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

It was a game that the Lakers figured to waltz through against the Utah Jazz who came into L.A. as a 14 point underdog having dropped their last 8 straight overall, 17 in a row inside Staples Center against the Lakers and without a few of their key starters. Well as Kobe Bryant so eliquently stated after the game in his expletive laden media gathering “Just flush that shit down the toilet and move on to the next one”! And it was Kobe who had a chance to win it at the end, but the ball slipped out of his hands like it was greased and the Jazz had a rare win here over the champs 86-85. And as incredibly competitive as he is, Kobe might have normally come into the postgame newser with fire in his eyes but for whatever reason he was as giddy about this loss as I can remember and the following is the unedited version that is simply Kobe being Kobe as I began the questioning…

Kobe Bryant with Ted Sobel et al after rare home loss to Utah Jazz:

As Lamar Odom put it, it was their worst game of the year and I’ll try to post more Lakers postgame reaction before their Wednesday nighter at Golden State as they play the next 2 on the road including Friday night at Portland.

The LPGA’s first major of the year is in the books and Stacy Lewis is your 2011 Kraft Nabisco champion. But long before the first tee shots it all began for me on Monday as I left a shortened Toshiba Classic (PGA Champions Tour) media day of golf at Newport Beach Country Club to get to Rancho Mirage in time for the Pro-am party. And what a party it was with plenty of celebrities, music, and food to go around for the rest of the year. Some of the highlights were the great musicians on stage including the lead guitarist for KISS Tommy Thayer who most wouldn’t recognize without his makeup on. And after he got the crowd all worked up, new Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper joined him to play a few of his classics which really got the room rockin’. And then walked out Don Felder of the original Eagles’ and he played with Thayer and a stellar local rock band and it was worth the long ride to the desert just to hear a great rendition of Felder’s own classic ‘Hotel California’. No question it was fun hanging with the rockers and it was the first time I had met Cooper in person (I did a phone interview with him a few years ago when he told me that my radio station KFWB was his favorite growing up in L.A. in the early 60’s). I also renewed acquaintances with baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench (who was my unofficial caddy and ball retriever last year) and ran into his longtime Dodger rival Steve Garvey along with many other familiar names from the sports and entertainment world-too numerous to mention here. After the music stopped they finally announced our Pro-am pairings and my Tuesday morning group included maybe China’s greatest player Shanshan Feng who’s as nice as she is a stellar player, and ironically the same Tommy Thayer who would replace his guitar for the day with a set of clubs that he could swing pretty well (if only we both could play this game as well as he plays guitar-the guy can really pick it!). We played well as a team but my driving was atrocious and fortunately I helped with a few clutch putts which brought out the best line of the day twice from Feng. She couldn’t help but say with conviction “at least you can putt!” If was overly sensitive I may’ve taken that the wrong way-but of course she was 1,000% correct (just wish I had a better day off the tee to show her I’m not always that lame!) 🙂 My Wednesday group included veteran LPGAer Mi Hyun Kim who’s back on tour after starting a family and it was fun to see her play with a set of $40,000 gold irons. Also in my group was Andy Bush who I eventually found out was 2007 KNC Champ Morgan Pressel’s boyfriend and she joined us on 18 where Andy hit the best approach shot I’ve ever seen there (including Lincicome’s classic to win in 2009). It was a laser beam from about 225 yards out from the right rough and over the water that softly landed on the green which we 2 putted for a birdie. Folks, if that shot was in tournament play-we’d be seeing it on Youtube forever. Way to finish strong Andy and Morgan told me that you will never let her forget it, too! I quickly left on Wednesday night to be in studio at KFWB on Thursday morning before heading to the Dodgers’ season opener against the hated Giants. And Friday was a whirlwind working on-air until 2pm before winning the long drive contest back to the desert where for the 3rd straight year I would be the KNC 18th green announcer on Saturday and Sunday. I had to hustle back and forth a few times late in the 3rd and final rounds to get an interview from a player while still working the 18th green but it’s all in a days work. LPGA pro Louise Friberg who I met while playing in her Pro-am group 2 years ago, joined me for a goodbye hug late on Championship Sunday after she unfortunately missed the cut two days earlier. I wanted a picture with Louise right next to the winner’s trophy to maybe give her some mojo for next year here! I also took a few pictures from my vantage point right behind the bridge on 18 as the players wrapped up the tournament. And finally it was Lewis outdueling world #1 Yani Tseng for her first tour win and fulfilling the dream of jumping into Poppy’s Pond. I finished up Sunday getting interviews with the new champion and her father before sending the sound back to the stations and I was done for another year. What I want to stress to you is the most satisfying part of my gig is the passionate response that the fans give each player when I announce their name…it gives me goosebumps sometimes and to see her reaction is simply priceless!! I’d like to thank tournament director Gabe Codding and his entire staff for another great week of hospitality and family atmosphere, the Rancho Las Palmas Hotel for another awesome stay, Donna Hahn and her nice staff in the media tent for helping me with my work needs, old friend Paul Lester (THE golf photographer) for taking some of the nice personal pictures to share with you, and the KNC fans who are always fun to work for. What another great week it was and what a lead-in to this week’s Masters, if only I could be there (even for just once in my life)?

