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When the Clippers lost to the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday night in Staples Center they became one defeat away from having their once-promising season come to an end. Trailing three games to two in the best-of-seven first round NBA playoff series the Clippers needed to win both remaining games. The deadline has arrived for this week’s Observer. Whether or not the Clippers were eliminated will be reported in next week’s paper. After Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were injured in Game 4 Mon...
Gregg Popovich has coached the San Antonio Spurs for 18 years and the Spurs have made the playoffs every year. RC Buford is the general manager. Buford and Popovich work extremely well together. They annually bring in another good player to support their longtime stars. This is a model franchise. The Lakers used to be a model franchise. They won the NBA championship 16 times. Players left other teams to join them. This was a prized destination. But today we see that three coaches have been...
"With the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft the Los Angeles Rams select Jared Goff, quarterback, California," announced National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell today. The Rams are banking on Goff to be the face of the franchise for the next decade. The team traded away six draft choices to the Tennessee Titans two weeks ago to move from the #15 pick up to the top spot in this year's draft. Goff in an ESPN interview immediately following the announcement: "It was well worth the wait....
When I wrote Anatomy Of A Disaster four years ago I had no intention of repeating it the next season. But readers were so fed up with the Lakers’ demise they requested it. Then we had last season, 21 wins and 61 losses, the worst record in the franchise’s history. And now this. Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse it did. The Lakers lost for the 62nd time last week, climaxing their worst season in the franchise’s 68-year existence. It was also their 11th straight loss to the Clipper...
Life in a Dodger baseball uniform for Maury Wills came full circle a few weeks ago when the Los Angeles Dodgers broke from Spring Training camp at their Camelback Ranch-Glendale facility in Phoenix for the 2016 Major League Baseball season. "I've been in the game for many years now. It's time that I play a little golf and enjoy quality time with my wife Carla. That says it all," said Wills who recently made an announcement that this was to be his last spring training as the Dodgers bunting...
It was well worth the wait. The 2016 NFL Draft officially ended today, April 30, with the Los Angeles Rams selecting six players over the past three days of the proceedings. The Rams' six picks occurred in only three rounds of the entire draft: Round 1 (#1): Jared Goff, quarterback, California Round 4 (#110): Tyler Higby, tight end, Western Kentucky Round 4 (#119): Pharoh Cooper, wide receiver, South Carolina Round 6 (#177): Temarrick Hemingway, tight end, South Carolina State Round 6 (#190):...
The 2016 Culver City High baseball team is off to a 2-0 start in Ocean League action by sweeping Lawndale High in the season opening home-and-away series, 10-1 and 3-1. The Centaurs continued their modest four-game winning streak at high noon on Saturday, April 16 when the Centaurs took care of the visiting Salesian High Mustangs from Los Angeles, 8-2. The pitching staff has been dead-on all season. They have yet to yield more than two runs in any game throwing at home. They have only given up...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor After the Clippers won their first two playoff games this week Chris Paul had his mind on what happened in last season's playoffs. "Considering how last season ended for us there's a sense of urgency now," he replied. The Clippers won home games from the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday and Wednesday. They'll play Games 3 and 4 in the first round playoff series Saturday and Monday nights in Portland. The Clippers were granted two home playoff games because they...
The Los Angeles Rams 2.0 wasted little time in striking an impression upon its Southern California fanbase and beyond by trading with the Tennessee Titans for the National Football League's 2016 overall No. 1 draft pick today. The Rams relinquished their #15 first-round pick, two second-round picks (#43 and #45) and a third-round (#76) pick from this year's draft as well as their third-round pick in 2017 for the rights to the NFL's top pick. The projection is that the Rams will select one of...
I went to Staples Center Sunday to see a basketball game. Instead, I saw a workout. Blake Griffin was returning to the Clippers after missing 45 games due to a broken hand, a torn quadriceps and a four-game suspension. He was in the starting lineup but as the game progressed I realized he wasn’t going to be featured in the Clippers’ offense. He was beginning to get back in shape by running up and down the court, making careful passes and only occasionally taking a shot. He took only seven sho...
There’s no doubt that Yasiel Puig has a lot of baseball talent. But he’s been so erratic with the Dodgers that he’s inspired opinions from columnists and fans that he should be traded. But what’s this? A new Puig as the 2016 season begins? It looks that way. In spring training we learned that Puig had contacted a trainer who used to help him out. Puig was eating right and wanted the guy to help him again. And that happened. Then there was Puig taking baseball seriously, cutting down on the mad...
Many UCLA basketball fans are so eager to see Coach Steve Alford fired that they signed a petition requesting that. It’s pretty shocking how UCLA recently finished its season, finishing 10th in the Pac 12 Conference and failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament it used to dominate. But Bruin Athletic Director Dan Guerrero remembers that UCLA fired Ben Howland in 2013 after a poor season following three Final Four appearances. And he’s taking a cautious approach. “We’re not about creatin...
A cool but stiff early afternoon breeze blew across the baseball field at Culver City High on Monday, March 28. The home team Centaurs had just lost another bitter low-scoring affair, this time 2-1 to St. Francis High in a third round game of the Anaheim Lions Tournament. Two days earlier a warm but windy early afternoon at Valencia High treated the Culver City nine in a similar fashion. The team suffered a 3-1 defeat to the highly ranked Vikings in the second round tournament game. The Centaurs...
