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It’s been a disappointing first quarter of the season in Los Angeles, for both the Dodgers and the Angels.

Both teams have huge payrolls and big expectations in 2013, and both are struggling. They both won on Wednesday, however — the Dodgers are 19-26 after a win at Milwaukee on Wednesday, and the Angels are 19-27 after beating Seattle.

But there’s a long climb back to the top of their divisions, especially for the Angels, who are already 10.5 games behind the Texas Rangers. And the Dodgers, with the largest payroll in history, look like a fantasy team on paper but have little actual chemistry on the field. Only the Marlins have scored fewer runs, and this is a team with Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford. Kemp has hit just two home runs.

On Wednesday before the game in Milwaukee, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly seemed to be ready to crack.

It’s not just all, ‘Let’s go put an All-Star team out there and play games, and the team with the All-Star team wins,’ Mattingly told reporters. “… All grit and no talent is not going to get you there, and all talent and no grit is not going to get you there. There’s got to be a mixture of both.”

The Dodgers are off on Thursday, returning home. It would almost be a shock if the team didn’t make a move.

Wrote USA Today’s Bob Nightengale: “Mattingly will be baseball’s first manager to be fired this season. He knows it. The players know it. And, yes, the front office is bracing for it.”

And over in Orange County, Angels owner Arte Moreno gave Mike Scioscia a vote of confidence last week.

“Mike has zero problems, OK?” Moreno said to FoxSports.com. “This is his 14th year. Mike goes beyond what he does on the field. He’s a good person. He’s a good person in the community. A very good baseball guy. You don’t have to ask me. You just ask other managers, other baseball people. Look at 14 years’ worth of productivity. Look at his record. He has two World Series rings with the Dodgers. He has one with the Angels. We’ve been to the playoffs.”

The New York Daily News is reporting that the Monday’s tornado tragedy in Oklahoma  may be the most expensive twister in history with an estimated $2 billion in storm damages. Sadly, the article notes that at least 24 people are dead and ten times that number have been injured.

That storm is being tagged an EF-5. And EF-1 ripped though the little village I live in a couple of years ago and I will never forget the damage of that less-significant storm. Many homes were flattened, families were left iwth nothing but the clothes on their backs, news helicopters cirled the area for three days and chain saws were heard frequently over the next week. Beautiful forests and wooded lots in subdivisions lost mature trees, like the one that was ripped up by its roots in my own back yard. Thankfully, we had no fatalities and the police and fire personnel were fantastic, ringning doorbells twice that night to ensure all was well in the homes that were still standing.

Like I’ve been saying every year around this time for the past several years in this blog, protecting yourself and other people and pets is top priority to avoid injuries or dead, but recovering financially after a tragic storm is still stressful even if you escape physical harm. Prove what you’ve lost in belongings and home damages to the insurance company, and the claims procedure goes much faster. Home inventory software gives you an easy way to document the cost of your personal items and to have photo proof to back up claims, so please learn more about this:

• Home Inventory Software: What It Is, How to Use It
• Windows and Mac Home Inventory Software Choices
• Online Home Inventory Software Reviews

Photo by Shelley Elmblad, family after local tornado

Smart enough to make itself in the morning. That’s how smart. The Ohea smart bed according the maker is “equipped with a device that enables it to automatically straighten the bedding, what is called to-make-the-bed, once the occupant has gotten up and left the bed unmade.” You can watch the bed in action with the link to the company videos listed below.

The product has been making the media rounds and hittin’ the news. The inventor is looking for investors to take his product into production. But in my humble opinion this one’s a sleeper. What a waste of electricity to do something that only takes half a minute. Leave a comment if you have an opinion on this one. Photo: Morgue File

• Watch The Smart Bed In Action
• The History of Beds

Roy Halladay has played in the major leagues for 15 seasons and has one of the smallest transaction histories of any modern player. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1995 and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009. That’s all. Only franchise guys like Derek Jeter have moved around less.

With Halladay’s career at a crossroads after shoulder surgery that will put him out until at least after the All-Star break, let’s look at that one trade — as part of our weekly series evaluating blockbuster trades of recent history — and pick a winner.

Dec. 16. 2009: Toronto Blue Jays trade Roy Halladay and cash to the Philadelphia Phillies for C Travis d’Arnaud, RHP Kyle Drabek and RF Michael Taylor.

Halladay had finished in the fop five of the American League Cy Young Award voting for four consecutive years. But with his contract set to expire after 2010 and the Blue Jays languishing in the toughest division in baseball, Toronto decided to strike while the iron was hot. But Halladay actually got hotter in the National League. He threw a perfect game on May 29, 2010 against the Marlins and then just the second no-hitter ever recorded in postseason play against the Reds in the National League Division Series. He was the first Phillies pitcher to win 20 games in 28 years and was the unanimous winner of the NL Cy Young award.

