Will there be any last-minute surprises as the NBA trading deadline passes today? Are the Lakers going to trade Russell Westbrook? What does LeBron James have to say about it? Should Frank Vogel play him more? He didn’t play in the Portland game due to a bad back, but was it to keep him from an injury before the trade deadline? Are there any Lakers that even could be traded? And what happened to the Portland Trailblazer roster?

The UCLA Bruins face their USC rivals at the Trojans’ home court, the Galen Center, on Saturday. Both are talented teams, with the Bruins as the slight favorite. Coach Mick Cronin of UCLA needs to keep rotating additional players into the game to give other team members more time on the court. In the Arizona game, he was seen to be yelling at players on camera as they lost in triple overtime. What does that do for morale to call them out publicly? Shouldn’t coaches save reprimands for the locker room, behind the scenes, and not lose it on national TV?

The Los Angeles Rams are a 4-point favorite over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. Fred predicts the score will be the Rams 30 or 31 – Bengals 27, so right near the number. Skilled players are plentiful on both teams, but does Sean McVay try to control the Rams too much, and play not to lose, instead of playing to win? The last six games of the playoffs have been some of the most exciting ever in football – can the Super Bowl beat that?

Email Fred with questions and comments at sportsfred@aol.com