Without a doubt our Lakers seem
to continue being in the papers for
various and sundry items to report.
Yes, Ron Artest (AKA) Metta World Peace
has indeed left our fold. He is now to
be playing with the N.Y. Knicks team.
For now he is attending the NBA
summer league in Las Vegas. Having
been reared in N.Y. at Queensbridge,
it is a homecoming for him.
Another item of interest is that Wesley
Johnson will be a Lakers addition for
at least a one year contract, having
played before with the Phoenix Suns.
He is an athletic 26 year old known to
be a worthwhile player & a nice kid.
Both Kobe Bryant and Wesley Johnson
share the same agent, Rob Pelinka,
so it is thought that our Kobe was
probably a big influence in acquiring
Wesley. Seemingly quite skilled he
should then be a real asset for us.
And yes, as I have already mentioned
in an earlier article, Steve Nash played
along with his own foundation, "Showdown".
This charity soccer event was held Sunday at
Red Shield Community Center in Los Angeles.
Many NBA players joined him knowing
the event was for a good cause. The
foundation aims to foster health in kids
by funding projects that provide services
to children affected by poverty, illness, abuse
or neglect and creates opportunities for
education, play and empowerment.
So, finally we say farewell to a former
NBA player that defied racism on the
basketball court. Leland Mitchell died
at age 72 on July 6th.
In 1963 Leland and his Mississippi State
teammates had to sneak out of their state
to compete in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Gov. Ross Barnett and other hard-core
segregationists were worried that their
all white team might compete against
blacks, a step the governor said he feared
might lead to integration across the land.
Well readers, we now know the outcome
of these years ever since, do we not?
And with this goodbye to a brave soul,
I bid you goodbye today as well.
Babs Wells
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