Yeah Lakers!!!!!  WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!  I've been waiting since middle school for this.  Victory is so sweet.  

3/27/00

     Me oh my, how much have things changed in a year.  Clippers?  As horrible as ever.  They have talent, but they always lose it or manage to boggle it up.  Dodgers and Angels?  Same old same old.

     I am, however, pleasantly surprised by the extraordinary turnaround of the Los Angeles Lakers, my favorite team.  I got to see them on TV during Spring Break for the first time in more than a year, and what a difference a year makes.  Last year, they were selfish, had porous defense, had a "worm" problem, and ran through two coaches.  

     This year, under new coach Phil Jackson, this team, which had not changed too much from the end of last season, has been transformed into the most dominant team in the NBA this year, going on 18 and 19-win streaks.  Of course, the ultimate test is how well they fare in the playoffs, but they are certainly on a good roll.  Playing under the triangle offense, the Lakers are smoother, less selfish, and more hard-working, while the defense has tightened up to make the Lakers become one of the better defensive teams in the team. 

     I saw them play against the Kings.  Well, the Lakers didn't do such a good job against Jason Williams, but managed to fight back from a deficit, and won the game 89-88 on Shaquille O'Neal's free throw with five seconds remaining in the game and on his last minute block of Vlade Divac's last second jump shot attempt.  Very nice game.  Hope they do well in the playoffs.  

     On the college side of things, basketball was disappointing this season for the highly touted and highly ranked Stanford Cardinal.  However, I went to home football games against UCLA and Notre Dame, where we won both games, the Notre Dame one on a last second field goal.  Very exciting, and quite a surprise to see them go to the Rose Bowl.  Their defense may be porous at times, but this football team had guts.

     I was in Hong Kong during the Rose Bowl, and hence could not go to or see the game, but I'm told that they put up a good fight against highly ranked Wisconsin.  I've yet to see any tennis matches this year, but I might go see the tennis team in action against Pepperdine this quarter.  

5/29/99
   I'm from the Los Angeles area, so naturally, I root for my local teams.  Unfortunately,
there isn't a single team in LA worth rooting for right now, so until I get really excited about any one team, there isn't going to be much on this page.  The Lakers can't defend and are too selfish to get a championship and Shaq can't make free throws.  

     The Clippers are too inept to do anything but be a lottery team every single year.  Anaheim Angels?  Los Angeles Dodgers?  Both hovering in mediocrity.  Kings and Mighty Ducks?  Both are out of the playoffs this year.  

     The Los Angeles Galaxy?  After a brilliant season last year, they're struggling to stay at even in the win-loss column.  None of these teams have the heart, and until they do, I just won't care.  

     What I do care about is Stanford Cardinal sports.  Our football team did pretty badly this year, but they did win the BIG GAME against Cal!!!   Other than the Big Game, other sporting events I went to my freshman year included seeing K.J. Hippensteel and the rest of the Stanford tennis team beat Arizona State and Pepperdine.  I also watched our fencing team cream Air Force and UC San Diego.