The only down side? The Phillies lost in the NLCS and haven’t gotten any closer to the World Series since then. So it’s feasible that the upside for this trade for the Phillies is over.

So what did the Blue Jays get? It was a pretty good haul, but with a catch.

d’Arnaud was a 20-year-old catcher in Single-A at the time of the deal, a former first-round pick. He progressed through the Blue Jays’ system over the next two years and had a great season in 2011 at Double-A New Hampshire, hitting .311 with 21 homers. But the Blue Jays then traded him this past offseason to the New York Mets as the centerpiece of the R.A. Dickey deal. So if Dickey ends up doing well in Toronto — he seems to be turning things around after a slow start — there’s upside there.

Drabek was another first-rounder, and he spent chunks of the last two seasons in the Toronto rotation, going 4-7 with a 4.67 ERA in the first half last year. However, he underwent Tommy John surgery at midseason — the second of his career — so his future is as sketchy at this point as Halladay’s, although Drabek is 10 years younger.

Taylor was dealt immediately to the Oakland Athletics in a straight-up deal for first baseman Brett Wallace, who was then traded in 2010 to the Houston Astros for outfielder Anthony Gose. Gose, 22, is currently in Triple-A in the Toronto organization, where he is batting .227 with two homers.

On the financial side, the Phillies are paying Halladay $20 million per season. Dickey is getting $5 million from the Jays this year and $12 million in each of the next two years.

So in summary, It’s now pretty much Dickey, Drabek and Gose for Halladay. It was by far a better trade over the last three years for the Phillies. But today, I’d probably rather have the Blue Jays’ side of the deal. So because the Phillies haven’t won a championship with Halladay (and it’s very doubtful the Blue Jays would have done much better without making the deal), let’s call it a fair and decent trade for both sides.

American Idol Season 12 crowned a winner this week.

But there’s a good bet you didn’t tune in. Okay, sure, 14 million of you did, but that’s a drop of 7 million from last year.

Whatever the reason for those dismal ratings, it’s a shame more people didn’t watch this year’s winner, Candice Glover–because she was worth the time.

How good was Glover this season?

• So good that Judge Keith Urban literally prostrated himself at her feet.
• So good she had diva Mariah Carey gushing, “You have an undeniable talent. It just surpasses what I could have ever even imagined I’d see here.”
• So good critics called her “too good for American Idol.”
• So good that Randy Jackson–the only judge who has sat through every performance of the past twelve years–applauded her for “one of the greatest performances in the history of 12 seasons of American Idol.”
• So good that she’ll make you a believer–one of these days.

But it’s still a shame she didn’t get to prove it to you on Idol.

Photo © Fox.

Pop Quiz: Who’s the newest American Idol?

Last night American Idol crowned Season 12′s winner, but no one seemed to notice.

Ratings–already bottoming out this season–continued to break record for how low they could go. Only 14.3 million viewers tuned in to the finale to find out if Candice Glover or Kree Harrison won the million dollar recording contract.

It was the first time an Idol finale dipped below 20 million viewers and it’s a 33 percent drop from last year,  when 21.5 million watched  Phillip Phillips’ triumphant night.

What happened?

I mean, we all know that Idol peaked years ago and it’s far from its glory days. And we know that The Voice has been siphoning away viewers since it launched.

But what changed in 12 months that chased away 7 million Idol fans?

Have new judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj driven away viewers?

Do American Idol fans hate women? Did they tune out when the last Season 12 contestant with a Y chromosome was eliminated before breaking into the top five? Is it a coincidence that this season–with it’s record breaking low ratings was also the first time in Idol history where all the men were eliminated before a single top 10 girl was cut?

Are American Idol fans all white girls who want cute white boys as their idols? Or is it just a coincidence that Candice Glover is the first African American singer to win since Fantasia in Season Three?

Is it a coincidence that Glover and Harrison are both a little pudgy? Or does America care less for female singers who have a little junk in the trunk?

Whatever the reason for the plunging ratings, it was hugely unfair to Candice Glover, who is arguably one of the most talented vocalists to emerge from American Idol in the past 12 years.

Since you didn’t watch, you may have missed how good she really was.

How good was Candice Glover this season?

• So good that Judge Keith Urban literally prostrated himself at her feet.
• So good she had diva Mariah Carey gushing, “You have an undeniable talent. It just surpasses what I could have ever even imagined I’d see here.”
• So good critics called her “too good for American Idol.”
• So good that Randy Jackson–the only judge who has sat through every performance of the past twelve years–applauded her for “one of the greatest performances in the history of 12 seasons of American Idol.”
• So good that she’ll make you a believer–one of these days.

But it’s still a shame she didn’t get to prove it to you last night.

Now the only question remains, will the abysmal ratings make Idol producers reconsider their stance on the remaining three judges?

After Randy Jackson announced he’s leaving the show, Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly insisted the other judges were all “welcome back.”

