Far From Refuge

So every in my life is pretty much the same as it has been for a while so I decided to write about a few exciting things in Southern California sports.

First off, THE LAKERS ARE BACK!!! I can't tell you how excited I am that the Lakers are finally legitimate contenders after being sub-par for 3 years. I realize for all you people out that are not Laker fans, that this sounds absurd and selfish. But I have to say that when you live in Southern California there are two things you should always be able to count on. The first one is sunshine. The second one is the Lakers kicking ace in the NBA. I know they are the Yankees of the NBA, but come on, who am I supposed to root for, the Clippers? Who likes the Clippers? They are like the red-headed step child of L.A. basketball. Let me rephrase that, the Clippers are like the red-headed step child of the entire NBA. Sorry Clipps fans, but they suck. Anywho, with the addition of Pau Gasol, as well as the emergence Andrew Bynum, the Lakers have set themselves a top the NBA. Oh yeah, did I mention that they pimp slapped the Suns tonight, who also just added Shaq to their roster? So with Shaq joining the Suns, a Pacific division rival, there are sure to be some good match ups in the season thats left, as well as the post season. Can you think of a Western Conference Final that puts Kobe vs Shaq? Amazing is the only word that comes to mind.



OK, on to the topic of night. BASEBALL BABY!! Words cannot describe how excited I am for baseball season. I find myself on ESPN.com and MLB.com every day reading articles on baseball. I would hope everyone reading this knows I am Dodger fan. My father grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and followed them when they came to L.A. So like the father that he was, he raised to be a Dodger fan. Now, growing up in Orange County, 10 minutes from Anaheim stadium, I also developed a love for the Angels. Most Dodger fans would find this to be blasphemy, as would most Angels fans, but my argument is that they play in different leagues. Needless to say that I am very excited about both teams this year. Not only do the Dodgers have a few youngsters coming up (James Loney, Matt Kemp), but they picked up Andruw Jones from the Braves off free agency. Jones had a rough year last year but assuming that he'll return to form the Dodgers finally have a big bat as well as a few others with Loney and Kemp coming into their own. How well the Dodgers will do, with the strength of the NL West, is not agreed upon by analysts, but considering their strong pitching and strong line-up I can see them going deep into the playoffs. The Angels ave a strong line-up as well. They added Tori Hunter in center field and Jon Garland to their rotation. Both are strong pick-ups and I think will be difference makers in the season and the playoffs. Not only am I excited for the 6 freeway series games that put the Dodgers against the Angels, but I am also psyched about the small possibility of an L.A. World Series. Its going to be a good summer for sports. Who needs an NFL team?