SCNG columnists discuss USC’s Jennifer Cohen, Leo Messi and Austin Reaves

Jim Alexander: Until Wednesday evening, the big story of the week was USC’s hiring of Jennifer Cohen from the University of Washington as their new athletic director. And we will get to that. But the news that broke late Wednesday night was seismic: Shohei Ohtani, free agent to be, probably American League MVP to be, suffered a torn UCL in his pitching elbow, won’t pitch any more this year and could need Tommy John surgery (to be determined). It won’t influence the Angels’ place in the standings – they’re already in the tank, and losing both Ohtani the pitcher and Mike Trout (back to the injured list Wednesday night) will do more psychic damage than it will affecting the team on the field.

But it will definitely eat into Ohtani’s earning power in free agency this winter. Perversely, it might even lead to him returning to the Angels. At this point, I’m wondering if that’s a good thing at all.

Mirjam Swanson: Such a bummer. ESPN’s stat: Ohtani finishes the year with 167 strikeouts – giving him two seasons with 40 home runs and 150 pitching strikeouts. Something no other player has done this once in MLB history. Special-special.

The injury makes you wonder if we see him pitch and hit again like he has been, or if his future club forces him to play more conservatively.

Can I say though, that while I get why everyone is piling on the Angels for not being more conservative and trading Ohtani at the deadline, I’m glad they didn’t. Would’ve been more prudent, perhaps. Especially in retrospect. But I’m still glad they didn’t. Philosophically. I’m here for the TRY of it. Punting, tanking, rebuilding, quiet quitting – nah. You gotta go for it. Guts, glory and all that. Even if you know it’s probably not going to work out – that’s sports, one team wins. That’s life, it’s struggle.

So much struggle. What a bummer, this news.

Jim: I’ve already received one email from a reader suggesting that this is part of the Curse of Arte, for changing the name to Los Angeles Angels. Make of that what you will. And as far as the second-guessing – particularly from a fellow columnist at the other paper in town – that Angels management is to blame for letting Shohei control his workload … well, you can make the case that his competitive instincts led him to overdo it, but if they did try to exercise more control then Shohei might not have been the player he’s been the last three seasons.

One more observation: Watching the clip of Perry Minasian’s postgame press conference Wednesday night, I wonder if he’s thinking his Angels future might be on the line, too. Just his posture at the microphone seemed like that of undue stress, of realizing that this was far bigger than a star player suffering a significant injury.

Or maybe I’m just overthinking it.

Mirjam: I get that, in a results-oriented business this season’s gambit blew up, a total disaster. Can’t imagine he’s sleeping well. Fun job, Angels GM.

Jim: OK, now for that other big story of the week. My take on USC’s hiring of Jennifer Cohen? This is a sensational hire. They have someone who is a known quantity – she hired a pretty darn good football coach herself at UW in Kalen DeBoer, and she may need those hiring chops if if turns out Lincoln Riley can’t resist the siren call of the NFL in a couple of years – and she’s also someone who should hit the ground running when it comes to the transition to the Big Ten.

Beyond that? I just have the sense that she gets it and that the massive expectations of the Trojan faithful will not throw her. (And bonus points for having the presence of mind to head to Nordstrom’s to find that perfect shade of Cardinal for the press conference.)

The one queasy feeling I have has nothing to do with the new athletic director. There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding the former A.D., Mike Bohn, given his speedy departure once the other paper in town posed some of those questions. And I know that Carol Folt and those in the athletic department would prefer that we in the media don’t pose those questions – and granted, the new A.D.’s first appearance isn’t the ideal time to pose them – but doesn’t the issue have to be addressed at some point?

You attended the press conference. What was your first impression?

Mirjam Swanson: Well, my first impression was that the super-high-ceilinged domed room in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center where they introduced Cohen was different from most news conference spaces I’ve been in lately. Very USC – which, well, yeah, that’s where we were, isn’t it?

Cohen, on the other hand, felt not like that. Nordstrom sweater aside. She lived up to everything I’ve been reading about her from people who’ve spent time with her. That is to say: Unpretentious, grounded. Which is important, yes, considering how Bohn’s tenure ended. She strikes me as someone who’s in it for the right reasons, who’s paid her dues and earned an opportunity to steer a program like USC’s, where there’s usually some drama percolating, of course – but hopefully, it won’t be coming from the top of the athletic department.

I, too, think they got the right woman for the job. And that her hiring is probably as much a comment as we’re gonna get from USC’s brass on Bohn’s departure.

Jim: I loved the part where she talked about being so passionate on the sideline that it might get “embarrassing.” And the first thing that came to mind was J.D. Morgan, the UCLA athletic director during the John Wooden era, and his habit of heckling the officials so Wooden wouldn’t have to. Got to love that attitude … unless you’re an official.

Meanwhile, we’ve already been through a hurriquake here, but in two weeks we’ll have another force of nature in our midst, Leo Messi, when Inter Miami arrives to play LAFC a week from Sunday. I guess there’s two ways to look at it. Either Messi is going to raise the level of Major League Soccer by himself, or he’s proving how far behind the rest of the world MLS is with his performances during the Leagues Cup. (Which, I still maintain, is a wholly contrived tournament, and the only reason it worked this time was specifically because of Messi.)

