Osoriadodgers57team

Class is in Session

2006-08-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening I set out to watch a Dodger game for the first time all season. I had caught bits and pieces of games while channel surfing, but this was the first time all summer I had looked at the baseball schedule and set aside time to watch the entire game from the first pitch.

I have never been much of a baseball fan. You could probably tell as it’s the middle of the summer and this is my first article on baseball. I have flirted with the LA Dodgers, but I have never made a full commitment like I have with the Lakers.

It doesn’t help that baseball has been saddled with the steroid controversy and I was very skeptical of the purchase of the Dodgers by Frank McCourt. My problem with McCourt was that I thought he was more interested in the Boston Red Sox and turning Dodger Stadium into condos than the Dodgers.

And despite the fact that the Dodgers finally won a playoff game in 2004 for the first time since 1988 and this season they signed Nomar Garciaparra, one of my favorite baseball players, I was still staying off the bandwagon because I didn’t think they were a legitimate contender.

All that changed on Monday when the Dodgers traded for The Professor, Greg Maddux. I know Maddux is 40 years old and has struggled this season and the Dodgers are three games behind San Diego in their division. But it was still a breath of fresh air to see the Dodgers make a move at the trading deadline to solidify their chances for the postseason.

So I made it a point to tune in and watch The Professor’s Dodger debut against the Cincinnati Reds Thursday night. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating and as I sat down to watch the game I was treated to a pre-emptive rain delay. Even though it apparently wasn’t raining yet, the Reds decided to delay the start of the game.

Eventually the game got started. I missed the top of the first inning with Eric Milton pitching and the homer Olmedo Saenz used to welcome Maddux to the Dodgers for a two-run lead. I also missed the first couple of batters that Maddux faced but I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of his classic performance.

When I tuned in, Maddux was facing Ken Griffey, Jr. Sure this match-up would have been more exciting five or ten years ago, but I was still thrilled to see two of the biggest names in baseball facing off, with one of them in a Dodger uniform. Maddux got the upper hand in this meeting by getting Griffey to hit into a double play with the Professor and his 15 Gold Gloves tagging first base to get Griffey out.

The second inning was more of the same as Maddux continued his masterful pitching. As he’s done his entire career, he doesn’t try to overpower his opponents. He just puts the ball where they can’t get a good hit, even without much help from the umpire Thursday night. Wilson Betemit, another recent Dodger acquisition, gave Maddux the help he needed with some nice fielding on two of the three outs in this inning. Playing with the Dodger defense and in Dodger Stadium should definitely help Maddux turn back the clock the rest of this season.

The next couple of innings brought more of typical Maddux. He only had a couple of strikeouts in the game but he was in complete control of the Reds lineup. By the end of the fourth I started to notice that he hadn’t allowed a hit.

Maddux carried his no-hitter into the sixth. Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a nicer debut and I purchased my ticket on the Dodger bandwagon for the rest of the season. But then Mother Nature decided to go off the script and it started to pour after the top of the seventh inning.

We had ourselves another rain delay. Part of me hoped that the rain wouldn’t stop so Maddux’s no-hitter would be kept intact. Surprisingly, despite his years of dominance, Maddux has never pitched a no-hitter.

Alas, Mother Nature again refused to cooperate and the rain stopped after half an hour. I really didn’t want to see Maddux out there again, despite the potential no-hitter, because I thought the delay had been too long. Much to my relief, I saw Joe Beimel about to take the mound. Maddux placed the team ahead of his own personal glory by not taking risk of coming out after cooling off. Fortunately his new teammates didn’t let him down. Julio Lugo, another new Dodger acquisition, padded the lead in the eighth with a triple that scored Rafael Furcal and the Dodger bullpen completed the shutout.

Despite the rain delays and the aborted no-hitter, I really couldn’t have asked for a better game. The victory was the Dodgers sixth win in a row. Unfortunately, since San Diego also won, the Dodgers didn’t make up any ground. But after Maddux’s performance I’m more confident than ever that the team will make the postseason. There’s no way the Dodgers can fail Making the Playoffs 101 with the Professor teaching.

