Many folks in the Kings organization were honored to take part in a private service for the late David Courtney this past Friday. In conjunction with his family we wanted to provide this information here as they have received so many inquiries and well wishes from our fans:
In lieu of flowers the family asks that contributions be made to the David & Janet Courtney Memorial Fund, 26861 Trabuco Road, Suite E 171, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, or to the Kings Care Foundation, Angels Baseball Foundation or LA Clippers Foundation. Cards and condolences may be sent to Janet Fisher-Courtney: 27775 Rota, Mission Viejo, CA, 92692.
Okay, thanks. I’m in. Just a little bit, but something for the memories.
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The Weasel Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
@The Weasel,
I have to say I love the way you can use “billpay” online and do this sort of thing now. Quick and painless.
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The Weasel Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 2:21 pm
@The Weasel,
Lol – Just meant to add a comment about how easy it is to do one offs like this compared to years ago. I didn’t really mean to “reply” to myself. Sorry about that!
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thank you for this site to finally recognize one of their own passing away…
david courtney was on his way from making the jump from cult obscurity to being a los angles legend because he reached so many people in so many los angeles sports…
without becoming accusatory and judgmental as to why this wasn’t mentioned on here earlier or, perhaps, in a more timely way is now a moot point – whatever those reasons were, this is not the time or the place to adjudicate it…
i would like to again express my deepest condolences to the courtney family and wish them all the best in this time of grief and mourning…
as a fan, it will be hard to hear another live game voice when going to a kings, lakers/clippers or angels game…hopefully that new person(s) will create an identity for themselves and be successful…
however, david courtney finally gets the respect he deserves on this site, and i’m very grateful that when we look back at the archives on this site in the years to come, there will be a thread on here on his passing…
thank you…
and all the best…
v…
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Lake Forest Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
@variable, +1000000
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puck73 Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
@variable, David Courtney was The Voice of LA sports in the 90′s and 2000′s. just like John Ramsey was in the 70′s and 80′s….these 2 guys are legends, and will be missed for a lomg time.
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variable Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
@puck73,
agreed…
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and one of topic comment – all apologies…:
with more games being cancelled today all the way through dec. 30., this is the unofficial offical end of the 2012-13 season for me…
if an nhl game cannot be played in the moth of december, who really wants a season where 43% of the games (at best) would be lost…?
as malkmus would say, face the truth – it’s over…and if somehow…somewhere…someway…there is a season played in 2013, there isn’t an asterisk big enough to denote the lack of creditability in the annals of nhl history as to how invalid a REGULAR season would be…
even if they come up with some cockamamie way of doing a sprint or making some type of playoff tourney, what would that mean to you…? is it really an nhl season…?
i said before, i will always be a fan of the sport, because nobody’s bigger than the sport itself…so you can blame the peeps involved…no matter which side of the argument you chose to be on, the sport will live on…and all the love i have for it when it’s played again sometime in the future will come back…
bettman, daly, the fehr bros…none of those guys…will take away my enjoyment of the sport…
so let’s be real here…and let’s just realize that we found out that the most important thing about this CBA was not money, but principles and egos…
now that we are on the fiscal ice cliff of being back in the adopted north american sport’s closet, maybe that will be the greatest gift of all that hockey can give us this holiday season –
a return to ground zero…and perhaps one last chance t hit the reset button and reevaluate what aspects of life should take priority…
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CB14 Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
@variable, I would still watch a 48 game season. It’s not the greatest situation, but it’s better than nothing.
After going this long with a lockout, I can’t see either side giving in to the others demands.
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Neil Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 7:26 pm
@CB14, I will watch…but Iam so happy the Kings won with a full season…I would not feel the same if my team won in a shortened season.I would be happier if the NHL didnt call it the Stanley Cup when this season starts..Give it a different name and a different trophy.
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DesertKing Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
@Neil,
Instead of the Stanley Cup, name it the Stan Saucer.
CB14 Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
@Neil, Agreed
Duncanz Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:03 am
@Neil, +1, and I would submit; The Stanley Laurel Cup of 2012/13..
Pasadena Hockey Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
@variable, Does that mean you are no longer posting to this site and are done with hockey until next year?
