From what I read, the NBA and NHL have been the sports darlings of LA in recent years, MLB not so much, and the NFL dare not be mentioned. It looks like the Angels and Dodgers are going to change all that, and fast, too. They are both loaded. I'm glad to see Donnie Baseball get a chance managing the Dodgers with real players. He's going to be an excellent manager.
Well certainly with the Lakers winning back to back in 2009 and 2010, and the Kings winning the Stanley cup last year, its been pretty heady stuff. But what really turned us off was the McCourt (McCrook!) era, his stupid ass divorce and their just really out of town-carpetbagger mentality and personal lives. No offense to East Coasters but this Boston reject just about took our beloved Dodgers down the tubes with them. That he was made again into a rich man and still has a small chunk of the parking lot is still galling but at last, we can say good riddance to him. And the above is a mild critique!
NFL? Ain't gonna happen for at least another 5 years. IMHO, it would do well, but we really can't be sitting around waiting to make some owner a rich offer - we need to start our own team, an expansion franchise IMO, and build it from ground up. Problem is, AEG (And Phil Anschutz) may have shot themselves in the foot with the recent parting of Tim Leiweke so we'll have to see how serious they are about getting the NFL back to LA. Meanwhile, LA has easily adapted to having no team since the thug ridden Raider days - and most Angelinos want no part of that, same with the atmosphere that led to the Giants fan beating a couple of years ago.
LA fans have for the most part retaken the idea that Sports venues should be safe, family oriented, and fun. I think teams have taken security and fan conduct enforcement seriously, hopefully to the betterment of the fan experience. We just don't need or want out of control "idiots" (I won't call them sports or team fans) to ruin it for us, our city, or region. Its already tough enough to live in LA or California!
Anway, the Dodgers have got enough depth at pitching and hitting, but can they play enough defense, can they get through some of these early injuries, and remain injury free? Those are the big questions as we head out of spring training.
