Weekend Autograph Opportunities: An Angels Weekend & Kings FanFest

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment. Everything is subject to change.  Please email me with any tips about upcoming events in Southern California.  As the rest of the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there are any) as I become aware of them.  Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar.  I always try to favor free signing events over paying events.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

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The 2013 year starts off with an autograph weekend at Frank & Son's featuring 3 Anaheim Angels on Saturday, January 5th.  Scott Spezio (10:00 AM - 11:00 AM), Garret Anderson (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM), and Troy Glaus (12:00 PM - 1:00 PM) will be there.  Go here for more information.

Frank & Son Collectible Show
19649 San Jose Avenue
Industry, CA 91748

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The Kings will be holding a little FanFest event at the LA Valley Ice Center in Panorama City fron noon to 3:00 PM on Sunday, January 6th.  Go here for more information.  Scheduled to appear are the LA Kings Ice Crew and members of the LA Kings Alumni Association (TBA).  The Kings will bring pre-game activities like the Inflatable Puck Shoot and Portable Street Hockey Rink. The LA Kings Ice Crew and members of the LA Kings Alumni Association will be signing autographs from noon – 1 PM.  (818) 893-1784

LA Kings Valley Ice Center
8750 Van Nuys Blvd.
Panorama City
www.lakingsvalleyicecenter.com

BTW, I firmly believe a new CBA will be formulated within a month, but also believe they should just cancel this season.  I'm burned out, which is sad considering that not one game has been played this season.  On another note, the NHL owners erred greatly in believing the players association would just roll over and play dead, and I believe this process was necessary in order for them to understand that they are not masters of the league, but are instead partners with the players in the league. It took Baseball a long to realize that, but when they did league profits skyrocketed. 

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A Brad Penny Auto Facts Baseball Card

Brad Penny had a couple of great seasons for the Dodgers in the mid-2000's.  During the 2006 to 2007 seasons he won 32 games with a 3.65 ERA.  He also was effective at keeping the ball in the park and represented the Dodgers in the All-Star game those seasons (the only times he's taken part in the mid-season classic). 

Since this time, Penny has had a rocky road.  He has played for 6 different franchises; including a short stint in Japan with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.  Last year he came back to the Majors and pitched for the eventual World Series Champion Giants out of the bullpen, but was left off the playoff team roster.  Currently, he remains unsigned for 2013.

Featured here is a 2005 Upper deck Auto Facts card of Brad Penny.

Below are his career stats, via Baseball Reference.

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and yours.  Thank you for visiting this blog over the past year.  Now, listen to some cats serenade you!

Video Link:

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Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 12/31/2012

Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Roberto Clemente. He was killed in a plane crash in the midst of transporting aid packages to those affected by a deadly earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua.  His body was never recovered. Roberto also started out his professional Baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• Mike Petriello at Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness reminds us that the Dodgers offseason is far from over.
• Eric Stephen at True Blue LA analyzes Bill James 2013 projections for Dodger pitchers.
• Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA writes of his autograph obsession and Baseball's Greatest moment.
• Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA remembers the great George "Shotgun" Shuba.

“Shotgun” got his nickname for the way he sprayed line drives while he was in the Dodgers’ farm system, but his smooth left-handed swing wasn’t a fluke, it was the result of a tenacious practice regimen when he was a teenager. 

• Bill Baer at ESPN compares Cole Hamels versus Zach Grienke.

Is Hamels really as good -- and Greinke really as bad -- as ERA indicates? It doesn't appear to be the case in a vacuum. If you put both pitchers in the same league facing the same hitters with the same defense behind them, they would likely put up remarkably similar numbers. Now with the Dodgers, though, Greinke will have a defense that is sufficiently average according to ultimate zone rating, and he will benefit from the pitcher-friendly confines of Dodger Stadium. Perhaps 2013 is the year Greinke returns to his Cy Young-caliber ways. 

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A 1997 Duke Snider Significant Signature

Featured here is a 1997 Donruss Significant Signatures autographed card of Duke Snider.  As you can see above, Duke signed 2,000 cards for this set.  Strangely, he did something I don't think I've ever seen anyone else do.  He signed the back of the card instead of the front.  Every single one of the cards is like this. Funny, eh?

Due to this and a high print run, you should be able to acquire this card for $10, or so.  It's a great deal for a Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame legend.

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RIP: Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf

Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf rose to prominence as I was just entering my first year of college.  He was bold, brash and confident.  He laid out the perfect plan in the Persian Gulf War, and proved to be the best man for the job.  Instead of cashing in after the war for fame and fortune, he mostly retired into private life.  Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf passed away this past Thursday, and I wanted to take a moment to thank him for his service and to share a couple of trading cards with him on it. CNN has a great writeup on his life, here.

The above card from the 1991 Topps Desert War Series 1 trading card set, below from Series 2, and Series 3.

The card below is from the 2009 Topps Heritage set, and uses the vintage 1960 Topps design.  Make note of the description on the reverse.  It has a glaring error.  It was not this Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf that was a lead investigator in the Lindbergh kidnapping, but his father.  In fact, there were two generations of American Army Generals in this family.

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