A Dodger Stadium parking cluster%$*& story from Opening Day
Maybe it's just bad karma thrown my way, after avoiding the mess of Saturday night and Dodger Stadium shuttle fiasco.
But the bottom line: I didn't make it into the stadium for today's Opening Day. I tried. Parking was the hurdle.
I didn't arrive as early as usual, but pulling off the Harbor Freeway, onto Sunset and turning up onto Elysian Park at about 11 a.m., it seemed reasonable time to get parked and into the park to see the opening ceremonies.
Once past the security gate, the media has a dark blue line painted on the pavement to follow up to Lot P, behind home plate at the very top of the park. Today, a gate blocked the usual path of the blue line, so cars were diverted left, instead of right, through the center strip of traffic flow. That meant traveling the entire route around the stadium instead of the shortest path, getting mixed into the other preferred parking pass people and GA parking people.
Going around the loop in stop-and-go flow, I finally arriving to Lot P, where two security parking guys were turning cars away. I noticed the lot had plenty of spaces available, even some where fans parked and were collecting their things to head into the stadium.
When I got to the front of the line, the attendant looked at my media pass.
"You're not on the list," he said, checking his sheet of paper.
"There's a list?" I asked.
"Yes, just today. We have no room for you today. The rest of the season, OK. Just today."
"And there's no room?" I asked. "So where do I park to go to work today?"
"You have to down to Lot 10," he said pointing down in some general direction.
OK, whatever. Guess I was supposed to tell someone that I'd be coming out.
Back into the mess of traffic, everything was flowing down and away from the stadium. I couldn't spot any entrance to a Lot 10. I saw a Lot 12, where limos and busses were lined up. Where was Lot 10?
As I tried to veer left, it became apparent that's not where traffic was supposed to go, because of orange cones and parking attendants waving me to the right.
Funneled back into the flow, I was now pointed toward the exit.
And out of the stadium.
The one small lane going out, while six other lanes were coming back in.
This makes a lot of sense.
I guess I could circle back on Sunset and get back in line. So that's what I decided I was supposed to do. At least for 20 minutes while the traffic just stopped.
On KABC-AM 790, the team's new flagship station, at least one could pass the time listening to a Dodger pregame show.
Not.
Instead, it was some host talking to guests about group sex acts. Great stuff for the family in the car to hear waiting to arrive. By noon, the Sean Hannity show was starting. Even better to hear someone spewing venomous politics.
The frustration came to a head, and I decided it wasn't going to happen. I turned around, went home and pulled up a chair to watch on TV.
I apologize to the city for adding pollutants to the air in my car for a wasted trip, on top of all that idling in line in the parking lot. Maybe someday I'll be on the list, and I'll be able to report more here about things other than parking problems.
Not to complain about what happened. I have entitlement to being there. It was ultimately my fault. I didn't arrive early enough to avoid the mess. The other 50,000 seemed to get in, as far as I could tell from the TV set. And maybe they found Lot 10 OK.
Or did they?
As for the Dodger Stadium shuttle service Saturday night ... you really want to go there?
Not that I could say I saw it coming, but any time you're promosing something for free, and there's a time limit on how it can be successfully used, and there's no magic carpet ride from Point A to Point B -- meaning, you've got to use public freeways, instead of the Space Shuttle -- it's just been my experience that disaster could ensue. Maybe I was crazy for getting to the Coliseum on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., finding a place in a parking structure near the Harbor Freeway two blocks from the stadium, and paying the $25. I had some peace of mind. And I could get home before 10:30 p.m.
Others, of course, shouldn't have to make that kind of committment in a personal time schedule for one baseball game that starts at 7 p.m.
With that preamble, here's what one fan did: Sent a letter to Frank McCourt. He copied us:
March 30, 2008
Mr. Frank McCourt
Los Angeles Dodgers
1000 Elysian Park Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Dear Mr. McCourt
The game last night at the Coliseum was the worst entertainment experience in my sixty-two years. Your public relations staff was successful in deluding myself and 35,000 others into believing that we needed to park at Dodger Stadium to avoid immanent personal danger and cause a major catastrophe to the City of Los Angeles.
The reservation process was meaningless. We stood in line for over two hours, both going and returning to the Coliseum for a 6.1 mile ride that took almost half an hour. Having allowed two hours for the trip, we arrived an hour and twenty minutes after the first pitch. There were no restrooms available at Dodger Stadium, and totally inadequate or completely full port-a-potties at the Coliseum.
We observed no security or police personnel at Dodger Stadium and only a handful of parking lot attendants at either end. Obviously there were no where near enough busses, or any reasonable alternative transportation.
In retrospect I seem to recall that USC manages to fill the same Coliseum six times a year without using odd-site parking. Those events don’t cause the city to freeze in permanent automobile gridlock or go the way of the lost city of Atlantis.
Your people can cut costs by taking my name off your mailing list. We will not be buying any more Dodger Tickets or merchandise. The homeless can have our Dodger apparel. If you would like my business in the future, win three or four World Series trophies and then give me a call. In the meantime I will be spending my entertainment energy and money elsewhere.
So was I. And I didn't need to spent the $20 for a shirt to prove that I survived.
In fact, that may have been the better T-shirt: I survived the Dodgers' Coliseum game.
I'm going to read about the parking hassles with the shuttle from the stadium to the Coliseum (I wanted no part of it, paid $25, arrived early, found an easy-access spot from knowledge of USC tailgating). There'll probably be more police reports filed for Monday's stories.
So let's just enjoy the moment for what it was -- pasty Red Sox fans, trying to establish some World Series entitlement, up against some unruly Los Angeles fans, with the home-field advantage and their own Screen Monster, and we'll let Miller Lite officiate the proceedings.
Seriously, it was one surreal experience, and maybe some of the photos here relay that:
OK, so once you did buy the T-shirt, you had to get your picture taken to prove you were there as well ... That line of people behind them is forming to get autographs from a bunch of former players. I'd guess people waited there for more than an hour or two just to meet people like ...
Carl Erskine ... or "Carl Perkins" as I heard one fan tell his young son who had no idea who the player was ...
Or Ken Landreaux posing as a security guard so no one would run off with the two World Championship tropies that were on display. No sure which one had more rust collected on it ... Red Sox fans walked by and had a good laugh ...
"Weee gaawt tuuu of thaammm in daaa last foooor yeeeers, paaaal. ... without Nomaaaaar."
"Hey, they're even selling the Saux jackets ... "
One of the booths in the Exposition Park family zone allowed people to sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" with a mike as it was being videotaped, for some kind of promotion. These two kids at least had the ability to read the words off to the left. One girl actually sang: "Buy me some peanuts and Apple Jacks." Obviously, she either can't read or she's just being honest. If that's what the kids' want these days, you gotta adjust...
And for those college basketball fans who needed to know the score ... (check out those gray skies above ... what if it had rained?)
Lucky enough to be inside the facility when both teams came down the steps, which was unexpected, but considering the USC football team does it every home game now, it should have been anticipated.
