A King Reacts to Hockey in Chavez Ravine

Mayor's Manor blog has become essential reading for LA Kings fans everywhere.  Heck, Mayor's Manor may be essential reading for all hockey fans.  After all, you don't get named "Blog of the Year" by Yahoo Sports' Puck Daddy and the "Best Sports Blog in LA" by LA Weekly for nothing.  And with Kings hockey looking like it will be heading for Dodger Stadium, it may soon become essential reading for Dodgers fans, as well.

Following up on my post from yesterday on the news that hockey may be played at Chavez Ravine, John Hoven at Mayor's Manor shares some responses from Kings defenseman Drew Doughty about the future Winter Classic game in a post this afternoon.

- On the Kings playing January 2014 at Dodger Stadium: “No, I didn’t see that. Who are we playing? (The Ducks.) Oh, cool, that’d be cool. Yeah, I don’t understand how that would work…”
Rob Scuderi from across the room – “They’ll put an ice rink on the field Dewey.” (lots of laughs)
- Doughty: “Isn’t it too hot? The ice would be crappy for sure. It’d be fun though, playing in front of a bigger crowd instead of the 18,000 or whatever an NHL rink is. To be able to do that would be fun.”

Drew is right.  The ice is likely to be slushy and bad to play on.  Still, I wouldn't miss this event for the world. 

BTW, playing in the outdoor heat isn't without precedent.  In September 1991, the Kings and New York Rangers played an outdoor exhibition game at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that got as warm as 95 degrees during the game.  As you can imagine it created some significant challenges.  Via Melody Huskey at LAKings.com:

The weather itself did not provide difficulties during the game, but the conditions were less than ideal for creating the ice. Kings color commentator and former Kings forward Jim Fox was on hand to call the game with Bob Miller, but first he had to help out in preparing the ice.

“They had a sheet of ice in the back parking lot and they put a tarp over it elevated above the ice about six or eight feet to keep direct rays of the sunlight off the ice” said Fox. “But when they were taking the tarp down, they let the tarp hit the ice.

On top of that, grasshoppers made a strange appearance. 

“There were these big giant grasshoppers jumping on the ice” said Kings President of Business Operations and former player Luc Robitaille. “They would land on the ice and freeze right there, so by the end of the second period they were everywhere on the ice and it was kind of funny.”

Just over 22 years later ice rink technology has advanced significantly, so I wouldn't expect many issues, although the ice may still be less than ideal for a game.

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Blog Kiosk 4/8/2013:

Check out Hyun-Jin Ryu and his "1st Win" game ball from yesterday.  Pic via twitter @Dodgers and by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.

• Check out a bunch of pics from Hyun-Jin Ryu's game winning performance yesterday, via Naver.com.
• LA Blue Crew has even more photos available from yesterdays game.
• Of course, you should always check out Jon SooHoo's photo blog everyday to see his pics of the Dodgers.  Here are his photo's from yesterday.
• Via Kershaw's Challenge, Peter & Hope give you a tour of their home in Africa. 
• GCRL takes a look at the evolution of Dodgers' third baseman.
• Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA makes a great catch.  He realized that both Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford were sporting high-socks in Sundays game for the first time this season.
• True to the Blue provides a nice recap of the Tim Wallach signing this this past Saturday.
• This David guy might be the most prolific autograph hound this side of the Mississippi.  Really... This guy seems to be everywhere.  He was at the Dodgers game on Saturday and shares a bunch of his autograph gets.
• Eric Stephen at True Blue LA provides an update on Javy Guerra's return to the starting rotation in AAA.
• Scott Allen at mental_floss tells us the origins of the knicknames of all 30 MLB teams.
• Juan Uribe had quite a game on Sunday, and was named the player of the game by Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts.

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A FanCave Interview with Dodger Fan, Aaron Roberts

Back in February I ran a series of interviews featuring the three Dodger representatives vying for a chance to reside in the MLB FanCave home in New York City during the 2013 season.  By all accounts, the FanCave is an opportunity to have the kind of job most of us dreamed of as a child.  Participants would spend all day watching, talking and expressing their love for the game.  Better yet, you didn't have to feign impartiality like a reporter sitting in a press box.  Instead, you were expected to be partisan... loud, proud and partisan.

As the initial contest went on they whittled the contestants down to 9, and one Dodger fan made the cut.  His name is Aaron Roberts from Huntington Beach, and he was kind enough to provide another interview for Dodger Blue Heaven readers.  Check out what he said below.  If you want to check out my previous interview with him go here.

Also, since we are on the subject of the FanCave, I thought I would pass along a note about a FanCave contest that you can win.  Right now, the Dodgers and MLB will give one lucky Dodger fan a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to New York City on April 23-24 while the Dodgers are in town! The winner will get a VIP experience, including a visit to the MLB Fan Cave, exclusive access to a Dodgers game at Citi Field and more! Go here for more details.  All you have to do is post a photo on Instagram using #AWholeNewBlue that shows why YOU are the ultimate Dodgers fan!

(twitter link)

Anyway, my interview with Aaron is below:

(twitter link)

Q: Hey, Aaron!  Congratulations on making it to the MLB FanCave.  I can’t tell you how great it is to see a True Blue Dodger fan representing us in New York.  It’s even better knowing that the Giants got shut out.  Unfortunately, other than Kershaw, the Dodgers couldn’t quite do the same on the field during the first series.  That being said, do you have any encouraging words for Dodgers’ fans as we cross our fingers and hope that they can right the ship?

A: I don’t think any encouragement is needed. Dodgers fans are some of the toughest and most faithful in all of Baseball. It’s definitely not time to panic yet. Our pitching was great and our hitting was also very good. I know people will disagree with me on that but Kemp and Adrian were both hitting the ball on the screws. Unfortunately they hit them directly to someone but those balls will start to drop and we’ll get those base runners in. If there are any Blue Bloods out there that are starting to worry, remember It’s only 3 games into the season and we won one of them. Being 1 and 2 is a lot better than being 0 and 3 and as much as it absolutely pains me to use this reference, the Giants started out 0 and 3 last season and we all saw what happened in October. So keep the Faith Dodgers fans, big things are coming.

Hockey Winter Classic Virtually Guaranteed to Come to Dodger Stadium This Winter

Well... Color me shocked and surprised.  Check out what David Pagnotta at The Fourth Period writes:

The I's still need to be dotted and the T's still need to be crossed, but it's almost set in stone that we'll see an outdoor game in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium next season.

According to a well placed source, the parties involved -- the NHL, the Kings, the stadium -- are still putting the finishing touches on the details, but it's "basically a done deal."

I didn't think the NHL was interested.  I remember NHL reps saying that a West Coast game was unworkable because of a time schedule and even recall Bettman (the NHL Commissioner) laughing at the idea.  Now, the greatest gimmick to sports since the introduction of bobbleheads is likely to be coming to the warmer confines of Dodger Stadium.

Woo Hoo!  If this turns out to be true then this is exciting news!

David Pagnotta writes:

For Los Angeles, it'll mark the first regular-season game to occur outdoors in a non-traditional hockey climate. The Kings' opponent is yet to be determined.

Dodger Stadium won't be the only outdoor game, aside from the Winter Classic. The NHL has been involved in endless discussions with the folks over at Yankee Stadium to stage a Rangers' home game in the facility. It's unclear how those conversations have progressed, as the NHL is also considering other alternative venues outside of New York, but their preference is The new House That Ruth Built.

There is some belief that the NHL will stage both outdoor games on the same day, possibly on Hockey Day in America, with the game in the East (likely NYC, around 1pm ET) kicking things off, followed by the game at Dodger Stadium (possibly starting at 1pm PT, 4pm ET).

I suspect we'll hear more about this during the hockey playoffs.  In the meantime, I suggest getting your jersey's ready for some outdoor hockey. 

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Game 6 Game Preview: Ryu to Make his Second Start

Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers 

Jeff Locke vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu

Game Start: 1:10 p.m., April 7
TV: Prime Ticket
Radio: 570 AM (English), 1020 AM (Spanish)

• Dodgers bullpen has been lights out.  Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers bullpen hasn't allowed a hit yet."
• "Dodgers look to sweep Bucs behind Ryu," via Quinn Roberts at MLB.com.

"To me, the greatest thing about Ryu is nothing overwhelms him," Mattingly said. "He's pitched in the World Baseball Classic and in the Olympics before. He never seems like he's stressed. He's always calm and collected and confident. One thing I have to keep reminding myself and other guys, this guy was the greatest player in South Korea."

• Note that both Andre Etheir, AJ Ellis and Luis Cruz are taking the day off from the starting lineup.

Dodgers Lineup:

(twitter link)

Pirates Lineup:

(twitter link)

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Sunday Dodgers Videos: Fireworks, Jackie, Clayton and Kemp

Here are this Sunday's Dodgers' videos.

In case you missed it, take a look at the fireworks at Dodger Stadium this past Friday.

Video Link:

Via CBS News, "The Trail Blazed by Jackie Robinson."

Video Link:

Clayton and Ellen Kershaw are making a difference in the baseball world, but also in a small village in Zambia. Experience their impact in this heartfelt short-film.

Video Link:

Watch Matt Kemp on Don Le Batard is Highly Questionable show as he promotes the new Jackie Robinson movie "42".

Video Link:

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