Dear Minnesotans:

First of all, congrats on the Twins. They seem to be doing quite well these days. And we’re still sorry about Kirby Puckett, despite all those terrible things we learned about him right before he passed.

Don’t you hate it when your heroes turn out to be, well . . . like Kirby Puckett?

But now I have more bad news for Minnesotans: You’re about to have one less sports team.

As you may know, the fine folks in Los Angeles have been without a team for a number of years. And, quite frankly, this makes no sense to us here on the West Coast (a.k.a., the ones you envy in the winter when you’re wearing six layers of clothing). I mean, L.A. is the SECOND largest market in the country. And while places like Green Bay and Jacksonville have teams, L.A. does not.

This is just not right. So we need you to give us your team.

Now, I know this is not going to endear you any more to L.A. But consider this: The great purple uniforms your Vikings wear — with that little swath of yellow — will provide a perfect match with the Lakers, that other team you lost to the much bigger and better L.A.  (To rub it in, L.A. kept the name Lakers even though there are no lakes in L.A. — tee hee).

As fans, though, you shouldn’t blame yourselves. In fact, Vikes fans showed some true grit, roughing out all those games in the cold back when. Back in the days where you’d see photos of Chuck Foreman (above) carrying a ball through a blizzard. Back when the Purple People Eaters looked like dragons with smoke coming out of their mouths. Back when Fran Tarkington scrambled not to get away from defensive lineman, but just so he could keep warm by moving a lot.

You guys were there through all that. And you had some pretty good teams, though ultimately, you couldn’t win the Big One. But that fact that you stuck around shows dedication. And I like that.

Of course, Minnesota voted that crazy, tea bagging Michele Bachman into Congress. And Minnesota legislators are trying to pass an immigration law similar to the Nazi-inspired one in Arizona. You need that law because, what — Canadians are sneaking across the border?

So, on second thought, maybe you guys don’t deserve a team.  You guys have no problems watching movies and TV shows made in L.A., right? Now you can watch your Vikings in L.A. as well. Just think of how much cooler the crowds will be:

L.A. Vikings: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, drunk Courtney Love

Minnesota Vikings: Garrison Keillor , Dr. Demento, drunk Canadians who sneaked across the border

Jerry Buss is taking over WCBias.com

ATLANTA – Jerry Buss has had enough.

After the Los Angeles Lakers’ 109-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, a game that was missed by many blue collar Lakers fans because it tipped off at 4 p.m. Pacific (7 p.m. Eastern at Philips Arena in Atlanta), the Lakers owner vowed to take a stand against early West Coast starts on the NBA schedule.

“Our team should never be playing before 6 p.m. Pacific,” Buss told WCBias.com in BSlim’s dreams. “Fans of West Coast teams, like the Lakers and the Dodgers, should get to watch their teams play games in their entirety – especially down the stretch when their hometown squads are making a run at a title.

“This league would be nowhere if not for the working man, and woman, and we have to make sure they get to enjoy the latter parts of the season as much as our players do. In my eyes, it’s just one more example of an East Coast bias in the sports world.”

To help fight what he calls an “East Coast bias,” Buss has agreed in principle to purchase the domain http://WCBias.com, a highly sought after six-letter domain that is known for its comical “West Coast Bias” commentary on  the West Coast sports scene.

Buss, who has reportedly purchased the site for $255,500, said he would retain the services of WCBias.com’s staff of bloggers but that they would focus much of their writing efforts on the Lakers and begin a West Coast Bias marketing campaign to encourage the NBA to move all early weekday tipoff times to 6 p.m.

“We already know about the East Coast bias in the sports media,” Buss said. “We don’t need the league to be biased against the West Coast, too.”

In the meantime, Mr. Buss would like the WCBias.com staff to start reaching out to its fan base and see what ideas they have for a marketing campaign aimed at moving all early weekday start times to 6 p.m. Offer up your feedback or campaign strategies in the comments section. Be sure to include your email address, and we’ll be sure to follow up on the suggestions.

Thanks again for your support of WCBias.com. We look forward to this new direction for the site, and, more importantly, continuing the fight against East Coast bias in sports.

I was getting ready to write a snarky blog about Khalil Greene being on the DL for anxiety disorder — you know, saying, like, how can I get that same deal at my work — or perhaps even a blog entry about how lame those baseball game replays are (Why the “due to time restrictions, we now skip to . . .” when there’s nothing but poker on afterward?) when the big BIG news hit:

That’s right — I just saved a lot of money with Geico.