(Unofficial report: Nomar tripped coming down the stairs, tore knee ligaments, out the rest of the season)...
Batting practice ... interesting to watch. More homers hit to the left-center field gap (where there was no screen). David Ortiz hit so many out to right field mosh pit, it was ridiculous... He was going well beyond end zone to end zone ... and the old yard markers were still evident in the grass to measure how far hits were going ...
The view from the roof of the press box, where plenty of police and fire department officials watched the crowd ...
And probably amused themselves by what they could see going on in that mosh pit beyond the right-field fence. I went down there later and got out of there as soon as possible. Let's just say it wasn't like sitting on a berm at a spring training game with the picnic blanket out in Phoenix. Remember the old "Two Dollar Tuesdays" at Dodger Stadium?
Not sure what mastermind came up with this alignment -- the five-man infield -- but it worked when Andruw Jones made the tag on a stolen base attempt. Jones was kinda the short center fielder, with Andre Either in deep center and Matt Kemp in right. There's no way Juan Pierre would have fit in that arrangement. The Red Sox played it more "traditional" ... and it must have worked since they "won" the exhibition.
This is right after Kevin Youkilis hit a home run into the left-field seats, over the screen. They don't let you keep the balls that go into the stands during a USC football game. And I don't believe the fan who got this one threw it back.
Finally, this view from dead center field, so get a real perspective on the deceptive layout. The camera out there was on a platform, more to right field, to get that strange angle on TV. A bank of lights above home plate was not on, for some reason, and it looked like a very dark setting on that end of the Coliseum. Didn't help the Dodgers that Tim Wakefield was throwing knuckleballs up there at the same time.
So you were there, I was there, Roger Owens the Peanut Man was there. We all can say we were there. Who's gonna question it? Heard Vin Scully ponder aloud on the TV broadcast: I wonder if, when the Dodgers are celebrating their 100th anniversary, they'll come back here and play another game. That's assuming baseball is still around, of course. And the Coliseum is still standing. And newspapers exist to cover it. And this Internet machine is still working so we can deliver this up-to-the-second information on it. And Julio Franco is still on someone's active roster. By that time, maybe the shuttles from the Coliseum to Dodger Stadium will have finally delivered the last fan back to his car from last night.
Loyola coach George Ireland, right, talks to his team as it was trailing Cincinnati in the final game of the National Collegiate basketball championship at Louisville in this March 23, 1963 file photo. Players, from left to right, are John Egan, Vic Rouse, Jerry Harkness and Ron Miller. Egan, the only white starter on his team, said he didn't understand the implications when Harkness and Mississippi State's Red Stroud shook hands at the center jump in the 1963 Mideast semifinal game Harkness called "the beginning of the end of segregation" as hundreds of flashbulbs popped all around them.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Jerry Harkness called the game “the beginning of the end of segregation” and insisted both teams won that 1963 Mideast Region semifinal.
Loyola defeated Mississippi State 61-51, though the full impact of that matchup played at the Michigan State campus may never be known.
“Game of Change,” a new documentary film by Harkness’s son, Gerald, will be screened tonight in Detroit and will center on Mississippi State’s decision to defy authority and sneak out of the state to play a predominantly black team.
“They were more of a winner than we were,” Harkness, a two-time All-American, said Friday. “It took a long time for me to realize all that they went through. Today, I think that game was bigger than winning the national championship.”
Loyola had won its first-round game against Tennessee Tech by a record 69 points but didn’t know if its second-round game would be played. McCarthy, Mississippi State president Dean Colvard and athletic director Wade Walker made sure that it was.
In three of the previous four seasons, their all-white teams had been forced to decline NCAA invitations because an unwritten Mississippi law forbid play against integrated programs.
In 1963, the sixth-ranked Southeastern Conference champs changed history, thanks to a perfectly run play to get out of the state.
“Babe McCarthy (pictured here, with Jack Berkshire) was one wonderful person,” Bulldogs player Bobby Shows said Friday. “And when he told us to jump, we said, ‘How high?’ We were just kids. We obeyed our coaches. So when Babe said, ‘Boys, if we win it again, we’re going to play in that tournament, come hell or high water!’ we believed him.”
Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett wasn’t about to let that happen. Nor was state Sen. Billy Mitts, a former Mississippi State student body president and cheerleader. Mitts even got an injunction prohibiting the team from leaving the state.
But before the papers could be served, Colvard left the state for a speaking engagement in Alabama, while Walker and McCarthy drove north, across the state line to Tennessee.
Early the next morning, trainer Dutch Luchsinger and several reserves drove to a private airport in Starkville, Miss. When they saw the path was safe, a call was made for assistant Jerry Simmons and the starters to hurry and join them.
The plane took off without incident, stopped in Nashville to pick up Walker and McCarthy and headed to Lansing and a warm reception.
Back in Mississippi, the Ku Klux Klan and segregationists stewed while many others cheered their team’s stance.
“When Babe said we were going, it was like God speaking,” Shows said. “We didn’t understand the politics. But we were all on pins and needles. Just as our plane took off, the sheriff drove through the gate. He’d driven to the wrong airport. It turns out he wanted us to go.”
Loyola guard John Egan, the only white starter on his team, said he didn’t understand the implications when Harkness and Mississippi State’s Red Stroud shook hands at the center jump in Jenison Field House, as hundreds of flashbulbs popped all around them.
“Jerry is very emotional about this and was crushed when Red just died,” Egan said. “None of us saw it as ‘us’ against ‘them.’ The Mississippi State players were true gentlemen. I guess we showed people the way it could be.”
Mississippi State wound up with a split for the trip, beating Bowling Green and star Nate Thurmond in a consolation game.
“I think Nate had 30 rebounds in that game,” Shows said with a laugh. “But when we got back to Starkville, the cars were lined up for 20 miles with thousands and thousands of kids there to see us. The KKK boys were a nasty, ugly minority. Most people weren’t like that. And even though we lost, we came home as winners. All of us did.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Friday it had no input on the decision to have Nationals manager Manny Acta catch the ceremonial first pitch from President Bush on Sunday night. Acta was picked instead of starting catcher Paul Lo Duca, whose name appeared prominently in the Mitchell Report on drug use in baseball.
“It was a decision that was made by the Nationals,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.
Asked if the president would have any objection to throwing to Lo Duca, Stanzel said: “The president was happy to throw out the first pitch to whoever the Nationals selected.”
Nationals president Stan Kasten said Lo Duca was never considered to catch the pitch. He said the team owners chose between Acta and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, both of whom will accompany the president to the mound.
“Myself and the Lerner family thought it would be appropriate to represent our team and the youth of our team,” Kasten said. “Ryan Zimmerman would be a good person to accompany the president, and our leader, our manager, Manny Acta. Those choices seemed obvious to us. Those have always been our choices. Anyone else who had different thoughts was just misinformed.”
Lo Duca, publicly at least, took the news in stride.
“That’s OK,” the former Dodgers catcher said. “Hopefully, I’ll still meet the president.”