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variable Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
@Pasadena Hockey,
eh, no…(unless yr leading a campaign…hehe)
i’m still a fan of the sport and i will watch games, perhaps not buy tickets initially…
here’s a better explanation on how things looked to me on the 6th…:
“i don’t think hockey is gonna die this year (ED. note – looks like i’m wrong) – once again, i’m putting aside my disappointment on how and why people (owners/bettman) do the things the way they do do them…hockey will survive…
sure – there’s gonna be flack and bitterness from the many…
but…
considering that nobody is bigger than the sport, you end up back to where you start – a hockey fan…
hey, i might not be willing to shell out the cash for games or even decline to get center ice for the first time since 2003….
but i’m a fan of the sport…i love my team…i love that we are the champions…and i love the people on this team and behind it because we all went through hell together – as a member of the KINGdom…
so…do ya’ feel like grabbing either fehr or bettman…or both…by the neck and watch them slowly fade-out…like in the grip of a sergeant slaughter sleeper hold…???
fine…hold yr own vigil…buy the pinatas and start…eh, um…whacking…and go watch basketball or soccer or hug yr kids more often or volunteer to donate blood or whatever you want with yr want time and money you designated for hockey prior…it’s all good…and you have every right…
life is a fluid situation…sometimes you have to drink the poison to find its cure…and by doing so, how one reflects upon the journey is what creates the memories…
well, my memories of last year will stay with me forever…and so will my love for the sport – it will never be ruined by anyone…because, remember…nobody’s bigger than the sport….
(well….maybe gretzky was….but still…(!))”
i still feel the same way…:)
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Pasadena Hockey Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
@variable, Thanks for the response, no one can take away last year…
luc20rules Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 9:18 pm
@Pasadena Hockey, We know that because the Cryotes with Mike Smith have tried. All the gallons of Cryote tears will not wash away this well earned and fought for championship of the Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Champions 2012.
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KC23 Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
@variable, gave up on the season after the last cancelations. Saving lots of money though and that is making for a nice holiday season.
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variable Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
@KC23,
yeah…i was pretty much done with the stalemate…
but when the chanukah amount of oil flickered a few days ago, i thought we might have a festivus miracle…
but, i just can’t get behind the theory of playing a season where yr gonna lose at least 43%+ of it…i mean, it’s very hard…i’m torn because we are the champions…and i don’t want our team to lose the momentum and games while they are in their prime…
so…as a fan of the sport, i’ll always watch…
but buying nhl tix and center ice and the rest, might be on the back burner until we get a resolution…
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David Courtney – the Al Michaels of arena announcers
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Neil Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
@DesertKing, Will miss his voice and his comments on facebook….
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Wouldn’t it be great if the Vancouver fans were watching the NHL Network right now, saw their professional diving team lose to Boston again in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals at home, and then riot again?
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Neil Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
@DesertKing, lol !!!!
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Duncanz Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:15 am
@DessertKing, Followed up, humiliatingly enough, by their only other chance ever, SCF Game 7 vs NYR, 1994.
That’s gotta be too much for ‘em to take in the short space of a Molson 24 pack !
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It is an unforgivable shame that blogger fans pay a bigger tribute to DC than the organization does. Two paragraphs and one of them is a request for contributions?????…give me a flipping break.
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Duncanz Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:26 am
@Gust-avo, We must all be philsophocal about this.
The whole or-gan-eyes-eh-shun (not to mention the NHL itself) is disintegrating before our eyes with the departure of Rich.
It’s almost enough to make one consider defecting to USC … but not quite..
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HockeyNerd Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
@Gustavo, Enough of this nonsense already. Please.
Rich Hammond left us and has not yet been replaced. Let that sink in for a minute. And while you’re at it, let it also sink in that just because we like to post her we are not the be-all and end-all of the world.
Incidentally, I received an email from the Kings shortly after he passed away. It was NOT ignored.
