TED SOBEL SPORTS AUDIO VAULT: Your Inside Access to TOUCHING GREATNESS

We all the know the sad story about 42 year old Santa Cruz paramedic Bryan Stow and the horror he went through after the season opener at Dodger Stadium when Clayton Kershaw outdueled the Giants. Well AT&T Park was the place where the home fans got to send their own tributes to Stowe and donated over $58,000 for his medical bills and family. And there was also a ballgame in which Kershaw once again stymied the Giants for a 6-1 win…but this one was all about the fans and how they behaved like respectable adults after a moving pregame ceremony. Both clubs gathered at the mound with San Francisco’s Jeremy Affelt speaking from the heart on how this is a great rivalry and should stay that way without anymore violence and then he was followed by more nice words from Dodgers infielder Jamey Carroll.

After the game I got reactions from the Dodgers locker room, first manager Don Mattingly…

Don Mattingly with Ted Sobel et al:

I then walked over to Kershaw and asked about the moving pregame meeting with the fans…

Clayton Kershaw with Ted Sobel et al:

And then it was on to Kershaw’s catcher Rod Barajas who hit his 2nd homerun of the year while also sharing his thoughts on how the rival fans handled themselves tonight…

Rod Barajas with Ted Sobel:

And last but not least, I had to get Carroll’s reaction to his shortened pleas to the fans (due to his friend Affelt taking advantage of his standup opportunity-but in a good way!)…

Jamey Carroll with Ted Sobel:

And before the game, I also chatted with new Dodgers first base coach Davey Lopes and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt about their rivalry stories against the Giants back in their days…

Davey Lopes with Ted Sobel:

Rick Honeycutt with Ted Sobel:

Except for dejected Giants fans because of the loss, it was a great night to be a part of and let’s hope that the rest of this 3 game series will stay well-behaved…for that matter, the rest of eternity!

The Lakers are trying to keep from losing a 5th straight game for the first time in over 4 years but the younger and hungry Oklahoma City Thunder are standing in their way. OKC came out flying to grab an early 12 point lead but after Kobe Bryant and ex-Celtic big Kendrick Perkins got tangled up in tug of war match with their upper bodies, the Lakers woke up and trail by just 2 at the half. And Kobe leads all scorers with 22 points on 8/11 from the floor. But where is the Lakers defense again? The Thunder shot over 62% so far lead by ex-Bruin Russell Westbrook’s 18 pts., 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Perkins who loves to use his mouth as much as big body had some words about the Lakers’ Pao Gasol being soft…which seems like a soft comment considering that Pao has back to back rings and Perkins’ old team in Boston was on the wrong side of the last one. And it’s up to Gasol and his teammates to show who’s soft in the 2nd half and stop an ugly streak before the final week of the regular season stares them in the face. And the Lakers fell flat on their faces late in the game allowing a 17-2 run in the final 3 minutes and lost 120-106. The Thunder were led by the league’s leading scorer again as Kevin Durant tallied 31 with help from Russell Westbrook’s 26 for their first win in this building and their confidence has to be higher than ever heading into the playoffs, just the opposite of the Lakers who are looking for that proverbial button to push this time of year.

After the game I asked Thunder head coach Scott Brooks (of local UC-Irvine fame) about finally beating the Lakers in L.A., but also check out his answer to my question on if he’d rather not have Perkins making statements in public like ‘Gasol is soft’?…

OKC coach Scott Brooks with Ted Sobel et al:

Meanwhile Kevin Durant was his usual unassuming self in front of his locker even though he just finished one his club’s best wins of the season…

Kevin Durant with Ted Sobel et al:

And then it was off to the obviously subdued Lakers locker room where I looked into guard Shannon Brown’s eyes with a bit of “what the hell is going on with you guys?” look…

Shannon Brown with Ted Sobel:

Pao Gasol had himself a 26 point night but it didn’t do much for his personal disappointment in how the Lakers are winding down the regular season so ugly…

Pao Gasol with Ted Sobel et al:

And we waited an extra long time for Kobe Bryant to finally leave the trainers room and he wasn’t as talkative after this loss as he was in the last home debacle. But as you’ll hear, I tried to pry SOME words out of him (I deserve SOME overtime for that futile effort)…

Kobe Bryant with Ted Sobel et al:

So only one more home game left for the Lakers vs. San Antonio on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season on Wednesday night in Sacramento in what figures to be the Kings last game ever there before moving to Anaheim. But I’ll miss them both as I head to San Francisco in the morning to cover the entire Dodgers-Giants series at my favorite stadium in the world-AT&T Park where McCovey Cove shines in the right field background like a perfect painting. Unfortunately my Monday assignment for KNX is to report on the fans and security around the stadium after the sad event that happened on Opening Day at Dodgers Stadium after the Dodgers beat the Giants…and a thug ruined the life of a Giants supporter and fans everywhere who just want to feel safe going to a sporting event.

It was the last regular season game for both teams and the Ducks stole home ice advantage in the upcoming NHL Stanley Cup playoffs away from the Kings-and on L.A.’s home ice with a solid 3-1 win. We still don’t know who either team will be playing in the first round as they must wait for today’s Detroit at Chicago contest but we do know that the Kings blew home ice with the loss and Anaheim is on a high after beating their cross-county rivals on back to back nights.

A funny (but serious to him) side story tonight was soon to be 41 year old Ducks hall of famer to be Teemu Selanne’s first fight since he broke into the NHL when Rocket Richard was just a baby. Selanne who’s now 27th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list and amazingly tied for 8th in league scoring this season along with being 3rd in power play goals, couldn’t have taken it any better when I had the chance to ask him about his scrap with L.A.’s Brad Richardson after the game…

Teemu Selanne with Ted Sobel et al:

Since we’re talking fights, who else did I need to go to next than Ducks enforcer George Parros who’s hopefully not concerned about Selanne stealing his job… 🙂

George Parros with Ted Sobel:

Even Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle had fun with the Selanne bout but was mostly enjoying the thought of home ice advantage when I spoke to him in the hallway…

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle with Ted Sobel:

I then caught up with the NHL’s only 50 goal scorer this season and very possibly the next Hart trophy (league MVP) winner Corey Perry as we talked about such a wild finish to the regular season…

Corey Perry with Ted Sobel:

I then hustled into the Kings unhappy locker room where I spoke with the Dustins, Captain Brown and ex-Duck right winger Penner about what’s ahead in the first round of the playoffs after such a poor ending to the season…

Kings captain Dustin Brown with Ted Sobel:

Kings right wing Dustin Penner:

After my trek to both locker rooms I ran into Selanne in the hallway taking a picture with a friend. And it hit me how fun it would be to get that classic fighter’s pose with one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet and Teemu not only loved the idea but then loved the ‘finnished’ product-also something to remember what could possibly be his final NHL regular season game ever (although the way he’s playing now-don’t bet on it!).

And last but never least, I saw Kings Hall of Fame play by play legend Bob Miller in the media dining room and thought there’s no other voice you’d rather hear than Bob giving his thoughts on his beloved Kings as they limp into the playoffs-which is hard to do on skates…:)

Bob Miller with Ted Sobel:

So the playoffs are upon us and we’re just hours away from knowing who the first round opponents will be for our locals. But at least we can finally say that for the first time in their 19 years as So-Cal rivals, the Kings and Ducks have reached the post-season together and now must find a way to meet in a series to get this area ‘hockey crazy’ (for at least a few weeks anyway). It really doesn’t seem very promising today but as Bob Miller just stated…anything can happen in the run for the Stanley Cup. Good luck boys!