Expanding today's media column, here's the photo (supplied by the Dodgers) to get an idea of what the old baseball Coliseum baseball press box looked like wedged into the tunnel at the west end.
In contrast, here's a look at both press boxes that existed during the four seasons of bizarre configurations that, with today's multi-purpose architectural ingeniuty, could have been addressed better.
Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett were broadcasting games for radio and TV perched inside the tunnel on the far right, while the football press box on the top ridge of the stadium sat there for spill over media members -- especially those covering the '59 World Series.
Scully will be in the football press box calling Saturday's Dodgers-Red Sox exhibition game, which he says will put him "a million miles away, having to rely on the cameraman" and watching the TV feed to see what's really going on during the game.
Dodgers VP of communications Josh Rawitch said of the decision to use the football facility instead of rebuilding the old baseball press box: "We did a walk through two months ago and realized that the TV booth would actually be pretty close to home plate. We were worried (the football press box) would be too far down the line, but seeing that the sightline was actually quite good made us decide it would be easier to do it there, with all the comforts that they’re used to, than recreating a box above the tunnel that could only hold a few of the people."
Scully, who did NFL games for CBS from 1975 to '82, seems to think the last time he visited the Coliseum was to do a Los Angeles Rams game for the network "many years ago."
Meanwhile, this is the final year of the most recent contract extension he signed a couple years back. Does he have plans on coming back for 2009 and beyond?
"I believe so, but we'll have to talk to the McCourts and see what their plans are, and talk to my wife to see how she feels," said Scully, who turned 80 last November. "Here we are concentrating on Opening Day '08, and God willing, there's always that old Irish expression: Talk about next year and make the devil laugh. So we'll put that in escrow for awhile longer."
More from the media this week:
++BASEBALL (con't):
==KCAL Channel 9 airs a half-hour Dodgers’ 50th anniversary special leading into Saturday’s Coliseum exhibition coverage (7 p.m.). Executive producer Scott Henry said the all-encompassing show, hosted by Gary Miller, includes an interview with team owner Frank McCourt at the Coliseum. During the game coverage, reporter John Ireland will
be updating information from a mini-telethon starting at 7:10 p.m. that allows viewers to call in - 866 554-CURE - and donate to the charity, with former Dodger players taking the pledges. KCAL also has tonight’s Dodgers-Red Sox exhibition from Dodger Stadium; Sunday’s game from Dodger Stadium is not televised. FSN Prime Ticket, the Dodgers’ cable partner that is carrying the season opener Monday afternoon against San Francisco from Dodger Stadium, also plans a hour-long pregame show Saturday (6:30 p.m.) including Kevin Kennedy, Steve Lyons and Patrick O'Neal, followed by a half-hour wrapup, with the Clippers-Memphis contest on in between.
== President Bush is scheduled to join Jon Miller and Joe Morgan in the ESPN booth during Sunday night’s telecast from the new stadium in Washington D.C. between the Nationals and Braves. It’ll be in the third inning, in case you’re planning to TiVo and do the three-arrow toggle forward.
==Gotta say we do enjoy the new Aquafina ads that we started to notice during ESPN's coverage of the Red Sox-A's two-game series in Japan. It's the one with Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella running out of the dugout after a close play at third base. Pinella appears to be starting an argument, but he begins to explain to the umpire, in his usual antimated manner, that it "was a great call ... you're doing a fantastic job ... but people expect me to come out here and be upset, so I'm gonna kick some dirt, you understand!" It ends up with Pinella asking the umpire to throw him out -- which happens -- and Pinella heaves the third-base bag across the diamond after he reminds the umpire to "say hello to the misses." During the "discussion," there's the voice of ESPN's own Gary Thorne -- who happened to also be calling the Red Sox-A's game -- exclaiming: "Lou's really giving it to him!"
Doesn't that kind of undercut Thorne's credibility? Or did Thorne already do enough of that by claiming to know during a broadcast last year (on the Orioles' home TV network) that Boston's Curt Schilling faked the bloody sock incident in the 2004 playoffs and World Series?
Thorne is on the call, by the way, for the first game at the Washington Nationals' new stadium. He's on ESPN Radio (carried by affiliated 710-AM here) for the Washington-Atlanta game Sunday (4:35 p.m.). Thorne replaces Dan Shulman on the ESPN Radio package of Sunday night games, unfortunately, as Shulman does NBA stuff. Dave Campbell returns as the analyst.
==At least DirecTV got that "temporary technical problem" fixed for the second game of the Red Sox-A's series early Wednesday morning, after the glitch knocked out NESN and ESPN2 from its live feed of the Tuesday opener, which aired live at 3 a.m. (PDT)/6 a.m. (EDT), and didn't allow viewers to see it until the seventh inning (on NESN) and missed it completely live on ESPN2.
Our complaint, however: When watching the 11 a.m. replay of the game Tuesday and Wednedsay on ESPN2, they kept the live scroll at the bottom with updated scores -- including the final score of the game we were watching. No way to pull back on that one for those who didn't want to know the outcome?
==A reason to sign up for XM Satellite Radio:
For 48 hours between Saturday and Sunday, the company is using Channel 120 as the "Play Ball" channel to air 412 songs about baseball, 27 songs about players, seven dramatic readings (like "Casey at the Bat") and classic calls of historic plays (such as the "Shot Heard Round the World)
==For its new "Sunday MLB on TBS" series that begins April 6, TBS has hired Ron Darling as the primary analyst with Chip Caray. Darling, the former Mets pitcher, does games on the Mets-owned SportsNet New York cable channel. In games Darling can't make, former major-league catcher and ESPN analyst Buck Martinez will fill in. Martinez currently works on Baltimore Orioles telecasts. The 26-week schedule of TBS games starts with Boston at Toronto on April 6, 10 a.m. (Caray and Martinez).
++COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
== Taking the "Gus Factor" to another round of the NCAA Tournament: CBS' Gus Johnson, our focus of a media column two weeks ago about this, that and other stuff as it relates to his doing games in March Madness, has been dispatched to Detroit for this weekend's games, meaning he's got No. 1 seed Kansas against No. 4 Villanova and No. 3 Wisconsin against No. 10 Davidson in the Midwest Regional semifinals. So why even guess who's going to win between the Badgers of the Big Ten and the Whatever they are from the Whichever conference?
In Richard Deitsch's SI.com "Media Circus" column, it was noted that Tim Brando, with partner Mike Gminski, were the ones in the upsets last weekend in Tampa (Friday/Sunday), which included 12-seeded Western Kentucky's shot-at-the-buzzer to down five-seed Drake, No. 13 San Diego's upset of No. 4 UConn (in the clip above), No. 13 Siena knocking off No. 4 Vanderbilt and No. 12 Villanova stunning No. 5 Clemson -- all in the first round. In Sunday's second round, Villanova outlasted Siena and Western Kentucky outlasted San Diego to reach the Sweet 16 in less-than-stunning fashion. "The running joke in the industry is Tim Brando is this year's Gus Johnson," said Brando.