No, wait. That’s not true. And, besides, it’s an old and overused joke. That was never really good to begin with.

What I’m talking about is, of course, Trevor Ariza going to the Rockets.

No, no — just yanking your chain again. I mean, yeah — that’s true and all. But the bigger news is RON ARTEST GOING TO THE LAKERS!

I heard this and was like: “Really?” Because I was like: “Didn’t the Lakers just WIN the championship?”

Granted, you could argue that Artest — with his fracas at Detroit — single-handedly dismantled the Pacers the year they had the best shot at winning it all. (The Pacers have pretty much sucked since that game.) And you could argue that even before the Pacers, Artest was a troublemaker with the Bulls. (Remember the camera he demolished?) But still.

The guy’s good. And on the Lakers? He’s gonna be real good. 

Given that no one in the West was really close to challenging the Lakers this year (Let’s be honest, Nugget fans), a repeat to the finals seems a given. Boston with KG will be much better, and I do think the aging, pudgy Shaq will make the Cavs better. But really — do they have a chance?

No. Of course not. So let’s just call off the 2009-10 season and declare L.A. repeat champs. That way Artest will have more time to record another lame hip-hop album.

Worthy of the NBA's Top 50.

Slam recently announced its updated list of The New NBA Top 50 players, which brings on some interesting names and drops off a few legends from the NBA at 50 “Greatest NBA Players of All-Time” list – which was unveiled some 13 years ago.

In honor of those fallen greats, WCBias brings you the “Greatest NBA Players You Shouldn’t Forget” Team.

(For the record, these guys were replaced by some pretty darn good players on Slam’s updated list, which includes Allen Iverson, Bob McAdoo, Dennis Rodman, Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Steven Nash, Tim Duncan, Dominique Wilkins and Walt Bellamy.) I think you can question the addition of Dennis Rodman, and then whittle that list of guards (A.I., GP, JK and Nash) down to two to keep James Worthy, Pistol Pete, Robert Parish and Sam Jones or one of the other legends on the Slam list. I’m also not sure on the old editions of McAdoo, Wilkins and Bellamy (is that Bill’s brother?), but all in all, it’s a pretty solid list by the guys at Slam.

That said, here’s a closer look at those NBA legends who didn’t make this year’s Top 50 Greatest Players, but shouldn’t be forgotten:

1. James Worthy

Somewhere, Chick Hearn is rolling in his grave. One of the few West Coast players on this list, we should point out, the original “Big Game” James set the stage for guys open-court fliers like Dominique and now LeBron. And he did it the right way, playing for one team, the Los Angeles Lakers, from 1982-1994 – also known as the Showtime Era. The goggled one had 16,320 points, 4,708 boards, 2,791 assists and, more importantly, three titles in 1985, 1987 and 1988. Sure, he was on some good teams, but he’s got as many NBA Finals MVP’s as Kobe (1) and five more NBA All-Star appearances than Rodman (2).

2. Sam Jones

Speaking of titles and dedicating yourself to one team. How is Sam “The Shooter” Jones not on there? Guy won 10 NBA Titles in his 12 seasons with the Boston Celtics. Enough said. Oh wait, “he played with Bill Russell” (12 titles) you say. Well, Kobe also played with Shaq, and nobody has a problem with him being on the new list. Even with Russell on his team, Jones managed to score 15,411 points and was known as one of the most clutch … if not the best … guard of his generation.

3. “Pistol” Pete Maravich

Like Barkley, Malone, Stockton and Co., he never won and title, but defined the guard position in the 1970s after a record-breaking career in college that saw him set the D1 scoring record with 3,667 (despite not having a 3-point line). How good was he in the NBA? Well, good enough to be traded to New Orleans for EIGHT players. That’s an entire team yo. He finished with 15,948 points and 3,563 assists in his decade in the league.

4. Robert Parish

Hobbled by injuries over the years, The Chief still managed 23,334 points, 14,715 boards and 2,357 blocks – now that’s an NBA career (1976-1997, which means he was a rookie a year before I was born and played until I was two years out of high school. Crazy). On top of the numbers, he was an NBA All-Star nine times and won four titles with the Celtics.

