Writer, editor, sometime musician
Articles by Don Wanlass
SPORTS DIGEST: Clippers, Lakers perform well on Grammy Road Trip
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer They call it the Grammy Road Trip. Every year, the Lakers and Clippers (and the Kings, for that matter) clear out of Crypto.com Arena for two weeks at the end of January and early February, so their home arena can prepare to host the Grammy Awards show. This year, the Clippers and Lakers did very well on the Grammy trip. The Lakers went 4-2, the Clippers went 6-1. The Lakers should have done better.
SPORTS DIGEST: Chargers hope to make statement with Harbaugh hire
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Seven years after moving north from San Diego, the Los Angeles Chargers are finally trying to fit in. At 1 p.m. Feb. 1, the Chargers will hold a press conference to introduce Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach. Harbaugh is fresh off leading the University of Michigan to the national championship in college football. He replaces Brandon Staley, who the Chargers fired in December after a 63-21 loss to the Raiders.
SPORTS DIGEST: Clippers on a roll after 127-116 defeat of Lakers
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Barely at the halfway point of the season, Los Angeles’ two professional basketball teams met Jan. 23 for a midseason test on where they each stood. The Clippers won the game, 127-116, behind a triple double from Kawhi Leonard and 23 points from James Harden.
SPORTS DIGEST: Rams come up short against Lions in wild card round
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Nobody expected the Rams to be in the playoffs this season. They came thisclose to still being there, but in the end they lost to former quarterback Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions, 24-23, in the only game during wild card weekend that was close. Goff and his successor, Matthew Stafford, had a great quarterback duel. In the end, Stafford had the better statistics but Goff had the win. Goff completed 22 of 27 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown.
SPORTS DIGEST: Rams-Lions game features Stafford-Goff matchup
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Almost three years after they were traded for each other, Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff go head-to-head Jan. 14 in a game that really matters — an NFL playoff wild card round game between Stafford’s Los Angeles Rams and Goff’s Detroit Lions. In February 2021, the Rams — particularly head coach Sean McVay — had soured on Goff, their first-round draft pick in 2016, even though he led the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018.
SPORTS DIGEST: College Football Playoff gets it right after 10 years
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer It only took 10 years for the College Football Playoff system to get it right. Both semifinal games went down to the wire Jan. 1 with Michigan defeating Alabama 27-20 in overtime to win the Rose Bowl and Washington following that game with a 37-31 win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl that also went down to the final minute. That leaves us with a Washington-Michigan matchup Jan. 8 in Dallas for the college football championship.
SPORTS DIGEST: 2023: a year with no championships for L.A. teams
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Many Los Angeles sports teams entered 2023 with hopes for championships. Alas, no local teams grabbed the brass ring. Still it was an eventful if unfruitful year for L.A.’s teams. The Los Angeles Football Club played for its second straight Major League Soccer championship but fell to Columbus 2-1 in the title game Dec. 9.
SPORTS DIGEST: Rams face Saints with playoff berth on the line
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Rams play the New Orleans Saints Dec. 21 with their playoff hopes possibly riding on the outcome. Both teams enter the game with 7-7 records. The Rams are seventh in the NFC wildcard race, the Saints are eighth. The winner will hold the tie-breaker if both teams are still tied when the regular season ends. The Saints are still in the running for the NFC South Division title, tied at 7-7 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodgers get their man, sign superstar Shohei Ohtani
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer When the Dodgers truly want someone, they go get him. And pay him. In 2020, they wanted Mookie Betts. They put together a package of young prospects and agreed to take Dave Price and his salary off the hands of the Boston Red Sox, who sent the Dodgers a perennial all star. In 2021, they outbid others for Trevor Bauer.
SPORTS DIGEST: College football selection committee got it right
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer All the controversy over whether Florida State belongs in the college football playoff could have been avoided if Florida State’s conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference, didn’t team up with the Pac 12 and Big 10 conferences last year to keep the playoffs from expanding from four to 12 teams a year ahead of schedule. Those three conferences were afraid the Southeast Conference would be favored in the new 12-team format and delayed the process.
