Alexander: Which Southern California teams had the best seasons?

In This Space as you might have noticed we don t mind starting a debate Equally as major sometimes you take your column ideas where you can find them Thus the present day s question Which are the best single seasons in the history of crew sports in Southern California Feel free to let me know if your favorite was omitted but these are the basic parameters The season must have ended in a championship No sneaking into the postseason and getting on a roll And the more memorable the ending the better Starting from the back here s my top Cal State Fullerton baseball Yes it s my alma mater so pipe down you in the back Fullerton has won four NCAA baseball championships and this was ostensibly the majority dominant of the four with a - overall record and a - conquest over Texas in the College World Series final Interestingly for a school that has produced lots of big-leaguers the the bulk notable alumnus from that gang might be Jos Mota currently a member of the Dodgers Spanish broadcast squad Ducks Surprisingly the Hockey News and Sporting News noting the acquisitions of Scott Niedermayer the previous season and Chris Pronger that offseason made Anaheim their preseason choice to win the Stanley Cup Pronger s response Anybody can be good on paper But the Ducks were good on the ice too finishing first in their division with points and winning California s first Stanley Cup Raiders Yes they were really good once And yes they called L A home for a while The Raiders with Tom Flores coaching Jim Plunkett at quarterback Marcus Allen in the backfield and Lyle Alzado Howie Long Matt Millen and Lester Hayes anchoring the defense went - in the regular season and avenged three of those losses by beating Seattle in the AFC title championship and Washington in the Super Bowl The lasting vignette Linebacker Jack Squirek accepting a short pass from Joe Theismann for a -yard pick-six and a - halftime lead I invariably wondered if he announced thank you Galaxy They led Major League Soccer with wins draws and losses and a plus- goal differential and defeated Houston - in the MLS Cup final for the first of their back-to-back titles It was a thriving partnership between Landon Donovan and David Beckham who just two seasons earlier had exchanged salty comments in print Donovan had goals and Beckham assists Sparks The first of the franchise s three WNBA titles was the bulk impressive They were - in the regular season with winning streaks of nine games at the start of the season and straight toward the end Long winning streaks matter here keep that in mind Lisa Leslie one of the league s original superstars when it launched in was at the top of her encounter at points and rebounds per encounter Rams They were the second straight club to win a Super Bowl on their home field when they knocked off Cincinnati - in LVI at SoFi Stadium To get there they first went - in the regular season paced by Cooper Kupp s triple crown receptions yards and touchdowns all league-leading totals UCLA basketball - This was Bill Walton s junior season his second straight as NCAA Competitor of the Year and the Bruins second straight - season and third in seven seasons and their ninth NCAA title in seasons Their average margin of accomplishment points But here s a fun fact When Walton scored points and the Bruins blitzed Memphis - for the title he missed more free throws for than he did field goals he made of shots USC baseball That campaign had a lot of triumphant moments under coach Rod Dedeaux but the season might have been most of memorable for one reason The Trojans were - beat Arizona State - in the College World Series title challenge and sent eight players to the majors including Rich Dauer Fred Lynn Steve Kemp and Roy Smalley But in the CWS semifinal against Minnesota they were down - after eight innings with Dave Winfield you may have heard of him pitching and striking out Trojans through eight innings In the ninth USC scored eight runs Lakers - Phil Jackson s first year as coach in L A ended as intended His job was to get the largest part out of Shaquille O Neal and Kobe Bryant and his association went - the over under in Las Vegas was wins Shaq led the league in scoring and won the MVP award but the memory that stays with us is Shaq dunking a lob from Kobe and running back downcourt with a wide-eyed expression during L A s comeback from a -point fourth-quarter deficit in Battle of the conference finals against Portland Lakers - The Showtime crew went - in the regular season and - in the playoffs and the defining image may have been Tournament against the Celtics at the Forum James Worthy deflecting a pass meant for Dennis Johnson chasing down the loose ball and redirecting it to Magic Johnson for a critical dunk The other image that stands out Pat Riley standing up at the parade and guaranteeing a repeat in They delivered Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts stated this before the COVID-delayed season certainly got underway in July How a great number of times have you heard this It s a long season It s a marathon Once we get underway in you better not hear that You won t hear that from our guys You didn t The short season may still be devalued in numerous places but the Dodgers finished with a winning percentage participated in one additional playoff series the genesis of the Wild Card Series played their last three series in a bubble and away from their home park and still won a championship Say what you will about a short season but everyone played under the same conditions Dodgers This organization had something to prove after a -win season in came up one conquest short in a best-of-three playoff with the Giants Not to fear Sandy Koufax putting together one of the great five-year stretches ever seen in baseball had a season for the ages - ERA shutouts complete games and strikeouts and as calculated now a WAR He won both the Cy Young and National League MVP awards and after the Dodgers withstood a September challenge from the Cardinals Koufax won Games and in a shocking World Series sweep of the Yankees USC football Say what you want about the NCAA sanctions tied to Reggie Bush given currently s surroundings all of those cries of improper benefits have since been exposed as hollow and in multiple solutions unjust But what the Trojans did on the field can t be undone They finished - were No in the AP poll from beginning to end won eight games by or more points and finished with a - beatdown of Oklahoma in the national title challenge in the Orange Bowl And Matt Leinart was the Heisman Trophy winner UCLA men s basketball - This was the first college season for the -foot- game-changer who then went by Lew Alcindor and whom we know now as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar The Bruins were dominant going - and so was he points rebounds a field goal percentage and lots of stall strategies by opponents His presence would lead right now to a ban on dunking and indirectly and years later to a shot clock Lakers - Their - record then the best of all time has since been surpassed in the NBA record book but these facts remain about the gang led by Wilt Chamberlain Jerry West and Gail Goodrich They brought Los Angeles its first NBA championship They were game-changers head coach Bill Sharman introduced and popularized the morning shootaround and hired former Celtics teammate K C Jones as an assistant coach And this sets them apart from the field A -game winning streak No professional unit had done it before and none has since When someone does feel free to argue jalexander scng com Related Articles Sputtering SF Giants activate Matt Chapman and not a moment too soon SF Giants Chapman activated from injured list returns to lineup This Week in the West Big Ten commissioner talks radical CFP format Pac- expansion and a nugget in the ACC settlement Could specific Athletics players never play a home championship in a big-league park How to watch the USMNT vs Mexico in the Gold Cup final