Sports

Lakers Sold For $10 Billion

June 19, 2025 ·

The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold for a record $10 billion dollars. (PHOTO: Michael C. Floch)

LOS ANGELES– Once upon a time in 1979 a business man named Jerry Buss purchased the, ” Fabulous” Forum,” the Kings hockey team and the Lakers. He paid what was then then a staggering sum of  $67.5 million dollars.

The NBA was struggling with low television ratings and many people questioned the move. Now forty six years later the investment has paid off handsomely. Mark Walter has purchased the Los Angeles Lakers for an astonishing $10 billion dollars. The owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers now has two of the most coveted sports franchises in the history of professional sports.

Thus it is certainly the end of an era. The magic that the Buss family brought to the Lakers franchise cannot be understated. With Jack Kent Cooke the Lakers were pretty good. When the Buss family came in and took over the reins of the team you now had something that was legendary.

Jerry West- Wilt Chamberlain- Kareem Abdul Janbar- Norm Nixon- Earvin “Magic” Johnson- Pat Riley- James Worthy-Kobe Bryant- Phil Jackson Shaquille O’Neal-Derrick Fisher-Pau Gasol-Lebron James- Anthony Davis- Luka Doncic.

Jerry West’s half court shot at the buzzer.. Kobe to Shaq alley oop against Portland.

Robert Horry last second three pointer against Sacramento that sent the Staples Center crowd into an unmatched frenzy.

And Ron Artest hitting the three against the hated Celtics in game 7 of the finals. After a rare pass from Kobe Bryant, Artest exclaiming with sheer joy, ” he passed me the ball!”

Memories to last a lifetime.

His daughter, Jeanie Buss, took over as principal owner after Jerry died in 2013, making her one of the most powerful women in sports.Jeanie Buss will stay on as governor after the sale.

Her tenure as principal owner helped usher stability, and restored pride in the Purple and Gold.

Magic Johnson, five time Laker champ and minority Dodgers owner knew Walter and Buss shared the same vision for the Lakers. That vision means winning.

“Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand,” Johnson posted on X.

“The proof is in the pudding on what he’s been able to accomplish with the LA Dodgers. Mark has been nothing short of a winner notching 2 World Series and 11 NL West divisional titles in the last 12 years!”

By Christopher Floch

SoFi Stadium And Coliseum To Hold Opening Ceremonies Of 2028 Olympics

May 30, 2025 ·

SoFi Stadium and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will share Opening ceremony duties for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (PHOTO: Jevone Moore)

LOS ANGELES– On July 14, 2028 the Olympic torch will light up and illuminate Los Angeles signaling the opening of the Olympic Games. This unparalleled moment in time will be making world history that transcend sports. Los Angeles will set a record for hosting the Summer Games for the third time, the City of Angels hosted in 1932 as well as 1984.

The Opening Ceremonies will take place at two iconic locations, SoFi Stadium and the historic L.A. Coliseum. This has never occured in the history of the Olympics; a fact which will make every Angelino beam with pride.

Two stadiums representing the rich dynamic history of Los Angeles. SoFi is the new kid in town, making its debut in 2020 housing both So. Cal NFL teams, the Rams and the Chargers.

This modern, indoor-outdoor sports and entertainment stadium has a 298-acre campus. Another component of the stadium’s design is the Infinity Screen by Samsung, an ovular, double-sided 4K HDR video board, the first of its kind, that is suspended from the roof over the field.

SoFi will be wet, due to the heart racing action of swimming which will take place there.

As for the Coliseum, its used to holding the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Three times to be exact, obviously another record. Let’s face it, the City of Angels is made of gold.

“These two extraordinary venues will create an unforgettable experience, welcoming fans from across the globe to an Olympic and Paralympic Games like never before and concluding what will go down as one of the most incredible Games in history,” said LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman.

The Paralympic Opening Ceremony on Aug. 15, 2028 will be at SoFi Stadium. The Closing Ceremony on Aug. 27 will be at the Coliseum.

Venues for more sports were announced earlier, including the LA Memorial Coliseum, the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, BMO Stadium in Exposition Park, the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA. Others include the sports complex in Carson, Rose Bowl in Pasadena and several sites outside the city of Los Angeles, including canoe slalom and softball, which are set for Oklahoma City.

The medal events program for 2028 features six new mixed gender team events in what the LA28 organizing committee called a “monumental step forward.” The program approved for 2028 has 22 more medal events than Paris 2024 at 351.

Flag football will make its Olympic debut in 2028 and lacrosse will return to the lineup of medal sports for the first time in more than a century. Baseball and softball will make their Olympic comeback, and cricket also will be part of the lineup.

It will be an amazing experience. The only draw back is we have to wait three more years.

By Christopher Floch

College Football Playoff Foundation Donates To Pasadena Schools

May 9, 2025 ·

PASADENA—The College Football Playoff Foundation, bowl partners, and supplies company School Specialty join forces in historic collaboration following the Eaton Fire destruction.

On Thursday, May 8, The College Football Playoff Foundation is giving $1.2 million to help Altadena’s Eliot Arts Magnet School rebuild after it sustained major damage in the Eaton Fire.

The CFP’s six bowls – the Rose, Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange, and Peach Bowls – each pledged $150,000 to invest in the school’s rebuilding. The CFP Foundation’s Britton Banowsky called it historic.

“We are grateful to the College Football Playoff Foundation and its partners for their extraordinary pledge to help restore Eliot Arts Magnet School,” said PUSD Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco.

“This generous support brings hope and momentum to our recovery and reaffirms the power of community partnerships in rebuilding schools that inspire creativity, resilience, and pride.”

Eliot Arts’ iconic library had just undergone a major renovation in 2023 thanks to a partnership between the CFP Foundation, Pasadena Tournament of Roses®, Pasadena Educational Foundation, and School Specialty—making the loss even more poignant and the rebuilding efforts especially meaningful. In January, the Pasadena Unified School District passed a resolution to rebuild.

School officials said it will take multiple years to restore Eliot, which lost its auditorium, a set of classrooms, and administrative offices in the fire.

Pasadena Educational Foundation’s Patrick Conyers thanked the CFP Foundation for recognizing that “buildings are important.”

“Obviously stadiums that these bowl games are played in, including the iconic Rose Bowl, are special places where special things happen,” he said. “This sort of building is also important because this is the way that students can unlock the world of potential inside of them.”

By Christopher Floch