SoCal's Post Mortem

An eight foot birdie putt stopped just short of the hole Friday morning, giving a momentary pain we all have felt, but also foreshadowed a rough sports weekend that was ahead. Honestly, when missing a birdie putt is the highlight of your sports weekend, then you know it was a rough one.

This weekend was so bad, it beat the previous worst sports weekend in SoCal history which occurred in June, 1981 when the Red Sox eliminated the Angels in the ALCS, the Rams moved to St. Louis, Magic Johnson contracted HIV, Steve Garvey went to the Padres and A.C. Slater lost in a wrestling match to that dude from Valley High.

Alright, maybe all of those things didn't happen in the same weekend (or at all). And in this internet age, we are so quick to proclaim anything as the best or worst weekend ever (blame Dan Shanoff). But make no mistake, this weekend, like, totally sucked, dude.
The Angels, USC and UCLA football teams and the Chargers all combined to make this a painful weekend. And you might ask yourself, "Hey, didn't the Chargers win this weekend?" Well, that's true. But wins will only keep Norv Turner around long enough to ruin the Chargers franchise which he is doing a pretty good job of right now. Five more wins should clinch the AFC West. If you don't think so, take a look at who is in first place in the division. That's right, it's the Raiders. That's the state of the NFL right now. But Norv will continue to do just enough to keep his job, because even the Chargers can't fire a second coach who led his team to the playoffs, right?

If the NFL isn't bad enough, trying being a Southern Californian who doubles as a Pac-10 apologist. The local talk shows spent most of the week joking about how both USC and UCLA were on a bye week, considering the dismal state of its respective opponents, Stanford and Notre Dame. Nobody was laughing at the end of Saturday night.

Except for those who root against SoCal. You know, the guys who were secretly giddy when Matt Leinart was knocked out of the Cardinals victory over the St. Louis Football Team.

Losing to Pac-10 teams happens. And this blows Loss Miles theory that the Pac-10 is week when Stanford can knock off the No. 2 team in the country. An argument that doesn't hold much weight when UCLA loses to freaking Notre Dame. Yes the same Notre Dame that was blown out by Division I-AA power, Michigan. The same Notre Dame who would probably have lost to Mater Dei.

If there's anything worse than an SEC leading the polls, it's Cal being No. 2. Seriously, Pac-10 pride aside, but couldn't ASU, Oregon or somebody else take the flag for being USC's understudy? Does it really have to be the team from Frisco? Not only did Cal move up, but Boston College jumped up, too. Not that the front-running Red Sox fans at Angels Stadium needed anymore ammunition.

Losing is one thing, but being treated like a female dog is quite another. The Angels won three division titles during my childhood and college life. Now they have won three since 2004, but they all feel hollow. The Angels didn't just lose, they were destroyed. The worst is that those cheating Sox (and let's be honest, everybody in Boston cheats, via videotape, bloody socks, or unethical trades) purposely hit Vlade for the second time this season. And the Angels won't retaliate. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez should be eating out of a feeding tube, but instead Jered Weaver is lobbing gopher balls to let them go back-to-back. Only two guys in that whole lineup can hurt you, and the Angels let them. Say what you want about the lack of a bat protecting Vlade, but the Angels not protecting him is much, much worse.

And speaking of Weaver, they selected him with the 12th overall selection a few years back. The guy they passed over? Local product Phil Hughes who pretty much saved the Yankees season on Sunday. Traitor.

This might not have been the worst sports weekend in SoCal history, but if you don't mind, my head is going to be buried until UCLA goes and loses in the Final Four again.