Jered Weaver Is Mr. Guts 2010

With his record hovering around .500 and the Angels seemingly unable to gain any ground on the Rangers in the division, there’s literally no chance for Jered Weaver to win the Cy Young award this season. However, the Angels ace is definitely worthy of some type of recognition.

Sure, he earned his first trip to the All-Star Game earlier this summer, but he didn’t get to pitch in the game.  And with the Angels struggling to stay in the playoff race, Weaver hasn’t gotten many opportunities to showcase his stuff on national television, and that’s a shame.

So since there is no official award from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America that Weaver can win this season, I’m going to make one up.  Let’s call it the Mr. Guts award.

foxsportswest.com:  Mr. Guts 2010

Get your Dodgers Autographs; Players Out And About Next Week

Next week, there will be several opportunities to meet the Dodgers in the greater L.A. area, starting with an appearance by Kenley Jansen at Paul’s TV store in Monrovia from 12-1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19. 

The following day, infielder Jamey Carroll will sign for fans at the Staples on Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles from 12-1 p.m. and catcher A. J. Ellis will do the same at the Hyundai dealership in Glendora.   

www.dodgers.com

MARTY MCSORLEY AND LUC ROBITAILLE TO PARTICIPATE IN “THE LIFE OF A KING” SPEAKER SERIES EVENT AT LA KINGS HOCKEY FEST ’10

--TICKETS REMAIN ON SALE FOR THE KINGS’ ANNUAL SUMMER TIME CELEBRATION OF HOCKEY ON SEPTEMBER 11 AT THE TOYOTA SPORTS CENTER IN EL SEGUNDO--
 

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Kings legends and fan favorites Marty McSorley and Luc Robitaille will participate in “The Life of a King” speaker series at next month’s LA Kings Hockey Fest ’10, which takes place on Saturday, September 11, at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo. 

Robitaille, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and McSorley will join former teammate Bernie Nicholls on the special panel.  Former Kings forward Jim Fox will help lead the discussion and both McSorley and Nicholls will also be signing autographs at Hockey Fest.

In “The Life of a King,” McSorley, Nicholls and Robitaille will talk about their long and successful careers.  The threesome have combined to play in 3,911 NHL games, score 1,361 goals, record 3,232 points and accumulate 6,562 penalty minutes while earning three total Stanley Cup rings. 

“The Life of a King” is one of three speakers series scheduled for this year’s Hockey Fest.  “Kids Press Conference” will feature several current Kings players and children of all ages can ask their questions directly to the participating players, and the third series is expected to be announced next week.  The Kings will continue to announce additional LA Kings Hockey Fest ’10 details throughout the summer as they become finalized.

The one-day Hockey Fest event, which takes places from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., will culminate with a special “Pep Rally” featuring the Kings players and all Hockey Fest participants at 5 p.m. on the (covered) NHL ice rink.  Hockey Fest will be hosted by Kings/FS West television broadcasters/reporter Bob Miller, Fox and Heidi Androl. 

Tickets cost $15 for Kings Season Ticket members and for Partial Plan and Group Leaders by calling 1-888-KINGS-LA (1-888-54647-52).  Tickets for the general public cost $20 and be can purchased by visiting LAKings.com/hockeyfest2010.  Only 2,000 tickets total are available for purchase.

The second annual event will feature special Q&A and autograph sessions with Kings players, coaches, alumni and hockey dignitaries, in addition to Kings merchandise – including merchandise discounted at 40 percent -- and hockey memorabilia being available. 

Also, with this year’s Hockey Fest being held on September 11, the Kings Care Foundation will be hosting special fundraising activities at the event to benefit local organizations affected by the tragic events of September 11, 2001.  More details to come.

-- LAKINGS.COM --

ANGELS BASEBALL TO HOST YOUTH BASEBALL CLINIC AT ANGEL STADIUM

WHAT:           The Angels will host for a Baseball Day Camp at Angel Stadium. The morning camp will feature instruction from Angels’ players and coaches. Stations include pitching, hitting, fielding, agility and base running.

All participants will receive an Angels cap and four vouchers for a future Angels home game. All proceeds from the camp will benefit the Angels RBI League.

The cost is $99 per athlete, ages 8-18. To register, please visit angelsrbileague.com. Same day registration will also be available.



WHEN:           Saturday, August 14th from 9 AM until 12:00 PM. 

                        Registration will begin at 7:30AM

                       

WHERE:         Angel Stadium

                        Registration and check-in at Gate 1



WHO:              Angels Outfielder Reggie Willits

                        Angels Catcher Bobby Wilson

                        Angels Third Base Coach Dino Ebel

                        Angels Bullpen Catcher Steve Soliz

Regardless Of Celtics Signing, Shaq Is A Laker For Life

Sports fans have long been known for short memories.  Although Janet Jackson was speaking on behalf of neglected women back in 1986 with her song, "What Have You Done For Me Lately," she might as well have been speaking for fans of sports teams.

It's amazing how a player can be so beloved one day and despised the next, and vice versa.  Remember how much Lakers fans hated Karl Malone during his Hall of Fame career in Utah, only to make a 180 degree turn when he signed with the Lakers in 2003?  And should I even mention LeBron James?  Yeah, probably not.

The latest example of a fan base turning irate towards one of their former players involves one of the game's and the Lakers' best players of all-time:  Shaquille O'Neal.

foxsportswest.com: Once A Laker, Always A Laker 

It's Time To Give The Padres Some Credit

Leading into and following Monday's 10-4 home loss to the Padres--which extended LA's losing skid to 6 games--most fans and members of the media were talking about all the things the Dodgers weren't doing.  They aren't scoring runs.  Pitchers aren't going deep enough into games.  No one knows how to properly run the bases.

While all of those statements may be true, collectively they may still not explain why the Dodgers entered Tuesday 9 games back of  San Diego for the NL West division lead and 7 games back of San Francisco in the wildcard race.

Obviously the Dodgers poor play has attributed greatly to their disappointing performance this year, but the main reason LA has fallen so far behind the San Diego is rather simple and quite obvious.

foxsportswest.com: It's Time To Give The Padres Some Credit