Los Angeles and Football

Week 1 just finished and the Raiders and Rams still suck...

Football, the sport where grown men in tights throw around inflated animal hides and knock the living feces out of each other. Sounds fun, America loves it, but it's deathly boring to watch without a team to support. Each play lasts a mere 5 seconds, followed by 40 seconds of ass grabbing, and that is assuming there are no challenges, penalties, injuries, streakers, foreign debris, etc. Oh and when the offenses blow and they go three and out, good old television commercials will follow. Yes sir! Football is like the last minute of a tight basketball game, super-slow and occasionally exciting, but sixty times longer in duration. Welcome to my Los Angeles mindset.

In the heart of the West Coast, Sundays are not spent tailgating or watching football for hours on end, Sundays are special days meant for rest and relaxation. To spend time with the family, read about George Bush's stupidity in the paper, get dragged to church, to recover from that extra tequila shot after a UCLA victory (or eight after a loss).

Only a handful of people care about the outcomes of NFL games because there's no team to care about. LA is not home to an actual pro team, there are no rivals that we pray to see lose, no playoff race to follow, and the teams we use to have are gang affiliated (Raiders) or terrible (Rams). The only reason people still watch Sunday football is to fulfill their manhood requirements or watch TO's touchdown celebration (the Usain Bolt was awesome).

The definition of football in Los Angeles is USC's recent domination. But then again, USC football is not exactly exciting when considering how easily they bulldoze through opposing teams, week in and week out. And rooting for LA’s second team, UCLA, does not seem to be an attractive alternative for Angelinos (though we all know UCLA games are more competitive and exciting).

The only reason there is even buzz regarding pro-football is due to the pride and competition of fantasy football. If you are not going to own a team, might as well draft a few players to call your own and watch on television. There is nothing quite like the week 1 anticipation of destroying the opposing team with Tom Brady on your fantasy team; but then again, I have never felt so crushed and uninterested going into week 2 (freaking Tom Brady, ACL BS, DIE).

Okay, so maybe this is all a lot of nonsense to passionate football watcher, but honestly, how many die-hard football fans are there in Los Angeles? Correct, just a handful. You might ask someone in LA, “Hey, who’s your favorite NFL team?” and they will lie and say some nonsense team like the Minnesota Vikings. Obviously, this person has Adrian Peterson on his fantasy team. Do not be alarmed by this type of behavior in Los Angeles, it is rampant and uncontrollable because there is no such thing as professional football here.

My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys and TO is on my fantasy team.

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The Machine can't stop.

In honor of a very honorable game by Sasha "the Machine" Vujacic. I present to you the next installment of the Sasha Videos. Thanks to Lakers-fan.com.

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I admit, I love "The Machine" as well

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These guys are classic. You gotta love it when creativity and sports make love. What`s not to love about the Machine! My POOT my POOT!

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Liveblogging: Lakers-Utah

Just as a disclaimer, I think the Lakers are going to win this one. And it is because I've been saying that it's over in 6 that I'm rooting for them to win. Otherwise I am completely unbiased. Now lets get on with it.

• The Cavs-Celtics game finally ended! For those of you who dared question me when I said Cavs in 7 all I have to say is this is why I run a sports blog and you don't! Just kidding guys! I'm kind of scared about game 7, but I'm rooting for the Cavs all the way so that I can feel like a genius.
• Lakers are starting the game really fast. This is a very nice change from the last Utah home games, where they would get lost on offense a lot.
• I never noticed before but Carlos Boozer's free throws have some amazing arc. I wonder if he shoots a lot better now and days.
• Man I can't get enough of this Laker offense, everything is so smooth.
  
• Lakers now up 24-12. Uh oh Utah. Utah just keeps on taking fade-aways.
  
• Man who else saw Pau almost lose the ball then pick it back up and try a little floater when vlad was wide open for a dunk. Give him the ball man! Vlad ended up tipping it in anyways. But still, where's the respect.
• Hubie Brown just said Kobe is averaging 33-7-7. What?? I haven't been following stats but those are dominating numbers. They all came really quietly...Is that a good thing or a bad thing?? I think it really shows me that the Lakers have truly become a team now.
• I can't wait for next year, when Vlad really gets integrated into the offense. This guy has a lot of potential, even though at times its really, really, really hard to see some times! But Phil agrees with me! He told me over lunch. That's why he's been starting Vlad for the last couple months.
  
• 2nd quarter 11:40, Korver misses a three. Who would you rather have Vujacic or Korver??? Sasha hands-down!!
• Did you know Sasha stole Vlad's nickname??? From wikipedia: "Was nicknamed "THE MACHINE" by Supersonics announcer Kevin Calabro, after his resemblance to NFL quarterback Joe Namath."
• I know you guys saw Korver hit a 3 right after I picked Sasha. And I KNOW you saw SAsha hit one right after!! Thank you, thank you....
• And there's Sasha taking it to the hole, 7pts!! 3 for 3 !!!
• Who else thinks that live-blogging is weird. Am I supposed to comment on every single play??
  
• Matt Harpring is being a little overly aggressive now while guarding Kobe. I hope no one gets into a fight tonight..... Who am i kidding!!
• Derek Fisher cookie!!!!!!!!
• Derek Fisher assisst!!!
• Kobe dunk!!!
• by the way, when is Kobe ever going to do a one-handed dunk... the last one must have been when he dunked over Steve Nash two years ago.
• Lakers in 6?? What did I say??
• Time-out now, finally. Lakers 50 - Utah 35. This liveblogging is so much work. I hope 50,000 people read this.