And finally, the above says “in Lieu of Flowers”. You are not being pressured to contribute. That is not the Kings statement. IT IS A STATEMENT BY THE FAMILY. That is all they have chosen to say in their grief. PLEASE RESPECT THAT.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
@HockeyNerd, you seem as infuriated about his opinion as he is about the omission of a DC thread. I must however agree with @Gustavo. I am not as heated about it as say a week and a half ago, but what he says holds merit. If there was no one running this blog or posting threads since Rich resigned than I would agree with you…we lost Rich Hammond and shouldnt expect anything Kings related to be posted here or reported in a timely fashion until he is replaced. Thats not the case though. Any one of the 4 HOF gentlemen we are blessed to have in the interim could have said something here prior to this thread (please understand I am not blaming them as I dont believe they hold the power to post whatever they want, when they want). Like yourself, I got the email from the Kings as Im sure everyone here did, but that does not take the place, or excuse the absence of a thread that IMO (and obviously @Gustavo’s and others) should be a no brainer here. I am not arguing with you nor am I showing disrepect to anyone, as everyone is entitled to their opinion…just trying to drive home the fact that alot here feel it was an injustice to DC first and foremost, and further more to the spirit of the “Kings Insider” blog. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one!
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HockeyNerd Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, Again: You and @Gustavo are all worked up over this….. because? You’ll still need to explain it to me. You both seem to be all worked up for no other reason than you didn’t get a thread YOU wanted. Well news flash: neither the world, not Kings Hockey, nor what the Kings organization should or should not do does NOT revolve around the bloggers here. In fact, be thankful we have been given the opportunity to post our feelings about his passing in any thread we chose too. You and @Gustavo are judging the Kings as an organization for not doing what YOU decree they should do. And THAT is worth my getting infuriated over.
BrokeKingsFan Reply:
December 12th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
@HockeyNerd, you couldnt just agree to disagree huh? OK…..you asked “You and @Gustavo are all worked up over this….. because?
1. DAVID COURTNEY ANNOUNCED KINGS GAMES FOR 24 YEARS!!!!!!!!
If that is not enough reason to get a mention here prior than nothing is…BTW, DC started with the Kings in 1971 at age 14 as a public relations assistant (thought i would throw that in there)
2. Look no further than what this blog is “supposed” to be about…ABOUT THIS BLOG
LAKingsInsider.com provides in-depth, independent coverage of the Los Angeles Kings.
By not mentioning it here promptly, it defeats the whole purpose of this blog and therefor scraps whatever Integrity it still had. How can you call it an “Insiders” blog or a place for Kings info if it cant even report the BIGGEST Kings news since we won the Cup.
I could go on, but in reality, if the 2 reasons I gave arnt good enough for you than nothing will be. Seems to me YOUR problem is we dont agree with YOU!
HockeyNerd Reply:
December 12th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, Here is @Gustavo’s post with one word I capitalized for emphasis:
It is an unforgivable shame that blogger fans pay a bigger tribute to DC than the ORGANIZATION does. Two paragraphs and one of them is a request for contributions?????…give me a flipping break.
Note that he said “organization”, not Blog.
This is not about agreeing or disagreeing. This is about being judgemental about the Kings ORGANIZATION, without having the facts. If all you are saying is that the blog should have had a thread and should have reported it sooner, than fine. Nothing wrong with that. That is NOT what @Gustavo said! He is judging the ORGANIZATION based on what HE thinks it should do. And that’s fine to do in this blog too (after all the post is still there, right?).
But let’s all be honest about this. Once more: @Gustavo is judging the ORGANIZATION based on what HE thinks it should do. And he has that right. But I also have the right to point out THAT IS WHAT IT IS.
BrokeKingsFan Reply:
December 13th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
@HockeyNerd, fair enough…I digress
So we are back to there is no chance right?
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NHL & NHLPA meeting tomorrow
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Cesar A Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 9:25 am
@Lake Forest, Expect more of the same old BS from the NHLPA and NHL tomorrow.
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Lake Forest Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 9:51 am
@Cesar A, ha, no doubt. My expectation is to expect nothing coming out of these meetings.
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luc20rules Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
@Lake Forest, I wish, I was that optomistic. I am sure to be even more angry as they acomplish nothing again! But really that is just speaking to the expectation that people have some redeeming quality to them and can’t be complete jerks despite what is best for their clients, the game, and its fans.
GailWeb Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 11:32 am
@Lake Forest, Hi and yes we continue to save money ha ha on them, and yes I saw Jim Fox at a party while ago, for charity and he said see you next year and he was not kidding. Hockey will be back, and all of us fans have to remember one thing:
Your LA Kings are still the Stanley Cup Champs!
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the latest from tsn…
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=411412
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What if there is no season? To start, I think Gary Bettman would have to be finished with the NHL. And I think it dawned on him last week when he was so visibly upset. Perhaps he would leave for the NBA or to retire. Even the owners that like him would say that it is time for a change.
