Wake-up call: Dodgers, Ducks, flooded dugout, 'Pacman' Jones
First things first: I'm starting with baseball -- despite Adam (don't call me "Pacman") Jones having gotten into an altercation* (more on that later). The Dodgers are taking on the Phillies in Game 1 at 5:15 tonight on Channel 11 and if the Dodgers pitchers can keep those smart, pesky left-handed hitters in check.... Left-handers seem to be pesky in every walk of life. And, yes, I'm left-handed but throw right and have the rotator cuff surgery scars to prove I did that too much in life. Derek Lowe has the start. Will we see phenom left-hander Clayton Kershaw start one of these games? Tampa Bay Rays take on the Red Sox on Friday.
Off to a good start: TJ Simers launches a few missiles at Philadelphia today, calling it a "dingy city" and its residents "pit bulls running wild." I'll have to ask Assistant Sports Editor Athan Atsales about this. He loves the Eagles and the Phillies. I've been to Philadelphia, but it was years ago. And I loved Phillie Phanatic (see picture above). Athan?
Cubs are all wet anyway: The smashed water pipe in the Cubs' dugout at Dodger Stadium after their Game 3 loss caused a flood but not much buzz. At least not the same as the buzz caused by the smashing of Sammy Sosa's boom box after the final game of 2004, as the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan points out. Cubs GM Jim Hendry said he didn't know who did it and didn't care. "I have no idea, and I don't have any interest in finding out," he said. "To me, it's not even an issue. Believe me, if I had been in a uniform, it might have been me." The broken water pipe caused the dugout to flood.
He loves trouble: OK, Adam (don't call me "Pacman") Jones was in trouble again* after getting into a fight at a Dallas hotel with his own bodyguard. Jones, who is with the Dallas Cowboys now, returned to the NFL in August after serving a one-year suspension for violations of the league conduct policy. He was told by Commissioner Roger Goodell that further problems could result in a lifetime ban.
Yes, hockey begins: The NHL gets fully underway tonight, and one of the games is the Ducks-Sharks at 7:30 on FSN Prime. Is anyone in in L.A. ready for hockey when the Dodgers are in the playoffs? I am, but I will watch the Dodgers game and pick up the Ducks game afterward. The Ducks' Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne are back and this could be another (happily) long season toward the Stanley Cup. I also hope it's not Brian Burke's last here. Helene Elliott's rankings put them at No. 4. The Kings open on Saturday.
-- Debbie Goffa
*An earlier version, which said Jones was arrested, was based on an early wire story. He was not arrested in the incident.
Photo: Phillie Phanatic. Credit: Chris Gardner / Associated Press