World #1 Yani Tseng had a 2 stroke lead going into the final round of the Kraft Nabisco so of course she won easily, right? Wrong! Stacy Lewis who had never won an LPGA event took over the top of the leaderboard at the turn and won by 3 shots for a major championship and a story that’s almost hard to believe. We found out during the trophy ceremony that a major golfing inspiration in her life-her Grandfather Al had died on Wednesday after some year’s with alzheimer’s disease. And Stacy went out with that bulldog mentality that she’s known for and shot rounds of 66, 69, 71, and 69 for the right to jump into Poppy’s Pond (the annual ritual for the KNC Champ originating with Amy Alcott in 1988).
So the Lewis family all leaped in holding hands but unfortunately Stacy’s mom (who’s 2nd to the right with the blue top and white cap) didn’t get a firm footing in the rough at the start of the jump and broke her leg on the rocks in the shallowest part of the pond. And Stacy found out when I was talking with her dad Dale while mentioning that it was bad enough that Mom was taken to a hospital. But Stacy remained her unflappable self still in her wet robe (telling me it was getting cold in it) and gave me a few minutes of pure joy followed by her father who tried to sort out this whole thing right in front of me after his wife had just been whisked away in a big red emergency truck…

Stacy Lewis and father Dale Lewis with Ted Sobel:

Ironically, Mrs. Lewis had run 14 miles this morning prepping for a marathon that may have to be put on hold for awhile. Also on hold is Tseng’s 4th major but she was still kind enough to stop and chat with me after such a ‘major’ disappointment…

Yani Tseng with Ted Sobel after final round of 2011 KNC:

More pictures to come later but first I have a 2 hour drive home after dinner so please check me out tomorrow again!

She’s only 22 years old but unlike a few un-named (at this time) others on the LPGA tour-she gets it! Kraft Nabisco’s defending champ is Taiwan native Yani Tseng who’s showing what it takes to win her 4th major in less than 3 years. The world #1 has such a refreshing genuine way about her that you can’t help but root for her and it was a pleasure to get a few comments before the golf channel got her…

Yani Tseng with Ted Sobel:

So after the best round of the tournament (a bogie-free 66) Yani leads her final two rounds playing partner Stacy Lewis by 2 shots and 2007 KNC champion Morgan Pressel is like a lurking allegator from Florida as she’s just 4 shots back. I caught up with the always passionate Morgan (reminds me of me-but without the looks or swing!) on the practice green after her 69 and she was still smiling too…(ct)

Morgan Pressel with Ted Sobel:

So Championship Sunday at the KNC will be a special story no matter who wins. Will it be back to backers for Tseng, a first tour win and a major for Lewis, a 2nd KNC title for Pressel, or someone coming out of the pack to steal this one for the right to jump into Poppy’s Pond? Hope to see you there…and remember that I’m the guy standing behind the bridge leading to the 18th green who announces these special ladies’ names as they approach their faithful fans-and to see the girls smile from the crowd’s reactions makes my job more satisfying than you’ll ever know. 🙂 Good luck ladies!

