Former UCLA star Maurice Jones-Drew now plays as a running back for the Jacksonville JaquarsUSC alumn Mark Sanchez is starting quarterback for the New York Jets.

By Alexander Mehdipour

USC

1) Mark Sanchez: The fifth pick overall in the 2009 NFL draft has been handed the keys to the team and started off week one with a win and an impressive stat line of18-31 for 272 yards and 1 touchdown. His ability to manage the game and limit turnovers will be the key to the Jets’ season.

2) LenDale White: He supposedly lost weight by eliminating tequila from his diet, but he has to deal with being the backup to Chris Johnson in his contract year.

3) Reggie Bush: He has never lived up to the hype and was not the Saints running back to rush for more than 100 yards in the Saints first game against Detroit – that would be Mike Bell.

4) Carson Palmer: He claims he is finally healed from his arm injury and is completely healthy for the first time in a long time, but the Bengals were only able to put up 7 points against the Broncos and the loss of T.J. Houshmanzadeh might be detrimental to his success.

5) Matt Cassel: He parlayed his chance in New England into a big contract in Kansas City. Now is the time to prove he was worth it.

UCLA

1) Maurice Jones-Drew: With Fred Taylor now in New England, this will be the first time he has to carry the entire workload, and with Jacksonville playing two rookie tackles, yards may be difficult to come by.

2) Marcedes Lewis: Like Jones-Drew, Jacksonville will lean heavily on Lewis to get the Jaguars to the playoffs and score points.

3) Kenyon Coleman: The journeyman lineman followed coach Eric Mangini and is trying to continue his success in Mangini’s defensive scheme.

4) Chris Horton: The second-year safety was impressive in his rookie year, and now is the time for him to show that it was not a fluke and that he is going to be a star defensive player for years to come.

5) Chris Kluwe: Punters don’t often get mentioned, but when you play on the same team as Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson, field position may be the one factor that prevents the Vikings from getting out of the first round of the playoffs.

By Matthew McConnel, 3L

OK, so it is the beginning of October, and we are about half way through the semester, but the real stress is about to kick in. No, I am not talking about LAWS problems or midterm papers, I am talking about baseball playoff season: the postseason. As predicted, the Dodgers finished ahead of the pack and won the National League West. Their rivals, the hated San Francisco Giants and pesky Colorado Rockies put up a valiant effort, but the Dodgers won critical August and September series against each team to extend their lead.

Now the Dodgers need to win 11 games against the best of the best. In true law school fashion, I will brief the case that is the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers.

Issue: Do the Dodgers have what it takes to win the World Series?

Rule: In order to win the World Series, a team must have starting pitchers who give their team a chance to win, an offense that is capable of scoring runs, and a bullpen that can get outs and protect leads late in the game.

Analysis: Starting rotation: On paper, the Dodgers’ starting pitchers might not be as recognizable as other teams. The Phillies have all-stars Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, the Cardinals have former Cy Young award winner Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright. Starting the season, Chad Billingsley was supposed to be the ace of the Dodgers staff. However, his second-half struggles (3.38 E.R.A first half, 5.34 E.RA. second half) have left Randy Wolf (2.87 E.R.A second half) and Clayton Kershaw (2.43 E.R.A. second half) fighting for the “ace” label. While Wolf and Kershaw might not have the name recognition the other teams have, a close look at their stats show that they can get outs and keep the Dodgers in games. A healthy Hiroki Kuroda (3.23 E.RA. second half) and a return to form from Billingsley would give the Dodgers a very formidable 4-man rotation for October.

Lineup: Rafael Furcal, James Loney, and Russell Martin underperformed all year. Leadoff hitter Furcal struggled to get on base all season (.320 OBP in 09 v .348 career), Loney forgot how to hit for power (.403 SLG in 09 v .455 career), and Martin became a glorified singles hitter (.338 SLG in 09 v .469 in 07). As you can see, one-third of the Dodgers hitters were almost automatic outs all season. Thankfully, Casey Blake (.365 OBP, .471 SLG) and Orlando Hudson (.354 OBP) have been solid while Matt Kemp (.362 OBP, .500 SLG) and Andre Either (.365 OBP, .531 SLG) have emerged as genuine offensive stars. The Dodgers will need Manny Ramirez to perform closer to his first half stats (.487 OBP and a .699 SLG) than his second half (.380 OBP and a .492 SLG). Against some of the best arms in baseball, the Dodgers will need contributions from everybody in the lineup, something that has been hard to come by all season.