But there’s another connected issue I want to bring up, which has only a little to do with Messi and a lot to do with the way this league does business. MLS commissioner Don Garber made the following observation: “It is the responsibility of the local clubs to build their fan base. The league is not going to tell them what to do when somebody else comes to town.”

Fine, except that the media contract MLS signed with Apple TV+ last winter basically hamstrung the individual clubs when it came to exposing their product to the masses. Apple demands exclusivity, so there’s no more local TV broadcasts of MLS games. So, basically, the audience is limited to those who buy Apple’s MLS package – or, in a twist, the special Messi package for $39 for the balance of the season – but what chance is there to actually grow the audience?

And yes, I know. LAFC went streaming-only right from the outset with its early deal with YouTubeTV, which was its jersey sponsor. And I know linear TV isn’t the dominant medium anymore. But the point: Don’t you want as many eyeballs as possible to see your product? And shouldn’t you use every tool you can to attract them? If the audience doesn’t increase, the commissioner seems to be saying, it’s the teams’ fault. No, it’s the league’s fault for tying its teams’ hands.

OK, end of rant. So, shall we just give Messi the Landon Donovan MVP award, or should we just go ahead and rename it after Messi?

Mirjam: Personally, give me the MLS-Apple TV+ experiment – OK, all the games in one place? Cool. I’ll sign up for that – instead of the WNBA’s viewing model.

The W’s 2023 regular-season games are on ABC, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ION, and NBA TV, as well as streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo and YouTube TV. … Like, c’mon. That’s definitely no way to grow the game. No one is going to pay for ALL those. And would-be fans aren’t going to be able to find games when they do want to watch.

So $39 for a dedicated Messi channel? Worth it.

Have you been watching him torch the MLS? What say you: Is Messi raising the level or embarrassing folks?

And do you think Inter Miami’s romp to the Leagues Cup title was fixed? I kid! Even though I just tumbled down a rabbit hole on that social media platform formerly known as Twitter arguing basically that Messi making it look so easy – y’all, it’s MESSI – proves as much.

Jim: The conspiracy theorists will always have their way. Meanwhile, in Europe they’re nodding knowingly and saying, in so many languages, “Yep, that’s a retirement league, all right?” But what this does tell me? David Beckham was an underachiever in comparison when he joined the Galaxy a decade and a half ago.

Over time, I would hope, Messi’s presence would raise the level of play, or at least inspire the next legion of American players. I just fear that this country’s pay-to-play system – which we talked about a couple of weeks ago in regard to the women’s game – has to be reformed or replaced if the U.S. is truly going to be competitive on the world stage. One issue is that U.S. Soccer is so insular, and most of the same people – coaches, executives, administrators – get recycled within the organization. I don’t see a lot of room for innovation or finding better ways to discover and nurture talent. Ultimately, it might be up to MLS teams to discover those diamonds in the rough and use the academy system to polish them.

Got to circle back on one more thing regarding the TV situation: At least WNBA fans can see their local team on a local channel (or RSN). Local broadcasts are a 2½ hour infomercial for the home team, the best way to drive interest and sell tickets.

But let’s get back to a feel-good story. Austin Reaves is killin’ it with Team USA in its preparation for the FIBA World Cup, which begins Friday. I think he’s gone beyond the “Hillbilly Kobe” nickname. He can play, and he’s going to show it on a worldwide stage over the next couple of weeks. In fact, I saw someone pose this question: If Reaves is one of the top three players on the Lakers, which one’s No. 3: LeBron or Anthony Davis? (Not my list, by the way.)

And the best part: he seems absolutely unaffected by all that goes with being a star in L.A., and particularly with the Lakers. We’ll see if he stays that way with the new contract, but I suspect he will.

Mirjam: Ha. The Lakers’ top three: Austin, A.D. and LeBron, in that order?

I don’t think so. Not yet.

More like 1. LeBron, 2. A.D., 3a. D’Angelo Russell 3b. Austin Reaves.

I know Lakers fans are mad at D-Lo for closing with such a poor playoff series against Denver, but to me that shows you how important the 27-year-old who averages 17 points and 6.2 assists per game while shooting 39.6% from 3-point range for his career is to their fortunes going forward. They’ll need more than Reaves – who obviously was great in that series and who’s been GREAT closing games for Team USA – to complement their two superstars.

And this might be a different season for Reaves. Contract aside, I heard D-Lo on Patrick Beverley’s podcast talking about overlooking Reaves the first time he matched up with him. That’s not happening anymore. No one, like NOBODY, is overlooking him now. The opposite, in fact. A whole season of getting everyone’s best shot? It’ll be different. He can handle it, probably.

But I’m not giving him the edge over LeBron just yet.

Maybe I’m wrong though. What are you expecting from L.A.’s favorite Arkansan since Derek Fisher?

Jim: I think he’ll be fine. I don’t see him as so full of himself that he’ll forget what got him here in the first place. Yeah, he’ll be higher on everybody’s scouting reports now, but he’ll adjust. (And as an aside, the way the public soured on D-Lo during the postseason is just another reminder that this is no ordinary market and no ordinary franchise. You’ve got to be mentally tough to handle the scrutiny, and I think one of the best things Rob Pelinka did in assembling this group was take that into consideration.)

Mirjam: Well, at least fans know where to find Lakers games on TV.