Mayorsmanor Podcast

Hey, not sure if you've heard yet, but hockey is back!Fresh on the heels of the NHL and NHLPA announcing they've reached a tentative agreement to get back on the ice, we bring you two of the voices Kings fans have been longing to hear over the past few months - Bob Miller and Daryl Evans. Joined by co-host Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period, we'll chat with both broadcasters about what they did during the lockout, how they're preparing for the return of NHL action and what the Kings need to be thinking about as they begin defense of their Stanley Cup Championship. Additionally, Miller shares a few stories about visiting in old arenas around the league, announces details for a new book he has coming out and explains why he thinks the San Jose Sharks would be the perfect opening night opponent for the Kings. If that's not enough, we'll pass along a few predictions for which teams should dominate the Eastern and Western Conferences during the upcoming 48-game season - and a few clubs that might surprise pe

Sometimes, things change forever. For many Kings fans, David Courtney was the only voice they'd ever heard announce a goal or a penalty. He had been with the organization for nearly 35 years, starting out doing odd jobs at the age of 14. Yet, for the better part of 25 years he'd been the PA Announcer - first at the Forum and eventually at Staples Center. Last Thursday was a rough day. Courtney passed away at the young age of 56, leaving behind the woman of his dreams - who he had only recently married - and a legion of fans that stretched across several professional sports franchises in Los Angeles. We did a full article on his passing here. Be sure to check out if you haven't already, as it includes several videos, his favorite quotes and much more. On Friday, we also did a special edition of the MayorsManor show - an entire episode dedicated to the memory of David Courtney. Joining us for the show were two people who knew him extremely well - Bob Miller (who shared many old stories from decades ago) and

Today's show goes in so many different directions, it's hard to even know where to start.The 2011-12 LA Kings were a tight-knit group of guys, no doubt. However, they were also an eclectic mix of personalities. You had the grizzled vet in Willie Mitchell, the new guy in Mike Richards, the ultra-reserved goalie in Jonathan Quick and so on. There was also Drew Doughty. He's given us so many great quotes over the last few seasons it would be hard to narrow things down to a best-of type list - although declaring his hatred for the Canucks as 'definitely a 10' and saying 'We hate every single guy on that team!' was certainly some good stuff. Today, he's back. Doughty joins on the MayorsManor show for an absolutely incredible journey. He sells out several of his teammates, reveals something GM Dean Lombardi talked to him about at draft time in 2008, professes his love for all things London...and, of course, weighs in on the recent Toronto Blue Jays managerial change. Here's a few other topics we'll touch on...

Years from now there just might be a movie made about LA Kings right wing Jeff Carter. This is Hollywood after all.Like the tale of his best friend and teammate, Mike Richards, the simple story has been told too many times already - successful career in junior hockey, AHL Championship his first year there, an NHL first round draft pick, given a long-term deal with the Flyers, eventually exiled to Columbus. Yet, that's really where the good part starts. In a blockbuster trade last February, the Kings sent defenseman Jack Johnson to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Carter. Bound for LA was a player capable of scoring 40+ goals, a big contract and lingering questions about his character (largely driven from a media pool that always seemed quick to want to bury him). Despite all that had been written about him, days before the deal happened, we suggested the Kings should trade for Carter over Rick Nash. Having never met him or spent anytime getting to know Carter as a person, it still seemed to be the much sm

After resigning his three unrestricted free agents earlier this summer - Colin Fraser, Dustin Penner and Jarret Stoll - Kings GM Dean Lombardi had his roster all but set. However, the team was still set to make one more addition in late July. Following an interview process that included putting guys to work at his ranch in Alberta, head coach Darryl Sutter was ready to name his replacement for outgoing assistant coach Jamie Kompon. Enter Davis Payne, who just turned 42 years old yesterday. His resume includes playing and coaching stops in the ECHL, AHL and NHL - including a 4-3 win by St. Louis over the Kings in Los Angeles, his first-ever as an NHL head coach. After just 137 games behind the Blues' bench though, he was replaced by Ken Hitchcock. Now, eager to return to the NHL, he joins us on the MayorsManor show today for a look back at his career on and off the ice. Some of the topics we'll touch on include: - His relationship with Bill Ranford, Kings goaltending coach - Being a member of the Phoenix

