The Trolley Dodger

So this means the Yankees are going to pay back the $1.2 billion of public funding for that new stadium then?

No?

Ah.

Chris Jaffe at the Hardball Times has an article up tracing the worst endings to postseason games “10 worst endings to postseason games” — and there have been some doozies, including a couple of Brooklyn Dodger-related items in 1941* and 1947, one good, one not good at all. (Passed ball on the final strikeout, anybody?) As Vin Scully says from time to time about the old days, that’s Dodgers baseball.

* – there’s a “1971″ typo, but it’s ’41.

Ken Levine, co-czar of the Dodger Talk radio show, is moving back to wetter pastures, returning to Seattle as a member of the Mariners’ broadcasting bullpen.

Ken writes in “I’m returning to the Seattle Mariners broadcast booth…”,

… as part of a rotation of former M’s announcers trying to fill the unfill-able void left when Dave Niehaus passed away last November. But I’m thrilled to be returning to Seattle. I’ve always loved the city, team, organization, and (now) the ballpark. I’ll primarily be working on the radio, doing the play-by-play with Rick Rizz. Expect a lot of Dave Niehaus anecdotes and remembrances.

He isn’t sure about whether he’ll still be doing some Dodger Talk — it’d be a crazy commute if he still is. :D

Ken is a very funny, intelligent guy who helped this blogger out tremendously during my night in the Dodger Stadium press box*, making sure I knew where to go when, and generally being a helluva nice gentleman. Not to mention he and Josh Suchon interviewing me on Dodger Talk that same season.

Best of luck, Ken!

* intro, live blog, photos

Kobe had this awesome quote after the Lakers’ 115-57 beat-down of the Cavaliers the other night, responding to a reporter asking if he had any sympathy for the Cleveland players:

“None. You forget who you’re talking to.”

That brings to mind another quote by a Los Angeles great, this one from Sandy Koufax after his 1962 no-hitter against the Mets:

“To win. Nothing else matters, and nothing else will do.”

We need that instinct at Dodger Stadium again.

LA Dodgers: “Fund established in memory of Christina Green”

LOS ANGELES — The family of Christina Taylor Green has established a charitable fund in memory of the 9-year-old slain on Saturday in the Tucson, Ariz., shooting that claimed six lives and injured 14 others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Christina Taylor Green was the daughter of Dodgers scouting supervisor John Green and the granddaughter of longtime manager Dallas Green. She was attending the meet-and-greet for Giffords at a local market after being elected to her elementary school’s student council.

In response to the outpouring offers of support for the family, the Dodgers have established an e-mail address (greenfamily@dodgers.com) through which family, friends and members of the community can share thoughts and feelings about the tragedy. Submissions will be compiled in a memorial book for the family.

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