5. Nate Archibald

As painful as it is to mention another Celtic, Archibald was as well-rounded a player as you’ll fine in his day – becoming the only player in NBA history to lead the league in both scoring and assists during the 1973 season (at least that was with the Kings that year). His lone title came in 1981 with … guess who? … the Celtics. He was also the NBA All-Star MVP that season and was named to the Hall of Fame exactly 10 years later after a career that netted 16,481 points, 2,046 rebounds and 6,476 assists.

6. Bill Walton

Like Pistol Pete and some of the others on this list, Walton is better known for what he did in college because of a laundry list of injuries suffered at the pro level. But he made the NBA’s Top 50 because he was an NBA MVP in 1978 and a two-time NBA champion (1977, 1986). But are 6,215 points and 1,034 career blocks enough to get you on today’s Top 50? Obviously not. Maybe it’s because of his announcing skills.

7. Bill Sharman

Sharman was another talented all-around athlete (and a Celtic), who actually spent five years in the Brooklyn Dodgers farm system. In fact, he was called up to the bigs in 1951 but never played – but he was part of the bench that was ejected for arguing with an umpire Sept. 27, 1951, becoming the only player in major league history to never play in a game but get ejected from one. That’s my kind of guy. And he’s a USC grad, so he’s got that going for him, on top of playing in eight All-Star games and becoming one of the first guards to shoot better than 40 percent. He is one of three players enshrined in the Hall of Fame as both a player and coach.

8. Dave Bing

Kevin Johnson isn’t the only one getting political after his playing days. Bing, a Democrat, was elected mayor of Detroit in May. On top of winning all kinds of citizen awards during and after his career (Pistons, Bullets, Celtics), Bing was the Rookie of the Year in 1967, All-Star Game MVP in 1976, and finished with 18,327 points, 3,420 rebounds and 5,397 assists in his career.

9. Dave DeBusschere

DeBusschere was the Dennis Rodman of the 1960s and 70s for the Pistons and Knicks. Known for his physical defensive play, the power forward averaged 16.1 points and 11 rebounds over his 12-year career, which included eight All-Star appearances and six trips to the All-Defensive First Team. He helped the Knicks past the Lakers (gulp) for NBA titles in 1970 and 1973.

10. Hal Greer

If anything, Greer should make the team for his sick free-throw attempts, which today would be known as a “jump shot.” Maybe Shaq and Dwight Howard should consider leaving their feet on their free-throw attempts. Couldn’t hurt. He also averaged 22 ppg in 1967 to lead the 76ers to the NBA title and played in 10 consecutive All-Star games, amassing 21,586 points, 5,665 rebounds and 4,540 assists in his career with the Syracuse Nationals/Philly Sixers.

11. Paul Arizin

“Pitchin’ Paul” spent his entire career with the Philly Warriors (1950-62) and left the game as the third-highest scorer of all time with 16,266 points. And while you’ve heard similar tales about MJ and Ted Williams, you probably did know Arizin was cut from his high school team as a senior (and never even played ball as a prepster), and he lost out on some of his best playing years because of military service. Arizin joined the Marines during the Korean War (1952-54). He had led the league in scoring in 1952 and returned to do so again during the 1956-57 season. When the Warriors decided to San Francisco in the early 1960s, Arizin opted to retire rather than head West – leaving the highest scoring average for a retired player on the table (21.9 ppg). It’s OK Paul, we won’t hold it against you.

12. Reggie Miller

Wasn’t on either list, but thought he should be recognized … shouldn’t he? The Indiana sharpshooter never won the big one (thanks to MJ), but dang did he kill Spike Lee and the Knicks in the playoffs. Guess we should also point out he’s the all-time NBA leader in 3-pointers (2,560), 12th in points (25,279), seventh in free throw percentage (88.8%) and seventh in games played (1,323). And you want to talk about clutch? Dude’s the all-time leader in playoff treys drained (320), not to mention those eight points in 8.9 seconds against the Knicks in ’95.

Not convinced these guys should be in the Top 50? Well, how about the Top 60 NBA Players. Combine the NBA list and the Slam List and you have the Top 60 Players in NBA History, which would be tough to argue with. The list is attached as a PDF.

