Bonnie-Jill Laflin joins The Sporting Tribune
Discover more from The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune
Bonnie-Jill Laflin joins The Sporting Tribune
Former Lakers scout and national sports personality joins the growing team at The Sporting Tribune.
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1. Bonnie-Jill Laflin joins The Sporting Tribune
Former Lakers scout and national sports personality joins the growing team at The Sporting Tribune.
National sports personality Bonnie-Jill Laflin joins The Sporting Tribune as a host and reporter this week. She will begin with Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“I am thrilled to be joining The Sporting Tribune family, covering America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys,” said Laflin. “I’m excited to be a part of what they are building with this new network and proud to bring true Cowboy coverage to fans in California, Nevada and Hawaii.”
2. Clippers win season opener over Trail Blazers, 123-111
The Clippers opened the regular season in Los Angeles with a victory for the second straight season, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Marisa Flores.
A newly-looking, fast-paced offense kept Los Angeles in control for most of the game. The Clippers put up 38 points on 14-of-22 shooting in just the second quarter. That allowed for a large 67-47 gap at the half.
Los Angeles managed to hold the Trail Blazers off throughout the second half, and led by as much as 30 before coasting to a 123-111 win.
3. LAFC and Bouanga to face Vancouver in MLS Playoffs
LAFC will begin their title defense journey against the Vancouver Whitecaps, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Chandrima Chatterjee.
LAFC have gotten to know their latest and next opponent very well. They have now faced the Vancouver Whitecaps four times this year, and will be playing three more matches against them in the new MLS playoffs first round format.
The Black and Gold bested the Canadian side in the CONCACAF quarterfinals but have since been unable to win against Vanni Sartini’s resilient side who ended their season in 6th place in the Western Conference. As LAFC tied the Vancouver Whitecaps at BMO Palace 1-1 in their final regular season match of 2023, falling to a 3rd place finish in the Western Conference standings, one silver lining is deserving of applause. Dénis Bouanga officially won the 2023 MLS Golden Boot after scoring his 20th goal in a race that came down to the last day of the MLS regular season – Decision Day 2023.
4. Lakers face Suns in home opener in Los Angeles
The Lakers will again attempt to get their first win of the 2023-24 season against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
Things didn’t go as planned in the Lakers’ first game of the season. But basketball doesn’t stop in this association so we move on to the next game. The Lakers make their season debut at Crypto Dot Com Arena as they face another title favorite in the Phoenix Suns.
We can officially say it: this is the first time LeBron James and Kevin Durant have faced each other in a regular season game since Christmas of 2018. I’d like to say this feels like yesterday but this happened nearly five years ago. And that’s a lifetime in the NBA.
5. USC’s potential dream season is quickly turning into a nightmare
The hopes of a championship season for USC have seemingly evaporated before the end of October, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Adam Bradford.
This was supposed to be the year.
After more than a decade of disappointments and underachieving, this was supposed to be the season that USC finally broke through. Led by second-year head coach Lincoln Riley and superstar quarterback Caleb Williams, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, the Trojans were a popular pick to win a loaded Pac-12 Conference and make their first ever College Football Playoff appearance.
It was supposed to be USC’s dream season, the one that Trojan fans had been waiting for ever since legendary head coach Pete Carroll left the program in January of 2010. But after two straight October losses to an old rival in Notre Dame and a relatively new foe in Utah, USC’s College Football Playoff hopes are dead before Halloween.
6. Herbert and Allen working to get their chemistry and the offense going
The Chargers offense needs Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen on the same page again, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fernando Ramirez.
This offense has looked different since week three in Minnesota. They got into a slugfest and scored 14 points in the second half. They have scored 10 in the last three games.
That was also the last game receiver Mike Williams and center Corey Linsley suited up. Williams was lost to a torn ACL, while Linsley was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list with a non-emergent heart-related issue.
“Any time you lose a guy like Mike or Corey, it’s going to be tough,” quarterback Justin Herbert said. “We’re thankful for the guys that have stepped up. We found out a lot about the guys that we have behind them. We’ve got complete faith and confidence in those guys.”
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by Golden Gate
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today.
7:00 p.m. – Suns at Lakers – $165
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today.
4:00 p.m. – Ducks at Bruins – Bally Sports SoCal
4:00 p.m. – Golden Knights at Bruins – ESPN+
7:00 p.m. – Suns at Lakers – TNT
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!