OC's Thoughts

I've got some ideas for upcoming posts, but I just had a collection of random, non-football, non-Irish thoughts that I wanted to get off my chest.

1. The NBA Draft is tonight, I guess. Yawn! Heck, I did not watch a single minute of the recently concluded NBA playoffs or finals. That's a lie. I specifically tuned in to watch the last two minutes of the final game, just to see the confetti fly. Even that was a let down. The NBA Finals featured the next great Superstar (LeBron James), carrying the Cavaliers on his back, against the "Dynasty" that is the San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan. And I didn't care at all. So how am I supposed to care about the NBA Draft? I don't. I used to like the NBA. Sort of. Not really.

2. Which brings me to Kobe Bryant. As a sports fan living in Southern California, I listen to local sports talk radio. For weeks now I have been subjected to an almost non-stop barrage of Kobe Bryant coverage. One station proclaims itself the Official Keep Kobe station. The other brings me Kobe Watch 2007 every afternoon. Really. Apparently Kobe is unhappy. Who knew? Kobe wants new friends to play with. Better friends. Or he is going to take his ball and go play somewhere else. If his Daddy lets him. Or maybe he'll just stay inside and not play ball with anyone. Boo hoo. Cry me a river, Mr. Millionaire. Yes, Kobe's angst is a story. But it's not a wall-to-wall for a month story.

3. Didn't basketball used to be a Winter Sport? Why can't the NBA wrap up it's season before June? Or before May for that matter?

4. Speaking of the Lakers. Laker owner Jerry Buss is a well-known poker player, and he was in Las Vegas this week participating in the World Series of Poker. One of the events he played in was Event 41, Seniors No Limit Holdem. There were over 1,882 players in the $1,000 buy-in event. The top 153 players finished in the money. Jerry Buss did not finish in the money, but OC Domer's Dad did, finishing in the Top 50 and earning over $6,000! Congratulations Dad.

5. The Ducks (who are apparently a hockey team in Orange County) won something called the Stanley Cup recently. How does that taste, Canada? Buffalo? Detroit? Long Island? Yes, that's right, Lord Stanley's Cup will be spending the next 12 months getting some sun on the beaches of Orange County. I totally understand hockey in cold weather climates - South Bend, Canada, North Dakota. Makes total sense. Hockey in Southern California has never made any sense to me. There are no frozen ponds in Orange County. Ever. If you ever wore a real hockey sweater around here, you'd be sweaty and unbearably smelly in ten minutes. How can hockey possibly be popular here? But it is. At least, it is for those who can afford to buy Ducks season tickets and who can't think of any better way to blow their money. Go Ducks! Hey, Los Angeles, how did the Kings do this year?

6. Orange County sent two teams to the College World Series this month. Representing the OC in Omaha were the UC Irvine Anteaters and the Cal State Fullerton Titans. The Titans have a long and impressive CWS history, including four championships, but UCI pretty much shocked the world this year. Los Angeles teams in Omaha included ... well, no LA teams made it this year. In fact, no other teams from California qualified for the CWS. So college baseball powers USC, UCLA, Stanford and Cal all had to stay home and watch Fullerton and UCI on T.V. Better luck next year.

7. Speaking of baseball in Orange County, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who have been playing baseball in Orange County since 1966 notwithstanding their stupefying slap-in-the-face name change, are playing really well this season. Despite being swept in three games by the Royals over the weekend, the Angels' 49 wins are the most of any team in baseball right now, one win more than the Red Sox who have been just ahead of the Angels in that race for most of the season. The Angels currently have a 5 game lead in the AL West. For those keeping score at home, the Los Angeles Dodgers (the OTHER baseball team in LA) are in third place in the NL West and have 44 wins so far. The Angels and Dodgers have played each other six times this year and the Angels have won five of those games.