==You don’t feel bad for Greg Gumbel having to pop up during the last commercial break of “60 Minutes” on Sunday night to deliver the ultra streamlined “CBS Sports Update Presented by Viagra” segment?
++MOTORSPORTS:
==Unless the networks can promise more brush-ups between Danica Patrick and Dan Weldon, don't expect a lot of attention turned to ESPN2's live coverage of the season opening event of the Indy Racing League season -- Saturday at 5 p.m. with the XM Indy 300 from Miami. ESPN will carry every race this season in high-def, including the on-board cameras. “For the viewer at home, it’s going to be spectacular,” said lead broadcaster Marty Reid. Scott Goodyear is back as the lead analyst, with pit reporters Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch. A one-hour IRL preview show airs on ESPN2 today at 4 p.m. -- a primer many will need with all the former big names (and their actress wives) gone from the sport to try out NASCAR.
++ONLINE MEDIA:
==We have no idea who Joe Lavin is, or how he got an advanced copy of Jose Canseco's new book, Vindicated, or how his name was included on the ESPN2 scroll of breaking news... But this item from Will Leitch's Deadspin.com probably says more about all this than we could if we tried.
For those who haven't learned how to click on highlighted words, Leitch writes:
"People who take the time to read a sports blog all day, actual sports fans, could not care less. The steroid mess is for the casual, just-peek-in-every-once-in-a-while fan. Which, we think, bodes poorly for the current state of "mainstream" sports journalism. They're freaking out over stories that, frankly, their core customer doesn't really care about all that much. But good luck finding substantial fantasy baseball coverage in your local newspaper."
++MISC:
==Whatever happened to ....
Dennis Miller?
Starting last November, Versus ran eight episodes of his weekly show, "Sports Unfiltered With Dennis Miller," that was same-day taped in Santa Barbara before a live studio audience before the writer's strike seemed to knock it down the foul line and out of play. Since then, many shows have returned, but not Miller's.
Why?
Katie Bradshaw, a spokesperon at Versus, said the network has not made a decision as to if or when it's coming back. "It's still up in the air," she said. A link on the Versus Website allows people to continue to submit questions to the show for a segment where ... Miller read questions submitted by viewers.
A month ago, a former show staffer told the Santa Barbara News-Press: “Frankly, it doesn’t look good. They were going to do eight shows initially to see how it went, and we were going to hear by the end of January if it was going to be renewed.”
Miller probably has a much snarkier response to that, but we'll just have to keep our britches on.
Meanwhile, he continues to do his radio show -- which had its first anniversary on Wednesday and included Al Michaels as a guest -- and has an appearance at the Orleans Hotel in Vegas in May. We thought he was doing a gameshow called "Grand Slam" for GSN (Game Show Network) but we're baffled by the lack of information available on it.
==More OnionSports headlines with a disturbing photo of Pat Riley:
==The last two regular-season games that NBC will carry:
Sunday: New York Rangers at Pittsburgh, 9:30 a.m.
April 6: Chicago at Detroit, 9:30 a.m.
==TVG has hired Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron as a race analyst, starting with the April 4 card at Keeneland Race Course. McCarron retired in 2002 as the leading all-time money winner in thoroughbred racing history, with over $264 million in purse earnings. He's sixth all time with 7,141 wins. McCarron, who has done color work for ABC, ESPN and NBC, is executive director of the North American Racing Academy, a jockey and racing school that he founded at Kentucky Horse Park and Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington in 2006.
==ESPN and Showtime announced a deal that will allow the WWL in Sports access to the premium cable channel's boxing library for a package called "Showtime Championship Boxing on ESPN," except it'll run on ESPN Classic, with the first episodes airing Thursday.
One of the upcoming episodes: April 3: Diego Corrales vs. Joel Casamayor II and Evander Holyfield vs. James Toney for the WBO junior lighweight title.
==NBC officially announced it was getting onboard with mixed martial arts, following up CBS' decision to do four shows a year in prime time on Saturdays starting in April. NBC's schedule, partnered with promoter Strikeforce, has a weekly half-hour series that airs at 2 a.m. starting April 12.
"It's truly an honor to have the opportunity to bring the Strikeforce mixed martial arts product to one of the longest-standing and most well-respected national television platforms," said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said in a statement. "NBC has a history of popular late Saturday TV and in the 80's NBC's 'Saturday Night's Main Event' show helped catapult the popularity of professional wrestling. Strikeforce is looking to follow in suit and establish a legacy of its own on the network."
"Strikeforce on NBC" will air immediately following NBC's "Poker After Dark" (1-2 a.m.), hoping to keep that core 18-to-34 male audience.
==GolTV, which Wednesday aired the rare matchup of Argentina vs. Egypt, has announced it will have exclusive U.S. and Canada coverage of the German National Soccer team 2010 World Cup qualifying matches starting in September. In addition, it will air six of Germany's friendly games, including live its match against England.
==HoopGurlz.com, one of the top girls basketball sites on the Internet, is the latest take-over site by ESPN Industries, the network said. Glenn Nelson, the site's founder and editor of Scout Media, will continue to manage the content and editorial voice.
==A new guy to complain to: Burke Magnus has been promoted to ESPN senior vice president, college sports programming, since Chuck Gerber, who had that job, announced he's retiring next month. Magnus has been the VP and GM of ESPNU. Gerber, once upon a time the station manager at KNBC Channel 4 in L.A., was head of ESPN's college sports programming, getting deals done with the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East, plus driving a lot of the content for ESPNU. Magnus is now in charge of steering the direction of college football, college basketball and NCAA Championships on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, ESPN Classic and everything else with an ESPN logo.
==And finally: We're not laughing at Geoff Witcher as he's dressed in a tuxedo acting like a boxing ring announcer but doing play-by-play on a weed killer commercial that's getting a bunch of prime-time play.
We're laughing, period.
Probably making some good money for it, which is great, considering his last employer, KWFB, told him, Joe Calla and Bob Harvey they weren't needed any longer as sports anchors, and Witcher hasn't really done much in the play-by-play field that's noteworthy since ... a Dodgers game for ON-TV? As a voice in the "Bee Movie"?
Roundup, the brand he's pitching, ain't really all that great to be associated with, if you really need to know. There's plenty of information out there about the pollutants this stuff causes in the environment, and how it can be a health hazzard for humans who feel the need to spray the stuff around the yard.
Just be careful who's cutting you a paycheck. Even if you do look sharp in a tux.
Note: This is among the stories that the Sklar Brothers were talking about when sitting in on the Jim Rome Show this morning on AM-570 ... When do these guys get their own radio show?
By MARCUS KABEL
Associated Press Writer
CARTHAGE, Mo. -- Ultimate fighting was once the sole domain of burly men who beat each other bloody in anything-goes brawls on pay-per-view TV. But the sport often derided as “human cockfighting” is branching
out.
The bare-knuckle fights are now attracting competitors as young as 6 whose parents treat the sport as casually as wrestling, Little League or soccer.
