The world according to Jim:

• When’s the last time there were two high-profile sports firings in the same area in the same afternoon? It’s the end of the week and I’m still astonished at the events of Tuesday afternoon, when the Angels fired Joe Maddon and the Sparks let go of coach/GM Derek Fisher within about a half-hour of each other.

• We’ve discussed the Maddon firing in This Space already, and I’m still convinced it was too hasty, but an extended losing streak, finally snapped at 14 Thursday night, does create some cover for the decision. As for the Fisher firing, there are a couple of issues at play.

The Sparks were reconstructed with a championship in mind. And they had their own early-season issues, losing six of seven at one point while playing eight of their first 10 on the road. They’d won three of four but a Sunday loss in Phoenix pushed them to 5-7 and pushed Fisher off the proverbial cliff. And if they should rally under interim Fred Williams and actually compete for a championship by season’s end, does he still take that Auburn associate coach’s job he was supposed to settle into this summer? …

• Another aspect of the Sparks’ move? Don’t ever claim “nobody cares.” Their fan base may be smaller than those of the Lakers or Dodgers or the rest, but it is committed, it is passionate, and it pays attention.

And when Fisher was fired, the mood among the faithful on social media was almost celebratory. Fisher may have been immensely popular as a Lakers player, but Sparks fans among other things questioned his strategy and second-guessed the real or imagined slights that led to Candace Parker parting ways with the franchise and then winning a championship last season with her hometown Chicago Sky.

• It is a pernicious slight, this idea that the teams that aren’t at the very top of the region’s food chain don’t receive or deserve attention because, as those who aren’t paying attention like to suggest, “nobody cares.” That also seems to be a theory that tends to be popular among those who chase page views or “likes” for a living.

The counterpoint, for the latter: A smaller but more passionate fan base will be even more inclined to follow those who pay at least some sort of regular attention to them. And when you make a point of saying “nobody cares?” In the end, it’s your loss. …

• Another observation on the Maddon firing: It continues a trend that has devalued the field manager. The old-school guys with enough gravitas and clout to give the front office some pushback are down to Buck Showalter, Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker. Showalter, in his first year with the Mets, and the White Sox’ La Russa were ownership-driven hires. Baker was brought in to clean up the mess created by the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. …

• Then again, La Russa’s managing job Thursday against the Dodgers deserved some pushback of its own, especially that intentional walk to Trea Turner with a 1-2 count to pitch to Max Muncy – who responded with a three-run homer. Worse, after the move backfired, La Russa doubled down in defending it. …

Let’s see, Maddon drew raised eyebrows when he had Corey Seager intentionally walked with the bases loaded in Texas. Now La Russa. Maybe, to protect managers from themselves, we should go back to requiring four pitches for an intentional walk rather than just pointing to first base. …

• One benefit to the new order: Managers no longer tip over the food spread in the clubhouse after a bad or frustrating performance, the way the old guys did (Tommy Lasorda, of course, being a notable exception). That old cliché about a hungry team? Those shenanigans might be where it came from …

• A week ago, Bryson DeChambeau was asked about LIV Golf and said, “For me, I personally don’t think that at this point in time I’m in a place in my career where I can risk things like that.” Now he and Patrick Reed made the leap. So if anyone wonders why we don’t always take what people in sports say at face value, there it is. …

• As the defections from the PGA Tour continue, lured by those ginormous contracts and with no apparent sense of unease about the Saudi benefactors, others have pointed out that this could be akin to the CART/IndyCar motorsports wars of the mid-’90s, which lasted for 12 years and severely set back open-wheel racing in this country. Could this do similar damage to golf? …

• The dilemma here for the PGA Tour: The Saudis aren’t going to run out of cash any time soon. The dilemma for LIV Golf: By Friday’s round, not many people appeared to be watching their YouTube stream.  …

I just watched a few minutes on the LIV YouTube channel, and there were 1,046 viewers. Can that be correct? How can you pay $4,000,000 to the winner if there are no viewing people watching it on YouTube?

— Rob_says_what_it_is (@RobSaysWhatItIs) June 10, 2022

• The USGA has indicated any of the renegades who have qualified can play in next week’s U.S. Open. The tone of the USGA’s announcement was, roughly, “Hey, leave us out of this.” …

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• NIL note of the week: For Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, Rancho Cucamonga’s own, it came down to a choice at a luxury car dealership with which he was negotiating an endorsement deal. He considered a $150,000 Bentley Bentayga and a $150,000 Rolls Royce, and finally settled on a $200,000 Mercedes G Wagon, to use for a year in exchange for endorsement considerations.

How times have changed. Years ago, the late Jerry Tarkanian noted that he lost a basketball recruiting battle because “we got vanned.” Tark also noted, “I love transfers because their cars are already paid for.” Somewhere, he must be smiling about the fact that it’s all out in the open now.

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