Lazy Night At Dodger's Stadium

Ashley and I ended up last night at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, California after a day that was quite different than we had anticipated earlier this week. We originally had some grand visions of a beach day at the Santa Monica pier and along 3rd street before heading down to Venice and enjoying an awesome Italian meal at C&O Trattoria.

But then the weather happened. How does this happen in Los Angeles over Memorial Day weekend? Temperatures in the 60's with thunderstorms and showers. Absolutely unacceptable (with sarcasm). So, with our beach day in Santa Monica blown -- we had a lazy day relaxing at home -- probably something we really needed.


Then we headed down to Dodgers stadium to see the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the St. Louis Cardnials for our "token" Dodgers game this season. This was a last minute decision for us, helped by a last minute promotion and $20 field tickets.

And let me stop here for a second and rant a little. Ever since Frank McCourt took over the Los Angeles Dodgers, it has gotten out of control. Prices for tickets have been jacked way up at least 200% for decent field level tickets. Who in their right mind wants to pay $250 a seat for a ticket to the ever mediocre (sorry) Los Angeles Dodgers. Although I love them, let's face it -- the Dodgers are consistently mediocre.

And anyone spending $285-$650 for the premium tickets is absolutely out of their minds. This is not the Los Angeles Lakers that we are talking about here (who I would argue ARE worth that much) -- just an example how Frank McCourt's ownership of the Dodgers have ruined them for many. Not to mention, I am constantly receive > 50% off ticket promotions from the Dodgers -- that says to me that many others feel the same way I do. Cut those ticket prices in half and I MIGHT think about it. Still, just a couple of years ago those seats a couple rows behind the 3rd base dugout were less than $40. Even the Lakers have not seen that kind of inflation. Frank McCourt -- stop ruining the Dodgers!

Ok, I am done with that.

So, we headed down to the Dodgers game (which I interestingly choose over the David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy due to the great promotion) with enough time to catch batting practice. I keep hearing and reading about how different the parking is at Dodgers Stadium these days. While it is a little different (I cannot strategically pick my spot), it makes for a better flow into the game -- almost feels like Disneyland in some ways.

We got to our seats in section 49, row X (the last row) and were happy to know that if it indeed rain like it was threatening, we would not need to seek shelter. After being at the "Jake" or Progressive Field in Cleveland just two week ago, Dodgers Stadium feels really dated. Even with the recent renovation including the "First Base Line Box Club" and the "Third Base Line Box Club", it still needs a lot of work.


This year, everything is corporate -- you cannot go 30 feet without heading Mrs. Beasley's this or CPK that or Ruby's this. So much for just Farmer John and those great Dodger dogs. I guess I am either getting old, or am just old fashioned. :-)

While watching batting practice -- perhaps the funniest sight was seeing how a number of fans are allowed in the back of the center field. It was funny to watch and see the plastic gates fall down a few times as people tried to get balls. Albert Pujols smashed several shots into the left field pavilion which was entertaining.


The game itself was decent -- even for Dodger fans watching. Other than Brad Penny's meltdown in the 3rd inning by walking the first two batters before allowing 4 earned runs -- the battle between Penny and Kyle Lohse was a good one.

We had an enjoyable time, and had our token Dodger Dogs, Nachos, Peanuts, Garlic Fries, and Carnation Malts -- of course spending more on food than the tickets. That is how it goes these days.

We will have to see how the summer promotions go from the Dodgers. I do feel a little like I missed on my yearly Dodgers experience given the cool weather. Perhaps there is one more summer game left in us.

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Garth Brooks - 2008 Fire Intervention Relief Effort - 01/26/08

Last night, Ashley and I had the pleasure of attending the last of 5 concerts that Garth Brooks was putting on in two days in Los Angeles, CA -- at the Staples Center. Our show started at 9:00pm, and boy was it worth it. In my book, it was definitely in the top 5 concerts that I have ever been to!



