Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer.
Kids trot back to school & teachers ask them to
write about what they did during summer vacation.
With our Lakers it appears their summer goes on & on.
June 30th lockout meant changes for our players
certainly. With the labor impasse & the havoc it is likely
to wreak regarding training camps scheduled to open
Oct. 1st, we sit and wonder. Derek Fisher, Laker guard,
is president of the players' union & has been conferring
with commissioner David Stern, among others, trying to
hammer out a new contract so that our season can start
on time. Lamar Odom, Laker forward, watched his sister-in-law,
Kim Kardashian, marry another NBA player, Kris Humphries. Lamar
and his wife, Khloe, also attended the Teen Choice Awards.
Andrew Bynum, Laker center, illegally parked his BMW in not one,
but two handicapped parking spots at a pricey grocery store in
Playa del Rey and of course totally embarrassed himself.
Pau Gasol, Laker forward/center joined the Spanish national
team for its defense of the European Championships, which
began last week in Lithuania. Spain is favored to win the
title later this month and thanks also to his brother Marc,
7 footer, playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Luke Walton, Laker forward, has accepted a job as assistant
coach at the University of Memphis. He will help the Tigers'
big men and aid with recruiting. He is planning to return
to the Lakers once the lockout is over. He is most hopeful
he will become a welcomed contributor under the coaching
of the Lakers new coach, Mike Brown.
Ron Artest, Laker forward, is the name that has cropped up maybe
the most in recent weeks with his attempts of name change
to "Metta Worldpeace". To not allow for dullness, he has
been picked for "Dancing with the Stars"..so has Chaz Bono!
Kobe Bryant, Guard with Laker team, went on a barnstorming tour
of Asia, played a few exhibitions & looked like a changed man
after undergoing a radical new procedure on his bad right knee.
There were rumors flying around all summer long that Kobe would
be playing for Turkey (or) China, both banned however due to their
existing contracts.
Another meeting is this Wednesday for the second time since the June walkout, with the lead negotiators, should give us some promise. All eyes are on this meeting in hopes the NBA's collective
bargaining tools will fall into place for a good huddle session.
Now for another ball player, we will take a minute to pause in
remembering Joe Frazier. Yet another basketball enthusiast. Joe
is 28 and was a star at CSUN and a coach for the kids at Calabasas
High. A big SUV ran a light in Tarzana CA and plowed right into Joe on his motorcycle, throwing cycle and driver to the winds - yet that driver never even stopped to give aid. Joe is now still in a coma. candles flicker, parents of this mentors' team gather to pray. Joe has such a knack of reaching out to the young and helping them become proud of their achievements and always seemed to gather the youth around him.
We add our own thoughts in private today as we ask for blessings given.
Babs Wells
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