LOS ANGELES -- Dan Craig and his crew have been at Dodger Stadium from dusk to dawn every night for the past week, patiently building a sheet of NHL-quality ice in the middle of the iconic baseball field. Keith Hernandez Mets Jersey . Theyre just about ready to drop the puck in sunny Southern California. The ice is solid, the fans have bought nearly every ticket, and the two local teams are eager for their historic showdown under the lights and stars. Only a few tweaks remain before the Los Angeles Kings face the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday in the NHLs first official outdoor game in a warm-weather climate. "Its hard not to get excited about it now that its almost here," Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "It seems like everybody is talking about it." While the NHL raised plenty of eyebrows with the announcement of outdoor hockey in one of the nations hottest places, Craig has always been confident that this unorthodox game wouldnt turn into a swim meet. The NHLs ice specialist is working a vicious schedule this winter with preparations for six outdoor games, but hes most excited about the chance to do the improbable in Chavez Ravine. "This is the challenge that everybody who works with me wanted to try," Craig said. "The crew thats in New York (for two upcoming games at Yankee Stadium) doesnt want to be in New York. They want to be here." Even with daytime temperatures in the 80s and abnormal humidity in Los Angeles over the past week, Craig is quietly confident about the ice sheet created by his meticulous crew and the huge refrigeration unit in the 53-foot truck beyond centre field. They work at night, building and grooming more than 10,000 gallons of water into a 1 3/4-inch sheet that stays cool under a heat-reflecting blanket during the day. The ice is out of the suns reach by roughly 4 p.m. each day, and thats when Craigs crew goes to work. "We are very patient with what we do," Craig said. "Our guys arent getting a whole lot of sleep. I know I wont be getting a whole lot of sleep." Craig said he could have made NHL-quality ice just about anywhere in North America for several years now, but the league didnt expand its outdoor exploits to a warm-weather city until expanding its series of stadium games this winter. Glycol coolant is constantly circulated from the truck and below the rink, keeping the ice temperature around 22 degrees. The outdoor temperature is likely to be in the high 50s at game time on Saturday night, which would be plenty cold enough for Craigs purposes. "Its a hard concept for anybody thats not in the field to understand," Craig said. "Ive got two very efficient systems that were marrying together." Craig and Kings executive Luc Robitaille skated on the ice Wednesday, with Robitaille pronouncing it ready to go. The Kings and Ducks will hold separate practices at Dodger Stadium on Friday to get used to the rinks peculiarities. The boards, benches and glass were trucked into Dodger Stadium from the Winter Classic at Ann Arbors Michigan Stadium, although they wont need the heaters. The NHL is also embracing the unusual setting with a variety of amusements in the Dodger Stadium bowl -- everything from a beach volleyball court and a pond to two performance stages. The game will be the NHLs first outdoor venture west of Alberta, but its not the first attempt at Southwest outdoor hockey. Robitaille and the Kings played an exhibition against the New York Rangers in Las Vegas in 1991, and everything went fairly well -- except for the swarm of grasshoppers that jumped onto the ice. "These guys know what theyre doing, and the ice is going to be great," Robitaille said. "This is an incredible opportunity for these two teams to bring hockey to a new level in Southern California." Wilson Ramos Jersey . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Adeiny Hechavarria Jersey . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. http://www.metssale.com/mets-wilson-ramos-jersey/ . LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p.HOUSTON - Andre Johnson is having another great season for the Houston Texans. The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. He told The Associated Press this week that dealing with another terrible season after already suffering through the lean times early in franchise history has taken the joy out of playing the game he loves. "You dont expect to go back through it," said. "You think youre past that stage as a team ... it is no fun at all." Despite his frustration with this year, Johnson has remained Houstons most reliable leader. "Its amazing. Andre is just the consummate pro. Hes always positive," interim coach Wade Phillips said. "Hes always making plays. Its tremendous the number of plays hes made ... that just says so much about him. And if you know him as a person, hes even better." This has been the most painful season for Johnson because the Texans were coming off consecutive playoff appearances and were expected to contend for a Super Bowl. Instead, they need a win at Tennessee on Sunday to avoid matching their franchise-worst record of 2-14 from 2005. If the Texans lose on Sunday, they will be guaranteed the top overall pick in Aprils draft. Johnson is the only player remaining on the team from the 2005 season. He has been with the Texans since their second season after being drafted third overall in the 2003 draft. He went through four losing seasons with David Carr at quarterback before the Texans picked up Matt Schaub and the franchise began to turn around. The Texans won back-to-back AFC South titles and looked to take the next step this season. But Schaub had the worst stretch of his career and was benched after six games in favour of Case Keenum. But the losing continued with the undrafted, record-setting University of Houston quarterback running the offence. Now it looks like Johnsoon is likely to be catching passes from another quarterback next season. Tim Tebow Jersey. Johnson isnt spending time worrying about Houstons quarterback situation, especially because the Texans dont know who their coach will be in 2014 after Gary Kubiaks recent firing. "You just have to wait and see what happens," he said. "You dont necessarily know if its going to be a rookie quarterback or a veteran guy. We dont even have a coach yet." Johnson is second in the NFL with 103 receptions in 2013 and his 1,358 yards receiving are fifth in the league. He tied an NFL record for most seasons with at least 100 receptions on Sunday, reaching the mark for the fifth time in his career. This Sunday he has a shot at setting another NFL mark. Johnson needs 142 yards to become the first player in NFL history to have at least 100 receptions and 1,500 yards receiving in four seasons. This is Johnsons seventh season with at least 1,000 yards receiving and he surpassed 12,000 yards for his career earlier this year. "I think the ultimate goal is to win and win the championship," Johnson said. "So I think the records and stuff like that is something youll look at once your career is over to see what youve accomplished since youve been in the league." Johnson will turn 33 this summer, raising the question how much longer hell be able to play at this level, and if time is running out for him to reach his goal of winning the Super Bowl. But this tough season hasnt dampened his optimism that Houston will turn things around next year. "You can make moves and put yourself into contention," he said. "There are going to be some decisions made this off-season with the new coach and everything like that. Hopefully, as an organization, well make some moves to put us in contention where we can go out and compete to hopefully win that Super Bowl." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ' ' '