The changes were evident on a recent evening in southwest Missouri, where a team of several young boys and one girl grappled on gym mats in a converted garage. Two members of the group called the “Garage Boys Fight Crew” touched their thin martial-arts gloves in a flash of sportsmanship before beginning a relentless exchange of sucker punches, body blows and swift kicks.
No blood was shed. And both competitors wore protective gear. But the bout reflected the decidedly younger face of ultimate fighting. The trend alarms medical experts and sports officials who worry that young bodies can’t withstand the pounding.
Tommy Bloomer, father of two of the “Garage Boys,” doesn’t understand the fuss.
“We’re not training them for dog fighting,” said Bloomer, a 34-year-old construction contractor. “As a parent, I’d much rather have my kids here learning how to defend themselves and getting positive reinforcement than out on the streets.”
Bloomer said the sport has evolved since the no-holds-barred days by adding weight classes to better match opponents and banning moves such as strikes to the back of the neck and head, groin kicking and head butting.
Missouri appears to be the only state in the nation that explicitly allows the youth fights. In many states, it is a misdemeanor for children to participate. A few states have no regulations.
Supporters of the sport acknowledge that allowing fights between kids sounds brutal at first. But they insist the competitions have plenty of safety rules.
“It looks violent until you realize this teaches discipline. One of the first rules they learn is that this is not for
aggressive behavior outside (the ring),” said Larry Swinehart, a Joplin police officer and father of two boys and the lone girl in the garage group.
The sport, which is also known as mixed martial arts or cage fighting, has already spread far beyond cable
television. Last month, CBS became the first of the Big Four television networks to announce a deal to broadcast primetime fights. The fights have attracted such a wide audience, they are threatening to surpass boxing as the nation’s most popular pugilistic sport.
Hand-to-hand combat is also popping up on the big screen. The film “Never Back Down,” described as “The Karate Kid” for the YouTube generation, has taken in almost $17 million in two weeks at the box office. Another current mixed martial arts movie, “Flash Point,” an import from Hong Kong, is in limited release.
Bloomer said the fights are no more dangerous or violent than youth wrestling. He watched as his sons, 11-year-old Skyler (pictured here) and 8-year-old Gage, locked arms and legs and wrestled to the ground with other kids in the garage in Carthage, about 135 miles south of Kansas City.
The 11 boys and one girl on the team range from 6 to 14 years old and are trained by Rudy Lindsey, a youth wrestling coach and a professional mixed martial arts heavyweight.
“The kids learn respect and how to defend themselves. It’s no more dangerous than any other sport and probably less so than some,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey said the children wear protective headgear, shin guards, groin protection and martial-arts gloves. They fight quick, two-minute bouts. Rules also prohibit any elbow blows and blows to the head when an opponent is on the ground.
“If they get in trouble or get bad grades, I’ll hear about it and they can’t come to training,” he added.
In most states, mixed martial arts is overseen by boxing commissions. In Missouri, the Office of Athletics regulates the professional fights but not the amateur events, which include the youth bouts. For amateurs, the regulation is done by sanctioning bodies that have to register with the athletics office.
The rules are different in Oklahoma, where unauthorized fights are generally a misdemeanor offense. The penalty is a maximum 30 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.
Joe Miller, administrator of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission, said youth fights are banned in his state, and he wants it to stay that way.
“There’s too much potential for damage to growing joints,” he said.
Miller said mixed martial arts uses a lot of arm and leg twisting to force opponents into submission. Those moves, he said, pressure joints in a way not found in sanctioned sports like youth boxing or wrestling.
But Nathan Orand, a martial arts trainer from Tulsa, Okla., said kids are capable of avoiding injuries, especially with watchful referees in the rings. He thinks the sport is bound to grow.
“I can see their point because when you say ‘cage fighting,’ that right there just sounds like kids shouldn’t be doing it,” Orand said. “But you still have all the respect that regular martial arts teach you. And it’s really the only true way for youth to be able to defend themselves.”
Back in the Carthage garage, Bloomer said parents shouldn’t worry about kids becoming aggressive from learning mixed martial arts. He said his older son was picked on by bullies at school repeatedly last year but never fought them, instead reporting the problem to his teachers.
And fighters including his 8-year-old son get along once a bout is over, Bloomer said.
“When they get out of the cage, they go back and play video games together. It doesn’t matter who won and who lost. They’re still little buddies.”
The continuing shift of Angels owner Arte Moreno’s radio station, KLAA-AM (830) from political talk and infomercials goes to ramping up into sports-talk mode starting Monday with a tweaked lineup as the 2008 season launches.
Dave Smith and Roger Lodge have been hired to do a 6-to-9 a.m. morning drive show, leading into a new syndicated version of the Tony Bruno show, airing from 9 a.m. to noon. An announcement about an afternoon drive host leading into Angels games coverage will be made later today.
The station, which Moreno purchased in 2004 and changed formats to accommodate the Spanish-language broadcast of his team’s games, eventually changed the call letters from KMXE to KLAA – an abbreviation of his Los Angeles Angels. Since it will be the new home for the Angels’ English-language broadcasts after five years with KSPN-AM (710), the Anaheim-based station has been slowly moving away from the conservative political talk format (with syndicated shows hosted by Glenn Beck, Michael Reagan and Michael Savage). The Angels’ recent spring training games were eventually carried live in the middle of March, replacing infomercials that the station had normally aired in the afternoons.
KLAA is also the home station for the Anaheim Ducks, which could pose some scheduling conflicts once the NHL playoffs begin in two weeks.
Steve Physioc, who with Rex Hudler will move over from TV duties to call 75 games on the radio station this season, will handle pre- and post-game Angels talk as well.
The potential issue the team faces could be with its signal coming out of Orange County, which goes from 50,000 watts during the day down to 20,000 watts at night. An Angels spokesman said the team continues to look for affiliates, particularly in the San Fernando Valley and beyond.
The team recently finished building a state-of-the-art broadcasting facility inside Angels Stadium for all of its original sports-talk programming. The station also operates without a traditional general manager or program director. Angels team president Dennis Kuhl has been in charge of hiring and forming sports-talk related programming. John Carpino, the Angels’ senior VP of sales and marketing, is also the general sales manager at 830-AM.
“Imagine the shock waves going through this industry if a station can succeed without a GM or PD,” said Smith, who spent the last five years employed by The Sporting News Radio Network, going back to when it was heard locally on 1540-AM The Ticket.
The launch of the new format must be a soft one. There's no mention of it on either the team or the 830-AM website.
First, City News Service reports that Justin Timberlake has spent $50,000 to buy his girlfriend, Jessica Biel, a necklace because he feels guilty for spending so much time lately with Madonna producing her new album.
Then, other news agencies are reporting that Timberlake made two separate donations of $100,000 to his hometown's Memphis Rock 'N' Soul Museum and the Memphis Music Foundation.
Then, ESPN announced that Timberlake, the self-proclaimed golf nut and host of his own PGA Tour stop in Las Vegas this October, would be hosting the next ESPY Awards show, scheduled for July 20 at the new Nokia Theatre.
