Westwod Musings : CBSSports.com Blogs

Pac-10 Tourney Fealess Predictions!

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:57:36 EDT

UCLA's regular season concluded Saturday with a resounding thud in Tempe against ASU. The Bruins face resurgent Arizona in the opening game of the Pac-10 tournament, with the winner, likely, advancing to play league champion Cal. In this bizarro world of Pac-10 seasons, all nine teams have to feel they have a realistic chance to string together a couple of wins and find themselves playing for a ticket to the Big Dance. Due to USC admitting they run a corrupt, outlaw athletic program the Trojans are sitting out the post season. Without further adieu, my fearless predictions on UCLA's outlook next week as well as the school I feel will win the conference's automatic bid into the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Wed. 3/10: 8 Oregon (15-15) vs 9 Washington State (16-14)

State of the Bruins Union

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:31:47 EST

I was under the false assumption that last year was our blip year – a predictable dip following three consecutive Final Four appearances. Observant Bruins fans could see the flaws in last year’s team: uneven play on the road, difficulty containing dribble penetration, long dry stretches on offense, lack of rebounding. Those same flaws are alarms this year.

I’m a proud UCLA alumnus and will always support the school and athletic programs. I’m not unrealistic about where the basketball program is, where Ben has taken it from or what the possibilities are for the school moving forward. But, we’ve had six full season of Benball and, undeniably, the man can coach defense. I’ve yet to see the consistency on offense that it will take to clear the last hurdle.

Observation from Humboldt State game

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 1:28:03 EST

The offense flowed, as expected, with the return of Jerime Anderson and Michael Roll. Malcom Lee was in foul trouble and couldn't find his groove. Roll was the best player on the floor. Drew Gordon looked really nice on the offensive end, displaying a nice touch out to 15 ft and some quickness. Troubled by the lack of defensive pressure and the inability to rebound against Humboldt.

Hard to gauge how this performance will translate against CSUF, but the Bruins played a bit loose with the basketball and lacked intensity. Sure that aspect will improve next week. Overall, this team will be a work in progress.

The freshman will need some time to learn their roles and get some confidence. Look for UCLA to lean heavily on Roll, Dragovic and James Keefe. Keefe showed some flashes of what he's capable of during the contest. The loss of Tyler Honeycutt (out a month with stress fracture in leg) could be offset by Keefe if JK can play anywhere near his ability. Maybe the increase in minutes will allow him to relax and play his game. He's much better than he's shown.

Memo to Arte Moreno, Reagins and Scioscia

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:08:28 EDT

The Angels enter the off season with $50 million in expiring contracts. The club, roughly, had a payroll of $114M in 2009. I will give my suggestions on what the team needs to do as they prepare for 2010. Note: Current player age in parenthesis, followed by 2009 salary.

Vladimir Guererro (35) $15M - Vladdy had a good post season, but his bat is slowing down and the injuries continue to mount. The Angels would be wise to look hard at replacing Big Daddy at DH with Hank Blalock, Aubrey Huff or Adam LaRoche (Gives the club the option of moving Kendry Morales from 1B to RF if they can't resign Abreu).

Kelvim Escobar (33) $9.5M - Halos can replace his power arm internally with Jose Arredondo ($400K).

John Lackey (31) $9M - Lackey is a horse and, unquestionably, a bull dog on the bump, but is he worth upwards of $80M and five years? I believe the club will make a Lackey a strong offer, but some cheaper, albeit, riskier alternatives are out there in Brett Myers, Erik Bedard, Ben Sheets, Rich Harden, Tim Hudson (mutual option with Braves for 2010), Brad Penny and Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman.

UCLA Basketball Preseason Outlook

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:31:46 EDT

Great article in Slam Magazine about the UCLA Baby Bruins. Click on link:

http://www.slamonline.com/online/co

llege-hs/college/2009/10/young-guns

-2/

UCLA Basketball Preseason Outlook

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:31:28 EDT

Great article in Slam Magazine about the UCLA Baby Bruins. Click on link:

http://www.slamonline.com/online/co

llege-hs/college/2009/10/young-guns

-2/

2009 Pac Ten Awards

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 0:57:45 EDT

Another competitive year in the most underrated basketball conference in the country. These are a few of my observations on the 2008-09 season, predictions of how certain teams will fair in the NCAA tournament and my choices for various conference awards.

2009 Pac Ten Player of the Year

James Harden (ASU) - Harden carried a pretty ordinary supporting cast to an expected bid to the NCAA tournament and was the conferences most dominant player. Harden edges out Arizona's Jordan Hill and UCLA's Darren Collison for POY honors.

2009 Pac Ten 1st Team

Pac 10 Conference Tournament: A Look Ahead

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:58:01 EST

Predicting the outcome of games is always a dicey proposition, but given my track record I'm confident that this will reflect the final Pac Ten basketball standings on Sunday:

1. Washington (14-4) - Defeat Wazzu on Senior Day for Brockman and Dentmon.

2. UCLA (13-5) - Make NCAA seeding statement against the Oregon schools.

3. California (11-7) - Take a close loss versus the Tucson Kitties and rebound against the Devils.

Fix This Team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:02:24 EST

The Angels currently have a player payroll of $72 million (including the Juan Rivera signing) - that number will increase to $75.5 with the pending arbitration case of Darren Oliver. All that said the club has roughly $45 million dollars to play with to match the 2008 payroll of $120 million.

