The Los Angeles Sports Council named the Los Angeles Kings’ Stanley Cup triumph as the greatest sports moment of 2012 at the 8th Annual L.A. Sports Awards Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton. Jonathan Quick was named 2012’s Sportsman of the Year, Darryl Sutter was named the area’s Coach of the Year, and AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke was named the Sports Executive of the Year.
Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings shared the award for Sportswomen of the Year. Long Beach and Orange County teams, events and sportspeople were also eligible for consideration.
Having won the Stanley Cup for the first time in the organization’s 45-year history, the Kings’ top billing was hardly a shock. Considering Leiweke presided over a pair of championship teams in the Kings and the Los Angeles Galaxy, his nomination wasn’t a surprise, either.
Sutter’s only real competition probably came from Jim Mora, Jr., who guided UCLA Football’s resurgence. Bruce Arena of the Galaxy also likely drew his share of votes. Amongst the longer shots in this category? Don’t overlook what Dan Monson has done to resuscitate Long Beach State’s men’s basketball program, which finished with a 25-9 record a season ago, including a 15-1 sprint through the Big West.
As magnificent as Quick was throughout the Kings’ dream season, he likely had the stiffest competition. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim didn’t turn 21 until the dog days of the 2012 season, yet bat .326 with 30 homeruns, stole an impressive 49 bases and drove in 83 runs en route to the American League’s Rookie of the Year award and second place finish in MVP voting. And while Teemu Selanne likely didn’t come close to either Quick or Trout in Sportsman of the Year voting, leading the Ducks in scoring as a 41-year old is certainly worth a mention, even on a Los Angeles Kings blog.
The full ranking of achievements is as follows:
1. Kings Win the Cup (June 11): The Kings beat New Jersey in six games to win their first Stanley Cup.
2. Galaxy Win MLS Cup (December 1): The Galaxy defeated Houston, 3-1, at the Home Depot Center to win its second consecutive Major League Soccer championship.
3. Mike Trout Wins AL Rookie of Year Award (November 12): The Angels outfielder batted .326 with 30 home runs and was named the League’s top rookie.
4. Clippers Win 17 Straight (November 28 – December 30): The Clippers put together the greatest winning streak in franchise history.
5. Guggenheim Buys the Dodgers (May 1): Guggenheim Baseball Management purchased the Dodgers for a whopping $2.15 billion.
6. Steve Nash and Dwight Howard Join the Lakers (July 4 and August 10): Over the summer, the Lakers acquired two of the NBA’s top superstars via trade.
7. Kim Rhode Medals at Her 5th Straight Olympics (July 29): Rhode, from Monrovia, won a gold medal in women’s skeet and became the first American athlete to medal in an individual or team event in 5 consecutive Olympic Games.
8. UCLA Beats USC to Win Pac-12 South Football Title (November 17): The Bruins defeated the Trojans, 38-28, at the Rose Bowl to clinch the Pac-12 South championship.
9. Clippers Beat Memphis in Dramatic Playoff Series (May 13): The Clippers defeated the Grizzlies 4 games to 3, rallying from 27 points behind in Game 1 and winning Game 7 on the road.
10. Allyson Felix Sprints to 3 Gold Medals in London (August 8, 10 and 11): The Los Angeles native won gold in the 200 meters and as a member of the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams.
More information on the 8th Annual L.A. Sports Awards can be found here.
fantastic
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“Er uhh, thanks for the um award, and uhhh, like I always say, this aint baseball, right?”
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phil sykes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 12:34 am
@Duncanz, damn duncanz rosen is up late on the blog … why dosnet he join us for a martini
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Duncanz Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 12:50 am
@phil sykes, i just had a mint julep today …..it was very errr …. jack danielsy……….i wonder if whiskey will keep his place now that martini is back……………nahh ….@jr wouldn t slum it with a couple of hoi pollois of the likes of us ne er do wells …….. he s probably sipping cocktails in the sky bar right now thinking www@bd? ………what would woodward & bernstein do………with pam anderson and erin andrews and alysa milano draped over him……….. …….lucky lucky flogger ………lol
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
@Duncanz,
Nice!
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Well deserved by all.
But I had this sudden image flash: Quick standing between Misty & Kerri.
Proof positive that athletic excellence comes in all shapes and sizes.
Then again, this IS Southern California. Why should I be surprised?
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Weasel Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:55 am
@IceGuy,
If you can surf and ski in the same day here in So Cal you can play beach volleyball and ice hockey too.