SPORTS DIGEST: Chargers and Rams headed in different directions
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer One of our local NFL teams was supposed to be a playoff team this season, perhaps able to reach the conference championship game. The other was in rebuilding mode. But two-thirds of the way through the season, the Chargers are close to being eliminated from playoff consideration while the Rams are moving closer to the wild card race where no one expected them to be. The Chargers fell to 4-7 Nov.
SPORTS DIGEST: Despite Herbert, Chargers fall to Green Bay, 23-20
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Los Angeles Chargers continue to waste the talents of quarterback Justin Herbert. The Chargers dropped to 4-6 on the season Nov. 19 after losing 23-20 to the Green Bay Packers, who are quarterbacked by Jordan Love. There is no way a team quarterbacked by Jordan Love should beat a team quarterbacked by Justin Herbert, but it keeps happening. And there is plenty of blame to go around.
SPORTS DIGEST: Lakers put it all together in 134-107 win over Memphis
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer It took 11 games, but the Lakers finally put together an overall outstanding performance Nov. 14, beating the Memphis Grizzlies, 134-107. Granted, the Grizzlies were playing without three starters — Ja Morant is suspended and Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke are injured — and lost guard Marcus Smart due to an ankle injury in the second quarter. But the Lakers looked like the team their fans hoped they would be for the first time this season.
SPORTS DIGEST: Harden, Westbrook are crucial to Clippers’ chances
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The hopes of the Clippers this year may very well rest on how well two Southern California natives can play together. The paths of James Harden and Russell Westbrook have crossed many times over their basketball-playing careers. Westbrook turns 35 Nov. 12. Harden turned 34 in August. Westbrook grew up in Hawthorne and attended Leuzinger High, before playing two seasons at UCLA. Harden grew up in South Los Angeles before attending Artesia High.
SPORTS DIGEST: Clippers gamble Harden can lead them to title
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Los Angeles Clippers are going all in on this season. By acquiring James Harden in a trade Oct. 31, Clippers management made a statement that the team wants to win an NBA title in their final season in Crypto.com Arena. Whether that pans out remains to be seen. The Clippers now have four players who need to have the ball in their hands to be successful.
SPORTS DIGEST: Rams face Cowboys after loss to Steelers
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer A week after the Chargers lost a home game where their fans were totally outnumbered by Dallas Cowboys fans, the same thing happened to the Rams. The Rams were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-17 Oct. 22, as thousand of Steelers fans waved their Terrible Towels, drowning out the cheers of badly outnumbered Rams fans. It was a critical loss for the Rams, who dropped to 3-4 on the season heading in to their game Oct. 29 in Dallas.
SPORTS DIGEST: Chargers lack home-field advantage in loss to Cowboys
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer It must be hard playing for the Los Angeles Chargers. They play 17 road games a year. The NFL schedule may say the Chargers have nine home games and eight road games this season but in actuality the Chargers almost never have more of their own fans in SoFi Stadium than their opponents do. In this year’s season opener against Miami, Dolphin fans easily outnumbered Chargers fans. The same thing was true Oct.
SPORTS DIGEST: USC tries to solve defensive woes against Notre Dame
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer USC entered this football season as the sixth-ranked team in the Associated Press poll. After scoring 122 points in wins over San Jose State and Nevada, the Trojans were elevated to the fifth spot in the rankings. Five weeks later — after four more wins — the Trojans find themselves at 10th in this week’s rankings after three consecutive poor performances by the defense. The Trojans travel to South Bend, Indiana, Oct.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodgers looking forward to start of postseason
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer To the Los Angeles Dodgers, the regular season is an inconvenience, something they have to go through to get to the postseason. Since Andrew Friedman became the director of baseball operations after the 2014 season, the Dodgers have been built for the postseason. They have made it all nine years Friedman has been running the team, winning eight National League Western Division titles along the way.
SPORTS DIGEST: In its last season, Pac 12 football tries to go out on top
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Pac 12 football teams picked a bad year to regain credibility in the college football universe. In the last year of the conference’s existence as we know it, the schools collectively are having their best season in the last 20 years, if not more. Through four weeks, Pac 12 teams are a combined 36-12, a .750 winning percentage. Four teams are ranked in the AP College Football Poll’s top 10 and two more are in the top 20.