Through the years we've had a variety of guests on the MayorsManor show - including prospects, current players and several NHL legends. Today is no different, although we're going in a slightly different direction. Instead of talking to one of the guys on the ice we'll be joined by somebody who watches from the stands. Colin Hanks is best known as an actor, however he's also a huge sports fan. Specifically, he's been following the LA Kings for about 25 years now. So, we'll go back in time and see what some of his earliest hockey memories are. As you'll quickly find out, he's not a casual fan. Some might say he's actually obsessed with hockey because his knowledge runs deep. We'll talk about his favorite players, teams he doesn't like (hint: he has strong opinions about the Ducks and Coyotes), the Kings playoff run in 1993 vs the Maple Leafs, their Stanley cup victory this year, watching games at Madison Square Garden, several problems he's had with the NHL over the last two decades and much more. Hanks als

It's an old cliche, but it's true. Rock stars want to be athletes and sports stars want to be musicians. In the case of Fred Coury, he's sort of found a way to do both. Best known as the man behind the drum kit for Cinderella, the New York native has also turned his love affair with hockey into a part-time job. When Coury's not out on the road or in the studio working on music, he's thinking up new ways to enhance the LA Kings in-arena experience. From participating in an advisory board run by Luc Robitaille to creating the 'Go Kings Go' song you hear inside Staples Center, Coury is as in tune with LA hockey as he his with the bandmates he's shared the stage with all across the world. When he returned to town recently for a big show in Orange Country, MayorManor was on hand for sound check and spent some time with Fred before the show. We talked about his brand new LA Kings drum kit, the best live crowds, life on the road, meeting Wayne Gretzky, his role with the team...and of course, the 'LA Kings super

Iconic rock band KISS opens their shows with the p.a. announcer stating 'You wanted the best, you got the best! The hottest band in the world...' We'll, if you'll allow us to riff on that, we're throwing out this today - 'You wanted the best, you got the best! The greatest guest list ever assembled to talk Kings and Devils...' How great you ask? We have not just one, but two members of the Hockey Hall of Fame - and another guy who will be inducted into the Hall on the first ballot in just a few years. We also have BOTH the long-time voice of the LA Kings and his trusty sidekick for more than 20 years. Need more? How about three members of the Kings' 1993 Stanley Cup Finals team? Plus - that's right, PLUS - we have the current captain of the LA Kings! So, without any further hype and build-up, here's the rundown for this week's show... - Dustin Brown will help us close the book on the Conference Finals vs. Phoenix. He'll give the inside scoop he hasn't shared with anybody else regarding some of the stuff

In 2009 Mike Modano made his first appearance on MayorsManor. It was an in-depth look back his career, from being drafted in the first round by Minnesota to winning a Stanley Cup in Dallas, from his international success with Team USA to being dropped on his head by some EMTs and he even reflected on breaking a few records set by U.S. born players.Since then, he's been back several times - where we discussed his signing with the Red Wings, playing the Kings one final time in LA and, for his last visit, he joined us on the MayorsManor Stanley Cup Final preview show to remind everybody he had been on the Kings bandwagon all season long.Modano now returns for today's show, where we'll do our best to not talk about the lockout. Instead, we'll hit on some of these topics and see where things take us...- His recent induction into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame - Being part of an ownership group that bought a pro hockey team - Never getting a chance to play in the Winter Classic - Goalies Eddie Belfour and Marty T

After 543 games played in the National Hockey League, goaltender Marty Turco may have manned his last crease...or he might not have. Much like the NHL lockout, Turco's future remains to be determined.At the moment, he's an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team interested once play resumes. But, does he want to come back? He believes he has plenty left in the tank - enough to be a starting goalie for several more years actually. Yet, is he willing to put his mind, body and family through the grind again?On today's MayorsManor show we'll talk about what the future may hold, plus look back at his career with the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and brief stop with the Boston Bruins. We'll also get into his younger years, when he went undrafted in the OHL, won two NCAA Championships at Michigan and spent time with the 'black aces' during the Stanley Cup Final in 1999.His 1.72 goals-against average in 2002-03 set the modern NHL record and he went on to re-write the Stars' goaltending marks for g

Among the many sub-stories to the NHL lockout is the number of players who've signed deals to play in Europe. And specific to the LA Kings, the player the organization is most likely concerned about is defenseman Alec Martinez.Back on November 13th he was struck in the face with a slapshot while playing for TPS Turku in Finland. MayorsManor had previously posted pictures and video of the situation. However, Martinez is only now available to talk about things after being on the mend for the past few weeks following surgery that required metal plates to be inserted into his face.On Wednesday's show, Kings defenseman Matt Greene told us how he's been getting updates on his teammate via Momma Martinez. Today, Alec joins us to talk about everything that went down overseas. Here's just a partial list of some of the things we'll get into...- Did he have a concussion?- When will he back on the ice?- Having surgery in the U.S. vs. Finland- Staying in touch with teammates during the lockout- How the Kings found ou