What do you think? Should they replace the judge(s)? Is there anything Idol could do to get you back as a viewer?

Photo © Fox

So, who did your team steal in the NFL draft?

An underrated linebacker, an undersized cornerback, a running back with a history of knee problems?

Every year after the draft, the debate begins about who got the best steals, the best value with the picks they had to work with.

Here are my top five 2013 draft steals. If you got a problem with it, let me know.

- Getty Images

One show I always like to catch on MLB Network is “Prime 9,” which is a countdown show with a subject and then nine answers, such as the nine best second basemen of all-time, the nine best teams of the 1990s, etc.

A fun one I saw recently was the Top 9 Could Have Beens, with guys like Bo Jackson, Tony Conigliaro, Herb Score and Pete Rieser, whose travails earned a modern day comparison this week from several sources.

When the Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper ran face-first into the Dodger Stadium wall on Monday night, it was a scary sight that reminded people of Rieser, who was also one of the best young hitters in baseball in the 1940s, but played with a reckless style in the outfield and often ran into walls in much the same way as Harper did on Monday. Harper needed 11 stitches and felt a little woosy; Rieser’s promising career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, which began with a batting title at age 22 in 1941, never hit full stride.

These days, warning tracks are pronounced and walls are much softer than in Rieser’s day, but there’s still a lot of damage that can be done. Harper’s play on Monday night is also a reminder that Harper didn’t play a lot of outfield as a youngster — he is a converted catcher — and perhaps that is a factor.

As ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wrote: “Harper is a student of baseball history, admirably, and knows a lot about Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth and others, and if he’s too sore to play Tuesday, he might want to take a few moments to read about Pete Reiser.”

In their third annual survey on consumer knowledge about credit scores, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and VantageScore Solutions found that many consumers still have major misconceptions about what influences credit scores and how credit scores are used. In fact, 54% of people answered they have not checked their credit scores within the past year. (Thirty-seven percent have never checked their credit report.)

Before the bad news, here’s a bit of good: 94% of those surveyed realized that timely loan payments can help improve their credit scores.

About one-third to two-fifths of survey respondents did not know:

• Credit scores are used when credit card issuers and mortgage lenders approve applications or determine pricing
• Age and marital status are not considered in credit score calculations
• When they’re entitled to a free credit score from their lender
• That payment history – positive or negative – on a joint loan also influences the co-signer’s credit score

Only 16% of those surveyed said they had excellent knowledge of credit scores and 39% answered that they had good knowledge of credit scores.

1,022 people were surveyed.

Credit Score Resources:

• How Your Credit Score is Calculated
• Why Your Credit Score Fluctuates
• What’s Not In Your Credit Score

Praised as “model legislation” by gun control advocates, California’s one-of-a-kind Armed Prohibited Persons System law empowers police to retroactively confiscate guns belonging to persons no longer legally qualified to own them.

Created by a law enacted in 2001, California’s Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS), systematically scans five California and US law enforcement databases to identify people who legally purchased handguns and registered assault weapons beginning in 1996, but have since become legally prohibited from owning firearms.

Persons prohibited from owning firearms under California’s APPS law include felons, individuals with a history of violence (domestic violence/restraining order) or severe mental illness, and fugitives.

According to California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, the latest APPS law statewide “sweep” in 2012 resulted in the confiscation of 2,033 firearms, 117,000 rounds of ammunition, and 11,072 illegal high capacity ammunition magazines. California law prohibits the sale or possession of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds purchased since January 1, 2000.

California’s Department of Justice claims that the list of persons becoming disqualified gun owners under the APPS law grows by from 10 to 15 per day. “There are currently more than 20,000 armed prohibited persons in California. Collectively, these individuals are believed to be in possession of over 39,000 handguns and 1,670 assault weapons,” stated Harris.

Like many laws in California these days, the APPS gun confiscation law has suffered from a lack of money needed to enforce it. “Neither the Department of Justice nor local law enforcement has sufficient resources to confiscate the enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily influx of newly prohibited persons,” said the state’s Justice Department.

But on May 1, Governor Jerry Brown singed California Senate Bill 140, authorizing the expenditure of $24 million to hire additional agents needed for future APPS gun confiscation operations.

The bill provides that future APPS confiscation efforts focus on the California cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and Riverside.

“We are fortunate in California to have the first and only system in the nation that tracks and identifies individuals who at one time made legal purchases of firearms but are now barred from possessing them,” said bill’s author Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), in a press release. “However, due to a lack of resources, only a few of these illegally possessed weapons have been confiscated, and the mountain of firearms continues to grow each day.”

The bill was just one of some 30 new gun control bills introduced in the California legislature after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Still pending are bills that would require background checks for persons buying ammunition, and adding more requirements to the state’s already extensive list of qualifications for gun ownership.

Also See:
US Congress Drops the Gun Control Bill
People on Terror Watch List Buying Guns, GAO Reports