The Morning Column: August 5, 2021
After the Dodgers added Scherzer and Turner and the Lakers added Westbrook, Melo and others, Jeanie Buss celebrated with Dodgers ownership in what could be the first of many big nights for both teams
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1. 🏀⚾️ Lakers, Dodgers marriage off to a great start
As Lakers owner Jeanie Buss walked out of Dodger Stadium Wednesday night following Max Scherzer’s 10-strikeout, curtain call debut with the Dodgers, she smiled. “I love Max,” she said. “I love this team.”
Buss, wearing a Cody Bellinger jersey, watched the Dodgers defeat the Houston Astros, 7-5, from the owners’ box at Dodger Stadium. She has been to plenty of Dodgers games in the past. Executives from both teams from the Dodgers’ Magic Johnson and Lon Rosen to the Lakers’ Buss and Linda Rambis have been friends for over 40 years.
But Wednesday felt different. Not only were both teams celebrating a whirlwind week that saw the Dodgers trade for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner and the Lakers add Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza and others, but both ownership groups are now financially connected.
Philip Anschutz sold his 27% minority interest in the Lakers to Dodgers co-owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly last month and the transaction was approved by the NBA's board of governors on July 9.
Now Los Angeles’ two most popular teams – and two of the most valuable franchises in sports – are tied together. Both teams (along with the WNBA’s Sparks, which are also owned by a group led by Walter, Boehly and Johnson) already have long-term deals to broadcast games on Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNet LA and the Dodgers will hold a Lakers Day at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 22.
After one of the craziest transactional weeks in the history of both teams, Wednesday’s celebration after the Dodgers’ victory over the Astros in front of 52,724, the largest MLB crowd this season, felt like it could be the start of many big nights for both teams. “We’ll see,” Buss said, smiling. “We’ll see.”
2. 🧢 Scherzer gets a curtain call
The atmosphere at Dodger Stadium Wednesday was unlike anything I had seen before in over 30 years of going to games at Chavez Ravine. There wasn’t that angst that comes with a postseason game or the indifference that comes with a summertime regular season game. It was different. Dodgers fans came to boo the Astros from batting practice through the final pitch. I had never seen anything like it in Los Angeles. It was incredible and the players on the field felt it too.
“It’s probably one of the best atmospheres I’ve played in,” said Mookie Betts, who had two home runs in the first two innings. “That was pretty amazing to be a part of.”
The highlight of the night was not only the debut of Scherzer, who had 10 strikeouts, but his curtain call to cap off an unforgettable debut.
“To have the fans ask for a curtain call for me, I’ve never had that happen,” Scherzer said. “That’s really a cool moment, something I’ll never forget.”
3. 🏟 The scene at Dodger Stadium
I asked you guys to send me videos of what you witnessed during the Dodgers-Astros series at Dodger Stadium. Here’s a sampling of what I got:
4. 🥇 USA! USA! USA!
After a shaky start to their exhibition season in Las Vegas with losses to Nigeria and Australia and an even shakier start to their Olympics in Tokyo with a loss to France, Team USA has turned the corner and will play in the gold medal game after a 97-78 win over Australia in the semifinals. Kevin Durant, who led the team with 23 points and 9 rebounds, has solidified himself as the most accomplished USA men’s basketball player in history during this run and now owns every significant individual statistical record in USA men’s basketball history. Team USA will look to win the gold and exact some revenge when they play France on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. PT. on Peacock.
5. 🍕🍔 Free Food!
This is more of a public service announcement than a plug but the Dodgers do a great job of making sure their fans are fed after a home win. After last night’s game, I was told fans had qualified for the following:
🍕 - Free 7-inch pizza from California Pizza Kitchen because the Dodgers won at home.
🍗 - Free 6-piece Chicken McNuggets with a purchase of fries at McDonald’s because the Dodgers scored six runs.
🍔 - Free Jumbo Jack with the purchase of a large drink at Jack in the Box because the Dodgers had 10 strikeouts.
The offer is good for everyone at participating restaurants in Southern California, not just for the fans who went to the game, so enjoy!
6. 📆 Aug. 5, 2002: The Lakers lose their voice as Chick Hearn passes away at 85
On this day 19 years ago, Los Angeles lost an icon as Chick Hearn, who was the play-by-play voice of the Lakers for 42 years, died at the age of 85. Hearn called a record 3,338 consecutive Lakers games from 1965 to 2001 and was famous for his “Chickisms” such as “slam dunk” and “air ball,” which became common basketball expressions. His most famous phrase amongst Lakers fans, however, would come in the final minutes of a game the Lakers had all but won. “You can put this one in the refrigerator,” he would say. “The door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard and the Jell-O is jiggling!”
7. 🎂 Happy Birthday Carl Crawford
Happy birthday to Carl Crawford. The four-time All-Star and former Dodgers outfielder turns 40 today. On Aug. 25, 2012, Crawford was part of one of the biggest trades in Dodgers history. The Dodgers traded James Loney, Ivan DeJesus, Jr., Allen Webster, Jerry Sands and Rubby De La Rosa for Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Nick Punto and $11 million in cash. Crawford was never the player he was prior to the trade with the Dodgers. He appeared in 320 games with the Dodgers from 2013 to 2016 and was released by the team in June 2016.
8. 🎟 Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game this weekend:
Los Angeles Angels at Los Angeles Dodgers – $46 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Vancouver Whitecaps at LA Galaxy – $17 (Sunday)
9. 📺 On The Air Today
5 p.m. – Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – FOX
10. 📻 The Arash Markazi Show
On yesterday’s show, producer Ji Hae Wiley and I discussed how Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony are in a different place in their careers and will be team-first in their pursuit of their first NBA title with the Lakers.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show on The Mightier 1090 Monday-Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., following The Rich Eisen Show. The Mightier 1090 has the second strongest radio signal in North America and can be heard from “Baja to the Canadian Rockies.” You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!