The Broadie Report

July 24, 2016 Posted in  Tributes

In the desert of Southern California baseball is played three months a year. In June and July the Palm Springs Power play in the Southern California Collegiate Baseball League. In the California Winter League, played in mid-January to early February, players from all over the country come to showcase their talent in front of Major League Baseball scouts for the MLB Draft, held in June.

In other sports, tennis and golf are the primary sports in the desert, though basketball, football, soccer, and ice hockey are also played.

In all, sports is always the mind’s refuge to temporarily escape life’s stresses. Where would the world be without sports?

July 1, 2016 Posted in  Lakers

About an hour and a half ago NBA free agency began. Teams are lined up to sign marquee players. There are some players that are good, others not so much. The Lakers have the first signing of free agency.

Timofey Mozgov…

Say What!?

Oh, well. We didn’t give him that much cash. $16M for 4 years.

No, that’s $16M/yr. for four years.

(My head just exploded)

What the hell is Jim Buss and/or Mitch Kupchak doing? They are betraying the trust of their fan base! They are the butt of all jokes on the radio. Or are looking forward to the day when marijuana is legal in California because whatever they are on, I want some because it must be pretty good!

OK, not being serious there...

June 28, 2016 Posted in  Tributes

When legends die, the day seems to be strange, as though time has compressed and there is a weird presence being felt. In the cases of Pat Summitt and Buddy Ryan occurring in the same morning, it feels doubly strange.

Pat Summitt is the all-time wins leader in NCAA basketball, women’s or men’s, and was a pioneer in certain ways for women’s athletic accomplishments. Title IX benefited them greatly.

Buddy Ryan was the architect of the great Chicago Bears defenses in the mid 1980s and helped lead them to a 15-1 record, and a blowout of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. He was also a head coach for the Arizona Cardinals and a defensive coordinator for the then-Houston Oilers.

Rest in Peace to two legends.

June 24, 2016 Posted in  Lakers, NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers in 2015-16 were just pathetic. There are those who would say it is the fact that they do not have any good players on their roster. To that I would reply that they have five good players. D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., and, with the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, Brandon Ingram. They also have serviceable players, like Roy Hibbert, Marcelo Huertas, and even Nick Young. They also drafted a center with their second round pick, but I expect him to keep playing overseas while the Lakers retain his NBA rights.

The biggest problem with the Lakers? We need look no further than the head coach, Byron Scott. Coaching can take a bad team to the playoffs, and it can keep a decent team out of them. Coaches matter...

June 7, 2016 Posted in  Soccer, Stories from pickup games

Soccer is, obviously, the leading sport in the world. Teams from all over the world compete in various leagues, both amateur and professional, to win it’s prize. Pickup games are interesting. For your humble writer, the last game was about ten years ago. I was a good shooter and passer, as well as defender. But my ball skills, the equivalent of ball handling in basketball, were awful. I was not very athletic as a footballer. During my whole lifetime I had, I think, ten goals and seven assists. I had played for fifteen years every three days on average. I’m a much better mind than athlete, but I have no stories coaching or managing.

My team in the United States is the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS. My favorite team abroad is Manchester United. My favorite player growing up was Cobi Jones...

June 5, 2016 Posted in  Boxing

This will be a brief blog. I don’t know a whole lot about boxing, which would be a man-card violation in some circles. I put a tweet out about an hour or so after the news broke of Muhammad Ali passing away.

Ali was a cultural icon, who acted like the way we all should. His most well-known incident was when he refused being drafted into the Vietnam War. He also was a diplomat during the Gulf War.

As a boxer, he was equally as impressive. The thrilla in Manila fight vs. Joe Frazier was the greatest fight ever.

I hope I’m wrong when I say this, but there will never be anyone like Muhammad Ali.

Rest in Peace

May 30, 2016 Posted in  NFL News, PSAs

The offseason in the NFL more often than not is littered with players getting in trouble with the law. Each year between the conclusion of mandatory minicamp and the beginning of training camp there isn’t much to do for a young player who’s single that is productive. If I were a young player and I had some free time, I’d go buy a PlayStation 4 and play video games, or go to movies with my friends, or go to baseball games, hoping to be seen.

Unfortunately a few players party at clubs, consume alcohol, get behind the wheel of a vehicle inebriated, and either get arrested for DUI or cause a much larger tragedy, like getting into an auto accident and taking the life of a person. This kind of behavior is very deplorable and very preventable...

May 16, 2016 Posted in  Baseball, PSAs

Let’s talk about the worst form of human nature, revenge. In baseball, a batter sometimes gets hit with a pitch for any of the following reasons: the batter before him flips his bat when he hits a home run, the same batter does likewise (gets plunked next time up), an opponent gets hit by a pitch and his team retaliates, or the Skipper orders his pitcher to plunk the current batter.

This is one unwritten rule that needs to be thrown in the garbage. First of all, it is a safety issue. Remember Ray Chapman? He died as a result of being hit by a pitch. Batting helmets won’t always save you. Let’s put an end to this rubbish of intentional hit by pitch. The last thing we want to see is a MLB or minor league game turn into a WWE event. Fans didn’t pay to see that nonsense.

Please govern yourselv...

May 12, 2016 Posted in  NBA

My favorite blooper reel, Shaqtin’ A Fool, is about a few weeks away from being crowned. Here are my “highlight” plays, my top ten.

10: Marcus Smart, greatest flop in NBA History. Boston vs Atlanta playoff series.

9. James Harden, pulling an Otto Porter countless times this season.

8. JaVale McGee, checking into a game with his warm-up pants on.

7. Josh Smith, a new record 25 step travel.

6. Rajon Rondo, annoying the referee who was trying to get him to inbound the ball.

5. D’Angelo Russell, playing defense against his own teammate.

4. Drew Gooden, trying to flop but failing to successfully do so.

3. Dirk Nowitzki, bunny-hopping three times while posting up a defender.

2. Garlon Green, after the other team misses a free throw, he dunks the ball in his own hoop.

1...

April 25, 2016 Posted in  Lakers

Byron Scott is out as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He leaves LA with no playoff appearances and lots of angst and controversy.

Where do the Lakers go from here? They missed an opportunity to sign coach Tom Thibodeau, who ended up in Minnesota. Could Phil Jackson be in the cards? If not, the Lakers are going to be a bad team for the foreseeable future.

I think the Lakers should try to make a run at Golden State’s assistant coach Luke Walton. He was a key cog in getting the Warriors to a 73-9 record. Although the Lakers don’t have as many good players as Golden State, I can still see Walton leading the Lakers back to respectability as early as 2016-17...