Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 522
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Last week at the NBA trading deadline the Clippers acquired 6-foot-9 forward Jeff Green from Memphis. It is being viewed as a trade that will help the Clippers because they’re finally replacing Matt Barnes, who they sent away at the start of the season. I’ve written that the Clippers made a mistake in trading Barnes because he was both a reliable shooter from the corner and a tenacious defender. When opponents concentrated their defense on Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Barnes would go to one...
The Super Bowl is over. The NBA took a mid-season break. Baseball is on my mind today. Spring training has begun and my memories are vivid of the 12 times I went to Dodgertown in Vero Beach to cover the start of another season, It’s a great time of the year because of the optimism it creates. No team has lost a game yet.. They all think they won’t lose many. A sportswriter loves an opportunity like this where players are open to be interviewed. They’re not grumpy like many are during the seaso...
Right after the Carolina Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 last Sunday the quarterbacks met on the field. “I know how hard this is,” Payton Manning told Cam Newton. “I’ve been the losing quarterback in a Super Bowl.” Manning said something else about fulfilling obligations after the game before a large group of media members. Newton didn’t get the message. He was asked 16 questions while on stage for a session that would be seen all over the world. He gave six questions a...
As the Clippers ponder their decision about Blake Griffin they have to take into account the franchise’s history. They cannot escape the reality that there’s been a lot of trouble in the past when Donald Sterling was the owner. It’s always something with the Clippers, or so it seems. Sterling would refuse to honor contracts of coaches he’d fired. A lot of time was spent in court. A new era began with wealthy new owner Steve Ballmer and a coach, Doc Rivers, who had an NBA championship on his res...
It has been reported that Clippers forward Blake Griffin suffered a broken hand from punching a member of the team's training staff in a restaurant in Toronto on the team's current trip. The following is a joint statement from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Doc Rivers: L.A. Clippers forward Blake Griffin suffered a spiral fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand throwing a punch on Jan. 23 in Toronto. This conduct has no place in...
For at least 15 years I tried to ignore rumors about the National Football League coming back to Los Angeles. We’re busy here at the Observer Newspapers. We don’t have time or newspaper space for rumors. With Culver City High sports coverage, the NBA, the Dodgers, UCLA and USC and a little hockey we’re not inclined to spread gossip about something that may or may not happen. But last week something did happen. The Rams have left St. Louis. They’ll play the next two seasons in the Coliseum and th...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Have you ever had a close relative or a favorite neighbor who broke your heart by moving to another city? And then came back for a joyous reunion? Los Angeles football fans know the feeling. The Los Angeles Rams, formerly of the LA Coliseum and Anaheim Stadium, were granted permission to leave St. Louis and return here Tuesday by a 30-2 vote of National Football League owners. In addition, the San Diego Chargers, who also began in Los Angeles, were given the opti...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Clippers have earned a reputation for being a talented team that can’t close out games. They blew a 19-point second half lead in their second round playoff series last season against the Houston Rockets, lost the game and then failed to reach the Western Conference Finals. They lost two close games to the defending champion Golden State Warriors this season after coming close to a victory both times. In a game at Staples Center they were 20 points ahead. T...
By Mitch Chortkoff It's not a pleasant subject among NBA folks. But it can't be ignored. Teams hopelessly out of playoff contention can benefit from falling even further behind because the lower they go the better odds they'll have for the annual draft lottery. The Lakers are one of those teams. So some fans cringed among those who cheered when the Lakers went on a three=game winning streak in the last week. Included was a rout of a struggling Phoenix team which was held to only 22 points in the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor This could be it. Or maybe not. Well, they’re saying it is going to happen. So perhaps. I’m writing about the possibility that on January 12 we’re going to find out if there’ll be a National Football League team or two in Los Angeles next season. That’s the day a meeting of NFL owners is planned and various sources say a vote will be taken on the Los Angeles matter. If we’re to believe what’s being speculated a team receiving the proper number of votes will have...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Basketball fans admired Jerry West when he was in his 20s and 30s. First, he and Elgin Baylor were superstars who introduced the NBA to Los Angeles. Then in 1972 he and Wilt Chamberlain led Coach Bill Sharman's Lakers on a 33-game winning streak, which has never been equaled, and then the NBA championship. Finally, West became the Lakers' general manager and presided over six more championship years. He made the most spectacular front office decision in Laker...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It was 1996 and I was in Honolulu covering the Lakers' training camp. It was an especially important one because General Manager Jerry West had made a spectacular move which resulted in the acquisition of rookie guard Kobe Bryant and center Shaquille O'Neal. In the first few days of the camp I found O'Neal to be outgoing, easy to interview, establishing the foundation for a friendship we have to this day. Bryant, who had been a high school phenom with no college...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Pete Rose’s appeal for reinstatement was denied by new baseball commissioner Rob Manfred last Monday. Rose, 74, hoped for the opposite result. But it’s time for him to realize any commissioner would reject a future appeal because the truth is Rose has only himself to blame for being banned. Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 that prevented him from working for a major league team or its minor league affiliates. But for 15 years he denied that he gambled on...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Dodgers, who have lost out on David Price and Zach Greinke, would like to add 23-year-old Jose Fernandez to their starting pitching rotation. The trouble is there’s strong competition. The Miami Marlins say Fernandez isn’t available but they’ve listened to offers from the Dodgers, Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros. Fernandez is a quality pitcher who would replace Greinke as the Dodgers’ Number Two starter behind Clayton Kershaw. The most in...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Kobe Bryant and Luke Walton were teammates on the Lakers for nine years. Bryant says he's not surprised that Walton has done so well this season filling in for Steve Kerr as coach of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Bryant saw Walton's potential many years ago. "I often told him you're the next Phil," said Bryant, who of course was comparing his teammate to their then-Laker coach, Phil Jackson. "You were both average players with a messed-up back."...
