Ha ha, I would have LAT-ed myself on the last thread but my internet connection hiccupped and it didn't go through.

1
Not everybody gets to become a Dodger Thoughts meme. You're a lucky man.

I guess I was lucky. We got in and out of the Sunset exit without a problem. 15 mins or so each way. However, on the way in from Downtown one of my buddies told me to take Alpine instead of Sunset and that made a huge diffrence. I will never take Sunset again.

I sure wish JP would stop proving the folks here at DT quite so correct.

Saw Larry King giving an usher a pretty bad time because the talk show host couln't figure out on which level he belonged. Can't imagine why he was on the Loge level when he was supposed to be in the Dugout Club. His wife (whatever number she is) was pulled scary tight. Plus, they were wearing jerseys with thier name on the back. Whats wrong with that you ask? It was their entire name. "Larry King" and "Shawn King." It looked stupid. But even stupider was that they were both wearing converse sneakers. I don't know what the age limit on trying to look younger by wearing Converse is but I know he exceeded it by at least 20. He was scary looking. Like a skeleton with skin painted on.

I also saw Steve Lyons. He was standing opposite me in one of those Carl's Jr lines on the Loge level. He was in a nice suit. Not sure why he was getting his own food or doing it on the Loge level but I felt sorry for him. Later I noticed he was in the Dugout Club with his daughters who looked to be 8 or 9 yrs old. How do you explain to your daughters that "Daddy got fired for racially insensitive remarks." The whole flap seems silly now. (Actually it did then too).

The food lines were awful. It seems so unlike Frank to let this issue go on season after season. It must be costing him money. I know I would have spent more if it wasn't such a hassel.

I hope the Lakers make the playoffs--Clippers too becasue I love going to DS on those nights. No one is there. No lines. No parking problems and easy for the kids to get autographs.

My next game is 4/15 Jackie Robinson day and I am looking forward to it.

2. Sometimes a dubious honor but I'll own it.

After a long day dealing with crazy deadlines and Avid issues, and after listening/watching to the Dodgers lose, I fiddled around with various stations on the drive home. Imagine my (mild) surprise when KNBR came in loud and clear, and I got to listen to tons of outraged Giants fans vent their frustrations on Sports-Phone 680.

Schadenfreude? Yeah. But fun.

Plaschke actually had a column I like for the first time in years, it seems. I'm happy I actually bothered to read him.

I've been willing to give the McCourts the benefit of the doubt on so many things, but really, these are the guys who can't shoot straight, are they? What a fiasco--one concession line running out of Dodger dogs (?!?!), this parking catastrophe, etc. Hopefully they'll work the kinks out.

WWSH

Enjoyed my 22nd consecutive opening day today. We ran into many past and present Dodger players around the club level before the game doing the meet and greet thing. I was saddened to meet Willie Davis though. He smelled like he hadnt taken a bath in days. His clothes were dirty and unkept. His speech was slurred and incoherent at times. Whats wrong?? Did I miss something about whats been going in Willies life lately?

The people working the concession stand that ran out of hot dogs should be given raises. Unless it was a logistical screw up, and they weren't just really fast. More efficient staff is probably the only way to fix the concession stand lines; space is finite and they've always seemed to have at least one more person crammed into each of those stands than seemed practical. They ought to have head hunters scouting fast food restaurants, trying to poach off the best workers. What's the point of keeping Lasorda on the payroll if he can't hack that?

It's weird that they needed a traffic-blocking sign to direct employee parking; it's the first game of the season, but the third at the stadium, this year.

This is dangerously close to a rule 5 violation, but how can CNN.com's lead story be Don Imus getting suspended for 2 weeks and not "Iran plans to build 50,000 nuclear centrifuges". Surely, this Don Imus story isn't that important?

9- What does that have to do with the Anna Nicole Smith's kid's paternity results?

Eye on the ball, here, Benaiah.

The finest investigative journalist of his era: Ryan the temp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAkTpceAi6s

10 - The media in this country is so terrible that it boggles the mind. There are major drawbacks to citizen journalism (obvious biases, no access, limited scope), but at least it provides and alternative to the hacky garbage that is the MSM.

12 - "an" not "and". It is early.

