It works out as a sort of trade. The Lakers sign Ron Artest as a free agent, for three seasons and about $18 million, away from Houston. The Rockets sign Trevor Ariza as a free agent, for five seasons and about $30 million, away from the Lakers. And I like what the Lakers have done, […]

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I have confessed to my weakness for bobblehead dolls. I will drive distances, see games I don’t care about and pay for tickets I can’t afford if there is a bobblehead involved. I plan to go to the Manny Ramirez bobblehead game on July 22, even though Manny is a fraud and a cheat. So, […]

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You’ve heard about the trade. Shaquille O’Neal from Phoenix to Cleveland for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. And now the NBA is supposed to be quaking in fear of a LeBron-Shaq pairing. Having trouble seeing that.

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Watching Phil Jackson move around is painful. He appears to have significant issues with arthritis, if his extraordinary stiffness is any indication. He has had both hips replaced, but you wouldn’t know it from following him down the hall. If he has to travel any distance inside Staples Center, a golf cart is used. And […]

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Lamar Odom? Or Trevor Ariza? Which free agent do the Lakers keep? Which do they let go away? The answer? Neither. Lakers owner Jerry Buss can solve this. Just pay both of them and raise prime-seat ticket prices to cover the additional outlay.

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You saw the game. Not a lot more I can tell you about it. What struck me was the sense, in the second quarter, even before the 16-0 run, that Orlando’s spirit finally was breaking. The Magic had come back from seemingly crippling defeats throughout the playoffs, but this time it seemed like they knew […]

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Los Angeles authorities are already concerned about “celebrations” that get out of hand if the Lakers clinch the NBA championship on Sunday. “Riot” is the word that some might prefer. And might be more accurate if it turns into more than a few blocked streets and a few broken windows. Here is a story from […]

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We went out to dinner at the invitation of my sister and her husband, who run a restaurant here in Long Beach, name of Lasher’s. Their son had graduated from middle school and, no, it’s not like getting out of college but it was a good excuse to get together on the patio on a […]

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This series should be all but over. The Lakers could be up 3-0, a deficit no NBA team ever has overcome in the history of the playoffs. But Kobe Bryant cost them Game 3. Yes. Kobe.  The man who has helped the Lakers win so many games over the past decade was awful in the […]

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Kind of old news. But here is the link to the column I wrote for the Temecula Californian out of Game 2 of the NBA Finals. With Game 3 only a few hours away, it seems to me the key will be if the Lakers can match the enthusiasm and intensity that playing at home […]

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