DODGERS ANNUAL COMMUNITY CARAVAN PRESENTED BY USC UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SET FOR FEBRUARY 14-15

                   

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers will embark on their eighth annual Community Caravan on Monday, February 14 and Tuesday, February 15. This year’s Dodgers Community Caravan presented by USC University Hospital is themed “Two Days of Community Service” where current and former Dodger players will join Dodger fans in giving back to Los Angeles Community.  

 

Monday, February 14

 

Day one of the Dodgers Community Caravan will feature Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly and Dodgers Andre Ethier and James Loney. Hall of Fame Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda alongside former Dodgers Steve Garvey, Bobby Castillo, Tommy Davis, Kenny Landreaux and Rudy Law and Dodger broadcaster Steve Lyons will also participate.

 

10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.        Los Angeles River Cleanup (Public must pre-register for a chance to participate)

 

The Dodgers in partnership with Los Angeles City Council District 1, Councilmember Ed P. Reyes and Los Angeles Conservation Corps/Los Angeles River Keepers will clean up the banks of the L.A. River.

 

Dodger fans must pre-register online to participate. The event is open to the first 250 registrants that sign up at www.dodgers.com/caravan.

 

5:00 p.m.                                Lopez Tonight Taping in Burbank

 

The Dodgers will make an appearance on George Lopez’s national show to share their community service experiences.

 

Tuesday, February 15

 

Dodgers Rafael Furcal, Matt Kemp, Tony Gwynn Jr., Jay Gibbons and Gabe Kapler will join former Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Cey, Derrel Thomas, “Sweet” Lou Johnson and Special Advisor to the Chairman Don Newcombe in the Los Angeles community for day two of the Dodgers Community Caravan. Dodger broadcasters Charley Steiner and Pepe Yñiguez will also partake.

 

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.        Heal the Bay, Santa Monica (Public must pre-register for a chance to participate)

                                               

Dodger fans will join the Dodgers on a Heal the Bay cleanup at Santa Monica beach. The event is open to the first 750 fans that register online at www.healthebay.org/events. Participants will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win autographed baseballs, Dodger tickets and raffle items at the day’s event.

 

4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.       Dodgers Dreamfield Dedication Ceremony at Northridge Recreation Center

 

                                                The Dodgers Dream Foundation will dedicate its 10^th Dodgers Dreamfield at the Northridge Recreation Center. Councilman Greig Smith will join and youngsters from the community will participate in the field’s first clinic with the Dodgers who will instruct them on the fundamentals of baseball.

 

More information on the Dodgers Dream Foundation and the club’s charitable endeavors can be found at dodgers.com/community.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS TO HONOR TOMMY LASORDA

“The Ambassador of Baseball” to Receive Award from the Ambassadors of Goodwill on Feb. 14 at STAPLES Center

(PHOENIX, Feb. 8, 2010) —Two of the sports world’s most beloved ambassadors—legendary L.A. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda and the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters—will come together on Sunday, Feb. 14 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, when the Globetrotters honor the baseball Hall of Famer with a special award for his lifetime ambassadorial contributions that embody the Globetrotters spirit of goodwill.  The presentation will take place prior to the team’s 1 p.m. show at Staples Center.

In much the same way that the Globetrotters helped introduce the sport of basketball throughout the world in bringing their showmanship to 120 countries on six continents during their history, Lasorda has played a similar, instrumental role in growing the sport of baseball overseas.

Long acknowledged as “the ambassador of baseball,” Lasorda has traveled overseas to help introduce the sport around the world since 1965.  In 2008, the government of Japan presented Lasorda with their prestigious Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette medal for promoting friendship between Japan and the United States through baseball.

Ironically, Lasorda was born in 1927, the same year the Harlem Globetrotters played their first-ever road game in Hinckley, Ill., on Jan. 7, 1927.    Like the Globetrotters, Lasorda’s accomplishments, both on and off the field, are enormous.  On the diamond, the Dodgers won two world championships, four National League pennants and eight division titles under Lasorda’s direction.  At the age of 73, Lasorda piloted the U.S Olympic Baseball Team to the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Lasorda recently visited U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to motivate and inspire the men and women of the Armed Forces. Similarly, the Globetrotters visited Iraq this past December as part of their 7th annual Holiday Military Overseas Tour. Lasorda still serves as the Dodgers’ Special Advisor to the Chairman, acting as an advisor and ambassador at more than 100 appearances to various charities and military personnel each year.

The Globetrotters have five games in the Southland area, taking the court Saturday, Feb. 13 for 1:00pm and 7:00pm games at the Honda Center in Anaheim; Sunday, Feb. 14 for 1:00pm and 6:00pm games at STAPLES Center; and Monday, Feb. 15, for a 1:00pm game at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

Sponsored by Campbell Soup Company, Spalding, Howard Johnson and America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses, the Original Harlem Globetrotters are in their 84th consecutive season of touring the world.