The Audible: On the Olympics, USC and UCLA in the Big Ten, and the Dodgers’ struggles

Columnists Jim Alexander and Mirjam Swanson discuss some of the week’s developments, from anther dose of Olympic fever to the uncertainty surrounding the local college football teams and the injury-plagued Dodgers.

Jim Alexander: I am reminded this week of how lucky those of us in the workforce are who work at home, have a TV right next to our desk and have any sort of interest at all in Olympic sports. Already today I’ve watched Simone Biles reassert her status as the world’s best all-around female gymnast, and watched a good amount of 3-on-3 basketball (the U.S. women’s squad, featuring Dearica Hamby, seems quite good, the men – including Rick Barry’s kid and, until he was hurt, former BYU star Jimmer Fredette – not so much.

I conducted two phone interviews while keeping an eye on the U.S. women’s basketball victory over Belgium (on mute, of course). And I got to see the end of the beach volleyball victory of two players I interviewed in Huntington Beach in May, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth.

At this very moment, I’m watching women’s rowing. Once those five interlocking rings get you in their grasp, it’s too late to resist. Best daytime TV around.

But this is the true beauty of Olympic competition: A sport you might have paid scant attention to, one you might not ever have been aware was contested in the Olympics, gets its hooks into you. In this case it’s rugby sevens and one particular clip that went viral on social media the other day, the length of the field dash by Alex Sedrick to help give the Team USA women a last-second victory over Australia and a bronze medal.

A FINISH YOU HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE!

ALEX SEDRICK LEADS TEAM USA TO THE FIRST-EVER OLYMPIC RUGBY SEVENS MEDAL FOR THE UNITED STATES ON THE FINAL PLAY OF THE GAME! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/1FMu9SWxDo

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024

The Olympics: I’m hooked. Again. And after next weekend we have four years to get ready for our own dose of the insanity.

Mirjam Swanson: I’ve totally been doing it wrong, I think!

Been running around doing interviews or trying to make deadline during the day, so I’ve not paid such close attention to the live action and instead have been getting most of my Olympic fill in prime time, like old times. Which means, yes, I know what’s going to happen; this is the information-at-your-literal-fingertips age. And, yes, I did run to the TV when alerted ahead of all of Biles’ turns this morning. But I’ve tried to avoid seeing most of it before I get to sit down and watch it for real, and I’ll tell you, the nostalgia has been fun.

It was the Olympics that made me fall in love with sports, but in particular, the athletes’ stories. Those fluffy, packaged pieces between events that endear you so to total strangers? Yeah, that’s my jam. Still is, turns out.

Not that I’m opposed to doing it live, too. Including, soon enough, IRL – right here in L.A., where there will be no shortage of people’s stories to tell. Can’t wait.

Jim: I think we’ve got the best of both worlds in one respect, because of Paris being six hours ahead of Eastern time and nine hours ahead of the time zone that really matters. (I love to say/write that just to get a response from our friends from the east.) We get to see events live during the day, and then the prime time show that packages the highlights.

I’ve heard complaints about the best stuff being held toward the end, behind a blizzard of commercials. My response? It’s TV. Watch a local newscast and you’ll have to endure multiple teasers before getting to the story that intrigues you. The stakes (i.e., ad revenue) are even higher here, so what else do you expect?

NBC’s constant reference to celebrities in the stands can be irritating, true. And I probably insulated myself to the most shallow part of the coverage by avoiding the Opening Ceremony. I guess it’s a matter of knowing what they’re going to give you, picking out what you like and ignoring the rest.

And a personal note: As tourists, our visit to the Eiffel Tower in March was shortened by torrential rains (we did get photos, at least). That iconic view of the tower – the Tower? – overlooking the beach volleyball venue has been awe-inspiring. I’m not sure we in L.A. can top that in four years.

I’d settle for the same free-flowing freeways we had in 1984. Seriously, I’ve never had such easy commutes as I did during the two weeks of those Olympics, which could be one reason why organizing committee president Peter Ueberroth received a standing ovation during the Closing Ceremony in the Coliseum.

(But I’m not expecting those in ’28, either.)

Meanwhile, we are now a month or so away from the beginning of college football season here. UCLA plays at Hawaii on Aug. 31 and USC plays LSU in Las Vegas on Sept. 1. You had a chance to dig into L.A.’s new Big Ten members this week. Are they middle-of-the-road (or worse) competitors in their new league? Or are there any scenarios in which the Trojans and Bruins can shock people?

Mirjam: I wish I knew.

Predicting all of this – a new conference, a new head coach, a new DC, a new QB … did I mention a new conference? – is difficult. There are so many unknowns.

