The world according to Jim:
• I am told, according to impeccable sources, that there is a significant football game taking place Sunday in New Orleans.
In other words, the Super Bowl has been pretty much overwhelmed here, attention-wise, by the Lakers’ trade for Luka Doncic. Sure, it would be different if the Rams or Chargers were involved, but in contrast to the NFL’s dominance nationally – and even with its growth locally since its return to the market – the league is still playing catch-up here and may continue to for a while, thanks to those 21 seasons away from L.A. …
• So, the question: Which team is currently the true top dog in this town from an interest standpoint, the Dodgers or the Lakers?
In a couple of weeks I’ll weigh in with the annual State of Southern California Sports rankings and you’ll know which way I’m leaning. In the meantime, if you have strong feelings about the question – or even mild opinions – feel free to weigh in. …
• As noted a week ago in The Audible, when we speculated that Pat Riley would be in position to profit from his trademark on the term three-peat
if the Kansas City Chiefs win their third straight Super Bowl on Sunday, the deal is done. According to Front Office Sports, the contracts have been signed and Riley will indeed get a cut from the revenue of any three-peat merchandise.
But there’s no indication what happens if the Chiefs lose and all of those pre-printed T-shirts and caps are, as is custom, sent to countries where they couldn’t tell you if an NFL football was oblong or square. …
• I think I may have figured it out. The reason so many elsewhere in (and adjacent to) baseball think the Dodgers are ruining things? They broke ranks.
How dare they, signing players in November and December and into early January, unlike those clubs determined to make players wait into February and thus reduce the price. It’s hard to imagine the Mets as coupon clippers, especially after the 15-year, $765 million Juan Soto contract, but they waited out Pete Alonso and wound up re-signing him this week for two years and $54 million. That’s well under market value for a guy who has 226 home runs and three 100-plus RBI seasons in his six years as a Met, and who merely hit the biggest home run of their 2024 season to eliminate Milwaukee and get into the NLCS against the Dodgers. …
• But maybe the Dodgers hit on the smart strategy: Strike while other teams are dithering. And if you look at the contracts they signed, most are at or close to market value. Reliever Tanner Scott could be considered an overpay at four years and $72 million – but at least Shohei Ohtani (1 for 13, 7 strikeouts against Scott) won’t have to face him. So it’s worth it. …
• Then again, Scott Boras is taking heat – and not all of it seems to be deserved – for playing hardball on behalf of his clients, such as Alonso, and taking so many of those negotiations into February and just before or even into spring training. It’s always easier to blame the agent than the teams who refuse to spend on talent. …
• As of Friday at noon, Spotrac’s list of MLB free agents included 112 who are still unsigned, although that list included Tim Anderson, signed by the Angels to a minor-league contract this week. …
• Others on that unsigned list include such familiar names as Patrick Corbin and Anthony Rizzo, plus enough players who have played with the Dodgers and/or Angels to put together a full roster: Kiké Hernandez, Joe Kelly, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, Ross Stripling, Andrew Heaney, Lance Lynn, Alex Verdugo, Alex Wood, Joe Kelly, James Paxton, Joey Gallo, Jason Heyward, Ryan Yarbrough, Yasmani Grandal, Scott Alexander, J.T. Chargois, Nick Ahmed (briefly), Kevin Pillar, Craig Kimbrel, Dylan Floro, Rich Hill, J.D. Martinez, Jose Quintana, Brandon Drury, Keynan Middleton, Hunter Strickland and Matt Andriese. …
• Oh, and another on that unsigned list: Alex Bregman. Dodgers fans, would your heads explode if your favorite team signed him? …
• Antonio Gates is now a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and though it’s only his second year of eligibility my response is: About time.
The all-time leader in touchdown catches by a tight end (116), among other records he holds for the position, Gates was an undrafted basketball power forward who turned himself into an unguardable receiver on the football field. And he was a significant contributor to a string of San Diego Chargers teams in the late 2000s that were awfully good but never had a Super Bowl appearance to show for it.
See: Chargering. …
• It’s worth noting, again, the vast difference in attention between baseball’s Hall of Fame selection process and football’s. The Baseball Writers Association of America members who cast ballots are encouraged to make their ballots public – and most of us do. For years, the BBWAA membership itself has voted to require full disclosure, but the Hall has resisted and allowed voters to opt out of having their ballots revealed. (Lucky, that, for the poor soul who didn’t vote for Ichiro this year.)
That openness is a large part of why so many people care so fervently when the results are announced every January. …
• In contrast, the football process – involving a select panel of 50 current and former football writers – is secretive enough to be suspicious. By all accounts, it’s a session of horse trading around a huge conference table, and a player needs 40 of the 50 votes to get that canary yellow sport coat and the bust that goes with it.
The membership must have been particularly cantankerous this year, since only four players – Gates, Eric Allen, Jared Allen and Sterling Sharpe – were selected. Last year, seven guys made the cut. …
• And now that Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson are in Canton, one more guy from those Chargers teams needs to go in: Philip Rivers, the best quarterback never to make it to a Super Bowl.
The bad news? Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, was snubbed this year, the first in which he was eligible. When Rivers becomes eligible next year, Manning will still be on the ballot and so will Rivers’ former Chargers teammate, Drew Brees. So it may be a while, if at all.
jalexander@scng.com