Aug. 10, 2009
BLVR covers the Bruins, Lakers, Vikings and Reds who by fate or destiny became the favorite teams long ago of a young kid growing up in Southern California.
BRUINS
Do you know what time it is? It's hammer time. The football team opens practice today with all eyes on redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince and that offensive line. The O-line played horribly last year and are lucky they didn't get quarterback Kevin Craft killed. The Bruins are looking to improve on last season's ugly 4-8 record. This will be the second season for Coach Rick Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Norm Chow. Fans such as myself aren't expecting a lot, which is the best way to approach the season. Seems to me that the Bruins of late have been the most enjoyable, at least in football, when they have that "gutty little Bruin" thing going for them. My buddy Jon just walked by and asked for my season prediction. My answer: 8-4.
Rick Reilly, writing for ESPN The Magazine, has a good piece on Neuheisel and his counterpart over at USC.
Jake Fleming update: UCLA tennis player Jake Fleming, 20, is back in Southern California after being in a medically induced coma due to injuries suffered when he was allegedly sucker-punched in June after attending a Rascal Flatts concert in Texas. The Dallas Morning News had a brief update on Fleming over the weekend.
LAKERS
Good things happen when you go on vacation. Really good things. The world champs finally got Lamar Odom to sign a deal while I was away enjoying eastern Europe and U2 in Poland. So, the Lakers essentially have their whole championship team coming back with the exception of Trevor Ariza, whose loss was offset by the gain of Ron Artest.
Congrats to Lakers fan favorite Kurt Rambis, who has been hired as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers' owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, the team's general manager, Mitch Kupchak, and Coach Phil Jackson all released statements wishing Rambis luck. Jackson called Rambis "the workhorse of my staff the past few years" and gave him credit for taking on the defensive coordinator job last season, which was a key reason the Lakers had such a great run.
VIKINGS
Brett Favre's decision to stay retired happened while I was away and I couldn't be happier. We really don't need that guy.
The Vikings open pre-season play this Friday against the Indianapolis Colts. It'll be a major test in the quarterback competition between Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. Jackson is a little banged up, having skipped some practices after spraining the MCL in his left knee.
In other developments, Vikings linemen Kevin and Pat Williams got a bit of a reprieve when a state judge put their case against the NFL's anti-doping policy on hold pending a decision from a federal court. The judge who issued the ruling said that a state trial during the 2009 season was unlikely.
The Vikes open the regular season Sept. 13 at Cleveland.
REDS
The Reds are 12 1/2 games back. Wait until next year. Actually there is one thing to look forward to this year: "The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds," which is a new book by sportswiter Joe Posnanski. Posnanski's site says the book is coming out 9/9/09, so pre-order your copies now.
--Paul Chavez, BLVR
Bringing back Odom is like bringing back the title to the Lakers, Only the Spurs can compete with them in the west, with healthy Duncan and Ginobili..
Posted by: cheap fioricet | Monday, August 10, 2009 at 11:57 PM