Bullpen: The Dodgers have the best bullpen in baseball. Jonathon Broxton has arguably been the best closer, averaging less than a base runner per inning and striking out well more than a batter an inning. Throw in the deadly lefty combo of George Sherrill and Hong-Chih Kuo and right-handed flamethrowers Ronald Belisario and Ramon Troncoso, and the Dodgers will be able to get outs late in the game and protect leads.

Conclusion: Last year the Dodgers were not supposed to get out of the first round of the playoffs. This year, they will wind up being the underdog against good Philadelphia and St. Louis teams. However, over a 162-game span, the Dodgers had the best record in the National League not by accident. They had the best pitching staff and an offense that can put some runs on the board. Whatever the outcome, it will be an exciting October.

Los Angeles Lakers star player Kobe Byrant, number 24. Photo courtesy of Guitar Zero via Flickr.

By Troy Mueller

By many standards, last year’s NBA season was a success. In the face of the economic downturn, the NBA’s second winningest franchise – and second wealthiest – won another championship. In addition to the benefits afforded by a title in the major market of Los Angeles, the NBA finals turned out some of its strongest ratings in years. This is partly due to the panoply of highly skilled and well-marketed athletes that were successful enough to make it to playoffs. Additionally, if one is to look at current media projections, interest in the NBA has steadily increased since the early part of the decade when arrogance and thuggery seemed to have polarized much of its demographic.

To the extent that the NBA was able to shrug off that stigma, one must give credit to the players who have acted, willingly or not, as positive figures in the league. Programs such as Basketball without Borders and NBA Cares have been particularly successful in evincing a civility between a sport that is uniquely individual and a community, that is both connected to and distanced from it. In many respects, the league is rebuilding, or perhaps recovering, without the basketball grittiness of the ‘80s or surplusage of the ‘90s. Strangely, and I think contrary to what many people have argued, it seems the league is becoming less idealistic. Standing unequivocally upon this threshold is the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles is hardly a market for realism. As a center of the entertainment industry, Los Angeles is markedly concerned with aspiration and potential. As such, here are reasons why the Lakers winning a championship is bad for Los Angeles.

No. 1: The Lakers winning the NBA championship has made life hard for coaches. Currently, middle-schoolers all over Los Angeles are heaving three-pointers from much too far away. This is particularly popular with bench players, as their game may be limited where their range is not. Also many children have taken to looking like a ferret, which has seen a strong increase in LA since the NBA finals. As a coach this is frustrating. Giving an inspired speech about commitment and hard work is difficult when all the players have their new game face on. Further, it is embarrassing to be the only one smiling in the team photo.

No. 2: Interest in the Lakers has developed an arm-sleeve market in Los Angeles, but has taken focus away from the ever-important ankle-support market. Led by Kobe Bryant, an interest increase in sliding, spinning, and twirling has subsequently caused an increase in tripping, stumbling, and falling among the basketball laity. Current trends suggest that formerly adequate athletic-wear will not be sufficient to mitigate the potential increase in lower leg injuries resulting from the Lakers championship run.

No. 3: LA is a popular destination on the West Coast. People come from many other states to avail themselves of LA’s large job market, active city life, and pleasant climate. Inadvertently, these pilgrims also commonly become basketball converts. Many proud Clippers families have watched their children turn to the Lakers, but more commonly it is the Blazers, Suns, and former Sonics fans whose conversion deprives the city of its basketball diversity.

This diversity is needed in order to maintain a competitive climate.

Quid Pro Podium: Jordan Still One Upping Kobe.

