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The Daily Digest for Tuesday, April 1, 2008 |
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April 01, 2008 |
≡ The Daily Digest ≡
 Brand: back in action and likely to stay? |
= To Our Readers =
In addition to posting our regular daily column of news, observations and commentary, we now distribute The Sports Examiner DAILY, a .pdf-format newsletter – with bonus features – with the daily Tip Sheet that can be printed out to take with you or forwarded to your laptop to read later.
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= Tonight’s Menu =
>> Los Angeles, Ca.: The 1-0 Dodgers will try to make it two in a row against 0-1 San Francisco tonight in Chavez Ravine. Derek Lowe (2007: 12-14, 3.88 ERA) will pitch for Los Angeles against Matt Cain of the Giants (0-3 against the Dodgers last season) and the oddsmakers like L.A.’s chances: it takes $160 to try to win $100 on the Blue Crew, but $100 on the visitors could earn $140.
>> Minneapolis, Mn.: The 0-1 Angels will try to even up their season with newcomer Jon Garland (2007: 10-13, 4.23 ERA with the White Sox) on the hill against Minnesota and the best name in baseball: Boof Bonser of the Twins (2007: 8-12, 5.10 ERA). The Angels are favored in this match-up: it takes $125 to try to win $100 on the Halos, but $100 on the Twins could return $110.
>> San Jose, Ca.: The 31-41-7 Kings are coasting toward the close of their 2007-08 season and will meet Pacific Division champion San Jose in the “Shark Tank” tonight at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. The Sharks are on an 8-2 roll and are 48-21-10 for the season and have won six of their last nine against Los Angeles, but the road team has won the last six meetings. No matter, the Sharks are big favorites: it takes $230 to try to win $100 on the Sharks, but $100 on the Kings could earn . . . $100.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin:
See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
>> Thinking Blue: Opening Day was great for the Dodgers with a 5-0 win and it showed that general manager Ned Colletti and his staff aren’t stupid. Consider these Opening Day performances by ex-Dodgers:
Eric Gagne left L.A. for Texas, then almost blew Boston’s playoff run last season and yesterday gave up a three-run lead for Milwaukee against the Cubs in the ninth inning, but got an undeserved win when the Brewers won in the 10th, 4-3.
Mark Hendrickson started the season opener for Florida and got pounded for six runs in five innings as the Mets cruised to a 7-2 win behind Johan Santana.
Brett Tomko, who was 20-34 over the past four seasons, came in against Detroit yesterday with a 4-3 lead and after pitching a perfect seventh, gave up a tying home run to Carlos Guillen to start the eighth for a blown save.
On the other hand, Odalis Perez, pitching to former Dodger battery-mate Paul Lo Duca, went five innings and gave up only one run to Atlanta in the Nationals’ opener on Sunday evening as Washington opened its new park with a 3-2 victory. Lo Duca was 0-3.
>> The Clip Joint:
The often-well-informed Don MacLean, commenting on FSN West after the Clippers’ 93-86 loss to Dallas at Staples Center, said he was fairly certain that star forward Elton Brand will return next season and not declare for free agency.
Brand is considered one of the truly “good guys” in the game and could easily have asked to sit out the entire season after tearing his left Achilles tendon on August 3 and undergoing surgery. He averaged 20.5 points and 9.3 rebounds last season and received the “Sportsman of the Year” award from the Los Angeles Sports Council.
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy indicated that Brand could play as early as this Thursday at Sacramento, but will play at Staples Center against Houston on Sunday. MacLean noted that the 6-8 Brand could be part of a good nucleus for the woeful Clippers for next season with super rookie Al Thornton (6-8), the 6-6 Corey Maggette, 7-0 center Chris Kaman and 6-4 shooting guard Cuttino Mobley. With their lottery pick, the Clippers could be in position to pick Memphis’ 6-3 Derrick Rose at point guard as insurance against any problems in recovery for Shaun Livingston.
= Panorama =
The National Pastime:
>> San Francisco, Ca.: It’s only the second full day of the 2008 baseball season and no one should be pushing the panic button yet. But Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle is already pushing hard after Monday’s 5-0 loss to the Dodgers.
“How does a 29-year-old decline as much as [Barry] Zito has? Even at his absolute worst during his seven years in Oakland, he promised to be a steady 14-game winner. At his best, he offered stunning mastery, the ability to stare down the brilliant Johan Santana in a playoff game.
“That was only a year and a half ago, so it seemed possible that Zito the Ace could resurface Monday, once the real games started. That hope died with the first batter, Rafael Furcal. He pulled the ball down the left-field line for a double, the first of eight hits that Zito could allow in five innings.”