Sports Illustrated Offers an Intriguing Example of the value of ...

2006-08-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

Last week the New York Times discussed sports economics focusing on a new book by 3 economists that creates a "value added" measure for ranking the quality of NBA ball players. Their study challenged the convetional wisdom that dudes such as Alan Iverson are superstars. I would like to build on this sports theme by pointing out a piece in the recent Sports Illustrated by Rick Reilly discussing the benefits of a new product that allows guys to go to a sports game and drink cheap beer and not miss the action when they need to go to the bathroom. Please read below.

All economists are interested in measuring the consumer surplus from new products. If someone could collect some data here using a contingent valuation study, this would be a nice contribution to sports economics!

Reilly from Sports Illustrated

Ice Cold Beer Comes Out Here?

I have a very personal question to ask. Do you mind drinking beverages dispensed from your fly?
No? Then do I have a product for you!
It's called The Beerbelly ($49.95). It's a beer-storage device worn under your shirt that holds 80 ounces, thus allowing you to approximate life as Larry the Cable Guy. Just hang The Beerbelly around your neck, test the miniature spigot at the bottom and off you go!
Think of all the other uses. Going to SkyBar, where beers are, like, $117? Strap on a Beerbelly! Long flight in coach? Nonstop beer! Porky's and Porky's II double feature? Don't miss a minute!
The makers recommend "sneaking the dispensing spout out your fly." Brilliant! Plus, who'll ask you to share?
I decided to try The Beerbelly last week, at Dodger Stadium. But two days before Operation Contrabeer, a very odd New York friend of mine said, "You ought to take a Stadium Pal with you."
"Get your own beer," I sneered.
"No, you Spam brain," he said. "A Stadium Pal lets you watch the entire game without having to get up to pee."
Sadly, he wasn't joking. The Stadium Pal ($29.95) was invented by a Cincinnati Bengals fan who hated missing part of the game for any reason. And my question was: What is a Bengals fan afraid that he'll miss? A punt?
The Stadium Pal is a (cough, cough) collection device that has a tube running down to a bag that's attached to your calf, with a little drainage valve at the bottom for ... later. In other words, another beer-storage device. On the Pal website, a woman complained that her husband liked it so much he used it while watching games on TV. "Men are lazy," she wrote. (You think?)
I had to have it. I know a bar with a Drink Free Till You Pee night.
I filled The Beerbelly with a six-pack ($7.95), inserted the cold pack (included), brought three friends along (I promised to pay for their tickets), swallowed hard and walked up to the Dodger Stadium gate. I looked lumpy and misshapen, like a guy trying to smuggle jeep parts. Or like John Daly. Trying to act nonchalant, I approached the security checkpoint.
Him (pointing to my hideous stomach): What's all this?
Me: What?
Him(more pointing): This.
Me (hurt): Dude, I just had surgery.
He looked me in the eyes. My heart stopped. Finally, he let me pass. Trembling, I walked to freedom. I felt like I was in The Sound of Music. A von Tap.
Up in section 23 I sat next to a guy drinking a plastic bottle of Bud. I asked him how much he paid. "Eight-fifty," he said, morosely.
Sucker.
I unzipped my fly, stuck a cup between my legs and poured myself a cold one. (Has that sentence ever been written before?) Then some for my friends. Admittedly, we had to get past the fact that we were drinking straight from a crotch, but you talk about savings! Inside the stadium I'd have paid $50 for six beers. With The Beerbelly -- $8. I saved $42! The Beerbelly nearly paid for itself the first time!
"Where's all this beer coming from?" the morose guy finally asked.
"Want to see?" I said, reaching for my zipper. (The woman he was with turned away in horror.) "Give me your empty."
As I filled it up, his eyes went like saucers. I offered him back his bottle. He looked at it like it was a Lance Armstrong sample. But when he felt the bottle was cold, he took a sip and grinned.
In a seat behind me, some guy said, "Can you pull a hot dog out of there?" Suddenly, I was the most popular guy in my row!
Until ... I showed them all the Stadium Pal.
They really didn't want to see the little drainage valve. In the eighth, Mr. Bud got up and cracked, "Excuse me. Not all of us have a Stadium Pal" -- and never returned.
Mr. Wiseacre behind me said, "Maybe he wasn't sure which spout you used to fill his bottle."
See, when people know you're Pal'd up, they constantly think you're peeing. The irony was, I couldn't go. You don't undo 46 years of training in two hours. I had to close my eyes and think of the Trevi Fountain. When my friends saw the relief on my face, they moved one seat farther away.
Coming up next from The Beerbelly's inventor -- The Wine Rack! It's worn by women as a bra.
You don't even want to know where the spouts are.