SPORTS DIGEST: Chargers find themselves in 0-2 hole after loss to Titans
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Two weeks into the NFL season, the Chargers already find themselves in a must-win situation Sept. 24 against the Minnesota Vikings. The Chargers lost their second straight close game to the Tennessee Titans, 27-24 in overtime Sept. 17 to fall to 0-2 on the season. The Vikings also are 0-2. The Chargers are on the road for the second week in a row hoping to find the right combination to get them in the win column.
SPORTS DIGEST: Rams surprise Seattle in 30-13 opening week victory
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Los Angeles Chargers still can’t stop anybody when it matters. The Rams might be better than anybody thought. Those are two of the conclusions you could draw after the first week of the National Football League’s 2023 season.
SPORTS DIGEST: Chargers hope to make their mark in 2023 season
By Don Wanlass Contributing Editor For six seasons, the Los Angeles Chargers have struggled to make a dent in the Los Angeles sports market. Like the Clippers in basketball, the Chargers are the second team in the market in football behind the Los Angeles Rams, who also own the stadium the Chargers call home. But as the 2023 National Football League season begins this week, the Chargers are equipped to become the best NFL team in town this year.
SPORTS DIGEST: UCLA enters 2023 optimistic with new quarterbacks
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The UCLA Bruins begin their last season in the Pac 12 Conference with a new starting quarterback, another new defensive coordinator and more optimism surrounding the program than there has been for several years. Going into his sixth season at UCLA, head coach Chip Kelly hopes to finally crack the .500 mark during his tenure at UCLA.
SPORTS DIGEST: USC opens football season against San Jose State
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer If you are still wondering why USC would leave its decades-long association with the other schools in the Pac 12 Conference, try finding the Trojans’ season-opener against San Jose State Aug. 26 on television. The game starts at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Pac 12 Network’s flagship station — 428 on Spectrum where I live. Spectrum carries the Pac 12 Network. So does Comcast and Dish, but other cable and satellite providers like DirectTV and AT&T don’t.
SPORTS DIGEST: Surging Dodgers put space between them and opposition
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Two months ago, I told Dodgers’ fans it was all right to panic. The Dodgers had just been swept in a three-game series by the San Francisco Giants, who leap-frogged over the Dodgers into second place in the National League West. The Dodgers were in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, losing 10 of 14 games and falling four games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. Julio Urias was on the injured list.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodgers begin to pull away from division foes
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer When play resumed after the All Star break on July 14, the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks were tied for first place in the National League West with 51-38 records. Less than four weeks later, the Dodgers are 10 games ahead of the Diamondbacks, five ahead of the Gants and well on the way to their 10th division title in 11 years. Since the break, the Dodgers are 15-8.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodgers fail to acquire starting pitching help
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer It’s starting to look like the Dodgers plan for 2023 all along was to coast through the season with an eye toward saving money for the pursuit of Shohei Ohtani in the offseason. That’s the only conclusion I can draw after seeing Dodgers President Andrew Friedman fail to make a major move at the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Sure the Dodgers made some moves. They brought back utilityman Kike Hernandez and relief pitcher Joe Kelly.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodgers bring back Kike Hernandez in deadline deal
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer It was all there in a nutshell. The Dodgers’ 2023 season in a microcosm of one game in late July. The Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-7 in 10 innings July 25, scoring the winning run on a double off the top of the right-center field wall by rookie centerfielder James Outman that scored Chris Taylor.
