PRESS RELEASE OF THE DAY: The Dodgers’ Loss is "Cops" Fans’ Gain

Just to add insult to Dodger fan injury, Fox put out this scheduling change today. Instead of watching the Dodgers fight it out, you’re stuck with “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” and “Cops” repeats. Here’s how they put it:

FOX is confirming primetime programming to air now that NLCS Game #6 and #7 are no longer necessary.

Friday, October 17

8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT **2-HOUR EPISODE**—ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?

[EDITOR’S NOTE 1: If NLCS Game #6 (SP-0917) is necessary, the baseball game will air instead of ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 2: DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS! is preempted this night.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 3: Local programming will air in primetime on the West Coast.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 4: NLCS Game #6 is NOT necessary, therefore primetime programming will air as scheduled.]

Saturday, October 18

8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT COPS
8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT COPS
9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT COPS
9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT COPS

[EDITOR’S NOTE 1: If NLCS Game #7 (SP-0918) is necessary, the baseball game will air instead of the COPS episodes.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 2: AMERICA’S MOST WANTED is preempted this night.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 3: Local programming will air in primetime on the West Coast.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 4: NLCS Game #7 is NOT necessary, therefore primetime programming will air as scheduled.]

The Dodgers Call It A Season

(Photo: Los Angeles Times)

My cube neighbor and Dodger Thoughts maven Jon Weisman sums up his mood after the Phillies knocked off the Dodgers Wednesday night:

In a series in which not enough went right, on a night when almost nothing did, I still found myself nursing hope in the ninth inning.

And then once again, a fly ball from the Dodgers went all the way to the wall without going over. And that told the story.

That’s the season. My despair came Monday. Tonight, I’m inclined to say that it was a good ride while it lasted. Not all of it, certainly. I could live without some of the frustration. But I’ll have good memories.

Looks like Fox won’t be getting the World Series it was hoping for.

Retro Friday: Debbie Gibson Opens the 1988 World Series

If the Dodgers make it back to the World Series for the first time in 20 years, will they bring Debbie (er, Deborah) Gibson along to reprise her version of the Star Spangled Banner? Let’s all hope so.

Dining Beyond Dodger Dogs

Jon Weisman recently pointed to the new MLB-approved blog by Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier.

Ethier loves food, and has started blogging L.A.-based restaurant reviews at Dining With ‘Dre.

First up: A review of Westside shabu shabu joint Shabu Hachi:

I was introduced to Shabu Hachi by Takashi (Saito) a few weeks ago. It sits on Olympic in Santa Monica in one of those oh-so-typical LA corner strip malls. From the outside, you have two Japanese restaurants to choose from – one being the typical sushi place and Shabu Hachi, a place offering up some of the best shabu shabu I have had and I think Takashi would agree.

Shabu Hachi is actually in West L.A. But other than that geographic mishap, Ethier does a pretty good job recounting his meal at the spot.

Thoughts on a Dodger Stadium Visit

Our Big L.A. weekend continued on Sunday, as the Kid Formerly Known As Blogger Toddler and I hit Dodger Stadium (Maria, alas, is still recovering from her nasty virus).

The KFKABT devoured his Dodger Dog, and enjoyed watching the man throw the ball to the man hitting the ball (of course, it didn’t matter if L.A. or Colorado was up to bat, he just wanted to see some baseballs fly through the air). The Dodgers beat the Rockies in 10 innings, 3-2. (We did the L.A. thing and left at the start of the ninth inning. The KFKABT had seen enough, and I didn’t think he’d be a fan of the stadium traffic.)

Some pics:

Coolest golf cart ever? This Dodgermobile got a thumb’s up from the KFKABT, who wanted to drive it.

Base hit!

On such a hot day, fans mostly avoided the upper decks.

Thoughts on a Dodger Stadium Visit

Our Big L.A. weekend continued on Sunday, as the Kid Formerly Known As Blogger Toddler and I hit Dodger Stadium (Maria, alas, is still recovering from her nasty virus).

The KFKABT devoured his Dodger Dog, and enjoyed watching the man throw the ball to the man hitting the ball (of course, it didn’t matter if L.A. or Colorado was up to bat, he just wanted to see some baseballs fly through the air). The Dodgers beat the Rockies in 10 innings, 3-2. (We did the L.A. thing and left at the start of the ninth inning. The KFKABT had seen enough, and I didn’t think he’d be a fan of the stadium traffic.)

Some pics:

Coolest golf cart ever? This Dodgermobile got a thumb’s up from the KFKABT, who wanted to drive it.

Base hit!

On such a hot day, fans mostly avoided the upper decks.

50 Ways to Celebrate the L.A. Dodgers’ 50th

Congrats to my cubical neighbor Jon Weisman, who gets a nice write up in the L.A. Times’ Guide section this week. The piece cites 50 different ways to bleed Dodger blue in this 50th year.

Here’s what Kevin Bronson and Cindy Bertram wrote about Jon and his Dodger Thoughts site:

As a guy who, at age 10, “wanted to be Vin Scully” when he grew up, native Angeleno Jon Weisman has been synthesizing media reports, analyzing between-the-lines drama and occasionally venting on his Dodger Thoughts blog since 2002. If you’re looking for online snark, move on; Weisman and his readers merely exude true-blue passion. dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/

It’s been a good few weeks for Jon, who just welcomed Weisman Kid #3 into the world. Everyone’s doing fine; Jon says Kids 1 and 2 adore the new entry.

