Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 9/27/2012

This is how baseball fans got autographs in 1950.  These kids went all out to get something signed by Roy Campanella.  Pic via Andy Gray at SI Vault on twitter.

• Bloomberg makes note of a secret Dodgers TV deal with MLB.

A settlement ending their 2011 battle in U.S. Bankruptcy Court gives the Dodgers’ new owners a chance to cap income subject to revenue-sharing from a proposed regional sports network at about $84 million a year, according to five people familiar with the confidential “special terms.” With TV sports-rights experts saying the team could get as much as $225 million a year from a network’s rights fees, the Dodgers may enjoy an annual unshared windfall of as much as $141 million. 

• Gates open early for Dodger games this weekend during Carmageddon II, via the LA Times.

In conjunction with the Dodgers' annual Hispanic heritage festival Saturday, parking lots will open at 1:30 p.m. for a 6:10 p.m. first pitch. Sunday the lot will open at 10:30 a.m. for a game scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.

• Beltre, Ventura and Edwin Jackson respond to Eric Gagne's assertion that 80% of his team used PED, via Richard Durrett at ESPN.

"He should have mentioned names," Beltre said. "I know for sure I'm not one of them. I haven't read the book. I'm not interested in it. He should have come up with names instead of a percentage."

• This coming Saturday, Ron Cey will be signing autographs at the Time Warner booth from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

(twitter link)

• Athlon Sports brings to you the 30 greatest athletes in movies.
• In 2011 the Dodgers lost a member of its family to a senseless shooting in Arizona.  Christina Taylor, 9-year-old daughter of Dodgers scout John Green was killed during the assassination attempt made on Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In Christina's honor her family fights against gun violence

Christina Taylor, shared his love of baseball, once telling her father that she wanted to be the first female major league baseball player. Nine-year-old Christina was also very interested in politics which is why she jumped at the chance to meet U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords nearly one and half years ago. She was killed while she stood in line to speak with the congresswoman in Tucson, Arizona. It was a day that has changed the Green family forever. Now, they hope to make a difference and want to speak out against gun violence in the United States. His profile is part of AC360's series "What Keeps You Up at Night," which focuses on election issues.

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A Fan Fight from the Brooklyn Dodgers Past

Earlier today, Andy Gray tweeted a photo on SI Vault that strikes me as both outrageous and hilarious.  Although, I am sure the subject of the beating above, umpire George "Mage" Magerkurth, doesn't think it's funny.

It is a Monday afternoon at Ebbets Field (September 16, 1940).  There was no pennant race.  The Cincinnati Reds had a comfortable 9 game lead over the Dodgers- who stood in 2nd place.  With only a couple weeks left in the regular season, there wasn't much left to fight over.  After all, the Dodgers would not be playing in October, and everybody knew it.

Maybe, that sense of a lost season contributed to the heated feelings that would bring about violence at the Brooklyn borough ballpark that day.  Were we looking for someone to blame? 

On that night in front of a crowd of 6,782 fans, the Reds were in town to play their final game against the Dodgers.  The Dodgers had taken the early lead in the 1st inning, but failed to hold on as the Reds rallied back to win it in the 10th inning.  Unfortunately, the Reds win wasn't uncontested.  It was as a result of a umpires ruling that allowed runners to be safe, and many folks that night were not happy about it.

All evening long, the Dodgers, especially skipper Leo "The Lip" Durocher, had it in for umpire George Magerkurth.  They complained of bad calls and continued to razed him all night.  Seeing this, a man named Frank Germano jumped onto the field at the end of the game to pummel George Magerkurth in retribution. 

Per the Gotham City Insider blog:

[The berserk Dodger fan] Frank Germano, an unemployed youth of twenty-one, who lives at 128 Thirty-third Street, Brooklyn, was arrested after the fight and taken to the 71st Precinct.  “Gernano was held in $500 bail in Brooklyn-Queens afternoon court for a hearing today on a charge of simple assault.

Germano was lucky he blindsided the umpire.  Mag, as he was affectionately called, was a former heavyweight boxer.  Germano is also lucky that Mag refused to press charges.  Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick, on the other hand, was not so forgiving.  For Durocher's part in inciting the fan, he was suspended 5 games.

Below is another press photo from the incident that I found at SB Nation.

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Collection: 1996 Roger Cedeno Leaf Signature

How many folks remember this guy?

Featured in this post is a 1996 Leaf Signature autographed card (both silver & bronze versions) of former Dodger Roger Cedeno.

Cedeno started his professional career as a Dodger prospect.  He signed as a free agent in 1991 out of Venezuela, and was being groomed to be eventually replace Brett Butler in the outfield.  Cedeno showed the brass that he had the wheels and a bat that might fit in perfectly as a lead-off hitter.  So, in 1995 he made his debut in Blue.  Unfortunately, his 4 years with the Dodgers were unspectacular.  Soon, he was shipped to the Mets for Todd Hundley, and immediately showed why the Dodgers were so high on him.  Cedeno stole 66 bases for the Mets in 1999 and batted an impressive .313.

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Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 9/26/2012

This is probably the best photo of Endeavor flying over Dodger Stadium, via twitter @Dodgers.

• Eric Gagne spills the beans, via Mark Saxon at ESPN.

In the book, Gagne does not provide any names of players he says used PEDs. Baseball began stricter testing in the spring of 2006. Players are subject to HGH testing during spring training and in the offseason, but not during the season.

"I was intimately aware of the clubhouse in which I lived. I would say that 80 percent of the Dodgers players were consuming them," Gagne says in the book.

• Congratulations to AJ Ellis for being named this seasons winner of the 7th Annual Roy Campanella Award, via a Dodger press release.

