Joe Torosian's Outsiders Sports

By Joe Torosian

Kick it!

Nick Van Exel should have trademarked “Cancun” for as often as we hear it at this point in the NBA season.

I like the NCAA tourney, but really? 76 teams for both the men and the women? I think 40 teams is stretching it these days.

The NCAA owns the NIT, push the other 36 into that, and tell everyone else to stay home.

Six days since last Thursday, and I’m all in on Ty Simpson. It was never personal. It was strictly the business of where he was drafted. But he’s a Ram now, and I’m not about to “Atwell” him.

Do I think Mike Vrabel should be fired? No.

A lot of the KBM is rah-rah-ing Jalen Hurts, but in truth, if there were a market for him, someone would have traded for him by now.

Last Add Rams: I ran it through Grok, and Sean McVay is doing more national media (damage control?) in April of 2026 than he did in April of 2025.

Tuesday night was an example of why OKC will repeat as NBA champions…The Celtics losing a close-out game at home against the 76ers is ridiculous.

Love watching Wemby, great player, but has anyone ever roughed him up? Has anyone bodied him up regularly? This is my contention for all of the NBA’s top players in the last 15 years.

Could a current player actually thrive in a physical league? I don’t think so.

I remember when I was coaching in youth tourneys, I would tell my guys, “Hey! Get physical with that candy boy!”

I never said cheap shot, or hurt anybody, but some players don’t like it when things get physical. And I’m curious about that regarding Wemby because I don’t think there’s any other way to stop him.

Next Note NBA: The first step—only the first—to fixing tanking is to stop weighting the lottery. Meaning the team with 15 wins has the same number of bingo balls as the team that missed the play-in with 36 wins.

The Lakers host the Houston Rockets at Crypto tonight for Game Five. If you want to see Austin Reaves’ expected return, it will only cost you $191 to sit alone in a section that the late Jim Healy would refer to as being of the horseshoe variety.

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

The Tampa Bay Rays, currently second in the American League East, have won six straight. Has anyone—other than me when they played the Dodgers in the World Series—ever rooted for the Rays?

Don Mattingly being named the interim manager of the Philadelphia Phillies surprised me. I didn’t even know he was still collecting checks from baseball.

Mattingly might be the most forgotten Dodger manager since Grady Little.

Little did lead the Dodgers to a wildcard berth in 2006, where the Mets swept them…

So I got that going for me…which is nice.

The Dude abides…

1,280
1 Corinthians 10:13
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By Joe Torosian

Kick it!

I had such big plans for today…but when I came through the door, it said to me, “What an excellent day for an exorcism.”

A starting quarterback at a Division-1 school has a gambling problem. Who could have seen that coming?

Whatever law, rule, or act that gets passed because of this needs to have Art Schlichter’s name attached to it.

Last Add Ty Simpson: I hope the kid is Joe Montana, but I will never buy a scene right out of Acting 101 that Sean McVay was playing a part on draft night…And…if it was a grand scheme to protect Matthew Stafford’s ego…Why would you ever admit it was an act?

NBC has eased our pain and let Chris Simms go from Football Night in America….Now they can go the distance by taking away Jac Collinsworth.

I am legitimately curious to hear Mike Tomlin at the football desk.

Detroit & Orlando last night wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the passion made me dream how great the NBA would be if it had a 50-game season.

At some point, shouldn’t Phoenix and Devin Booker mutually agree to part ways? I mean, enough’s enough already, the dude’s been there 11 seasons,  he’s turning 30 this October, it’s time to catch the Midnight Express and get his butt out of the Valley of the Sun.

While we’re all talking Rams, auditions, and screen-tests for the remake of North Dallas Forty (seemingly), you have to ask if anyone knows the Chargers are still in Los Angeles?

Besides edge rusher Akheem Mesidor, four of their eight draft picks were offensive linemen. I love all those picks, and for the next five years, Justin Herbert should always have some new hotness when the draft is over.

On the other hand, speaking of old and busted…I realize I only rebooted this column in February, but can I get some help? When did we fight World War 10? Who won? And how did World War 11 start?

I’m assuming USC tight end Lake McRee going undrafted had everything to do with his injury history. He has signed with Pittsburgh. I hope he stays healthy.

As of this writing, 3:PM-Pacific, you can get a ticket at Madison Square Garden to see the Hawks and Knicks for only $347.

Message to New Yorkers: Get a pre-approved loan and bring the family.

I remember going to the Forum, pre-Showtime (And Nicholson was there, legit fan), as a kid and salivating at the seats along the sideline; “Wow, they say those seats cost a $100.”

The Dude abides…

1,279
Deuteronomy 31:6
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
“RamView” M-W-F
Follow Joe on X: @joet13b

By Joe Torosian

Kick it!

The Stanley Cup playoff is one of the greatest things in sports—except for a nice MLT—mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean…But the Kings are out, so I’m done.

First two days of the draft, 100 players taken, 17 wide receivers, and not one of them went to the Rams…but that’s not the discussion being had.

The discussion is about how Sean McVay was playing a part to protect Matthew Stafford’s feelings. How incredibly jejune!

Feelings were something Stafford discarded a long time ago in Detroit. If Stafford needs to be placated about anything, it’s about not getting him one of the 17 wide receivers taken those the first two days in Pittsburgh.

If a cold-blooded, no-look passer like Stafford needs to be coddled by a McVay performance…then we’ve completely misread who Stafford is.

I was never a Peter Schrager guy, but I’m beginning to think it was the package he was wrapped in at the NFL Network. Seeing him at ESPN—after watching him languish in that train wreck called “Good Morning Football” for so long—he absolutely shines.

It doesn’t mean I always agree with him, but Schrager is more about football than the clown show (Cough, McAfee, cough) we’re seeing too often in sports.

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

Last Add Rams: They drafted a receiver — CJ Daniels, Miami–in the sixth round. He’s high character, not fast, with good hands. Meaning, he’s a perfect fit.

If you’re in Denver tonight, 61 bucks will get you into Ball Arena to see what I thought would be the Minnesota Timberwolves ending the Nuggets’ season.

But Anthony Edwards is out with a knee injury, and Donte DiVincenzo is done with a ruptured achilles tendon…So, the Joker has a chance.

Speaking of Achilles injuries, DeMarcus Cousins (2018), Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, and now DiVencenzo…all wore jersey number Zero.

Start the Twilight Zone music while Philly’s Tyrese Maxey, the Knicks Miles Bridges, and the Nuggets Christian Braun change their jersey numbers.

The 1987 Detroit Tigers were 9.5 games out of first place at the end of April, and came back to win the American League East…

The New York Mets are 10.5 out right now in the National League East… They’ve got the Dodgers right where they want them.

By the way, in 1969, the Mets were 10 games behind in the middle of August and came all the way back to win the East by eight.

I’ve never really been into fantasy baseball. What a waste of time.

Last Add Draft: Was I watching the NFL Draft this past week or an infomercial for flag football?

First Add Lakers: There might be a cost in minutes for LeBron, but the Lakers dropping Game Four in Houston is not the worst of all things. It gives Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic a few more days to get back, with OKC looming.

The Dude abides…

1,278
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
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Follow Joe on X: @joet13b