Don Imus looks unbelievably frightening. Oh my god.

I think CNN just wanted an excuse to put that picture up. That or they feel that the topic of Iran isn't headline worthy because it isn't new.

I just want to mention that the last thread is hilarious. D4P especially was in rare form, but everyone was bringing heat.

Rafael Furcal might start a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday night, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

I saw him running the bases during batting practice & looked great no limp or nothing.

As of this morning ESPN still hasn't figured out that Schmidt's "injury" was just a cramp. They're still in drama mode about it and tell us it doesn't bode well for the Dodgers. A cramp! My grandmother knows it. Vladimir Putin knows it. ESPN does not.

9 Now, if Don Imus was suspended for building nuclear centrifuges, that would warrant page 1 status.

I'm stumped by the Imus thing too. I can't figure out why "nappy headed ho" is a racial slur. Can someone explain that to me?

I don't believe that can explained without violating everything from Rule 1 through 10.

12 Isn't it better that the biases of members of the media be obvious? I would say hidden bias is far worse... or at least that's what the postmodernist cultural anthropologists tell me. Of course, can any of us know the experience of another so as truly to understand their bias?

I believe s was being facetious in 19. I hope, anyway.

Meanwhile, back to baseball... Tomko's only slated to pitch 5 or 6 innings max tonight even if he's pitching well. Which would mean we'd get another Billingsley sighting, I'd assume, and Saito unless it's a blowout.

21 Joe Morgan's bias is plenty obvious, but that doesn't make him any more tolerable.

23 - But it's harder to fix something you can't detect.

7
Willie has been living pension check to pension check spending it at the race tracks for years and years. If he didn't have his pension he'd have ended up like Leon Wagner.

Once Furcal gets back this team will be unstoppable. All the pieces will be in play.

21 - I agree, but I think the danger is a ghettoization of opinions, where people start to get all of their news from people who agree with them. It leads to a self-selected myopia about the world, something like Pauline Kael saying she didn't know anyone who voted for Nixon. Fox News is bad, but their problem seems to be more what they don't cover (and their miserable hosts) than a stated bias. But still, citizen journalism has so many upsides.

22 That was not a rhetorical question. I understand that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson think it's a racial slur, but does their thinking it make it so?

I tend to have nappy hair, and I'm not African-American. I can think of plenty of black people who don't have nappy hair. I also am acquainted with a few hos, most of whom are white.

So what am I missing? If what I just said is offensive, I'd appreciate an explanation, because I really don't understand why the phrase Imus uttered, while juvenile and unfunny, is any worse than what goes on in the majority of morning drive-time radio shows every day.

Friend I work with is the grandson of the 91 year old lady showcased in the Daily News yesterday. They had a reporter attached to them while they attended the game. At one point McCourt and the Mayor came down to say hi to get their pictures taken with the family. He said the fans were giving McCourt a bad time. That must be a little embarrassing to be hooted at in your own park.

Oh boy. Just saw a link to Edwin Jackson's start. I see he took the loss. Go figure.

Maybe in 5 days we can have a link to Odalis's next start. Maybe he will make it out of the 2nd inning next time. LOL...

28 - I think this is a case of saying something offensive about a black person(s) not a case of saying something offensive about black people. In other words, I think it was a stupid thing to say and while there is some slight racial overtone (nappy) this is not in anyway like Michael Richards or Mel Gibson. However, Al Sharpton got the call on the bat phone so obviously it is a big deal. It may not seem positive to live in a society where people can't say racist things in public, but I don't like the idea of a "word police" who interpret things in the worst way possible and then demand punishment.

s choir-

if someone was to say "slanted-eyed nerd" on public radio, i would be offended too.

do you have slanted eyes? or are you a nerd?

you don't HAVE to be ASIAN to have slanted-eyes and be a nerd, but it's offensive nonetheless. so yea, i think "nappy-headed hos" is a pretty offensive statement, borderline racial. unless your naive or ignorant to generalization in today's society.

sorry guys, i think i broke some rules....delete if need be.

