![\"\"](\"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Oscar-Madison-2-268x300.png\")
By Joe Torosian<\/p>\nBy Joe Torosian<\/p>\n
Kick it!<\/p>\n
Why do I love sports?<\/p>\n
Because I learned life lessons and gained understanding through sports that I never would have learned in the classroom.<\/p>\n
The first one I can remember was from marbles. They were a big deal when I was a kid. You played for keeps, it was understood, and 99% of the schoolyard abided by the “play for keeps” rule.<\/p>\n
Until one kid–a poser who bought his bag at the market rather than earning it on the playground–cried after getting fleeced of his favorite aggies.<\/p>\n
The teachers then enforced a new rule that we could only play for “funsies”…literally, that was the term, “funsies.”<\/p>\n
And that wasn’t the real world. Thank goodness for sports and competition.<\/p>\n
I’m trying to think of an NBA Draft I watched from start to finish, and I can’t. Has anyone? It was never appointment television\u2026I generally listened to it on the radio on the way to work or a game.<\/p>\n
I was surprised the Lakers re-inked Austin Reaves, and given who they acquired in the draft\u2014to me\u2014it feels like the end of LeBron.<\/p>\n
Whether they get a big or not, and I know Walker Kessler is still out there, how is a player like Cameron Carr going to develop behind Luka Doncic, Reaves, and a returning LeBron?<\/p>\n
Last Add TV: I did watch the first lottery draw when the Knicks got the number one pick, which everyone knew would translate into Patrick Ewing. And which everyone–by the sense of smell–thought came across as incredibly rigged.<\/p>\n
Ewing, the greatest center prospect since Kareem, just by “chance” ending up with the Knicks would blow up X\/Twitter today.<\/p>\n
Speaking of centers, Oklahoma City taking Aday Mara as a counter to Victor Wembanyama was a great move. The whole world knows that Chet Holmgren is no counter for Wemby.<\/p>\n
I still marvel that UCLA couldn’t coax out of Mara what the Wolverines got out of him in Ann Arbor. <\/p>\n
As a Mets fan, would someone please lay something heavy across this season’s skull\u2026and end this!<\/p>\n
#73\u2014May the San Francisco Giants rot and lie stinking in the earth\u2026<\/p>\n
Recent Lakers Draft Picks: <\/strong> Note on Jaden McDaniels: <\/strong> The Lakers drafted him 28th overall in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, but immediately traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder (as part of the Dennis Schr\u00f6der deal) and then to Minnesota. So what happens to Brendan Sorsby now? The NFL hasn’t had a supplemental draft for a while, and not having one this summer is really good timing.<\/p>\n The Shield gets to play wait and see on Sorsby before getting into business with him. The kid’s choices cost him a lot of bread, while FanDuel and DraftKings keep on trucking.<\/p>\n Regarding the World Cup:<\/strong> I’m not going to watch Switzerland versus Canada today, but the Canucks could sure use a win–just for the sake of the Maple Leaf, they need a win.<\/p>\n Czechia playing Mexico does interest me. Twenty years of mission trips south of the border compel me to root for Estados Unidos Mexicanos.<\/p>\n No one wants to hear it, but New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart is worth a tune in. Great in the WNBA, and really solid beyond that.<\/p>\n Last Add WNBA:<\/strong> I know it’s cool to go after Caitlin Clark when the Indiana Fever lose, but I’d put five teams in front of the Fever\u2014possibly six. Overall, they’re not good enough, and Clark can only elevate them so much.<\/p>\n I want to get into the Los Angeles Sparks, but haven’t found the time.<\/p>\n The Dude abides\u2026<\/p>\n 1,320<\/strong> By Joe Torosian Kick it! Why do I love sports? Because I learned life lessons and gained understanding through sports that I never would have learned in the classroom. The first one I can remember was from marbles. They were a big deal when I was a kid. You played for keeps, it was understood, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fanview"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97114,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97113\/revisions\/97114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2026\u2014Cameron Carr (Baylor) acquired from the Knicks
\n2024\u2014Dalton Knecht (Tennessee)
\n2023\u2014Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
\n2021\u2014Isaiah Jackson (Kentucky) traded to the Pacers
\n2020\u2014Jaden McDaniels (Washington) See below
\n2018\u2014Moe Wagner (Michigan)
\n2017\u2014Lonzo Ball (UCLA)
\n2016\u2014Brandon Ingram (Duke)
\n2015\u2014D’Angelo Russell (Ohio St.) & Larry Nance Jr. (Wyoming)<\/p>\n
\n(Dennis Schr\u00f6der, man. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry.)
\nDid you see McDaniels this postseason? Dodgers management can’t take control soon enough.<\/p>\n
\nIsaiah 45:6-7<\/strong>
\njtbank1964@yahoo.com<\/strong>
\n\u201cRamView\u201d M-W-F<\/strong>
\nFollow Joe on X: @joet13b<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"