Rick_Garcia's Blog

When times are tough. It's hard to hard to think about the things we have to be thankful for.
But that's when it's most important to bring those things into focus.
It goes without saying that I'm thankful for the health and happiness of my family. But my family extends well beyond my front porch
.After putting roughly 22 years of service in one place it's hard not to have a large family. Recently, I learned my duties would change a bit at FOX11 and MY13 News. For the past 5 1/2 years, along with my sports duties on the FOX 11 10 o'clock News, I co-anchored the 11PM News on MY 13. Boy has that been a blast! It ain't easy reporting tragedy, doom and gloom. But then you get to mix in the happy events that help balance out our world.
In our own, sometimes unusual way, me, Lauren Sanchez and Maria Quiban tried to add some personality to the stories of the day. We hope those of you who caught that newscast had as much fun watching as we had brining it to you!
Starting soon my wonderful colleagues Carlos Amezcua and Christine Devine will be doing the FOX News not only on channel 11 at 10PM but on Channel 13 at 11PM as well. They are terrific and will bring their own style to the broadcast.
I will continue doing sports on the show and be joined by our dancing weatherman Mark Thompson.
Well I can't say that I won't miss doing MY 13 News. But I'm very THANKFUL for having the chance to do the show. And even more THANKFUL for the wonderful producers, writers, editors, camera people, reporters and everyone else who helped make the broadcast an amazing experience!

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I guess all is good in the universe now that Shaq loves Kobe again.
When Shaq left the Lakers in 2004 he made it sound as though he couldn't get far enough away from #24. He even rapped about it although REAL rappers had to be cringing. But I guess you couldn't blame Shaq for his displeasure with Kobe. When Kobe was being accused of rape he threw Shaq under the bus when he told investigators that Shaq was quite busy with the ladies himself. That was the capper for a duo who fought constantly over whose team it was. Last I checked the Lakers did and still do belong to Jerry Buss.
But Shaq now says it wasn't Kobe who was the problem all those years they played together but rather their coach Phil Jackson. Boy that's a good one. The two of them would have never won three NBA championships and played for another had it not been for Jackson. You can't find two more self absorbed humans on the planet than Kobe and Shaq. If you don't think they're the greatest players in the NBA. Just ask them!
This is not to say Jackson doesn't have a high opinion of himself because he does. But I don't think there is anyone else on this earth who could've gotten those two to share the ball better than Phil.
So when Shaq talks about coming back to Los Angeles to end his career with the Lakers I say no thanks Shaq!
One narcissist is enough!

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I helped emcee an event recently I'll never forget. It was quite extravagant. Amazing decorations, wonderful food and excellent entertainment.

The affair began with me and Access Hollywood's Tony Potts auctioning off everything from soccer star David Beckham's jersey to Hannah Montana concert tickets.

The evening was capped off with an incredible performance by the Al McKay All-stars. Al McKay is a founding member of one of my favorite bands Earth Wind and Fire.

I did my best not to ruin the music while I sang and danced to just about every EWF song.

Despite these difficult economic times almost half a millions dollars was raised that night by folks who had the time of their lives.

That brings me to why we were able to selfishly indulge. As the event concluded and my family and I walked to our car, I noticed a beautiful little girl. Couldn't have been more than ten. She was decked out in a white dress filled with lace. She could hardly walk using each of her hands to cling tightly to her parents.

I couldn't resist telling her how beautiful she looked in her dress. As she turned to see what stranger was trying to get her attention, I saw see this incredible smile on her face. Not from my words but because of what she had just experienced. I asked her if she had been dancing and her mom quickly answered "Oh yes!." This beautiful angel was the reason I was there. She is suffering from cancer.

That's why the Michael Hoefflin foundation exists. To help children with pediatric cancer.

Every time I meet one of the wonderful kids the Michael Hoefflin Foundation helps I think of how courageous they are. Sadly they suffer a great deal yet they seem so happy and so wise. Perhaps they are fully aware of what so many of us often forget just how important each and every day is. And that we should never, ever waste a moment of it.

For more information on the Michael Hoefflin Foundation call 661-250-4100 or go to www.mhf.org.

I've always tried to get people around me to be passionate about the things that go on with government. At the end of the day we reap the benefits or have to live with the consequences of decisions people in government make on our behalf.
I kept going 'round and 'round about how I could urge you to vote in this blog. Make you feel guilty. But rather than preach I'll just remind you that Tuesday is an important day for this country perhaps one of the biggest moments in my lifetime. I know that every time I walk out of the booth I feel as though I've done something meaningful. Whether my candidate wins or not.
Regardless of your politcal beliefs.
PLEASE VOTE!!!

