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By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Dave Roberts, welcome to the Dodgers and you’d better win a World Series during the next three years. That is plainly what the new Dodger management expects from their manager who has agreed to a three-year contract. After all, Don Mattingly’s Dodgers won a division championship three straight seasons and had a winning record in all of his five years and then was replaced. No World Series win, you see. Rumors began Sunday and the Dodgers officially announced the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor A new season, a new general manager, new hopes. That’s what was behind the Angels’ surprising trade last weekend which resulted in the acquisition of Andrelton Simmons, one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. The Angels traded Erick Aybar, a fixture on their team since 2008, and also gave their two best pitching prospects to the Atlanta Braves. Why are they getting only one player and giving up three? Well, there’s an important reason. Simmons is signe...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It's rare that an NBA game so early in the season would attract the attention this one did. But I decided to devote my entire column to the Clippers' 112-108 loss to the defending champions on November 4 after digesting all the facts from that contest in Oakland. The Clippers have a reputation of getting close but not quite close enough. They've never won an NBA championship but I believe they're creeping up toward the possibility that they could get one while...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The reason Culver City High is suddenly close to becoming the 2015 Ocean League football champion is that Lawndale High has forfeited four victories, including league wins over Culver City and Santa Monica. Coupled with Culver’s victory over Hawthorne last Friday the Centaurs prevail in tiebreakers. With a win over Beverly Hills this Friday Culver would become the champion and most likely would receive a first round playoff home game. The South Bay Daily B...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor This is Los Angeles. The Lakers have won 16 NBA championships. The Dodgers haven’t won a World Series since 1988 but they’ve won their division the last three years. LA fans expect quality. And why not? Our teams can afford what it takes to produce winners. But what’s happening now can’t be happening. Can it? The Dodgers have new owners who had the highest payroll in baseball history in the just-concluded season. But the team wasn’t real good. There were obvi...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor We all know about the Clippers' history. They took a back seat to the Lakers for so many years. The Donald Sterling era was forgettable. But in the last few years they've become better than the Lakers. They hired Doc Rivers, a coach who has won an NBA championship. With Steve Ballmer, an energetic owner, they were a threat to go all the way last season but collapsed horribly in Game 6 of their second round series against Houston. Same old Clippers. That was the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Lakers’ annual goal used to be winning the NBA championship. They succeed 16 times to become one of the elite franchises in league history. That was then and this is now, The Lakers haven’t won a playoff game (not a championship but one game) in the last three seasons. They were swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs, then didn’t qualify, then didn’t qualify again last season when they had a franchise low of 21 wins and 67 losses. Here we go again. The...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor So the Dodgers didn't reach the World Series and speculation immediately mounted that Don Mattingly would be fired. What about the new guys in charge who ripped apart a roster that won 94 games last season? I'd place a lot of blame on them. New ownership came to the Dodgers willing to spend heavily in contrast to former owner Frank McCourt. But spending isn't enough if you don't spend wisely. The Dodgers' 2015 payroll was the highest in major league baseball...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor As the athletic director at USC Pat Haden was giving Stave Sarkisian every opportunity to solve his drinking problem. Was he being a good boss? Or was he ignoring the long-range problems that could result from keeping Sarkisian longer? When Sarkisian didn’t attend a practice last week, apparently from an alcohol binge, and then fired him, it appears that Haden gambled and lost. This was the second time this season that Sarkisian had embarrassed the university b...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor At the start of another Laker season General Manager Mitch Kupchak told the media last week this would be a season of laying a foundation. “Every season the Lakers have hopes of winning a championship,” Kupchak began. “But realistacly we’re developing DeAngelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson this season. Then, hopefully we’ll add free agents next season.” The plan is to build up to being a championship contender. But when? Kupchak’s speech was ho...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I’ve gone through most of the baseball season believing the Dodgers have too many question marks to win the World Series. Too many players coming and going throughout the season, Two great starting pitchers but no other one on the elite level. What if Kershaw or Grienke lose a playoff game? I think it’s unlikely any other starter could get them through several very important games against quality opponents. But lately I’ve seen two likely division winners falte...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Before another NBA season begins soon let’s pause and honor two great players who helped make the league what it is today. Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone died in the last few weeks. Both were giants who possessed extraordinary basketball ability. “Moses Malone was a fierce and noble competitor. He will always be linked with Laker playoff history” was a statement from the Buss family. “The NBA lost a giant and I lost a true friend,” said Clippers coach Doc River...