Zito, of course, signed a $126 million contract with the Giants before last season and now, according to Knapp, has a fastball that tops out at only about 85 miles per hour. “He knows his fastball has lost velocity, and doesn’t quite understand why.”
College Hoopla:
>> Palo Alto, Ca.: “A player who declares for the draft before his college eligibility is gone has the option of withdrawing from the draft if he does not hire an agent, but there is no hint the Lopezes would consider returning to Stanford. In short, they’re gone.”
That’s Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle on the decision of Brook and Robin Lopez to declare their eligibility for the NBA Draft yesterday, decimating Stanford’s basketball program for the immediate future. During their tenure, the Cardinal made the NCAA Tournament twice, losing in the first round last season and making it as far as the Sweet 16 this year.
Robin Lopez’s strong offensive performance over the past few weeks moved from returning to heading for the NBA and both he and Brook (a top-five pick) are expected to be first-round selections. The twins turn 20 today.
>> Coaching Carousel: It’s already spinning; here’s a recap: Tony Bennett declined interest in Indiana, but is still rumored as a possibility at Cal; Darrin Horn gave UCLA a scare as the coach at Western Kentucky, but he’s on the way to South Carolina; and now, the rumor mill says Sean Sutton – son of Eddie Sutton – is out at Oklahoma State, which will pay off the last three years of a five-year contract. Sutton was 39-29 in two seasons with two losses in the first round of the NIT.
Up for grabs are positions for head coaches at Loyola Marymount, Cal and USF on the West Coast, plus a choice job at LSU in the SEC not to mention Indiana, Oklahoma State and Western Kentucky.
>> Bloomington, In.: Whoever inherits the Indiana job is going to get some frequent-flyer miles in a hurry because they’re going to have to go a lot of recruiting.
Interim coach Dan Dakich dismissed starters Armon Bassett (guard, averaged 11.4 points a game this season and was third team All-Big Ten) and Jamarcus Ellis (guard, 6.8 ppg) from the team because they were late for an appointment last week and then did not show up to run punishment laps at 6 a.m. the next morning.
Already gone are senior starters D.J. White and Lance Stemler and freshman sensation Eric Gordon is expected to go to the NBA.
Kicker:
>> Rome, Italy: The clash between Manchester United and Roma tonight in the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League will not be confined to the field.
With about 4,000 Manchester United fans expected to attend the game, a massive police force will use security netting and special buses and the stadium now has seats which cannot be torn from their moorings to be used as missiles, to keep the peace after last year’s riot.
Reports from London indicate that UEFA has told the Italian authorities that trouble at tonight’s match will result in the reassignment of next year’s Champions League final away from Rome.
Said Manchester United spokesman William Gaillard, “We cannot afford to have it in a city where people are getting knifed every game.” Who can argue with that?
Rassle maniacs:
>> Orlando, Fl.: “Much has been written in recent years trying to relate rampant steroid use in wrestling to steroid use in legitimate sports like baseball. This is ludicrous. This is like trying to compare U2 to Milli Vanilli. One is legitimate; one is a hoax.”
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel has a point. He attended Wrestlemania 24 over the weekend and asked a few of the 74,635 fans who shows up about their concerns with steroids and the WWE. “We just want to be entertained” said a butcher from Stroudsberg, Pennylvania and a fan from Atlanta said, “I don’t care what these guys take as long as they put on a good show.”
Bianchi noted:
“Wrestling fans know what they’re seeing is an act. And, quite frankly, they don’t care if the actors are juiced up. Nor should they. Here’s all you need to know: The first match of the night Sunday featured Hornswoggle – a little person dressed up as a leprechaun. Do you think wrestling fans are really concerned about the purity of their sport?”
“Save the self-righteous indignation about performance-enhancing drugs for legitimate sports. This just in: You can’t enhance a performance where the outcome is predetermined. What wrestlers do is use appearance-enhancing drugs to help them sell their performance.”
“And, please, don’t trot out the argument that steroid-inflated wrestlers send a bad message to kids. If your child is looking to pro wrestlers for guidance, this is not a wrestling problem: this is a parenting problem. If fact, if your 12-year-old son comes up to you and says he wants to start sleeping in a casket like The Undertaker or bleaching his hair white and dressing in flowing, sequined robes like Ric Flair, then it might just be time for a child psychologist.”
So much for taking wrestling seriously . . . until you count the box office and check out the WWE’s stock price.
~ Rich Perelman
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