For quite some time, Ashley and I have wanted to see Garth in concert. Somehow, in 2000-2001, on his last tour we could never make a concert date work out for us. Then, Garth Brooks retired in 2001 to stay at home until his daughter turned 18. For some reason, most of us believed that he would be not be gone that long from concert scene. However, we were wrong.

Then came this amazing event to Los Angeles to help out the families that were victims of the 2007 wild fires across southern California. We were personally affected by them (our home church burned in the Malibu fire), and were glad not to only see the concerts come up, but know that the proceeds were going to the victims to help them re-build their lives.

However, we did not get tickets when they first went on sale for $45 a piece. Last week Ashley mentioned that she we regretting that we did not get them. I had her go on eBay and she picked up some pretty good Premier seats and reserved parking for a reasonable price. So, with that we were ready to attend the concert.

The biggest difficulty of the night was getting there -- when it rains in Southern California, people forget how to drive. Plain forget what they are doing. That being said, it took us quite a bit longer than normal to get there and then the traffic around Staples Center was packed. I had never been to events there that were back-to-back like the 5:00pm and 9:00pm shows -- but getting in made it difficult.

However, once we arrived -- we were glad to be there. Sitting in Premier section 15 is pretty close to center court as far as basketball goes and an excellent seating arrangement for the concert.


As most people who have seen Garth in concert, he is an excellent entertainer. Not because of the fact that he has some of the most popular country songs in the world. Rather because he has a great stage presence and is constantly interacting with the crowds. Below is a picture of Garth Brooks posing during a song with a fan while a band member takes a photo.


In all, the concert went just over two hours -- which is a feat given this was the 5th concert that Garth put on in about 30 hours. It would be difficult for someone on a current tour to put on that high quality of performance 5 times, let alone someone who has not been on the road for 7 years. By the end of the concert, Garth was getting a little tired -- do you wonder why?



Also, there was a special guest appearance by Trisha Yearwood singing a duet with her Husband Garth -- "In Another's Eyes" before singing her hit "Walkaway Joe" and going off stage. After the performance and how visibly encouraged Garth was by the fans, one would not be surprised if he hits the road in the next couple of years. He's an unbelievable pro.

Definitely a concert we were proud to have been apart of.

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Hmm. $100 Oil and $3 Gas? I thought we were already there...

This morning, ran across Steven Hardgreaves article at on CNN.com discussing the current gas and oil situation.

Here comes $100 oil, and $3 gas -- With crude setting new highs every day, experts say there's no way motorists won't see a spike at the pump.....

.....With oil prices setting records over $90 a barrel - and $100 looking ever more likely - experts say there's a good chance drivers will see $3 gasoline before the end of the year.

I don't know about you, but I cannot remember the last time I paid under $3 for a gallon of gasoline at the pump. In fact, in California -- I have paid at least $3.20 a gallon for 91 octane premium gasoline for the last year or so.

While the national average is still in the $2.82 or so for a gallon of unleaded gas, the top six states in the US, making up ~40% of the countries population are well above that number (see using the AAA Fuel Gauge Report). Of course, Los Angeles is leading the way.

Seems this is no news for those of us who live here in California. $4 gas? That's most likely the next stop from here.

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Fiesta Broadway – Downtown Los Angeles - Cinco de Mayo

Two days before Sunday’s Los Angeles Lakers game at Staples Center, the Lakers sent out a communication to all those who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster. The bulletin basically told everyone with tickets for Saturday’s Avengers game or Sunday’s Lakers game to expect traffic delays due to “Fiesta Broadway” and the closure of many block in the downtown area of LA.

My first thought – what is Fiesta Broadway? It sounded like a Cinco de Mayo kind of thing, but it was only going to be April 28th and April 29th. So, after a quick Google – I determined it was a downtown party for Cinco de Mayo that traditionally is held the Sunday before Cinco de Mayo. And, in general approximately 500,000 – yes, that’s a half million – crowd into several blocks on Broadway Street in the downtown area.

