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CALLING SIGNALS |
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 MILTON BRADLEY ...igniting L.A. Dodgers |
So far, so good as far as
Dodgers prediction goes
ofTheColumnists.com
Hand me those dice. I’m hot, baby.
On the eve of the baseball season, I picked the Los Angeles Dodgers to win it all. Three weeks in, they had the majors’ best record.
On the eve of the pro basketball season back in October, I predicted the Lakers could tack behind their Los Angeles brethren, the Clippers. The Shaq-less five tipped over for good last week.
OK, hot shot, who’s going to win these NBA playoffs? Shaq’s Miami Heat.
Where will Phil Jackson coach next? Minnesota. I’m sticking with my pick of last November. He’d win at once with Kevin Garnett.
Who will win the French Open? Tennis’ second Grand Slam tourney doesn’t start for a month, but here goes anyway: Spain’s Rafa Nadal hands himself the ultimate 19th birthday gift. And Holland’s Kim Clijsters finally wins a major.
Beat L.A.? San Diego’s fans are chanting their favorite Dodger dirge at this moment. Too bad for Padre backers, the Dodgers aren’t going under.
On the 50th anniversary of their first World Series title, they’re off to a similar launch. Those 1955 Boys of Summer started 10-0, then 22-2. These 2005 Men of Spring started 12-2.
Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges powered that Brooklyn bunch. Milton Bradley, Jeff Kent and Cesar Izturis are igniting this L.A. gang.
That 50-year link was most obvious April 15 at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers wore Brooklyn jerseys and caps, which they tipped to the late Jackie Robinson. His legacy was breaking baseball’s color barrier and giving the Dodgers their championship look.
The same look as now.
Speaking of L.A. baseball: Dodger blue. Angel red. Both are on the way to coloring pennants.
Caught the American League team the other night, and the Angels looked hot. Their Vlad Guerrero and Darin Erstad tagged homers. Their Steve Finley sprinted cross-town to catch a fly. Their Paul Byrd stopped Ichiro and the Seattle Mariners cold.
The Angels are waiting to stop any team come playoff time.
Last in Laker Land: Two months ago I wrote about Lost in Laker Land.
It got worse for the home team. The Lakers didn’t finish last. But by the last tip of the season, they really were the worst team in the National Basketball Association.
They went 2-19 the last six weeks of the season. Anybody could’ve beaten them - Atlanta, Charlotte, Heidelberg High.
Before the Lakers put us out of our misery, my buddy Ken and I watched one last game. We found an L.A. restaurant/bar that actually showed them.
Not that the place would subject women and children to the game’s sound. But it did have TVs tuned to the Laker-Portland finale.
So we saw the Lakers’ last play. It was a jump ball, and Kobe Bryant failed to control it. His team failed by three points.
By then, everyone at the bar was turning away.
Bigger screen: The new baseball flick “Fever
Pitch” has an illness. He’s Jimmy Fallon.
His acting is so feeble, he weakens a normally stout Drew Barrymore.
And that’s after the production lucked out with Boston’s real-life miracle comeback last season. That livens the Red Sox storyline.
Too bad not even Barrymore could lift Jimmy "Fallen."
Visit Bucky's own website at: www.buckyfox.com
©2005 by Bucky Fox. The Milton Bradley photo is courtesy of ESPN. This column first posted April 25, 2005
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