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Everyone knew UCLA had a premier quarterback recruit in Josh Rosen. He’s 6-foot-4 with a very strong arm and he threw 100 touchdown passes at St. John Bosco High in Bellflower. But he’s also a freshman and Coach Jim Mora Jr. hadn’t announced who would start Saturday’s opening game against Virginia Tech. Maybe Rosen, maybe the more experienced Jerry Neuheisel. There’s no doubt now who’ll start the second game and a whole lot more. To say Rosen was sensational...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When I was 28 I was assigned to the Laker beat at the L.A. Herald-Examiner by sports editor Bud Furillo. I was thrilled but I had no idea what was in store for me. Not only did I fly on the team plane where I got to know Chick Hearn very well but I occasionally filled in for the regular Dodger beat writer in the summer and that got me into the world of Vin Scully. This week Scully revealed he’s going to broadcast Dodger games again next season, his 68th year in t...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Cody Kessler compiled impressive statistics last season as the USC quarterback. Impressive enough that you’d think NFL teams would want him. But the NFL was only lukewarm on Kessler. Maybe he wasn’t tall enough. Maybe they found faults. For whatever reason Kessler didn’t declare for the NFL draft and returned to USC for his senior season where’s he’s regarded as a candidate to win the Heisman trophy. That alone gives the Trojans reason to be optimistic about the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When Brett Hundley enrolled at UCLA three football seasons ago he was walking on campus when a coed called out “here comes the savior.” The incoming freshman seemed humbled as he said “I’m not the savior. I’m just trying to find my way here.” In three seasons, however, Hundley did appear to be a savior. In each season UCLA beat USC, reversing a trend that lasted a decade. Hundley then said he had accomplished what he could in Westwood and entered the NFL draft a...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Realizing they're in a torrid stretch drive to complete the 2015 season, the Dodgers traded for second baseman Chase Utley on Wednesday. The 36-year-old Utley has been a longtime star player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He hadn't been productive earlier this season but has been outstanding recently after recovering from an ankle injury. He's had 15 hits in 31 at bats. He has $6 million remaining on his 2015 contract but the Phillies are going to pay $4 million...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor In a few months Kobe Bryant will begin the 20th season of his remarkable Laker career. Next season he won’t have a contract. So what does he do? There are four ways he can go – retire, sign another Laker contract, play in a foreign country or sign with another NBA team. Piecing together information I’ve received from numerous sources, I’m ruling out that he’ll cash in as a free agent and play for another NBA team. The NBA salary cap is soaring and even though Ko...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor As a baseball season goes along players often grow together as a unit. A team can flourish as individuals learn each other’s skills and weaknesses. I’m reminded of the Dodgers’ infield of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey which was together for a decade. My, how things have changed. The Dodgers completed a complicated three-team trade the other day and as I tried to figure it out I got a headache. The Dodgers have four new pitchers and some...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The last time I wrote about the Angels I realized they weren’t playing well but said it was too early to count them out. Since then they’ve made a dramatic bid for a successful season. They cruised through July and are in a position to win their division or finish second and qualify for a wild card playoff berth. But Tuesday night I watched on television as they lost to the Houston Astros, 10-5. On the post game show Mike Scioscia was interviewed and he did...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Clippers had a humiliating end to their recently completed season when their second unit couldn’t contribute enough to succeed at the most crucial time in the playoffs. Fatigue was a factor as the Clippers lost a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter of a Game 6 loss to the Houston Rockets at Staples center. The Clippers then lost Game 7 in Houston and could only wonder what might have been. The Clippers set out to improve their depth in recent weeks as o...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor DeAndre Jordan was lured to a contract agreement with the Dallas Mavericks by the team’s aggressive recruiting during the NBA’s free agent signing period. However, the contract couldn’t become legal until July 9 via league rules. Then the fun began. Jordan had second thoughts. He was at his home in Houston when he called teammate and close friend Blake Griffin and shared his concerns. Griffin suggested that Jordan should call Coach Doc Rivers. With a chanc...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor A sports columnist usually takes a stand on issues. The hope is the column will be read and whether or not the readers agree with the point they’ll have something to think about. As sports editor of the Observer I encourage my columnists to present their opinions too. We try to give readers an opinion they probably won’t get in our rival papers. But today it’s different. In doing research for this column in the last few days I realized I don’t feel strong...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Well, here’s a most unusual story to begin the 2015 college football season. Hip hop music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, the father of UCLA defensive back Justin Combs, was arrested by UCLA police and charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon (a kettlebeck) and one count of making terrorist threats Monday following a confrontation with Bruin assistant coach Sal Alosi. A kettlebeck is a piece of weightlifting equipment. It has a handle with a sharp...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When I realized the deadline for this week’s paper was Wednesday and the NBA draft was Thursday I was quite disappointed. I wouldn’t be able to comment on the Lakers’ selection until the following week. Then I had an idea. There had been so much interest, so many conflicting rumors in what the Lakers were going to do that there would be considerable reader interest in a description of this process. So. Hopefully, I was right and you’ll read on, At the beginni...