Heavy Metal and hockey, they go together like - well, everything and hockey!Brian Slagel's Metal Blade Records is currently celebrating 30 years or serving the music scene and during those same three decades the other constant in his life has been a passion for hockey. While it doesn't grab the headlines the same way helping launch Metallica does, he owns over 2,000 jerseys and had season tickets at the Forum back in the early '80s. So, like many of the bands on his label, Slagel has paid his dues through some pretty lean years.Not only did he get to enjoy the high-powered offense of players like Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and Bernie Nicholls, he also remembers Roman Vopat, Jeff Shevalier and Pavel Rosa.Today on the MayorsManor show we'll chat (and possibly argue) plenty with Slagel about hockey and music, including some of these topics...- The early years of Metal Blade, including his relationship with Metallica - Ratt, Cinderella, Poison, KISS, Guns N Roses and other bands - His favorite memories fro

The MayorsManor podcast is back for the 2011-12 NHL season and this edition isn't going to need much of an intro.Prior to the LA Kings departing for their season opening trip to Europe for the NHL Premiere series, we caught up with various players to talk about the experience in front of them.All of your favorite Kings are included, like - Drew Doughty, Matt Greene, Jack Johnson, Anze Kopitar, Willie Mitchell, Dustin Penner, Rob Scuderi, Jarret Stoll, Kevin Westgarth and more. Even the new guys are get involved - Simon Gagne, Ethan Moreau and Mike Richards! We play a slightly twisted game of word association, find out who will be the best dressed and worst dressed player on the trip, plus take a few guesses on who will be the most annoying person on the plane ride over.Get to know a whole new side of this year's LA Kings team...Audio player available here.note: this podcast will be available on itunes later todayThe Mayor www.twitter.com/MayorNHL www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

Mark Hardy played 616 games on the LA Kings blueline.He also has the second most assists, third most points and fifth most penalty minutes by a defenseman in franchise history.His career saw him go from being drafted by the Kings, shipped to New York after eight seasons in LA, then back to the Kings for their run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 and eventually behind the bench in a coaching role that lasted more than 10 seasons.Along the way he was twice named the Kings best defenseman (1984-85 and 1986-87) and his coaching led to the second best penalty killing percentage in team history (86.6 success rate in 2001-02, third in the NHL that season).For the last year though he's been on the sidelines, having resigned his position after being arrested in Washington, D.C. and subsequently entering an alcohol treatment program. He first appeared on MayorsManor over the weekend, talking about the Kings power play struggles this season and the play of Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty.He returns today for an exte

When you evaluate a trade in sports years down the line if you'd still make the same trade again, that usually tells you which team won the exchange.In the case of the Kings sending Bernie Nicholls to the New York Rangers for Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato, of course they'd do that deal again.The offensive duo helped propel the Kings to new heights in the early '90s, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993.These days Granato is an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the podcast below we cover a wide range of topics...On coaching, Granato talks about what it takes to be successful in the current NHL, what he learned from Barry Melrose and if he was ready to be a head coach when the Colorado Avalanche hired him.Regarding his days on the ice, he talks about playing in New York with Marcel Dionne, being traded to LA and the Kings 1993 playoff run - including the Marty McSorley stick incident.Other topics explored feature travel challenges in the Eastern vs. Western Conference, Staples Ce

Ian Laperriere is one of the most popular players in Kings history, having played for the team from 1996-2004.In this interview we cover the trade that brought him to Los Angeles, the highs and lows of his career, playoff memories at Staples Center, contract talks with the Kings...plus, a word association segment that is one for the ages. Truly candid comments from Lappy, especially about his former teammates.This has been one of the most popular interviews to ever appear on MayorsManor.comThe Mayorwww.twitter.com/Mayor119www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

Very few people in the world of hockey ever become as well known as the players on the ice.Then again, there aren't many people like Kerry Fraser either.He's perhaps the most recognizable referee in the history of hockey. In his 30-year career he managed to get under the skin of fans in nearly every NHL city. Yet, he was simply doing his job in most cases.At the end of last season he hung up his whistle after more than 2,000 games all across North America. He penned a book, The Final Call, while taking those last laps in stripes. It's a telling memoir featuring candid insight and often provides the emotion behind stories fans may not have otherwise been privy to.In the podcast below Fraser shares some of those memories. He talks about lecturing a young Mario Lemieux and the friction it created, allowing Mark Messier a little latitude when taking care of a situation on the ice and recalls a crushed Theo Fleury asking him for help.Of course, he also talks about several key events involving the Kings - including