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Professional Sports |
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Are you a sports fan? Keep tabs on your favorite teams, and perhaps even go see them; why not have your cake, and eat it too? Baseball: Baseball season runs from April through October. The Angels play at Anaheim Stadium in Orange County. Under Disney ownership, the Angels have had only sporadic success. Then they shocked the world with their game seven win in the 2002 World Series. Now general manager, Bill Stone, has his hands full as he attempts to repast the Angels miracle. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at the Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers last won the World Series in1988 under the leadership of famous manager, Tommy Lassoed. Just as Fernando Valenzuela’s pitching success in the early 1980s drew a new crowd of fans to the park, pitching sensation Hideo Nome from Japan produced what was locally know as “Monomania” in the early 1990s. Today, they are struggling with their batting line-up, but a recent change in management and ownership has players and fans gunning for a trip to the World Series. Ticket for adults range from $6 to $37, giving Dodger games the moniker of “the cheapest ticket in town.” For ticket information, call 323-224-1448 or go to www.doders.com For minor league baseball, the nearest teams are the Lancaster Jethawks, 661-726-5400, www.jethawks.com, at The Hangar Ballpark; the Lake Ellsinore Storm, 909-245-4487, www.stormbaseball.com, at the Diamond in Lake Ellsinore, and the Inland Empire 66’ers (formerly the San Bernardino Stampede), 909-888-9922, www.ie66ers.com, at the Arrowhead Credit Union Park. Basketball: Basketball season picks up after baseball, and runs from October through April. Since 1999, the Los Angeles Clippers have called the Staples Center home. In this town, used to the Lakers glory days of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal, the clippers are often treated like poor second cousins. With the Clippers having gone 17 seasons out of 20 without a playoff game, in 2004 ticket prices were raised in hopes of funding stronger free agents. The Los Angels Lakers have likewise nested in the Staples Center. Once the hottest ticket in town, the future of the Lakers has become a little uncertain. After their failed bid to win a fourth NBA Championship in 2004 under head coach Phil Jackson, the team underwent a rapid and major exodus of players, including veteran players Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton. You can bet the management will be busy bringing around this younger team, still anchored by the outstanding Kobe Bryant amidst very high expectations. The local WNBA team, the Los Angeles Sparks also plays in the Staples Center, feasible because the women’s season coincides with the men’s off-season. Founded in 1997, the Sparks excited fans by becoming back-to-back WNBA champions in 2001 and 2002. Although they haven’t gained a league championship since 2002, they do feature the amazing Lisa Leslie, who in 2004 received both the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. Football: Purists have been pining for an NFL team franchise since the Los Angeles Rams played the last professional NFL game in 1994. It wasn’t until 2000 that the Arena Football League’s Los Angeles Avengers kicked off their inaugural season. While not exactly what NFL fans were hoping for, many football fans were placated. Arena football is a fast-moving alternative to regulation football. It is played on an indoor field that is half the size of what NFL teams play on, resulting in a higher scoring game. The avengers play at the Staples center form April to July. Hockey: The Los Angeles Kings also play at the Staples Center. Ice Hockey season begins in November and ends in March unless, as in 1993, the kings make it to the Stanley Cup finals in June. “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky popularized hockey here in a city that only sees ice or snow on television. The Long Beach Ice Dogs play at the Long Beach Arena, 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 562-436-3661, www.icedogshocky.com.
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