Amazing racers
The Kings had a day off Tuesday, at least from hockey. They were told to assemble at the training facility at 7:30 a.m., at which point they were told to hand over their wallets and cell phones. (No, it wasn't Tim Leiweke collecting them to sell on EBay to pay for L.A. Live.) The players divided up into four teams for an amended version of The Amazing Race, CBS's Emmy-winning reality show. Jerry Bruckheimer, a huge hockey fan, is the show's executive producer.
The teams were sent out in vans to different locations and had to complete the first of five tasks. The first team to complete all five tasks won the competition. The tasks were:
A) To hit a fly ball beyond the infield grass at Dodger Stadium. Tommy Lasorda was there to provide assistance and, I'm told, a profane pep talk, as only Tommy can provide.
B) To have an artist in Venice Beach sketch a portrait of one of the players.
C) To teach a 10-minute lesson in a classroom at Torrance Elementary School.
D) To stand on a surfboard for at least five seconds in the Manhattan Beach water.
E) To find Jim Fox in Hollywood. A clue was posted near Bob Miller's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which the players also had to locate.
The teams took cabs to each location, but for one of the cab rides, they were not given money. They had to ``beg or barter'' for that ride, and they could only go on to the next task when they had completed the previous task.
All of this was taped and will be made into a show on FSN in the near future, so I've been asked not to reveal the winners. But the players' competitiveness did come out, and the winners were quite proud of themselves.
Only one of the teams did not complete all five tasks. A member of that team said, ``We just didn't want to leave Dodger Stadium. I think we hit about 100 balls. That was so much fun.''
The team-building exercise got a general thumbs-up from the players, although one did say, ``It was a lot of work. The last thing I want to do on a day off is exercise. But it was still a fun thing.''
Jason LaBarbera, a big fan of the Toronto Blue Jays and baseball in general, particularly enjoyed the day.
``It was cool,'' LaBarbera said. ``We didn't know what the next task was going to be. To hit baseballs at Dodger Stadium was awesome. I wanted to stay there all day. ... We all had to do our part and act like a team, so that was a good lesson to take away.''
I think they stopped at Jumbo's Clown Room on the way to Dodger stadium.
I wonder who the dissenting voice belongs to...any guesses (since Rich is sworn to secrecy). Two years ago, I would've pinned it on JR, so I'm gonna say it was one of the veterans. Thornton, perhaps.
Thanks Rich. Did they say when they expect the show to air on FSN? I would love to see that it sounds funny.
I hit balls in Dodger stadium once - some drunk guy said something to my girlfriend... so I kneed him in the balls :)
that's very cool... i'm a big fan of the real show, so this should be worth watching!
awesome! can't wait to watch the show
PLEASE let us know when the show is scheduled to air when information becomes available! Should be very cool!
I know which team won Rich!! Or shall I say, I know WHO's team won...but I guess I can't let the cat out the bag either...sorry guys!
When I find out when the show is airing, I'll definitely pass the info along.
Oh, good! It would be really nice to see a "Kings Insider" more recent than the two-year-old episodes FSN keeps subjecting us to. I'm beyond done seeing Jeremy Roenick's out-of-shape body disgrace a Kings jersey.
Local FSN flat out SUCKS on puck covrage. I honestly wish they'd watch some of the other regional FSNs and learn a thing or two on how to cover and promote a hockey club.
Thanks for the head's up Rich. I am curious to see how some of the guys swing the bat.
It\'s ok not to give winners, but at least teams would be appreciated.
Wanted to log on to agree with Polar Bear. I just moved to Charlotte, NC, from southern California. The local FSN "Sportsouth" has almost every Hurricanes game and most Thrasher games. With these and Versus, I get a hockey game almost every night (sometimes two) without paying for a package. FSN West could do that, too. But that would bump some of the beach volleyball games they air.
I heard the pitching machine was pretty fast for most of them!! Some guys fared better than others, but if you want to guess the speed range...imagine a pretty good high school pitcher...all fast balls!!
I understand the need to win over new fans and garner support for the club (it, of course, equals $). But I have a hard time accepting this as a team building exercise. 7:30 am on an off-day to film a reality show to, hopefully, get fans to fill the seats. For a team that has missed the play-offs for five years in a row -- I say you fill the seats by winning hockey games, not by bartering with a LA cabby.
Thanks Roch -- great job as usual. Oh yea, I will watch. But I'm a fan already filling a seat any time I can. I'd rather make the playoffs.
Dom G. It actually was not an off day for them. They were supposed to have practice on that Tuesday but decided to push it a day to do this game/team building exercise which may have really worked out well since with all the new blood on the team they do need to meld together and I think that is may finally be showing.
I realllllly need to know when this is going to air. My husband and I are going to be on the show, and it was our honeymoon. They filmed us Any news yet?!