Meanwhile the Los Angeles Laker victory parade ran its flow along Hollywood Boulevard past Vine Street..... the Adams hats Howie Goldman’s (of Midwood&Hollywood High) pops in his role as manager....the franchise’s origin in Minnesota’s1000 lakes, George Mikan’s floor leadership an artifact .... time arrested n the Laker archives.
The Great Books of Mortimeer Adler and University of Chicago’s Robert Hutchens at the Ivar Street library.... the Knickerbocker Hotel a shooting star away..
Victor McClagen, his bag of oranges Harry Revel his 88 heys “Surrogate Court Blues” and tabs of butter at breakfast, under the Knickerbocker canopy.,
II
Back on the karma star billed sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard -the last installed six minutes and 26 ticks away from the Celtics retaking the crown from the Lakers.
A Dennis Hopper “Easy Ruder” enshrinement- the parade streaming toward Highland....the reality scene for the Oscars and Sid Grauman’s Chinese... the cemented hands and feet of tinsel town’s charismatic actors in the outside lobby.
Jack Nicholson, a basketball maven from the word “go” Maw West Marilyn Monroe “Tootsie’s Laker celebrity Dustin Hoffman Cary Grant’s Dyan Cannon Stephen Spielberg David Arquette
Van Johnson June Allyson.... Bobby Bteen Dick Powell Dennis Day Ruby Keeler Barbara Stanwyck.Judy Garland Don Castle Dean Jagger Gig Young Akim Tamiroff casting director Solly Biano, his son in law Vinnie Fotre Alan Ladd Veronica Lake Victor Jory “the Shadow knows” Alan Young, of “Mr Ed” fame.
Andy Garcia Spike Lee “Rocky” Stallone “(the Lords of Flatbush) shining credibility on the seventh game scene.....in thiis city of illusions
III
Riding in the first convertible.... the owner of the franchise Jerry Buss, former Chemistry prof at the Trojan campus before he morphed his real chemistry with the insurmountable insurance tycoon Jack Kent Cooke who bought and brought the Lakers to their Inglewood hnb... the Forum.
The teams of the Laker Celtic coast to coast rivalry ....Jerry West Elgin Baylor Wilt Chamberlain Gail Goodrich Happy Hairston coach Pat Riley...later Magic.. Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) James Worthy Bryan Scott....
Their “voice”..... not Sam Balter the Ucla Bruin “voice”s but Chick Hearn..... going west on Sunset Boulevard past the San Diego Sepulveda Freeway.... toward the Pacific Ocean.
The strip of Dino Everet Crosby The Bowery Boys Busby Berkeley’s pink stuccoed two tier restaurant... past the Beverly Hills Hotel... the Mary Pickford (Gladys Smith) William Randolph Hearst (San Simeon).... muses of a bygone era of swash buckling heroics way before sound cameras and computer generated technology broke the Bel Air Country Club caste system ...
“Fore....... Douglas Fairbanks? Junior?” .
Six minutes 26 ticks on the game clock..
IV
In the second limo a banner wrapped around its chrome “Kobe passed the ball to me.....Kobe passed the ba ll to me” was Ron Artiste, a product of the Queensboro projects.. his smoking gun from down town ... defending Paul Pierce in the war to the death playing out on the hardwood..
“I love my wife and psychiatrist.....”relaxed in his nantra,, off the trappings of his Straples Centered tea leaves.
The Saint Johns Red Storm letterman was in his ego trip,..his ascent from those grim public housing environs, the playground and hoops... his passion, a liberating exodus from food stamps and welfare...the Rucker hardtops..
Not unlike Dennis Rodman dying his hair, way out afros... being disrespected by the fans.,leaping into the stands (the fan throwing suds)
V
Finding the open man....El Capitan Paul Pierce and Ray Allen moving without the ball...... Kevin Garnet in the paint..a high school grad (a la Koby) on his quest for another ring
The Lakers had their misgivings...six minutes and twenty siix tucks on the game clock the tandem got cold, the Lakers inching back in the fourth quarter of the 28 quarters played between Boston and the City of Angels....
Grasping the magnitude of their coast to coast slugfest gave shivers to“Gunga Din” Captain Blood”“ ”The lives of the Bengal Lancers”
Sending a text message back to Bean Town’s garu Red Auerbach : those parquet floors
Where are Bill Russell Bob Cousy Bill Sharman Tommy Hensohn Sam Jones John Havlicek Danny Ainge Jo jo White Tiny Archibald Larry Bird the Chief McHale Dave Cowens KC Jones Cedric Maxwell Spec Sanders Don Nelson ML Carr Bill Walton Don Barksdale Howie Schultz Dennis Johnson when we need them.
