Joe Torosian's Outsiders Sports

By Joe Torosian

Kick it!

I have a definite interest in the Timberwolves and Spurs. I want to see how Wemby responds tonight. I want to see if Minnesota ratchets up the pressure.

…And when a rumble breaks out I want to hear the broadcasters hollow lament of, “Oh, no one wants to see this.”

Yes, truly… #43—May the San Francisco Giants rot and lie stinking in the earth…But at least the Giants are making an effort to get back in my cool book with a 9-3 victory over the Dodgers.

Ohtani’s homerless streak is now up to 51 at-bats.

Note to Colin Cowherd: Maybe Shohei’s not quite Babe Ruth.

If you want to see the Giants-Dodgers tonight, a single ticket in the blue section will cost $95. So $200 if you take someone with you, add another 45-bones to park, and after all that, they’ll still have the audacity to expect you to tip when buying your soda, dawg, and peanuts.

Donovan Mitchell goes full Sleepy Floyd last night…Cleveland ties its series with Detroit… and my take at the end was that I wanted both teams to go away.

I want to pass “Go.” I want to collect my $200. I want to see New York & OKC in the finals.

Does anyone know the Ducks are still playing and only six wins away from the Stanley Cup finals?

Well, if you do, you’ll need $98 to get into Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena tonight to see them play the Golden Knights.

LeBron was great this whole year. And while I don’t think he’s the GOAT, I’m not anti-LeBron.

What is gross is the LeBron defenders that always come out hard after he’s bounced from the playoffs.

Note to the Kool-Aid Sippers: I’m sick of hearing it, and I’m never going to buy the Lakers’ bubble title. No travel, they played half a season, and without the shutdown to keep LeBron & Anthony Davis off the injured list, the Lakers don’t win that title.

The Lakers’ dilemma is Austin Reaves. You’ve got to pay him, but is he what they need when they’ve already got a deluxe version of him in Luca Doncic?

It may be time to say sayonara… and Dodger management has never had a problem doing so. Now that they run the Lakers, fans should expect a lot of goodbyes.

I was a little bit sad to hear about the passing of Craig Morton.

I’m actually old enough to remember when there was a quarterback controversy between Roger Staubach and Craig Morton.

Morton, who died on Saturday at 83, had a weird football journey.

(Recently, I was told I have traits of someone on the Spectrum, so bear with me.)

In 1964, the Cowboys took a 10th-round flyer on Navy’s Staubach. In 1965, while Staubach was fulfilling his military obligation, they drafted Morton in the first round out of Cal.

Morton starts and loses Super Bowl 5, Staubach wins Super Bowl 6, and Morton is traded in 1974 to the Giants for a first and second round pick.

That first-round pick the Cowboys got for Morton? Hall of Famer Randy White.

Morton finds his way to Denver in 1977 and leads them to Super Bowl 12, where they play the Dallas Cowboys. Morton gets sacked four times, once by White, and throws four interceptions.

(Side note: Cowboys used a 10th-round pick in 1977 to draft San Jose State QB Steve DeBerg)

Morton retired after the 1982 season, and John Elway came to Denver in 1983. Jersey number seven transferred from Morton to Elway. Morton lost two Super Bowls, and Elway lost his first three.

Elway went to Stanford, Morton went to Cal…And Steve DeBerg was a backup quarterback to both of them.

Morton may not be relevant today, but since I do FanView five times a week, there’s enough room for him in the word budget to be remembered.

The Dude abides…

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By Joe Torosian

Kick it!

Wemby getting bounced for throwing an elbow doesn’t make him a dirty player, but it confirms that you need to be physical with him.

He’ll mature, learn how to channel it, but, for now, if I’m the Timberwolves, I’m running dude after dude after dude at him to induce another meltdown.

I remember playing pick-up ball, and there was a guy named Eddie who was really good but loved to argue about everything. So I made him argue everything, even when I knew I was wrong, I kept arguing until he was gassed, my team won, and we got him off the floor.

Make Wemby argue and react.

The Knicks’ road blue is an excellent look. It’s going to look even better when they play OKC in the finals…and if you’re in the NBA, you should be desperate for a Knicks-Thunder final.

As a fan, I am.

I don’t know how Philly just rolls over and dies the way they did at home to New York. In a situation like that, somebody on the 76ers should have thrown an elbow or two.

Speaking as a fan, the most brutal NBA playoff booth this postseason goes to Kevin Harlan, Candace Parker, and Dwayne Wade. No problem with Harlan, he’s always solid, but Wade and Parker operate at Beth Mowins-Mina Kimes level.

Oh, what an insult to Beth Mowins!

I’m good with Stetson Bennett being QB#2 for the Rams in 2026.

We’re getting the Cowboys-Giants, again, on Sunday night in Week One. Since neither team is competing for a Super Bowl, the NFL should have sent them to Australia to open the season.

Last Add NFL: What if Kyler Murray doesn’t win the QB1 job with the Minnesota Vikings?

Saying Caitlin Clark is the third most marketable player in the WNBA is like saying Natalie was hotter than Blair in The Facts of Life.

I talk a lot of WNBA trash…and fairly so…The league brings it upon itself, but that didn’t absolve me from watching the opener between the Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever.

If the expectation were for the women to play the game below the rim rather than hyping them as talent that can play above the rim, there would be less negativity toward the league.

What I noticed:

—If any league shouldn’t have a foul-out rule, it really should be the WNBA.

—I thought Page Bueckers looked heavier, and it was confirmed that she put on 15 pounds during the offseason. I think it’s a good thing for her game.

—No problem with Bueckers, what I do have a problem with is the ridiculous praise given to build her up.

Rebecca Lobo attributed Buecker’s excellent passing for leading to a Wings’ basket…three passes after Bueckers gave up the ball at mid-court. That’s like me taking credit for Los Altos’ Mike Smith making it to the NBA (Via BYU) because I boxed him out in a high school game.

—I saw my first NBA game in the spring of 1973, and I don’t think I ever saw two “5-counts” being called in the same game on an inbound pass until Saturday.

—The Wings-Fever wasn’t great basketball, but it was competent and highly competitive. They played like women who know the WNBA’s economics is a joke and were doing their best to make a good impression.

—In the end, I had to ask myself if I’d be as critical if it were Team USA with Cheryl Miller playing the Soviets?

I wouldn’t have been, so I watched and enjoyed the game.

That’s not a blanket endorsement of the WNBA, but they have a handful of players who can make it compelling.

Note: A’ja Wilson’s not one of them.

No homers in his last 46 at-bats? I’m surprised some Dodger fan hasn’t created a “TradeOhtani” hashtag.

Do you realize each team in the National League Central is over .500? The Cincinnati Reds are 22-19, five games out of first, and in last place.

#42—May the San Francisco Giants rot and lie stinking in the earth…

Washington, in the NBA, won the draft lottery and will get the first pick in this year’s draft. In 2010, they drafted John Wall. In 2001, they drafted Kwame Brown. Maybe they should move back a slot or two and see if they can find another Phil Chenier.

The Dude abides…

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Galatians 1:6-8
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
“RamView” M-W-F
Follow Joe on X: @joet13b