"I'll do my best to deliver a great show, as I do not want to be roughed up backstage by these athletes who are bigger, faster and stronger than me," he said in a really crackin' quote offered up by a press release.
The Dodgers.com shop blasted out an email today announcing a bunch of items going for up to 60 percent off, as they're clearing way for all new junk they anticipate you'll purchase.
And this isn't just Mark Hendrickson travel mugs we got here.
You remember all that line of clothing that sweetheart baseball fan stalker Alyssa Milano cranked out of the last couple of years -- real tarty stuff that made her look like a 35-year-old trying to stay 23, but really didn't happen?
You can get it yourself and save a bunch of cash, too! It's like going to Costo looking for wrapping paper and coming out with a salmon smoker -- who'd have thunk all the savings you'd get?
And this stuff ain't going away, either. According to her bitchin' website, she's made deals this year with the NBA, NFL, NHL and Collegiate Licensing to peddle her crap all over sportsville, geared toward "women 10 to 40." Or women 40 trying to look 10.
When was the last time you saw a 10-year-old woman? Yo, Samantha.
Not to get off topic, but these are among the 97 items listed on sale at Dodgers.com that they're trying to move ASAP:
==Item No: 2528363: Los Angeles Dodgers Women's Rhinestone Foil V-neck Top- "touch"™ by Alyssa Milano.
Was $49.95 ... Now $32.97
From Milano's new "touch™" line that apparently isn't so new anymore. You cram youself into this 95% cotton/5% spandex v-neck with the Dodger logo in rhinestones across the chest.
Perfect for when you're talking to someone and you can say: "Uh, my eyes are up HERE, not there ... but please, gaze at the Dodger logo all you want because Alyssa put it there for a reason."
==Item No: 2826973: Los Angeles Dodgers Womens Modal V-Neck Top "touch"™ by Alyssa Milano
Was $49.95 ... Now $32.97
Same deal as above, but this one actually looks better on Alyssa as she models it (that's her in the darling dark blue thing at the top of the posting) ... Even without the logo across the chest, we are mysteriously drawn to check the V-neck out. Interesting. Note: Does not come with the hooker hoop earrings.
==Item No: 2528364: Los Angeles Dodgers Women's French Terry Hood- "touch"™ by Alyssa Milano
Was $49.95 ... Now $29.97
Three bucks cheaper than the other marked down Milano overseas produced by child labor rags. And far less flattering of her to model it, also.
==Item No: 2756292: Great American Los Angeles Dodgers Medium Crystal.
Was $49.95 ... Now $39.97
What is it?
"A unique way to display your team spirit!" says the descripton. What we see it a giant crystal paperweight that we're not even sure what it weighs. Shipping could be ridiculous. And it's made in China, so it's probably got a lot of lead poisoning added for your convenience.
Was $29.95 ... Now $23.97
You know how pictures of clowns freak out the kids. This old-school wool (and rayon) pennant will put them over the edge. Can't believe these didn't sell out the minute they were offered.
==Item No: 2220151: Forever Collectibles Los Angeles Dodgers Eric Gagne Dog Tag
Was $9.99 ... Now $4.97
Are these for people, or for dogs? The package says for "Ages 6+" ... Again, is that in dog years?
"Fashionable, Trendy, and the hottest item around! Wear your team with pride!" That's the description of the product included. Remember when Gagne was fashionable and trendy? Before or after LoDuca supplied him with that unmarked package.
Our guess is you couldn't put these out on the counter in a box that says "Take One!" and be rid of them by the end of a 15-game homestand. Not even Danny Goodman could have figured a way to unload these.
==Item No: 2823044: Los Angeles Dodgers Unisex Adult Beach by Crocs
Was $34.95 ... Now $24.97
You know how we feel about these whole Crocs things. A dog chew toy is less expensive. And there's far less toxic petroleum used.
Was $24.99 ... Now $19.97.
Doesn't seem like much of a bargain for a pair of mudflaps. But it does remind us of the lyric from the Spinal Tap classic "Big Bottom" that includes a reference to a female rear end, comparing it to mudflaps.
Milano, by the way ... no need to worry about this reference. Yet.
So, all things considered, how can we leave this deal behind?
One of the beauties of the new "Vault" feature on Sports Illustrated's website, and their SIWiki biographical encyclopedia on all athletes, is finding covers of magazines that are worth looking at and thinking: What the heck happened there?
Today's focus is Opening Day, considering it happened today in Japan, of all places, with a Red Sox team that still has to come back to the states and play three exhibition games against the Dodgers starting Friday.
Yeah, makes lot of sense.
It was 40 years ago when SI came out with its cover story on the top five major-league rookies of 1968.
How many of the five can you identify.
A) Start with the guy wearing the catcher's outfit in the middle.
OK, we'll give you Johnny Bench.
The NL Rookie of the Year hit .275 with 15 homers and 82 RBI that season. Two years later, he was league MVP (.293, 45 HR, 148 RBI). Also the MVP in '72. In 17 seasons, he was a 14-time All-Star and the Hall of Fame was a given. And he was on six more covers of SI.
B) Now, move to the Dodger on the right ... Alan Foster.
He was 1-1 in three games for the Dodgers in '68 as a 21-year old. Two more years with the Dodgers (3-9 in '69, 10-13 in '70) and he was traded to Cleveland, the Angels, St. Louis and San Diego. In a 10-year career, he finished 48-63.
C) The Chicago White Sox below? Cisco Carlos.
And we're not even sure we got that name in the right order.
Born in Monrovia, he lasted four big-league seasons. Was 4-14 as a rookie in '68 and traded to the Washington Senators in the middle of the next season.
D) The St. Louis Cardinal in the lower left? Mike Torrez.
Lasted 18 seasons. Only 2-1 in five games that '68 season, though. Was a "real" rookie in '69, when he went 10-4. Eventually went from St. Louis to Montreal, Baltimore, Oakland, both New York teams and Boston and had a 185-160 career mark. And as his "other" Wikipedia bio notes, Torrez gave up Bucky Dent's 1978 playoff homer, and he nailed Houston's Dickie Thon with a pitch in 1984 that ruined his career and eventually ended Torrez's.
E) Finally, who's that Detroit Tiger next to Bench? Don Pepper.
As you can read on his BaseballReference.com bio, he never played a major-league game in 1968. Nor in '67. He only had three at-bats in his big-league career in 1966. The first baseman wen to the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969. And never resurfaced.
Back in the day -- maybe 10 years ago? -- Coors came out with them nifty bottles that were in the shape of baseball bats. Very eye pleasing. Problem, of course, is that when you purchased them, there was also Coors beer inside of it. How to get rid of it? Drinking it was hardly an option. Maybe we used it to water the plants in the backyard. Regardless, we made the impulse buy, which is what the company was aiming for the entire way, and then the novelty wore off. They're now available in bulk all over eBay, sometimes listed as "rare limited edition" items.
Beer companies gotta package the swill in any which way, apparently, because when you stack the actual product up against those imports that have much better .... flavor ... it's hardly a fair fight. Our distilled alcohol-enhanced water product gets KOd in the first sip by anything from Guiness to Saint Paulie Girl to Mickey's Big Mouth to whatever else you want to put on the table.