Round one is over at Augusta National and the final putt of the day was a birdie that gave Spain’s Alvaro Quiros the co-lead with Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy after their 7 under 65’s and a 2 shot edge over Korean buddies Y.E. Yang and K.J. Choi. And Yang bogeyed the final 2 holes or else he would have a major smile going for him again. Meanwhile I’m all smiles after picking McIlroy to win it all this week but of course we’re both quite far from the finish line although you can’t get mucher better of a start. I also couldn’t get much better of an informed writer to chat with on this event then longtime L.A. Times golf columnist Tommy Bonk who’s writing for masters.com this week and we cover it all from Tiger and Phil to Amen Corner to the beautiful azaleas on Magnolia Lane. The following is our phoner (recorded before Quiros would birdie 3 of his last 4 holes) as I sat here admiring that Bonk’s the one at Augusta and I’m the shmuck in a studio with a 10 inch TV to look at it…but hey, life’s not fair, right?…

Tommy Bonk with Ted Sobel from the Masters:

Now please go do Tommy a nice favor and checkout his work at masters.com and thomasbonk.com and you’ll be better off for it. Enjoy the masters of golf this weekend and GO Rory GO (it’s not easy to make me look good and he’s the one who can pull that off this week!) 🙂

The Kings needed a come from behind 3-2 shootout win over Phoenix to reach the NHL playoffs for a 2nd straight season after missing them during the previous 8.

Some absolutely great stats standout for the Crowned Ones with goalie Jonathon Quick now a perfect 10-0 in shootouts this season and center Jarret Stoll not only scored the first goal of the game but the winner in the shootout where he is now an amazing 9 of 10 this season. After the game, I spoke with all of the key principles involved, first Mr. Quick who was quick to tell me about how his guys have come together when they needed to…

Kings goalie Jonathon Quick with Ted Sobel:

Then it was onto a smiling Stoll who stole the show and then gave us his feelings about reaching the postseason again…

Kings center Jarret Stoll with Ted Sobel:

And Kings head coach Terry Murray finally had a reason to give us a long postgame chat with smiles attached but reminded us all that his task is far from over yet…

Kings head coach Terry Murray with Ted Sobel et al:

<

So there are just 2 games left in the regular season and both against the rival Ducks who are just a win or a Dallas loss away from giving Southern California hockey fans a long awaited first-actually both teams in the playoffs in the same season. Now if they can only find a way to play against each other, this town will never be the same.

It’s the greatest week of the year in golf so why not make some picks that will either label me a genius or a fool in public (my annual tradition unlike any other) for the Masters? So here goes:
I’m expecting Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy to putt well enough to earn his first major and green jacket after missing the cut at Augusta last year. 3 time winner and defending champ Phil Mickelson (who re-discovered his greatness this past weekend in Houston) to finish a close 2nd followed by another world class player and non-major winner Lee Westwood.

My darkhorses are Matt Kuchar who loves this place, Wisconsin’s Mr. Consistency fairways and greens guru Steve Stricker and Italy’s Francesco Molinari who’s a real major up and comer. Others to watch for are Southern Californian’s Anthony Kim and Ricky Fowler, the logical picks like world #1 Martin Kaymer, Nick Watney and Luke Donald (although I’m not feeling it for them this week) and my top rookie choice is Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas baby who won the Bob Hope and is a real bulldog with nerves of steel. A few that I’m secretly rooting for (although it’s hardly a secret on this site) are guys I’ve loved dealing with and have the game to do it like reigning U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell, Brit Paul Casey who’s always a straight shooter (and hopefully driver this week), Englishman Justin Rose who’s a class act, Bubba Watson who’s just a down to earth nice guy, Bill Haas who was so gracious with his time as the defending champ at the Hope this year (also comes from a great dad in Jay Haas and his uncle Bob Goalby won the ’68 Masters), and Ernie Els because he’s just a quality human being (who’s closet deserves a green jacket!). If I list anymore names you’ll just say that I mentioned everyone-and don’t tempt me! 🙂 Oh but did I forget to mention that guy Tiger? My prediction is that he’ll surprise many and finish in the top 12 (assuming that Woods will keep it out of the woods?) but knowing Eldrick like I do, never fully count him out from winning anywhere-specially his favorite course on the planet! So enjoy ‘The Masters’ everyone whether or not Jim Nance lulls you to sleep sometime during the week?