FanView: 4/29/2026

By Joe Torosian

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

jtbank1964@yahoo.com

“RamView” M-W-F

Follow Joe on X: @joet13b

FanView: 4/24/2026

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Winner Dan Orlovsky!

For last night's draft to be a success, the Rams have to win the Super Bowl this year.

At the post-draft presser, Sean McVay looked about as happy as a Katie Porter staffer. And that might be a bigger issue than Ty Simpson's drafting.

I understand the In McSnead We Trust crowd, I'm a contributing member, but this one's tough to take because the Super Bowl window is open now.

Ty Simpson, obviously, is someone the Rams like. Fits their character template, and we can assume what they are looking for in a decision maker.

What's obvious to us outside the War Room is that Simpson has neither an exceptional arm, nor exceptional size…nor any apparent unanimity between Les Snead and Sean McVay on his selection.

I hope McVay wasn't feeling well or upset about California politics, because his disposition last night showed a lot of distance between him and Les Snead.

And that's worrisome.

Simpson, most likely, won't be any help in 2026. If Stafford gets hurt, based on the premise of the 13th overall pick sitting and learning, we don't even know if he'll see the field. 

"He'll compete with Stetson," McVay said. And if Stetson gets the call before Simpson in a quarterback crisis, it will be awkward.

The Rams' wide receiver room is extremely thin, and they have no depth at tackle. Those things can be addressed today, but they missed the opportunity to get something better.

If I'm Stafford or Davante Adams, I'm a little hacked. Drafting Simpson is more about 2028 than 2026. And no one knows what the landscape will look like in 2026.

Did anyone expect Aaron Donald to retire after 2023? That's how fast things change with an NFL roster. So when your window is open, you have to go through now.

Picks #61 and #93 are still out there; they need to get a receiver who can play now, and a tackle who can play meaningful snaps if called upon. 

Something to consider: The Rams, as a Super Bowl contender, will be picking at #31 or #32 in 2027… they can move next year's number one if they see something they like.

Last Add Playmaker: It could be possible that the Rams think Terrance Ferguson is ready to break out this fall.

If the Rams win the Super Bowl this coming season, then the drafting of Simpson will be incredible, and we're back to In McSnead We Trust.

But as it is now, everyone else got better, and the Rams didn't.

DraftViews:

Mansoor Delane, the Chiefs' first-round pick out of LSU, misgendered Lara Rutledge. He called her, 'Sir.'…so insensitive.

The only Ohio State player not drafted last night was Brian Baschnagel.

The NFL Network had the best draft desk I've ever seen. Rich Eisen, who's okay but better at the desk than in the booth, was with Joel Klatt, Charles Davis, and Daniel Jeremiah.

No one was designated the clown or funny guy. It was just great football commentary.

Quick thoughts, if I'm a Raider fan, I love that Fernando Mendoza wanted to be with his family rather than at the draft. It also says a place like Vegas won't seduce him.

Carnell Tate going to the Tennessee Titans surprised me. I thought Jordy Tyson was crying because he was going to New Orleans… I'd cry too. And Makai Lemon was weird again.

The kid had no off-the-field problems at USC, so he shouldn't be painted as trouble. He was just weird, weird with an excellent pair of hands.

So with Lemon going to Philly, does A.J. Brown last the weekend with the Eagles? 

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

The Dude abides…

1,277

Job 5:8-9

jtbank1964@yahoo.com

“RamView” M-W-F

Follow Joe on X: @joet13b

FanView: 4/22/2026

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So it's Earth Day... The day every guy who played basketball with a 3-inch vertical leap is celebrated. ... Feels good to finally be acknowledged.

Just call me Scoot.

I knew LeBron wanted to win last night because I saw him play through contact and the hard breathing of defenders without collapsing in agony.

But I don't know if the Bronny minutes were necessary.

Win or lose, Houston's So-Be-It Thompson is a great player to watch.

A lefty, blonde hair, white guy who went to Duke…give Luke Kennard a massive birthmark and you've got the return of Jack Marin.

(I know no one remembers Marin, but it was too rich to pass up.)

Note to Dodgers: I want to give you some love, so what are you doing losing to Frisco?

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

Looking forward to eating some pancakes tomorrow morning and gearing up for the NFL Draft. Really anxious to see what moves are made, who gets mad, and all the spin.

If Myles Garrett were moved from Cleveland to Philadelphia, that would be a win for the Browns… and, depending on the price, a win for the Eagles.

I'm always suspicious of overpaying for edge rushers. Granted, Garrett is the Cadillac of pass rushers, but a Honda gets you to work as well…and you don't have to worry about anyone scratching, dinging, or stealing it when you're inside the mall.

If they do, go get another Honda.

UConn's Solo Ball announces he will miss the entire 2026-2027 college basketball season after having wrist surgery. His intention is to return to the Huskies the following season.

With all these NBA games broadcast on various platforms, each offers its own analytics, including live stats, trends, and probabilities… It's interesting, but it's distracting if you want to see the game itself.

Watching the NBA playoffs last night, I couldn't help but think how happy Paul George is to be away from the Clippers, and De'Aaron Fox is to be out of Sacramento.

I don't like the Boston Celtics, but I do like their HC Joe Mazzulla. I also like Jaylen Brown. Brown playing with Boston and Jayson Tatum is like Anquan Boldin playing in Arizona with Larry Fitzgerald.

Attention is always going to Tatum…but Brown is far tougher.

Speaking of Boldin, that's another pass catcher lost in the Hall of Fame's wide receiver abyss.

Great win for the Philadelphia 76ers last night in Boston. I think what helped the 76ers was that they looked like the 76ers. When the spirits of Caldwell Jones, Bobby Jones, and Andrew Toney showed up, they knew who to inspire.

Did you happen to see Philly guard Tyrese Maxey's reverse lay-up with 2:24 to play in the fourth?

Speaking of unis…the Lakers' unis last night were a disgrace.

Is the word "hunt" or "hunted" getting a little overused in NBA circles?

Did the Lakers "hunt" Kevin Durant, or did they lock him down? Or did they guard him? Or did they just play defense?

I don't even want to talk about the Kings, the Avalanche, and overtime…

The Dude abides…

1,275

2 Timothy 4:1-5

jtbank1964@yahoo.com

“RamView” M-W-F

Follow Joe on X: @joet13b