With that context, we tried getting on the Lakers' website the other day before we were accosted by a full-screen ad for a beer promotion that caught us off guard. Off center. And off forward.
The official beer sponsor of "Your 60th Anniversary Lakers," Miller Lite has four 24-ounce cans celebrating the careers of George Mikan, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and ... James Worthy? The same four (plus one with the 60th anniversary logo) are available on bottles that are served at "your favorite gameday bar."
Also, there's a specially marked (and marketed) 18-pack of 12-ounce cans $17.99 a pop) with the Laker logo on it, a promotion for $20 off two Laker tickets and a free poster inside. For this season?
Does Miller Lite taste great or is it less filling? We haven't debated the merits of the contents since Ken Brett had to manage the Utica minor-league team for making fun of them during a Miller Lite ad back in the day when they were popular.
So, is this promotion in good taste, or filling your head with alcohol consumption for the sake of saving an empty beer can up on one of the bookshelves in your house before you throw it away after a few months?
Is this a true collectable -- like seeing Steve Garvey on the side of an RC Cola can ... and paying bigger bucks for it some 30 years later -- or another simple thing that'll clutter your life?
Give us your sudsy spin.
PS: We've inquired with the Miller marketing department about why these four players were "honored" -- maybe because two of them have left the planet and can't protest, and Magic Johnson said no?
PSS: Not to single out M-Light, but several others have tried to slap team logos, etc., on their beer cans for the sake of an impulse buy at the local 7-Eleven. We got two 24-ounce cans of Budweiser chilling in the refridgerator since last summer with the Dodgers and Angels logo. (Better check that born-on date again). And there's a Mickey's 24-oz. can at the store feature a different UFC fighter. There's a great combo.
Did you go 16 for 16 in the Sweet 16? Are your pants on fire?
Only two out of 3.65 million entries submitted to ESPN.com's men's "Tournament Challenge" had all 16 guessed selected correctly, according to updated statistics supplied by ESPN today. And 72 more had 15 of the 16 teams correct.
Missed it by that much.
More numbers for those curious enough to read on:
=4,621 picked Davidson, Villanova, and Western Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16
=294,060 picked Davidson to defeat Georgetown in the second round
=640,180 had picked Xavier to defeat Duke in the Sweet 16
=1,950,119 incorrectly picked Connecticut to advance to the Sweet 16
=189,492 have picked Xavier to defeat West Virginia in the Sweet 16
=25,331 have picked Villanova to defeat Kansas in the Sweet 16
=64,813 have picked Washington State to defeat North Carolina in the Sweet 16
=159,423 have picked Michigan State to defeat Memphis in the Sweet 16
=420,746 have picked Texas to advance to the Championship
=4,703 have picked Davidson to advance to the Championship
=1,548 picked Western Kentucky to advance to the Championship
=50 picked Davidson to defeat Western Kentucky in the Championship
=3,159 have picked Villanova to advance to the Championship
=233 have picked Davidson to defeat UCLA in the Championship
=16 have picked Western Kentucky to defeat Villanova in the Championship
=1 entry correctly predicted zero of the 32 games played after Friday
More info on the ESPN.com National Bracket at this link.
If you're trying to look ahead to UCLA's opponent in the Elite Eight, you'd more likely be interested in how the Xavier-West Virginia game plays out Thursday evening, leading into the UCLA-Western Kentucky contest.
CBS says no.
The network is giving KCAL Channel 2 the North Carolina-Washington State contest from the East Regional in Charlotte, N.C. at 4:27 to open Thursday's coverage, followed by the Bruins' game at about 6:40 p.m.
That also means you can't see the Tennessee-Louisville contest that's on opposite the UCLA game.
Chinese still a little touchy about that Tiananmen protest deal
From The Associated Press
BEIJING -- China might bar live television broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympics, apparently unnerved by the recent outburst of unrest among Tibetans and fearful of protests in the heart of the Chinese capital.
A ban on live broadcasts would disrupt the plans of NBC and other major international networks, who have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcast the Aug. 8-24 games and are counting on eye-pleasing live shots from the iconic square.
The rethinking of Beijing’s earlier promise to broadcasters comes as the government has poured troops into Tibetan areas wracked by anti-government protests this month and stepped up security in cities, airports and entertainment venues far from the unrest.
In another sign of the government’s unease, 400 American Boy Scouts who had been promised they could onto the field following a March 15 exhibition game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres were prevented from doing so by police.
“It was never specifically mentioned to me it was because of Tibet that there were extra controls, but there were all these changes at the last minute,” said a person involved in the Major League Baseball event who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The communist government’s resorting to heavy-handed measures runs the risk of undermining Beijing’s pledge to the International Olympic Committee that the games would promote greater openness in what a generation ago was still an isolated China. If still in place by the games, they could alienate the half-million foreigners expected at the games.
Like the Olympics, live broadcasts from Tiananmen Square were meant to showcase a friendly, confident China — one that had put behind it the deadly 1989 military assault on democracy demonstrators in the vast plaza that remains a defining image for many foreigners.
“Tiananmen is the face of China, the face of Beijing so many broadcasters would like to do live or recorded coverage of the square,” said Yosuke Fujiwara, the head of broadcast relations for the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co., or BOB, a joint-venture between Beijing Olympic organizers and an IOC subsidiary. BOB coordinates and provides technical services for the TV networks with rights to broadcast the Olympics, such as NBC.
Earlier this week, however, officials with the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee, or BOCOG, told executives at BOB that the live shots were canceled, according to three people familiar with the matter who
requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
“We learned that standup positions would be canceled,” one of these people said. “No explanation was given for the change.” Sun Weijia, the BOCOG official in charge of dealing with BOB, declined comment, referring the matter to press officers, three of whom also declined to comment. IOC offices were closed Friday for the Easter holiday; two spokeswomen did not immediately return e-mails and phone calls seeking
comment.
The decision by BOCOG may not be final. The change was relayed verbally, one person said. All three hoped that IOC President Jacques Rogge and other leading IOC officials, expected in Beijing next month for regularly scheduled meetings, may be able to prevail on BOCOG to change its mind.
If the decision stands, it would be a blow to the TV networks whose money to buy the right to broadcast the games accounts for more than half the IOC’s revenues. The biggest spender is NBC. It paid $2.3 billion for the rights for three Olympics from 2004 to 2008 — Athens, Turin and Beijing.
Officials at NBC refused to comment.
The unrest — which broke out March 10 in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and has since spread across western China — and the government’s harsh response underscores the communist leaders’ unease as the
Olympics approach.
With paramilitary police patrolling Beijing at night and journalists being expelled from Tibetan areas, security measures are on par with those not seen since the government mobilized police to crush the Falun Gong spiritual movement in 1999-2000.
Activist groups have said for months that they planned to use the Olympics to promote their causes. But the challenge faced by China’s leadership seems to grow more imminent.
