by Aeden Alexander

Now that we are almost half way through Spring Training, it’s a perfect time to look at how both the Angels and Dodgers made improvements to their teams and how well they’ll play out.

For starters, the LA Dodgers shocked the world with the major signing of last year’s Cy Young Winner Trevor Bauer. Considering LA’s already loaded rotation which includes the likes of Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, this only added more firepower despite the price the Dodgers payed for Bauer.

In just a few innings of work this spring, Trevor Bauer has shown no signs of slowing down from last years Cy Young campaign as all of his pitches seem to be almost even better than last year. The doubters have been at an all time high, claiming Bauer was only good last season because of the division he played in, which left him matched up against lower skilled players.

This season, though, it will be the ultimate test for him and his Dodger teammates as they have to deal with a young San Diego Padres team that was already good but had one of the greatest offseasons in major league history, picking up former Cy Young winner Blake Snell and star pitcher Yu Darvish, amongst other moves.

The defending champs are indeed looking to go back to back this year and a major player who helped them win was Justin Turner. After seeing how much money it would take for him to re-sign, many fans believed that he was long gone as he was a free agent. However, LA managed to pull off re-signing Turner on top of signing Bauer in hopes his impact will be as major as it was in the previous years.

For the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they are in a different boat, to say the least. Even though their recent struggles with pitching might not have been completely fixed, they did a good job this past free agency with bringing in guys who can keep the runs let in to a lower rate.

The big question that’s been traveling around the league is how Shohei Ohtani’s arm is. Obviously, Ohtani had a horrible 2020 season on the mound and the Angels are looking for a strong year from him leading the rotation as he continues recovering from injuries. So far this spring he has had one start, where he showed good feel for all his pitches as well as good velocity.

For the rest of the starting rotation, the Angels didn’t do much besides adding right hand pitcher Alex Cobb. As for the bullpen, where the Halos especially struggled last year, they have added more consistent guys who might not be big names but control the mound at a high level.

The Halos also have many top prospects that they plan to bring up to help the rotation and get the core of the team started. While he had a terrible season last year, outfielder Jo Adell, one of the top prospects in baseball, could bounce back all around this season and create a suddenly solid offense alongside Mike Trout, David Fletcher, Anthony Rendon and Justin Upton.

Jose Iglesias was added to the lineup to replace shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who had been with the Halos for the past five years and was the staple of their infield for a long time. Being one of the best defensive shortstops in the league, it was tough for fans to see Simmons walk, but so far in Spring Training, Iglesias has shown continuous signs of improvement at the shortstop position offensively following a sneaky good 2020 campaign.

The Angels seek a playoff berth after what has seemed to be an endless playoff drought. With the new additions the Angels have made, there is a wide ranging hope that the Angels can clinch a wildcard spot or, in a surprise, win the AL West division, which will ultimately be a huge step forward from previous years in which the team has failed to capitalize off the presence of Mike Trout.

by Aeden Alexander

Sports are not just for entertainment but also a business needing to bring in money in which fans sometimes forget that and only believe they are for viewing purposes only.

After fans complained about the favoritism in the NFL about how the Ravens vs Steelers game was able to be postponed because of COVID cases while the league decided to force the Broncos to play Sunday with ZERO quarterbacks available.This led many fans to understand that the NFL and all sports leagues in general is overall just a business.

This decision was very controversial because people believe the decision was unfair and only a “money move” for the NFL as the Ravens and Steelers game was the most important and attention grabber to people. While the Broncos Vs Saints game was not nearly as important and wouldn’t bring in as much revenue. 

These occurrences haven’t only happened in the NFL but in all the professional sports around us. The term “favoritism” is a word that is tossed around a lot in all professional sports because there are many occurrences of certain teams getting more opportunities or chances because they are more popular or the matchup between teams are more important which bring in more attention and money. 

Many are diehard fans of certain teams and to them everything is about winning or losing. But when the leagues start getting into changing schedules it makes people think if possibly these professional sports leagues somewhat know what’s going to be the outcome after a season and if sports are rigged which have been a conspiracy theory since the beginning of it all.

Many examples have risen in all leagues, some times that these questions have come up are many of the World Series and super bowls because of how crazy the outcomes are. They end up being so crazy that it doesn’t even feel real sometimes. 

Writers and talk show hosts have come out and spoken their opinions but there’s been no evidence of the professional leagues tampering with any of their games. The only specific evidence has been made by fans which is not always the best source because it can sometimes be biased and not real evidence because they are not the ones competing but the ones watching. 

