Making USC a contender is about more than just one game
The Sporting Tribune Co-Founder and CTO Dr. Chris Mattmann pens a letter to USC head coach Lincoln Riley after the Utah loss.
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1. Making USC a contender is about more than just one game
The Sporting Tribune Co-Founder and CTO Dr. Chris Mattmann pens a letter to USC head coach Lincoln Riley after the Utah loss.
I drove home from USC’s second loss of what was supposed to be a special season, and did not think of all of the problems I had with the defense in this particular game. I’ll get to those in a minute. This season, with the returning Heisman winner poised for a second Heisman in a row – Caleb Williams, dubbed “Superman” by some, and definitely showing of it on many occasions in his illustrious college career thus far – was supposed to be special. A second Heisman. A College Football Playoff potential berth in the final season of the traditional 4 team finals format. USC’s last season in the Pac-12. There are more storylines that will go into the writer’s circular file than can be counted.
2. Back-to-back WNBA champions part of Las Vegas’ OG family
The Las Vegas Aces celebrated their second WNBA title Monday night with the town's third championship parade in 398 days and the latest one is special, writes The Sporting Tribune’s W.G. Ramirez.
The two-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces sequestered a small portion of Las Vegas Boulevard and Toshiba Plaza outside of T-Mobile Arena on Monday night, as they celebrated their second championship with Southern Nevada.
The heavily favored Aces used four games to do what everyone expected them to do, defeating the New York Liberty and winning the title.
And for the throngs of sports fans who have come to adore this team, it was another night of partying with yet another championship to celebrate.
The night was, as they say, lit.
If you’re into that sort of thing.
3. Lakers begin 2023-24 season against defending champs
The Lakers will try to get revenge against the team that ousted them in the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
Well, the 2023-24 NBA season has arrived. And unlike the start of last season, the Los Angeles Lakers have realistic expectations for a championship. The Lakers are always huge in free agency and trade rumors but, after a ton of speculation, the team will run it back with their core mostly intact.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Max Christie are holdovers from the start of last season. Coming over through trade last midseason were Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt (who is out for the season opener and is listed as day-to-day). Free agent signings from last summer were Taurean Prince, Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish, and Christian Wood. And their rookies are Jalen Hood-Schifino (with their own selection at #17) and Maxwell Lewis (second round pick that was acquired from Denver; more on them in a bit!).
4. Ducks drop weekend series to Coyotes and Bruins
The Ducks dropped both games of their weekend back-to-back to the Coyotes and Bruins and The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee has the latest from Anaheim.
Another weekend back-to-back greeted the Ducks in the second week of the season, this one the same variety as last weekend’s––a Saturday matchup on the road followed by a return home for a Sunday evening game.
Anaheim kept things close on Saturday against the Coyotes in their home opener in Tempe but ultimately was done in by poor discipline. Arizona scored one of their goals on the power play and the other came with their goaltender pulled during a delayed penalty.
The Ducks also scored a goal––their lone one––on the power play, but it’s clear that special teams, not their even strength play, was the reason why they fell to the Desert Dogs. Prior to Sunday’s game against the Bruins, the Ducks had gone on the penalty kill 22 times and the power play just 12 times.
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. Rams collapse in the final quarter to the Steelers, 27-14
The Rams had an opportunity to pull off their first back-to-back victory of the season lost 24-17 to the Steelers, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Lauren Jones.
In the first meeting in Los Angeles in 30 years, the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers edged the Rams 24-17 at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. The Rams lost yet another close and winnable game at home falling to below .500 for the third time this season.
Rams’ kicker Brett Maher missed two field goals and a PAT on the day that could have been one of the biggest differences in the Rams’ adding a second consecutive win to their record.
“He’s got to be better,” head coach Sean McVay said after the game. “That’s seven points that we missed out on that were key and critical for the momentum of the game.”
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.
7:30 p.m. – Coyotes at Kings – $34
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.
3:30 p.m. – Ducks at Blue Jackets – Bally Sports SoCal
3:30 p.m. – Golden Knights at Blue Jackets – ESPN+
4:30 p.m. – Lakers at Nuggets – TNT
7:30 p.m. – Coyotes at Kings – Bally Sports West
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!