Call this a special (Your Location Here) Angels edition of the Insider …
Sports super-agent Leigh Steinberg rates Anaheim’s chances of landing an expansion NFL franchise only 2 on a scale of 10,he says the Los Angeles Coliseum has the inside track. But the 2004-sensation Chargers might be a different story. San Diego “has a new city manager who’s very anti-football and they’ve got a contested mayorality race and may have a mayor whose anti-football. There could be an explosion and Anaheim is perfectly positioned.” Steinberg also thinks there’s a “real viable chance” of landing an NBA team at The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, thanks to “the very astute businessmen” who now manage the arena. That’s a reference to billionaire Henry Samueli’s H & S; Ventures, which operates The Pond as Anaheim Arena Management; H & S; also has been talking to Disney about buying strike-bound hockey’s Mighty Ducks. Steinberg, who headed the “Save the Rams” effort, says he has “real ambivalence” about the Angels name change: It hurts Orange County, but Arte Moreno is probably correct that it will bring added TV revenue that he can use to improve the team. Yet changing the name “is probably the last place I would go because of the passion of the fans here.” Related story, page 1 …
Get out the airbrushes: American League MVP Vladimir Guerrero, of the team formerly known as the Anaheim Angels, is a cover boy for Sony Computer Entertainment’s “MLB 2006” for PlayStation 2. Troy Glaus, formerly of the team formerly known as Anaheim, and Shawn Green, formerly of the team that actually plays in Los Angeles, are among other stars promoting the game … Defendants don’t buy tables from plaintiffs: Angels Baseball was a conspicuous no-show at Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle’s State of the City address. The Mighty Ducks, by contrast, bought a table and a page in the program. Pringle took the Angels’ snub in stride. He applauded last season’s achievements of the Anaheim Angels without belaboring the lawsuit, and he kiddingly referred to his “pal” and “fellow big-10 mayor” Jerry Brown as “the San Francisco mayor of Oakland” …
Got any ideas about what to do with a blimp hangar? The city of Tustin is seeking “developer interest” for the reuse of the 15-acre Hangar 29 Complex …
Travel and Leisure Golf Magazine has named Tony Moiso’s Arroyo Trabuco GC one of the 10 Best New Public/Resort Courses of 2004 … New state finance chief Tom Campbell addresses the OC Forum luncheon Feb. 17. Call (949) 588-9884 …
OCBJ surfwear girl Jennifer Bellantonio says she was gazing out her home office window when the mailman pulled up. “He’s wearing Vans sneakers, floral surf trunks and a T-shirt. Is this San Clemente or what?”
