Fanview: October 25, 2016

Tribe fan as a member of the El Paisano staff circa 1987...Note the hair on the side was cropped by the editor...I had a much more distinct Oscar Gamble look in those days.

Tribe fan as a member of the El Paisano staff circa 1987…Note the hair on the side was cropped by the editor…I had a much more distinct Oscar Gamble look in those days.

By Joe Torosian

“Death? You’ve got to be kidding me! For what?…Well, I’ll take it all back! Call them in here! I’ll renounce everything! Let’s get out of here. Let’s go get some Chinese food.”—Socrates

Kick it!

Right off the Top: The New York Mets went further in 2015 than the Los Angeles Dodgers did in 2016.

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I like the Tribe tonight…look for Indians DH, Andre Thornton to get payback against Chicago for dealing him to Montreal. He’ll take Cubs starter Steve Renko deep in the third…

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Two weeks on the disabled list with flumonia gave me a chance to think about a lot of things…but only one thing really hacked me.

Vote for Trump…or don’t vote for Trump…I could give a rat’s kiester who you vote for…but don’t be one of these people who say they were offended by what he called locker room talk when he was caught on tape with Billy Bush.

I’m not telling you to like what he said…and I won’t argue if it changed your mind about voting for him…but please…to have some of these sports media people come out and say they’ve never heard such talk in a locker room?

All I can say to that is either they’re liars or have never really been in a locker room…Things that are said and done in a locker room are often unspeakable…Off the charts…I’ve heard it all (and seen most of it) at prep, college, and the professional level…pencils, helicopters, and dropped grapes…and that’s as much detail as I can give you…What Trump said wasn’t nice (don’t give him your vote if that’s how your feel)…but he’d be considered a lightweight if that was all he brought with him into a locker room.

Supermarket night crew…some of that stuff was unspeakable as well…I’m sure Barker could tell you about his days working construction, VillaTheDevil about his days with the Avengers, and Peterson about his times with his brother and Valentine.

Man, I was actually with a group of Pastors, and many of them didn’t even believe what the Bible had to say…Talk about unspeakable…Locker room talk never sounded so pleasant.

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Next Add Dodgers: So last Saturday night, I asked my guys, my fun team, Peterson and Barker if they wanted to get together and watch Game Six of the Dodgers-Cubs.

“You’re not a Dodger fan anymore,” they said. “So since you’re not a Dodger fan that makes you riff-raff. We don’t watch important games with riff-raff.”

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Joe T.'s High School football novel is available through Amazon.com “A literary snapshot of what goes on over the course of a high school football season…an awesome read and a story that truly will transcend time.”—Jim Singiser, AD/HC Arroyo Knights Football “Thrill, dread, anxiety, love, agony, success, and failure; basically all the emotions you feel as a football player/coach as you do in life, all wrapped up in a single book.”—Marc Paramo, HC Rosemead Panthers Football “I read the book and really enjoyed it a great deal. I would think coaches and parents could Learn a lot.”—John “Coach” Kentera, former sports talk host at Mighty 690 & Mighty 1090

Joe T.’s High School football novel is available through Amazon.com
“A literary snapshot of what goes on over the course of a high school football season…an awesome read and a story that truly will transcend time.”—Jim Singiser, AD/HC Arroyo Knights Football
“Thrill, dread, anxiety, love, agony, success, and failure; basically all the emotions you feel as a football player/coach as you do in life, all wrapped up in a single book.”—Marc Paramo, HC Rosemead Panthers Football
“I read the book and really enjoyed it a great deal. I would think coaches and parents could learn a lot.”—John “Coach” Kentera, former sports talk host at Mighty 690 & Mighty 1090

Note to Los Angeles Angels: Mike Napoli sent me a note before starting his third World Series tonight…He’d like me to thank you, after hitting 66 home runs in three seasons (92 in five), for dealing him to Toronto in 2011 for Vernon Wells…

Vernon Wells…

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Note to Chino Fans: The Cowboys won their first CIF title, 20-7 over Barstow, in 1948…The same year the Cleveland Indians won their last World Series title.

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If I’m riff-raff, I wonder what Case Keenum is?

I hate to see unemployment go up but there are a lot of federal programs to help you move ahead when you lose your job. So, if I was Stan Kroenke, I wouldn’t have any hesitation kicking Jeff Fisher to the curb.

Sunday in London was some serious 7-9 Bolshoi…

Six draft picks spent for Jared Goff, and in a make or break season, Fisher has decided to stick with Keenum…That might tell you everything you need to know about Tim Couch…oops, excuse me, sorry, I mean Jared Goff.