28 Sorry, s, I misunderstood. Without getting too into it here in this space (and you could google around for some comments), the phrase Imus used has a history to it - "nappy" was one of many pejorative words used historically when referring derisively to African Americans; usually it was used in a longer sentence, as part of a negative description of a person. Other peoples may also have that type of hair, but they don't have that type of history. Additionally, it's not just racist, it's misogynist. We're talking about a group of talented scholar-athletes at a great school, Rutgers, who he referred to as "hos." I actually found that more offensive, personally. Imus is shorthand for "ignoramus", btw. ;-) and it's not a big loss if he's off the air for a little while. That's all I-gotta say about that.

Sure it is offensive but is it a firing offense? Do we live in a free speech society where if you publicly offend some group your freedom of speech is curtailed. If Iman's listeners complained enough that the station wanted to punish or fire him then fine, but these are people who don't listen to his show telling him what he can and can't say.
I don't listen to Howard Stern because I find him offensive but I sure wouldn't protest his right to be a jerk. Same with all the right wing blowhards. It is our freedom of choice to listen or read what we want, it is not our right to tell these people how they should talk or write. JMO

If Imus brings in more money than he costs he'll have a job.

I just think there are so many other things Imus could have criticized about Rutgers-- there horrible bus system, for instance. Or the fact that they keep their classics department in a basement on Douglas campus. Or the the lunatics in their classics department. Or the fact that there is no bus stop near their classics department.

This is totally irrelevant, but I couldnt sleep all last night due to construction being done next door. Is there a law that states what time contruction can be started in the mornings, in residential zones? Hopefully like 8 am? If anyone knows, the help is much appreciated, with any link also so I may print out the info and hand it to those damn workers! thanks!

I agree, it's probably not a fire-able offense. He got two weeks suspension which is maybe fair. But more cynically, FirstMohican is probably right. The thing is though, you start to lose respect (maybe not of your core audience but of most people) the more you say ridiculous things like that and the station could lose credibility. But again, more often than not, the moolah is what counts. Anyway...

back to baseball.

No wait, back to work. :-( Talk to y'all tonight.

If Imus brings in more money than he costs he'll have a job

I think the fact that he is only getting a 2-week punishment is a pretty good indication that he's a money-maker.

Imus makes a living out of offending people. I looked at a couple of descriptions of his show and he is described as a "Shock Jock" and known for "sarcasm and harsh language". Anyone listening for more than a few minutes should know what to expect. It's like anything else, if you don't like it, don't listen to it.

I wish Sharpton and Jackson would show half as much rage toward gangsta rappers.

40. I wish Sharpton and Jackson would show half as much rage toward gangsta rappers.

Word up yo!

[40] is it the rappers' fault that people like what they produce?

"nappy" was one of many pejorative words used historically when referring derisively to African Americans

Thanks, I'm off to do some googling now. I need to find out more about this. "Nappy" was a word my friends and I used to describe each others' hair in high school, and it's an occasional part of my current vocabulary as well. I had no idea it was racially offensive.

40. There's a difference when an old white man says something that could be construed as racially insensitive from when a young black man does. This works with all races.

More importantly, can Brad Lidge's fall from dominance be attributed solely to Albert Pujols?

45 - Methinks it has more to do with what is going on between his ears. Gods know he throws hard enough.

On to baseball: I'm hoping Delwyn Young continues to play well for Las Vegas and gets a shot at the LF job later this year.

34

Great point ToyCannon

47 - I hope he has a good year too, but if he's getting a crack at left field in LA this year, don't a number of other things have to go really wrong?

42.
It's a shame people like what they produce.

Gonzo's bat will keep Young out of LF.

Young seems like a good PROSP but with future HOF'er Gonzo and studs Ethier, Kemp, and Pierre, there looks to be no room for him.

D Young needs a crack with the Nat's or the Marlins. As 49 says if he's getting a crack with us the season went horribly wrong. I'm his biggest fan but I want him playing somewhere else.

Bluebleeder check your email.

I'm not so sure Gonzalez will last the year, and it's certainly possible that one of Kemp and Ethier will be unproductive this year.

37 - Is there a law that states what time contruction can be started in the mornings, in residential zones?