If you want Manny to stay in Los Angeles you have to take the bad with the good.
This is what the Dodgers are pondering right now as they consider whether to re-sign Manny Ramirez. You see there's the Manny who joined the Dodgers at the trading deadline. Hoisted the team on his back. And carried them into the National league Championship Series. They gave up nothing for him at the trading deadline and all he did was hit .396 with 17 home runs. In the post season he hit over .500 with four more homers. During that time Dodgers manager Joe Torre called him a good citizen and a joy to have around. That's the good now here's the bad in case you've forgotten. He is prone to give up when he's unhappy. Lazily chasing a fly ball from time to time. Taking his time tossing the ball to the infield while opposing runners take an extra base. Some of his teammates in Boston had grown tired of him. And who can forget the time he roughed up a member of the front office in Boston earlier this season. Then there is the age issue. Manny is 36. Could his best years be behind him? His agent doesnt think so. And Scott Boros will expect to get more than a couple of years when he negotiates with the Dodgers and anyone else who's interested. Keep in mind when Manny came to the Dodgers they and Boston had to agree to drop the last two years of his contract that would have paid him more than $20 million per year. You don't have to be a Phi Beta Kappa to know his value has gone up since. Manny himself said the other day while cleaning out his Dodgers locker that "The price of gas is up and so am I." There is no question the Dodgers need a big bat like Manny's to fill the middle of their line-up. A superstar who can fill seats.
But is he the guy?
You tell me Dodger fans. How badly do you want Manny? At what cost? And for how long?

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You're only as good as your last prediction!

This is the last time I will bring up my perfect suggestion that Boston would beat the Lakers BEFORE last seasons NBA playoffs. Because while that was a pretty good one my last prediction has turned out to be awful. The Dodgers tricked me. They did not look this good during the regular season. Right now they are the hottest team in baseball after sweeping the Chicago Cubs in three games. And what about those Angels? They had a 100 win season then lost to Boston in four games. So let me be one of the first to say...I WAS WRONG when I suggested the Cubs would beat the Angels in the World Series.
Dave Roberts was once a Dodger that is until they traded the outfielder to the Boston Red Sox in 2004. All he did was almost single leggidly send the Sox to their first World series in a million years. He told me I shouldn't be surprised at how the Dodgers are doing. He reminded me that last year most people also found the National League West weak and yet the Colorado Rockies wound up in the World series. Roberts thinks the Dodgers will be there this year. And perhaps that will give a lot of baseball fans what they want. A Manny versus the Red Sox match-up.

Don't worry I wont make any more predictions...at least not until the NFL playoffs roll around.

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I love so many of the traditions that make America's Pastime so great. It drove traditionalists crazy when baseball changed it's rules to allow an extra four teams into the playoffs. But it's one of the best things to happen to the game. Here we are in another exciting playoff race. In 1994 major league commissioner Bud Selig made the gutsy decision to turn the two National League divisions and two American League divisions into three divisions in each league. Instead of only the two division winners from the senior and junior circuit there are now three division winners and a wild card team from each league in post season play. What this has done is keep the regular season very interesting all the way to the end for more than a few teams each year.
Great move Bud!
And by the way here are my picks for the World Series.

Chicago Cubs vs the Angels. I don't say it with the same certainty that I picked Boston to beat the Lakers in the NBA playoffs But I'm going with the Cubs to win their first World Series in 100 years.

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I think I waited until the St. Louis Rams were 0 and 6 last season before pronouncing them dead.. I don't need that much time this year. After starting the season 0 and 2, I have officially laid them to rest. And their coach Scott Linehan may soon not have to worry about how bad the team is because he may not have a job much longer. It's amazing how the one time "Greatest Show on Turf" could fold so quickly. They have one of the best running backs in the NFL in Stephan Jackson. One of the leagues all time best receivers in Tory Holt and their quarterback Marc Bulger aint chopped liver. But Linehan has taken a very good team built by Mike Martz and effectively torn it apart. This team is bad enough to lose 16 games this season.
When you also think about the Raiders, who began the season 1 and 1 including an opening season 41-14 drubbing at the hands of Denver and combine them with the Rams 38-3 and 41-13 disasters in week one and two...
 I'm not sure I miss pro football in Los Angeles this season.

