Dodgers

May 3 2012

Frank McCourt may still try to capitalize

The new ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers this week promised a fan-friendly, accessible and winning organization and announced an immediate $5 reduction in the $15 parking price.

New team president Stan Kasten also announced the establishment of an email address for fans to send suggestions—fanbox@ladodgers.com—along with a lot more opportunities for autographs.

The record $2 billion purchase of the team by Guggenheim Baseball Management from reviled former owner Frank McCourt became official on Tuesday.

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Mar 15 2012

Reflecting in verse on some of the people he’s met

No one can laugh at life like Thomas Jerome Hawkins, partly because the former Lakers and Cincinnati Royals  star has scored on virtually every challenge life has thrown him. He has succeeded in the NBA, as a broadcaster and as Dodgers executive. Now, Hawkins, 75, who is generally known simply as Tommy, has turned to verse.

When his alcoholic father left the family in Winston Salem, N.C., his mother moved him, his three brothers and sister to Chicago, where some of her relatives lived.

Oct 17 2011

Jamie will be withdrawing her opposition to the Dodgers proposed sale of media rights

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Frank and Jamie McCourt announced today that they have reached a divorce settlement over ownership of the Dodgers, ending what is believed to be the costliest marital split in California history.

“The terms of the settlement, which is already in effect, will remain private,” according to a joint statement issued by the McCourts. “Jamie will be withdrawing her opposition to the Dodgers proposed sale of media rights and instead will be filing papers in support of the process proposed by the Dodgers.”

Jun 13 2011

Wrote letter to MLB commissioner Bud Selig

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Prominent Los Angeles religious leaders throw their support behind Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, saying they sent a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and urged him to approve a $3 billion deal between McCourt and Fox.

“As religious leaders in the Los Angeles community and lifelong fans of the game of baseball, we are writing to express our sincere displeasure with the manner in which the Los Angeles Dodgers and Frank McCourt have been treated by Major League Baseball,” according to the June 3 letter.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 2 2010

White Sox welcome new teammate

The Manny Ramirez era in Los Angeles officially ended Wednesday, when the Chicago White Sox acquired the slugger on a waiver claim, and the Dodgers did not receive any players in return.

The White Sox won the rights to Ramirez last Friday, giving them until Tuesday to make a deal.

Ramirez could have blocked being sent to the White Sox because he had a no-trade clause in his contract, but he declined to do so.

The White Sox will pay his nearly $4 million salary for the rest of the season.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
Allied Integrated Marketing recently announced it is launching a new African American marketing division, Allied Moxy. The new division will create innovative campaigns that integrate publicity, promotions, digital and grassroots outreach to speak directly to the full diversity of African American consumers. Spearheading Allied Moxy are industry veterans Kim Walters and Gloria Jones. Walters will oversee national strategy from Los Angeles, while Jones will oversee regional/local strategy from Washington, D.C. Walters brings more than a decade of marketing experience working with entertainment companies such as Codeblack Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and A&E Lifetime Television, as well as consumer brands such as KIA and L.A. Gear and awards programs such as NAACP Image Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. Jones has been with Allied for five years running publicity and promotional campaigns for clients, including Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Relativity Media, and previously worked for WBDC-TV in D.C. and MTV Networks’ Nick @ Nite and TV Land.

 

Representing Los Angeles and Center Theatre Group, Tyler Edwards, a senior at the Orange County High School of the Arts, placed third at the national finals of the fifth annual August Wilson Monologue Competition (AWMC) at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre in New York City. “I am thrilled . . . I’m so glad that I took it for L.A. the first time we got up . . . that’s what we’re talking about!” said an elated Edwards following the competition. Edwards, an aspiring actor, describes the soaring, lyrical monologues found in the plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson as “very inspirational,” and said prior to the Los Angeles Regional Finals of the August Wilson competition, “I would love to share a bit of that inspiration with any audience, in hopes that they leave with more appreciation than they walked in with.”

 

Georgia
Bounce TV, the nation’s first-ever over-the-air broadcast television network for African Americans, will launch a second new original comedy series, “Uptown Comic,” on June 18, immediately after the series premiere of the just-announced sitcom “Family Time.” “Uptown Comic” is a half-hour series featuring stage and skit performances by some of the hottest up-and-coming comics in the country. The show is currently in production in front of a live studio audience at the longest-running African American comedy club in the U.S.—Uptown Comedy Corner in Atlanta. Actor and comedian Joe Torry (Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam) hosts. “Family Time,” a half hour situation comedy created by Bentley Kyle Evans ( “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Martin,” “Love That Girl”) and produced by Evans and partner Trenten Gumbs is set to launch Monday, June 18, at 8 p.m. The series premiere of “Uptown Comic” will follow and be seen weekly at 8:30 p.m. (All Times Eastern.)