was foretold on the Janss Steps in 1929.  We sincerely hope he stays our course.

At the deadline: The Raiders ship Kirk Cousins to MN at the trading deadline.  Cousins played six solid seasons for the Vikings from 2018-2023.  After watching Carson Wentz wretch on Monday Night Football, MN had to rescue a promising season.  Their defense is championship caliber, but the quarterback has been a purple hole.  Cousins was a leader for the Raiders, and his presence will be missed.  After three straight losses, he rallied the team with 250 yards passing and 3 TD’s in a 38-33 victory at New York.  On the return flight, he released his viral alter ego Kirko Chainz to the delight of his teammates. Max Crosby supplied most of the chains for Kirko.  He then took his whole posse including Fernando Mendoza to In n’ Out. He has been a blessed mentor for young Fernando.  Mendoza has been an avid student.  He has big tests in the coming weeks. He is thrown to the vagaries of the NFL schedule with Seahawks and Broncos up next and Browns waiting for him in Ohio. The 3^rd round pick is a modest return for Cousins but they shipped his $10million roster bonus over to the Vikes with him.  Sweet!

History repeats

On August 19^th,1957, the Yard was spawned on this planet at Cedar’s in Los Angeles. On April 18, 1958, the Los Angeles Dodgers played their first home game at the Los Angeles Coliseum. A celestial coincidence, I think not. Divine intervention possibly.  The Dodgers would win their second World Series title in 1958.  It took them two generations in Brooklyn to win their first in 1955. The Blue would win titles in 1963 and 1965.  Yard youth became imprinted with Dodger myopia for life. 1966 would be the unimaginable sweep of the Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale led teams.  The 1970’s would bring malaise with a sweep by the A’s and routed by Reggie’s Yankees.  The 1980’s would renew our faith with titles in 1981 over the Yanks and bashing the A’s in 1988.  The O’Malley’s and Tommy would shepherd in the bold new age of Dodger dogmatism.  Fox Corporation would chew through our legacy with bureaucratic inertia.  Frank McCourt traded a parking lot in Boston for the Dodgers.  His ownership did not lead to any titles, but he does still own the stadium’s parking lot.

The Yard has been blessed with a recent progeny of grandchildren. Under the careful tutelage of their parents and mindful mentoring from the Yard, these youngsters are being taught the ways of the Azul.  The Dodger merchandise has been provided since birth. They learned the rally chants as soon as they could speak. The Dodgers are just nearing the middle of this historic run. These past few years harken back to the halcyon days of those early years. Three titles in five years are dynastic but four in six would be legend. The team is still prime adjacent. The Yard grandkids have only known championships.  We are encouraging this allegiance while trying to mitigate the emotional letdown when reality diverts. Let’s hope the doldrums of the 1970's stay where they belong in the past with our 8 track players.

We have tried to keep UCLA football off our 2026 manic list, with their 7-0 start it is becoming difficult.  The past few decades have had stretches of relevance but mostly desert wandering between the goalposts. They tried bringing back heralded alumni Ricky Nueheisel. Legendary Chip Kelly tried his hand at rescuing the program.  The Bruin generated emotional acid reflux was recalibrated appropriately for health reasons. Bob Chesney has brought in a sense of urgency the program has not seen since Terry Donahue.  The swagger and confidence this team is playing with has not been witnessed since Cade McNown. Minnesota and Michigan are going to be stout road tests in the coming weeks, and more will be revealed. With the Trojans flailing about in their seasonal Odyssey, we hope it is an exciting finish on 11/28 at the Rose Bowl.

The Dodgers, Lakers and Bruins were imprinted in our first visions of life.  We were bandwagon fans of the Raiders in the LA days.  Al Davis bought the LA promise and brought his Raiders with him.  Those Raiders brought Los Angeles its first Super Bowl title in 1984 dominating the Redskins.  The Yard passionately rooted for the Rams for decades with but one Super Bowl loss in 1979 for our misspent passion. The Raiders brought the LA fan that title.  The Raiders would retreat to Oakland before any civic legacy was erected.  The inexact promises of Los Angeles city leaders were exposed which led to lawsuits.  LA was an NFL wasteland for decades. The Raiders followed the Yard to Las Vegas, another ethereal message from the Yard metaverse. The Raiders were outside the Yard’s obsession circle until this season.  New coach, the Mendoza kid, 3-0 start, we jumped off the dock into the Bellagio fountain in our silver and black. What could go wrong? Their solid play against KC lead to exposure in Foxboro. Their solid play against the Bills preempted a pummeling by the Rams.  We grabbed some fluffy towels and headed back to the dock until 2028.  God bless Kirk Cousins or who knows how bad this could be?!

Final Thoughts: In 2004, with Kobe and Shaq in their prime the Lakers signed Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Both players took pay cuts to chase their elusive first NBA titles in their HOF careers.  Kobe and Shaq had won three titles, but the Spurs and Pistons had muscled to the main stage by 2004.  The Lakers were going to have a Dream Team and win the title back. Payton would give it his all but bristled in Phil’s triangle.  Malone mailed it in missing more than half the season while harassing Kobe’s young wife. The Lakers lost to the Pistons and the Lakers blew up the team except for Kobe and Phil. They would win two more titles together with the 7-foot Spaniard.  Shaq would get another in Miami.  The Glove and Mailman would never cash that check.