Just before I head back to Rancho Mirage for the weekend this afternoon, the greatest winning tour golfer EVER Kathy Whitworth called in to discuss her amazing career in which she earned 88-that’s right-88 trophies. That’s 6 more than Sam Snead and Mickey Wright and as I learned in our chat, Kathy finished 2nd in an amazing 95 other tournaments. And tomorrow morning the Hall of Famer just hopes to play well when she joins many other great LPGA legends in the Fresh&Easy Dinah Shore Charity Pro-am on the Palmer course at Mission Hills Country Club. As you can imagine, Ms. Whitworth’s been around long enough to have tons of stories to tell besides her winning “The Dinah” back in 1977, so sit back and enjoy as we learn what goes through the mind of the ultimate winner in golf’s storied history…

Kathy Whitworth with Ted Sobel:

(If you have any comments on this or any other of my interviews here, please feel free to leave them, thanks!)

I had the choice of either covering the big Lakers-Mavericks showdown at Staples tonight or sitting in 90 plus degree temps at Dodger Stadium to get the baseball season underway-and it really was a no brainer for me. There is simply nothing like an opening day in baseball and combine that with the Dodgers and the hated Giants colliding on the same field and it’s my kind of party. And then add the fact that San Francisco comes in as the reigning World Series champs in front of a 56,000 plus sellout crowd and you really have a great start to the season no matter where either team ends up?

The other personal perk is getting to see some people that I would only likely run into during the baseball season. One of them being THE ultimate play by play voice Vin Scully who I got to give my annual greeting of ‘Happy New Year’ and a handshake to completing a good night that saw the Dodgers beat the enemy 2-1 on a pitching gem by Clayton Kershaw.

Speaking of handshakes and great voices, I got to greet another all-time classic in Placido Domingo who stood a couple feet away from me as he practiced his special rendition of the national anthem. It was also good to say hello to new ESPN broadcast partners and old friends Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine who stopped into the Vin Scully pressbox dining room just like it was old times around here. I asked Orel how was his golf game and he said that he had quit 5 years ago replacing it with poker. I guess it’s much less taxing on the body? ‘Bulldog’ also told a few Fernando Valenzuela stories before the legendary lefty threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

But before any first pitches of the season, I had to hustle down to the Dodgers’ locker room to get you some player’s thoughts and that’s where I ran into former L.A. first baseman Steve Garvey who still works for the club. The irony of seeing ‘The Garv’ here was that we had both just played in the Kraft Nabisco Pro-ams the last 2 days, so it was time to get him to say a few words on both golf and baseball…

Steve Garvey with Ted Sobel:

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After Garvey I saw Dodger closer Jonathon Broxton just sitting in front of his locker casually watching the Angels-Royals game on TV. So I messed with him about a nice tan and his emotions going into the new campaign?…

Jonathon Broxton with Ted Sobel:

And then new Dodger leftfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr. wandered over to his locker and I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce myself for the first time. And it wasn’t surprising to see that he was a chip off the ol’ block, not only sounding like his Hall of Fame father but with that same great attitude…

Tony Gwynn, Jr. with Ted Sobel:

And the last remaining Dodger in the area (before they would have to kick me out of the locker room as the game was fast approaching) was tomorrow’s starter and the man with the shiny new contract extension, righthander Chad Billingsley. And since I never did get to spring training in Arizona this year, I had to at least comment as well on his beautiful new tan (which he gladly accepted)…

Chad Billingsley with Ted Sobel:

So after Kershaw outdueled Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum for new manager Don Mattingly’s first official MLB win, here’s what ‘Donny Baseball’ told us right after the game (and I had to ask if he gave any Vince Lombardi type speech to help his team win?)…

Don Mattingly with Ted Sobel et al:

and then I went to starting Dodger catcher Rod Barajas to get his thoughts on the game and what it means to his new skipper and to beat their rival as well?…

Rod Barajas with Ted Sobel: