After careful consideration I’ve decided not to visit the White House today for political reasons LOL JK I’m not an idiot!Free trip? I’m in!

— Dustin Penner (@Dustinpenner25) March 26, 2013

As you probably know, one of the perks of winning a championship within your respective sport is the opportunity to meet the President at the White House.

But in recent years, more and more athletes have skipped out on the opportunity, including former Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas in 2012.

Thomas made it clear that his politics didn’t match up with President Barack Obama, releasing a statement saying he felt the federal government has grown out of control and was threatening the rights of the American people.

Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Penner managed to take a jab at Thomas on Twitter prior to the team meeting President Obama at the White House on Tuesday. Based on some of the tweets from the official Los Angeles Kings account, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Penner has a sense of humor when it comes to this topic.

Also taking part in the festivities at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue were the Los Angeles Galaxy, who returned for a second straight year after winning the 2012 MLS Cup.

Not a bad day for Southern California teams in the District.

[H/T Larry Brown Sports]

The Los Angeles Kings were the kings of the town in 2012, according to the L.A. Sports Council. The non-profit organization named the Kings winning their first Stanley Cup as the top sports moment last year over the weekend.

Prime Ticket will air the award show on Sunday, March 10 at 9:30, which are presented annually to celebrate the greatest sports moments of the year in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Below is the top 10:

1. Kings Win the Cup (June 11): The Kings beat New Jersey in six games to win their first Stanley Cup.

2. Galaxy Win MLS Cup (December 1): The Galaxy defeated Houston, 3-1, at the Home Depot Center to win its second consecutive Major League Soccer championship.

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When public address announcer David Courtney tragically died in November, it left a void across three major professional teams in town — the Los Angeles Clippers, Angels and Kings.

Other than play-by-play announcer Bob Miller, Courtney’s voice was what radiated with Kings fans whenever they stepped inside Staples Center.

Needless to say, whoever replaced Courtney would have big shoes to fill.

Enter Dave Joseph.

The ESPN 710AM anchor spent the last 12 seasons covering the Kings for the radio station and was Courtney’s backup and protégé. Because of Joseph’s close relationship with Courtney, it put him in a tough spot after accepting the job as the new PA announcer.

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New NHL season, same confusion about the local hockey team in Los Angeles.

Fresh off a playoff run that featured numerous flubs by the media, some people are still confusing the Los Angeles Kings (those guys who hit pucks) with the Sacramento Kings (those guys who are hitting the road for Seattle).

The screengrab above is from the New England Sports Network (NESN).

Have no fear, the defending Stanley Cup champs aren’t moving to Seattle. Some things will never change, I guess.

(H/T @mmayo17)

Los Angeles lost a legend on Thursday as David Courtney, the voice of the Los Angeles Kings, Clippers and Angels, died at the age of 56.

Outside of his work with the local sports teams, Courtney provided sports and traffic reports for 710 ESPN-KSPN, AM 830 KLAA and 99.9 FM. The cause of death is unknown but his last tweet on Wednesday stated that he was awaiting an angiogram at the hospital.

Below is a statement from Los Angeles Kings executive Luc Robitaille:

David was tremendously passionate about the Kings, our fans and the game of hockey. His time with the Kings dates back to the mid 1970s both in our PR office as our public relations director and also with work he did in our video department before he took over full-time Public Announcing duties at the Forum and STAPLES Center. In the arena he was an institution – he was the voice of the Kings – and his work added so much to the live, in-game experience for our fans as it did for the Clippers and Angels as well. Next season would have been David’ 35th year with our franchise, and on behalf of the entire Kings organization and AEG we are incredibly saddened by this news and we send our deepest condolences to his wife Janet and the rest of the Courtney family.

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Already known for their excellent social media presence, the Los Angeles Kings can now hang their hat on their mobile app.

The hockey organization was awarded the Best Mobile Entertainment For Sports award during the 2012 Mobile Excellence Awards earlier this week, beating out  Electronic Arts, FIFA 12, StepLeader, Duck Commander iPhone App and Vibes Media, Wrestlemania XXIX Sweepstakes.

The app was released in January and includes news, interactive roster, video clips and “Kings Vision Raw,” providing fans behind-the-scenes clips of Kings players and events.

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When you’re a journalist working for a professional team that’s in the middle of a strike, it might be time to start thinking about your next career move.

Los Angeles Kings insider Rich Hammond did just that, accepting a position to cover USC athletics for The Orange County Register, ending his three-year run with the Stanley Cup champions.

“I had a great three-year run with LAKings.com, but sometimes making a change is the right thing to do, and I’m excited about having something challenging and rewarding in my future,” Hammond said in a statement on his Facebook page. “Thanks to Todd Harmonson, David Bean, Brian Patterson and all my friends (and new teammates) at the Register for giving me this opportunity. I’m honored to be joining such a great group of journalists. A huge thanks, also, to my many friends in the Kings organization. They were outstanding partners for three years, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”

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Classy move on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Kings and Anschutz Entertainment Group as they donated $10,000 to the Jessica Redfield Foundation college scholarship fund.

Denver radio talk show host Peter Burns helped start the fund in memory of Jessica Redfield, the aspiring sports journalist who was murdered in the Colorado movie theater massacre last Friday.

From KDVR:

[Peter] Burns wants Jessica’s lively spirit to live on in the sports journalism community, which is why he is working closely with Jessica’s brother to create the Jessica Redfield Foundation college scholarship.

“We want to give some young lady an opportunity to attend school and chase the dream,” said Burns, ” And we started this about 30 hours ago and we’re at $28,233 dollars which is, I mean, I got goose bumps just doing it”.

Most of the donations have come from individuals wanting to do something positive; however, Peter said a large donation came from the Los Angeles Kings, which donated $10,000.

When Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings made his NHL debut in 2006, he was the first player from Slovenia to play in the league.

Kopitar made history again on Friday when the Stanley Cup made its first trip to Slovenia as the star winger returned to his home country.

And yes, that’s Kopitar enjoying cereal from the Stanley Cup.

Breakfast of champions.

[H/T LA Kings]

How big is hockey in Canada?

So big that Toronto’s CablePulse24 was under the impression that Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash was getting traded to the Los Angeles Kings — not the Los Angeles Lakers.

For the record, Nash will play alongside Kobe Bryant — not Anze Kopitar.

[H/T Jeff Elder]