Tuesday, January 14, 2014

A Blog Contest Update: A Current Tally - Contest Closes Wednesday Night


Wow!  You folks are really awesome.

The response to my very first contest of 2014 has been great.  Thank you all for participating.

As you know, the contest closes tomorrow evening, on Wednesday.  So, if you are still interested in throwing your hat into the ring there's still time.  Go here, to my original contest post, for details.

In the meantime, I wanted to put up a current running tally of entry tickets earned, so far.  If my tabulation is inaccurate please let me know.

First thing, Sunday morning, I'll put everybody in a randomizer to get a winner.

Good luck, and thank you!


DodgerPenguin 13
Aus 2
Jesse in Section117 1
Dhoff 1
Superduperman99 1
Koufax Kid 3
Spiegel83 2
Steve Gierman 8
Skroeker 1
Daniel Wilson 3
GOGOSOX60 2
Swing And A Pop-up 2
Johngy 5
Thomas Glover 3
Greg Zakwin 4
Alex Markle 5

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Some Fan Photos from Last Nights Dodgers Pride Night; Including Hiccups

I thought I would post up some great photos taken by Blue Heaven reader Cathy from last nights Dodger Pride Night at the Kings game.  As you can see below, she had some great seats near the glass.

I'm super envious!

They also happen to be good friends with the famous Hiccups Payaso.  Check them out below.

And here's Hiccups with the Kings mascot, Bailey.  I wanted, so badly, to run up to Bailey, pull off that jersey and run away with it.

Here's Hiccups with a young Kings fan.

As you may know, Hiccups Payaso has been a frequent visitor to Dodger Stadium.  He is known to delight fans with his super smile and playful spirit.  Although we don't have an official team mascot, Hiccups is likely the closest we have... and I'm fine with that.

Also, Hiccups is active in bringing smiles and hope to LA's homeless population.  Through his Hiccups Pizza Project, he leads a group of volunteers, one weekend a month, to feed and clothe the homeless.  Check out his facebook page here.

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2013 Panini Elite Extra Edition Baseball - All the Dodgers Cards

One of the last sets of the 2013 Baseball hobby season is Panini's Elite Extra Edition Baseball.  This is a set that focuses primarily on up-'n-coming prospects, and it includes numerous Dodgers who were just drafted by the team in the past year.  Check them all out below.

Base Set

#5 Chris Anderson                                #91 Jeremy Rathjen

Supposedly, there is a Chris Anderson variation card to his base card above, but I have yet to see any evidence of that. 

The 4 Autographed Prospects cards directly below were drafted by the Dodgers in 2013. 

Autographed Prospects

#135 Tom Windle  /671                           #153 Brandon Dixon /672


#158 Cody Bellinger  /673                     #169 Kyle Farmer  /670

Steve Garvey's son was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2013.

Bloodlines Set

#5 Ryan Garvey/Steve Garvey
Front                                                        Back

Franchise Futures Signatures

#5 Chris Anderson  /265                      #91 Jeremy Rathjen /159

Historic Picks

#9 Mike Piazza

There is also an autographed Mike Piazza Historic Picks card, but I have yet to see one.  From my understanding, they are numbered to just 5 copies.

Scouting 101

#13 Chris Anderson

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The Kings Sold Those Awesome Dodgers Themed Warm-Up Jerseys Yesterday, and I Didn't Win One


I went home last night in a less than happy mood.

Sure, the Kings eked out a hard fought win against the Vancouver Canucks, and considering the style of play I should have been elated.   We definitely witnessed some old-time hockey, as a total of 109 penalty minutes were meted out by the refs; including several brawls that had the crowd jumping.

Still, I left the arena deflated.

Last night was Dodgers Pride Night, and I was hopeful that I would be able to take home one of those Dodgers themed hockey jerseys they wear during the pregame skate.  For the second year in a row, the Kings came out in Dodger Blue before the game, and like many fans I was smitten.  They are easily the greatest Kings jersey's since the unveiling of the 'Black & Silver', and the team would be auctioning them off during the game for charity.

I immediately headed to the main concourse during the first intermission to check out the auction, and placed a bid. As you can see below, they were all piled neatly on a table.

