What a difference 10 months makes!!!! Back in July of 2012 the city of Los Angeles seemed to be destined to be the sports capital of America. The Kings had just won the Stanley Cup, the Galaxy had won the MLS Cup, the USC Trojans were the pre-season #1 team with the top contender for the Heisman Trophy in tow, UCLA had the #1 recruiting class in the land, the Lakers added Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to form a Hall of Fame type line-up, the Clippers with the additions of Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups were now the deepest team in the NBA, the Angels got the coup of the off-season by landing Josh Hamilton to go with Albert Pujols, Mike Trout & Mark Trumbo and the Dodgers new ownership landed Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford via trade and scooped up the best pitcher on the Free Agent market in Zack Grienke. It looked like 2013 was going to be that Championship Season for the entire city.
Then the reality clouds rolled in like fog over the San Francisco Bay, and what looked like the reality of a phenomenal year in LA sports, turned out to be as fake as a Kardashian wedding.
In that short span of time, the Kings have maintained their high level of play, making past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Galaxy have been middling about, and sit in 4th place in the Western Conference of the MLS. Other than that, the LA sports scene has become an unmitigated disaster.
USC ended up being severely over ranked. They finished with a meager 7-6 record, good for second in the Pac-12 South. Their Heisman candidate Matt Barkley had his worst season in all 4 years he spent at USC, and ended up being a 4th round draft pick of the Eagles.
UCLA hoops did not fare much better. Yes, they won the Pac-12 regular season title, but they lost in the Pac-12 Tournament to Oregon, and then were upset by 11th seeded Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament. Since then, Coach Ben Howland has been fired; Steve Alford has taken over the program. Last year’s top recruit Shabazz Muhammed , has decided to forgo playing another year in Westwood and is headed to the NBA.
While the Clippers did have their best regular season in team history, they once again fizzled out in the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Memphis Grizzlies. Now Chris Paul faces free agency, Vinny Del Negro faces job uncertainty and the Clippers may end up being the Clippers again. This is really sad considering how good it was looking for them just a couple of months ago.
Sadly, those are the most uplifting stories in the LA Sports scene. The three most important and recognizable franchises in the City of Angels, the Lakers, Dodgers and Angels, are all in much worse positions. Which is really saying something considering their outlook heading into their respective seasons?
Let’s start with the horror that was the Lakers season. First they targeted the fact that they needed to upgrade at point guard and went out and got future Hall of Famer Steve Nash from the Suns. Then they made an even bigger splash with the steal of a deal for Dwight Howard (giving up thuggish Andrew Bynum, who didn’t play one minute this year), and it looked the Lakers were set.
But they didn’t stop there. They added some bench firepower as well, which was one of their weak spots the previous year, by adding Antwain Jamison and sharp shooter Jody Meeks.
It looked like the team was set to challenge the Thunder and the Heat for NBA supremacy. Sometimes however, looks can be deceiving.
The season started out on a horrid note when the team went winless in the pre-season. Then, believe it or not, it got worse. They lost 4 out of their first 5 games and fired head coach Mike Brown. What happened next was a microcosm for the entire season.
Everyone in Lakerland wanted Phil Jackson back as coach, and it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that P-Jax was going to be the man. Even HE thought he was coming back to roam the baseline. But apparently Jim Buss, who took over control of the team from his brilliant father (Dr. Jerry Buss, may he RIP), wanted to prove he was his own man and threw everyone a curveball by hiring Mike D’Antoni.
Now don’t get me wrong, D’Antoni is a very good coach, but he has to have a young athletic team filled with great outside shooters to run his system, and that is something this Laker team is not. But against all conventional wisdom, Buss signed D’Antoni to a 3-Year $12 million deal.
As you can imagine, his tenure got off to a very rough start. It took until after the All-Star break for the Lakers to start playing like a winning team, and it took a great run at the end of the season to sneak into the playoffs as the 7th seed.
There is one small caveat to all this. It is not all on D’Antoni as at one point or another during the season, the top 6 players in the Lakers rotation (Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and Steve Blake), all missed significant time with injuries.
But even in the few games where the entire team was healthy, they just didn’t gel the way a team of this talent should have. In the end, they got swept out of the first round of the playoffs and now have even more questions.
Will Dwight Howard re-sign or bolt as a free agent? Can Kobe come back from a torn Achilles tendon? Is Pau Gasol going to be traded?
Firing D’Antoni and doing what they should have done to begin with, hiring Phil Jackson, would a great step in the right direction. But a team that has over a $100 million payroll, is well over the Luxury tax, has no draft picks and no prospects, is not going to pay TWO coaches (Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni) not to coach, while paying Phil all the money he is worth. It is going to be a long road back for one of the NBA’s crown jewel franchises.
If, as an LA sports fan, you think turning to baseball can make it all ok, you may have to think again. We start in Anaheim, where the 2012 version of the Angels were already a disappointment. After all, in the 2011 off-season, Arte Moreno shelled out BIG BUCKS to land Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson to make a run at the Rangers.
When the 2012 version of the team got off to a slow start, Mike Trout was called up from Triple A, and the Angels took off. But alas, it was too little too late and they just barely missed the playoffs.
So the Angels opened up the checkbook again, and added Hamilton to give them, at least on paper, one of the most dangerous line-ups since the Big Red Machine. Of course, games aren’t played on paper, and the 2013 version of the Angels is discovering that good pitching will stop good hitting most of the time.
Add in the glaring weakness the Angels have in their own rotation (I’m sorry, but Joe Blanton & Tommy Hanson can NOT be relied upon as starters), plus an injury to the one guy they could least afford to lose (Jered Weaver), and the Angels are off to a WORSE start this season than they were last. Sadly, this year there is no Mike Trout in Triple A to come to the rescue.
The worst part of it all is that Mike Scioscia may end up being the fall guy for the Angels shortcomings. Not only is he one of the best managers in the bigs, but all you have to do is look at his coaching tree to see what kind of success he is. Joe Maddon, Bud Black and Ron Roenicke have all found success running their own teams.
I will state for the record that if things don’t get better for both the Angels and Dodgers (who I will get to in a minute), Scioscia may just move about 26 miles up I-5 and end up managing the OTHER LA team. But that is a debate for another day.
Now onto the LAST of the LA teams, the Dodgers. Going into the 2012 season, Frank McBankrupt still owned the team, and there were doubts as to what was going to happen to studs like Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp.
But then wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, Guggenheim Baseball Management (led by Mark Walter, Stan Kasten & Magic Johnson) spent a record $2 Billion (that’s with a B), to buy the Dodgers and try to return them to the glory they so richly deserve.
They acted quickly once they bought the team, locking up Matt Kemp for 8 years, trading for Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. Then in the off-season they made a huge splash by signing Korean import Hyun-Jin Ryu and the top free agent pitcher Zack Grienke.
It looked like the Dodgers were going to be the team to beat. After all, they had all the pieces in place and the new ownership group showed they are not afraid to spend, and more importantly, they aren’t afraid to spend wisely.
But like the Lakers and Angels before them, things have not gone according to plan. As of this writing, the Dodgers sit in last place in NL West and playing less than .500 ball. Much like their Southern California brethren, they have failed to meet any and all expectations.
I am not sure what the city of Los Angeles did to piss off the Sports Gods, but they are exacting their revenge on the second largest city in the country.
Who knows, maybe 2014 will be better, but for now it appears that 2013 it really is Lost Angeles.

