The world according to Jim:<\/p>\n
\u2022 All hail the Los Angeles Queens, the city\u2019s latest champion after winning Game 5 of the inaugural Women\u2019s Professional Baseball League championship series<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say they earned a place in L.A. sports lore if for no other reason than beating San Francisco in the best-of-five championship series, albeit after letting a 2-0 series lead get away, and two days after getting shelled by the Firebells, 17-4. Legends have been formed around here for far less.<\/p>\n And yes, the Queens have their own Japanese stars. Pitcher Ayami Soto hurled a seven-inning, 71-pitch shutout,<\/a> the first complete-game shutout in the league\u2019s brief history, to win Game 5. She was named the series MVP, just as countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the MVP of the World Series \u2013 do we need to call it the men\u2019s World Series? \u2013 last fall.<\/p>\n Also, pitcher\/infielder Ayuri Shimano hit .300 with an .814 OPS during the 15-game regular season (and was 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA as a pitcher), and hit .423 with a 1.251 OPS in eight postseason games. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Of course, there is a catch. The fledgling women\u2019s league and its four teams \u2013 representing New York and Boston as well as L.A. and San Francisco \u2013 played their entire eight-week schedule in Springfield, Ill. So while the Queens \u2013 who knocked off New York in the semifinal round \u2013 might have been of L.A., they never actually set foot\u00a0in L.A. as a team. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 But there are a couple of L.A. ties. Manager Eric Young Sr.<\/a> had two different stints with the Dodgers during his 15-year career. Mo\u2019ne Davis, heroine of the 2014 Little League World Series and the Queens player with the most name recognition going in, was a Dodgers video production intern in 2013<\/a> and has said her goal is to work in a major-league front office. Additionally, catcher Jamie Mackay hails from Laguna Beach, though she played college softball at South Carolina. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 So where should they fly the championship pennant? City Hall? Dodger Stadium, maybe? And where would a parade take place?\u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Seriously, this first season of the WPBL was an experiment of sorts, and it was understandable for the organizers to launch with a short schedule in one city. But the league did draw significant interest, especially from those who care about women\u2019s sports. As it grows, hopefully it will tweak the format enough so that the team that represents a city actually gets to play in that city. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Oh, and does this mean L.A. is ruining women\u2019s baseball, too? \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Elsewhere, the Sparks sent out a news release on Friday saying that they had \u201cparted ways\u201d with Coach Lynne Roberts<\/a>. I suspect that was a euphemism for \u201cfired,\u201d so why not be honest?\u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 There are two ways Saturday\u2019s USC-Oregon game at the Coliseum could go. Either the Trojans wrest control of the West Coast from the Ducks, or Oregon reasserts its dominance over the Trojans \u2013 which could well be the beginning of the end of Lincoln Riley\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n See, when those billboards around the region went up saying \u201cThe time is now,\u201d they weren\u2019t referring to a 4-0 start against weaker competition and continuing doubts about the Trojans\u2019 defense. Saturday is when USC proves it or not. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 Of all of the tributes to longtime Lakers public address announcer Lawrence Tanter, whose classy, measured baritone announcements were so different from those of the screamers in so many other arenas, this might have been the best description of why he was the best.<\/a> It came from the man himself, as posted by The Athletic\u2019s Law Murray following Tanter\u2019s death Wednesday:<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019m different than a lot of guys in other cities because I\u2019m not a screamer. My feeling was, years ago, that people paid money to come and see the Lakers, not to hear some clown on the P.A. I use enthusiasm when the appropriate time comes, but I\u2019m not a cheerleader and I don\u2019t want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t that the way it should be? Rest in peace, LT. \u2026<\/p>\n \u2022 This might be the best thing about sports at this moment in our existence: Artificial intelligence has no place on the field, court or ice. Human beings still maintain control between the lines. \u2026<\/p>\n