Stadium Sightings

After a raucous Saturday night in Echo Park, the Dodger Stadium crowd was a bit more subdued on Sunday afternoon. Understandable, with it being a Sunday afternoon game, on Easter Sunday to boot. Also partially responsible was Giants pitcher Brad Hennessey, who held the Dodgers to three hits and no runs in seven innings, as the Giants left LA with a 2-0 victory.

ESPN's coverage of the game focused upon Barry Bonds, who didn't do much. Barry went 0 for 2 with a walk, and was at the center of a late-inning controversy. With one man on in the seventh inning, Hennessey's curveball didn't curve, and hit Jeff Kent in the head, sending him first to the ground and then to the hospital for medical attention. The boo birds came out in full force, as did the 'Giants Suck' chants. Bonds led off for the Giants the next inning, and was plunked in return, leading the home plate umpire to eject Dodger pitcher Tim Hamulack. That was the high drama of the day, although the Dodger struggle to score runs brought back unpleasant memories of 2002 and 2003.

My friend got great seats, second row field level behind home plate, the best I've ever had for a Dodger game. Seated among the season ticket holders and VIPs, we had a pair of celebri-sightings worth mentioning.

ESPN's Peter Gammons was about ten yards from us, working the game for the network. Once the ninth inning ended, he was out of his seat and on his way. The newly crowned Ultimate Fighting Champion, Tim Sylvia, was there as a guest of Dodger pitcher Brad Penny and started signing autographs in our area in the eighth inning. I didn't yet know who he was, yet figured that he was somebody important, due to the big gold belt around his waist. Yep, the UFC champion sports the gold in public (and i can't really blame him, seeing as it was his first day as champ).