The Trolley Dodger

The Lakers are hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown to succeed Phil Jackson, according to multiple media reports.

Welcome to LA!

Oh, please no. The looks of indignation that we will have to endure on a nightly basis….

Indignant is his middle name.

ESPN LA: “Rick Adelman on Lakers’ radar?”

The Los Angeles Lakers’ search for Phil Jackson’s replacement is just beginning, but NBA coaching sources on Thursday described the Lakers as “very interested” in Rick Adelman as a candidate for the position.

Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw has the public endorsement of Kobe Bryant and is regarded as by far the strongest in-house candidate for the position.

When a season ends so nightmarishly, it’s easy to try out daydreams — some might say pipe dreams — as a palliative. Take for example the calls for trading Pau Gasol and/or Andrew Bynum and bringing in Dwight Howard, who has often been linked with the Lakers.

“Gasol Or Bynum”

“Howard’s Future With Magic”

It’s probably not as simple as a one-for-one trade, but wow — imagine the new Superman flying in Staples Center.

Last July, I wrote a post here documenting the Midseason Malaise both the Dodgers and myself found ourselves in. An excerpt:

When an activity that is normally an escape from the depressing parts of existence becomes itself depressing…well, what is there to write about? Especially if you’re not one to tear down your favorite team for the sake of talking about something. There’s a surfeit of commenters online, not to mention talk show hosts and callers, who like nothing more than to kvetch 24/7 about the smallest Dodger problems, never mind the major issues — they don’t need any help from me.

Here we are, a mere few weeks into the 2011 season, and the malaise is already upon us. Except that this year, the depressing news applies to the Lakers as well. Things turned ugly last night. Real ugly. No amount of seeing writing on the wall the last month of the Laker season could forewarn us that the writing would end with a string of profanities.

(As mixed as the Dodger season has been so far, the Boys in Blue haven’t been acting like the Purple and Gold. The team, however, has had its own ugliness to deal with.)

Things are also not exactly like the (newly re-minted) Silver and Black, with a string of heartbreaking losses in their playoff series versus the Sharks. The season is still young.

No, we have ownership issues. Such issues. And now with no historical hitting streak to distract us from the latest bad news, I joked to friends of mine that I was thinking of giving up watching the local teams and switching to World News so I can cheer up a little.

As the Lakers and Kings were gearing up for their playoff runs earlier this year, I was pondering expanding the Trolley Dodger into more of an LA sports blog rather than just the Dodgers. Lakers and Kings, sure, not to mention the suddenly intriguing Clippers, the “5th-sport” teams Galaxy and Chivas USA, and the reportedly inevitable return of an NFL team to LA. Now, I’m not so sure. If all the bad news keeps up, I’m going to need intensive therapy to get over my sports depression.

I do have a summer to get over the 2010-11 Lakers and Kings, and hopefully the 2011 Dodgers will put it all together during that same period. And it’s not as if there is no good Dodger news. Ethier and Kemp are carrying the team, and despite the bullpen woes, our starters are doing pretty well. New manager Don Mattingly has been impressive enough for a rookie. There might even be a pot of gold at the end of the McCourt rainbow. As usual, patience is called for. Lots and lots of patience.

Besides, I’m not desperate enough for World News yet.

Kobe had this awesome quote after the Lakers’ 115-57 beat-down of the Cavaliers the other night, responding to a reporter asking if he had any sympathy for the Cleveland players:

“None. You forget who you’re talking to.”

That brings to mind another quote by a Los Angeles great, this one from Sandy Koufax after his 1962 no-hitter against the Mets:

“To win. Nothing else matters, and nothing else will do.”

We need that instinct at Dodger Stadium again.