Get ready for a likely announcement next week that Breeders’ Cup is coming back to Santa Anita Park.

Larry Stewart

Invitations to a gala event scheduled for Aug. 10 in downtown Los Angeles are being sent out this week. They read: “Please join the Breeders’ Cup and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for a luncheon and special announcement.”
The obvious conclusion is that the 2012 Breeders’ Cup is headed for Santa Anita, even though mum is the word for now. Jim Gluckson, a spokesman for the Breeders’ Cup, declined comment.
The Arcadia racetrack served as the host of horse racing’s world championships in 2008 and 2009. In all, the Breeders’ Cup has been at Santa Anita five times.
This year’s Breeders’ Cup will be held Nov. 4-5 at Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby. The 2010 Breeders’ Cup was also held at historic track in Louisville.
However, Santa Anita has been the expected site for the 2012 event for several months, even though Churchill Downs and New York’s Belmont Park were also getting consideration. Counting this year, Churchill Downs has been the host eight times. Belmont Park, which has been the host four times, most recently in 2005.

According to earlier reports, Santa Anita was the only racetrack to offer a substantial guaranteed revenue stream. There were concerns about Santa Anita’s main dirt track, but it just went through another renovation and on July 26 re-opened to positive reviews.
It was the fourth time in five years the track has either been replaced or renovated. A synthetic surfaced was installed in 2007 and had to be re-done. Santa Anita went back to a dirt surface last year but safety concerns led to the recent renovation.
The previous Breeders’ Cup World Championships held at Santa Anita all took place during the fall meet put on by the Oak Tree Racing Association.
But Oak Tree was forced out last year and held its fall meet at Hollywood Park.
Santa Anita recently announced that it plans to hold its own fall meet, running from Sept. 30 to Nov. 6.
It appears now that, if all goes according to plan, the Breeders’ Cup will be held during next year’s fall meet. The dates will probably be announced at the gala event Aug. 10.

– By Larry Stewart

In trying to help my friend Si “Lam” Huynh promote his Arcadia business, Prince Jewelers, I’ve been telling him he needs to get out more and meet people.
Lam just works, works, works.

Larry Stewart

But I got him to go to the recent Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation fundraiser at the Century Plaza Hotel, an affair that attracted Commissioner Bud Selig and many, many baseball dignitaries.
We each had to pay $300 for tickets (and those were for the cheap seats), but the affair was well worth the price. Another Arcadia resident, Pete Bonfils, the longtime Dodger batting practice pitcher, went with us. Pete was our designated driver, mainly because he has a brand new SUV.
Although Lam is a huge Laker fan, he doesn’t know much about baseball. When I spotted Dodger owner Frank McCourt, I had to explain to Lam who he was and why it was surprising that he was there.

Arcadia's Lam "Si" Huynh and Frank McCourt

As most people know, McCourt has become somewhat of a recluse because of the highly publicized divorce that he and his wife Jamie are going through. It was out of respect for Dennis Gilbert, the organizer of the fundraiser, and his respect for scouts that he showed up.
McCourt declined most picture requests and vehemently declined to talk with Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers, who showed up in a baseball cap, jeans and running shoes. Simers said to McCourt, “Let’s have a chat.” Replied McCourt: “In your f***ing dreams.”
But when I asked McCourt to pose with Lam, he gladly agreed.
This was the eighth annual fundraiser for the foundation that Gilbert has put on. It benefits scouts who too often are the overlooked and forgotten servants of baseball. The event generates between $300,000 and $400,000 each year.
Gilbert, a highly successful Beverly Hills life insurance agent, is a former baseball super agent and now is the special assistant to White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, although Gilbert still lives in Southern California.

I got involved with the foundation because of a longtime friendship with Gilbert. He was the centerfielder for the Class-A Visalia Mets of the California League in 1969 when I was a sportswriter for the Visalia Times-Delta.
Gilbert was recently involved in an attempt to purchase the Texas Rangers and has been rumored as a possible owner of the Dodgers if McCourt is forced to sell.
Gilbert, as chairman of both the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation and its annual fundraiser, has put in countless hours and over the years has contributed hundreds of thousands of his own money toward its cause of helping scouts in need.
“Dennis is one of the great guys in baseball,” said former Dodger manager Tom Lasorda, another attendee at the recent dinner. “Dennis played the game and he loves the game. He realizes what can happen to these scouts, and has done something about it. We take off our hat to congratulate Dennis and the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation.”