The Dodgers paid Tucker way too much for what he returned.  He was not the missing piece, just a potentially impactful one.  When called upon, he was not. They paid Edwin Diaz for six innings of work. They will both be back and should be better. Ohtani will be back.  He was banged up more than he would admit.  He is a proud, hard worker and he wants a Cy Young. Mookie will be one of the best shortstops in the league for a few more years. Yammy and Saski are young. There are some creaking parts, but the core is solid in the current run.  The rest of the NL West has more issues to solve than the Dodgers.  New Padre ownership probably does not keep Machado.  They are stuck with Tatis. Mason Miller was all the rage but his aurora got glazed. Arizona is a poseur and the Giants just hope to be one in the future. Most of baseball has bigger problems to fix except for the champion Milwaukee Brewers. Congratulations! We are coming for you keggers!

Winnie and Angie

 Winnie the Pooh turns 100 this month.  Pooh was a fictional, lovable teddy bear created by A.A. Milne. His books Winnie the Pooh (1926) and The House on Pooh corner (1928) begat the icon. In 1961, Disney licensed the rights from the Milne estate and spawned animated movies, books, theme parks and merch.  Pooh remains a billion dollar a year industry for Disney. Christopher Robin Milne detested the exploitation and accepted a meager $352 million lump sum payment in 2001 and waived all future royalties.  Angie Dickinson turned 95 this week and she was always our Policewoman. Edgy and sexy, she defined Charlie’s Angels before we knew there were any.  The love of her life was Frank Sinatra.  She was a poster on his wall and his lover for decades.  She refused to marry him because she liked his ex-wife.  Dickinson was not a cuddly teddy bear; she was an empowered woman before there were many. Happy 95^th, Angie.

 MLB has geofenced the Las Vegas market like the US Navy has blocked Iranian ports. Regular season MLB games are routinely blacked out in the Las Vegas market.  Games that are displayed on the TV channel guide get a restricted access skull and crossbones when selected on my LV channel guide.  It is an infuriating tease.  We were pleasantly surprised when Comcast Bay Area Sports showed the Dodgers Giants game being available this past weekend.  Interns felt it was another ruse but with our LG smart remote, it was determined live game content was on the air.  We did have to listen to the SF Giants broadcast team of Kruk and Kuip. Vin and Jerry, they are not but serviceable and deadly quiet during Dodger highlights.  There were many Dodger highlights during the three-game season ending sweep. It was Mike Krukow’s final telecast, and we wish him well in his health journey.

Giant manager Tony Vitelli had seen enough by the 3^rd inning of game 162.  Mookie Betts swing was ruled a check and Vitelli stormed the field.  He would not be denied, and he took on two different umpires in his futile agitation. He shouted and gesticulated and got tossed. Mookie would strike out on the very next pitch after the tirade. This would be Vitelli’s league leading 7^th ejection in his first season.  He was trying to beat the traffic just like a Dodger fan.  Tony V is hoping for a second bite of the apple in 2027.  The Giants have not been playing many October games this past decade.  The Giants are fighting to stay out of last place not competing for first.

Major League Baseball playoffs began in earnest this weekend. Saturday’s opener started with Skubal who was as scorching as the sun. Both registered 100+ on their respective scales. The Braves got knocked down in the heat but got up for the split on Sunday night. Dodger anxiety is at gurgling level 2 with the next two games being played in the Atlanta suburbs.  Down south, San Diego Padre fans must be in denial.  Leading the first two games on the road against the top dog and losing both is Dodger fan kind of pain. Sunday, Mason Miller, their hard throwing Witch needed to get six out to get the split in beer town. He only got five. His veil might be pierced. After winning 20 of 23 down the stretch, no one wanted to play the Padres in the playoffs. Now, maybe only the Brewers will. Winning three straight in the playoffs to clinch a series has happened.  Losing three straight and starting your winter season prematurely happens more often. Manny might have a new team next year with the change in ownership. We will miss nada about Merchado.

In the clubhouse: Who is Jackson Koivun? The President’s Cup this year was particularly exciting.  The President's Cup has been played second banana to the Ryder Cup for relevance, but this year’s event was compelling.  The US had to come from three points down to win on Sunday with 21-year-old Koivun in command.  He finished the weekend 2-0-1 in his matches. He was the only undefeated American. His final drive on 18 revealed his powers. It has gone viral. He crushed the drive and immediately followed it down the fairway with the confidence of a 23-year-old.  Si Woo Kim didn’t know what hit him as his two-hole lead melted into the Medinah fescue.

Just saying: Dolly Parton rest her soul. She was honored with a Rock and Roll HOF induction in 2022. Dolly deserves all her accolades, but the Rock Hall was a bit of stretch, even she thought so at the time. The Yard has questioned why the legendary rock band Jethro Tull has never been elected to the Rock hall.  Locomotive Breath, The Teacher, Aqualung are seminal rock songs that play on classic rock stations daily.  Jann Wenner and other Hall voters have dismissed Tull as an act not a band. Peter Gabriel and Genesis were very theatrical as was Yes.  They are all in the HOF. Tull frontman Ian Anderson is a cynic about the Hall and not shilling for votes. If you are uncertain in the upcoming midterms, cast your vote to JT into the Hall.  It might be a Write-In vote depending on your state.

Southside Leo and the Sox: The ethereal power of the Papacy continues to propel the Chicago White Sox toward a title.  Unfathomable after losing 100+ in three straight seasons, they are now five wins away from the World Series.  There is tall timber still cloaking their destiny, but legions of southside demons have been exorcised.