There’s a daily routine that plays out in what we’ll call “The Situation Room” each spring at the Fox Sports West offices in downtown L.A., not far from Staples Center. And it can be very puzzling to the executives who essentially have to resolve fitting essential pieces like the Kings, Ducks, Dodgers, Angels and Clippers into the programming slots provided on FSW and Prime Ticket, with options available — sometimes — on Channels 9 and 13, KDOC and a Regional Sports Network spill channel.
Split-screen scenarios aside, it’s rare that every viewer of any team is completely satisfied. That leads to a rogue-rage of threatening Twitter responses, expletive-filled emails and promises of pulling plugs from confused viewers.
Who gets priority? Why is one team shuttled from one home to the other? What if the Lakers were still part of this equation?
“We have no ‘favorites’ – the goal is always trying to achieve a balance that’s fair and impartial,” Steve Simpson, the FSW/Prime Ticket executive vice president and general manager, tried to explain diplomatically this afternoon. Continue reading →
By the numbers, those Angels’ billboard that still hang around town outnumber anything the Dodgers have posted along the side of our city’s freeways.
The big red boards supported by team owner and billboard baron Arte Moreno aren’t so easy to figure out — what does it four World Series champions, 11 World Series appearances, 11 Silver Sluggers, 25 All-Star Selections, 4 MVPs, 2 batting titles, 6 Gold Gloves, 2 Rookies of the Year, and 2 Manager of the Year awards mean?
Any way to update those digits? How about:
11-22: Third-worst mark in baseball, matching the worst start in team history after 33 games.
16.9: Percentage of chances the team is given to make the playoffs from BaseballProspectus.com, based on an 79-83 projected finish.
8.6: Percentage of chances the team is given to make the playoffs from ESPN.com (still better than the Dodgers’ 6.0 percent).
127: Payroll, in millions, for this team, ranking fifth in all of baseball this season.
61: Payroll, in millions, for the 2002 team that won the World Series, ranking 15th in all of baseball that season.
3: Home runs hit by Josh Hamilton, tied for fifth on the team with catcher Chris Iannetta, who has 50 fewer at bats.
1.3: Mike Trout’s WAR this season.
Minus 0.5: Hamilton’s WAR this season.
18: Pitchers used in April
13: The channel the team gets bumped to if there’s a hockey game on FSW
1: Manager who might want to make sure his contract calls for a nice padded landing.
Toronto pitcher J.A. Happ lies on the field after he was hit in the face by a line drive during the second inning of the Blue Jays’ 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay. (James Borchuck / Tampa Bay Times / MCT / May 7, 2013)
In light of J.A. Happtaking a line drive to the skull and heading to the hospital, we’ve turned to Arizona pitcher Brandon McCarthy.
As a member of the Athletics last Sept. 5, McCarthy suffered a similar fate during a game against the Angels. He decided to chime in via Twitter about all the media discussion calling for more stringent safety measures for MLB pitchers in danger of someday suffering a worse fate than just a headache.
Tweeted McCarthy, who had a no-decision Tuesday night against the Dodgers in the D’backs’ 5-3 victory:
= Anybody taking the hard line stance today that pitchers should be wearing helmets, need to get out their tool kits and make a good one = Otherwise, you’re accomplishing less than nothing. This goes for news organizations especially. = There is nothing acceptable out there so the discussion at this point is worthless.
Someone asked: @BMcCarthy32 But how will anyone “address the problem” unless the discussion continues? Have to start somewhere, no?
McCarthy’s retort: = There is no discussion to be had. It’s simple. Want money? Invent something that protects pitchers heads at all levels, make a ton of it. = lots of anger over me saying a discussion is worthless. Sounds about right #stopKONY = WAIT! it’s so simple! how have I missed this? we need to change our social networking avatars for awareness then problem solves itself. Duh
We sense some sarcasm … Put a cold towel on your neck and relax. We’re just concerned and trying to help by over-talk it outloud.
Taped Monday in Simi Valley, the “Jim Rome on Showtime” episode airs tonight (9 p.m., replayed at 11 p.m.) with the straight Jarron Collins on the panel (unless the twin brothers are pulling a prank)
Was there a surge of support for Manny Mota to be recognized by the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals based on his rather quiet reassignment by the Dodgers’ organization as their long-time special hitting coach this season?
The Pasadena-based nonprofit dedicated to “fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history” announced Mota as its top vote-getter to be entered as the 15th class into the Shrine of Eternals on July 21.
Mota, one of the great pinch hitters of all time, topped the list by being named on 37 percent of the ballots. Former San Francisco legend and bar keep Lefty O’Doul was on 35 percent, and softball showman Eddie Feigner was on 33.3 percent.
