JUST TO KEEP IN TOUCH

Lakers veteran point guard Steve Nash juggled

a soccer ball with Inter Milan, here for the U.S. 

tournament. He grew up playing soccer and still

has deep ties within the sport. He did not develop 

into a basketball player until he became an 8th

grader. His father, John, played professional

soccer in South Africa and England. Nash remains

an avid soccer fan and is part of the ownership

group for the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major -

league soccer. His "real" job shows him encouraged

for the upcoming NBA season. He is working his

way back to being 100% fit physically. His first season

with the Lakers was rather grim, limited to 50

games because of a broken leg and a strained hamstring.

An area I have written about before, is the camp out

at Lake Hughes. It is called the Painted Turtle and

was partially funded by our NBA Lakers team.  

The recent fire in San Francisquito Canyon that spread to

the SW Antelope Valley's hillside caused damages to

this wonderful camp and also to surrounding areas.

Gratefully, structures were not destroyed but smoke

damaged the ventilation and other systems and caused air

quality concerns. Those systems had to be thoroughly

cleaned and while much of the work is, in fact, already

done, the reseeding and replanting cannot occur until fall.

Therefore 5 fall family weekend programs have been

scratched in September, October and November, Executive

Director Blake Maher has said. The camp which opened

in 2004, serves hundreds of children ages 6-17 who suffer

from chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The camp allows

them a fun and friendly camp experience where they also

get the medical attention that they need.

Having the Lakers girls dancing during timeouts is a lure.

Certainly playing for the Lakers team itself, is a no-brainer.

Obtaining Steve Nash, Robert Sacre, Jordan Farmar, Chris

Kaman, Wesley Johnson and Nick Young to play alongside

our hero Kobe Bryant, is all we need to complete our roster

and with such good players we cannot help but feel blessed.

Pau Gasol will help to complete our team willingly along

with Steve Blake so we as fans can sit back and sigh

with relief for the upcoming October series to begin.

Yes, fellow readers, it is indeed going to be fun this season!

Do please touch base with me for any more details too!

Babs Wells