1948 in St Moritz Switzerland and 1952 in Oslo Norway saw history being made as Figure Skater Dick Button became the first man ever to win back-to-back Gold Medals in men’s skating. It was also the LAST time any man won back-to-back Golds in figure skating.
Well move over Dick, because in 2014 in Sochi, Russia Evan Lysacek has his eyes on repeating the feat that happened more than 60 years ago. With the grit, determination, preparation and ability Lysacek has, there is no reason to believe he will not be able to match Button.
Evan told me (as the modest man that he is), that he realizes he is not the most talented skater on the ice, but no-one is more dedicated to his craft or will outwork him to get to the top.
You would think that winning one Gold and being at the very pinnacle would be enough. But as Evan so eloquently put it to me, “When a team wins the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup do they just stop trying to win and retire? Why should figure skaters be any different?”
When you consider all that Evan has been through, nobody could blame him for taking the Olympics off. He recently underwent surgery to repair his abductor muscle and two torn AB muscles. After going through the excruciating rehab, he was finally able to go back to a full training slate, and he does with everything, is going at it with full gusto.
His training regimen is not for the faint of heart. It is not like he gets up in the morning and is done by 11am or anything. His training starts at 5:30 am and doesn’t finish until 7:00 pm. He barely has enough energy to eat dinner before going to bed and doing it all over again.
His training includes the equivalent of more than 26 miles a day, add that to all the torque he puts on his body from jumping and landing on a thin skate blade (the jump is the same torque as carrying a sofa on your back and the landing is the same torque as carrying a refrigerator on your back), and it is just grueling.
But it is that very regimented lifestyle that brought Evan back to the sport. He loves putting in all the work and the structure that it takes to be at the top of his sport.
It was winning the gold in Vancouver that he realized that the sport was bigger than just him and his dream. When he noticed that all the eyes in the stadium were not on him, but on the American flag being raised up behind him, it gave him a totally different perspective of what it meant to be the Gold Medalist. It gave him a tremendous pride in country that even he didn’t realize he had.
Sure, his work with former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton as the sports envoy for the State Department could have fulfilled his civic duty. Evan was a huge part of the envoy that Mrs. Clinton so desperately wanted funding for.
But Evan had that yearning to get back on the ice, to get regimented, to get back into competing shape and go for Dick Button’s record.
Evan knows it will not be easy. Although there are really no rivals in this sport, he knows the media and the fans will make a big deal about the “rematch” with the great Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko. The most interesting thing about this “rematch” is that in 2010 in Vancouver, for all intents and purposes it was Evan’s home ice. This time around in Sochi, it is Plushenko’s home ice.
But in Evan’s mind the rivalry isn’t with the great Plushenko per say, but with himself. Knowing he needs to do everything he can to get ready to make his run at history.
He does have more chances this year as well, as they have added a team skating event, which by the way, will be the FIRST event of the Winter Olympics. It is a lot like the team gymnastics in the Summer Games, but the events are in the 4 disciplines of skating, Female Singles, Male Singles, Pair Skating and Ice Dancing. The scores will all be added up and the team with the most points wins. Simple as that.
Even though on the ice, Evan is by himself, he is far from alone. He works with an amazing team who do everything from design his costume, to choreograph his routine to deciding on which music he will skate to.
Evan does have a say in all of those aspects, but he has such faith in his amazing team, that he very rarely if ever vetoes what they decide for him.
If you don’t think those are important aspects, think of it as this way. Evan told me that the music choice itself is so very important because you need to have a piece that can lift you up when you’re in the second half of your routine, which is when your legs feel as heavy as lead weights.
But don’t think for a second that Evan’s life is ONLY about the Olympics. While his training for the 2014 games is all consuming right now, he is also very charitable with his time. He is very involved with the Ronald McDonald House where he sits on the celebrity board of directors.
He also very proud of the fact that he works with Figure Skating in Harlem, which takes at risk girls and gives them a safe, disciplined place to learn and grow, with the physical education being skating of course. According to Evan, the most rewarding part of the charity is seeing these girls with seemingly no future, enter the program and work to get into college and make something of themselves.
As if all that isn’t enough, Evan is also working with the prestigious Knopf Publishing on writing his Autobiography. This is going to be a very real look at Evan’s life and what it really takes to be at the top of the Figure Skating world. It won’t be salacious with many sordid details, just an honest look at what his life is like. I for one can’t wait to read it and find out just how difficult it is to do what Evan does.
Just speaking with Evan for the few minutes I did, I could tell that he is one of the most dedicated, prepared and hardworking people in the sport. Evan admits that there is some luck involved of course, but you really do make your own luck. After all, luck is where preparation meets opportunity. No matter what happens, you better believe that NO ONE will be more prepared for Sochi than Evan Lysacek.
I think when it is all said and done, the Star Spangled Banner will be playing, the country will be filled with pride, Dick Button will have some company and Evan Lysacek will realize that all his hard work and effort will have paid off in Sochi.

