Blog Kiosk: 1/25/2012

• Steve Dilbeck should write a horror screenplay. He imagines a scenario where Rams owner, Stan Kroenke, buys the Dodgers, builds a football stadium in Chavez Ravine, and moves the Rams back to LA with McCourt as a part owner. What's scary is that this is a real possibility.
  
• Check out this great little parody song made by Joel-Steve Voicedude using a song from "Oliver!" and the Dodgers bidding process as lyrical inspiration. It is called, "Who Will Bid?"
  

Who Will Bid? [produced by Voicedude] by Joel-Steven Voicedude

• Bob Daly, who was a managing partner when Fox owned the Dodgers, says
  

  "When we were going through the process of selling the team, McCourt seemed like an OK guy. I sat down with him and told him people here were under contract, but they've been like a family and so if he wanted to make changes, do so with respect.

  "As everyone knows he didn't, so I told him off. It took five or six more years for a lot of other people to catch up to where I was with him. He did some good things, but inherently he was not a nice guy. He put himself before the Dodgers, and this is a team owned by the fans and the city of Los Angeles."

  Via TJ Simers at LA Times.
  

• True Blue LA shares their 2012 Minor League Prospects Countdown. They start it off with #91 to #100.
  
• Save the ThunderBug! (Hat Tip: Puck Daddy)
  
• Ranker has a list of All-Time Ugliest Athletes, and guess which Dodger is on it.
  
• Check out this awesome Star Wars Millennium Falcon guitar, via Musicians Authority.
  

Weekend Autograph Opportunities

Just to start, please check out the Autograph/ Events Calendar for a large listing of events.

And I want to make a quick comment. Screw those Yankees.

This coming weekend there will be a big card show in New Jersey. If you are in the area go here for details. The show celebrates the Yankees 1977 World Championship that saw Reggie Jackson belt 3 homers in one game against us. Unsurprisingly, they call the show the "Return to Glory" show. Along with a large number of former Yanks in attendance will be several Dodgers. Those special guest include Steve Yeager (who was behind the plate for all 3 Reggie homers), Burt Hooton (who gave up homer #1), Elias Sosa (who gave up homer #2), and Charlie Hough (who gave up homer #3).

35 years later and the Yankees are still rubbing it in.

Now to a Southland event.
First pointed out by Jesse at LA Inspiration, the LA Convention Center will be hosting the 9th Annual Fit Expo this weekend (Sat & Sun). Along with dumbbells, exercise tapes and all the food supplements you could want there will be numerous celebrities on hand to sign autographs. Go here for a complete list. Here is a short list:

• Mike Tyson; Saturday;
  11:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Intro at the MaxReps Stage
  11:15 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Autos/Photos ($129/$139) Gallery of Legends Booth
• Tito Ortiz; Saturday;
  Celebrity UFC Fighter
  Owner of Punishment Athletics
• Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake; Sunday;
  Heavyweight Champion
  10:30-10:45 a.m. Main Stage Q&A
  10:45-12:00 p.m. and
  1:00-2:30 p.m. American ICON Autographs Booth – Autos/Photos (add charge)
• Josh Saunders; Sat & Sun;
  Goalkeeper US Soccer League- LA Galaxy
  
• A handful of LA Temptation Lingerie Football players. You read that right!
  

• D’aundre Reed; Sat & Sun;
  Minnesota Vikings; NFL Football Player; Autograph/Meet & Greet with product purchase

• Chauncey Davis; Sat & Sun;
  Chicago Bears; NFL Football Player; Autograph/Meet & Greet with product purchase

• Rudy Tomjanovich; sat & Sun;
  Former LA Lakers Coach; Current NBA Scout for the LA Lakers

  Sat. 3:00-5:00 p.m.
  Sun. 10:00-1:00 p.m.

• Lisa Leslie; Sat & Sun;
  Top WNBA Basketball Player

  Sat. & Sun. 1:30-3:00 p.m.

And this is just a short list. There are a whole bunch of well-known MMA, UFC, fitness, bodybuilding, wrestlers, chefs and nutritionist slated to appear.

Erskine and the Duke Pitch Gillette

Here is another edition of Dodgers Vintage Spokesmen. Back in the day, most players had second jobs during the off-season. After all, a Major League salary could only take you up so high the economic ladder. If you wanted to survive you needed to be like every other American and work all year round. A fortunate few had the opportunity to supplement their income by pitching their fans all kinds of products.

This time I share a couple of newspaper ads featuring Duke Snider and Carl Erskine selling Gillette razors to the masses. Both of these guys were well liked and popular, so it's not surprising they became pitchmen.

Here, Duke Snider remarks, "there's nothing more refreshing than a Gillette shave!" This ad is from 1954.

(Auction Link)

Also from 1954, Carl Erskine trades in his feats on the field for a chance to earn a little on the side.

"Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers won his place among Baseball's immortals on October 3, 1953, in the third game of the World Series. He fanned 14 Yankees including two ninth-inning pinch hitters to set a new strike-out record for the Fall Classic!"

I think the artwork on these kinds of collectibles are overlooked. As time goes on they tend to fade from the memories of fans everywhere.

(Auction Link)

Dodgers Pride Night with the Kings

Once again the Kings celebrate the upcoming Baseball season by honoring the local team. In a few weeks they will be holding Dodgers Pride Night as they face off against the Phoenix Coyotes on February 16. Go here for more information.

A special Dodgers hockey puck will be given out, but only to those folks who buy tickets through a special discount plan for this specific game. I will note that not everyone in attendance will get a puck. Only those fans who get tickets through their ticket deal for the game get the puck. I believe the promo offer code is "Dodgers."

For a season ticket holder like me, I'll have to look forward to whoever shows up for the Dodgers since I would not be eligible. Last year, Billy Ashley came out to sign autographs as Don Mattingly dropped the opening puck. See my report from last year, here.

UPDATE: Thanks to Enrique Esqueda for providing a pic of last years Dodgers puck.

Collection: Fans of the Game Shalit

Following up on a post from last week, here is another Donruss 'Fans of the Game' autographed card in my collection. It features 'The Today Show' critic Gene Shalit. He looks awfully goofy with that grandma quilt-style bow tie and giant Afro, but you gotta love that handlebar mustache.