The Lakers are confused. They won, but it was limited. But is the city in conflict with the direction of the league? I want the good old days back too but how can you have it back. When Jordan takes the podium and tells the league how good he is, we all realize that the feeling was fleeting. sun-bleached out of a 5in thick red fischer price rim or deflated somewhere behind your old bike in the shed. To begin anew is

The city wants largess, but the team is merely convincing. The Lakers are nearest to this when Kobe Bryant eclipses the 50 point mark, but even there the inspiration is lost. Amare Stoudamire, whose game is far less impressive and even then the game looks unorganized. When the Lakers lose, the city gains. Potential for victory, drawing upon

Kobe has made a name for himself as a player with a typically I began by saying the Lakers contributed to the success of the last season, but now I want to talk about why that’s not good. As this is public interest month, I think it only fair to discuss the social forays, misgivings, and the like which the Lakers have brought to the city of Los Angeles.

Above all, Kobe Bryant got a little more acclaim which paradoxically seems to generate less interest in making comparisons to Michael Jordan than does his failed attempts at accolades.

Kobe Bryant has done some amazing things. Kobe Bryant looks to maturing (at 31).

Jordan enters the hall of fame this week as part of a truly remarkable entering class

BY Matthew Welde, 3L

As of this writing, we’re three weeks into the 2009 college football season. What used to be preseason aspirations and hype are now being molded by the actual games into cold reality. Each college football season bestows upon us a whole bevy of upsets and unexpected turns of events. This season is no different.

Now, I could write all day about all of the unexpected things that have popped up so far, but I’m too lazy and there’s not enough room in the paper. Instead, I’ll regale you with a handful of exceptionally startling and unlikely twists of fate.

I’ll start off in the oft-ignored world of Ball State, alma mater of David Letterman. I’m pretty confident that Ball State’s football team doesn’t show up in The Commentator all that often, and I don’t expect it to become a regular practice, but the start of its year warrants some attention.

Ball State’s story is one of monumental collapse. For those that don’t know, which is probably most of you, Ball state went 12-0 last year for the first time ever and was ranked in the top 25 for the first time ever. Life was good.

Then they lost to Buffalo in the MAC Championship Game. Then their head coach resigned to take the job at San Diego State. Then they lost their bowl game. Then they opened the 2009 season at home against North Texas, who was 1-11 last year, and lost. Then they lost to New Hampshire, which is not even a Division 1A football program. That is literally rock bottom. I’m going to venture to say that a team has never before fallen so far so fast . . . ever.

My next stop on the tour of crazy things happening is the very scenic Boulder Colorado. Colorado is in its fourth year under Dan Hawkins, who previously enjoyed great success as head coach of the Boise State Broncos. This past off-season, after a mediocre 5-7 record in 2008, Hawkins proclaimed that anything less than 10 wins would be a disappointment.

Hawkins had reasons to be confident. He had 17 starters returning and an experienced quarterback, which is usually a recipe for improvement. A few pundits were even talking about Colorado as a dark horse candidate to win the Big 12 North.

That sort of talk ended when Colorado State strolled into Boulder and walked out with an impressive win. That sort of talk became the basis for humiliation when Colorado was pasted by Toledo, who themselves had been pasted by Purdue. While the Buffs did manage to beat up on Wyoming, their 1-2 start is a far cry from their lofty dream of 10 wins and caught most of the college football world by complete surprise.

The last stop on this tour of the wildly unexpected is the rainy Pacific Northwest. I think you can all see where this is going. In 2008, the USC Trojans won the Rose Bowl. In 2008, the USC Trojans beat Washington 56-0. In contrast, Washington went 0-12 in 2008. In the process, Washington tied the record for the longest Pac-10 losing streak.

In the second week of the 2009 season the USC Trojans traveled to Columbus and walked out with a win over a highly ranked Ohio State team. That same week Washington beat lowly Idaho to snap a 15-game losing streak that dated back to the 2007 season. The following week the USC Trojans traveled to Washington, and the Huskies sent them home with a loss. . . .Seriously. . . For real.

Some unbelievable things have happened in just the first three weeks of this season. I can’t wait to see the rest of it.

Boomer Sooner

By Tara Radley, 3L

After a rough 2008 football campaign, the UCLA Bruins looked poised this year to get back on their feet and to hold their own in the Pac-10. Relatively speaking, the Bruins did not look half bad in the first two games of the year against San Diego State and Tennessee, both wins. These victories could be largely attributed to sub-par competition, but also to the fact that UCLA finally has a quarterback who can throw a football – a good trait for a quarterback, but something that has not been seen at UCLA since the likes of Drew Olson in 2005.

All signs looked promising in the first two wins until UCLA became faced with the problem that has plagued each of their past three seasons: no quarterback. Redshirt freshman Kevin Prince went down with a broken jaw in the Bruins win against Tennessee and is projected to be out at least three weeks. If you are a UCLA fan, this probably was no shock to you.

In 2008, Ben Olson, a former top-rated high school quarterback of the year, who was at best a flop during his college career, suffered a foot fracture during spring drills and remained sidelined for the entire season. In fact, it seems that Olson was never fated to actually play football during his six-year college career: in 2007, he threw seven touchdowns with six interceptions in another injury-filled season; and in 2006, he played in only five games before suffering a knee injury that kept him off the field for the rest of the season as well. Indeed, when he was invited after his senior season to play in UCLA’s Pro Day in front of NFL scouts – you guessed it – he broke his foot during drills, and his professional football career never saw the light of day.

Unfortunately, this tale of woe is just one of many for UCLA quarterbacks over the past few seasons. When second-string quarterback Pat Cowan, another player who could not stay off the injured list if his life depended on it, went down with a season-ending knee injury, this left the ball in the hands of Kevin Craft. The problem with Craft was that he did not know how to throw a football – which lead to a school record in interceptions.

This string of disappointments did not instill much hope in UCLA fans for 2009. However, with the emergence of Prince and the potential he brought to the team, UCLA fans began to get excited. But when Prince went down, leaving the ball in the hands of true freshman Richard Brehaut – or even worse: Kevin Craft – this can only leave fans wondering if UCLA is ever destined to get a quarterback who can lead the Bruins back to football prominence.

With more than two months already completed in the 2008-09 NBA season the Los Angeles Lakers continue to shine as one of the league’s most impressive teams.  The squad has already met most expectations by steadily holding on to the top record in the West and one of the top three records in the league while securing important early season victories over most of the West’s best teams. Read the full story

The 2008 college football season was one large contradiction.  The season seemed to be defined by controversy and yet, everything that happened was the sort of things that have become normal in major college football.  Read the full story

While we were taking final exams and enjoying winter break, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti was attempting to improve the 2009 Dodgers roster. Let’s see how he did: Read the full story

While we were taking final exams and enjoying winter break, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti was attempting to improve the 2009 Dodgers roster. Let’s see how he did: Read the full story

The onset of college football means preseason polls and rankings.  Nearly every sports media outlet has a preseason list of top 25 teams.  I’ve compiled the preseason rankings from five large sports media outlets.  I averaged out the rankings to see which five teams had the highest average rating.

The five preseason rankings I included are the Associated Press poll, the USA Today Coaches poll, the CNNSI.com power rankings, the ESPN.com power rankings, and the FoxSports.com rankings.  Along with the average ranking for each team I take a look at how things have played out through the first three weeks.  Like all things that have to do with college football, there’s bound to be people who don’t agree.  That’s part of what makes it fun.  Here we go.

GEORGIA BULLDOGS

Average ranking - 2.2

Biggest concern - the SEC schedule

Georgia’s SEC schedule is simply brutal.  The Bulldogs have four teams on their schedule that are currently ranked in the top 10.  Two of those games are road games.  It doesn’t get harder than that.

How they’ve fared

So far they’ve beat up on a pair of inferior teams and scraped out a win against the Gamecocks.  They’ve passed their first SEC test against a South Carolina team that beat them last year, but they only managed 14 points, which is a troubling sign for Bulldog fans.  They are one of the rare teams that won and still fell a few spots in the polls.

What lies ahead?

Scoring fourteen points on South Carolina is a bad omen for a team set to face opponents that have a comparable defense and a better offense than the Gamecocks.  A 14-7 win at home against South Carolina translates into a long night playing at LSU.  The Bulldogs are guaranteed a spot in the BCS Championship Game if they run the table, but their path to Miami is the most difficult among these teams.

Were they right?

No.  Their quarterback has put up mediocre numbers, including a paltry four touchdown passes in three games.  Their schedule won’t allow them to score fourteen points and win very often.  The pollsters gave too much weight to a returning quarterback that was mediocre last year and not enough weight to the schedule.

Read the full story