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Howe9 Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
@Pasadena Hockey, Fehr will be gone too. I am blaming the players now. Fehr is advising them to hold out for more. Screw them all.
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Duncanz Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
@Howe9, I don’t know if you’re on Twitter at all but there have been a slew of resounding tweets from the players in support of Donald Fehr’s steadfastness in leadership, including from the player reps.
If we can take that as an indication of how unified the players are then perhaps we can recognize his value in the whole thing again.
You definitely don’t want the players returning begrudgingly to work feeling they’d been strongarmed out of what they have strived tooth and nail to attain.
Different story for the owners. They might just learn this time to be a little more pragmatic and realistic in future instead of doing what businessmen like to do and creating dangerously overinflated bubbles that just end up popping in their overly inflated faces.
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How long is this going to take. They had better get there act together. If they lose this season hockey in America will be dead. It will always be a sport up north, but in places like LA not so good. Westgarth is really doing a good job!!! He is a force with the talks. He had four goals in a charity event in Winsor. Let’s get back on the ice. Drop the puck. People are loseing real money
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variable Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake,
it’s agonizing…
it’s the fiscal ice cliff…
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Pasadena Hockey Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, I just feel bad for Westgarth. Realistically, how many years does that guy have in the league? Maybe he will get a job out of it when his career is over.
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
@Pasadena Hockey, Princeton Grad…I’m sure it will be very difficult for him to find a job somewhere….
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I hope they use a recording of his voice for announcing the team onto the ice forever
I cannot imagine hearing someone else saying it
I wish they included a spun wave too
I would make it my ring tone.
Ladies and Gentleman Your Los Angeles Kings!
Aaaaaaaa go kings go!
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DesertKing Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
@Mars,
Like it!
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Neil Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 2:57 pm
@Mars, I believe they used a recording of David announcing the Clippers line up the other night…..
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NHL power ranking.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1438818-nhl-power-rankings-which-team-had-the-best-2012-overall?
How do they rank em since there’s no season yet?
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GailWeb Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 5:12 pm
@goldielocks, nothing else to do I guess?
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HockeyNerd Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
@goldielocks, It’s based on how they finished *last* season, and very subjective. Most of the people who commented on the article are totally missing the boat; there’s no “formula” here, it’s based on what expectations were heading in.
That said I was puzzled as to why Pittsburgh was still ranked so high after totally crumbling in the playoffs when other teams who lost in the first or second round were ranked lower (the Author is a Pittsburgh fan maybe?).
Nor did I exactly find the explanation of each team very deep. Bleacher Report has done better.
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DesertKing Reply:
December 11th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
@goldielocks,
Ouija board session conducted by Evil Load.
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How about marketing urinal liners featuring pictures of Bettman and Fehr?
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Just curious everyone’s feedback (and NO I do not think this will happen), but let’s just say they get a 50 game season going (or something similar). Is anyone really boycotting anything? Not going to games? Not buying anything?
I would love to go to the banner raising game, but I won’t, mainly because I can’t afford to. If I could I probably would. So since that is the case for that game (the only game I care to go to in person), I am not going to any games this season nor buying any merchandise at all.
What is everyone’s thoughts on what they are doing differently IF ANYTHING? Cancelling season tickets? cancelling party packs? Going to games but not buying merchandise or food? Not making any changes from the prior year and going to as many games, buying the usual beer/nachos, buying a jersey?
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Dave's a Killer Reply:
December 12th, 2012 at 9:44 am
@Lake Forest,
A statement would be to go ahead and enjoy the banner raising but walk out before the game starts. Would 5000 fans walking out be noticed? I suspect it would. Unfortunately, ticket prices being what they are, this will not take place and having just a few walk out would be ineffectual.
We have all thought about what can be done to show our frustration but you know and I know that we will be watching when that first puck drops.
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DesertKing Reply:
December 12th, 2012 at 9:48 am
@Lake Forest,
If the Kings had not won the Stanley Cup last season, then hell yes,I would boycott everything. But since we did win the Cup, and it is the first one in 45 years, then I will be attending games (especially the banner raising game) but I don’t plan on buying anything. This is our year to rub it in the noses of the Schmucks, Casucks, Yotes and Guppys. We got ours and deserve to enjoy it. I have a strong feeling that my boycott will be next year when I don’t buy season tickets for that year. Boycotting in LA might be completely useless, since I understand they now have a waiting list of peoplpe wanting full and half season ticket plans.
