This Town Isn’t Big Enough for Angels and Dodgers

PALM SPRINGS —  A local radio station has discovered that half a sign may be better advertising than a whole one.

Radio station KCMJ, which has carried California Angels’ and Palm Springs Angels’ broadcasts in the past but will carry Dodger games this season, was told to remove the Dodgers’ logo from the top of an advertisement in the outfield at Angels Stadium here.

The advertisement now reads: “ . . . BASEBALL ON KCMJ, 1140 AM.”

“I’m laughing about it,” said Scott Kiner, general manager of KCMJ and son of Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. “We’re getting more publicity from this than the sign would have given us.

“But I think this shows the Angels’ jealousy of the Dodgers. I guess they just didn’t want that logo up there reminding them they’re a distant second to the Dodgers in Southern California.”

Kevin Uhlich, the Angels’ manager of stadium operations, made the decision to have the logo removed when he arrived in Palm Springs Wednesday. General Manager Mike Port supports his decision.

“They’re making something out of nothing,” Port said. “Actually, this is not a California Angels matter. It’s a Palm Springs Angels matter. They have admitted it was an oversight on their part.”

Kiner agreed to sign off . . . halfway, at least.

“We left the blank spot Dodger blue, though,” he said.