Isn't it great to hate!

These indeed are heady times for Dodger haters like me. Lost in the euphoria of Red Sox-Yankees, Tribe-Chisox, and the NL wild card battle is the fact the Dodgers posted their 90th loss of the season tonight.

By my calculations, this now officially becomes the second-worst season in LA Dodger history, behind only the Strawberry/Eric Davis "in yo' face" 99-loss wonders in the year of Rodney King '92. Several LA Dodger teams have hit the 89-loss plateau, including (off the top of my head) 1967, 1986, and 1987, so this current edition really is breathing some rarified bad air as we hit the tape.

For Dodger and Laker haters (like me), this has truly been a blissful few months. Interesting how the Dodgers mirrored the Lakers' steep descent in the latter stages of the last hoop season. Since that deceiving 12-2 start, the Blue Crew is chugging along at 58-88, which is the worst in the NL (even worse than Pittsburgh) over that 146-game stretch. The NL West has been kicked a lot this season, and deservedly so, but perhaps the ultimate indignity for this sorry group is that a wretched team like the Dodgers could actually be hanging on the fringe of the NL West race until about 2 weeks ago. At least the 1973 NL East had a slew of teams right around .500; the '73 Cubs finished only 5 games out, in fifth at 77-84, which might be the best-ever record for a 5th-place team since division play began in 1969 (unitl this year's NL East, that is).

And my belief that Laker fans are the biggest frontrunners in the universe has been confirmed in the last few months. Though there was some initial euphoria at Phil Jackson's return, it is amazing how quiet things have been on the Laker front the past three months, especially compared to years past. It's as if Phil has told the Laker p.r. people to tone down expectations this year, but it runs deeper than that, as no callers to talk shows have been even mentioning the Lakers for a couple of months (unlike last year, when Shaq-Kobe dominated headlines thru the summer, even pushing the Dodgers, in the midst of a good...er, lucky...season, to the backburner). Maybe the rank-and-file Laker fans are smarter than I think, and many apparently (and correctly) view Phil as an opportunist, a shameless self-promoter, and a hypocrite, after coming close to burning bridges with the Lakers in his book that was released about 7 months before he was rehired. Only the most-deluded Laker fans are pleased about Phil resurfacing, as many instead view this as an audacious run for the money, a chance to reconnect with the owner's hot-hot-hot daughter Jeannie Buss, and an opportunity for Phil to meditate, or do whatever else he does, as he sings to the bank making 10 mill per year.

So, happy times indeed, as the Dodgers are bad, and the Lakers aren't much better. Now, if we can only figure out a way to get Paul Hackett to coach USC football again, I'll truly be the happiest guy on earth...