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By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Kobe Bryant has an answer for those who think he should request a trade from the Lakers. “I’ve heard the chatter that I should ask out and go to a contender for the last years of my career. But that’s not what I do. I’m extremely loyal to the Lakers.” The chatter began when the Lakers lost their first four games this season, the first time they’ve done that since the franchise moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis more than 50 years ago....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The new owners of the Dodgers arrived with a plan – outspend every opponent and win the World Series pretty often. They have produced a couple of highly competitive teams, but there’s been no World Series appearance yet while the Dodgers’ arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, just won their third World Series in the last five years. I think the Dodgers must revamp their plan. They have to continue spending a lot but don’t make the mistake again of spendin...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor He’s 19 years old, one of the most talented players the Lakers have and on the NBA season’s opening night Julius Randle broke his right leg. The Lakers figured to have a difficult season. Now it looks more difficult. Randle drove to the basket in the fourth quarter of a 108-90 loss to the Houston Rockets, his leg buckled and he grabbed it. Team doctors on the scene at Staples Center said Randle suffered a broken tibia and a six-month recovery would likely be req...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Steve Nash is one of the best point guards ever to play in the NBA. He's been MVP twice and ranks third all-time in assists. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Nash did his remarkable work before he signed here at the age of 38. In two Laker seasons he played in only 65 games, 50 the first year and 15 last season as he was unable to ward off a back injury. Last week the Lakers and Nash jointly announced he won't play this season. He didn't announce his retirement, pre...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Many NBA coaches experiment with new players and new on-court ideas during exhibition games. The theory is that in the eight practice games permitted to each team it's a good time to see what improvements might be made over last season. But not every coach feels that way. The purpose of this column is to point out the differences without deciding which plan is better. How each team performs over the upcoming 82-game schedule and the playoffs will provide the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor On the day Byron Scott became the new coach of the Lakers this summer three surprise guests attended the press conference. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Jamaal Wilkes were there to support their former teammate. "I was very surprised and deeply touched," Scott told me last Thursday night prior to the Lakers' exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors. "I didn't know they were coming to the press conference. It meant so much to me." Granted a solo...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When the Dodgers were quickly eliminated from the current playoffs it was likely a major change was coming. It was a matter of who would be replaced by new owners who expect their big spending to produce a World Series product – manager Don Mattingly or general manager Ned Colletti. The answer was revealed this week when Andrew Friedman was hired to be the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations. Colletti, after nine years as general manager, was relegated to...
It looked for awhile like there could be a Freeway World Series this season. So, how can we explain that neither the Dodgers nor the Angels made it out of their opening playoff series? Well, we can try. The Dodgers did what the Yankees did for many years – take advantage of the fact there is no salary cap in baseball, unlike the NBA which fines teams heavily who go far above the salary cap. With new ownership, the Dodgers collected the most expensive roster in baseball history but learned the h...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor During most of my lifetime the New York Yankees have been baseball’s biggest spenders and often had the best team. They piled up World Series championships but in some years they didn’t win in the best-of-seven final test. So I learned as we went along. It became clear to me that in baseball, where there is no salary cap, a team could virtually assure itself of being in the playoffs by accumulating the most talent for a 162-game season. But in a short series a t...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Angels clinched their division championship the fastest of any team this season. That’s the good news for Angel fans. The bad news is the team that clinches first seldom wins the World Series. As a columnist I’m expected to toss out opinions to help readers make their choices. But, being honest, I’m admitting that I don’t have a strong opinion on how the Angels are going to do, The Angels should be taken seriously because of their hitting. They’re a scary o...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor After many years of rumors about the National Football League returning to Los Angeles it’s easy to dismiss such talk now. But one of these years an NFL may move here, after all. NFL sources say the teams are paying more attention to Los Angeles now because they saw that $2 billion was paid by Steve Ballmer to buy the Clippers. The feeling is that if that kind of money is being poured into LA they’d be glad to get some of it. Three teams are believed to be at...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I never like to see anyone lose their job. If someone screws up I look for ways he or she can learn from a mistake. But this does not apply to Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens’ running back who’s been released from the team and banned from signing with another one in the National Football League, pending approval by the commissioner. It’s going to be a long time, perhaps never before Rice can play in the league again. After a video was released this week showi...