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February 15, 2002
JCC dinner a home run
Lasorda entertains audience with class and humor.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
Minutes before the opening of the ninth annual Jewish Community
Centre of Greater Vancouver Sports Dinner, guest speaker and legendary
Los Angeles Dodgers baseball manager Tommy Lasorda answered a few
questions for a crowd of local sports media.
Speaking of his proudest accomplishments from 53 years with the
same organization, Lasorda recreated the image of his first day
in professional baseball in 1948 when the 21-year-old pitcher stood
with 280 other Major League hopefuls, as well as managers and coaches
from 26 different teams during spring training.
"Of all the people there that day," he announced with
a smile, "I outlasted every single one of them. And that is
my greatest accomplishment."
That comment typified the spirit and sense of nostalgia that the
hall-of-fame dugout boss brought to more than 800 people packed
into the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver Feb. 6.
Lasorda's presentation induced laughter as the baseball manager-turned-comedian
focused more of his initial remarks on his background as an Italian
than his background on the field.
Lasorda said that he was honored to be at the same table as this
year's Jack Diamond Sports Personality of the Year recipient Bob
Lenarduzzi and former B.C. Lions kicker Lui Passaglia, a previous
honoree, not because of their impressive credentials, but because
they were Italians.
He then went on to tell story after story of how he led intellectually
challenged fielders, who had their wits tested by more intelligent
catchers, to decades of Dodger success.
The hall of famer ended the night by graciously signing autographs
for his fans at the dinner and offering to pose for a few pictures.
Lasorda even pulled Canadian snowboarding champion Ross Rebagliati
into a few shots announcing that he'd "always be happy to take
a picture with an Italian."
As in previous years, the evening opened with a cocktail reception
and a silent auction filled with sports memorabilia.
Many of the guest tables featured well-known local athletes, including
Rebagliati, who won the first gold medal for snowboarding at the
1998 Olympics, several members of the Lions and former Canucks goaltenders
Richard Brodeur and Kirk McLean.
The program was led by emcee Neil Macrae of CKNW sports, who garnered
a few cheap laughs while managing to insult just about everyone
to the point where nobody took his comments too seriously after
the first five minutes. Which was probably a good thing.
An extra set of kudos goes to Lenarduzzi, a Canadian soccer legend
who, just two days prior to being honored at the dinner, was released
from his duties as the manager of the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer
team.
Lenarduzzi, whose plight with the Whitecaps was the lead of every
major local sports cast earlier in the week, showed a lot of class
in gracefully enjoying various jokes about the loss of his job.
Behind the scenes of this year's dinner was chair Mark James. He
and his organizing committee, represented by more than 100 volunteers,
ran an almost flawless event that raised approximately $175,000
for the JCC.
The live auction featured eight unique prizes including a 2002 Chevrolet
Tracker valued at $24,595, an eight-night trip to Israel via El
Al airlines that came with a round of golf for four in Caesaria,
and front row tickets, backstage passes and three nights of accommodation
to see Bryan Adams perform live at London England's famous Wembley
Stadium.
Each dinner guest went home with a hard copy of the new book Greg
Moore: A Legacy of Spirit, a copy of Mariner Magazine and a
two-for-one voucher for a Vancouver Ravens lacrosse game. One lucky
person from each table also took home a baseball autographed by
a member of the Seattle Mariners.
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