Spain beats Serbia 83-65 to take the EuroBasket championships. Pau Gasol is awarded tournament MVP, no surprise given his team's result and his statistical output, and emerges without any problems in his surgically repaired left index finger. Everyone wins here, I'd say. Except Serbia, I guess. BK... MORE

Pen is to write as Pau Gasol is to: a) directing art house documentary shorts. b) making canoes out of recycled two-liter Fresca bottles. c) kicking EuroBasket ass and taking names. I'm going with C. And I think most of the European basketball community would agree, after Gasol dropped 18/6 on Greece in only 21 minutes, leading Spain to an 82-64 win. Pau and the gang now advance ... MORE

Don't go upping the opening day roster from 13 to 14 quite yet, but Jorge Sierra of Hoopshype.com reports the Lakers have reached an agreement with former Sonics swingman Mickael Gelabale that will give the 6'7" Frenchman, 26, a chance to make the team out of training camp on a "make-good contract" (meaning there's no commitment financially until he makes the ... MORE

Andy's still on his honeymoon, meaning it's just me this week with a pair of guests,producing scads of listening joy suitable for the whole family. Truly, if you only listen to one Lakers themed podcast this week before you listen to next week's Lakers PodKast, it should be this one. ESPN's Eric Neel stops by to talk about Michael Jordan's all-too-revealing Hall of Fame speech and ... MORE

People have done some solid hunting, with plenty of pictures sent in response to our photo search contest. Should anyone want to comment on why some of these lovable lesser-knowns became personal faves, that would be great. (When I was young growing up in St. Louis, my guy was Tom Lawless. He wasn't very good, save a locally iconic World Series moment in '87, but I found him ... MORE

Training camp is coming... but it's not here yet, which means in the meantime we're all still saddled with time to kill, exactly the sort of problem we're dedicated to solving in this space. So with that in mind, here's today's challenge: Anyone can find an image of Kobe Bryant or Magic Johnson on the Interwebs, but what about your lesser Lakers alumni? Your quest, should you ... MORE

The last, nay only, hope for a 2009 Lakers draftee to land on the Lakers roster has officially crossed the Atlantic. Second round pick Chinemelu Elonu has signed a two year deal with Spanish club team Zaragoza, reports the Daily News. The terms allow him to opt out after the '09-'10 season. Given that Elonu had as much chance of making the team as you or I, it's really a winning ... MORE

By their standards, the Spanish national team isn't setting the world on fire, but most Lakers fans are likely more concerned about the play and health of Pau Gasol, and on that end there's good news on both fronts. Wearing what seems to be a protective wrap on his surgically repaired left index finger, Gasol hasn't exactly been a consistent force throughout the EuroBasket ... MORE

As if a first look at guard Toney Douglas, selected by the Knicks at the end of the first round in this summer's draft after the Lakers sold New York their pick* or the searing hatred most purple and gold loyalists feel for Danilo Gallinari** wasn't enough to make November 24th's matchup with the Knicks Must See TV, you can add another wrinkle: Revenge of the Sun. Maybe. According ... MORE

Thursday's Titans/Steelers palate-whetting appetizer notwithstanding,Sunday marks the full on launch of fantasy football season (and, from what I understand, actual football season as well). Not everyone plays FBB... but a lot of people (myself included) do. Or basketball, baseball, and so on. Most of us play for some sort of stakes, as well. Generally money. With that in mind, I ... MORE

Perhaps the most famous intersection in the careers of Michael Jordan, set for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame Friday, and Kobe Bryant came at the 1998 All Star Game. Jordan was in his 13th season, on the tail end of his iconic tenure in Chicago, Kobe his second, just ramping up his in LA. Rather famously, the two went head to head for much of the game, giving the ... MORE

Kobe Bryant fans will dig this offering from Shaun Powell at NBA.com, in part because it... a) praises 24, generally. b) questions LeBron's chances of winning a title with his supporting cast. c) contains this sterling quote from Association legend Rick Barry regarding Bryant's play and leadership skills: "You heard all the garbage about Kobe being so selfish," said ... MORE

UPDATE: It's that time of week. Send in questions or comments you'd like addressed on the air (so to speak) in this week's podcast to latimeslakers (Twitter) or kambrothers@yahoo.com. Here's the listing on Amazon.com. BK... MORE