In the annals of sports, there have been more than 50 athletes that have “come out of the closet” to announce their sexual orientation. Whether it be the well-known like Martina Navratilova or Greg Louganis, or the lesser known like Edward Gal or Andrew Goldstein, they have all summoned a ton of courage and announced to the world who they are.
The one thing that all of these athletes have in common is that they have waited until after they retired from the spotlight to make the announcement. Whether it’s because of social morays or just fear of reprisal, not a single one was able to do so while active. This is in no way an indictment of them, just merely a fact.
It still took a tremendous amount of gravitas to announce to the world that this is who they are, and repercussions be damned.
But April 29, 2013 is an even more momentous day in the cause of Gay Rights. On that day an active professional basketball announced to the world that he was gay. In doing so, Washington Wizards center Jason Collins became the first athlete in a major American team sport to come out as gay during his playing career.
Just about a week before, the top pick in the WNBA draft Brittany Griener also came out, but with all due respect, I don’t think it had the kind of impact that Collins announcement does and will.
I have the utmost respect for the amount of courage it took for Collins to do what he did. There is no way that it was an easy decision to make. To be a trailblazer in any arena is tough, but to do it in the macho world of pro sports takes it to an entirely different level.
In a personal essay set to publish in Sports Illustrated, Collins states “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay. I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport, but since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”
The signs were there for Collins even before the announcement. He chose to wear his uniform number, 98, in honor of Matthew Shepard, a student at Wyoming who was tortured and murdered just outside of Laramie, Wyo., in October of 1998. During the trial, reports indicated that Sheppard was targeted because he was a gay man. But he told people that he chose the number for one of two reasons, either because that was his freshman year as a standout at Stanford, or because he wanted to give NBA referees trouble, as they have to use their fingers to report fouls.

People may scoff at what I am about to say, but what Collins did; I believe took more courage than what Jackie Robinson did. I only say that because when Jackie played baseball he couldn’t conceal the fact that he was black. Collins could have never said a word, and nobody would have ever known. But instead he announced it to the world.
Sure there will be stupid, ignorant bigots who will give Collins a ration of shit for being gay. I am sure he will have to endure quite a bit of abuse for his decision. But there is always a price to pay for greatness.
I for one applaud the courage and fortitude it took for Collins to come out and let the world know who he is. I think he deserves all the kudos in the world. I can only hope that others will take his lead and allow themselves to be who they really are.
We are now at a point in this world where it shouldn’t matter what your sexual orientation, your religious beliefs or any other thing that makes you outside of the “norm” are. It is more important to be true to yourself than anything else.
I just hope the price he pays for doing what he did is not too big, because he deserves applause wherever he goes, and nothing less.

LOS ANGELES — Jeff Carter and the Los Angeles Kings jumped on the Colorado Avalanche’s first-time goalie for two goals in the opening minutes. They let up shortly afterward, failing to find the net again until the shootout.

Carter will look past the Kings’ momentary lapses as long as the Stanley Cup champions keep moving toward the playoffs.

Carter scored his 24th goal and scored again in the shootout, and the Kings moved back into fourth place in the Western Conference with a 3-2 win over the Avalanche on Thursday night.

Mike Richards also scored in the first period against Colorado’s Sami Aittokallio, and Jonathan Quick made 26 saves as the Kings ended a two-game losing streak. Captain Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar also scored in Los Angeles’ 3-for-3 shootout against Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who came in late when Aittokallio went down with cramps in both legs.

Carter is chasing the Richard Trophy while he leads the Kings down the stretch, although their halfhearted finish against the Western Conference’s worst team gave him pause.

“I thought we were really good in the first,” said Carter, the NHL’s third-leading goal scorer. “We got pucks deep and used their D, and when we’re doing that, we roll pretty good. We got away from it. They started pressing a little bit, but good or bad, it’s a big two points for us.”

Despite that unimpressive finish to regulation, the Kings got back on track after giving up four goals in the third period of their previous game, a 5-1 loss in Dallas on Tuesday. Los Angeles (23-14-4), which hasn’t lost three straight since an 0-2-1 start to the season, leaped one point back ahead of San Jose, which has a game in hand on the Kings.

Quick turned aside Matt Duchene’s clean breakaway in the third period while earning his 145th career victory, pulling the Conn Smythe Trophy winner even with Kelly Hrudey for the second-most wins in franchise history.

“The first [period] was good,” Kopitar said. “We came out strong, outshot them in the first by quite a bit, and sat back a little bit, which is not the best thing to do, obviously.”

Patrick Bordeleau scored his first career goal with 14:55 to play to even it for the last-place Avalanche, who nearly pulled another upset in Southern California. Paul Stastny also scored for Colorado, which ended a 14-game road losing streak since Feb. 14 with a 4-1 win at powerful Anaheim on Wednesday.

Aittokallio stopped 23 shots in his NHL debut for the Avalanche before leaving with 10:36 to play in regulation. Giguere stopped 12 shots after relieving Aittokallio, but couldn’t stop any Kings in the shootout.

“There’s been lots of positives the last two games,” Giguere said. “We needed a bit of a push-back from the guys. I think we did that the last couple of nights. It was a tough start against a good team. We had a rookie goaltender, his first NHL start, [but] he battled hard for us. He gave us a chance.”

Colorado had lost five straight before knocking off the Pacific Division-leading Ducks, responding to Giguere’s pointed public criticism with its most impressive win in a month. After relieving Aittokallio, Giguere made a huge save in the final 30 seconds of regulation, scrambling on his hands and knees to glove Carter’s attempt at a wraparound goal.

