...sometime back in the mid-late 90's, Tommy Lasorda came to Laramie for a fundraiser. I want to say it was Pokes related, but memory fades a bit. Anyway, I was working at KOWB/KCGY doing news and sports, when we found out that Lasorda was going to come to town to give a speech at a banquet to raise some money for a local cause. Anybody who knows me knows how much I brag/rag/support/gripe about the Doyers, and so it was going to be cool to meet one of my lifetime heroes.
This is how cool Dave Walsh is: He had a show called "SportsLine Live" that aired weekdays from 5:30-7:00. Occasionally he allowed me to sit in and co-host with him or with other people over the years I worked there. As a lowly Padres fan, Dave knew how much of a Dodger fan I am (never let him forget it...lol). On the night Tommy came to town, Dave "took the night off" and asked me if I would host the show solo. We did the show that night from the Holiday Inn in Laramie where Tommy was going to speak later, and I got 20 minutes to talk with Tommy friggin Lasorda on-air. He riffed on Steve Sax, how the pitching needed to get better, told a lot of stories and so on....and I more or less sat there just staring at him.
Later, after I got married, I got to run into him again for about 10 minutes before a Dodger game thanks to the tremendous hospitality of the Dodger front office, who gave two people from Wyoming free run through Dodger stadium for 45 minutes before setting up a 10-15 minute meet up with Tommy before the Dodgers/Phillies game. Lasorda was just as gracious then as he was a few years earlier, and we had a nice 10-15 minute visit and a few pics before he went into his press box.
However you feel about the Dodgers and Tommy Lasorda, this was a guy, who at least through my lens was a great American who gave a lot back. He came to Wyoming to raise money for people he didn't even know, and likely did the same for countless other people in America. He was as patriotic as it gets, represented the sport of baseball better than anyone I can think of, has a lot of stories preserved on video, beat the Cuban's a$$ for the gold medal in the Olympics and baseball is going to have a tough time replacing his personality. He'll have special respect from me. Sucks to see him go. Thanks for indulging me.
This is how cool Dave Walsh is: He had a show called "SportsLine Live" that aired weekdays from 5:30-7:00. Occasionally he allowed me to sit in and co-host with him or with other people over the years I worked there. As a lowly Padres fan, Dave knew how much of a Dodger fan I am (never let him forget it...lol). On the night Tommy came to town, Dave "took the night off" and asked me if I would host the show solo. We did the show that night from the Holiday Inn in Laramie where Tommy was going to speak later, and I got 20 minutes to talk with Tommy friggin Lasorda on-air. He riffed on Steve Sax, how the pitching needed to get better, told a lot of stories and so on....and I more or less sat there just staring at him.
Later, after I got married, I got to run into him again for about 10 minutes before a Dodger game thanks to the tremendous hospitality of the Dodger front office, who gave two people from Wyoming free run through Dodger stadium for 45 minutes before setting up a 10-15 minute meet up with Tommy before the Dodgers/Phillies game. Lasorda was just as gracious then as he was a few years earlier, and we had a nice 10-15 minute visit and a few pics before he went into his press box.
However you feel about the Dodgers and Tommy Lasorda, this was a guy, who at least through my lens was a great American who gave a lot back. He came to Wyoming to raise money for people he didn't even know, and likely did the same for countless other people in America. He was as patriotic as it gets, represented the sport of baseball better than anyone I can think of, has a lot of stories preserved on video, beat the Cuban's a$$ for the gold medal in the Olympics and baseball is going to have a tough time replacing his personality. He'll have special respect from me. Sucks to see him go. Thanks for indulging me.