ESPN.com has over the past couple of weeks published a variety of predictions and prognostications pulled together from a cast of 53 of their finest basketball minds- listen to us lament our lack of inclusion here- in preparation for the upcoming season. They were the overwhelming choice among the panelists to win their third straight Western Conference title. On the Grand List of ... MORE

In their second game of the EuroBasket championships, Spain managed to squeak out an 84-76 win over Great Britain, but didn't necessarily look all that good in the process. The heavily favored Spanish squad allowed a substantial early lead to wither away, despite the fact the British weren't getting a top shelf effort from "star man Pops Mensa-Bonsu," indicating the ... MORE

It wasn't a stirring kickoff for Pau Gasol and his Spanish teammates at the EuroBasket championships, as they lost their opener to Serbia 66-57 in what was apparently a re-enactment of a bad Big 10 game. From a Lakers fan's perspective, the interest is with Gasol more than the result itself. On the one hand- no pun intended- he played, meaning things can't be all that bad with his ... MORE

Technically speaking, there is no metallic pea Wagon Queen Family Truckster, no chance of seeing Christie Brinkley in a Ferrari, no chance of getting lost in East St. Louis. Nobody's actually going anywhere. But with the weekend's big events upon us, Lakers Blog will be taking a holiday vacation. Expect comments to be pushed through very infrequently, and unless big news breaks ... MORE

Buy a season ticket package in Milwaukee, and they'll send Michael Redd to your house for afternoon tea. He'll even bring the crumpets. I kid (I think), but as illustrated by the New York Times, it's fair to say that with the '09-'10 campaign quickly approaching and the economy still teetering like a Jenga stack, teams across the NBA are pulling out all the stops in an effort to ... MORE

Hot off the presses and ready to enrich your lives! This week, the discussion includes: How my impending marriage this weekend made this the final podcast without a ring circling my finger. Beyond the commitment being made in my personal life, that also means an end to the debauchery typically going down on my half of the studio as we record. You folks had no idea of the Dionysian ... MORE

Hot off the presses and ready to enrich your lives! This week, the discussion includes: How my impending marriage this weekend made this the final podcast without a ring circling my finger. Beyond the commitment being made in my personal life, that also means an end to the debauchery typically going down on my half of the studio as we record. You folks had no idea of the Dionysian ... MORE

It's not Shatner doing Rocket Man, but should you ever run into Ron Artest at a karaoke bar, you know it'll be good times. Good, emotional times. BK... MORE

Congratulations to Kobe Bryant, cover boy for NBA 2K10 for Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, Calecovision, PSP and Atari*. (See him "play" here- why you gotta do Eric Gordon like that, 24?- read him talking about it here.) I imagine there will be some demand locally when the game hits the shelves in early October. Not from me, though. Don't take it personally, Kobe. It's not you, ... MORE

Update from PauGasol.com (a site that somehow manages to get exclusive stuff with Lakers forward Pau Gasol on a regular basis), Lakers trainer Gary Vitti caught up with El Spaniard in Espana and checked out the digit injured during practice with the Spanish squad. While the details of Vitti's examination aren't mentioned and, to be honest, the English is a touch confusing, the ... MORE

We touched on it in print (cyberprint, at least) and via the spoken word- sometimes we like to kick it old school- over the course of this week, and by now many/most in LakerLand know Sasha Vujacic was let go from the Slovenian National Team ahead of September's EuroBasket extravaganza. Friday on his official site, Sasha put out an official statement regarding what went down, ... MORE

It starts at 2 pm PT. Remember, we can't always push every comment and question through, because doing so can make the thing impossible to read. But we'll do our best to get to everything. It's been a while since we all came together for one of these virtual coffee klatches. Click below the jump to see the chat box. BK ... MORE

We're baaaaaaaaaack. Like Manny, sans the PED's. Because we're so damn good, we don't need them. And so damn poor, we can't afford them. In this week's audio masterpiece, BK and I have a discussion with ESPN True Hoop's Henry Abbott about the media coverage of Michael Beasley's situation (which Henry and I have both written about recently) and the revamped Western Conference. ... MORE

An ESPN First Take segment yesterday featured a great interview with addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky. Topic? Michael Beasley's well publicized drug/emotional issues over the last few days, a story that began with him posting a tattoo picture on Twitter and ended with him checking into a Houston rehab center. The interview's most interesting exchange came when Michael Kim ... MORE

