Summer as a Laker Fan
The dog days of summer. The only good new basketball you’ve seen is that one 6′2 guy from the YMCA that’s dunking on people and nailing 20-footers.
Summer in L.A. Means Wearing a T-Shirt on Warm Nights.
You wonder why he’s not in the NBA - until you go back and see footage of mere bench players like the Lakers’ Shannon Brown or the Blazers’ Jerryd Bayless and realize how good the NBA has become.
You start to fester. There hasn’t been a Laker game in months. You’ve gone from the heart pounding emotions of championship games to wondering what Derek Fisher does in the summer to stay in such good shape.
You start looking for things to take your breath away again. The same way your lungs couldn’t breathe when you saw the replay of Kobe hanging, hanging, waiting for Dwight Howard to come down, and throwing in the prettiest shot of the Finals since MJ switched hands 18 years ago.
Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen Know a Thing or Two About Being Funny.
The movies will be able to give you those moments. In American film we trust. And that is why you decide to watch Adam Sandler’s new movie, Funny People. You’re left feeling lucky. Lucky to be alive and healthy. You’re left with an appreciation of how difficult it is to become the best in anything, especially a comedian.
Then the news starts filtering through sporadically. The Lakers cut Sun Yue from the team. A 6′9 guard with ball-handling skills, he was supposed to be our Chinese Magic Johnson. He looked more like our Chinese Sasha Vujacic on a bad shooting night.
Brian Shaw and the Lakers Couldn’t Turn Sun Yue Into a Rotation Player Fast Enough. Now, Money Talks.
On the court his shots were rushed and off, and he was too passive with the ball. Still, I would have loved to give the kid another year. But when the Lakers are already committed to a $91 million dollar payroll for next season, there is no money left for projects.
News comes in from overseas that Pau Gasol damaged a ligament in his left index finger and had surgery. He’s now sidelined for 3 weeks. The debate of letting players play for their country and the detrimental consequences to their NBA team reignites in your head.
Pau and Marc Gasol Celebrate Their Silver Medals From the Olympics. Only a Wade, Kobe, and James - led Super Team Prevented Gold.
In the end, everyone, including U.S. players, should be allowed to represent their country. You try to calm the NBA-only raging fan in your brain.
You open up a calendar. Oh no, it’s still only August. You head outside with your basketball. You don’t care that it’s 92 degrees on a dry Los Angeles afternoon. You start shooting around and dreaming that Staples Center cheers your name, 20,000 strong. Summer can sometimes be bittersweet.
At UCLA, My Goal Was to Become the Homeless Man’s Jordan Farmar. An Infant Rex Chapman Has Always Been More Fitting, Though.
Hold on, Lakerhead. The season will begin again. I loved Funny People as well.