A few more entries from the Dodger piece:

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

The Dodgers are making quick work of honoring new manager Joe Torre — his Bobblehead Night is April 25, the first of five doll giveaways for the season. Best of all? Fans vote online for which player will be immortalized in polyresin at the Aug. 12 giveaway.

LISTEN TO VIN AND JAIME

The comforting cadence of Vin Scully — “The Voice of the Dodgers” — has provided the soundtrack to summer for 58 seasons. And with Jaime Jarrín helming the team’s Spanish-language broadcasts, it gives the Dodgers the distinction of being the only team with two Hall of Fame announcers. KABC-AM (790), KHJ-AM (930) and various TV affiliates.

PRE- OR POSTGAME

Myriad eateries in the Echo Park and Silver Lake areas cater to the ballgame crowds, but our favorites are pregame fare at Taix French Restaurant — which isn’t known so much for its French as its collegial atmosphere — and a nightcap at the Short Stop, though there can be culture clashes between ball fans and the jukebox-and-photo-booth crowd. Taix, 1911 Sunset Blvd.; Short Stop, 1455 Sunset Blvd.

BEATS A TEXT MESSAGE

Yes, it will set you back $50 to tell your girlfriend you love her, or wish Dad a happy birthday, with a message on the Dodger Stadium Ribbon Board behind first and third base. But proceeds go to the Dodgers Dream Foundation, and you get a 5-by-7 color photo of the message.

OH SAY . . .

Can you see yourself singing the National Anthem to a crowd of 56,000? Submit your rendition on a DVD, CD or video, with a professional bio to: Jane Biondi, Special Events, 1000 Elysian Park Ave., Los Angeles CA 90012

How the Dodgers Came To Town

(Image via the Los Angeles Public Library collection.)

As the Dodgers celebrate their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, Bob Timmermann is putting together what promises to be an interesting talk about how Walter O’Malley and the team made it out here from Brooklyn. (H/t to Jon Weisman for pointing this out.)

Bob will conduct the talk on Thursday, April 3, at the Los Angeles Central Library.

He’s already been tossing out some interesting tidbits over at The Griddle, such as:

— Dodger Stadium is not actually in Chavez Ravine, but rather, Chavez Ravine is across the street.

— The debate over Proposition B, the 1958 referendum that Dodgers owner O’Malley pushed in order to trade his Wrigley Field (in South L.A.) property for the land where Dodger Stadium now sits.

— What a larger Wrigley Field (the L.A. one) might have looked like.

How the Dodgers Came To Town

(Image via the Los Angeles Public Library collection.)

As the Dodgers celebrate their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, Bob Timmermann is putting together what promises to be an interesting talk about how Walter O’Malley and the team made it out here from Brooklyn. (H/t to Jon Weisman for pointing this out.)

Bob will conduct the talk on Thursday, April 3, at the Los Angeles Central Library.

He’s already been tossing out some interesting tidbits over at The Griddle, such as:

— Dodger Stadium is not actually in Chavez Ravine, but rather, Chavez Ravine is across the street.

— The debate over Proposition B, the 1958 referendum that Dodgers owner O’Malley pushed in order to trade his Wrigley Field (in South L.A.) property for the land where Dodger Stadium now sits.

— What a larger Wrigley Field (the L.A. one) might have looked like.

Two Snapshots of Mid-Century Los Angeles

Sunday’s L.A. Times had two history lessons that gave Angelenophiles more than enough reason to pick up the paper:

Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before: Morrissey wound up as the final performer at the Palladium As We Knew It; after a renovation, LiveNation — which now manages the facility — promises state of the art digs. Meanwhile, the paper’s Cecila Rasmussen recounts the Palladium’s history and how it now reps one of the only Hollywood dance floors to survive:

In the 1940s, the Palladium’s dance floor drew stars such as Rita Hayworth and Tyrone Power, and the stars drew tourists as well as working folks, who saved up for the $1 cover charge and a $3 dinner.

During nearly seven decades, the Palladium also attracted powerhouse performers whose musical styles reflected changing tastes, from Frank Sinatra to the Rolling Stones.

And it outlasted most of the other vast ballrooms, including Aragon at Ocean Park and La Monica on the Santa Monica Pier.

Now, as the long-closed Cocoanut Grove at the former Ambassador Hotel gives way to a school and the Earl Carroll Theatre serves as a filming site for children’s television shows, the 67-year-old Streamline Moderne-style Palladium is poised to undergo a massive, yearlong renovation.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Times remembers the day 50 years ago when the City Council voted to approve the arrival of the Brooklyn Dodgers — giving the team the rights to play in a new stadium at Chavez Ravine.

Quite a few interesting tidbits I didn’t know: That as she ran for City Council, young USC grad Rosalind Wiener first put out the idea of steaing away the Dodgers. That Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley wasn’t sold at first on the idea, and was ambivalent about it until arrival. Also, apparently O’Malley convinced the owner of the New York Giants to head to San Francisco as well. Read for more.