Some of us came of age at the Forum in Inglewood, and it wasn’t just earning a few extra bucks scalping tickets to get a whiff of Lakers Showtime some 30-plus years ago.
We knew guys who knew guys who could sneak us into a lot of stuff, some of which we (at least I) will finally admit in Episode 3 of “The Drill.”
And as a way to help you get through some of the references, here are things we believe you should be up to speed on as we talk you through the latest discussion about the NCAA basketball tournament (with games this weekend at Staples Center), things we once broke (in relation to a Justin Turner injury), things we’ve watched (like the new ARod show on CNBC) and why I decided to wear a USC sweatshirt.
(Which, for the record, was a gift to me to me from Fr. Tom Kelly, replacing the one I once gave away and worthy of a story unto itself as I did here. He is also no relation to the late, great USC broadcaster by the same name with whom I wrote a book with years ago and is still available on Amazon.com.)
There’s an mp3 link that you can capture and upload if you’re just interested in the audio, and that will also be on Beto Duran’s “Living The Dream” podcast platform. (He is, by the way, hosting the Lakers’ pre-game show tonight on Spectrum SportsNet).
So let’s dig in:
* Talking about Sister Jean (the one-time principal at St. Brendan School in L.A.) and her Loyola of Chicago run to the Sweet 16, our friend Jim Thompson (https://twitter.com/JimmySportToons), who also created the illustration for “The Drill” that’s posted above, did up this piece (above) that pretty much shows how she has posterized this whole tournament.
* About this Justin Turner injury, go to this link.
* More on the book, “Then Tres said to Troy” at Amazon.com. (Although we admit we found the book at the store called BookOff at the Torrance Del Amo mall, a place where books generally sell in the $1-to-$2 range, and they’ll buy books that you bring in. Swear).
* And why are we talking about Jim Tressel again? Ask director Jon.
* The Pac-12 Conference was the first to get to 500 championships (just not a lot in football and basketball, as we discussed).
* We dare you to play into their mind tricks and click into the ESPN Magazine Dominant 20 list.
* Something called the American Alliance of Football wants you to pay attention to their launch.
* The Supreme Court will soon rule on a case that could open legal sports betting in any state that wants to have it. New Jersey is fighting the fight for it now, but California is ready to act upon it. Then do we all to go New Orleans? Why is the NBA (and others) suggesting they get a one-percent slice of the action?
* The new Alex Rodriguez CNBC show is called “Back in the Game,” and in the first episode, former NBA No. 1 overall pick Joe Smith is trying to get back some of his dignity left from some $16 million in career earnings nearly all gone.
* Has the Jim Nantz/Grant Hill/Bill Raftery NCAA basketball team run its course?
* We’ve written plenty of stuff over the years about the Dodgers/SportsNet LA situation. In 2013 we laid the groundwork about what was ahead. In 2014 we re-introduced the problem. In 2015 we finally dropped DirecTV and picked it up, and were not surprised in the quality of the broadcasts. In 2016 we suggested an arbitration tribunal of sorts to figure all this out. Maybe nothing happens as long as the Dodgers keep leading the league in attendance every year.
* Do you have a better use for Preparation H?
* Who is Freddie Patek? A 5-foot-5 ball of hate who, with the Angels in 1980, once hit three homers in a game at Fenway Park and had a chance to tie the MLB record in the ninth inning. Swear. His career HR total in 14 years: 41.
* What do you remember at the Forum that’s still pretty fabulous? MSG now owns it and uses it more for concerts. We saw some pretty funky concerts back in the day. Not as good as Fleetwood Mac, or Prophets of Rage, but we’ll let Rick James play us off this post …
Tom Hoffarth's The Drill: More Farther Off the Wall 