Wait Until Next Year

The longer your team plays into the postseason and advances in its port, the harder it is to accept when it finally loses. So I felt the pain a bit sharper when the Dodgers dropped the National League Championship Series to the Phillies on Wednesday, missing out on a trip to the World Series. Actually, the hurt really set in on Monday, when Jonathan Broxton blew the save and Philadelphia took a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series before clinching the title in the fifth game.

Longtime Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo (who was the team photographer when I worked for the ballclub many years ago) posted several shots on his Facebook page shortly after the game. This one says it all.

I suppose if the Dodgers had beaten the Phillies and then lost in the World Series, then it would have been even harder to stomach. But I’ll take the heartache at the end any day over the season-long torture of being a Giants or Padres fan.

I still hold out hope for the Angels – my second-favorite team – to give it their best shot, but it sure looks like a Yankees-Phillies World Series. If that's the case, I’ll still watch, because I love baseball. But I’m not really as interested. This World Series is the post-game show.

As Dodger fans have said for decades after so many seasons have come to a heartbreaking conclusion, dating back to the 1940s and ‘50s in Brooklyn, “Wait ‘til next year.”...

While we wait, there’s good reason to think a bit more about football. The prospects of an NFL team returning to our area figure to take a huge step forward today. Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the environmental impact exemption, which clears the stadium project from its current legal battles and will allow developer Ed Roski and partners to start to move forward with the stadium project in the City of Industry.

The next major step will come immediately after the season, when Roski is able to court NFL teams to move to the new Los Angeles Football Stadium. I wouldn’t be surprised if a verbal deal is already in place. I’m open to just about any organization moving to Los Angeles, except the Raiders, who should stay in Oakland where they belong. They are an undeniable dysfunctional organization, and would only put a black eye on a great new start for professional football in Southern California…

The CIF is scheduled to approve re-leaguing proposals today, and the most likely scenarios move Claremont High from the Baseline League to the Sierra League, beginning in 2010-2011. The move is supposed to provide relief—especially in the major sports of football and basketball—but the Wolfpack will have its hands full against the likes of Charter Oak, Chino Hills, Ayala and Damien/St. Lucy's high schools, and probably South Hills (or it could be Glendora). This doesn’t look like the relief Claremont wanted… stay tuned...

I’m not ready to say I jumped the gun on my predictions of Richard Brehaut taking over as the UCLA quarterback. He hasn’t emerged as the starter, but he has looked pretty good in his brief time on the field. His body language shows the confidence that the Bruins need in their quarterback, and his mechanics look to be far superior to those of Kevin Prince and Kevin Craft. As soon as Richard gets a better feel for the offense, including the way he judges his offensive line protection, he’ll be in the lineup for keeps…

In the 26 previous years of our fantasy football league, I’ve always managed to put together a pretty competitive team, and I’ve even finished first a number of times, including last year. Well, not this year… The season is six weeks old and I’m already looking ahead to next year. It’s just one of those (really bad) seasons…

Finally, this blog isn’t just about sports. I learned recently that the annual Victoria’s Secret college vote is well underway, with the winning school being added to the campus collection of logo merchandise (yes, they have a campus collection). Looks like Claremont is well represented, as Harvey Mudd College has an insurmountable lead. And Scripps College is in third... Start ordering that lingerie with the Claremont mark soon…

Odds and Ends - October

This weekend marks the fourth game of the season for the UCLA football team as it travels to Stanford. It will likely put to rest my earlier prediction that Richard Brehaut would be the Bruins’ starting quarterback by the fourth game. I’m not giving up hope that he will be the quarterback by the weekend – just not in the starting role. Unfortunately, unless Coach Rick Neuheisel decides to have Richard split duty with senior Kevin Craft, then the only way Richard takes over the job is if Craft is injured or has a terrible game. Neither seems like a good outcome for Bruin fans. Let’s just hope the coaching staff wants to see their true freshman QB in a game situation and that he has the opportunity to shine…

