No LA Kings, Anaheim Ducks alumni game for Dodger Stadium outdoor classic
Kelly Cheeseman, the CEO of AEG Sports, is confident the January 25 Stadium Series game at Dodger Stadium is going to represent Southern California. "It’s not going to be what you would traditionally see in any other market," he told LA Kings Insider.
For example, here's one thing you traditionally see at these outdoor games that you won't see at the one between the Anaheim Ducks and the LA Kings: an alumni game.
“We went through that exercise ad nauseum to try to make that work, because…we were very excited about that possibility. But, unfortunately, just the logistics and the timing of our game, and the concerns of the ice conditions, aren’t going to allow us to pull off an alumni game, unfortunately. We got pretty far down the line. We looked at all the possibilities, and then we just said for the good of the game and for protecting the ice conditions, we needed to make sure that we held that integrity,” Cheeseman said.
Cheeseman said that the experience will incorporate “innovative ideas that will make the game different than any of the outdoor games that we’ve seen today.”
Sorry, Steve Rucchin and Guy Hebert. You're out.
When it comes to frozen things versus the hot, hot sun, it's a race against time. This game will be the hockey equivalent of eating a popsicle on a warm, summer day. There's no time to savour it -- you've just gotta get the whole thing in your mouth before it's all over your hands.
That was an unfortunate line. I digress.
We get why an alumni game might be a bad idea, and it's the same reason the outdoor game itself seems like a bad idea. California is a state whose climate is at war with ice. That said, one wonders why they couldn't honour the tradition of Southern California hockey and the legacy of D2: The Mighty Ducks -- the film in which the Ducks were born, for chrissakes -- and have a roller hockey game.
That would have been an "innovative idea", especially if they had gotten Emilio Estevez to show up.
Instead, they've stolen the triumphant returns of Brian Kilrea, Eddie Joyal, and Dan Cloutier from us for the sake of their precious "ice", and we are the poorer for it.