This month’s event featured the likes of Brooks Robinson, Tom Seaver, Joe Garagiola, Bobby Valentine, Robin Yount, Larry King, Bob Uecker and Rob Reiner, to name a few.
And it opened Lam to a whole new world of customers.
However, it is doubtful Tommy Lasorda will be visiting his Arcadia store anytime soon. When I told the former Dodgers manager about Lam’s prowess as a jewelry designer, I suggested he might what to buy his wife Jo a nice piece of jewelry.
Lasorda, famous, or infamous, for never picking up a dinner tab, said: “I bought her a nice piece of jewelry 60 years ago. That was enough.”

Not that anybody would care, but my favorite Christmas present was a book. It beat out a pair of L.L. Bean slippers by a considerable margin.

Larry Stewart

This just wasn’t any book. Titled “Laker Girl,” it’s a diary by Jeanie Buss, who, with help from my former Los Angeles Times colleague Steve Springer, takes readers through the 2009-2010 NBA season.
Jeanie, the Lakers’ executive vice president, provides insight into her life as well as those of her father, Laker owner Jerry Buss, and her boyfriend, Laker coach Phil Jackson.
The passage in the book that really caught my eye was about fellow Arcadia resident Si “Lam” Huynh, the owner of Prince Jewelers on Huntington Drive.
Readers of my Arcadiasbest.com blog are probably aware of my relationship with Lam and how I connected him with Jeanie and Phil in 2009. I arranged for Lam to present cufflinks to Phil and a pendant to Jeanie.
Here’s what Jeanie wrote about Lam and that event, which took place in a private room at Staples Center Nov. 8, 2009:
“Phil and I had a wonderful experience prior to tonight’s game. Si “Lam” Huynh of Prince Jewelers in Arcadia presented Phil with custom-made cufflinks containing 10 diamonds on each in the form of Xs to represent the 10 championships Phil has won. (The number is now 11). His name and the title years are engraved on the side.
“As if that weren’t enough, Lam presented me with a gorgeous pendant containing five amethyst stones, representing the five players on a court, surrounding a diamond-studded golf basketball. All of it was contained in a gold circle made to look like a rim.
“Phil and I are lucky to be in a position where people give us gifts that are so rare and so personal. I was touched that Lam would do that.
“And to do it for nothing.
“He refused to take money for his handiwork. He did agree to tickets for the game and dinner up in the Arena Club, but that hardly equaled the value of these pieces.
“I didn’t know what else to say or do. The whole experience was humbling and a bit overwhelming.
“I’m under no illusions as to why I, in particular, am the recipient of such gifts. It’s because of the love people have for the Lakers, because of what that brand means to them. It certainly isn’t because of anything I have done.
“That’s why it is so important to me to be accessible to the fans, to hear their stories about how the team has affected their lives.
“I kept Lam’s business card and made sure to mention to Phil that Lam makes all sorts of really nice stuff and that the holidays are coming up.
“It was the least I could do for Lam.”
Postscript: Unfortunately for Jeanie, Lam has not heard from Phil since their initial meeting. But Jeanie has stayed in contact and invited him as her guest to other Laker games, including this season’s home opener. At that game, Jeanie wore her Prince Jewelers pendant when she handed out the Laker championship rings on national television.
Lam said he made the two pieces of jewelry because of his and his son Jordan’s love of the Lakers. Lam says he had no ulterior motive, but is sure glad he did it.

– By Larry Stewart

The Rose Queen and her Court make nearly 150 appearances over a two-month period leading up to the Tournament of Roses parade and Rose Bowl game. One of those stops was Wednesday’s monthly meeting of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters at legendary Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake.

Larry Stewart

As someone who wrote about sportscasters for nearly 35 years during my 40-year career as a sportswriter in Los Angeles, I’ve become quite involved with that group since leaving the Los Angeles Times more than two years ago.
The visit by the Rose Queen and her Court is an annual affair. I was there at Lakeside two years ago when Arcadia’s Courtney Lee was the Rose Queen. When I interviewed her for this blog, I was unaware that my friend, Dr. Andrew Lee, was her father. It took an email from Dr. Lee before the nickel dropped.
And I was there last year when Natalie Innocenzi, another Arcadia resident, was the Rose Queen.
So Wednesday’s luncheon was the third time I attended the annual visit by the Rose Queen and her Court to the Southern California Sports Broadcasters, and once again I was blown away by just how polite, smart and personable these young women are.
If you ever need your faith restored in our youth, just hang with these gals for a couple of hours.

