So halfway through the baseball season (not really but for some reason the All-Star game never falls on the exact halfway point) who's the biggest surprise on the Angels pitching staff? Is it Joe Saunders with his team leading 3.07 ERA (not counting Lackey who only has 11 starts) and the second most wins in the majors at 12-5? Or is it Ervin Santana, whose stats of 11-3 and a 3.34 ERA are impressive enough but become even more so when put next to last years numbers when he lost twice as many games as he won at 7-14, had an ERA over 5 and struggled to last through the early innings of many of this games? What about John Lackey, who's come back from the disabled list to be the best pitcher in the majors heading into the All-Star break and has time and time again come up with the big performance when the Angels needed it the most?

It's a nice discussion to have, especially when your trying to get your mind off the team's inability to put the bat on the ball. And just think, we aren't even considering Jered Weaver who has a no-hitter this season or Jon Garland who's been a solid starter all season long. But right now, if we were in the World Series and it was Game 1, who would you start? Who would pitch in Game 2? And who would not start and instead move to the bullpen?

Damnit this is a good debate to have at your local bar or pub. You order a couple beers with your buddies (or even the nearest stranger) and begin debating the merits of Bull Durham vs. Field of Dreams (do you prefer laughing with Kevin Costner or crying with him?) You move on to women playing baseball vs. kids playing baseball (League of Their Own vs. Sandlot) and then profess your love for either Roy Hobbs in The Natural vs. Roger Maris in 61*. I don't think there's any other sport that has as many great movies made about it that open up the opportunity for debate, discussion and disaggreament.

Here's a great 16-seed bracket of the the greatest baseball movies of all-time. Make your vote, make your argument.

http://fromthedugout.freedomblogging.com/2008/07/14/best-baseball-movie-ever-you-make-the-call/

Well, it's pretty much deja vu from last year so far for the Angels. We're in first place, we have great pitching, we can't hit and if the playoffs started today, we'd be playing the Boston Red Sox. Here's a good back and forth chat by a couple of Angels beat writers, discussing everything from possible trades to what asset in the Angels minor league system might help to push them over the top.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/think-one-team-2087659-angels-go...

In the third installment of their Angel players interviews, the Orange County Register posted their latest one with Howie Kendrick.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/really-kendrick-game-2084087-baseball-don

For a guy who hasn't been up in the big leagues all that long, Howie comes off as very mature for his age. I love these kinds of pieces, because it gives us a different side of the player and gets away from talking about OBP and slugging percentage for a little while. Good interview.

On probably one of the better NBA draft nights in recent Bruin history, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love both went in the top-5. Here's an interview with both of them, talking about what it was like to get drafted so high and in Love's case, to then get traded on the same night.

Love talks about being traded for former crosstown rival OJ Mayo and what he thinks about going from Memphis to Minnesota.

No matter how you look at it, it was a great night to be a Bruin fan:

“I’m just so excited and elated for them,’’ UCLA coach Ben Howland said via conference call. “Both Russell and Kevin have worked so hard.’’

Hours after the draft ended, The Associated Press reported Mayo was dealt to Memphis for Love in an eight-player deal that also sent Mike Miller to the Timberwolves.

“I was actually hoping I’d go (to Minnesota),” Love said. “I believe I could play well beside Al Jefferson.”

While Love was one of the nation’s most sought after players coming out of high school, Westbrook was a late developer. He had received little recruiting attention until he grew 4 inches between his junior year and the start of his senior year. As a junior, Westbrook was 5-foot-11, 150 pounds. He’s now 6-3 and 196 pounds.

Westbrook saw limited action as a freshman at UCLA but this past season he emerged to become one of the team’s top players and was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.

When asked if three years ago he could have envisioned any of this happening, Westbrook said, “I imagined the best for myself. I worked so hard to put myself in the best position possible.’’

I wish they had both stayed obviously for one more year, but if they're going to leave, I definitely want to see Bruin alumni be successful in the NBA. UCLA!!