Lakers, Celtics rivalry can't break up Rhode Island chums

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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.Today, they toil on opposite ends of the country, one in real estate in Boston, the other in medicine in Los Angeles. This month they stand on opposite sides of the NBA Finals. Steve Lewinstein, the real estate developer, is an owner of the Boston Celtics. Steve Lombardo, the physician, is the team doctor for the Los Angeles Lakers.A week ago, they had dinner with another old Pawtucket friend, Stan Abrams, the night before Game One of the NBA Finals."It was fantastic," Lewinstein said. "We got together at 7:30 and left close to 11:30. We swapped a lot of war stories. Steve asked my prediction. I told him I thought the home-court advantage would be the deciding factor and picked the Celtics in seven. He said Lakers, I think in five or six. He still has an outside possibility."Boston holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which resumes tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.Lewinstein, Lombardo and Abrams were rabid sports fans, athletes and good students growing up in Pawtucket in the 1950s. They played stickball, football, basketball, tennis and badminton. At Pawtucket West, now Shea High School, Lewinstein and Lombardo always sat near each other in class, thanks to alphabetical order.The two Steves graduated in 1959."It's hard to believe, but we're talking about our 50-year reunion," Lewinstein said.Lewinstein went to Dartmouth, Lombardo to Amherst and, a year later, Abrams to Harvard."We kept in touch in college but didn't really see each other," Lewinstein said.After college, Lewinstein went to law school at Cornell and Lombardo to medical school at the University of Kentucky. Lewinstein practiced law for about six months and then got into the real estate business. He has extensive holdings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and now resides with his wife in Newport.Lombardo did his residency at the University of Southern California and San Francisco General Hospital and is a member of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. He practices orthopedics and sports medicine in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Anaheim and Pasadena. He has been the Lakers' team physician for 34 years.Lewinstein was part of the original investment group that bought the Celtics in December 2002. One other partner was in real estate; the rest were from the world of finance and investments. Lewinstein had been part of a group that had tried to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins.Why become an owner?"I've always been a sports fan and a basketball fan," he said, recalling the days "when you're a kid, 10 years old, listening to the game on the radio under the sheets and your parents think you're asleep."He followed NBA stars of the day such as Bob Cousy, Paul Seymour and Paul Arizin. He remembers going to a doubleheader at the old Rhode Island Auditorium - Knicks vs. Bullets. Celtics vs. Philadelphia - even though he had a 103-degree fever."What a treat," he said, "but I knew if my parents knew I was sick, I was not going to that game. That's the kind of passion I had."This season has been an amazing experience."It's hard to describe," Lewinstein said. "Totally exhilarating when you think what could happen, we could win an NBA championship. There's no way to describe it. It's so enjoyable to watch this team play."Perhaps not quite so enjoyable when the Celtics squander a 17-point lead, as they did in Game Five against Detroit, or a 24-point lead, as they did in Game Two against the Lakers."I think my guest for the next game is going to be a cardiologist. It's certainly been very exciting," Lewinstein quipped.The Celtics are just one side venture for this businessman. Two years ago he got involved with the syndicate that owned Flashy Bull, the horse that finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby won by Barbaro."We went to the Kentucky Derby and had an incredible time," he said.But now his attention is on the Celtics. After attending his 45th Dartmouth reunion this week, he will fly to Los Angeles for Game Four and try to catch up with his old Pawtucket pal, Steve Lombardo. They tried and failed when the baseball All-Star Game was in L.A. a couple of years ago. When they started planning this time, Lombardo called with the greeting, "This is the guy you used to beat in stickball."E-mail Mike Szostak at mszostak(at)projo.com(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)