By Joe Torosian
Kick it!
The Stanley Cup is approaching, so it’s time for me to slither back to the LA Kings bandwagon.
I love the Kings, I was all over them in my youth, but these days, man, who’s got the time?
As they were beating the Seattle Kraken last night, I’m stunned that Anze Kopitar (20 seasons) and Drew Doughty (18) are still with the franchise.
Is anybody in LA aware of this? Is anybody aware there’s a hockey team in Anaheim?
This is why we need newspapers and sports sections. I’m not going to search online for what I don’t care or know about, but when scanning a sports section way back when, I’d come across an item or two about the Ducks…or the Irvine Anteaters…or Northridge basketball.
Where have you gone, Teemu Selänne?
If LeBron James can lead the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves…his fans will explode…and I will lead the applause.
I acknowledge LeBron is a great player, he’s just not the GOAT…Perhaps he’s the GOAT of accumulation.
Note to Dave Roberts: Give the kid a shot to finish the game. If Justin Wrobleski earned the right to go back out in the ninth, then give him the shot to close it out.
Wrobleski played a huge part in the Dodgers’ World Series win, and he had thrown only 90 pitches over eight innings.
When Tanner Scott came out for the final frame, I can’t tell you how badly I wanted him to torch the thing so everyone would come after Roberts.
Note to Readers: I hate the Dodgers. I know they’re the best team in baseball, so I’m searching high and low for something, anything, to bag on them about. After UNIQLO rants, there’s not much.
Last Add Dodgers: I don’t want to hear they were protecting Wrobleski’s arm…The MLB and baseball as a whole have no clue how to protect a pitcher’s arm.
“Many experts argue the league still falls short of a comprehensive, effective solution. Injuries, particularly to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) requiring Tommy John surgery, continue at high rates despite decades of efforts.”—CBS Sports.
“Elbow and shoulder injuries haven’t declined meaningfully in recent years. MLB’s own 62-page 2024 study on pitching injuries highlighted rising Tommy John rates (dozens per year, far above pre-2010 levels), with no clear fix emerging.”—ESPN.
“Pitch counts alone don’t fully predict injury risk; a 100-pitch outing for one guy isn’t the same as for another due to mechanics, fatigue, or pitch type. Research shows no magic threshold in MLB that guarantees safety, and relievers (who throw far fewer pitches) still get hurt regularly.”—ESPN.
Only Add Mets: You know the season is rapidly turning to toast when 16 games in the Tommy Pham card is being played.
Finally, this isn’t a critique of the WNBA, but its draft last night brought to mind something I’m really sick of seeing.
What I can’t stand, and I’ve seen it up close, is the constant pressure put on young athletes to represent their community, race, gender, or flavor of the month cause currently in vogue.
Let them get established, just let it be without declaration—God, family, country in whatever way they choose to pursue.
But between the ages of 18 and 25, they shouldn’t be burdened with the call to bring social justice, end poverty, build schools, and serve in soup kitchens.
If they want to fine, but the culture, the KBM (Kiss-Butt-Media) should have no say and inflict no coercion of conscience upon them.
Virtue should be a choice, not a mandate.
#24—May the San Francisco Giants rot and lie stinking in the earth…The Dude abides…
1,269
1 Corinthians 16:13-15
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
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