1952-2024… YES – LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, I HAVE HEARD THIS SAD NEWS. In fact, I was in my bathroom when I overheard the TV news person announce Bill Walton’s death; I didn’t even know he was sick with cancer, which the UCLA and NBA (including a stint with the Clippers) legend apparently didn’t want anyone to know. Unlike more or less everyone else, I enjoyed his commentary at basketball games, particularly Pac-12 and UCLA contests. And a personal fun fact: I had the pleasure of meeting Walton and getting his autograph while a student in Westwood and a member of the UCLA band in February of 1990 ..read more

A nice supportive sign from this Sparks fan… NOTE: This will not be the usual team preview, but more of an opinion piece. Tonight at Dodger Stadium before the Dodgers took on the Arizona Diamondbacks, The two newest members of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, threw out the first ball. Brink and Jackson were stars for Stanford and Tennessee, respectively, and were (also respectively) the second and fourth overall picks in the recent WNBA draft, Which followed a season for the ages in women’s college basketball; The fact that their NCAA Tournament drew higher TV ..read more

THE TWO SPORTS ACTIVITIES THAT I WOULD LOVE TO DO BEFORE I DIE Second in a series I’ll get right to the point… These two sporting endeavors on my bucket list have been on such for more or less a long time, And they are both baseball-related: Participate in the Dodgers fantasy camp – spend a week playing baseball at Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers’ spring training facility where (I believe) they hold their adult fantasy camps in February – with fellow Dodger fans under former Dodger stars fulfilling my baseball fantasies and… Play either one baseball game or one pick-up softball game on the fi ..read more

Some intense action in an El Trafico rivalry match between the LA Galaxy (left) and LAFC (right). Photo courtesy from theviewfromavalon.com Our Shout-Out To The Galaxy, LAFC, and Angel City FC; A quick update on how things are going so far this season… LOS ANGELES GALAXY Current Record: 5-2-5, 20 points, tied for second place in the MLS Western Conference Last Match: Tied Real Salt Lake, 2-2, on May 11th Next Match: vs Minnesota United FC on May 15th Leading Scorers: Dejan Joveljic – 6 goals, 10 points Joseph Paintsil – 4 goals, 12 points LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB (LAFC) Current Record: 5-4 ..read more

Third in a series BEING THAT BASEBALL SEASON IS IN FULL SWING… It has been several weeks since I listed my all-time movie basketball team, in honor of the March Madness that was going on. Now that such – in addition to the seasons of both of So Cal’s pro hoops teams, the Lakers and the Clippers, who fulfilled my predictions dead-on in losing to the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks, respectively, in the first round, As well as all of the So Cal collegiate hoops teams, the women’s squads from Cal Baptist, UC Irvine, UCLA and USC along with the men’s squad from Long Beach State, likewise ..read more

UC Irvine ball players showing support from their dugout. Photo courtesy of twitter.com OUR LOOK AT THE BEST COLLEGE BASEBALL TEAMS THAT SO CAL HAS TO OFFER THIS SEASON, PLUS USC AND UCLA At a glance… UC IRVINE ANTEATERS Current Record: 28-8, 11-4 and tied for first place in the Big West Conference Rank: 12th Last Game: Beat San Diego State, 7-5, on April 21st Next Game: at UCLA on April 23rd Team Leaders: BATTING AVERAGE: Caden Kendle, .408 HOME RUNS: Thomas McCaffrey, 6 RUNS BATTED IN: Anthony Martinez, 45 PITCHING: Nick Pinto, 7-2, 3.05 ERA SAVES: Ricky Tribbett, 8 UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCH ..read more

UCLA Softballers during their annual Jackie Robinson Day. Photo courtesy of twitter.com OUR LOOK AT THE BEST COLLEGIATE SOFTBALL TEAMS THAT SO CAL HAS TO OFFER IN 2024 At a glance… UCLA BRUINS Current Record: 27-9, 12-3 and first place in the Pac-12 Conference Rank: 7th Last Game: Beat then #5 Stanford, 2-1, on April 21st (part of a three-game sweep) Next Game: at Long Beach State on April 23rd Key Players: Maya Brady, SS – .370 average, 10 HR, 39 RBI Megan Grant, RF – .376 average, 3 HR, 23 RBI Sharlize Palacios, C – .347 average, 10 HR, 28 RBI Kaitlyn Terry, P: 11-0, 1.97 ERA Taylor Tinsle ..read more

HOW I SEE THINGS ULTIMATELY UNFOLDING FOR THE THREE SO CAL WINTER SPORTS TEAMS IN THEIR PLAYOFF RUNS SEASON RECORDS AT A GLANCE… Los Angeles Clippers: 51-31, Fourth place in the Western Conference PACIFIC DIVISION CHAMPIONS, finishing two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Dallas Mavericks, starting Sunday, April 21st Los Angeles Lakers: 47-35, Seventh place in the Western Conference Finished third in the Pacific Division, four games behind the Clippers Won three of four games over the Clippers in this season’s Hallway Series Beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 110-106, in th ..read more

SO CAL SPORTS CHRONICLES’ ANNUAL HOMAGE TO NOT ONLY THE GREATEST DODGER AND BRUIN OF ALL TIME, BUT TO – IN THE VIEW OF ME AND COUNTLESS OTHERS – THE GREATEST HERO IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS… The previous post on this blog featured USC’s all-time greatest Trojan. This post features UCLA’s all-time greatest Bruin as well as the all-time greatest Dodger. The previous post featured a man who polarized and divided a country by behaving much differently than what he cultivated in his public image and persona, And not just in murdering his second wife and her friend and getting away with that only to ..read more

Photo courtesy of variety.com PERSONAL MUSINGS OF THIS FOOTBALL AND MEDIA STAR AND HIS DIVISIVE LEGACY At least in my opinion, This was the greatest athlete in the history of the University of Southern California, My evidence being that if you compare the Trojans’ eight Heisman Trophy winners, This man was the only one who starred in a sport alongside football, as he set a world record in the 4×100 relay while wearing Cardinal and Gold. He also had the best pro football career of any Trojan ever, as he was the first man to ever get 2,000 rushing yards in a season, getting 2,003 yards with the ..read more