• I just saw a commercial for the WNBA, featuring Candice Parker. I happened to watch the Women's final four with Tenessee. Anyone else?? I still cant believe the half time speech Pat Summit gave Candice Parker. She guilt tripped her into playing with her injury!
• Utah is in a zone now.. zones work well against teams who can't shoot. Zones used to destroy the Lakers when they had Smush Parker. I will stop there.
• Trevor Ariza is cleared to play??? Now they have a lockdown defender.. this will come in handy for them vs. the Spurs. Did I just? Yes I did.
• What is C.J. miles doing...Deron Williams must want to kill him.
• Derek Fisher cookie!!!!
• Back to the man-to-man they go. What did I say. What did I say?? If you didn`t realize. I like being right, alot.

• Back from halftime. First sequence for Utah, and Deron Williams pulls off one of the nicest passes I have seen this playoffs. I could have sworn it curved in the air.
  
• Deron Williams is finally turning it on. But that and1 with 9:45 ish was a travel, undoubtedly. It's just questionable as to whether the foul or the travel came first.
  
• On that note, I think Derek Fisher could beat up Deron Williams easily. Williams is pretty buff, but I think he has a pretty small frame. That's why he is so deceptively quick!
• I think the Lakers will have the most efficient offense in the leauge next year. They might not score the most, but they're ridicuolously efficient.
• I love Pau's intensity. And I love how his personality meshes with the Lakers. I would rather have him than Kevin Garnett.
• Utah has been complaining all game about fouls. And by 3:25 left in the 3rd quarter they're even! I can't believe the fans were chanting "refs you suck! refs you suck!" I wonder if they put that on the jumbotron. Outrageous!!
• with the hanging fade away at the end of the 3rd, Kobe Bryant is officially back. For a moment, Lebron and Chris Paul were the most exciting and most dominant. But today marks when Kobe officially returns. So many people would say Keving Garnett was the best player of the first half, Chris Paul the best of the second half and Kobe was number 2 throughout the year. So they gave the MVP to him for being consistently "2nd best." That's over and done with.
• Man, there's a lot less to write about when the game is a blowout. If Kobe doesn't come back in during this time out (9 min left) then we've already seen the last of him for the conference semis.
• Man, 9 point game! I spoke too soon. Kobe is back in, and Paul Milsap is a beast. He's 6'8 and 258. I didn't know they came that huge! Lebron James is listed as 6`8 and 240. Ron Artest: 6`7 , 246; Elton Brand 6`8 and
  
• Matt Harpring is being outrageously physical. Kobe too, but I didn`t think they allowed this much contact anymore!
• Kobe 3 pointer in Matt Harprings face around 4:50. In game 4 Kobe would have tried to do too much, too soon. But as I said at the end of the 3rd quarter. He is officially back.
• These refs are loving the Lakers and these Jazz CANNOT miss. Mehmet okur is one of the clutchest big men I`ve ever seen.
• Hate to say it but, Kobe Bryant got twin towered. By Kirilenko and Okur with 1min left. One of the best tandem blocks I`ve ever seen!
• Sadly, all of these clutch Utah plays are far from enough.
• AGAIN! Kirilenko! It makes no difference! But this must be fun as heck for Utah fans. At least for the next 15 seconds.
• This is some horrible endof game defense by the Lakers. But again. 12 seconds until the end of Utah.
  
• MY GOODNESS, Utah had 3 chances to tie the game with a 3 and make me eat my feet.
  

Well that`s the end! I`ll end by saying that I LOVE being right =). Till next time folks.

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Why you can and cannot hate Kobe Bryant

Kobe bashers can say all that you want, Lakers haters can say all that you want, but in the end, you're either a proud [enter team here] fan or a mere ignorant basketball observer (not a fan). There is no gray area in between.

I know. That was a pretty bold statement. But let's be real, if you don't like Kobe and you can't fit yourself into one of those two categories, you're just kidding yourself.

Firstly, if you are a fan of any other team in the NBA, you most likely despise Kobe. Why? He's not human-- he can shred any defense and drop 50 points in any given night. You hate that he has the most polished offensive game in the league; he will beat you off the dribble, in the post, shooting pull-up jumpers, 30' three-pointers, slashing, and anything and everything else in between. You hate that you can't stop him on offense and you cannot stand that he can suffocate your best offensive weapon on the defensive end. And you know what? That's a perfectly legitimate reason-- it is natural to hate the opposing team's skilled players. Why do you think people don’t give a hoot about the Memphis Grizzlies?

However, if your disdain for Kobe is not because of his ability to destroy any defense, you can hardly call yourself a basketball fan. I do admit, Kobe did not have the best track record off the court with all of his legal issues and highly publicized quarrels with his teammates. But has Kobe not changed and matured for the better? This 2007-08 season, Kobe passed, socialized with his team, credited his teammates for his success, openly involved his family, and done everything else to improve his team and himself. Kobe approached his personality like basketball; he took his weak points and elevated them to superstar levels.

Kobe Bryant has done everything in his power to become a better person and a better teammate; he is the NBA’s feel-good story waiting to be told. And despite all the haters denouncing his efforts and vilifying his name, Kobe keeps working, keeps improving, and keeps persevering. So ignorant people everywhere, continue talking, hating, heckling-- the MVP doesn’t hear you.

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