Monday's Act Heroic After 30 Years

2006-07-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

Simply wow. I love this story and am embarrassed that I had NEVER heard of it before.

LOS ANGELES -- It was 1976, a fun year for America. It was the country's bicentennial, the war in Vietnam had ended a year earlier and everyone really wanted to put all the problems from the 1960s, Watergate and Vietnam behind them and just enjoy the country's yearlong 200th birthday party.

On April 25, the Chicago Cubs were visiting Dodger Stadium for a three-game series. Playing center field for the Cubs was Rick Monday, the first player taken in the amateur draft that was created 11 years earlier. Monday was born and raised in Santa Monica, Calif., so playing in front of his friends and family was always special to him. On this day, fate would hand Monday a moment that people still talk about with reverence 30 years later. Monday recounts the moment in his own words.

"In between the top and bottom of the fourth inning, I was just getting loose in the outfield, throwing the ball back and forth. Jose Cardenal was in left field and I was in center. I don't know if I heard the crowd first or saw the guys first, but two people ran on the field. After a number of years of playing, when someone comes on the field, you don't know what's going to happen. Is it because they had too much to drink? Is it because they're trying to win a bet? Is it because they don't like you or do they have a message that they're trying to present?

"When these two guys ran on the field, something wasn't right. And it wasn't right from the standpoint that one of them had something cradled under his arm. It turned out to be an American flag. They came from the left-field corner, went past Cardenal to shallow left-center field.

"That's when I saw the flag. They unfurled it as if it was a picnic blanket. They knelt beside it, not to pay homage but to harm it as one of the guys was pulling out of his pocket somewhere a big can of lighter fluid. He began to douse it.

"What they were doing was wrong then, in 1976. In my mind, it's wrong now, in 2006. It's the way I was raised. My thoughts were reinforced with my six years in the Marine Corp Reserves. It was also reinforced by a lot of friends who lost their lives protecting the rights and freedoms that flag represented.

"So I started to run after them. To this day, I couldn't tell you what was running through my mind except I was mad, I was angry and it was wrong for a lot of reasons.

"Then the wind blew the first match out. There was hardly ever any wind at Dodger Stadium. The second match was lit, just as I got there. I did think that if I could bowl them over, they can't do what they're trying to do.

"I saw them go and put the match down to the flag. It's soaked in lighter fluid at this time. Well, they can't light it if they don't have it. So I just scooped it up.

"My first thought was, 'Is this on fire?' Well, fortunately, it was not. I continue to run. One of the men threw the can of lighter fluid at me. We found out he was not a prospect. He did not have a good arm. Thank goodness.

"Tommy Lasorda was in his last year as third-base coach before he took over for Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. Tommy ran past me and called these guys every name in the longshoreman's encyclopedia."

"A lot of people don't know this, but he beat me to the flag," recalls Lasorda. "I saw Rick start running over from center field to left. I didn't know what it was, but as soon as I saw him start, I took off and I ran out there, and of course, by that time, Rick had picked up the flag and continued running. When I got there, I see these two guys and I told them, 'Why don't one of you guys take a swing at me?' because there were 50-something thousand people in the ballpark and I only wanted them to swing at me, so I could defend myself and do a job on them."