“Once we got our legs under us, we started to take the play to L.A.,” Colorado coach Joe Sacco said. “When Jiggy came in, he made some big saves for us. I’m proud of the way we came back and competed. When you work hard and do things right, you get rewarded.”

The Avalanche recalled Aittokallio from the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters on Tuesday at the close of his first North American pro season while Semyon Varlamov is sidelined with an injured hip.

After Los Angeles’ early goals, Aittokallio recovered and played well until he went down in a heap untouched midway through the third period while the short-handed Kings pressed the action in Colorado’s end. Sacco said Aittokallio became dehydrated in the humid Staples Center.

Colorado also lost defenseman Erik Johnson early to an injured wrist.

Carter scored 5½ minutes into the first period during a power play, finding a small hole over Aittokallio’s far shoulder with an impressive wrist shot. Just 1:47 later, Richards found the puck in the slot and beat Aittokallio for his 10th goal.

When the Kings struggled in the second period, Stastny jammed the puck under Quick for his ninth goal — his first since returning Wednesday from an eight-game absence with a foot injury.

Bordeleau evened it when his long shot deflected off Kyle Clifford’s stick, slowing down the puck to a change-up that slid past an unsuspecting Quick. The 27-year-old Bordeleau made his NHL debut this season, but didn’t score a goal in his first 38 games for Colorado.

Game notes

Colorado kept C Milan Hejduk out of the lineup for the seventh straight game, although the veteran scorer’s injured shoulder apparently has healed enough for him to play. … The 20-year-old Aittokallio was a fourth-round choice in the 2010 draft. … Richards extended his point streak to five games.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Padres slugger Carlos Quentin rushed the mound and wrestled Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke to the ground after getting hit by a pitch Thursday night, leading to a benches-clearing brawl between the teams that left Greinke with a broken left collarbone.

After he was plunked on the left shoulder in the sixth inning, Quentin started walking toward the mound. Greinke appeared to say something, and Quentin then charged the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner.

They dropped their shoulders and collided, and Quentin tackled the pitcher to the grass. Both ended up on the bottom of a huge scrum as players from both sides ran onto the field and jumped in. Greinke lowered his left (non-throwing) shoulder into Quentin and took the brunt of the blow as they collided.

“I never hit him on purpose,” said Greinke, who had his left arm in a sling and appeared shaken after the game. “I never thought about hitting him on purpose. He always seems to think that I’m hitting him on purpose, but that’s not the case. That’s all I can really say about it.”

Asked if there was bad blood between the teams, Greinke, who twice hit Quentin with pitches when they were in the American League, said: “Now there probably is. I don’t know if there was beforehand.”

He said the injury was “awful. It’s silly that something could happen like that. I’m disappointed.”

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was livid, saying it shouldn’t have happened because Quentin was hit on a 3-2 pitch in a one-run game.

“That’s just stupid is what it is,” Mattingly said. “He should not play a game until Greinke can pitch. If he plays before Greinke pitches, something’s wrong. He caused the whole thing. Nothing happens if he goes to first base.”

Early indications are Greinke, who will meet with team doctors in Los Angeles on Friday, could miss two months.

“Dodger Nation. I’m disappointed that Greinke got hurt in last night’s win over the Padres. Zack I’m praying for you to get back real soon,” Lakers legend Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.

Quentin said his history with Greinke has been “well-documented. That situation could have been avoided. You’d have to ask Zack about that.”

The right-hander now has hit Quentin three times with a pitch, with the last before Thursday coming in 2009. Quentin is the only batter Greinke has hit three times, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Quentin led the majors in hit by pitches in both 2011 (23) and 2012 (17). He’s been hit 116 times in his career (seventh-most among active players).

“I’ve been hit by many pitches,” said Quentin, plunked more often than any other major league hitter since the start of 2008. “Some have been intentional, some have not been. For the amount I have been hit and my hitting style, I’m going to repeat: I have never reacted that way.”

Greinke joined the Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason, signing a $147 million, six-year contract. He missed time during spring training with a tender right elbow. Quentin was slowed by a balky right knee after having offseason surgery.

When they finally were pulled apart, Quentin was led off the field by teammate Mark Kotsay. Greinke walked off toward the Dodgers’ dugout, his uniform top disheveled.

After the teams started clearing the field, Jerry Hairston Jr. came running across the field yelling and pointing at someone in the San Diego dugout and had to be restrained. Hairston would not avoid the player. Mattingly, however, said it was Padres reserve John Baker.

“Obviously Zack was hurt and one guy over there was chirping, making fun of him,” Hairston after the game. “I asked him to meet me halfway. He didn’t.

“(What Quentin did) never should have happened. Zack’s not trying to put the tying run on base. Now we’re trying to win and one of our aces has a broken collarbone. It’s unacceptable. I lost it. … You don’t make fun of a guy that’s injured.”

Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp also was livid, perhaps in part because Padres starter Jason Marquis threw a high-and-tight pitch to him in the first inning.

The benches and bullpens emptied again, leading to pushing and shoving. But it did not appear any punches were thrown.

“I’m happy to see that Kemp Hairston and all the @Dodgers players came out to support Greinke,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.

“The @Dodgers will not be intimidated by anyone!”
After the game, Kemp confronted Quentin as the two players were leaving Petco Park. Kemp walked up to Quentin near the players’ exit, and the two went nose-to-nose. Padres pitcher Clayton Richard separated them, and security and police quickly broke it up.

Kemp was angry after finding out the severity of Greinke’s injury.

“I’m asking Greinke if he’s OK, and he said his shoulder’s messed up. That kind of took me over the edge right there,” Kemp said.

“I think Carlos Quentin went to Stanford, something like that?” Kemp said. “I heard there’s smart people at Stanford. That wasn’t too smart. Greinke didn’t do anything wrong. That stuff happens in the minor leagues. It doesn’t happen in the big leagues.”

