men's pro basketball

It was one Hall of Famer reaching out to another. But, in reality, they're simply two proud papas.When the Los Angeles Lakers were about to begin the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Rick Barry returned a phone message left by Bill Walton.

LOS ANGELES -- Former Sacramento Kings center Scot Pollard was a witness to one of the worst-officiated games in recent NBA playoff history. No debate necessary. The box score - and the videotape - continues to expose the infamous Game 6 in the 2002 Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Kings.

A half-century ago, they were on opposite ends of a driveway in Pawtucket, R.I.., stickball opponents trying to hit their "home run porch," the greenhouse of a florist shop across the street."We had some interesting experiences with the owner of that greenhouse. We used tennis balls, but sometimes they broke the glass," the kid who went on to Dartmouth said.

At the intersection of Hollywood and the Lakers, crazy, glitzy deals go down. One of the craziest went down in 1996, and it impacts the NBA to this day.Jerry West was the Lakers' general manager. One day he got a phone call from an acquaintance, sports superagent Arn Tellum.

BOSTON -- Nice run at the end. Way to make it exciting, Lakers. Big deal. A loss is a loss is a loss, and a great seven-minute run that almost scared the TD Banknorth Garden crowd out of its "Beat LA" T-shirts, only added up to a two-game deficit for the Lakers.

BOSTON -- Can the Boston Celtics contain KobeBryant? That is the key question that hovers over this series. Can the Celtics contain Kobe, or is this NBA Finals going to turn out to be the Kobe Bryant Invitational, a showcase for all his basketball gifts, like the earlier rounds for the Los Angeles Lakers were.

After 21 years and too many seasons of viewer apathy, it's great to see the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers back in the NBA Finals. Truly it is. There's nothing quite like two prominent blue states duking it out to invigorate the pollsters.Yet the anticipated ratings bonanza, intense Internet chatter and renewed interest aside, the better team isn't here.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- To a lot of people around Southern California, it must sound like the misspent youth of Luke Walton. Surely it gives Los Angeles Lakers fans the creeps.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- They sat together last June, two disgruntled NBA stars swigging water after a pickup game at UCLA. One, a three-time champion, had already gone national with his desire to be traded. The other, frustrated by years of losing and teammates barely out of high school, bet that he would be traded first.

Trivia questions for NBA fans that are not trivial.-- Who were the broadcasters who covered the 1987 Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals, aired on CBS?-- Then there was the veteran broadcaster, who, although not on the network, got a lot of airtime that year because many considered him the best NBA announcer ever. Who was he?