SPORTS
March 1, 2012 | Bill Plaschke
Three decades ago, the Lakers had an unofficial mascot who got too big for his tuxedo. He was an entertaining fan who became so popular, he eventually wanted money to continue being that fan. The Lakers tried paying him but couldn't pay him enough to keep him happy, so he stopped coming to games and eventually faded into anonymity. Remember Dancing Barry? He's about to be joined by Clipper Darrell. The Clippers' unofficial cheerleader, the rotund dancing guy in a red and blue suit named Darrell Bailey, caused a stir this week when he issued a statement on his website claiming that the Clippers, "no longer want me to be Clipper Darrell.… I am devastated!"
ENTERTAINMENT
November 27, 2011 | By Jean Lenihan, Special to the Los Angeles Times
At the pre-show warm-up for "Bring It On: The Musical," performers in their 20s are stretching and assuming yoga postures, others are jumping rope or jogging softly in place. It's what you might expect from any cast of a musical. Then suddenly, downstage right, there's a complicated, unfamiliar moving shape that turns out to be a man flat on his back, doing fast, full push-ups into the air with a tiny young woman standing straight on his hands. A similar surprising amalgam of styles is being seen by audiences at the Ahmanson Theatre.
ENTERTAINMENT
November 6, 2011 | By Rob Weinert-Kendt, Special to the Los Angeles Times
— There's a lot of sugar and caffeine in the room at Studio 54, the unoccupied Broadway theater where a cast of 33 is working through a casually strenuous new dance number for "Bring It On: The Musical. " Young performers in workout clothes sip energy drinks between run-throughs; an oversized Pez dispenser modeled after Peanuts' Lucy sits on the stage manager's table. When co-composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda joins a small group of observers, he offers everyone a handful of Pop Rocks.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
October 4, 2011 | By Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times
Those who knew Angela Gettis, the 16-year-old Washington Preparatory cheerleader who collapsed during a football game Friday and later died, said cheering was not just an extracurricular activity for her. It was her life. "There is nothing in the world she enjoyed more," Principal Todd Ullah said in a statement Monday, the first day of class after her death. Classmates said Angela brought that same vitality to the hallways of the South L.A. high school. She was vibrant, funny and always one of the brightest students in class.
WORLD
July 21, 2011 | By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
Can sari-clad "cheer queens" stand up to short-skirted pom-pom girls? That's a question Indian cricket fans are pondering after a team here introduced a cheerleading squad wrapped head to toe in traditional garb, its members eschewing high kicks and splits for complex hand waves and traditional dance steps. "The concept of cheer queens is an extraordinary way of showcasing our national artistic heritage to the world," says Abhijit Sarkar, director of the Pune Warriors. Others say it's a nice idea, done somewhere else.
SPORTS
July 1, 2011 | By Douglas Farmer
NBA fans looking to settle bar bets or simply reminisce about their favorite team's playoff run this spring will now have to search a bit harder. When the NBA's collective bargaining agreement expired, not only the players were locked out. A wrinkle within that agreement meant that NBA teams' websites and nba.com had to remove most images, videos and other likenesses of current players. Fans now see pages advertising a team, but no stories about the players on that team. Cheerleaders and auditions for cheerleaders are featured on some websites, but no stars.