Quentin was hit by a pitch above the right wrist by Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario on Tuesday and had to leave the game.

Quentin, Kemp and Hairston were ejected. Los Angeles reliever Chris Capuano was given all the time he needed to warm up when play finally resumed after a delay of about 15 minutes, indicating Greinke left with an injury.

Hollywood puts out very few movies that actually get me excited to see them these days. Most of the time I say, “Ehhhhh, I will wait until it is out on DVD or On-Demand”.

Or even worse, I wonder why they even allowed the movie to be made in the first place. I mean do we really need Scary Movie 5, Die Hard 4 or whatever number Fast and Furious they are on? There are only so many bad situations that John McClain can find himself in before I start rooting for the bad guys to kill him and finally end my pain and the franchise. But I digress.

Every once in a great while there is a film that promises to be phenomenal, and has me as eager as a child at Christmas to see it. The way Star Wars made me feel back in 1977. That film comes out on Friday and it is called 42.

In a nutshell it is the story of Jackie Robinson, but it is so much more than that. Inasmuch as Robinson was so much more than just a baseball player.
When you think of equal rights, you may think of Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr. But Robinson was more important to the movement than any of them. Hell, without Robinson there may not have BEEN an MLK.

Robinson was chosen as much for whom he was as his ability on the field. Dodgers GM Branch Rickey knew that whoever the first player to break the color barrier would be would have to have an incredibly strong character as well as be an incredibly strong ball player. Robinson was the perfect fit.
I so look forward to seeing Harrison Ford as Rickey, Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher.

As a baseball purist and Dodger honk, this movie holds an even more special place in my heart. But the courage and fortitude alone of Robinson makes this movie one that EVERYONE should see, and hopefully learn a little from as well.

It opens in Theaters on Friday, April 12th; you had better believe that I will be there on opening night.

After our recent column on the best Baseball Movies of all time, it seemed only fitting that we gave football its due. What I thought would be an easy task, turned out to be a Herculean one as there were a lot more movies involving football than I ever remember.

But I guess much like the sports themselves, while baseball enjoyed it’s time in the sun, the seasons of life have turned and now football is in the spotlight.

With that being said, what follows are what I consider the 10 best football movies of all time. Now not all of them are purely about football, but as long as the sport was the central theme, it was eligible to make the list. It didn’t matter if it was Pee-Wee, High School, College or the NFL, it just had to be about the Gridiron.

So as per usual with these countdowns, let’s start with …

#10 -  Jerry Maguire (1996)  starring  Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr & Jay Mohr;  The story of an Agent who bucked the system, and when the system bucked back, he was left with just one client. Of course that client, along with the one other person who believed in him, helped him rebuild all he once lost, but did it his way.

I think this movie is a tad over-rated and is not the greatest film of all time. But, any movie that can add an entire phrase into the common vernacular (“Show Me the Money”), has to at least be given consideration as one of the top films of that sport.  So in an homage to its importance in pop culture, “Jerry Maguire” comes it at #10.

#9 – Friday Night Lights (2004) starring Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black & Derek Luke; In the state of Texas football is more than just a mere sport, it is a religion. Friday Night Lights follows a small Texas town’s football team through the ups and downs of a season and shows how an underdog, when it works to its fullest potential, can do incredible things.

This is the best movie about High School Football that I have ever seen. Billy Bob Thornton does a masterful coach who must lead his team through the adversity of an injury to its star player. It takes the typical American underdog story and adds a twist or two that will leave you wanting more. Of course, that’s part of the reason the movie became a popular television show.

#8 – The Program (1993) starring James Caan, Halle Berry & Omar Epps; Ever wonder what the pressures of playing football for a major university can do to a student? The Program takes a deep look at some the issues the players have stemming from the pressures all around them. Some of these issues include, of course, drinking and drugs.

James Caan is masterful as tough coach Sam Winters, trying to toe the line between sadistic and just a winning coach. While Omar Epps shines in his first major role as the highly recruited tailback Darnell Jefferson. If you want to take a look at the inside of dirty business of college football, the Program is one of the best places to see it.

Some of the film was so real, it had to be cut as other schools tried to duplicate what happened in the movie, and several players died because of it.

#7 – Necessary Roughness (1991) starring Scott Bakula, Sinbad & Robert Loggia; The story of a College in Texas that due to NCAA sanctions must play it’s season with no scholarship athletes. So instead it is a ragtag group of players from the student body including a 34 year old quarterback, a female place kicker and a gang of misfits.

Think Major League, but with college football. If you are going into this movie expecting great storytelling and cinematic wonder, you will be sorely disappointed. However, if you go in expecting to laugh at dumb gags, silly jokes and an amazing looking Kathy Ireland, not only will you thoroughly enjoy yourself, but you will leave with a smile on your face. That’s why this can be ranked as the #7 Football Movie of all time.

#6 – Rudy (1993) starring Sean Astin, John Favreau & Charles Dutton; The story of Rudy Ruettiger, a blue collar kid who had the dream of playing football at Notre Dame. The only problems were he was too small, had average grades and limited athletic ability. But he had the will and drive of 5 men, and through sheer persistence, he finally got his chance.

This ultimate underdog story is the kind of film that not only has you cheering in your seat, but may even inspire you to new heights. John Favreau is great in his first role as one of the Fighting Irish players that come to root for Rudy, while Sean Astin and Charles Dutton are fantastic as Rudy and Fortune, the man who believes in him.

#5 – Heaven Can Wait (1978) starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie & Jack Warden;  Not quite a remake of the 1943 film of the same name, this version has Rams QB Joe Pendleton about to lead his team to the Super Bowl, when an untimely accident and a premature angel take him too soon. So he comes back to earth in the body of a recently murdered millionaire, to the surprise of his killers. In his new body he buys the Rams so he can once again lead them to glory.