Just missing election: Bo Jackson and Don Zimmer (both with 32.6 percent) and Dizzy Dean (31 percent). Continue reading →
Highlights of the week ahead in sports, both here and afar:
THIS WEEK’S BEST BET:
NHL PLAYOFFS: WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS: KINGS vs. ST. LOUIS
Game 4: Today at 7 p.m., Staples Center, FSW: No one’s ready to kiss off these Kings. Yet. If their best Stanley Cup defense comes from a bunch of defensemen finally scoring goals — or sparked by one of their celebrity followers tongue wrestling with the team’s mascot – so be it. This summer’s playoff path has already started with a much different script from a season ago, but that’s sometimes how sequels go in Hollywood. Close calls will continue to define this opening series, and both teams now it heading into the home-and-home-and-home-and-home stretch. “We knew what we were in for,” said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock after Game 3’s 1-0 Kings win. “This at where it is at, probably accurate where it is right now. It is a hell of a battle and it won’t be any different (tonight). There is not much difference between the two teams. Both goalies are on top of their game.” Home, at least tonight, plays into the Kings’ favor: They’ve won eight in a row at Staples Center, including the last seven regular season games while compiling a 19-4-1 mark at home. Still, they’ve only rallied from a 0-2 series deficit once in franchise history, beating Detroit in 2001. The rest of the series: Game 5: 6 p.m. Wednesday at St. Louis, FSW Game 6: 7 p.m. Friday at Staples Center, Prime (Note: Game 7 is Monday, May 13 at St. Louis if necessary)
NHL PLAYOFFS: WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS: DUCKS vs. DETROIT
Game 4: 5 p.m. Today at Detroit, KDOC: As long as the Red Wings continue to pull stupid moves on the ice to wake up the sleeping Ducks, there’s a chance this will end mid-week in Anaheim. No word if the Ducks’ Toni Lydman will be in any shape to play tonight after the hit he took from Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader in Game 2. The rest of the series: Game 5: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Honda Center, Prime Game 6: TBA Friday at Detroit, KDOC Game 7: TBA Sunday at Honda Center, FSW
International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Al Bernstein looks out to the crowd during the induction ceremony in Canastota, N.Y., in June, 2010 (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
Amidst the mayhem that’s often counterproductive to the counter punches taken regularly by the sport of boxing, Al Bernstein “can always be counted upon to calmly and coolly assess the situation,” writes Jeremy Schaap in the afterward of the recently released autobiography by the longtime boxing analyst entitled “Al Bernstein: 30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports and TV” (Diversion Books, $15.95, 176 pages).
“A big man with a big voice, he has never needed to shout – the hallmark of a true pro.”
Funny story, though.
Bernstein, before heading out the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for Saturday’s Showtime pay-per-view telecast of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s title defense against Robert Guerrero, found himself yelling at a dry cleaning owner on Wednesday.
All the tuxedos his wife dropped off to be neatly pressed for the telecast had disappeared. After three trips to the back to look, they finally find the order – it was listed under his wife’s first name.
“I admit, I’m usually easy going, but I was being difficult,” Bernstein said. “I was really annoyed they couldn’t find the order.”
As Bernstein left the place finally with his wardrobe in tow, a woman stopped him on the street to make it known: “They (the owners) are very nice people, and you are a jerk.”
That part didn’t make it into the book, because as far as we know, it’s not an accurate statement.
Boxing often jerks viewers around when it comes to hyping performers under the auspices of building an audience of paying customers. Which is why we tracked down Bernstein to see why in the world we should care about a 36-year-old who just got out of jail for spousal abuse getting into the ring and asking customers for as much as $69.95 to watch at home if they really needed the high-definition feed of this so-called defining moment:
Floyd Mayweather Jr., right, talks to Boxing Channel’s Al Bernstein prior to his 2011 fight against Victor Ortiz. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Hogan Photos)
QUESTION: Seriously, why is Floyd Mayweather Jr. still relevant today, with all the baggage he carries and the way he kept avoiding facing Manny Pacquiao? Continue reading →
Jason Collins, left, explains himself again to George Stephanopoulos during an interview Monday in L.A. that aired Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” (AP Photo/ABC, Eric McCandless)
What made it into this week’s sports media column: The news cycle on Jason Collins’ sexual orientation announcement seems to have pushed on to other pressing issues. But what did we learn from this revelation that says more about how the media believes it has to operate rather than giving some proper perspective to what actually happened?
Less than a year after it’s formal launch, the high-tech personalized autograph company known as Egraphs has closed operations because of cash flow problems as well as a pending lawsuit, the Sports Business Daily reported today. The website Geekwire.com also reported it recently.
Former Taft High and MLB standout Gabe Kapler and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly’s son, Preston, had been involved in the company in Southern California, as we profiled in a story last August. The company is based in Seattle.
A message posted on the Egraphs.com website from CEO David Auld said the company “ran into some unforeseen obstacles that ultimately prevented us from continuing to operate. It has been a very difficult time for us here at the company, as every one of us was dedicated to building out the future of fan-celebrity interactions. …
“We gave Egraphs everything we had, but the landscape proved a little too treacherous.” Continue reading →
It’s kinda complicated.
Split-screen scenarios aside, it’s rare that every viewer of any team is completely satisfied. That leads to a rogue-rage of threatening Twitter responses, expletive-filled emails and promises of pulling plugs from confused viewers.