Aside from Tibet protests, the government said it foiled a plot this month by Muslim separatists in western China to blow up a China Southern Boeing 757. Foreign activists angry about China’s support for Sudan, which is party to a civil war in Darfur, said this week they would demonstrate in Beijing during the games.
After the Icelandic singer Bjork shouted “Tibet!” at the finale of a Shanghai concert this month, officials ordered tighter scrutiny of all performances.
The Boy Scouts seemed to get caught in a response to both the sometimes violent Tibet protests and Bjork; police canceled all on-field entertainment for the exhibition baseball games, including the singing of the Chinese and U.S. national anthems.
BOCOG officials began signaling their discomfort with live broadcasts in Tiananmen Square to the IOC a year ago but discussions went back and forth, according to the people involved. The square — overlooked by a large portrait of communist founder Mao Zedong — has been a magnet for protests for decades.
Ever want to be a pro basketball coach in Los Angeles? The Sparks are interested.
Really, they are. Can you start yesterday?
The WNBA team said in a press release issued Friday that it is searching for an additional assistant coach. The release says: “Candidates ... should have extensive college experience and some professional level experience is preferred.” Inquiries and resumes should be sent by mail to Angela Bryant in the Sparks’ office at 888 S. Figueroa St., Suite 2010, L.A. 90017.
“We are looking to add one more assistant to give coach (Michael) Cooper the depth necessary to help achieve the results we all desire,” said Sparks general manager Penny Toler.
Apply sooner than later. The Sparks start their season May 17 at Phoenix; their home opener is June 6, also against Phoenix.
Updated stats from CBSSports.com, which is running this little March Madness On Demand deal:
=There were 1,751,956 unique visitors to the website's video player, for those demanding NCAA Tournament games on Thursday. That's a 122 percent increase over 2007 (789,045).
=Some 571,297 have a VIP registration (up from 458,720 a year ago).
=More than 1.2 million people clicked on the "Boss Button" feature.
Whatever you call it, those tracking the "Gus Factor" in the NCAA Tournament -- which we tried to chronicle in last week's media column, and somehow USA Today got the same idea to do something about in today's edition, as did the Chicago Tribune -- must be wondering where the magic has gone.
Be patient.
CBS play-by-play man Gus Johnson, who in his previous 12 tournaments has been fortunate to call many of the first- and second-round upsets, was paired with Len Elmore in Denver on Thursday (and Saturday) and ended up with this slate of games on opening day:
No. 5 seed Michigan State beat No. 5 seed Temple by 11 (South Regional)
No. 4 seed Pittsburgh beat No. 13 seed Oral Roberts by 19 (South Regional)
No. 4 seed Washington State beat No. 13 seed Winthrop by 31(East Regional)
and No. 5 seed Notre Dame beat No. 12 seed George Mason by 18 (East Regional)
Saturday, Johnson will do Washington State vs. Notre Dame and Pittsburgh vs. Michigan State.
Ho.
Hum.
So much potential. So few results.
Gotta wait until the Sweet 16 rolls around...
=One more quick Onion Sports headline of the weak:
==Among the other stuff we have to offer, NCAA Tournament or otherwise, after what we supplied in today's media column:
==A creative exchange of philosophies between NBC's Bob Costas and a few of the bigger bloggers over what he really thinks about their existence has taken a small life of its own, capped with the announcement Thursday morning that the next episode of HBO's "Costas Now" (April 29) will actually be a live special (not on the West Coast) focused on the media landscape.
"For example, the rise of internet bloggers and sports talk radio are topics you cannot ignore," said HBO executive producer Ross Greenburg. "What is their impact on sports and how news gets reported? We look forward to a comprehensive and opinionated evening of discussion."
Costas did a Q-and-A with Deadspin.com editor Will Leitch that allowed him to explain further his take on what the blogging industry has done to the media business, without trying to take an elitist approach. Leitch will likely be invited to join Costas in the live discussion next month.
Last Friday, on a post that said, "Bob Costas Thinks You're A Loser" on Deadspin.com and in one "Bob Costas Hates Bloggers" on The Big Lead, Costas' comments extracted from a Barry Jackson story in the Miami Herald focused on: "It's one thing if somebody just sets up a blog from their mother's basement in Albuquerque and they are who they are, and they're a pathetic get-a-life loser, but now that pathetic get-a-life loser can piggyback onto someone who actually has some level of professional accountability and they can be comment No. 17 on Dan Le Batard's column or Bernie Miklasz' column in St. Louis. That, in most cases, grants a forum to somebody who has no particular insight or responsibility. Most of it is a combination of ignorance or invective. It's just a high-tech place for idiots to do what they used to do on bar stools or in school yards, if they were school yard bullies, or on men's room walls in gas stations. That doesn't mean that anyone with half a brain should respect it.''
Costas actually tracked down Leitch and the followup on Deadspin Monday included him saying: "Some have inferred that I have this elitist view, and that I think only people who have been somehow "certified" have the right to comment on sports. It shouldn't be confused with somehow being superior. If you opened up anything to large numbers of participants, you'd find some real gems in there. But you'd have a lot of muck to sift through. I do think newspapers' comment boards need to have the same sort of standard they'd have for a letter to an editor. It's possible they just don't have the manpower for that, though. I do think I made a good point (in the Herald story), but it's only part of what I think."
What he thinks, he'll save for his own TV show.
==In a related story, our take on this silliness Mark Cuban has got going by banning bloggers from the Dallas Mavericks' locker room -- which affected the Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon and the L.A. Times' Andrew Kamenetzky after last Tuesday's Lakers-Mavs game -- screams out for a league ruling. By definition, bloggers are journalists, but what will sort them out in the long run is credibility. The league needs to form a policy as things continue to shake out. The NBA, which has always been ahead of the curve with new media, seem to be allowing Cuban to force everthing a step back -- and by his own definition, Cuban shouldn't be allowed in his own locker room, since he's one of the most prolific bloggers out there. The bottom line should be that each blogger is judged on an individual basis for admittance to a practice, press box or anywhere else.
==Mixed Martial Arts, which the aformentioned Cuban is a big fan of and recently blogged about the fact the Washington Post semi-retired columnist Leonard Shapiro is completely out of touch with the sport, will make its initial curious collision with CBS (brought to you by the entertainment division, not the sports division) with the first special Saturday, May 31 (9-to-11 p.m.), called "CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights."
It will feature "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (above right) against Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith in a middleweight championship bout, and heavyweight Kimbo Slice, (above left) against an opponent to be determined. The event will originate from Newark, N.J.
This comes after reports that NBC and San Jose-based MMA promoter Strikeforce are close to making a year-long deal for a Saturday night 30-minute weekly program starting in April, airing at 2 a.m.
==Coinciding with a story published last week by the SportsBusiness Journal called "Taking Aim At Bristol," and how rival networks have been tired of the "perceived arrogance" of ESPN and all it does, ESPN.com ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber writes in
Maybe it's just bad karma thrown my way, after avoiding the mess of Saturday night and Dodger Stadium shuttle fiasco.