Major league Baseball has had a few occurrences in its past of changing rules for teams and giving other teams the better odds to win, but what makes people doubt that this is the owners doing is that you never see the players come out and complain about any of it.MLB executive David Samson came out on a talk show and gave his thoughts about tampering and what really goes on…

“How many teams are in the NBA?” he said on Thursday’s episode. “Thirty? Thirty-two in the NFL, 30 in MLB. Guess what? That is 92 teams. Every single one of them tampers. Everyone. We tampered, and we got tampered with.”

Tampering can mean many things and can happen with teams and sports leagues. It can be from talking to players on other teams or even cheating to help give you an advantage in games. David Samson brings up that all the teams do it but doesn’t go into certain teams specifically. He just breaks down that every team does it and even though some of it might not be important it still leaves the fans with the question that is, “Do the owners decide who is going to win this year or is it actually fair and competitive?”.

by Diego Santizo, Sports Editor

Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. gave boxing a throwback party on Saturday night, with a bout headlining a pay-per-view event that was heavy on spectacle and light on serious competition.

In what was ultimately a sporting event as bizarre as the year it capped off, boxing legends Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. returned to the ring in a battle of 50-year-old former champions Saturday night.

The pair of former champions, with a combined age of 105, gave fight fans every bit of nostalgia they could have asked for over eight, two-minute rounds inside the Staples Center. Though the fight ended in an unofficial split draw on the WBC-appointed judges scorecards, the bigger and better result was that neither man was badly hurt in the bout

While Jones’ return to the ring was his first since 2018, it was Tyson’s first time back in 15 years. But the man who established himself as one of the most dominant heavyweights in the game back in his prime showed glimpses of the form that made him an undisputed champion decades ago.

“The body shots definitely took a toll,” said Jones post-fight about Tyson’s attack. “It’s something to take the punches that Mike throws. I’m cool with a draw. Maybe we can do it again.”

While the event divided boxing fans between those who saw it as little more than a spectacle and others who were more than willing to indulge for a chance to see two of the sport’s best make their return, chatter about the card on social media — from YouTuber Jake Paul’s knockout win over former NBA guard Nate Robinson to Tyson and Jones’ main-event meeting — made clear the undeniable interest in the event regardless.

The empty Staples Center was transformed into a nice looking set not just for boxing, but a number of musical performances from some big-name hip hop artists that weren’t bad. 

Despite the announce team having equal moments of highs and lows, it received a last-minute boost of cohesion when veteran blow-by-blow man and former WWE announcer Mauro Ranallo was added to the mix the day of.

 In addition, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya showed a good deal of personality and expertise to his analysis. There were so many elements to this bizarre broadcast that should have failed yet somehow didn’t with probably the biggest talking point of the night.

Snoop Dogg on commentary stole the show. 

Snoop was hilarious when comparing Tyson and Jones to his uncles fighting at a backyard barbecue and his singing after Nate Robinson was knocked out cold was the perfect mix of inappropriate fun. UFC has experimented in the past with using Snoop as a commentator on an alternate version of its broadcast and also lent his voice to the UFC video game. A stunt like this can only work in this type of setting where entertainment is almost paramount to what happens inside the fighting surface. But it worked. 

Even though it was an exhibition, it was exciting for boxing fans to see Tyson and Jones in the same ring trading blows, especially when it seemed unlikely either would step into a ring again. Tyson went 50-6 during his professional career, which ended in 2005. Jones retired in 2018 after improving to 66-9 with a win over Scott Sigmon.

by Diego Santizo, Sports Editor

Very few people in any generation possess the power to make the world hold its breath. Maradona, who died last Wednesday at the age of 60, was one of them.

Diego Maradona, the Argentine who became a national hero as one of soccer’s greatest players, performing with a roguish cunning and extravagant control while pursuing a personal life rife with drug and alcohol abuse and health problems, died on Wednesday in Tigre, Argentina, in Buenos Aires Province. 

The news fell like a hammer blow to a nation beaten down by months of economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, but one where football is seen as a remedy for all ills.

His spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said the cause was a heart attack. Maradona had undergone brain surgery several weeks ago.

Devoted fans around the world paid tribute to soccer legend Diego Maradona last Wednesday from his home country of Argentina, to his adopted home in Italy, where he led football club Napoli to their first ever Italian league title in 1987.

In Naples, fans left flowers and candles outside his former team’s stadium, which the city’s mayor said should be renamed after Maradona.