8. How are the Angels doing it? Colin Cowherd of ESPN radio has been making fun of the Angels for a couple of years now, because we value our home-grown "hot minor league prospects" over high-priced, over-the-hill free agents. And Colin has a point about about Bill Stoneman's amazing reluctance to pull the trigger at the trading deadline each year. But just so we're clear, right now our "hot minor league prospects" are tearing up Major League Baseball. Here are some of the Angels' prospects who are making major contributions to the winningest team in baseball today: John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Francisco Rodriguez, Mike Napoli, Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, Casey Kotchman, and Reggie Willits. That's not all of them, but those are the biggies right now. Say what you will about Stoneman, but player scouting and development for the Angels looks pretty good right about now.

9. I really enjoy the Colin Cowherd radio show. I have a commute that averages about 90 minutes each way, and Colin is by far the best sports talk on the radio during my morning commute. College football is his favorite sport, and the NFL is #2. He makes a point to talk about football every single day of the year. And he is knowledgeable, opinionated, and fairly reasonable on the topic. He isn't perfect, but it's a very entertaining way to spend an hour in gridlock. At any rate, Colin recently announced on the air that he is getting a divorce from his wife, who is the mother of their two children. It is none of my business, but I was pretty disappointed in Colin. He has stated repeatedly that the divorce is mutual and very amicable, and I hope that is the case. He has moved into a new home within a mile or so of his kids, so that he can spend quality time with them. But I have to say that I think it is selfish and cowardly to marry a young woman in her prime, saddle her with two kids, and then walk out the door to pursue your own happiness. What the heck is she supposed to do, Colin? You are, as you put it, an international radio icon. You are at the top of your profession, a nationally known celebrity within the sports world, you're fit, reasonably well off financially, and glib. No doubt you won't have any trouble finding other women. Your soon-to-be former wife won't have it so easy. While I am sure she is still a beautiful woman, she isn't 22 any more. No matter how amazing she is, she's about to start her life as a single mom, a divorcee with two very young children. And nothing says "marriage material" like a diaper bag and a screaming toddler. So enjoy your nights out drinking with your new buddies Colin, and try not to think about the mother of your kids at her wits' end trying to get the kids to go to sleep so that she can have a few moments of peace before all the craziness starts again tomorrow.

10. I had to register at Facebook.com yesterday. I was seeing a lot of referrals from that site, but without being registered I couldn't see exactly how I was being linked. That's pretty annoying. So I registered. Turns out a Penn State fan was linking my earlier post about PSU's integrity problem. For what its' worth, I think they got my point.

11. I've been trying to register at Domer Domain, but I'm getting the feeling my application has been rejected. They posted a nice link to my Zach Frazer piece a couple of weeks ago, and I tried to register to participate in the discussion, but they still haven't activated my registration. Must be an exclusive club.

12. I'm glad to see that Kelly Green has re-vamped the site and gotten back into the game. Their posting had gotten pretty sporadic and juvenile over the past year or so, and I stopped visiting. But they've added some new contributors, spiffed up the graphics, and are posting thoughtful material again.

13. I hope OC Domer readers in other parts of the country (and, indeed, the world!) are not being subjected to the non-stop coverage of Paris Hilton that we in Southern California are enduring. I'm glad she's out of jail, but only because I'm sick of the hysterics that surrounded her being in jail. Grow up Paris. You're 26 years old, not 13. Time to act like it. I can't believe I just blogged Paris Hilton.

14. Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are getting married. I'm happy for them. They seem very much in love. But I wonder: Where do they go from here? Each of them is likely at the peak of their professional careers and personal earning power. Tony Parker just won the MVP of the NBA Finals. Eva is the hot little number on one of TV's hottest shows. But Tony is not Michael Jordan, or even Charles Barkley. He isn't going to cross over to be a huge success as a television personality or commentator. Eva is attractive, but she's no great acting talent. When her looks begin to fade, she will be done. In my opinion, it's all down hill from here. It reminds me completely of the marriage of Rick Fox and Vanessa Williams. Will the marriage hold together when all they have left (besides the pile of cash and the mansion) is each other?

15. OC Domer International. I'm up to twenty six countries on the list of international visitors to OC Domer. But visitors from Poland remain my most loyal international readers! Hello Warsaw!

16. July 4th is coming up, people are gearing up for long Holiday weekends. So I want to send out an early "Happy Birthday" to the U.S. of A and Old Glory. Long may she wave!