Monday continued, "Doug Rau, a left-handed pitcher for the Dodgers at the time, came out of the dugout and I handed the flag to him. The two guys were led off the field through the Dodger bullpen.

"After the guys left, there was a buzz in the stands, people being aghast with what had taken place. Without being prompted, and I don't know where it started, but people began to sing 'God Bless America.' When I reflect back upon it now, I still get goose bumps."

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"That means something, because this wasn't just a flag on the field. This was a flag that people looked at with respect."
-- Rick Monday

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Thirty years ago, cable television was in its infancy and the Dodgers rarely, if ever, televised a home game. A Super 8 film of the incident would not surface until 1984, so the moment might have been captured only by Vin Scully's vivid description of it on radio. Luckily, in the photographers' well that day was the late James Rourke, who was shooting stills for the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Rourke had the perfect angle and snapped the now-classic photo of Monday whisking the stars and stripes away just as one of the protesters was going to light it on fire.

"James Rourke took the picture, and it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize," said Monday. "This past winter, my wife and I had been looking at a lot of photos that had been in the archives, and one of the photos we came across was a picture of James Rourke and I standing together, holding up the photo that he took. The 30th anniversary means a lot because it was a moment captured in time by James, who is no longer with us, and he has been greatly missed over the years."

Monday, who played for the Dodgers from 1977-83 and has been one of the team's broadcasters since 1993, then recalled the impact the moment had on a country that was wanting so badly to show its patriotism again.

"The letters I've received from that day have run the gamut of emotions. They've been from children who were not born yet and had only heard about it. They've been from Vietnam veterans, including one yesterday. This soldier wrote that there were two things that he had with him in two tours of Vietnam. These two things kept him in check with reality. One was a small picture of his wife. The other was a small American flag that was neatly folded. The picture was folded inside the flag and in the left breast pocket of his uniform.

"He would be in mud for weeks and months at a time. Those two things were what he looked at to connect him with reality, other than his buddies, and some of them were lost in battle. He wrote in the letter, 'Thanks for protecting what those of us who were in Vietnam held onto dearly.'

"That means something, because this wasn't just a flag on the field. This was a flag that people looked at with respect. We have a lot of rights and freedoms -- not to sound corny -- but we all have the option if we don't like something to make it better. Or you also have the option, if you don't like it, [to] pack up and leave. But don't come onto the field and burn an American flag."

Later that year, Monday was given the flag by the Dodgers' general manager at the time, Al Campanis. It hangs proudly in his home in Vero Beach, Fla.

Monday and his wife, Barbaralee, would like anyone who was at that game or a veteran to share their thoughts -- in 500 words or less -- and photos for a book they are putting together about the event that was recently voted as one of the 100 Classic Moments in the History of the Game by National Baseball Hall of Fame. The address is mvpsportscorp@aol.com.

Monday's Act Heroic After 30 Years

2006-07-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Booth movement and some major college football news.....in MAY

2006-07-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

So because they no longer have the rites to Monday Night Football, ABC is pooling their resources to put together a major college football primetime package beginning this season with Notre Dame at Georgia Tech.

The goal is to pair some of the top match-ups of the season in this package, and get the "big named" teams their primetime slot. Among the teams featured, Notre Dame will be on three times, against Tech, Michigan State and USC (and maybe again in the Rose Bowl if they fall there), Ohio State is featured twice, Michigan twice, and USC three times.

(Editors note: The highlight for me personally is that October 14th game with the Alma Mater extracting revenge on Mecheatagain at Beaver Stadium. Finally we get them at University Park for the first time since 2001. Go ask THE Ohio State's Troy Smith how much he enjoyed last year's primetime game at the Beav. Oh, and your homegrown referees won't save your ass this year either.)