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It’s been quite a start to USC’s football season. In the first game, before 76,000 in the Coliseum, new head coach Steve Sarkisian introduced a go-go offense that resulted in the Trojans running 105 plays, more than 20 more that they averaged last season as USC won, 52-13 In the second game, Stanford dominated play but had trouble getting into the end zone and USC won, 13-10. The drama occurred in the second half when Sarkisian was arguing with the officials and...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It’s very unusual for the commissioner of a professional sports league to admit he failed in making a major decision. But National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell did exactly that last week. “I didn’t get it right,” he admitted in reference to a mere two-game suspension for Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice in a domestic violence case. Obviously, Goodell was surprised by the harsh criticism he and the NFL received after Rice’s light sentence...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports editor The first weekend of the college football season brought a surprise to fans in Los Angeles. A heralded UCLA team looked ordinary in a 28-20 victory at Virginia, which had a 2-10 record last season. A troubled USC team, which had internal problems all week, trampled Fresno State, 52-13. UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, regarded as a Heisman Trophy candidate, struggled. In fact, UCLA had to rely on its defense for three touchdowns in the second quarter while the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When major league baseball added a second wild card team to this season’s playoffs I wasn’t sure this was a good idea. But I was wrong. With more teams in contention it’s been a bonanza for fans. Almost every division has interesting races. The one that intrigues me the most is the American League Central, where heavily favored Detroit has been receiving a major challenge from Kansas City. The Royals thought they were pretty good a couple of years ago but they we...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Doc Rivers has proven himself over the years, most recently as coach of the Boston Celtics and then the Clippers. Obviously, new Clippers owner Steve Ballmer appreciate having Rivers here. It was announced this week that Rivers has signed to remain with the Clippers until 2019. Ballmer has said he'll provide support for Rivers and his staff as the team, on the brink of reaching the NBA Finals the last couple of years attempts to reach that goal. "We're moving...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Now that the Clippers have a new owner, a proven outstanding coach and two of the NBA's best players they seem equipped for an outstanding season. Where does that leave the Lakers, who were targeting Kevin Love until he decided to sign a five-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers? The Lakers made a run at Carmelo Anthony this summer but were saving salary cap money for next summer's free a agent class, led by Love, the former UCLA star. They were counting...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Tyler Skaggs, the Angels’ 23-year-old starting pitcher, will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of this season and most likely all of next season. Skaggs has a 5-5 record and 4.30 earned run average. He was injured in a July 31 game and given the choice of surgery or a long rehabilitation process. “I want to get this taken care of so I’ll be ready for the 2016 season,” he said. Skaggs was a star at Santa Monica High and was the 40th selecti...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The San Antonio Spurs are not only NBA champions they have the reputation of frequently being a few steps ahead of opponents in a variety of ways. I admire the Spurs for adding someone to their roster every season, usually a relatively unknown player from Europe or a U.S. collegian who wasn’t an All-American. Frequently these players become key additions to support Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Mano Ginobli. So it didn’t surprise me when last week the Spurs bec...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When Pauley Pavilion was modernized two years go the UCLA basketball team played its home schedule primarily at the Sports Arena. Due to heavy flooding last week which included the Pauley Pavilion playing court being warped, the possibility existed the Bruins would again have to find an alternate site for the upcoming season. However, that isn't likely. UCLA officials have determined there's no structural damage to Pauley Pavilion due to the flooding. However,...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor With the college football season coming up, Lane Kiffin is my topic for the day. A brief resume: Kiffin has been head coach with the Oakland Raiders and with Tennessee and USC. The Trojans fired him last season after they got off to a slow start. Now Kiffin has become offensive co-ordinator at Alabama on Nick Saban's staff. "Considering everything I'm veryhappy to have this job before I reach 40," said Kiffin. "I thought this would be a great opportunity if it...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It’s not a lot of fun being hospitalized following surgery but idle time is available. My choice the last month was to focus on baseball, especially because the Dodgers and Angels are doing well. All opinions, of course, come from someone watching on television, listening to radio rather than being at the games along with getting information from colleagues on the phone. Nobody in either the National or American League Is running away from the field. Parity is t...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Byron Scott said Tuesday the Lakers' organization is all about winning championships. The former backcourt partner of Magic Johnson has become the Lakers' head coach But don't expect a championship in the upcoming season. There are too many better teams in the NBA right now. What fans should expect is a far better Laker team than last season and, at best, a chance of making the playoffs. There was very little defense last season when Mike D'Antoni was the coach....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor As Donald Sterling prepares for a lawsuit against the NBA that could last for many years he has dismissed his longtime council and chosen an old ally. The firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips is out. Veteran anti-trust lawyer Maxwell Blecher is in. Sterling is 80. Blecher is 81. Blecher last represented Sterling when he moved the Clippers from San Diego to Los Angeles in 1984. Blecher sent a letter to the NBA last week that said Sterling will not pay the $2.5...