SPORTS DIGEST: All Dave Roberts does for Dodgers is win ball games
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer As manager of the Dodgers, Dave Roberts gets more than his share of criticism. It comes with the territory. He doesn’t let his starting pitchers pitch deep into games, he uses the bullpen ineffectively, he platoons too much, he plays Austin Barnes too much. The list could go on and on. Dodgers fans don’t know how well they have it. Roberts is now in his eighth year managing the Dodgers. The Dodgers won six National League West titles in his first seven years.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodgers return to action as first-place team again
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Dodgers play the New York Mets in a three-game starting July 14 at the end of the all-star break, the dullest week of the year on the sports calendar. Despite an up-and-down first half of the season, the Dodgers find themselves in first place in the National League West Division by two percentage points over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
SPORTS DIGEST: Lakers make some moves as NBA free agency begins
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Lakers surprised many people with their run to the Western Conference finals in the NBA playoffs this past season. The fact that they were swept in four games by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets did not take away from their run to the finals: defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament, and wins over the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
SPORTS DIGEST: Ohtani offers sports fans history in the making
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Sports fans in Los Angeles are lucky. On any given night we can witness a performance by someone who will go down in history has one of the best to ever do it, no matter the sport. June 27 was just one of those days. Clayton Kershaw, who will one day be in baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, pitched a masterful game against the Colorado Rockies, limiting the Rockies to one hit over six innings in a 5-0 victory.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodger fans panic after Giants sweep series
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer It’s time to panic if you are a Dodgers’ fan. Getting swept at home by the San Francisco Giants will do that to you. Not only did the Giants win a three-game series over the Dodgers, but they moved past the Dodgers into second place in the National League West in the process. The Giants humiliated the Dodgers, outscoring them 29-4 in the final 23 innings of the series. The Dodgers started well June 16, leading 4-0 through six innings.
SPORTS DIGEST: U.S. Open Golf Tournament returns to Los Angeles
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The eyes of the golf world will be on Los Angeles this week as the U.S. Open comes to the city for the first time since 1948. One of the top tournaments in the world, the U.S. Open will take place June 15-18 on the north course of the Los Angeles Country Club on Wilshire Boulevard just west of Beverly Hills. Ten former U.S. Open champions are among the field of 156 players who will tee off starting at 6:45 a.m.June 15.
SPORTS DIGEST: Dodgers bullpen woes continue in loss to Cincinnati
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Blame it on the pitching staff. The Dodgers lost to the Cincinnati Reds 9-8 June 6, falling out of first place in the process. They now trail the Arizona Diamondbacks by a game in the National League Western Division standings. Now there’s a sentence I didn’t expect to be writing in spring training. The Dodgers scored three runs in the first inning.
SPORTS DIGEST: Despite lineup changes, Dodgers can still hit
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Dodgers may not appear to be the juggernaut that they were last season when they won a franchise record 111 games during the regular season only to lose to the San Diego Padres in the divisional playoff series. But through 56 games this season, the Dodgers are only two games behind last year’s record 56 games (slightly more than a third of the way) into the schedule. Last year the Dodgers were 36-20 at this point. This year they are 34-22.
SPORTS DIGEST: Lakers’ roller coaster season ends against Nuggets
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The roller coaster ride that was the Los Angeles Lakers has come to an end — an uneven, uphill climb to the playoffs, followed by two exhilarating playoff series victories and a steep, downhill fall during a 4-0 sweep by the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Western Conference finals. After a 2-10 start, just making the playoffs was an accomplishment for the Lakers after missing the playoffs entirely in 2021-22.
SPORTS DIGEST: Nuggets get jump on Lakers in playoff series opener
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer For the first time this year, the Lakers lost the first game of a playoff series. That doesn’t mean the Lakers season is coming to an end. It just means the Denver Nuggets are a lot better than the Memphis Grizzlies or the Golden State Warriors. The Nuggets’ 132-126 win May 16 in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals doesn’t mean the Nuggets will dominate this series, but if you thought so when it was 72-54 at halftime, you weren’t alone.
SPORTS DIGEST: Lakers have Warriors right where they want them
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer I’m writing this about eight hours before tipoff of Game 5 in the Western Conference semifinals between the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. I don’t like the Lakers’ chances in Game 5. They have a 3-1 lead in the seven-game series and the Warriors’ backs are against the wall. The Lakers had a similar lead against the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round of the playoffs and came out and laid a big egg in Game 5 before rebounding in Game 6.
SPORTS DIGEST: Lakers open series with win over Golden State
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer One victory does not win a playoff series. Lakers fans need to remember that as they bask in the glow of the 117-112 win over the Golden State Warriors May 2 in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals. By all means, it was a great win for the Lakers, who are not just happy to be here after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in six games in the first round of the playoffs.