And in Argentina, where the government has declared three days of mourning, fans gathered outside his childhood home near Buenos Aires to pay tribute.

Tributes have flooded in with former clubs and players past and present paying their respects as well.

Fellow Argentine Lionel Messi, whom many saw as the modern-day Maradona, said it was a “very sad day.”

“He leaves us but he doesn’t go anywhere because Diego is eternal. I keep all the beautiful moments lived with him and I wanted to send my condolences and best wishes to all of his friends and family,” Messi wrote on Instagram. 

Pelé, another legend of the game, tweeted: “I have lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to his family members. One day, I hope, we will play football together in heaven.”

Meanwhile, Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo said goodbye to an “eternal genius.”

“One of the best ever. An unparalleled magician. He leaves too soon, but leaves a legacy without limits and a void that will never be filled. Rest in peace, ace. You will never be forgotten,” Ronaldo wrote on Twitter.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino called Maradona “simply immense” and said “he deserves our eternal gratitude.”

“Our silence, our tears, our pain is the only thing we are feeling deep inside us at this time,” he said.

Pope Francis has also commented on the matter as a Vatican spokesman said Pope Francis “looks back with affection to the occasions of encounter in recent years and remembers it in prayer, as he has done in recent days since he learned of his health conditions.”

Maradona broke into professional soccer with Boca Juniors but went on to play for leading European clubs such as Barcelona and Napoli.

He won two Serie A titles with the Italian side which tweeted “Forever. Goodbye Diego” along with a blue heart.

When Maradona joined Napoli, one newsreader remarked, “the poorest city in Italy buys the most expensive player in the world.”

He was ranked with Pelé among the best, and his ability to surprise and startle won over fans and even critics. But his excesses and addictions darkened his legacy.

One of the most gifted soccer players in history, Maradona’s pinnacle of glory came when he captained Argentina to win the World Cup in 1986 before plunging to misery when he was kicked out of the 1994 World Cup for doping.

Years of drug use, overeating and alcoholism truncated a stellar career and altered his appearance from the lithe athlete who could slalom effortlessly through teams to a bloated addict who nearly died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000.

But he reinvented himself in a stunning comeback in 2008 as coach of the Argentina team, persuading managers that with sheer charisma he could inspire the team to victory, despite a lack of coaching experience.

The death of Maradona has now triggered a criminal investigation, and his personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque, appears to be in the crosshairs of the probe.

Police in Argentina have searched the house and private clinic of Luque, just 4 days after Maradona’s death.

Around 60 officers conducted the raids at the two locations, according to local reports, and left with medical records. Prosecutors are looking into how Maradona was treated in his final days, and are investigating Luque for negligence that could result in possible manslaughter charges. Luque is cooperating with authorities, he said at an emotional press conference later Sunday.

“I know what I did. I know how I did it,” Luque said while choking back tears, adding that he was not Maradona’s chief physician but rather a member of a team of doctors that had been treating the icon since his Nov. 3 operation. “I am absolutely sure that I did the best for Diego, the best I could.”

Maradona became a godlike figure in his home country after leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, but the battles he faced with health and addiction problems would follow him everywhere after his career ended in 1997. At the time of his passing, he was the head coach of Argentine Primera Division club Gimnasia.

by Aeden Alexander

As the MLB offseason is rapidly approaching, the World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers have a plethora of options going forward. Despite winning the championship with relative ease, the Dodgers still have ways they’d like to improve, and have the luxury of affording some of the top free agents of the 2020 Free Agency Class.

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The Defending World Series Champions Los Angeles Dodgers look to make moves this offseason, bring back players, as well as add some new players to the roster.

The Dodgers have a big decision to make this offseason in bringing back major role players or going all out to hopefully sign major players to hopefully bring back-to-back titles to the city of Los Angeles. These are the top ten free-agents the Dodgers may target. 

(1.) Trevor Bauer RHP

	WAR	Wins	Loss	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO	WHIP
2020	2.7	5	4	1.73	11	11	0	73	100	0.795
Career	17.5	75	64	3.90	205	195	1	1190	1279	1.265

Trevor Bauer is the number one pitcher coming off the 2020 season with an impressive year winning NL Cy Young and leading his Cincinnati Reds to the playoffs. Bauer’s been a successful pitcher his entire career and continues to dominate. He would fit very well into the Dodgers Organization as he went to UCLA and the Dodgers need pitching.