Rose Princess Tatyane Berrios (l), senior at Arcadia High, with former Wisconsin linebacker Aaron Norvell.

The one representative from Arcadia on the 2011 edition of the Rose Queen and her Court is Princess Tatyane Berrios, a senior at Arcadia High.
Tatyane attended elementary school at Baldwin Stocker, then Camino Grove before moving on to Dana Middle School and Arcadia High. Her immediate future plans include studying in Buenos Aires in what she calls her “gap year” before returning to Southern California and hopefully attending UCLA.
She eventually plans to be a pediatrician.
“I have a lot of young cousins and just love children,” she said.
Her father, Ariel, is a lawyer, and her mother, Leticia, is now a full-time mom after leaving the teaching profession some seven years ago.
It was Tatyane’s twin sister, Yanitza, who talked her into trying out for Rose Queen.
They were among an original field of 1,091. The field was trimmed to 284, then 81,  then 31, and finally to seven before Evanne Friedmann of La Canada was eventually named queen. The other six finalists make up her court.

Rose Princess Tatyane Berrios (l) is interviewed by Heidi Androl, a reporter on Los Angeles Kings telecasts.

The group will continue to be on the go prior to the 122nd Rose Parade on Jan. 1 and the ensuing 97th Rose Bowl game, featuring TCU against Stanford. They were off to the City of Hope in Duarte following Wednesday’s luncheon at Lakeside. Then there was a dinner that night.
It will all culminate on Jan. 1, when Evanne, Tatyane and the other princesses will arise around 1 or 1:30 a.m. They have hair appointments at 2 a.m. at the beginning of what will no doubt prove to be an eventful – and unforgettable – day.

In my last blog I wrote about a charity tournament I was involved with. It took place Thursday (Oct. 28) at Sierra La Verne Country Club, and I was in charge of lining up celebrities and publicizing the event.

Larry Stewart

Well, things couldn’t have gotten any better, and a number of Arcadia-area golfers participated. Terry McCullom, who owns the Station bar on Baldwin Avenue, paid for a foursome that included Wayne Busick, whose family is well known in Temple City.
But the key thing was that four of the 50 players named by the NBA as the greatest in its history showed up – Jerry West, Bill Sharman, James Worthy and Elgin Baylor. Other celebrities included former UCLA basketball coach Jim Harrick, UCLA football announcers Chris Roberts and Matt Stevens, Dodger legends Bill Russell, Al Downing and Tommy Davis, plus Michael Young, a former outstanding NFL wide receiver who is now the Dodgers’ Chief Revenue Officer.

The tournament benefited Sowing Seeds for Life, which helps feed the needy in the San Gabriel Valley.

(Editor’s note: Brian McNerney, president of the La Verne Chamber of Commerce, praised Larry in an e-mail to event organizers, saying that “Larry did a great job gettting the celebrities to commit and then actually show up. The fact they stayed until the end was amazing!! He also called the panel that Larry describes below as a home run.)

L-r: James Worthy, Al Downing, Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Jim Harrick, Larry Stewart, Vicki Brown (CEO of Sowing Seeds for Life), Greg DeSmet (chairman of key sponsor DPI Labs), Jerry West, Al Snow (tournament co-chairman), Bill Dwyre, and Tim Grant (tournament co-chairman).

All-Star panel
The highlight of the post-tournament festivities was an all-star panel Q&A session moderated by Bill Dwyre, the longtime sports editor of the Los Angeles Times who is now a sports columnist.
On the panel were West, Worthy, Harrick and Russell. Baylor had to leave early because of a prior commitment and Sharman, 84, is still a bit frail from recent heart surgery and also has had voice problems since he was coaching the Lakers in the 1970s.
West talked about how, at this stage of his life, he didn’t want to be remembered as simply a basketball player. He wanted to be remembered as someone who gives back.
In May 2009, West accepted the job as executive director of the Northern Trust Open PGA tournament at Riviera because of the charity aspect of the event. Special Olympics is a major beneficiary. The next Northern Trust Open is Feb. 14-20.
West said he has made more than 70 appearances at charity events in the past six months. His latest was in La Verne, and he drove there from his home in Bel-Air.