I'm starting to feel embarrassed for my brothers and sisters covering breaking weather news. When a storm like Gustav or Hannah hits hard, it's important that we be there to tell our viewers whats happening. That's what doing a public service is all about. News YOU need to know....Remember??
But covering storms has turned into theater. Reporters looking for the windiest locations not to inform you as much as dazzle you with their courage. Check out the cable news channels. It's now a case of who can get the windiest live shot. The first 20 or 30 times I saw one of those live shots with reporters fighting to stay on their feet against 75 mile per hour winds I found it funny. But it 's become showmanship. Doesn't it strike you as odd that a reporter tells you to stay out of an area because objects getting blown around can be dangerous. Yet THAT reporter is hanging on to a stop sign while blowing horizontally in the wind?
Reporting stories from the road is very difficult work. Ungodly hours,,,several stories a day. Whether it's a storm, a political convention or the Super Bowl. But for some reason reporters don't just cover the storm...some reporters are trying too hard to be cute and BE the story. Getting blown around in a storm seems played out to me. Maybe we should get back to telling good stories and providing a public service by helping victims of horrible events with information they can use. We don't need to put on a show for them..
Lets leave that to the REAL entertainers.

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Major league baseball has instituted instant replay. I find this to be a good idea. Baseball diamonds are vast and the four umpires who have to cover all that ground have a tough job.
There have been home runs ruled doubles and doubles ruled home runs since the beginning of baseball in the 1800's. By using instant replay, umpires will be able to correct their  mistakes without totally taking out the human element to judging the game. TAKE ANOTHER LOOK.
We will still have to rely on umpires eyes when it comes to balls and strikes and plays on the bases.
There are critics of this new rule. Can't say I blame 'em.
Imagine having a camera on you at your job all day. While your doing your accounting the boss brings you into the office to correct your work. Or what if fixing pipes is your job and a camera watched as you replaced an elbow joint under somebody's sink. The boss watches the tape and then calls you up to tell you to do it again.
WELCOME TO MY WORLD!!!
That's how we roll in t.v. news! Every newscast we do is recorded. If the boss doesn't like something...he doesn't hesitate to let us know we didn't do the job right. Only in our case we can't correct the problem until the next newscast.
Now that I think about it....
The umps have a another reason to be grumpy!!!

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I have to admit...I get caught up in fantasy sports on occasion. Used to love it in the 80's when it was more of a neighborhood game. Now with the internet, like a lot of things, fantasy sports have flourished.

For those of you who don't know what fantasy sports are here's a quick lesson. You join a league that allows you to draft pro players in a sport as if you were the owner of a team. Then you compete with other owners in the league with your players stats matching up against your opponents. In other words you can own a professional team without coming up with several million dollars. For anyone who has participated you know it can be addictive.
To some it's a sickness. Here's why....

Most sports fans have a favorite team. Now let's say your fantasy team has a player competing against your favorite team. Here's what happened to me recently...

My fantasy team needed a few home runs with one more day to go in my competition. And there steps up my best home run hitter against my favorite team. Now my favorite team is in the middle of a pennant race. My hitter steps up to the plate with a runner on first and two outs in the bottom of the 9th. My favorite team is winning 5-3.. The count shows two strikes. So my favorite team is one strike away from moving into a tie for first place when my fantasy hitter hits a deep drive to left field. That ball is gone!!! I am both ecstatic and depressed. The game is tied. But I got my home run. Now I love competition so much that I am almost willing to win a fantasy league at the cost of my team making the playoffs. Almost!

But here's the good news. My favorite team hit a game winning home run in the 9th so I had the best of both worlds. I tell me wife at the beginning of every league that I can't take the drama anymore and hate cheering against my favorite team. For some reason she doesn't believe that I'll quit.

By the way I just got into the NFL draft for fantasy football.

There must be therapists around the country whose business picks up thanks to fantasy sports. If not....WE SURE NEED HELP!