What an amazing film this was. Warren Beatty is perfectly cast as the taken too soon QB, while Julie Christie plays his murderess wife who can’t understand how he is still alive. This is the kind of film that has something for everyone, as it is funny, but not too over the top. I know seeing a film from 1978 may not sound glamorous now a days, but this is one of those films you HAVE to see.

#4 – Waterboy (1998) starring Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates & Henry Winkler;  The story of a college Waterboy whose coach discovers his amazing ability to tackle people who are much bigger than he is. But they all must try and keep his playing a secret from his overbearing mother.

This is a typical Adam Sandler film, in that while the story may have plot holes etc. it is laugh out loud funny. It is filled with the usual suspects from Sandler films, and the addition of Kathy Bates and Henry Winkler just add to the charm. So if you like Sandler doing his little child-like voice, and can stand the crude jokes a plenty, this is one of Sandler’s better films.

#3 – North Dallas 40 (1979) starring Nick Nolte, Mac Davis & Charles Durning;  The semi-fictional story of what it was like to be a member of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970’s, when the earned the moniker America’s Team.

A comical and somewhat real look at how big the stars of the Cowboys really were in the 1970’s. They were basically rock stars that could get with anything as long as they could play on Sundays. Based on the lives of QB Don Meredith and WR (and author) Peter Gent. If you ever wondered what it meant to be a member of the Cowboys, this is the film you must see.

#2 – The Longest Yard (1974) starring Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert & Ed Lauter;  The story of a former QB who becomes a prison inmate and organizes a group of inmates to take on the guards in a football game. Of course his dilemma comes when he is asked to throw the game in order to gain early release.

Now don’t get me wrong, the remake of this film by Adam Sandler in 2005 was alright, but nowhere near as funny or as good as the original. There is something about Burt Reynolds version of QB turned Con Paul Crewe that is just spot on.  Plus it just seems so much more real and gritty in the 70’s version. If you want to see a film where the football feels real, this may just be the perfect football movie.

#1 – Brian’s Song (1979) starring James Caan, Billy Dee Williams & Jack Warden; The story of the friendship forged between Chicago Bears team-mates and running back rivals Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo, and how strong the bond became especially after Piccolo learns of devastating news.

WOW!!!!! That is the best word to describe this film. If you ever want to see a man cry, just watch this movie. It is impossible to not tear up in this poignant true account of two football players who let no differences come between them, and how one had to watch the other die. My eyes are welling up just writing about it. It is indeed that powerful, and that is the reason it is the Number ONE Football Movie of all time.

There you have, the 10 best Football Movies of all time. While there are several that also deserve honorable mention, Any Given Sunday, Remember the Titans and We are Marshall. But if you can only see 10 movies about the Gridiron, this are the ones that you need to see.

There are a lot of sentences in the English language that bring joy to the ears. From “You won the lottery” to “Yes, I will marry you” to “Honey, we’re pregnant”. But none of them can compare to the four words heard this past Monday, “Pitchers and Catchers report”.

That’s right, it is baseball season again. When every team still thinks they have a shot at popping the champagne in October. When the sun is shining, birds are chirping and all seems right with the world. It is the first marker that winter is soon to be a distant memory, and spring will soon be here. A gentle reminder that soon it will be time to ditch the Parka and get out the Bermuda shorts.

But with the start of baseball comes questions.  I will take a look at the 8 biggest questions heading into the 2013 season, and look into my crystal ball for the insider info to try and answer these questions, and make some VERY early predictions.
So let’s start with the big spring questions:

1: Will the Dodgers big spending pay off or end up as a write off?
Well they now own the highest payroll in baseball history, but they also have one of the best 1-2 punches at the top of their rotation by adding Zack Grienke to go with Southpaw Clayton Kershaw. With effectively 8 starting pitchers and a deep bullpen, it will be up to the offense. There are a lot of question marks there. Can Matt Kemp play at full strength? Will Adrian Gonzalez regain his power stroke? Can Carl Crawford go back to being the dangerous weapon he was 2 years ago in Tampa? Which Hanley Ramirez will show up?

I believe that Kemp & Gonzalez will be back to their old powerful selves, Crawford will bounce back and be a dangerous hitter again and Hanley will remain an enigma. But by the trade deadline the Dodgers will reach deep into their pockets again, and get the one missing piece, a leadoff hitter. He will propel them to about 92 wins and an NL West title.
2: Did the Indians and Royals do enough to catch the Tigers?

The Royals went into win now mode by dealing uber prospect Wil Myers to Tampa for James Shields and Wade Davis. They also dealt for Ervin Santana, which seriously upgrades their rotation. With Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas with one more year under their belts, and Billy Butler continuing to pound the ball, this team will put a scare into the Tigers.
As for the Indians, they added a future ace in Trevor Bauer, while signing Mark Reynolds, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourne.  Yes, they did lose Shin Soo-Choo, but he was going to be gone after this season anyway. They were also able to add Drew Stubbs to take over for Choo. The Indians season will rely on two things, Stubbs, Reynolds and Swisher not striking out 600 times combined and Ubaldo Jimenez returning to his former self. If these things happen, the Indians will become the bigger threat. However, I think it is too much to ask and the Tribe will end up in 3rd place.

3: How good will the Toronto Blue Jays be?
The biggest moves of the off-season was one of the first, when the Blue Jays basically stole the Marlins Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes, Emilio Benefacio and Mark Buehrle. That instantly made our Canadian neighbors a force to be reckoned with. But when they then added Melky Cabrera and NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, they became the favorites to topple the Yankees and win the AL East.

You add those new players to studs like Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie and Edwin Encarnacion the lineup is solid from top to bottom. Then, you have a rotation that also features Brandon Morrow who is coming into his own as a top of the rotation kind of arm, and Ricky Romero who says he is healthy now and this staff is downright scary. There is no question this team will be playing for the AL Championship come October.