I figured I would be better off chasing one of the fringe/role players on the team since they were likely to be the most affordable.  Instead, I found myself placing a bid on the Jarret Stoll jersey (#28) in the $500 range.  Then, I came down during the next intermission and upped the ante to $600 in hopes of deterring any competitors.  With seconds to go before closing a person, who I shall refer to as a troll, sniped me in the end, and with little time to rebid I was left without the prize.

Boo!

Oh well.  I guess I'll have next year.

Since my photos above do not do these jerseys justice, check out this great photo tweeted out by the Kings.

Here's another photo that was shared by the Dodgers on tumblr.  That's Kings captain Dustin Brown (#23) with star centerman Anze Kopitar (#11) in the background.  Both will be Olympians.  Brown will be on Team USA and Kopitar will be with Slovenia.


You can't tell me those jersey aren't awesome.  In fact, they are so good I still wonder why the Kings didn't chose to use a similar design for the upcoming Stadium Series game at Dodger Stadium.  Frankly, I think it's a missed opportunity for the club.

BTW, a couple of Dodgers were at the game to drop the opening puck.  Via a pic tweeted by the Dodgers, check out Jerry Hairston Jr. and Brian Wilson wearing Kings jerseys.

They also received some choice seating from the Kings - right on the glass (via Hairston's instagram).


Here is a vine video from the Kings of the players heading back to their clubhouse after their pregame skate.


Now, does anybody have a Dodgers themed Kings jersey they want to sell?  I'm a willing buyer.

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Blog Kiosk: 1/14/2014 - Dodgers Links - Hockey at Dodger Stadium, Guerrero has his Visa and Miguel Rojas


Here's a great pic of Wayne Gretzky, Stan Kasten and Ned Colletti, via LA Times reporter Helene Elliott on twitterCheck out more photos from yesterdays press conference from Jon SooHoo, hereJon Rosen at LA Kings Insider also shares a bunch of pics and videos from the press conference, here.
  • Awesome!  Via Helene Elliott at the LA Times, "Hockey, Dodger Stadium, Wayne Gretzky, Vin Scully—how Great is that?"  Vin Scully will have some involvement in the hockey game at Dodger Stadium.  WooHoo!  So, is anybody going?  I'll be on the Top Deck.
  • Via Ryan Cowley at Making Way for the Kings, "Upcoming Stadium Series Game to Benefit 50 Elementary Schools in SoCal".
  • Via Jon Rosen at LA Kings Insider, "Nearly 50,000 tickets sold for Stadium Series game".
  • Watch a video of Dodger Stadium as they prepare the field for hockey, here.  Below is a screen grab from yesterday.
  • An old friend alert.  Cesar Izturis has singed a minor league deal with the Houston Astros, via a tweet from Jon Heyman.


  • Chris Olds at Beckett shares some preview pics for 2014 Topps Finest that comes out in August 2014.  Check out some cards here.  A Yasiel Puig card is on the right.
  • Via Mark Langill at Dodger Insider, "Winter Ball".  The Dodgers historian tells us about the time some folks tried to play Baseball on ice.  Awesome!
  • JP Hoornstra lets us know that Alexander Guerrero has his visa and recently landed in Florida, via his twitterJon Weisman at Dodger Insider shared a pic of Guerrero hanging out with Yasiel Puig.  As a bonus, Dodger scout Mike Brito is in the background.
  • JP Hoornstra at Inside the Dodgers writes about slick fielding Dodgers prospect Miguel Rojas.  Rojas on what he learned from Omar Vizquel.
“He told me this story that he was just a right-handed hitter, and then he learned how to hit left-handed late, and then when he started hitting left-handed, he understood what kind of player he was, as an offensive part. That’s one of the big pieces of advice he gave to me: learn who you are as a hitter. That’s an important thing in this part of your career.”
  • Last night was Dodger Pride Night at the Kings game.  The Royal Half shared some interesting background about past Dodger Pride Nights that includes how it's been the kiss of death for other teams.
  • Jimmy Bramlett at the LAist writes, "How the NHL Will Create an Ice Rink at Dodger Stadium".
  • I love Winter Olympic hockey.  USA!  USA!  Below is a pic shared by the Kings of  Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick in their Team USA jerseys!

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