…And who put that offensive line together?

Jubilee Dunbar!

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On this night in 1975, Pasadena’s Courtney Robinson rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in the Bulldogs 28-14 victory at Arcadia. Future Los Angeles Rams kicker, Mike Lansford added both extra-points for the Apaches…

Same night, Blair beat Burbank 46-0 at PCC…Monrovia defeated Schurr, 28-16, to take over sole possession of first place in the Mission Valley League…SAY WHAT?…I said Mission Valley League…Rosemead got a 30-yard field goal from Gary Loveli with 41-seconds to play to beat Mark Keppel 16-14…In the Foothill League (Not the Pacific)…Crescenta Valley’s Gary Beck rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the Falcons 28-6 victory over previously unbeaten Burroughs.

In the Rio Hondo League, San Marino beat Bell Gardens, 28-14…and South Pasadena defeated Temple City, 21-6, at North Field…Interesting thing about this game is the Tigers, under HC Jim Yang, end up going all the way to the CIF Finals and beat Villa Park, 13-12.

In 1976, Temple City returns to the CIF Finals for the first time since 1973, and defeat Villa Park, 21-0. (The Rams would also win CIF titles in 1977 & 1978)

How’s that for research?

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Last Add Dodgers: Trying to articulate my thoughts on abandoning the Dodgers…I worked this out in my head and then put it down on paper…I think it shares my feelings about the Dodgers, Time Warner/Spectrum, and the actions I’ve taken.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same support evinces a design to reduce fans to absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such support for a local team, and to provide new guards for their future happiness and fandom.

Might be a little wordy…but it just came to me.

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I’m going with Los Altos this week…call it a hunch…or just the bad taste the Chargers left in my mouth when they were nearly upset by West Covina…It’s cliche to say one team is hungry and another is not…everybody is hungry…but I’m going with the team that has Tyler Nevens.

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Vernon Wells…Really, Vernon Wells… That’s like the Lakers trading for Mel Counts.

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I got tagged in a link to Aram Tolegian’s story for the Star News on the state of athletics in the Pasadena school district, and it was a great read.

A program can suffer a bad season because of a bad coach…I agree with that…but a program (or programs) that suffers for two decades or more is all about leadership at the administration level.

Also when successful coaches are let go because they are not the right “color”…you’re going to have problems.

“Parents will do anything to keep their kids out of the Pasadena school system.”—A local private school coach told me in 2011.

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Is there an elephant in the room?

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Okay Elephant In The Room Department: The Mid Valley News is closing its doors…Not Mid Valley Sports…After the Mid Valley News website went dark the week of the CIF semifinals in 2008, we created this website…We vowed to never, ever, leave the football work we do in the hands of somebody else. So when the suits and accountants start fighting…we can still publish…

We’re still here…We’ll still be publishing and providing the very best local and national sports coverage available in this price range.

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Burbank usually finds a way to stick a thorn into Crescenta Valley’s side…but the Bulldogs are going to have to hustle up a passing game (just a modest one) if they’re going to keep pace with the Falcons this Friday night.

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Midbits (same as ‘Tidbits’)
Midbits: “What do you mean, your Cubbies?…When did they suddenly become your Cubbies? You don’t have any shirts, you don’t have any gear, and you never talk about them.”—Mrs. Andy VillaTheDevil on Saturday night to her husband.

Midbits: Because I’ve seen it floating around online, let me help Dodger fans with something. Signing Yoenis Cespedes and parking him in left field would be a great move…but I saw 123 Mets games this year and the dude does not want to play, nor feels comfortable playing, right field. He shines in left, he’ll play some center…but he will not play right field.

Midbits: Carlos Santana is in the World Series for the Cleveland Indians…Can somebody find Casey Blake for me?

Midbits: Pedro Cerrano says, “Is very bad to steal Jobu’s rum. Is very bad.”

Midbits: Indians win the World Series four games to two.

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MLB GAMES JOE T. HAS WATCHED THIS SEASON (Minimum 5-innings)
New York Mets: 123
Los Angeles Dodgers: 30
San Francisco Giants: 20
Chicago Cubs-14
Cleveland Indians-10
Toronto Blue Jays-8

The Dude abides…

647

Psalm 140

Contact Joe at joe@midvalleysports.com

Author of “Tangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel” available through amazon.com …and “The Dead Bug Tales” available this fall.

Follow Joe on Twitter @joet13b

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