The Lakers have USC’s Tex Winter triangle..... their 11th bearing ring coach Phil Jackson wore,,,the winningest NBA garu ,,the zen master told his troops
“We have them in our spell....... They’re playing tentative not to lose... on their heels the losingest team in the fourth quarter.....of all time”
“Keep the spacing, passing to their weak side no dribbling rotation setting picks and screens....into the paint and our seven footer (Barcelona needs a shave and a cut, doesn’t he?) ..be unselfishly aggressive... crash the glass for rebounds and second opportunities. . you’re still being tested.”
VI
The limos rolled past the Los Palmas 99 seat equity theater....Clifford Odets “Awake and sing”. Julie Garfinkel J Edward Bromberg Morris Carnofsky Stella Adler Art Smith Larry Parks Betty Garret Sidney Skolsky...
Tony Quinn and “Garfield” in the star’s dressing room.
Echoes of Carol Channing’s “Lend an ear” the limos snaking their way to Highland Avenue, the reality scene for the Oscars..the Hotel Roosevelt and tweets of George Liberace Xavier Cugat and his partner in crime Abbe Lane.
Passing Musso&Frank’s water hole, Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane”) doing commercials...the out of town newspaper rack...the Pickwick book store..Tear Doll Sheet’s burger pizza sushi .
VII
The limos crept toward La Brea tar pits, the worshipers waving at Koby.... “Who’s the honky with him?”
“Lamar Oden? Farmar? Sasha? Brown? Walton? coming off the bench?”“
“Don’t you recognize Mike Procopio ,the former Celtic scout and PaulPierce’s trainer, Koby got wind of his video analysis ... Ray Allen going cold after his eight threes in game 2.
Surreal!
It blew Doc Rivers mind. The Celtics never finding their rhythm again. Rondo’s swashbuckling denied.”
“What’s his weakness, Mike?”asked Koby of his Oklahoma City defensive match up.
“Make him go to his left,. He’s got the stroke when he goes to his right. He’s in his mind’s eye.” said the former Celtic scout... a spy who came off those parquet floors.
The limo passing the tennis courts where Bill Tilden held his razzle dazzle giving tennis lessons.......twenty five buckeroos an hour post WW2
“Whatever is negotiable...can ya afford a bargain , kiddo?.”
VIII
The fourth limo had the “Fish”...Derek Fisher, Koby’s long time alter ego.... the two pros bonding from the moment the “Fish” could take over a game.. his left hand swish from downtown, demoralizing the Celtics, the shot clock waning down..
His character on ice when his daughter’s eye cancer needed the Big Apple’s medicos, jetting from Utah... returning for the playoffs in Salt Lake City.....
IX
The Celtics in exasperation, never getting their open court game in transition... their energy out of synch..... Hall of Famers Hubie Brown and Dr Jack Ramsey in a meeting of the minds.
Six minutes 26 seconds .......
All those repetitive drills practices games breaking ground with the likes of Ucla’s John Wooden’s All American character playing out..... the Forum and Staples Center.
Basketball had come of age west of the Mississippi..
X
What could Doc Rivers do? Call a time out to regroup his troops who had lost their way?
“Not to panic Maintain yer coo l Be patient”
But where’s the energy?
Any gas left in their tanks? Whupping Miami and Dwayne Wade. Cleveland Cavs and James. Orlando’s Van Gundy and Dwight Howard......
No “bigs”. The tendons in Perkins right knee. Sitting in civies. Nobody to put a body on their Pai Gasol&Andrew Bynum( seven footers) Bynum with his own knee but able to stand his ground..... 13 minutes a half.
Put a body on them. Get second opportunities ...put backs
Six minutes 26 seconds,
XI
As coach Phil Jackson of South Dakota reveled in anticipation of becoming the winningest coach in NBA history....eleven rings......a sixth man off the Knick pines 40 tears ago ...
Sitting alongside Red Holtzman Of the Pitkin Sutter Avenue East New York Hebrew Educational Society..... franks a nickel knishes a dime, the immigrant masses crashing their gated fate at Ellis Island......
Jerry Buss’s chutzpah... asking the zen master to take a pay cut on his 12 million $ a year
7foot six Ugandan( ten years NBA) 47 year old Manut Bol ... time ran uut on his failing kidneys and skin complications
The Big Apple.... the first day of Summer... June 21 2010
