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I have been a sports writer in the City of Los Angles for over 45 years. I have interviewed and covered some of the greatest athletes in the world. I started writing sports when I was a student at UCLA during John Wooden days so my introduction into the sports writing world started with greatness but Kobe Bryant redefined greatness. Bryant, his 13 year old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas last Sunday morning. They were on their way to a girls'...
By Nick Hamilton (@NickHamiltonLA) Special to the Observer Lebron James is one of the most polarizing athletes of our generation in the NBA. On the first day of a new decade, James recorded a triple double, (31 points, 12 assists, and 13 rebounds) in a Lakers 117-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns. It was James' 89th triple double of his career. Much like the late former NBA commissioner David Stern revolutionized the game of basketball, James revolutionized the way athletes approach basketball...
By Nick Hamilton Sports Reporter The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the premiere teams in the NBA and the main reason for their early season success is the play of their dynamic duo Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Davis and James have ingratiated themselves into the championship mentality of the Laker culture. These two players have been virtually unstoppable and Davis has found himself in some elite Laker company after he scored 50 points last Sunday at the Staples Center in a win over the...
For some teams in Los Angeles winning the majority of their games is simply not good enough to satisfy fans and sports writers. Other teams in Los Angeles can get away with losing but not the Dodgers, Rams and USC football. The Dodgers have been one of the best teams in Major League baseball for the past several years yet if they don’t win the World Series everyone wants to fire the manager Dave Roberts. The Rams went to the Super Bowl last year but this year they have lost five games out of 1...
The Rams need a win against Seattle Sunday at 5:20 p.m. at the Coliseum if they expect to stay in the race for a wild card playoff spot. They are 7-5 and the division leaders in the four Western Conference divisions receive automatic playoff spots. Right now the division leaders are Seattle at 10-2 in the West, Dallas at 6-6 in the East, New Orleans at 10-2 in the South and Green Bay is 9-3 in the North. Teams fighting for the two wild card spots are San Francisco (10-2), Rams (7-5), Minnesota...
Occasionally teams look good on paper but their performances don't match the paperwork. The Clippers and Lakers look good on paper and on the court. Both teams are playing at a high level but it's still early. If they stay healthy their early season success should be the blueprint for the regular season and the playoffs. Both teams have great players surrounded by very good role players. The Clippers have Kawhi Leonard and key role players like Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell. When their other...
If you are looking to watch a live football game this weekend Culver City high school is your best bet. The Rams are on the road, the Chargers played last Thursday, USC is on the road and UCLA has a bye. The Culver City football team is the No. 1 ranked team in CIF Division 5 and they go into the playoffs with a perfect record of 10-0. They have one of the most exciting offenses in the state and their defense is getting better every week. Their first playoff game will be Friday, Nov. 8, against...
By Michael Johnson Special to the Observer With the National Basketball Association completing its first several days of the regular season the Western Conference is already very competitive, as anticipated, and the Los Angeles Clippers, as expected are among the league leaders. Also as expected their superstar, Kawhi Leonard, one the best all-around basketball players in the world is already putting up MVP like numbers, just like he did in last year. He's averaging nearly 30 points per game, 7....
Last week all five of our local high school, college and professional football teams won their games. Culver City, USC, UCLA, Rams and Chargers were conquered their opponents. This week Culver City will play a home game against Beverly Hills at 7 p.m., on Friday., USC will face a highly ranked Oregon team at 5 p.m. at the Coliseum on Saturday, UCLA will battle the Colorado Buffalos at the Rose Bowl on Saturday at 6 p.m., the Chargers play a hot Green Bay Packer team at the Dignity Health Sports...
In one of the most exciting open night games in recent memory the Clippers beat the Lakers 112-102 before a sellout crowd of over 19,000 fans last Tuesday night at the Staples Center. The game proved to have the makings of an Ali/Frazier heavy weight fight. The Lakers jumped out with an early lead in the first quarter but the Clippers bounced back to take a half time lead. By the end of the third quarter the game was tied at 85. "It was unusual to have a game like that for the first game of the...
Quick, what local football team has a winning record? It's not the Rams (3-3), not the Chargers (2-4), not USC (3-3) and certainly not UCLA at 1-6. It's Culver City high school's varsity team. They are 7-0 and one of the most exciting teams in the Los Angeles area. Led by the passing and running of junior quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, the running of Mekhi Evans-Bey, a group of great receivers and an improving defense the Centaurs have turned into the high school version of the Greatest Show on...
Another NFL season has begun, with the opening of NFL training games in the past week. The Los Angeles Chargers opened training camp on July 24th, with the goal of returning to the playoffs and ultimately winning their first Super Bowl Championship. Expectations have never been higher for the Chargers. The national newspaper USA Today recently picked the Chargers to win the Super Bowl next February, beating the Philadelphia Eagles. NFL coaches like to divide the season into quarters. With a...
After months of speculation and rumors Anthony Davis was introduced at a press conference at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo last Saturday. The 26 year old Davis turned the press conference into a joyous occasion that lasted about 30 minutes. Flashback to a year ago during LeBron James press conference and it was all serious business. Davis' was full of comments that could only come out of a mature 26 year star athlete. One of the greatest players in the world gave answers to...
The Los Angeles Clippers have finally arrived. The Clippers have been fighting for relevancy in a city where the Los Angeles Lakers legacy has completely dominated the professional basketball scene. On late Friday night, NBA Superstar Kawhi Leonard decided to officially come home and become a Clipper. Leonard ended up signing a max contract with the Clippers after they acquired Paul George from the Thunder in exchange for five first-round selections, two pick swaps, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and...
NBA Free Agency is like putting a puzzle together. For the thirty NBA teams, it can just be finding that missing piece. Or there can be many missing pieces. Or maybe, the puzzle needs to be completely redesigned. In the first 24 hours of NBA free agency, there are teams that fit all those descriptions. For the causal NBA fan and even a diehard NBA fan, some teams will look completely different. In the Western Conference of the NBA, where the Lakers and Clippers call home, the changes start at...
The NBA draft is rarely going to produce instant stars. The goal is to acquire cheap labor that will fill out the roster, with the hope that the players can develop into stars or solid role players. Most NBA teams use the draft to build the roster into a playoff team and will try to add a superstar through free agency to become a championship team. The Clippers are that example. The Lakers are the opposite, acquiring superstars to win now and filling the roster out with role players and...
The Los Angeles Lakers finally accomplished something that they had been trying to do since January. They traded three players and three draft choices for one of the best players and big men in the world. Anthony Davis is coming to Tinsel Town to play for the Lakers. The Lakers traded away three promising young players, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart. Ball and Ingram were supposed to be the Lakers future but when they acquired LeBron James last year they realized their future is now....
Southern California native Kawhi Leonard was named the 2019 NBA finals MVP as the Toronto Raptors upset the favored Golden State Warriors and won their first NBA Championship. Leonard, who played his high school basketball at King High School in Riverside and his college ball at San Diego State University, has spent his professional career leading the San Antonio Spurs and the Raptors to Championships. He is now an unrestricted free agent and he may be coming home to Southern California. While...
To outside observers, the Los Angeles Lakers look like a trainwreck. A bad basketball team and a bad soap opera. The sudden resignation of Magic Johnson, Laker legend and President of Basketball Operations, only helped to reinforce this image. The bungled head coaching search, which led to the Lakers losing their top two head coaching candidates, made the Lakers head coaching search look like a circus act. Despite the comedy of errors, at the end the Lakers got it right with the hiring of Frank...
At press time the Clippers were headed to Oakland to play game five of their best of seven playoff series against the powerful Golden State Warriors. The defending NBA champions took the Clippers best shot in game four at Staples Center last Sunday and turned it into a 113-105 victory. Game five was played last Wednesday and even if the Clippers upset the Warriors in Oakland winning the series is highly unlikely. Give the Clippers credit for making it this far. They were picked to win 30-35...
The Los Angeles Clippers just completed one of the largest comebacks in NBA playoff history last Monday and the Lakers are trying to complete a search for a new coach. Both teams are in positions that no one thought they would be in but that's the nature of the sports world. The Clippers, led by Lou Williams' 36 points came from 31 points down to stun the Golden State Warriors in Oakland. Williams also had 11 assists and Danilo Gallinari had 25 points and Montrezl Harrell scored 24 and grabbed...
Just when you thought you had the NBA all figured out the two professional basketball teams in Los Angeles left you scratching your head? The Lakers season will be over next week and the Clippers will move on in the playoffs. The Clippers are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference with three games to play in the regular season. Their record is currently 47-31 and if the playoffs started today they would probably play the Houston Rockets. Two out of their three remaining games are at...
The Los Angeles Lakers were officially eliminated last Friday from the playoffs. They have been on a downhill spiral for the last few weeks. Two of their starters, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball are still injured and the team is still looking for the light at the end of the free agent tunnel. That's the bad news. The good news is this is still the Lakers town. Fans still pack the Staples Center regardless of whom the Lakers are playing or who the Lakers put on the court. "The fans are awesome,"...
The Los Angeles Clippers are 8-2 in their last 10 games and they are in eighth place in the Western conference playoff race. Eight teams from the west and eight teams from the east make the NBA playoffs. Their record is 42-30 with 10 games remaining in the regular season. The Clippers recent success has been a compilation of many things. The number one reason maybe the maturation of their two rookie starting guards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Landry Shamet. Gilgeous-Alexander has become more...
The Clippers and Lakers regular seasons are about to come to an end and the teams are headed in opposite directions. After the Clippers 140-115 win over the Boston Celtics last Monday night at the Staples Center the Clippers moved into sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 39-29. The Lakers are in 11th place in the standings with a record of 30-36. Eight teams make the playoffs in the conference. The Lakers’ situation will get a lot worse during the next week because t...