Other than worried about getting to the game in time, Ashley and I decided to get to the Staples Center for the Lakers game plenty early to check out the Fiesta Broadway party. So, on the morning of April 29th, we headed down the 101 freeway to towards downtown at 9:00am, figuring it would give us a couple of hours of time to explore the Cinco de Mayo celebration at Fiesta Broadway.

We arrived at our usual parking spot for Lakers game right around 10:00am. We always park on Flower Street, right next to the “Liberty Grill” a block away from Staples Center. Although not cheap at $20, it is really easy to get into and the most important part is that after the game the direct access to Flower Street before the main Staples Center traffic is priceless in terms of getting to the freeway quickly.

Not knowing downtown well, Flower Street is about 6 blocks away from Broadway – so, after asking we started the walk East towards Fiesta Broadway. After about a 15 minute walk we showed up at the far south end of the Fiesta Broadway festival. Given that it was already past 10:00am, we were expecting a much larger crowd. However, the streets were lined with vendors and displays.

As we started walking down the street, we had some interesting observations. One, everything was written in Spanish – somewhat expected, as Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday. Two, many of the folks walking down the street handing out samples of things like “Tums Smoothies” and “Nivea for Men” did not approach us, while approaching others on the street. Not really a big deal, I guess we probably were not the target market they were looking for.

As we kept walking, it seemed that each block had one main sponsor – Chrystler / Jeep, Tums, Aquafresh, Coca-Cola, Nivea for Men, AT&T / Cinguler – and then a number of other food and smaller vendors mixed in. Also, the main entertainment area and food booths were not open yet – it appeared that things really took off after 11:00am, when we really needed to be at the Lakers game.

Overall, we were not too impressed with Fiesta Broadway, but it probably had more to do with timing than anything. Had the entertainment and foods courts been open before 11:00am – it would have made for a much more enjoyable experience. Should we look to go back next year, we would not show up until sometime after noon.

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Can Kobe save my season?

A Recent Post from my on the Cornerstone Conference NBA Fantasy League. (more to come on last night's Laker game!)

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The last two weeks have been abysmal for my team, Bio-Waste. After a dominating performance against Benchwarmers and then squeaking by Honkylips, the team’s playoffs positioning and chance are now fading fast. After getting hammered by Higa last week, when I walked into Staples Center last night – the deficit to Yojays looked an improbable 1-8.



In addition, at the beginning of the season when I grabbed these Lakers tickets - they were not one of the games I was really excited about. With the Portland Trailblazers in town, a collection of jailbirds of various natures, hence earning the nickname for the team of Portland Jailblazers – how exciting could the game be? Not to mention, it was smack in the middle of the 1st round of the NCAA tournament. How could I watch my brackets?

Then, when starting lineups were announced – Luke Walton was no where to be found, bad sign. The first half, the Lakers as a team were awful. Kobe kept making great passes to open teammates and mentioning no one particular (yes, you Smush Parker) – they passed up the open looks. It was so bad, that every time the chant for the “Let’s Go Lakers” came, I was forced to chant “Let’s Go Kobe.” It was clear to everyone in Staples Center the Lakers had no chance unless Kobe did something special.

Kobe had a decent first half and there were signs of how hot he was on a couple occasions where he sank back-to-back three’s. A third 3-point attempt realized his heat-check was not quite white hot yet – but who knew what was coming.

No need to really re-cap what happened in the 4th quarter and overtime; everyone knows that Kobe willed the Lakers to victory dropping 8 3’s, and 65 points on the Portland Trailblazers. A truly spectacular overtime thriller that w

What did it mean for Bio-Waste? Nothing less than a miracle. A 1-8-0 deficit turned into a 5-4-0 advantage in the matter of 53 minutes of basketball. So now, Kobe I plead – save Bio-Waste and my Fantasy Season – we need you!

My only fear now is, how many games will Stu Jackson suspend Kobe for scoring 65? There has to be something worth suspending there, right?

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Kobe drops 65, a Staples Center night out!

Kobe, Save the Lakers’ Season! When I originally purchased my Los Angeles Lakers tickets for the game on March 16th, I had no idea it would end like this. In fact, the game was not one I was even remotely excited about. For the simple reason it was against a consistently mediocre team, the Paul Allen owned Portland Trailblazer, which I affectionately call the Portland Jailblazers based on the recent problems of a few unnamed player. The main reason that we chose to go to the game was we had decent seats in the Premier seating section and had not gone to a game in a couple of months. Plus, the Lakers had lost 7 in a row.



This was one game that I will never forget. We all know the story, right? Kobe dropped 65 points and 8 3 pointers. In my opinion, possibly the best ever single performance by a Laker ever witnessed. Yes, Kobe has scored 81 points in a game before but it was not the same – the Lakers needed every single point he scored, it was not a blowout game.



The Lakers as a team were dreadfully awful on Friday night. To start the off the introductions, Luke Walton was no where to be found. Not only was he not dressed and in the starting lineup as expected, he was not even behind the bench. Smush Parker was dreadful. Several times he passed on wide open jump shots, hesitating and passing off to a more covered player.

It was so bad, that when the organ came on to chant “Let’s go Lakers”, I could only chant “Let’s go Kobe.” However, in the early going Kobe was trying to get the rest of the team going, only putting up 4 points in the quarter – while his teammates kept clanking bricks off the rim. Fortunately, by the second quarter Kobe knew the game was in his hands. Early on, he hit back-to-back 3’s. A third, a true heat check was way off – however, the crowd was ready to explode. Just a sign of things to come…….

The 4th quarter and overtime is really what is worth talking about. The Trailblazer knew they were going to Kobe every time. Double-team, Triple-team it did not matter, Kobe kept putting shots, including a barrage of 3-pointers away. Let’s not even talk about that nasty double-teamed baseline fade away



The worst part of the game? The family of four next to me that left with 5 minutes left and the Lakers down double digits. Now, that was crazy!

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Sunday in Malibu, California – Star sightings and more

I forgot how much I enjoy sunny Sunday afternoons in Malibu, California. Since we go to church at Malibu Presbyterian, it is a frequent opportunity for us. Today was the first day in some time where the weather cooperated – in fact it reached a high just north of 90 degrees.



That being said, I think everyone had the same idea that we did. A 90 degree day in early March is a great opportunity to really enjoy Malibu and hang out. Especially at the Cross Creek Market, where parking was pretty problematic for the center. We were heading to Marmalade Café, which is just a great overall place to eat – salads, sandwiches, soups, and tons of entrees that can really be enjoyed.

Afterwards a stroll over to The Coffe Bean & Tea Leaf provided some sun rays, relaxation and entertainment.

To that point, the stars were out.

Our first encounter of the day is that we ran into Matt Leinart, with a baby and girlfriend. (Brynn Cameron? Maybe not.) That were heading into Marmalade Café just as we were heading out, I did a quick double-take as he was a bit shorter than I imagined. His player card at ESPN.com lists him at 6’5”, but on Sunday in casual Malibu, I would say he might be 6’3”, but closer to 6'2". Well, then again Shaq is listed at 325lbs, I don’t think so.

Then for the odd sighting of the day, a well known or visible site for anyone who has been to Hollywood or Universal City and has seen a billboard. Across the parking lot coming towards us was a Mary Kay pink Corvette with the plate ANGLYNE rolling towards us. A quick glance at the license plate and you knew what was coming your way. That’s right, it was Angyline Angelyne – the lady from the billboards in Los Angeles was driving towards us. While we peered briefly into the vehicle to confirm it was her, she waved nicely to us and was on our way.

Quite surprising, indeed. What a day in Malibu, I feel there will be many more this year!

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Dodgers On Deck Pre-Onsale is Wednesday (Tickets)

Another great reason to subscribe to Dodger's "On Deck"...........



As a Dodgers On Deck subscriber, you have the exclusive opportunity to participate in the Dodgers On Deck Single Game Tickets Pre-Onsale Wednesday, February 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT. This pre-onsale allows you to purchase 2007 single game tickets, online-only, prior to our public onsale Saturday, March 3.