California Sports Fan Blog

Because Matt Garza threw a no-hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays, the San Diego Padres and New York Mets are now the only two teams without a no-hitter in their history. Good job Padres, Bud Smith has a better no-hit history than your franchise.

Get your Los Angeles Lakers Championship materials while they are actually reigning champions!

Everyone keeps saying that the Los Angeles Lakers will be too much for the Miami Heat, if they do meet in the NBA Finals. However, that is clearly not the case. The Lakers barely survived the Boston Celtics, as it went to a game seven, and the score was very close. That Celtics team has nothing on this Miami Heat team that has been assembled. If LeBron James could win 61 games with a bad team surrounding him, this Heat team has the potential to win 70 games.

Regular season aside, the Heat should get to the NBA Finals. The Magic and Celtics could give them a run for their money, but at the end of the day, barring multiple huge injuries, the Heat will be too much for them to handle. And despite what others think, the Bulls will not be as phenomenal as everyone thinks.

There will be those who say, “Kobe will shut down D-Wade, Gasol will handle Bosh, and Artest’s defense will contain LeBron”. It’s not that easy. While the Lakers supporting cast bailed out Kobe in Game 7 of this past NBA Finals, that is not something that will always happen. It would be a competitive series, but Miami just has too much firepower.

I am not a Miami Heat supporter by any means, but I’ve accepted the fact that this is a dynasty in the making.

Former Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has agreed to become the next head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are one of the biggest disasters in sports history. However, they have a somewhat bright future. With cap space, Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, and Baron Davis, the Clippers have something to work with.

Del Negro is not the coach to shift eyes towards the Clippers, but it is another step in the right direction for a franchise that does not find success too often. However, things could be on the rise for Los Angeles’s second most important basketball team.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

With all the hype around LeBron James and the other marquee free agents, the Clippers have to be realistic. None of them are going to Clipperland. With a nucleus of Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon, and Blake Griffin, the Clippers look better than some may think. They are clearly missing a small forward to fill that spot. And the right man to fill that hole would be Rudy Gay.

Gay is a restricted free agent, meaning the Memphis Grizzlies can match any offer made to him. However, a maximum contract offer could shy away Memphis from retaining Gay. The Clippers have to be realistic in thinking that they are going to get a huge name. But the Clippers must get Gay.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

I am just wondering how one person’s mistakes can cause an entire school to get punished so severely. Usually punishments should fit the crime. Eye for an eye, that sort of thing. If I understand it correctly, the NCAA is punishing USC for incidents that took place several years ago. It appears as if Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush are both shocked at the punishments because they DON’T fit the crime. I believe USC is being made an example of at the expense of the next wave of high school seniors and college kids and not of the players and coaches who were involved. Basically, it has caused untold consequences and collateral damage for tomorrow’s players. What judge would think is fair?

Chael Sonnen has recently being getting on my nerves with his comments toward the UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. I find it very funny how someone tries to call out Silva saying he is going to destroy him when he cannot even finish a fight. His previous 3 wins have all come by decision and before that he lost in the first round by submission to the last man who challenged and was embarrassed by Silva, Demian Maia. For someone who is calling for a knockout but has not won by knockout in three years is absolutely absurd. That’s like me saying I am going to play in the MLS and win a championship this year and I haven’t played soccer since 1999.

Sometimes I believe that MMA fighters see what works in other sports and try to use it just to hype a fight or produce sales for their own profit. Boxers do it and it helps produce numbers. But when people take it to far like Chael, it just makes people look down on the sport and sets it back a few steps. Chael’s comments toward Silva’s manager Ed Soares was very inappropriate “Ed, pray to whatever Demon effigy you prance and dance in front of with your piglet tribe of savages that I decide not to CRUCIFY you,” stated Sonnen. Now that seems a little racist to me but that’s just my opinion. Chael rude and distasteful comments are just calling for one of the worst beatings in UFC history. I am very indifferent about Silva but after some of the things I’ve heard from Sonnen I hope Silva destroys him to a point where he knows not to open his mouth again.

This Wednesday night on June 16th Strikeforce will have a special fight card in Los Angeles. It will be a 6 fight special attraction on Showtime starting at 11pm eastern. The main event is a battle between Robbie Lawler vs Renato “Babalu” Sobral. This fight while be a classic striker vs. grappler match. This will be a good match but I can see Lawler getting the advantage in the stand up and ending the match by TKO in the second round.

In the co-main event its Marius Zaromskis vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos . This is going to be a great striking battle. Marius is a much better striker than Santos and a see him winning by TKO in the first round. In a the card is decent just because its a free card on a Wednesday.

Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics come into Los Angeles, looking to capture the NBA Championship. Just two years ago, Boston was able to do it against the Lakers. And last year, the Lakers reigned supreme over the Magic to become NBA Champions. But this year, Los Angeles finds themselves in a 2-0 hole.

If the Lakers lose, it has other consequences. After the game five loss, Kobe Bryant looked like the old Kobe Bryant. The one who was very selfish and looked like he was unhappy with his teammates. While he played great and nobody else did, when has LeBron James vocally been displeased with his teammates?

The Lakers need to win tonight to stay alive. But they also need to win if they want to avoid an off-season of misery.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Although he is Golden State’s best player, it may be in the best interest of the Warriors to trade star player Monta Ellis. Ellis is a solidified all-star, but there are two reasons why he should be traded. The first is that he is very injury prone. He has only played a combined 89 games over the past two seasons. The other reason is that he could possibly be stopping the development of Stephen Curry. Curry had a phenomenal rookie year, averaging 17.5 points per contest.

But both Ellis and Curry truly strive from running the offense. While either can play both PG and SG, both excel when handling the ball. It would be an injustice to either one to not have the ball in their hands. So if Ellis was dealt, then it would be Curry’s team to run.

Either way, Golden State is in trouble due to the contracts that Biedrins and Maggette have. But trading Ellis would allow Curry to truly develop into the star that he can, and will be.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

A few years ago, Manny Ramirez provided an unbelievable spark for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His batting average with the team in 2008 was a whopping .396. But last year, we all know Ramirez was suspended for steroid use. Due to that, Manny’s numbers were far from impressive last year. And this year, the same can be said.

A .281 average, five home runs, and 28 RBI’s are not bad by any means. However, this is not the Manny Ramirez that we are all used to. Yes, he is getting up there in age. And yes, maybe his performance is bound to be worse since he is off steroids. But for the sake of Dodger fans, Manny needs to start being Manny.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network