'Title Town' search ends in Los Angeles

ESPN is spending its days searching the crevices of American cities for what they call “Title town”. But they can save fuel and travel costs, because the obvious choice sits out West, and I dare anyone to challenge it. The Boston area owns the most recent success, but even with all they’ve achieved over the past 5 years, they lag far behind the City of Angels.

Titletown is to be a gathering place of champions and legends of the game, and I doubt anyone across America has more to offer than this smog filled, star-studded, sports paradise along the Pacific Ocean. The numbers are as staggering as the names, and the venues echo with history and ghosts that romped to fame.

Today, Los Angeles is without an NFL franchise, but both the Los Angeles Coliseum and Pasadena Rose Bowl have hosted the NFL’s biggest game. Bart Starr rang in the Superbowl era with a victory on the Coliseum floor, and After trailing at the half, Terry Bradshaw orchestrated a second half masterpiece on the blades of Rose Bowl grass. The last championship for the Raiders was as a representative of the City of L.A., and the Rams were NFL champions in ’51, before moving on to Saint Louis and Superbowl stardom.

The Lakers arrived in Los Angeles, representing the first NBA dynasty, after winning championships in Minnesota in 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, and 1954. They've added another 9 NBA titles, and the Staples Center rafters hold the jerseys of the NBA’s all time leading scorer (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), all time rebounder (Wilt Chamberlain), and 2nd all time in assists (Magic Johnson). Other legends wearing the purple and gold are Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and James Worthy. They won 3 titles with future Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neil, and currently boast the league’s best player in Kobe Bryant. Phil Jackson has coached 9 champions, and though 6 were earned in Chicago, the triangle offense has been his greatest weapon against opponents. The architect of that offense, Tex Winter, is a USC graduate.

The Dodgers moved to L.A, after securing one title in Brooklyn. They added 5 more for the city, with their neighboring Angels adding another. Everyone remembers the famed Kirk Gibson homerun that added to the legends of Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills, Don Sutton, Tommy John, Don Drysdale and Fernando Valenzuela. Orel Hersheiser had a scoreless innings streak, and Eric Gagne had a record streak for saves. Nolan Ryan originally wore a halo, before moving on elsewhere in the league to establish records. And though Jackie Robinson is most remembered as a Brooklyn dodger, he was stealing bases for UCLA, before breaking any major league barriers.

When it comes to college sports, it’s a runaway. The USC Trojans are 12 time champions in baseball, and 11 times in football. No basketball program in the country has more titles than the 11 achieved by UCLA. UCLA is the first school to reach 100 combined national titles in sports. No other school has more Men’s team titles than USC. As one ESPN reporter put it, If USC was a country, they would have placed 16th in the medal count of the 2004 Olympic Games. Candace Parker has joined the WNBA’s L.A sparks, looking to build on a legacy that can possibly make her the greatest female basketball player in history. To do so, she needs to surpass 3 local products, Cheryl Miller (USC), Lisa Leslie (USC), and Ann Meyers (UCLA). 8 Heisman trophies have been won in Los Angeles, and the list of high profile athletes and coaches from USC and UCLA alone could easily create an all time greatest team in nearly any sport.

Though the Kings have no titles, the great one, Wayne Gretzky, skated on their ice. In Orange County, the Anaheim Ducks are just one year removed from Hockey superiority. Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins fought their way from the L.A streets and to championship belts. The L.A Galaxy were kicking their way to the top of the soccer world, before adding David Beckham to market it. At UCLA, Arthur Ashe was setting the pace, and erasing color from the game of tennis. Across town, many years later, Venus and Serena Williams went from little girls in a big city to playing temporary roles as Queen of England. A 7 year old named Pete Sampras first picked up a racket in his Los Angeles area home, before he went on to rule the world.

The city has hosted 2 summer Olympiads. A young NBA prospect named Michael Jordan claimed his first Olympic gold in L.A. A young Boxer named Evander Holyfield was disqualified in ’84 for a knockout punch that came after the bell. Carl Lewis equaled the 4 golden moments of Jesse Owens' Berlin brilliance,and Mary Lou Retton became America's sweetheart.

Search no more, because this is "Title town". Is there another City to compare? You tell me, because I'm more than willing to listen and give it thought. As USC alumnus George Lucas would say, “The force has been with us.” And as for this article, as a young UCLA film student named Jim Morrison would put it, “This is the end.”

Off Topic: For Boston I'm Not Green With Envy

For as long as I’ve been watching sports, I could never make any sense of championship celebrations. Your local team endures a regular season schedule, fights through several playoff series, and stand as the lone victor in the end. In appreciation for all they’ve done, some fans choose to create riot type conditions and trash their own cities. Why is that?

The Boston Celtics are the NBA champions for the first time in 22 years. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce achieved their long awaited goal. They celebrate on the floor of the new Boston Garden. There are smiles, hugs, champagne, music and confetti. Meanwhile, outside of the arena, all hell has broken loose. Windows are being smashed, fights are breaking out, arrests are being made, and properties are being vandalized. This has become America’s method of celebration, and it still leaves me reaching for answers.