Casino Night 2016 lived up to its billing as Culver City's most fun event of the year. Hundreds of citizens, parents, faculty, staff and administrators supporting Culver City High athletics enjoyed the annual fundraising affair Las Vegas style at Veterans Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, March 19. The action was hot as the blackjack tables, roulette wheels, crap tables, slot machines and a coaches' wheel of fortune entertained a lively decked-out crowd as they feasted on delicious food, drinks...
"We knew we gave it 100%. We hustled, played good defense, had good pitching but we just didn't manufacture any runs," said four-year Culver City High varsity baseball starter Mike Netzel after his team suffered a 1-0 biting loss at home to rival Mira Costa High on Friday, March 18. "We know Mira Costa has a very good team. We were very excited to face them. We just didn't come out on top. We had our opportunities. We made some base running mistakes, had runners in scoring position but just...
Last season the Dodgers had the highest player payroll in baseball history-- $291 million. They didn’t reach the World Series and now there is evidence that the Dodgers have adopted a new strategy. They didn’t bid high enough to keep Zach Greinke, a free agent they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks or other high profile pitchers. Free agent Johnny Cueto went to the rival San Francisco Giants. The Boston Red Sox signed David Price. Meanwhile the Dodgers have been investing millions of dollars in...
Jered Weaver is one of the Angels’ biggest stars and most valuable players. But he’s having a major problem in spring training. Weaver, who won 18 games in 2014, is throwing only 79 mph these days because of neck pain and a new problem, a spine injury. He says doctors haven’t found the cause of the spine trouble. But is Weaver going to remain one of the Angels’ best starting pitchers? Will he be able to be real effective without a quality fastball? The regular season is only a few weeks away. A...
Home field advantage Centaur-style is the order of things so far for Culver City High baseball 2016. Flashing classic home white uniforms with 'Centaurs' splashed in blue cursive across their chests, the boys have yet to yield a run in all three games played at Centaur Field this season. Their latest victim: Garfield High as Culver shut them out 9-0 on Saturday, March 12 before a very lively home crowd that included a number of professional baseball scouts. Centaur right-handed ace Nolan...
Laker broadcaster John Ireland is a friend of mine. He now does the work I used to do – travel all season with the Lakers and form strong opinions about their play. He broadcasts and I write, but both of us have had first-hand knowledge of Laker happenings over the years. The other day I listened to ESPN radio’s morning shows and was intrigued by what I was hearing. Coach Byron Scott reacted when DeAngelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson got off to very slow starts in an eventual homecourt loss to...
The Culver City High baseball team began the 2016 season in fine fashion by winning consecutive shutouts at home. The Centaurs beat Marshall High 11-0 in their home opener on Saturday, February 27. Three days later they took care of Roosevelt High 4-0. Nolan Martinez started and pitched four solid innings against Marshall. He struck out the first seven batters, nine in the first three innings and allowed only one hit, a double in the fourth inning. Max Sterner pitched two scoreless innings in...
In a shocking development, Dexter Fowler showed up at the Chicago Cubs training base last week ready to play. It was shocking because Fowler, an outfielder who was with the Cubs last season, turned down their original offer and became a free agent. Following serious negotiations with the Baltimore Orioles he decided to return to the Cubs for less money. The next day the Cubs signed veteran outfielder Shane Victorino to a minor league contract, meaning he’ll be available to join the Cubs s...
How about Payton Manning playing quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams next season? What? Isn’t the 39-year-old Manning going to retire? Maybe. Maybe not. If you read this column regularly you probably realize my best sports are basketball, baseball and sometimes college football. I don’t pretend to claim I’m an expert on pro football. But since the Rams have moved to LA from St. Louis I’m paying attention to what NFL experts who I know in other cities are saying and writing. It so happens...
The 2015-16 Culver City High girls basketball season ended at Redondo Union High in the 3rd Round of the 2016 CIF Division 1AA Playoffs as the Centaurs lost 71-30 to the perennially ranked Sea Hawks on Wednesday, February 24. The Centaur girls were overwhelmed by Redondo's tight defense and well-balanced offense from the opening tipoff. Culver kept the contest close for the first eight minutes of the game as Kailey Tooke scored six of the team's seven first quarter points. Eight minutes later...
In a shocking development, Dexter Fowler showed up at the Chicago Cubs training base last week ready to play. It was shocking because Fowler, an outfielder who was with the Cubs last season, turned down their original offer and became a free agent. Following serious negotiations with the Baltimore Orioles he decided to return to the Cubs for less money. The next day the Cubs signed veteran outfielder Shane Victorino to a minor league contract, meaning he’ll be available to join the Cubs s...
The No. 14 UCLA women's basketball team will play their final two home games of the regular season this weekend when they host Arizona on Friday at 8 p.m. and No. 9 Arizona State on Sunday at 11 a.m. Both games will be played inside Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus. The lady Bruins are 20-7 overall and 12-4 in the Pac-12. If they expect to stay in the top bracket of the Pac-12 and get a high seed in the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament they need to win one of the two games against the Arizona...
