(“The TEN” is not a top ten but ten items worth being included in “The TEN”)
1. Luka Doncic hit a three pointer at the buzzer in overtime to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 135-133 win over the Clippers to even their Western Conference Playoff series at two games apiece. Doncic finished with a game high 43 points.
2. The Dodgers hit 7 seven home runs to rout the Colorado Rockies 11-3 Sunday to complete a three game sweep of the series. The Dodgers have won 11 of 12 and are now 22-8 which is the best record in baseball.
3. The LA Galaxy beat LAFC 2-0 Saturday for their first win of the year.
4. The Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 2-1 in their Western Conference Playoff series with Game 4 set for Monday night.
5. The Baltimore Ravens released safety Earl Thomas after an on field altercation with a teammate.
6. Kobe Bryant would have turned 42 Sunday August 23.
7. The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 110-106 Sunday to complete a four game sweep of their Eastern Conference Playoff series.
8. The NFL is looking into a New Jersey laboratory after multiple teams have received false positive results for COVID-19 on several players. The New York Jets had 10 tests come back as false positives.
9. On this day in 2006 receiver Jerry Rice signed a one-day contract with the San Francisco 49ers and then officially retired from the NFL.
10. Former Baltimore Orioles/ Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. turns 60 today.
Sorry about the incomplete thought at the bottom of that one post. I was writing and editing a lot of material within a fairly short time last night, and that one sentence must’ve dropped out of sight below the little rectangle which we type into. I somehow forgot about it, in any event.
My intent was to delete that final remark because I’d come to the understanding that “getting schooled” can happen to anyone since none of us are perfect.
@ Question Mark: It’s great that the students took the lead in caring for themselves, each other, and their community.
My only question is whether the students were protesting against their school, or actually against a district ban on the wearing of masks. If they were protesting against a district-wide ban, it would be interesting to see what side the school-site administrators took. That potentially could be a choice between doing the right thing and keeping one’s job.
Whatever the complete story is there in Utah, we’re all facing a lot of serious moral choices during these crazy times.
Another FYI: The L.A. County Department of Public Health reported nearly 1,200 new cases of the coronavirus yesterday. Sadly, we’re still not where we need to be.
@ Danyelle: I apologize for offending you; I just don’t understand why you weren’t at least equally offended by a very bad joke.
@ #2: Yes, the Dodgers are rolling at the halfway point of their abbreviated 2020 regular season.
L.A. (22-8) leads major league baseball in home runs (with 59) and in runs scored (with 171), and Dodger hitters have also improved their collective batting average to .250, which is 11th in MLB.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff, which still leads the majors with a 2.65 earned-run average, is now getting the run support it needs.
The race in the National League West looks like it’s down to the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres (18-12), who trail L.A. by four games.
The San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, who are in a virtual tie for third place, are both eight games back. If the Dodgers were to play .500 ball the rest of the way, the Giants and the Rockies each would have to win at least three-quarters of their remaining games to catch the Dodgers.
But, don’t ignore those up-and-coming Padres, who have won seven of their last 10 games. As of Monday, San Diego’s hitters were tied with the Chicago White Sox for the second-most homers in MLB (at 55), and the Padres are also second only to the Dodgers in runs scored (with 163).
Pitching could be an Achilles’ heel for the Padres; San Diego’s team ERA of 4.35 is 14th-best out of 30 teams in the majors. The Padres have the look of a playoff contender, and watch out if their pitching improves.
Meanwhile, over in the American League West, we have the Angels, who can already start making plans for next year. The Angels (9-20) are 11 games behind the division-leading Oakland Athletics and would have to go 21-10 just to end the season at the .500 mark.
Here are the two main reasons why Arte Moreno’s team is doing so badly:
1. The Angels can’t pitch; their team ERA of 5.08 is the seventh-worst in major league baseball.
2. They’re also struggling at the plate; their team batting average of .231 is the ninth-worst in MLB.
More bad news in the AL West: The Houston Astros, who looked like they were about to fall out of contention for a playoff spot, have won seven of their last 10 games and are in second place, four and-a-half games behind Oakland.
I’ll bet that I’m not the only person who asks if the Astros can win now without cheating.
FYI: From what I can glean high school football is in it’s 2nd week in Utah. So far several games have been cancelled and several more postponed this coming week. One interesting story was that one school that has a no mask policy had the students including football and cheer protest on the field all, get this, Wearing masks before the game and asked all the fans to mask up which they did. If SGV kids can exhibit the same kind of leadership they can show adults how to shake this virus and maybe just maybe we can play some football in January.
I’d sure love to talk about football of any kind as well as about the Dodgers.
But first, can we all agree that the joke was lame and inappropriate? I find it unlikely that Vanessa Bryant would approve of such “humor.” The person who told the joke is the one who’s being ignorant. Danyelle should focus on him, but I guess I’m a more convenient target.
It’s unfortunate that she has to resort to name-calling and dropping names in attempting to make her point. Danyelle’s tactics only underscore the weakness of her argument.
@ Tim: With all due respect, I find it hard to comprehend how I’m being “schooled” by an individual person who is making r?
From T. Peterson: Huh?
Can we just go back to football!!
From T. Peterson: I agree.
@Captain Obvious – You’re the stupid joke. We all know what happened. We don’t have to have it shoved down our throats ad nauseum. Do you really think you reliving it again is some type of new scoop? Are you really that ignorant? Apparently so. By the way I personally know his wife Vanessa would not appreciate you trying to “explain” how her husband passed away. I’d text her and ask her myself but I want to spare her the agony. Of course I hurt bad. All of his friends do. As for you just please shut it!
@ Danyelle: You’re not funny, either. The tragic deaths of two people who were loved in L.A. and beyond—and the deaths of their friends—should not be used as the basis for a stupid joke.
@Vrooman – Thank you Captain Obvious. You really scooped everybody on that one. Thanks for the detailed research.
@ Amazingly True: That’s not funny. Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and everyone else on board died instantly from blunt-force trauma when their helicopter slammed into the ground.
In my view (and may the NTSB back me up), the most important contributing factors, besides the heavy fog, were the arrogance and stupidity of the pilot, who told a ground controller that he could make it to his destination under visual flight rules (VFR).
The pilot was not qualified to fly using instruments and would’ve had to abort the flight had he been truthful with the controller about the weather conditions.
Go Bruins!
Just in from CBS Los Angeles: There’s been another coronavirus outbreak at the University of Southern California.
Forty-three USC students have tested positive for the disease and more than 100 have been asked to self-quarantine. The students involved live off-campus in the nearby University Park neighborhood. The story was first reported by the Daily Trojan student newspaper.
According to that NFL lab in New Jersey, Kobe and his passengers died of COVID, because they all experienced acute shortness of breath in their final moments. The role of the helicopter in this tragedy is being studied, but the report won’t be available until November 4.