Son Sid and a group – including Karli Moore – are headed to Palo Alto for the game and to hang out with Megan Moore and friends, who are also going to the game. And I understand UCLA freshman Lauren Seligman is headed north for the game and weekend activities, too. Ahh, I loved college road trips. Hope it’s a great time…

Along with the UCLA-Stanford game, this should be a great college football weekend, with USC taking on Cal on the road at Berkeley. SC freshman Kristen DesCombes is driving up with friends for that game, while Cal alumnus Gordon, along with Sus and Jack, will be at the Homecoming game for the Bears… I love college football season and look forward to being at the Rose Bowl the next two weeks for Bruin games against Oregon (Oct. 10) and Cal (Oct. 17)…

Friday nights are alive with plenty of high school football. Claremont, which won only two games over the previous two years, is already 2-1 and is hoping for two more wins before starting Baseline League play on Oct. 16. The Wolfpack’s Oct. 9 Homecoming game is against Chino High, which is coached by Claremont High graduate Greg Setlich (although he and his family are legendary in Chino)…

Son Sam is having a blast as part of the CHS ASB group organizing a lot of the Homecoming activities. Today he donned his sports coat to introduce the court at the Homecoming rally on campus. Doesn’t seem that long ago that I was doing that stuff…

Hopefully the baseball season will still be going for a few more weeks for the Dodgers, who have sputtered down the stretch against inferior teams. Even though they’re guaranteed a spot in postseason play, it would be awfully embarrassing to lose such a huge Western Division lead and finish second in the division to Colorado, who they have owned throughout 2009 entering the regular season’s final weekend. More importantly, it would be a discouraging way to enter the playoffs, where the teams that seem to have the most success just happen to get hot at the right time. The Dodgers were very hot just over a week ago, but right now they can’t hit the ball…

Can’t say I am terribly surprised that the 2016 Olympics have been awarded to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After all, this will be the first Olympic Games ever held on the South American continent. I was surprised, however, that Chicago was the first of the four final cities to be eliminated from consideration. When the voting reached its final round, Rio received more than twice the votes as runner-up Madrid. Maybe the USOC will finally put Los Angeles back into the running for 2020...

Happy birthday Len…

Enjoyed celebrating Jim and Andi's "100th" birthday last week as they both hit 50 (actually, Andi's birthday is today!). Judy Devens Seligman joined the club a couple days ago, as did Danny Brehaut. Cheers to all of you half-century-old New Year's Eve babies...

This is also the final weekend of the Los Angeles County Fair, which concludes Sunday, Oct. 4. I get the impression that the experiment of extending to five weekends is getting mixed reviews, but it’s really tough to give a fair evaluation in this economy. Hopefully those people making the hard decisions will consider the event a success, despite the tremendous challenges this year…

I enjoyed my visits to the Fair again this year, not only doing the house announcements before the End of Summer Concert Series shows, but as a participant in Upland Day (including a ride in the parade) and also watching Jack Harper honored as a community hero at Claremont Day. Upland High's band is among three finalists to win a spot marching in the 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade. Those are the kinds of activities that really get local people involved and make the Fair special. Another high point was the annual Child Development Center auction, which is still going strong after its inception in 1992, when I was part of that first organizing committee (and still working for the Dodgers at the time). A year after that I was back working at Fairplex and putting together slide shows for the CDC auction…

Very sad news came from the Fair over the past couple of days. Our prayers are focused on Wendy Talarico and her family right now. Wendy, who replaced me when I left Fairplex in 2000 and has been the public relations manager there ever since, gave birth to a healthy son just a little over a week ago. But shortly afterwards, it was discovered Wendy has a unique heart condition and suffered what was reported to be a heart attack. She’s currently in critical condition, battling with all she has as she awaits a heart transplant. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Nothing Official Yet, But...

Los Angeles Times photo

As of early Wednesday morning, UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel and staff remained non-committal in announcing the Bruins' starting quarterback for Saturday's game against Kansas State. However, most media reports continue to speculate that Richard Brehaut will get the nod, or at least share the duties with senior Kevin Craft. Either way, Richard has been thrust into the spotlight, as the media links him with other true freshmen who are starting at quarterback for major universities, including Matt Barkley at USC and Tate Forcier at Michigan. Check out these stories from the Los Angeles Times, Daily Bulletin (Daily News) and even USA Today. Notice the references to dad "Daniel."