If anything, though equally wrong, wouldn’t it be more sensible to see the championship loser trashing their cities? After all, these are the fans with the anger. Are they not? How do you smile on your road to destruction? Obviously it’s artificial, and rooted deeper than any local team accomplishment. Anyone willfully finding enjoyment in the destruction of the property of others isn’t celebrating anything at all. These people are fulfilling something they’ve always wanted to do, but could never find a damn good reason to do it. If you pick up a brick and smash a store window, or light a match to burn a vehicle, this isn’t a celebration of the Celtics. It’s anarchy. When you gather the numbers of individuals similar in deviancy, together you celebrate lawlessness, if even for just a moment.

These people hide behind the conclusion of an event, and they blame it on alcohol. People didn’t get drunk in Boston, until their local teams won? The daily drunk doesn’t terrorize his city, but the camouflaged “championship celebrating” drunk uses it as an excuse for his actions.

After 22 years, you could say it was building, if this was anywhere but Boston. But after watching the Patriots and Red Sox bring home titles, and the city experience the same disturbances, again I’m left without reason. Boston area fans were very critical about a news story telling of a Celtics fan being attacked by Lakers fans at Staples center. They called Lakers fans and citizens of Los Angeles “Savage” and “Barbaric”. But if these are the labels given to your enemies that attack members or your fanbase, what is the label given to those that purposely attack their own for the sake of enjoyment, and all in the name of celebration?

The Celtics and their players, I congratulate for a tremendous season. But for the City of Boston, dealing with the aftermath, I am not green with envy.

Due to excessive choking, Food no longer served at Staples

Midway through the second quarter of tonight’s game 4 of the NBA Finals, a friend of mine calls me to gloat. At the time, the Lakers were up nearly 20 points, and the Celtics looked dead in the water. Along with his gloating, he asked my opinion of the game, and didn’t like what I had to say, but respected it. I told him, having played in those types of games, one of the hardest things for a team to do is hold a big lead early. Eventually, The Boston Celtics overcame a 24 point deficit to win and go up 3-1 in the series. I’m not psychic, but I can fill you in on what I saw coming.

Lamar Odom came out strong, and gave the Lakers a lot of energy. Why wouldn’t he? He and Pau Gasol have been ripped in the local media. If neither of those guys came out with any energy, they shouldn’t even suit up anymore. But, as always, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. When the Lakers needed those players the most, they again didn’t show up. There are 4 quarters to a game, and not just 2.

Towards the tail end of the first half, I could see the Lakers in a comfort zone. As a team, they began to launch low percentage shots from distance, allowing the Celtics the necessary stops needed to claw back into the game. This always happens in a blowout. It gets to a point of arrogance, where you feel no matter what you throw up, and no matter how far from the hole you may be, the shot will go in. At the same time, your opponent is in a desperate mode. After struggling to score single points, they just continued to work small buckets, with a goal of cutting the deficit to 10 by the half.

As the second half began, the crowd's celebration was clearly over, as a comeback had begun. It became a matter of whether or not the Celts would run out of time. Time became the enemy, because the upstart Lakers were no longer posing a threat. Gasol and Odom were no longer the same opening forces. The big bodies for the Celtics got their feet beneath them and went to work. This is all part of being battle tested throughout the Eastern Playoffs, and the Lakers lack of a power opponent out west.

I would say this series is over, with the Lakers needing to win 3 straight, including 2 back in Boston. They started this game knowing they needed this one, but couldn’t finish it.

Off Topic: Investigating the mysterious disappearance of Lamar Odom

I’ve spent the past few weeks wondering what would happen when “flash” met “crash”. And now, with 2 games of the 2008 finals complete, the results are pretty much how I figured them to be. Yes, the Lakers have arguably the best player in the NBA with Kobe Bryant, but they also have Lamar Odom. Well, at least they had Odom, until the championship series began.

In typical Odom fashion, he’s disappeared in the biggest games. From the beginning of this Lakers playoff run, I’ve said repeatedly that the Lakers would go as Odom goes, and that’s becoming true to the facts. The West was regarded as the more difficult road to the NBA finals, based on team records, but when you look at the actual match ups, the physical “old school” type of play by the Eastern teams launched the Celtics into the finals as the more battle tested unit.

Outside of Kobe Bryant, the stars of the Lakers' run were Odom and Gasol, along with contributions by other big men on the bench in sparse roles. Those players have become a non factor, and the Lakers find themselves headed back to Los Angeles down 2games. The Lakers cracked the century mark in game 2, against one of the league’s best defenses. But of the 102 points, Odom contributed just 10.

The Celtics front court is dominating both ends. And why shouldn’t they, since they are allowed to take defensive series off? Odom isn’t giving them anyone to guard. Odom isn’t making them work. The Celtics are not being pounded or denied layups. They appear still fresh in the 4th quarter, because Odom, Gasol, and others chose to leave their balls at home. Celtics guards are working hard, chasing the Lakers’ backcourt for 48 minutes. The backcourt alone is not going to get L.A back into the series or win this championship. They need their big men to play just that, BIG.