I think, though, that if either the Trojans, and especially the Bruins, make any sort of run at that conference crown, I’d be shocked. And impressed. My expectations are pretty low.

I have to assume there’s going to be some culture shock, including the weather, the travel, a host of new foes who happen mostly to be big, bad, Big Ten baddies.

I hope the UCLA football fan base is a little bit patient with DeShaun Foster in his first season as a head coach, because as far as transitions go, this lines up to be a tough one and it’s pretty clear he’ll have to endure some learning moments along the way.

And I hope Lincoln Riley stops trying so hard to deflect and extinguish the sort of heightened expectations that he helped usher in when he arrived ahead of the 2022 season, when instead of talking about how far behind USC was he was the brash new guy, proclaiming: “We came here competitively to win championships, win them now and to win them for a long time.”

I suppose going 8-5 last season with a superstar at QB and such high expectations all around would humble anyone, and it’s not unreasonable to try to temper expectations heading into the Big Ten – but the bravado is what makes teams like USC compelling.

For now, USC seems beefier, bulkier, more ready to brawl in the Big Ten – but maybe Foster turns out to be the magician Riley recently reminded everyone he wasn’t?

Hopefully – for those of us who will be watching these games this fall – the L.A. teams give their new conference mates a few good games.

What’s your feeling, Jim?

Jim: We are used to USC at or near the top of its conference. We’re not going to see that on a consistent basis any more. Yes, the Trojans have taken some strides to become bigger and tougher up front, but I suspect they’re going to be in for some culture shock early on. This is a bigger, brawnier neighborhood, and I suspect it will take a year or two for Riley’s program to truly adjust, if he has that long.

(Of course, to listen to Paul Finebaum from his perch in SEC country, Riley’s already on the hot seat. Perhaps quarterback Miller Moss can bail him out … but I’m not sure that’s the smart way to predict.)

As for Deshaun Foster, UCLA’s new coach is taking far more heat than he deserves for his stumbling introduction at Big Ten Media Day, but at least he’s dealing with it gracefully with the “We’re in L.A.” T-shirt he broke out at the school’s first on-campus media session. I suspect he was never fully briefed on how these things work, so in a sense maybe this falls on the UCLA communications staff.

Maybe he should have just come right out and said it to the assembled media members: “I don’t really have an opening statement, beyond that I’m delighted to be here and ready for the challenge. I’ll answer any questions you have about my team.”

I’ve got USC finishing 7-5 overall in the regular season and 6-3 in the Big Ten, losing at Michigan and to Wisconsin and Penn State at home (and Notre Dame, as well). UCLA, in my (normally cloudy) crystal ball, will finish 5-7 and 3-6 in conference, losing to Oregon, Iowa and USC at home and Penn State, Nebraska and Washington on the road.

At the end, UCLA fans will be hopeful for the future but wary. USC fans will be howling for Riley’s scalp … kind of like the way Dodger fans use Dave Roberts as a piñata.

I’ve expressed my opinions about the Dodgers’ less-than-stellar July, but I guess the question still to be answered is what happens when people start returning from the injured list to the field. Catcher Will Smith said after last night’s game he believes they’re still the best team in baseball. You think there’s a glorious finish to this story?

Mirjam: Glorious is, what, a championship?

The Dodgers have taught me not to expect those. You can go years – since 2018!, as Bill Plunkett and you noted in your pieces from Wednesday night’s game – between losing months … and still have only one trophy to show for it.

But I think there’s a surge coming, for sure.

This club at anything near full strength will be a handful, they know it, we know it, all of baseball knows it. Shoot, it’s going to be a handful just for Roberts to figure out how to effectively shuffle a lineup with so many interchangeable parts … even if that feels far away for Dodgers fans suffering through this rarest of truly bad spells.

I don’t know if glory awaits, but they’ll be good again; I feel confident a lineup with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman (heart goes out to his family) in it will be better.

How good? Maybe even good enough to get to glorious.

Jim: Will it take glorious to keep Roberts employed? I talked to a San Diego writer last night who seemed convinced the Dodgers would make a change if they don’t win it all. A significant portion of the fan base already feels that way; I’m just not sure where management falls on that question.

My reminder to the doubters and haters: Roberts still has the best winning percentage (.625) of not only any active manager but any manager who has managed in the National or American Leagues, ever. The only four ahead of him managed in the Negro Leagues. With a manager other than Roberts, would the Dodgers have been in the postseason the last eight years (and presumably headed for a ninth even with their current tailspin)?

That said, let’s see what happens when he has a full complement of players.