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And in looking back to when Walter first purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers, this is following a similar script and according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Walter is expected to take his time in implementing changes within the Lakers: “Well first of all it’s not often you transfer $4.9 billion, own the team and you’re the alternate governor. But that’s what’s gonna happen here. Mark Walter is the alternate governor for the Lakers, now Jeanie Buss remains the governor. And when I talked to Mark about it he said, ‘You know, we’re partners.’ He really values her expertise and that’s very similar actually to what he did when he bought the Dodgers. He didn’t come in and fire everybody. He didn’t come in and start hiring all these new people. He took his time learning the business, evaluating everyone who was there. Remember Don Mattingly was the manager, he stayed on for another couple seasons. And Ned Colletti was the general manager, stayed on for another couple of seasons. So I think you’re gonna see them take their time in implementing some changes. But everything is gonna be more addition rather than subtraction. And I think that’s the best way to think about how this moves forward.”
Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick: "I became a Dodgers fan when I played for the Clippers. Although ... as a Clipper, I remember going to games multiple times and they were like, ‘Hey, can we put you up on the jumbotron?’ I was like, ‘Hell no! I’m going to get booed! I’m on the Clippers!’"
Ryan Ward: Magic on if it's a Lakers or Dodgers town in LA (via World Series pregame show): "I know it's still a Laker town, but here come the Dodgers. They're putting a lot of pressure on the Lakers, but now one man owns both teams: Mark Walter. And I want to give him a lot of credit. Mark Walter, if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be where we are today."
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Should Walter be approved, it would give him one the most valuable collection of professional sports franchises in the world. He is the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who begin the World Series on Friday night in Toronto. Walter also owns the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean King Cup, the new Cadillac Formula 1 team and the Professional Women's Hockey League. He is a part owner of Chelsea FC of the English Premier League.
Mahan told ESPN that the company has plans for LeBron James memorabilia, as well as releases that honor achievements of NBA stars of the "past, present and figuring out how to celebrate real success." Mahan pointed to Topps' celebration when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw reached 3,000 career strikeouts this season. "We did one-of-one autographs for him and every other member of that club," Mahan said. "So, you think about important milestones coming up in basketball, the opportunity to do that as guys move up the scoring leaderboard -- we want to honor the history of the game: There's having a piece of the moment from the first and last times people step on the court."
The Los Angeles Lakers turned to a familiar face to be the creative director of their preseason hype video: Natalia Bryant. Bryant had a star-studded cast for the "Forever Iconic: Purple and Gold Always" video with Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, Lakers legend Magic Johnson and actor and noted Lakers fan Brenda Song all having a role. Celebrity jacket designer Jeff Hamilton also made an appearance.
It was Wembanyama’s first step toward understanding a new perspective on the game he has a chance to conquer. He was learning about three letters the current Premier League champions (Liverpool), the World Series winners (Los Angeles Dodgers), the last two NBA champions (Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics) and many other teams across professional sports have already, to certain degrees, incorporated into their organizations. C-L-A.
By forcing a player to slowly deal with impossible-to-predict variables thrown at them, the CLA teaches them to execute under duress rather than flawlessly in a vacuum. If a coach can get a player to work through failure and creatively solve problems, the thought goes, practice becomes harder than the actual games. “It’s creating different atmospheres and a culture that the toughest part of your day in player development is the practice,” said Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes, whose team is one of the strongest purveyors of the CLA in American sports. “Blocked practice has been shown to have a purpose, but once you get into the elite levels of talent, facing this type of stuff every day, then it’s not as effective. There’s a balancing of confidence pregame and then making sure you’re challenging yourself so that you’re up to the task of facing (Pirates pitcher) Paul Skenes, or whoever.”
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In June, the Buss family agreed to sell their controlling stake of the team at a $10 billion franchise valuation to Mark Walter, the Los Angeles Dodgers owner and CEO and chairman of CWG Global. The sale is expected to be ratified by the NBA's board of governors in the coming months, sources told ESPN. Both brothers will remain with the Lakers after the sale is finalized, with their older sister, Jeanie Buss, continuing to serve as the primary team governor for the foreseeable future, sources said.
What is the main change you believe the new majority owner of the Lakers will bring compared to the previous owner? —@afamosajems Dan Woike: A few of you asked questions about something that feels like way too much of an afterthought considering the impact it could eventually have on the organization. A few things first. The general sense I’ve gotten from talking to my sources within the organization is that things are basically “business as usual” currently. But no one who has paid any attention to the behemoth the Los Angeles Dodgers have become can realistically think that Mark Walter is going to just let the Lakers move forward powered solely by inertia.
The Los Angeles Lakers were celebrated at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night with new additions Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Adou Thiero on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. This came just 24 hours after the legendary Kobe Bryant was also celebrated at the L.A. Dodgers game with a bobblehead. His family was in attendance with his daughter Bianka throwing out the first pitch to kick off those festivities. Ayton, LaRavia and Thiero are new to Los Angeles so are still getting familiar with how intertwined the Lakers and Dodgers organizations are in the city.
The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated the legacy of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on Friday night with a bobblehead night ahead of their matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who took over in 2016 during Bryant’s final year in the NBA, has seen up close exactly what Kobe means to the city of L.A. He was there when Bryant had a 60-point game to end his career, for countless appearances at Dodger Stadium in the years after his retirement as well as when the legend tragically passed away in Jan. 2020. It’s almost inarguable that Kobe’s impact on the city of L.A. is greater than any other athlete to don the city’s name on their uniform. With Friday night being Kobe Bryant Bobblehead Night in Los Angeles, Roberts spoke about the legend’s impact on the city, the sports world and recalls his visits to Dodger Stadium.