It was a spectacular trade that the Dodgers pulled off just before the trading deadline. Question is will anyone feel that way at the end of the season. I think if the Dodgers make to the post season then the answer is YES. But there is a reason the Boston Red Sox would trade one of their most popular and best players. And there may be fire where there was smoke in the Sox locker room when there were reports veterans of the team wanted to see Manny go. He's colorful, talented (a 12 time all-star with over 500 homers) but also a pain! If the lazy Manny shows up to the park who doesn't run out ground balls to first. Or the one who jogs after fly balls in the outfield. Then there could be fireworks in no time in the Dodgers locker room. There's a grumpy future hall of famer in there by the name of Jeff Kent who won't stand for it for a minute. And when all is said and done Manny will be a free agent.  Will he remain a Dodger? I wouldn't count on it knowing how his agent Scot Boras works. On the other hand...if the Dodgers make a great playoff run, since the investment for Manny was small, then the Dodgers could wind up geniuses. You will either love him or love to hate him when "Manny starts being Manny".

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I have been to almost every National League stadium in the country. I've also been to several American league parks and my share of football, basketball and hockey venues as well. So I've tasted my share of sports food.. But every time I go to a Dodger game I fall in love with those foot long Dodger Dogs all over again. The grilled ones of course! I remember a few years ago when for some reason the team got the bright idea to cut down on the grilled dogs. There was almost an uprising. They quickly brought the grills back and all was fine. Today, many stadiums have what they call gourmet stadium food. Or perhaps you've seen your favorite chain. But at the end of the day the Dodger Dog is still king with me. With mustard and relish... mmm mmm!
And you want to know the strangest thing? I HATE HOT DOGS!!!! I really do. I will only eat Dodger Dogs.

What's the best food you've eaten at a sporting event?

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Let it go Brett!
You have been the poster boy for class the past 17 years in the NFL. Your teammates admired you. Your opponents respected you and your fans loved you. When you bid a tearful good bye last March football fans came to grips with the fact they would never see your gritty play again. After all Brett we thought you might retire two seasons earlier. At the end of the 2006 season you made it sound like you were done. You have nothing left to prove. You have a super bowl ring. You have shattered records. And now you may be breaking hearts!
Why did you ask the Packers to give you your unconditional release? They are now damned if they do,,,damned if they don't! If they allow you to come back for another season at the age of 38 then your understudy Aaron Rodgers will be forced to watch his 5th season from the bench. Sports is steeped with the not so rich tradition of superstars fighting one too many fight (Ali), Playing one too many games (Mays,Jordan) and being practically embarrassed doing it.
If the Packers release you... their fiercest rivals could sign you and rub it in the face of the team that has cherished you, paid you well and treated you with the ultimate respect. Go away Brett.
Ride off into the sunset with your head held high. That's how we want to remember you!

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Nothing like a wedding to test a couples love for each other!
Take my buddy Rob and his fiancee Regina. I've changed their names to preserve the pending nuptials. A wonderful couple in their mid 30's who have both been married before. But when Regina was married the first time her mom was the wedding planner leaving Regina nothing to do but show up. When Rob was married the first time it was short and sweet. Vegas style. So both figured this would be their first REAL wedding.
Now this may come as no surprise to anyone that weddings can bring out the worst in people...BUT THEY CAN!
Rob is a low key guy. Says he wants things to be perfect for his bride. And like many grooms Rob is happy to stay as far away from the planning as necessary. Regina seems cool with that to a point. On one hand she wants to feel like her husband is really into this wedding. So she asks his opinion of things. Problem is she doesnt like the answer most of the time. For example. Regina found a dress. Rob liked it. As soon as he told her that she decided she needed to look for another. Three dresses later and three deposits to go with them she has finally found a dress. Now, She only lost the despoit on one dress since the store with the second dress allowed her to apply the deposit to the brides maids dresses. Oh, the brides maids! More on them in a minute.
Time to pick out the cake. A fun, taste testing experience for Rob. And guess what? He liked the first cake. Three cakes later and two more lost deposits and this loving couple has found their cake.
Did I hear someone say "what about the music" ? Well Rob picked his favorite three songs for the reception. Regina chose 10. Regina didn't like Rob's choices and of her 10 , Rob didn't recognize three or four of them. When he asked why she chose songs he wasn't familiar with, she said, "but they have meaning". To which Rob responded., "They don't mean anything to me since I have never even heard them".
At this point Rob has resigned his position as assistant wedding planner. And is still hoping to be invited to the wedding at all.
But let's not forget the bridesmaids. You see, they don't care much for their dresses and have since let the Bride know it with just weeks to go before the big day. She is now a wreck and wants Rob to help her figure out what to do. Yes, the same Rob who's opinion has been shot down nearly every time he has expressed it.
Well I must tell you I am looking forward to the wedding. But I think Rob may need a good therapist to help him recover from the "happiest day of his life"!