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Congrats and well deserved. Now lets whoop some Preds!
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FYI … some very good seats cheap for tonights game on Stub Hub. Got a couple of excellent Premier Seasts for only $38 each where the King shoot twice. They had $60 suite seats … good stuff, check it out.
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Michael J. Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:25 am
@KC23,
Thanks for the tip!
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Weasel Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:56 am
@KC23,
Wait, bandwagoner are dropping their tix already?
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DesertKing Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:06 am
@Weasel,
Monday night game against the Preds? Damn bandwaggoners!
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Congrats to the Kings. Certainly well deserved.
Now time to make the Preds cry
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Let’s bring the full urgency and intensity to tonights game Kings!!!!! 4th place sure feels better than 11th.
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Mr. Rosen trying to get the bloggers back on tract with a new post “After Midnight”…..
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Can’t wait to see Bernie and AMart back in the lineup
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puck73 Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 9:13 am
@Ravens, Cant wait to see Quick again? Wow, how the mighty have fallen.
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NICE!
And I went to the galaxy game yesterday, they won their home opener against Chicago 4-0!
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 9:19 am
@Mars, Excellent.
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KOHO Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 9:29 am
Now that’s how you come out defending a championship, that was a dominant performance and one that could set the table for the season.
The fans saw a hat trick even..good stuff.
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Mars Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:00 am
@KOHO, yeah two of my three boys were on the dream team (walk out to the field with the players)
They got to go with McGee who had the Hattie.
They had a blast! Good times were had!
pr0cess Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 9:22 am
@Mars, At least ChI is losing something…
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KOHO Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 9:33 am
@pr0cess, Well the Cubs have yet to take the field. lol
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Shakes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 9:30 am
@Mars, i caught the end of the NY / Timbers game on ESPN last night and that was just epic. one of the funner games i’ve seen in a while (EPL or otherwise)
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Do you remember who won the Kings best moment in 2011? And for what?
http://kingsnewsdaily.com/no-surprise-top-sports-moment-of-2012-goes-to-the-la-kings/
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Robyn Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:30 am
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com), do you know if any of the players or coaching staff were on hand to receive this award that no one seems to have heard of?
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Gustavo Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:48 am
@Robyn,
I hope not. These are distractions. They only awards that matter are those given on the ice at the end of the last game of the season.
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For the record I just spent the weekend in Nashville (seriously … i actually have wanted to see a game there for some time, sadly they were out of town and of course play our beloved Kings today). Two quick observations
1) Nashville is a fantastic city…very very cool scene. I will never badmouth that place, people are super friendly, tons of great music
2) They really love hockey! I mean at least in the Broadway (downtown) and Midtown areas which is where I was, you see Preds signs everywhere… i mean the arena is in the middle of everything which helps, but it’s cool to see regular people gathering at bars to watch their road Sharks game on Saturday or wearing jerseys around. Pretty cool. All i can say is this, if we have the misfortune of playing Nashville in the playoffs (misfortune because I think it would be a tough they’re a hard team to play against) it would be a great place to make a fan road trip. As a fan of a team which gets no respect on the East Coast, I certainly will not do the same thing to Preds fans. Now Ducks fans are a different story…
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DesertKing Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:35 am
@Shakes,
Do you get the same feeling that I do that the Preds are built for the playoffs like we are? Thats what would scare me about facing them in the postseason.
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Shakes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:55 am
@DesertKing,
i actually think we were fortunate to avoid having to play them last season. the one thing which could help us is that the shortened season basically means that every team is going to feel like they are within 5-6 points of a playoff spot for like 95% of the season, in other words we may see less trading activity at the trade deadline if everyone considers themselves a buyer. Therefore the Preds may not be able to get a backbreaker type player from someone else (like Carts is for us, who can win us games we shouldn’t be, a characteristic which all truly dominating teams have). this may help.
Besides any team which is good enough to knock-out the Red Wings (older or not) in the playoffs is a legit team in my books.
moving to a slight tangent: The (high quality) problem with last season’s Kings run is that it was so perfect, so dominant, and so unexpected, that anything the team does this year will seem like it was easier or a letdown. I think that’s why DS has stayed on the theme that this team is a different team and that it’s a very different year, and you can’t compare one year to the rest.
Anyways DesertKing, I totally agree with you, a win against the Preds tonight would be a very solid statement by the Kings.