(2.) Justin Turner 3B

	WAR	AB	H	HR	BA	R	RBI	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2020	1.3	150	46	4	.307	26	23	1	.400	.460	.860	135
Career	29.3	3521	1029	124	.292	504	495	35	.369	.469	.838	128

The Dodgers veteran third basemen reached the end of his contract with LA this year, and even though he might not have had a MVP type year, he still showed up in the playoffs and played a major role in helping the Dodgers win the World Series. For the Dodgers to have the chance to win again this year they need to keep their offense together and this was a big battery to that lineup.

(3.) Liam Hendricks RHP

	WAR	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO	WHIP
2020	1.4	3	1	1.78	24	0	14	25.1	37	0.671
Career	4.8	19	27	4.10	344	44	40	516.1	526	1.278

LA must keep their offense, but throughout the entire playoffs as well in just recent years, the pitching specifically the bullpen has been lacking and losing games for them. Liam Hendricks from Oakland would be the perfect reliever for the Dodgers as he is coming off his best year to date and would be able to take over the bullpen and help win games like he did with the Athletics.

(4.) Brad Hand LHP

	WAR	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO	WHIP
2020	0.7	2	1	2.05	23	0	16	22.0	29	0.773
Career	7	26	43	3.65	396	43	105	608.2	624	1.235

Brad Hand is an All-star caliber relief pitcher from the Indians and would be able to supply the left-handed shut down type pitching the Dodgers need. All year LA had a great start to games and would lose in the last few innings and the power Hand brings to the games would be able to finish those games strong and limit those playoff stressful games.

(5.) Charlie Morton RHP

	WAR	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO	WHIP
2020	0.2	2	2	4.74	9	9	0	38	42	1.395
Career	8	93	99	4.08	259	258	0	1439.1	1276	1.334

Charlie Morton is one of the top pitching free-agents this year and would fit well behind Kershaw in the starting rotation. He had a decent year this year but will be expecting a comeback year from him and hopefully looking like his dominant self again. The Dodgers chances of pursuing him are unlikely but would blend well with the organization.

(6.) Joc Pederson OF

	WAR	AB	H	HR	BA	R	RBI	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2020	-0.4	121	23	7	.190	21	16	1	.285	.397	.681	84
Career	10.4	2153	496	130	.230	345	303	17	.336	.470	.806	116

Joc Pederson this past year might not have stuck out in the stats sheet, but came up big time in the playoffs for the Dodgers and would be a great person to resign. Perderson is able to be that cheaper role player the Dodgers wouldn’t need to spend an arm and a leg on but still produce for them. LA has one of the highest salaries this upcoming season and need to be smart with their role players because they need a quality over quantity type mindset.

(7.) Kirby Yates RHP

	WAR	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO	WHIP
2020	-0.3	0	1	12.46	6	0	2	4.1	8	2.538
Career	4.6	12	17	3.54	291	0	57	282.1	400	1.148

Kirby Yates coming off a rough year would be a perfect budget piece for LA. Brings the intensity year after year proving his worth and would fit well with the Dodger bullpen.Showed to be one of San Diego’s reliable guys and would be perfect on a veteran deal for the Dodgers.

(8.) James Paxton LHP

	WAR	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO	WHIP
2020	-0.4	1	1	6.65	5	5	0	20.1	26	1.475
Career	12.9	57	33	3.58	136	136	0	753.1	829	1.213

James Paxton is a left handed pitcher from New York, coming off a decent year, LA would have to pay a hefty price for this lefty but would be worth it. Would be a lead lefty in the pen and would follow up nice to one of the many flamethrowers the Dodgers have.

(.9) Kike Hernandez Utility

	WAR	AB	H	HR	BA	R	RBI	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2020	0.9	139	32	5	.230	20	20	0	.270	.410	.680	83
Career	10.2	1791	430	71	.240	250	227	27	.313	.425	.738	98

Kike’s return to LA would be perfect for the Dodgers because he provides that utility aspect that if anyone gets hurt he can fill in. As well as played a major role in the playoffs smashing two big time homeruns when they really needed it. Would come back for cheap and should be a must for the Dodgers.

(10.) Masahiro Tanaka RHP

	WAR	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	SO	WHIP
2020	0.7	3	3	3.56	10	10	0	48	44	1.667
Career	17.5	78	46	3.74	174	173	0	1054.1	991	1.130

The right hander from the Yankees has had a successful career so far. As the Dodgers might need to pay a big price for Tanaka it wouldn’t be a surprise for LA to pull this off. The only problem would be money because Tanaka would need a high salary and the Dodgers don’t have that after many big signings in the past years.