At the end of 2009 the Angels face losing Vladimir Guerrero ($15m), Kelvim Escobar ($9.5m), John Lackey ($9m), Chone Figgins ($4.75m) and Rob Quinlan ($1.25m). That totals $39.5 million dollars. So it’s a safe assumption the Angels are sitting pretty looking forward to the pending free agent class of 2010. They have approximately $84.5 million dollars to improve the club the next two seasons without eclipsing the payroll of last year.

Don't Panic Angels Fans...

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:51:33 EST

The Angels: Financially Speaking

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:09:01 EST

The Angels had a player payroll of $119 million in 2008. The free agent losses of Juan Rivera (2M), Darren Oliver (2M), Frankie Rodriguez (10M), John Garland (12M), Mark Teixeira (12.5M) and Garret Anderson (14M) gives the Angels an operating cap of $52.5 million for 2009. The Halos offered Garland and Oliver arbitration strictly as formality to (a) secure draft selections if those players leave, (b) fix operating cost before they head into the Winter Meetings next week in Las Vegas. Teixeira and Rodriguez are expected to sign with other clubs.

Moreno figures to raise the Angels payroll about 7 million for 2009. The club will eventually have to lock up its young nucleus or face a fire sale after the 2010 season when all those guys begin their arbitration eligible years . Currently the Angels are spending only $3.53 million on Napoli, Mathis, Weaver, Saunders, Santana, Kendrick and Aybar! This number will certainly grow substantially after 2010. This plays a huge role in how the Angels account for their future player procurement.

Moves I'd make as Angels GM

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 8:48:42 EST

Angels GM Tony Reagins is a very astute baseball man. He's more aggressive than his predecessor Bill Stoneman and that is something all Angels fans can appreciate. However, all this talk about Arte Moreno expanding payroll to convince players like Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia to make Anaheim their home the next eight to ten years is missing the mark. The Angels aren't that far away. They had the best record in the bigs last season and are one of the best run franchises in the game - with an outstanding minor league system to boot. All the club needs is tweaking. Swallow hard Angels fans and take a look at what I would do if I were Angels GM for a day: Add power to the infield without blowing up the payroll on Tex. The Angels have been trying to advance in the playoffs with an infield that (sans Mark Teixeira) lacks the ability to drive the ball. Howie Kendrick has a world of potential, but he's not to be confused with Chase Utley, Dan Uggla or even Jeff Kent. He get's injured every year and he and Aybar are you most tradable players. Houston is looking to dump some salary and dangling young infielders, an everyday catcher and a hard throwing young starter would probably net you the Astros left side of the infield Ty Wiggington and Miguel Tejada. I would offer Nick Adenhart, Aybar, Mathis and Brandon Wood for Wiggington and Tejada. Tejada may not be the player he was four years ago, but he's a definite upgrade over anything the Angels have at that position. Wiggington is a workmanlike 3B with 25 HR, 80 RBI pop. The trade frees Chone Figgins to move to LF everyday, giving the Angels the fastest OF in the majors with Figgy, Garry Mathews Jr. and Tori Hunter. Coming off of knee surgery Vladimir Guerrero is slated to full time DH. The Angels fill two areas of need all for the same salary they paid Garret Andeson last season. Give Kendry Morales the everyday job at 1b and he'll likely give the Angels the same production Casey Kotchman did. He's not Tex, but you save yourself the 160-200 million dollars it would take to sign one player and use that money to extend staff ace John Lackey four years and lock up guys like Saunders and Santana down the road. The pitching staff is built for the regular season and always solid, but Lackey slates more as a stellar #2 starter and less as an ace. I would call Kevin Towers and do whatever it takes to come away with Jake Peavy. The Padres are rebuilding and looking to dump salary in these difficult economic times. I know the Padres lack a true lead off man, a center fielder, need a MLB ready starting pitcher and some bullpen help. I would offer a package of Reggie Willits, Jared Weaver, 2b/SS Shawn Rodriguez and a young reliever to acquire Peavy. I think that beats what the Braves and Cubs were offering. To fill Weaver's rotation spot I'd offer a one year contract to Randy Johnson heavy on incentives. This is how the lineup would shape up: Figgins, Kendrick, Guerrero, Hunter, Tejada, Morales, Wiggington, Napoli and Matthew Jr. Pitching Staff: Peavy, Lackey, Santana, Saunders and Johnson. Sheilds, Escobar and Arredondo in the bullpen.

Bubble Teams

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:49:54 EST

Counting automatic bids and teams virtually locked for the NCAA tournament, barring a late season meltdown, there are currently 17 teams vying for 8 at large selections. RPI rankings aside, there is very little to separate the teams. Some schools do have the benefit of head to head wins over teams they are battling for at large selection. I will rank the teams from 1-17 (most likely - least likely). Argue away:

1. UNLV

2. Massachusetts

3. Miami (Fla)

My 2008 All-America Team

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:46:27 EST

Many deserving candidates but only room for five on my All-America list:

G Derrick Rose Memphis, G DJ Augustine Texas, C Kevin Love UCLA, F Tyler Hansborough North Carolina and F Michael Beasley Kansas State.

There aren't too many arguments that the front line I selected won't be the real thing. The backcourt is subject to debate. Among those having a strong case for consideration are Eric Gordon (Indiana), Demarcus Nelson (Duke), Darren Collison (UCLA), OJ Mayo (USC), Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis) and Chalmers or Rush of Kansas.

Still have a fair number of conference games to thin out the field. Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez, DJ White and Ryan Andersen all have time to possibly crack the 1st team in the remote possibility that Love or Beasley fall off the planet.