Wed.-Sun., July 21-25, 2021
Mostly a calm few days with one really fun night at Dodger Stadium thanks to blog fan Paul Sabolic.
Paul and his bride Joanne were not going to be able to use their Dodger tickets on Friday night and offered them to us including their ritzy parking pass.
Not only "yes" but "HELL YES!"
First stop once we entered was the
new Center Field area
There were lots of historic Dodger things to see, fun areas for kids and plenty of places to eat and drink.
Your Los Angeles Dodgers were taking on the Colorado Rockies at 7:05 p.m., but we wanted to arrive early enough to see the latest Stadium renovations and enjoy a Dodger Dog or two before the masses arrived.
By the Jackie Robinson statue
The view of Dodger Stadium
from the Center Field area
Dodgers World Series success
The club is the defending World Series Champions as you can see.
The 1955 title was the only one that the Brooklyn Dodgers won, the next six were claimed as the Los Angeles Dodgers.
I'm confused
We were just 11 and 12 year olds
when the Dodgers beat the
Chicago White Sox in six games
The Captain
Harold "Pee Wee" Reese was the Dodgers shortstop for 16 years and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
My favorite Dodger when
they moved to L.A. in 1958
Edwin "Duke" Snider, aka The Duke of Flatbush, was the Dodger centerfielder from 1947 to 1962, belted 407 career home runs and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Laurie may still have
a crush on Sandy
Sandy Koufax was the most dominating pitcher of the early 1960s. From 1961-66, Koufax posted a record of 129-47 including a 27-9 record in 1966 his final campaign as elbow problems forced his early retirement.
He was a Dodger from 1955-1966. During his career, he won three Cy Young Awards as the best pitcher in the National League, threw four no-hitters including one perfect game, pitched a today unheard of 137 complete games the included an astounding 40 shut outs!
He was a Baseball Hall of Fame inductee in 1972.
Great Ambassador of the Game
Because of a tragic car accident in the Winter of 1958 that left him paralyzed, Campy never got the chance to play as a Los Angeles Dodger.
A Dodger from 1948 to 1957, the power hitting catcher was the National League's MVP in 1951, 1953 and 1955. The Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed him in 1969.
He broke the MLB's Color Barrier
Jackie Robinson was one of the most important people in the history of the United States, not just baseball. He famously was the first black man to play in the major leagues during the modern era in 1947.
He was the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1947 and MVP in 1949. He played his entire MLB career with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956.
In honor of Jackie's historic, difficult pioneering experiences in integrating baseball, his number 42 has been retired in all of Major League Baseball.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Our first view of the diamond
as the grounds crew added a few
final touches
PLAY BALL!
I love it when the Sun goes down
and the lights take over
For the third time this week, the Dodgers blew a ninth inning lead and this time lost to the Rockies 9-6 in ten innings.
Because the game lasted so long, the post game Friday Night Fireworks Show was cancelled at the last minute.
Lots of families with kids were not happy.
At least it didn't turn into a Disco Demolition Night response.
THANKS AGAIN PAUL!
Meanwhile, in EuroBall action . . .
The Final Game of the 2021
Italian Season
It was the Italian DIII or CIF9 Championship Game between two undefeated squads.
At the CIF9 level, the field is slightly smaller as the teams play nine-man football.
The 7-0 North Conference Champions
The 7-0 South Conference Champions
The QBs always get the ink
I was rooting for the Elephants
After all, I coached the Catania squad in 2008 and 2009.
While still a DI squad, the Elephants had lost the Italian Bowl twice. In 2010, the Parma Panthers beat the Elephants 56-26 for the DI title.
The same two squads met again in 2012 for another Italian Bowl DI championship contest with the Panthers prevailing again 61-43.
Granted it was now at the CIF9/DIII level, but would the third time the charm?
DAMN!
The long road to the CIF9 Championship
was finally over
HAIL TO THE CHAMPIONS!
On the European League of football action . . .
Our favorite squad, the 0-4
Barcelona Dragons were at home
against the 1-3 Berlin Thunder
VICTORY AT LAST!
Six weeks down, six weeks to go
in the ELF's inaugural campaign
In the first half of the season, every team played five games and had one bye. The same format will occur in the final six weeks.
The Hamburg Sea Devils are the
mid-season class of the ELF
not just the North Conference
In the South Conference the
Frankfort Galaxy lead is a tad thinner
The week #7 slate of games:
Barcelona Dragons (1-4) at Hamburg Sea Devils (5-0)
Wroclaw Panthers (3-2) at Cologne Centurions (3-2)
Berlin Thunder (1-4) at Leipzig Kings (1-4)
Stuttgart Surge (2-3) at Frankfort Galaxy (4-1)
I continue my four to five mile daily walks . . .
I spotted a lion in the wilds
of Camarillo on Sunday
I was both in stealth mode and fortunately downwind of this King of the Beasts.
I survived to blog another day.