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that catcher A.J. Ellis was named the winner of the seventh annual Roy Campanella Award, which is given to the Dodger player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher. The award, which was voted upon by Dodger uniform personnel, will be presented to Ellis by Campanella’s daughter, Joni Campanella Roan, during pre-game ceremonies Saturday night.

• Envious, am I.
• Tom Bartsch at Sports Collectors Digest writes about how 'The Dodger Way' still resonates 60 years later.

At this year’s dinner for the Baseball Assistance Team, honoring the 50th anniversary of the New York Mets, former Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson spoke of the importance of manager Gil Hodges to the miracle world championship won by the ’69 team.

“Gil taught us the Dodger way to play baseball,” he said. “The fundamentals. In a way, the win for the ’69 Mets was sort of another win for the Dodgers, for the way they did things. That’s what Gil brought to us.”

• Ha! Ha!  Jamie McCourt is now suing Frank McCourt, via Fox Sports.

''Mr. McCourt got about 93 percent of the family assets, and Mrs. McCourt got about 7 percent,'' Fields said in a phone interview. ''We would've much preferred to have this massive imbalance resolved with some modification, but we got no response to that approach. We didn't want to have more family litigation, but now it's up to the court.''

• Wow!  This is the farthest-ever view into the universe.  Via Mashable,

The picture, called eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, combines 10 years of Hubble telescope views of one patch of sky. Only the accumulated light gathered over so many observation sessions can reveal such distant objects, some of which are one ten-billionth the brightness that the human eye can see.

• No More Hockey Games.

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Weekend Autograph Opportunities: An Autograph from a King

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.

UPDATE:  A complete listing of events for Dodgers autographing at Dodger Stadium on Saturday is below!!  This is the last homestand, so the Dodgers are going all out for the last Viva Los Dodgers event.

I have yet to hear from the Dodgers about any "Autograph Alley" signers (other than La Gran Fiesta signers) for the upcoming homestand.  As soon as information gets passed down from the Dodgers I will be sure to update this post.

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Jonathan Quick of the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings will be in town to sign some free autographs for fans.  Go here for information.  He will be at the La Mirada Living Spaces on Saturday, September 29th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.  Only 300 fans will get an autograph, so get there early.

La Mirada
14501 Artesia Blvd
La Mirada, CA 90638
(877) 266-7300

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LA GRAN FIESTA at Dodger Stadium

On Saturday, September 29 the Dodgers will hold La Gran Fiesta! This event will feature performances by Los Cuates de Sinaloa, OzoKidz, Kinky, and Boogaloo Assasins. The Dodgers will pay tribute to Dodger coach Manny Mota's 50th anniversary in MLB, and the Spanish-language broadcast team of Jaime Jarrín, Fernando Valenzuela and Pepe Yñiguez will be on hand for autographs. Gates open 4 hours prior to game time and the event is FREE with a ticket to the game.  Autograph times have yet to be released, so check back here later on.  I will update this post when news is passed down by the Dodgers.

UPDATE:  Check out the Updates with times for player signings below!!

In the meantime, check out this promotional video put out by the Dodgers.

Video Link:

UPDATE:

Ron Cey will also be signing on Saturday during La Gran Fiesta.  He will be at the Time Warner booth from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Here is a complete listing of signings for Saturday during La Gran Fiesta at Viva Los Dodgers.

1:30 p.m.     All Dodger Stadium auto gates open
2:00 p.m.     La Gran Fiesta – Viva Los Dodgers begins
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.     Dodger players including Alex Castellanos, Luis Cruz, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Paco Rodriguez autograph signing*

*subject to change, players will be signing for 30 minutes each between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. 

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.     Boogaloo Assasins perform
2:30 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.     George Lopez Q&A with Dodger Coach Manny Mota
2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.     Al Downing and Maury Wills autograph signing
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.     Manny Mota autograph signing
3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.     George Lopez on stage
3:10 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.     “Sweet” Lou Johnson, Joe Moeller and Derrel Thomas autograph signing
3:32 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.     Kinky performs
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.     Jaime Jarrín, Fernando Valenzuela and Pepe Yñiguez autograph signing
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.     Ron Cey autograph signing in the Time Warner Cable booth
4:05 p.m. – 4:18 p.m.     Dodger giveaways and trivia on stage
4:20 p.m. – 5:20 p.m.     Al “The Bull” Ferrara and Kenny Landreaux autograph signing
4:20 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.     Ozomatli presents: OzoKidz performs
5:00 p.m. – 5:12 p.m.     Dodger Spanish-language broadcasters on stage
5:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.     Los Cuates de Sinaloa perform

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Manuel's Original El Tepeyac Cafe  will have Manny Mota signing free autographs on Sunday, September 30th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  This originally going to be on Saturday, but has been rescheduled.  Go here for information.

Manuel's Original El Tepeyac Cafe #2
13131 Crossroads Pkwy South
City of Industry, CA 91746
(562) 695-2277

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Los Angeles Galaxy Defender, Omar Gonzalez will be at a Macy's on September 27, 2012 from 6:00PM to 7:30 PM.  Receive Omar's autograph plus the first 75 customers to spend $25 or more will receive a free soccer ball for him to sign. Enjoy amazing soccer tricks performed by the LA Galaxy futboleros and you'll have a chance to win prizes from the LA Galaxy street team.  While supplies last. One per customer. Event subject to change or cancellation.  Go here for more information.

Macy's
3400 N Sepulveda Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 546-5525

Hat Tip: LA Inspiration

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Collection: 2002 Shawn Green Autographed Card

I don't know much about this card.  I believe it is a 2002 Topps Gallery autographed card of Shawn Green.  The artwork on the front was done by Stephen Gardner.  Check out Gardner's website here.  He also has a blog where he shares various sketches.

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