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HockeyNerd Reply:
December 12th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
@Lake Forest, It’s kind of hard to boycott the NHL when it is the NHL that is boycotting us. Just sayin…..
Anyway I haven’t (and won’t) boycott anything because I don’t see what it would accomplish. Why cut off your nose to spite your face? A couple of weeks ago I found a Hockey store in the valley. I bought a Stanley Cup replica to put on my desk and some other assorted sundry items. Yes, the NHL will get some of that money. The guy behind the counter will also still hopefully have a job. And when (and if) we play again I hope I can go to a game (or a few of them). And if I do hopefully the parking attendants and vendors and ticket agents won’t have their hours cut or be fired.
A boycott is supposed to do what exactly? “Send a message”? Before you can talk on the phone someone had to pick it up and answer it. Everyone is missing the big picture here. The SPORT of Hockey does care about us. Always has, always will. It is a select group of owners, and a moron of a commissioner that does not care about us. And they do not represent the SPORT of Hockey. They do not put on skates, take wrist shots, throw hard checks, decide who to send out to try to stop Crosby’s line. All they do is act like selfish immature brats. THE SPORT OF HOCKEY IS A MUCH BIGGER THING THAN THEY ARE. ***IT*** is what has attracted us to it, most of us would rather see it than players standing around a field or waiting for someone to decide to throw (baseball), a sport where fully half the team never touches the ball or plays when the team does or doesn’t have the ball (football) or a sport with giant egos who hog the ball then whine they aren’t getting help from their teammates (basketball). Hockey is a much better sport than the others, yet thanks on part to the way it’s being driven into the ground by those aforementioned morons you’d never know it. So if THEY won’t sell it, maybe us fans have to.
I understand the anger. But I claim if you think this through there is no other answer than the one I’ve given. Now if it was 1975 and you had a WHA that had Iginla, Brodeur and a few other stars the way it at the time attracted Howe and Hull then we’d have an alternative. But we don’t. The NHL is it, folks. And let’s do our part to build it up IN SPITE OF (not because of) the morons that are trying to tear it down.
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Here we go another day of talks. We all sit around waiting, watching the ESPN sports line on the bottom. We all see the NHL tag coming up. We read through all the bowl games, Top stories, NBA scores, finally here comes the NHL… Lockout continues!!! Today I have finals in a philosophy class I’m taking at the Community College. I hope by the end of this huge test we would have gotten an agreement. Look school is now over {for a month} Time to drop the puck. But what kind of season is it going to be. 4 games in 5 nights. Players playng burnt out hockey. Trying to fit in 50 games will not be much of a season. This whole thing suks. BIG TIME
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I just read an interesting article from the Associated Press (it is on the Press Enterprise website) about how the ECHL is serving as a good alternative for hockey during the NHL lockout. But that wasn’t the interesting part. The article, written by some Idiot named Gorman, based in Trento (yes, NEW JERSEY) explained how the East Coast Hockey League was doing so well on the East coast since those cities are “hot beds” for hockey while cities like LA are not. Obviously, Mr. Idiot failed to research his topic properly, so lets remind him of a few facts:
1. The LA Kings sold out almost every home game this season
2. The LA Kings sold out every play-off game this season
3. There were more Kings fans at the SCF games in NJ than there were NJ fans at the SCF games in LA (thanks KopiBryant!)
4. The Kings won the Stanley Cup
5. Wayne Gretzky’s statue stand outside our arena, not yours
6. The Kings have an ECHL farm team here in southern California
7. The Ontario Reign ECHL hockey team has the second highest attendance numbers in the league
8. The Kings website experiences more hits than any other NHL website
9. The Kings Insider blog was the #1 hockey blog in the country (until Evil Lad forced Rich out)
Hey Idiot, you should get a job writing propaganda for Bettman since he doesn’t do his research either and failed to notice the NHL players stashing away millions in savings to make it through the lockout. You deserve each other. Meanwhile, we will just stay in our “cold bed” of hockey, LA, drinking warm cocoa with mini-marshmellows out of that big silver Cup thing. Can someone pass me another blanket please?
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