But the package itself is a great idea, it's the first time that network television will carry a college football primetime series, and the weeks where there is a dual broadcast, the other game will be picked up by either ESPN or ESPN2 meaning you get three primetime games likely in one weekend.

ABC is smart in the sense that they have picked college football "cash cows" USC, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan to lead this new adventure and they are also going with a 12-day selection package too, meaning that games from November 11 on, they will select the games they will air 12-days before hand. Good choice, this way, much like the NFL Flex schedule they can get the best match ups from the conferences they choose to air.

ABC is also carrying the Rose Bowl (only) during the BCS, so they keep some of the traditional Rose Bowl teams like Ohio State, Michigan, and USC close to the vest in the hopes that maybe they can land a match up with any one of those three in their lone BCS game. Remember the other three BCS games move to Fox beginning this season.

There are other movments in the college football world as well.

NFL Network will air the Insight.com bowl beginning this year, this to go along with their airing of live regular season NFL games for the first time. That, plus they will take the top five games from each week and re-air them in full, it's the network broadcast too.

Keith Jackson announced his retirement weeks ago, so ABC will scramble to fill his shoes and the booths are being switched around right and left. Brent Musberger will work with Bob Davie on the ABC Primetime game, Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge (who moved from CBS) will do the ESPN primetime game, and former ABC'er Gary Danielson takes Blackledge's roll as lead analyst on CBS' coverage of the SEC this season. This means that (my idol) Brad Nessler and Bob Greise will be the lead afternoon team on ABC and they will keep Gary Thorne on the other game during the afternoon (Since Mike Tirico is now the MNF guy)

All we know about Fox's coverage of the BCS is that Thom Brennaman will call one of the games (the title game, maybe the "Plus-one" game?) and the rest of the crew, analysts and all will be named later. You could stay in house and get guys like Joe Buck or Troy Aikman, but it might be wise to go outside and get someone else. As long as it isn't the guys they use on the Fox Sports Net studio show during Saturday telecasts, it'll be OK. But Fox definitely has the shallowest of broadcasting talent pools, specifically when it comes to play-by-play and college sports.

Those changes are inline with what the NFL booths look like with Greg Gumball moving back to play-by-play, James Brown jumping from Fox to CBS and Michaels and Madden jumping to NBC, Collonsworth and Bryant Gumball jumping to NFL Network.

It just goes to show that the booth movement is almost as crazy as free agency in other sports.

Dodgers Stadium

2006-05-08T02:25:00.000-07:00

Retired Mobility Opportunities Via Education (MOVE) Administrator Linda Bidabe received the 2004 E.P. Maxwell/J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award from EP (Exceptional Parent) Magazine and Major League Baseball on Aug. 6 at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. Bidabe was escorted onto the field by U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and Worldwide Commander of all Navy SEALS (Ret.) Ray Smith, board director for EP Magazine. Smith then presented Bidabe with the award at home plate prior to the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Afterwards, Bidabe, daughter Tanya Fulghum and grandchildren Nathan and Lauren were seated in VIP loge box seats to enjoy the game as guests of the Dodgers.Each year the Maxwell/Schleifer award recognizes an individual for continuing and significant contributions to the disabilities community. Since 2002, Major League Baseball has collaborated with EP Magazine reaching out to sports fans to promote awareness of the 54 million Americans with disabilities, their families and caregivers.Bidabe was a special education teacher for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office in Bakersfield. She created the MOVE program that teaches people with severe motor disabilities to sit, stand and walk while participating in real life activities throughout the day. Prior to MOVE, students with severe disabilities spent all day on beanbags and had no opportunities to move and enjoy a more full and abundant lifestyle in their homes, schools and communities.

Dodgers Stadium

2006-02-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

Dodgers Stadium, in Los Angeles, California, has been the home of the Los Angeles Major League Baseball team since 1962. It was also the home of the Los Angeles Angels between 1962 and 1965.