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DesertKing Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:01 am
@Shakes,
Agree on all of it.
number 6 Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:21 am
@Shakes,
Great Shakes. I always like reading your posts. You’re spot on. I too realized it that while the Kings Were phenomenal they got some very good breaks along the way. Those games vs. the Nucks were close and while I think they still win the series regardless, they got em w/o Daniel (?) for the first two games on the road.
Again, it takes nothing away from the Kings, but they made the big plays at every key moment that they were needed.
It’s easy to pull it out of perspective and think they’re all of a sudden the 90′s Red Wings. They aren’t.
As we’ve seen this year, when the Kings play air tight they do well. When they don’t they tend to have problems.
Quick was spectacular. He isn’t so far this year. But I understand why people take that 16-4 and project it onto the team. As a comparison, I’m still not convinced that the unbeaten Hawks are as good and dominant as that. They haven’t had to play Boston, Pitts, this year’s Canadiens, etc. Yes, they are a great team and might go all the way….. moral of the story…. win two cups over a four year period and then it starts to build a true aura around a team.
Shakes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 12:09 pm
thanks guys!
number 6 I like your barometer of 2 championships in a 4yr span. i never thought about it that way but it’s a pretty good one for any team sport
Duncanz Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Nice@Shakes, now if only Vegas. Austin and best of all New Orleans can get hold of NHL franchises.
Then there’ll REALLY be some revelrous roadtrips to indulge in!
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Nice to see the Kings get recognized for their epic Cup run.
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Never heard of this particular award, never cared for any them. All they do is distract players and coaches from focusing on the job at hand.
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Neil Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:55 am
@Gustavo, If players are that easily distracted then I wouldnt want them on my team….
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Gustavo Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:03 am
@Neil,
Not the players fault if they’re asked to attend these phony ceremonies.
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Shakes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:09 am
@Gustavo, i think it’s more for the player/teams than for us fans. i like to get recognized for things i do at my job, i’m sure they appreciate getting officially recognized for what they do by the city or-gan-eye-zations
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Just got my tickets for tonight! Plenty available on StubHub at really low prices.
What say you?
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DesertKing Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:49 am
@Michael J.,
Can you or StubHub do something about the gas prices?
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Mars Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:57 am
@DesertKing, seriously, 93 to fill up with regular this morning!
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DesertKing Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:02 am
@Mars,
And that was for your motorcycle!
PRMan Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 12:21 pm
@Mars, What do you drive to work, an RV?
Lake Forest Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:53 am
@Michael J., still not giving my money to them.
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Shakes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 10:58 am
glass half full guy says:
@Lake Forest, no no don’t worry! all of your money won’t got to the Kings/NHL… 15% of your spent money gets to goto StubHub in fees! so only 85% goes to pro hockey!
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DesertKing Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:04 am
@Shakes,
Actually, the NHL already got their money when the tickets sold the first time, so actually your money goes to the original ticket holder who is selling them. At least, that is how I think it works unless “StubHub” is just a descriptive pseudonym for “Gary Bettman”.
Lake Forest Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:04 am
@Shakes, SIGN ME UP! haha
I’d really love to take my whole family to a game (their first), maybe next year when I have some money.
Shakes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:12 am
@DesertKing… dang you’re right about that!
@Lake Forest… as I think about when I watch the NBA, just because you sit in the front row doesn’t make you the biggest fan, and just because you watch at home doesn’t make you less of a fan.
Regularly giving your time to a team (and the channel you watch them on) is more than enough!
Michael J. Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:28 am
@Lake Forest,
I gave my $ to a season ticket holder, not the team.
BTW, from what I heard the Kings management wanted nothing to do with the lockout. Unfortunately there are other clubs with stubborn owners that AEG cannot remove itself from – guilty by association I guess.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 12:05 pm
@Michael J., Then again, there’s the theory that AEG has more influence than almost any other entity on the running of the league and therefore built a salary-cap-reducing-friendly team in anticipation of the changes that were to come under the new CBA.
Robyn Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 12:11 pm
@Michael J., I’ll be there. I’m a season ticket holder. Sect 107
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Last post had a “Ides Of March”….”Blood Sweat and Tears”…”Nick Cave” and a “Tom Jones” reference…very impressive !!!!
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Shakes Reply:
March 4th, 2013 at 11:14 am
@Neil, wait there was a post?
The Great Irony of the Blog is that when there was no Rich people complained in the comments that the guest posts weren’t explicity hockey related with new News. The moment we get a terrific new write (Rosen needs a nickname badly… FRosen?) we can go back to our regularly scheduled programming of totally ignoring the post and writing unrelated comments.
it makes me laugh because i’m probably more guilty of doing that than anyone else.
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