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41.40 LAMC- Construction Noise

-Engaging in construction, repair, or excavation work with any construction type device, or job-site delivering of construction materials without a Police Commission permit;

-Between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.;

-In any residential zone, or within 500 feet of land so occupied, before 8:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. on any Saturday, nor at any time on any Sunday;

-In a manner as to disturb the peace and quiet of neighboring residents or any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.

---

To get an exception to 41.40 a permit must be aquired through the LAPD. Additionally, Executive Directive No. CP.AV-1 (since August 2005) restricts contruction during peak hours (6-9, 3:30-7) on "major" roads. These restrictions aren't always enforced so I'd recommend reporting it.

Good luck.

41.-

Gangsta rap isn't broadcasted to the general public, and if it was most of the lyrics would be edited. Certainly, "nappy headed hos" would be edited out in a song heard in radio.

neways, as Andre Ethier mumbles about "other teams out there", it's only been 7 games, but everyone's disgruntled(understatement)feelings about Juan Pierre seems more and more accurate. (i was a pierre fan before seeing him actually play regularly).

31 - "Al Sharpton got the call on the bat phone..."

Perfect :)

Imus should be fired only because he so boring, and for his grizzled old fanbase that doesn't realize it, because both their brains work like molasses.

55 - I hadn't heard this before, but I just read this morning that Little considers Kemp and Ethier competing for the RF job (he said this before yesterday's game).

With Kemp potentially out for a bit, Ethier needs to flat-out produce for this stretch. He's dangerously close to being trade fodder or switching spots with James Loney.

I'd be kinda surprised if Ned traded Ethier instead of Loney (if, in fact, one of them were to be traded)

I've been a big Ethier supporter, but if he wants playing time he's got to earn it. Tonight is a perfect chance. Kemp has made his starts count and now Ethier has to.

55 - "Certainly, "nappy headed hos" would be edited out in a song heard in radio."

Uh, obviously you do not listen to hip hop stations. Or for that matter walk down main street as thumping Hondas pass by on pretty Sunday afternoons.

57 - Could someone link to that article. Man, to trade one of the young guys (who is cheap and under control for 6 more years) to keep 7 Million Dollar Man- weaker, slower- who is a free agent next year is insane. Of course, it depends on what we are trading him for (Hello Miggy).

[55] don't get me wrong, i love watching pierre... on someone else's team. he's like a mullet; enjoyable to see, but not something you should want for yourself.

58 - I think the hype around Loney makes him a little more desired by other teams.

I have a feeling that an Ethier trade would bring minimal in return, and would be another Navarro-style trade.

[60] i think a crucial difference is that rappers are either referring to actual hos (or at the very least, unspecified women), whereas imus was referring to the members of rutgers women's basketball team, whom he presumably knew almost nothing about, aside from seeing them play basketball.

bah, that shouldn't have been in parentheses.

61 - The Daily News. Sorry if this is over-quoting:

http://www.dailynews.com/dodgers/ci_5630993

"Little said before the game that Andre Ethier, who had been all but anointed the team's everyday right fielder before the season, and Matt Kemp are in an open competition for the job. After tonight, each player will have started fourgames there, although Kemp, who is hitting .429, now is day to day with a bruised right shoulder.

"They have never said one word to me," said Ethier, who is 2 for 11. "But you have competition on every team. I guess the writing is on the wall for me, at least. If I want this spot, I have to not only earn it, but keep it."

Ethier's been benched since last August. I think he does see the writing on the wall.

66 - That isn't like Loney's comment. The "writing on the wall" phrase is used incorrectly. It usually means that his days are numbered (that is literally what was written on the wall), but his next sentences indicates not despair, but a challenge. Obviously he doesn't think his time with the Dodgers is numbered or why would he talk about earning a spot on the field?

Frip-

uh, obviously, you don't listen to hip-hop stations. they don't play "gangsta rap" on radio. They don't play gangsta rap on radio, except on 93.5 KDAY on Westside Radio with Julio G on Sundays. even then half the music is accompanied by numerous "edits/pause/etc.", so it's actually heard strictly for the beats on radio.

I'm one of those in the Hondas bumpin my Jamz on Sunday on my way to Church.

Vishal-

so true. thats why he should be punished. gangsta rappers are usually surrounded by "hos".