Thanks to Renee for sending along this story from the Press-Enterprise, too (also posted in the comments section).

This is the only home game that I will miss this year, because it's the same night as Beth's high school class reunion, but at least Sid and Sam will be there. We'll catch the first half on TV somewhere before heading over to the reunion.

How 'bout that Crystal Ball?

When I wrote on July 24 that Richard Brehaut would be UCLA's quarterback by the fourth game of the season, naturally I was only hoping. But now that looks like my prediction might come true, with a game to spare. Starting quarterback Kevin Prince's fractured jaw suffered against Tennessee Saturday will sideline him for three to four weeks, and Richard is preparing to take over the starting role this week against Kansas State -- in the team's third game of the season...

Remember, my prediction was that he'd take over by the fourth game -- not in the fourth game. So this counts.

No official announcement has been made yet, but sources (you know who you are) indicate Richard will get the nod over incumbent Kevin Craft, who tossed a school-record 20 interceptions for the Bruins last year, but has a year of experience under his belt. Actually, the reports that Richard will start have appeared in other blogs as well, and assuming they are true, the decision makes sense. I can't believe that Coach Rick Neuheisel didn't put Richard in the game against San Diego State just to have him hold the clipboard for Craft.

My next prediction is that Prince soon will be linked to Wally Pipp. If the name doesn't ring a bell, he was the first baseman for the New York Yankees who sat out a game because of a headache. A rookie named Lou Gehrig took his place and kept the job for the next 2,130 straight games. Richard won't play that many games, but, as a true freshman, he has a long and promising career ahead as the UCLA quarterback...

It's worth noting, however, that my predictions aren't always on the mark. While I nailed a few other forecasts in that July blog, my standing as a fantasy football draft expert may have taken a serious hit this year. I had one of my absolute worst weeks ever in 26 previous years of doing this, and I don't hold out a lot of hope for the rest of the season. It's going to be a long and painful year (a prediction I hope is completely wrong)...

Lastly, happy 50th on Thursday to my good friend Jim Moore ... and right on his heels with 50th birthdays of their own are Danny Brehaut, Judy Devens-Seligman and Andi Moore. Remember, 50 is the new 18. Cheers!

Congratulations to former Cal State Fullerton, Rancho Cucamonga High School and Upland National Little League star Josh Fellhauer, who wrapped up his first season in professional baseball playing for the Cincinnati Reds’ single-A Dayton affiliate in the Eastern League. A seventh-round June draft selection by the Reds, Josh led Cal State Fullerton to another appearance in the College World Series, and then began his professional career with the Dayton Dragons, where he batted .280 this summer. Despite playing just 57 games, he was third on the team with seven home runs in 236 at-bats, while also hitting 16 doubles and driving in 23 runs. He also stole seven bases. Given the natural progression of the minor league player development system, Josh is likely ticketed to play at Sarasota in the high-A Florida State League next year.

The Shirt's Not Red

There were a couple notes in local blogs earlier this week about Richard Brehaut following his appearance in Saturday's game against San Diego State. Take a look at "Brehaut Not Burned" in the Daily News blogs and The OC Register blog. The Inside UCLA blog even has a poll about whether he should have played. Hey Danny, hang on, the stories will just keep coming.

Ready for Tennessee?

The photo collection of Saturday's UCLA game against San Diego State on the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Web site includes several great shots of Richard Brehaut, including the one above. Here's the link.

The newspaper notes today that Coach Rick Neuheisel is prepping Richard for further action during the season and will not red-shirt the freshman quarterback (and son of Danny and Yvonne). "I just feel like he's ready to play," Neuheisel said in the article. "Over the course of the season, you're going to need all your guys. With him playing and competing and getting practice reps, he's not only going to improve, but he'll keep the heat on Kevin Prince. They'll have to really work to be good quarterbacks. Now that he's played, he's going to play."