Jerry West lost in Arcadia
West brought Sharman and Sharman’s wife Joyce with him, and they got lost — in Arcadia. The three of them were talking and were afraid they missed the Foothill Blvd. exit in La Verne and got off the freeway. When I called to find out where they were, Joyce Sharman said they had no idea. West put his window down and asked the driver in another car, “What town is this?” The driver said, “Arcadia.” Wonder if that person knew who he was talking to?

Harrick’s highlight
Anyway, back to the panel session.
Harrick talked about playing for a rival high school of West’s high school in West Virginia. They are both 72.
“We beat Jerry’s team when he was a sophomore and junior,” Harrick said. “He put up 46 points and killed us when he was a senior.”
Harrick also talked about UCLA’s championship run in 1995, which included Tyus Edney’s amazing full-court run and basket against Missouri with 4.7 seconds left.
Harrick was aware of Edney’s speed and during a time-out told him what he wanted him to do. Harrick said  he then asked him, “Tyus, do you have a crystal clear understanding of what I just said?” And Edney replied, “Yes, you just told me you want me to shoot the ball.”
Edney responded by going coast to coast and banking in the game-winner at the buzzer. “That was the defining moment of my career,” Harrick told the audience at Sierra La Verne.

Worthy and the other great Bill Russell
Worthy was asked if he had ever considered coaching.
“You have to have a real passion for coaching, and I didn’t have that kind of passion for coaching,” he said. “I did have that kind of passion for playing.”
When Dwyre introduced the panel, he said, “We have four basketball legends here, including the great Bill Russell. Oh I’m sorry, you’re the other Bill Russell.”
Russell said he played basketball in high school in Broken Arrow, Okla., not baseball, and was offered a basketball scholarship to the University of Kansas.
“So you got it right,” Russell said. “I was also a basketball player.”
Russell talked about that famous Dodger infield of him, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes and Ron Cey that was together for nearly a decade.
“Because of free agency, I don’t think we’ll ever see that again,” he said.
The panel discussion went on and on, long past its allotted 20 minutes.
When Dwyre asked if it was time to wrap things, tournament coordinator Tim Haas said, “No, no. You can go on forever.”
The audience, hanging on every word, applauded.

Stewart with fellow tournament committee member Joey Tafolla, who arrived in a stretch limo.

Generous donations
West arrived a little late – he came for just the dinner – and got a standing ovation upon entering the dining room at Sierra La Verne. He almost immediately, before even sitting down, announced he would donate his four personal tickets, plus parking pass, to any Laker game and an autographed jersey as an auction prize if the bid was at least $2,000. The package went for $2,600.
Earlier in the day, as the players were headed to their carts, one fan donated $500 to the charity so that he could ask Baylor to autograph a basketball.
A young man who arrived late to the dinner donated $1,000 just for the privilege of being in the same room as West and the others.

Sowing Seeds for Life
To say the tournament was a success would be an understatement.
Considering the lineup of celebrities and all the perks involved, the $150-per-player entry fee was quite a bargain. The money raised that benefits Sowing Seeds for Life, a non-profit organization, goes toward providing food for people in difficult situations due to illness, accident or misfortune.
Sowing Seeds for Life (SSFL) began distributing food in December 2007 to some 100 people a month in the La Verne area and now serves more than 5,000 a month. This was the second year of the SSFL tournament, and was taken to a higher level by an energetic tournament committee headed by co-chairmen Tim Grant and Al Snow.

Bonus treats
The post-tournament festivities – which were fast-paced and fascinating, to say the least — also featured complimentary cocktails, a tri-tip and chicken dinner, a live jazz band and some incredible auction and raffle prizes.
Auction items included Dodger, Angel and NHRA packages – and much more. Besides the four Laker tickets donated by West, there were four $270 Laker tickets donated by the team’s executive vice president, Jeanie Buss, plus a Pau Gasol autographed ball.
Other tournament highlights included a helicopter golf ball drop with a first prize of $1,500 (for the ball closest to the hole) and a $500 consolation prize (for the ball farthest from the hole), a professional magician from the Magic Castle, two long-drive experts, on-course beer and soft drinks and margaritas and more.
Haas, the president of Tournament Golf & Travel, coordinated last year’s inaugural SSFL tournament and was brought back to again take care of details and make sure everything went smoothly. And it did.
Haas credits an outstanding golf tournament committee for making it all happen.
The driving force behind the golf tournament is Vicki Brown, the president of DPI Labs, Inc. of La Verne and CEO of Sowing Seeds for Life.
At one point during the evening festivities, Vicki was seen brushing away tears. They were no doubt tears of joy.