The Lakers have no answer for Kevin Garnett, but few in the league do. That was an obvious mismatch going in. But, there is no reason for Leon Powe (Who?), a role player, to resemble an NBA MVP on the league’s biggest stage. There’s no reason to not play physical. This is what you’ve worked hard for all season. This is the gut check, the payoff, the entire reason for your basketball existence.

I can search for reasons for the recent Lakers failures. I can jump on the L.A media bandwagon, and point out the free throw disparity, but that isn’t new. Those same types of numbers were posted in the San Antonio series, yet the Lakers prevailed. You don’t get to the free throw line in the playoffs by slicing. You get their by pounding. Flash will not beat crash in that statistic. You want to find the difference between the Lakers cruising through the West and then struggling against this Eastern opponent? Then join me in my search, and maybe together we can find Lamar Odom. We’ll just follow the trail, because we’re likely to find Paul Gasol, Ronnie Turiaf, and Luke Walton along the way.

Note: After 2 games played, my NBA Finals MVP is Paul Pierce. Garnett is having a great series, but as I said, find me someone on that Lakers squad that can guard the man or keep him off the boards. Game 3 has become a must win for Los Angeles. Lose that game, and this series is over.

Screw LeBron, The NBA Needs This...

The NBA youth movement has been in effect for several years now. Between James, Wade, Anthony, Paul, and several others, there’s no shortage of headlines for the “next” league poster boy. Now we’re approaching the playoffs, and networks begin to increase the hype surrounding these young players, with no real hype about their teams. It’s a marketing program that again will fail, because young stars in championship games have done nothing to increase their ratings.

The NBA doesn’t need a single face to spring a boost in ratings. It needs teams and history. What they need now, more than ever, is the Celtics and the Lakers. I’m not a fan of the either of those teams, and actually spent a lifetime hating both, but this isn’t about me. It’s about an association that has declined over the years and can’t seem to pick themselves up. Screw the Cavs, Hornets, Pistons, and Suns. To hell, with the Spurs, Mavs, Wizards, and Raptors. Give me Hollywood and Beantown. Give me something worth watching for an entire series. Give me what the NBA used to be.

Feeling disrespected yet? Are you ready to tell me to get the F*ck out of here? Where is the love for your team? It’s not about any lack of love for anyone’s favorites, and is more about a love for the game. It’s about memories of Celtic/Lakers clashes in the 80s, with each showing up battle tested from their conference playoffs. It’s about the old Chi-Town fighting bad boys, before meeting Ewing’s Knicks. It’s about Barkley’s Suns engaged with Olajuwon’s Rockets or Payton’s Sonics. It’s about the past, and what the NBA has moved so far away from.

The NBA waited for LeBron to reach the finals, and last year they got their wish. It turned out to be a “thanks for nothing”, as the Cavs were swept in 4 games. The Cavs became victims to one of the NBA’s most winningest teams of the past decade, but unfortunately, they are also one of the most boring. San Antonio wins championships in June, and by October, people are scratching their heads, trying to remember who the last champion was. Many of those same people can quickly rattle off numerous championship years for the Lakers and Celts.

In Tim Duncan, the Spurs also possess one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA, and a sure first ballot hall of famer. But again, Tim Duncan is boring. Do you think that’s just my opinion? This is a list of the top selling NBA jerseys as of January 2008:

Top 15 Jerseys:

1. Kevin Garnett
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Allen Iverson
4. LeBron James
5. Steve Nash
6. Dwyane Wade
7. Gilbert Arenas
8. Dirk Nowitzki
9. Stephon Marbury
10. Carmelo Anthony
11. Kevin Durant
12. Paul Pierce
13. Tracy McGrady
14. Dwight Howard
15. Chris Paul

Duncan, the perennial all star, doesn’t appear on the list. Twelve of the 15 players have never won a championship. 10 have never appeared in a championship game. I’m not the only one viewing Duncan and the Spurs as not being “eye popping”. Through the sale of merchandise, America has spoken.

The Western conference playoffs will be exciting and intense. But unless the Lakers advance to the finals to meet Boston, the championship series will bring a severe drop off. Any matchup in the NBA finals, other than L.A and Boston, will not be as intriguing as playoff matchups in the wild, wild, west. The objective is to continue to peak as the playoffs move forward, before reaching that climactic ending, which is the Championship round. If the bulk of the excitement is reached before the conclusion, we have the NBA version of premature ejaculation. They still have a job to complete, but viewers were already done, before climbing into bed with any champion.

It also doesn’t help to have the Eastern Conference Finals aired on TNT. Hell, we didn’t even have cable in the ‘hood. Something just isn’t right, when the scheduling starts with “Saved by the bell”, and continues to “Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals”, and followed by “Walker, Texas Ranger”.

But regardless, I’ll be watching, and rooting for Boston and L.A. Let’s go retro in 2008. It’s an NBA throwback series, and you’ve gotta love it!