Dodgers! Torre! (Oh, and it says here the Lakers also play their opener)
Following the lead of Alex Rodriguez, who might be rejoining him soon on another coast, Joe Torre has found a way to produce bold headlines that are undermining and overshadow a once-hallowed sporting event of national importance:
After a long, tense and tedious summer of “Kobe Wants Out!” and “Kobe Wants In!” and “Kobe Wants Help!” and “No, None For You, Kobe!” a new bulletin has elbowed Kobe and Co. (and it’s not much of a company, as companies generally go) aside in favor of “Is Torre Coming to L.A.?”
Hours before the Lakers tip off the 2007-2008 season against the Houston Rockets, all we’re hearing in L.A. today is Torre news.
Report: Dodgers set to fire Grady Little and replace him with Torre.
Report: Torre to bring Don Mattingly with him as bench coach?
Report: Torre to bring A-Rod with him as Dodgers savior?
This is sports life in L.A. on Halloween Eve 2007. Rumors and Internet reports about an imminent managerial change by a long idle baseball team (idle since mid-September, actually) tops any reality about the Lakers. Which speaks immediately to the present state of the Lakers.
As all seasoned sports fans know, this is called payback. While the Dodgers were still flying reasonably high in the National League West, roughly through the end of July, their successes were obscured by Bryant’s daily mood changes and public temper tantrums. Today, Bryant is set to take the stage in L.A., whether he really wants it or not, and Torre and the Dodgers are front and center.
And they are not the only ones. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are playing the Sports Arena tonight. Lots of excitement and good chemistry on that team.
christine.daniels@latimes.com
Comments