A game reffed by some scab looking to make his bones as "Joey Crawford 2.0." Apparently, such a scenario ain't entirely far fetched. ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that the contract between the NBA referees and the NBA will expire on Sept. 1, and the two parties are quite some distance apart on a few matters, one such being a proposed ten percent cut on the budget ... MORE

I don't know why Golden State of Mind's quasi-birthday wish to Kobe Bryant made me laugh, because it's kinda more "random" than truly "funny." But I did laugh. A lot. Perhaps it's because my fiancee and I always say, "You got knocked the &$#^@ out!" In any event, thanks to True Hoop for the heads up. On a related note, it's actually amazing to me ... MORE

Henry Abbott over at the ol' ESPN True Hoop recently polled his fellow True Hoop scribes about the NBA squad they enjoy watching the most when their favorite team wasn't playing (in Abbott's case, the Portland Trail Blazers). For most of the T.H. family, the Golden State Warriors took the prize, which isn't terribly surprising. As BK once described Nellie's bunch- with their ... MORE

And don't call the lil' fella a front runner, either. He hops on DJ Mbenga, but gets stuck on Kobe. Impressive, sure. But let's see him get Shea Seals and Corie Blount! I kid. BK (Via TrueHoop via OhMeOhMyTheJelloIsJigglin)... MORE

"Great Laker Centers," courtesy of NBA Off-Season 2009 (a blog I'd never seen before, but kinda dig). Dude, that's just awesome. Here's the original, part of a Sports Illustrated photo collection containing work many of you have probably already seen, but likely could talk yourself into granting another gander. Several seriously sweet purple and gold pictorials to tickle ... MORE

Last weekend, I strapped on the my Nike's (with extra cushy and supportive after market insoles added, just like the pros) for the big Lakers/710 ESPN 3-on-3 tournament down at Staples. Fair to say things didn't go well for team Purple Rain (two losses) or me (twisted ankle, zero votes in the tournament MVP voting). But as I waded through the sea of hoops humanity, filled with ... MORE

I feel the exact same way about Ron Artest talking. Any time. Any place. I'm there. Thus, I recommend taking the time to hear a recent interview on Miami's 790 The Ticket. As always, an entertaining earful. Highlights include: Reminded of Shaq getting denied at the White House, Artest shared a tale about sneaking into the Pennsylvania Ave. chateau. Upon recently seeing Barack ... MORE

With the relative news vacuum that is August in the NBA, there are opportunities to reflect on any number of things unrelated with the day to day of wins and losses in pursuit of a Larry O'Brien. Many around the NBA world spent Friday afternoon celebrating the incredible career of Magic Johnson, both his impact on the court as a player and off it as a businessman and a symbol of ... MORE

We've spent much of the day discussing Michael Vick, which predictably sparked an emotional and serious discussion in this little corner of the blogosphere. Nothing wrong with that, but it's Friday and I'd hate to see our readership kick off the weekend on a pensive note. Thus, a few items that spark nothing but a grin: Happy Birthday Magic Johnson! Earvin turns fifty today, which ... MORE

Thursday night, the Philadelphia Eagles signed former Falcons QB Michael Vick. I am not among those who thinks Vick should be banned from the NFL for life, or wasn't punished. He did terrible things, but went to jail and paid fully the penalty assigned to him by our justice system. I'm not talking about probation or house arrest. Vick went to big boy jail, and stayed for a long ... MORE

Assuming you are a Lakers fan, of course. Reviewing the ol' Twitter this evening, I saw this pretty slick vid posted by Lakers Blog friend Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld. Lots of great Lakers moments and clips, including a veritable smorgasbord of Kobe Bryant and a nice recap of the '09 title run, plus a shot of Jason Kidd with blond hair I hope he'd prefer to forget. Things like this ... MORE

Among other highlights of today's 710 ESPN Lakers podkast (Discussions about Pau Gasol's finger, Kurt Rambis' defection/Phil Jackson's future, the "Pay Per View" section of Kobe Bryant's website, wicked use of Iron Butterfly), one of the topics BK and I discussed was LeBron James' steadfast insistence that refusing to shake hands after being eliminated in the Eastern ... MORE

So the redesign is done- I kinda dig the new look- but we've received word from HQ to expect a few hiccups in layout and back end stuff (posting, comments, and other items of logistical import) over the next few days. Like all things technological, anything new comes with glitches. For example, I don't know why a game report from Jan. 8 jumped to the top of the page. (UPDATE: ... MORE