Welcome to The Sporting Tribune Podcast Network and a new episode of The Sporting Tribune Today, our every-weekday show on sports in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii.
Host Grant Mona breaks down a perfect opening weekend at Chavez Ravine that has the rest of the league on notice. Then, we head to the desert for the shock of the NHL season: the Vegas Golden Knights have turned to “Torts” to save their championship aspirations.
Segment One: Blue Heaven Perfection—Dodgers Sweep the D-Backs The quest for the three-peat began with a clinical three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Grant provides a game-by-game breakdown of how the Dodgers dismantled their division rivals:
Game 1 (Thursday): Ring Night Fireworks (8–2) The Dodgers celebrated their 2025 World Series rings with an offensive explosion. Andy Pages provided the highlight with a go-ahead three-run homer, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto was spectacular in his first start as the reigning World Series MVP.
Game 2 (Friday): The New Guys Deliver (5–4) A tighter contest that showcased the Dodgers’ offseason depth. Kyle Tucker made an immediate impact with a clutch go-ahead RBI single in the 8th, and Edwin Díaz slammed the door for his first save in Blue. Mookie Betts added a three-run blast to silence any doubts about his early-season form.
Game 3 (Saturday): The Birthday Sweep (3–2) On his 31st birthday, Will Smith delivered the definitive moment—a walk-off home run to complete the sweep. Grant analyzes the bullpen’s dominance (5.2 scoreless innings) and why this series proves the Dodgers are as deep as they are star-studded.
Segment Two: “Torts” in Sin City—The Golden Knights’ Gamble In a move that caught the hockey world completely off guard, the Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy on Sunday and immediately named John Tortorella as their fourth head coach in franchise history.
The Shock Factor: Grant discusses the fallout from firing a Stanley Cup-winning coach with only eight games left in the regular season. GM Kelly McCrimmon cited a “necessary intervention” after a slide that dropped Vegas to 3rd in the Pacific.
Tortorella Speaks: We hear from the polarizing bench boss himself as he joins a team featuring high-priced stars like Jack Eichel. Tortorella addresses his “confrontational” reputation and his message to a locker room that is suddenly facing a “block-shots-or-bench” reality.
The High Stakes: Can the veteran coach, fresh off a gold medal as an assistant for Team USA at the 2026 Milan Olympics, provide the spark to return Vegas to championship form, or will his “old-school” style clash with the Golden Knights’ culture?
The podcast can be heard every day on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, TuneIn and wherever you get your podcast and every weekday on the radio on KIRN 670 AM and 95.5 FMHD3 in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii.