leftcoastsports

Rick Fox, former NBA star with the Celts and then more famously the Lakers is now an analyst on the Lakers local television outlet. How the mighty have fallen, right? But that’s another story. The one at issue is the comment he threw out at the end of the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves this past Sunday night. He looked at the stats and wondered out loud if using Bynum and Gasol at the same time on the court was the best use of personnel for what the Lakers need. That seemed like heresy to me but he pointed out that Phil is using Odom with Gasol a bit more as games go by and it isn’t just related to foul trouble by Andrew. He looked at the results on the defensive side: rebounds and steals and pure intimidation at the basket. With the number of points the Lakers allow their competition of late, Fox thinks a shake-up might have to happen. He believes the advantages of the Twin Towers concept don’t outweigh the need for offense and spacing on the floor. Phil just made Lamar captain of the second unit so I don’t know how that would work out and he loves Ariza coming off the bench. But look out for some change in the air if the paint is still a place of comfort for opposing players who make layups and offensive rebounds for put-back points.

As they say, they’re mathematically still alive. Is that the sports equivalent of being on life support? But back to football, the Chargers wanted the game on Sunday infinitely more than Kansas City. The Chiefs’ coach is the one who famously said, “we play to win the game”. Well, that means playing hard and smart for 60 minutes on the game clock. The Chargers tried an on-side kick late in the 4th and as happens with the vast majority of these plays, it failed. But they were given life as the Chief’s player who recovered the kick fumbled it back to San Diego. Philip Rivers was a man possessed and willed the team into the end zone with the clincher off a ten yard TD pass to Vincent Jackson. The Chiefs have been beaten twice this year by San Diego by a grand total of 2 points. Ouch!

Chargers win 22-21

I’m going out on that proverbial limb. Although Manny Ramirez is sounding off in public today about his disgust with the lack of interest in him, I don’t think he needs to worry. The LA Dodgers are still in talks with Manny’s agent Scott Boras and although they haven’t put their previous offer back on the table, all they’re waiting for is a sense that they are not bidding against themselves. You know, like the Yankees did with CC Sabathia? That was just plain wrong what happened with CC. Brian Cashman had to promise more money and an escape hatch for the pitcher to open and slide through if he didn’t like it in NYC. We know Manny likes the city of Los Angeles and playing in front of wildly adoring fans. Once Boras finishes negotiating what will top the Sabathia numbers on behalf of Mark Texeira, the losers in that sweepstakes will set their sights on Manny. At that point the Dodgers can see if someone is willing to better their offer of two years with an option for a third at the rate of more than $20M+ per season.