4: Can the Angels thumpers make up for their rotation short comings?
The Angels did it again this off-season, swooping down from out of nowhere and grabbing the top free agent hitter in Josh Hamilton. Not only is he a great addition to their team, but by also weakening one of their biggest foes, the Texas Rangers.
With Mike Trout leading off, and Albert Pujols, Hamilton and Mark Trumbo in the middle of the line-up, this is the best hitting team in all of baseball, bar none. But their pitching took a big hit.

They traded away Ervin Santana, and did not re-sign Dan Haren or Zack Grienke and replaced them with Joe Blanton, Tommy Hanson and Jason Vargas. Plus, their bullpen which was already a sore spot got weaker when they traded away Jordan Walden and now have injury prone Ryan Madson as their closer.

Mike Scioscia’s teams have always had solid pitching to fall back on, but this season, beyond ace Jered Weaver, I think they are a little thin. They should be able to win the AL West, but come playoff time they will regret losing those arms.
5: Who will be the 2013 version of the 2012 Orioles or A’s?

Last year both the Orioles and the A’s surprised the baseball world to make runs to the playoffs, with the A’s playing some amazing baseball the last 10 days of the season to take the AL West. This season which team or teams are primed to match that?
I am going to go out on a limb here and say the Mariners and the Padres. That is not to say that either will be able to make the post-season (you can find that out a little later in this column), but both of them have made huge strides towards respectability.
The Padres were one of the best teams in baseballs second half of 2012. They have one of baseball’s best kept secrets in 3rd baseman Chase Headly (did you know he led the NL in RBI last season?), they have young talent on the horizon in players like Jed Gyorko, Logan Forsythe and Jesus Guzman plus they play in one of the best pitchers parks in baseball.
The Mariners on the other hand have given themselves quite a make-over this off-season, adding power bats in Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse plus getting  Joe Saunders as a free agent and making sure they kept King Felix in a Mariners uni for a long time. Add that to having two of the best pitching prospects in the game (Danny Hultzen and Taijuan Walker) and the Mariners future looks very bright. The only thing we have to wait and see about is how moving in the fences at Safeco will affect the team.

6: Which team is better now, Braves or Nationals?
While both teams were able to make the post-season in 2012, 2013 may bring even greater heights for these NL East rivals. It wouldn’t shock me to see both of these squads win over 100 games this season.
The off-season was a busy one for both teams, with the Braves adding the Upton brothers (BJ and Justin) and Chris Johnson. But they did lose Chipper Jones to retirement and Martin Prado in the Upton trade.
The Nationals on the other hand added the one piece they were missing last season, a lead-off hitting center fielder in Denard Span. They also shored up their rotation by adding Dan Haren and their bullpen by signing Rafael Soriano to close out games. With the reigns off of ace Stephen Strasburg, the Nats should be heading back to the playoffs.
So which team is better? As much as the Braves did this off-season, it will still not be enough to catch the class of the NL, the Nationals who should win their second straight NL East title.

7: Will the Yankees sudden fiscal responsibility cause them to miss the playoffs?
Most “experts” think that despite their lack of spending, the Yankees are still good enough to win the AL East, or at least one of the two Wild Card spots. I am here to tell you that the “experts” are wrong.
While the Yankees pretty much stood pat this off-season, the Blue Jays, Rays and Red Sox all improved, and the Orioles were already a good team. So if each of those squads just  wins 2 more games against the Yankees in 2013 than they did in 2012 (which is very possible), it takes the Yankees from 95 wins to just 87 wins, which I promise you will not be good enough to make the post-season.

8: Can the Giants repeat as World Series Champions?
The easy answer to this question is yes, they CAN do anything. But will they? I have to say no. Yes, they still have one of the best pitching staffs in the game, but this off-season all they did was overpay to keep their roster intact. In 2012 everything broke right for the G-Men, which enabled them to get to and win the World Series. Remember, they were one loss away from losing to both the Reds and Cardinals before coming back in both series.
With the improvement from the free spending Dodgers, plus the Reds, Nats and Braves all getting better, the Giants run of 2 titles in 3 years is all but over.

Now here are my fearless predictions for the 2013 season:
AL Division Winners: Angels, Tigers, Blue Jays
AL Wildcards: Rays, Royals
NL Division Winners: Dodgers, Reds, Nationals
NL Wildcards: Braves, Padres
World Series Prediction: Blue Jays over the Dodgers

AL Cy Young:  Brandon Morrow
NL Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg
AL ROY: Trevor Bauer
NL ROY: Jed Gyorko
AL MVP: Mike Trout
NL MVP: Matt Kemp

By Andrew “Fish” Fain

The Oscars are over, and baseball season is right around the corner. Also coming up, the one thing I am most excited about, the release of the movie 42. It is the life story of Jackie Robinson and his history making signing with the Dodgers under the guidance of GM Branch Rickey.
In honor of the film’s upcoming release, I thought I would give you the list of Top 10 Baseball Movies of all time. Now, this is my list and there are some movies that will shock you with their exclusion.
I will give a brief synopsis of each film, who stars in it, and what in my opinion makes it worthy of the spot on the list.
So, let’s get started:

#10 – The Natural (1984) starring Robert Redford, Robert Duvall & Glenn Close; With the aid of his bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Roy Hobbs seems to come out of nowhere to lead a losing 1930’s baseball team to the top of the league.
This movie is a little on the fantastic side, but nonetheless it when the light towers explode from a game winning home run, you can’t help but get emotional. It is a nicely acted story, that while a little slow in parts, really gives you the feel of what it was like to watch baseball in the 30’s. Redford is perfectly cast as the mysterious Hobbs, and Duvall gives a great performance as well. While I could do without the love story, it is needed to give this film a little more substance. If you like story’s that have some fantasy elements to them, The Natural is a perfect fit.
#9 – Bull Durham (1988) starring Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner & Tim Robbins; An aging ex-major league catcher is sent to the minors to mentor a raw, but talented pitcher. All the while the two battle over minor league groupie Annie Savoy.
While not quite as funny as I expected it to be, Bull Durham really hits the mark about life in the minors. There is no question that the chemistry between Robbins, Costner and Sarandon is tremendous. There are also several memorable scenes from the film, like Sarandon talking about the religion of baseball and the meeting on the mound when the players are trying to decide what makes a good wedding gift.
#8 – Everyone’s Hero (2006) starring Jake Austin, Brian Dennehy, & Whoopi Goldberg;  A young boy makes an incredible journey against all odds to return a bat to the legendary Babe Ruth. Along the way, he must dodge an evil owner and his henchmen, but with the help of some wacky sidekicks, he is able to complete his journey and befriend the world’s biggest sports star while revealing the hero within.
This is a heartwarming animated movie that really brings out the kid in everyone. Whoopi Goldberg steals the film as Darlin’, Babe Ruth’s bat. It is loosely based on Joe Dimaggio who had his bat stolen during his 56 game hitting streak, only to have it returned 5 days later by a young boy named Jimmy. This film shows kids that sometimes doing the right thing, may be tough, but it is worth it in the end. It is the best animated baseball film I have ever seen, and while the focus may not be on the game itself, there is enough baseball to placate even the most ardent fan.

#7 – Moneyball (2011) starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill & Robin Wright; Based on the book of the same name, Moneyball is the true story of how, in order to compete with the high payroll teams, Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane had to use his smarts and certain statistical data in order to keep the A’s relevant.
This is the kind of film baseball fans love, but people who are not indoctrinated into the joys of baseball may not be able to follow. Beane started a statistical revolution by using things like On-Base Percentage and other unused at the time statistics to keep his team competitive. Brad Pitt does a great job playing the savvy G.M., and the use of actual ballplayers in the movie is a brilliant move. The biggest problem I had with the film, is that some of the people refused their names to be used, so certain people who don’t exist play key roles.
#6 – Pastime (1990) starring William Russ, Glenn Plummer & Ernie Banks; A veteran white minor league pitcher is brought to a team to teach a young  African American phenom  fire-baller in 1957, when race relations were not at their best.
Think of this as Bull Durham with a serious twist. The story is not only poignant and heart wrenching; it is brilliantly acted by both William Russ (of Boy Meets World fame) and Glenn Plummer (best known for his work on Sons of Anarchy).  It shows us that when it comes to baseball, what matters are talent and heart, and not the color of your skin. The cameos by some of the biggest names in the baseball world (Ernie Banks, Bob Feller, Duke Snider & Harmon Killebrew) really put this film over the top and make it a joy for baseball fans of all ages.
#5 – The Sandlot (1993) starring Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar & Patrick Renna;  The story of a neighborhood group of kids who all love baseball, and the new kid in town who wants to play the game they all love.
It is a story we can all relate to, as a young kid moves to a new neighborhood and wants to be accepted by the group of kids who already live there. The best way he can do that is learn to play baseball, and become part of the team. This fun movie brings back memories of hot summer days, teenage crushes and the idea that if a ragtag group of kids can work together to play ball, they can beat the snooty rival team. It also has one of the most repeated lines in movie history … “You’re killing me Smalls”.
#4 – The Bad News Bears (1976) starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal & Jackie Earle Haley; The story of a bunch of ragtag little leaguers that nobody thinks much of, and how they come together under the tutelage of a beer swilling manager, a girl pitcher and a young punk hotshot.
Do NOT confuse this with the remake made in 2005. The original is the ONLY Bad News Bears film you want to see (maybe the first sequel Bad News Bears in Breaking Training), and by far the best movie about Little League Baseball and its seedy underbelly. With some great performances by a bunch of kids, this is the kind of movie that will not only have you laughing, but cheering for the team at the end. With so many unforgettable characters like Tanner Boyle, Kelly Leake and of course, Engleberg. It is the kind of movie that makes you wish you were a kid again and could play Little League.
#3 – A League of their Own (1992) starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis & Lori Petty; When World War II robs America of some of its best baseball players, the owners, not wanting the sport to remain dormant, decide to start a Women’s Professional League. Scouts are sent all over the country to find some of the best talent the country has to offer.  What they find is an amazing Catcher named Dottie Hinson and her sister, who led by disgraced former Major Leaguer Jimmy Duggan, make the women’s league a reality.
What an amazing film this was. There were a lot of great laughs, as well as some very touching and heart wrenching scenes. You get a feel for what it was like for these girls to not only play baseball, but to deal with the thought that their husbands/brothers may never make it back alive.  Without this film, we would never have that great line “There’s no crying in baseball”.  It also has an amazing cast with standout performances from the leads, plus Jon Lovitz and Madonna.
#2 – Major League (1989) starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger & Wesley Snipes; The new female owner of the Indians wants to move them to a warmer climate, so she fills the team with a bunch of has-beens and never-weres so they would tank the season. Instead this ragtag group bands together to become a force in the American League.
While the sequels to this film were horrible, the original is the funniest baseball film of all time. Charlie Sheen is perfectly cast as the “Wild Thing” Ricky Vaughn. While the rest of the team, including Corbin Bernsen, are perfectly cast. From start to finish this movie is filled with laughs, and good solid baseball play. If you have never seen Major League, I highly recommend it, but make sure you are prepared to laugh!!!!
#1 – Eight Men Out (1988) starring John Cusack, David Strathairn & D.B. Sweeney ; Quite simply the story of how some members of the 1919 White Sox threw the World Series, and the fallout that came because of it.
Yes, this is a period piece, but it is by far the best baseball movie ever made. It accurately shows what it was like to play ball back at the start of the century, it explains both sides of the coin as to why they agreed to throw the Series, and it also explains why baseball has a commissioner today.  The movie is filled with brilliant acting jobs, and you will even feel some pathos for Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver for getting caught up in a scandal they had nothing to do with. It was a dark time for the baseball world, but we still came out of it smelling like a rose.

There you have it, the 10 best baseball movies of all time. There are a couple that deserve honorable mention: Pride of the Yankees, Field of Dreams and For the Love of the Game. But they were just not quite good enough to make the cut.