SPORTS DIGEST: Clippers go home; Lakers close to advancing
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Clippers are quick to brag that they own the Lakers. After all, they have beat the Lakers 11 times in a row and are 30-6 over the last nine seasons. But the Clippers will watch the rest of the NBA Playoffs on television with the rest of us. The Lakers hold a 3-1 series lead over the Memphis Grizzlies going into Game 5 April 26. If they can’t close out the season in Memphis, then they can do it at home April 28.
SPORTS DIGEST: Clippers split first two playoffs games with Suns
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The Phoenix Suns have more firepower in their starting lineup. The Clippers have a deeper bench. That’s the difference so far between the two teams after the first two games of the Western Conference playoff series that is tied 1-1 with game 3 scheduled for April 20 at Crypto.com Arena. The Clippers took care of business in game 1, defeating the Suns 115-110 behind 38 points from Kawhi Leonard and an overall fine performance by Russell Westbrook.
SPORTS DIGEST: Lakers win play-in game, advance to playoffs
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer Nothing has come easy this season for the Lakers so getting into the NBA Playoffs wasn’t going to be any different. But just like they did after starting the season with a disastrous 2-10 record, the Lakers dragged themselves out of a 15-point third-quarter hole April 14 to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-102 in overtime to win the Play-in Tournament game and advance to the playoffs. It sure wasn’t pretty.
SPORTS DIGEST: Lakers, Clippers clinch berths in Play-in Tournament
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer With three games remaining in the NBA regular season, the Lakers and Clippers are tied for sixth place in the Western Conference. Going into their game against each other April 5, both teams have clinched berths in the NBA’s Play-in Tournament, guaranteeing them at least one postseason game this year. After the Clippers, the Lakers close the season with two home games against the Phoenix Suns April 7 and the Utah Jazz April 9.
SPORTS DIGEST: New season begins on heels of World Baseball Classic
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The 2023 Major League Baseball season hits the ground under a full head of steam March 30 with all 30 teams in action. It’s been a good spring for the game that was once considered the national pastime, but now falls in behind the NFL and NBA in the eyes of most fans and people that follow sports for a living.
SPORTS DIGEST: UCLA battles Gonzaga in epic Sweet 16 matchup
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer For the third year in a row Mick Cronin has coached the UCLA basketball team into the Sweet 16. And for the second time in three years, the Bruins find a formidable foe — Gonzaga — standing in the way of their title hopes. Two years ago, UCLA and Gonzaga met in the Final Four. The winner advanced to the championship game. In an epic battle, Johnny Juzang scored on a rebound to give UCLA a two-point lead with 3.3 seconds left.
SPORTS DIGEST: UCLA begins March Madness with high expectations
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer USC starts most football seasons with national title expectations. UCLA does the same come basketball season. With 11 national titles, the Bruins have the most championships of any university in the country and they hope to add to that total every season. It hasn’t happened since 1995. It could happen this year. The Bruins enter the NCAA Tournament March 16 at 7:05 p.m. with a game against North Carolina Asheville, champions of the Big South Conference.
SPORTS DIGEST UCLA enters Pac 12 Tournament with high hopes
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer The UCLA Bruins enter the Pac 12 men’s basketball tournament as the second-ranked team in the nation. A win in the tournament will almost assure that the Bruins will be the No. 1 seed in the Western Region when the NCAA Basketball Tournament begins March 16. A loss anywhere in the tournament puts the Bruins at the mercy of the selection committee.
SPORTS DIGEST LeBron’s foot injury hampers Lakers’ playoff hopes
By Don Wanlass Contributing Writer It is too early to have any rash reactions to the trade-deadline deals made by the Lakers and the Clippers two weeks ago. If you want to make quick snap judgments, the Lakers have gained from their deals; the Clippers have not. The Lakers started play last week after the all-star break in 13th place in the NBA’s Western Conference. The Clippers were in fourth place. As of March 1, the Lakers are now in 12th place; the Clippers are in fifth.
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