Initial thoughts from Game 2 of the NBA Finals, which the Los Angeles Lakers won 101-96 in overtime to take a 2-0 lead over the Orlando Magic:

• Maybe I was hung over from that wedding last night, or from watching The Hangover this afternoon, or maybe tonight’s game was sick (not in a good way) and a snoooooooozer. I honestly fell asleep in the third quarter and felt nauseous by the fourth. Luckily it went overtime to make it somewhat interesting. But for a long time there, I didn’t think anyone was going to reach 100 points.
• The Hangover was an instant classic. Go see it. (Land of the Lost, however, not so much … but at least I got to watch it on work’s dime … and now I’m starting to think Pau Gasol played one of the Sleestaks … or maybe it was Chaka … I don’t know, the throat beard throws me off.)

• 

  I'd rather be ripping out my teeth.

  Tonight’s game was not a classic, be happy you didn’t pay $4,000 to see it in person – 15-15 after a quarter, 20 turnovers by the Magic, who got homered to death by the officiating crew in Los Angeles, and they still managed to force overtime: that’s how bad the Lakers played — just one game after putting together one of their best games of the postseason.

• The refs might have been worse. Where’s Joey Crawford when you need him? Dwight Howard blocks a shot by sticking his hand through the rim, and it’s a no call? Courtney Lee was fouled not once but twice on crucial plays down the stretch, plays that – if fouls were called – could have tied up the series with three huge games looming in Orlando.
• Oh yeah, and how many times did Kobe Bryant go to the line despite not being touched? Guess he’s getting the same star treatment LeBron James got in the Eastern Conference Finals. Then again, there was that turnover the refs said occurred because the ball went out of bounds off Kobe’s knee — even though it clearly didn’t. Someone should fine the zebras for once.
• EastSidePN radio honk Colin Cowherd spent all week saying the Cavs sucked and the Orlando-L.A. matchup would be a hundred times better. I usually agree with you Colin, but that argument was the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.
• This series sucks without LeBron. Plain and simple. And you can bet Nike, Vitamin Water, and those lame puppets that look nothing like LeBron or Kobe, are crying their eyes out right now. Nice marketing.
• Bringing back Jameer Nelson after the dude sat out for more than two months is a risky move — but so is letting Skip To My Lou run the point.
• Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar need nicknames. How about: “Catch & Shoot.” Those guys are gunners.
• Where’s Luke Walton?
• Hey, there’s Lamar Odom!
• After the game, I wasn’t surprised to hear Kobe say this:

“We’re about to kick it up. You better believe it. We’re close. You see what I’m saying? This is the Finals. We’re going to be ready to go.”

Really. This is the Finals? You’re going to be ready to go? You’re going to kick it up? Dude, shouldn’t that have happened like … I don’t know … maybe before tonight’s game.

But don’t worry West Coast Bias fanatics, the Lakers are going to start kicking it up here pretty quick. Wake me up when it happens.

Ryantific “The Lakers 6th Man”:

RK back in the day.

I think everyone is underestimating the Magic ,who just shut down the Cavs in 6.

They are bombing threes at a very high rate and they have Dwight in the middle. If the combination of Ariza, Kobe, and Shannon Brown can keep a hand up on the shooters, Bynum comes to play on Howard, and Lamar continues his great play, the Lakes will take it but it will definitely go 7.

Prediction: Lakers in 7.

BG “The Dodgers Batboy”:

BG at The Ravine.

Both teams lose their first home games but eventually the length and athleticism of Pau and Odom keep Turk and Rashard Lewis honest (something that Cleveland couldn’t do), and eventually the 3s will stop falling for the Magic.

Orlando did take the two games from the Lakers during the regular season, but in both contests Jameer Nelson was the high point scorer – and with him out I don’t see them winning more than 2 games.

Prediction: Lakers in 6.

Pembertonian “The Sr. Blogger”:

Señior Bloggor

In any sport, having momentum at the right time is often what propels a team to championship glory. And clearly the momentum in the NBA championships goes to the Magic, who neglected to read how good the Cavs were at home.

In that series, Dwight Howard proved how dominant he can be (watch for him to get even better next year), adding big points to his normal rebounding prowess.

Beyond Howard, the Magic don’t have as much personnel to match up against the Lakers, who have better support behind Kobe than the Cavs did for LeBron. Of course, that didn’t seem to matter during the season, when the Magic owned L.A., 2-0.

Look for this to rival that Bulls-Celtics series, with the final game will being determined in OT.

Prediction: Magic in 7.

BSlim “The Editor”:

Newspapers suck

Wow, I guess Senior Bloggers need their own blog entry when asked to submit a one-paragraph prediction about who will win The Finals. Then you go and pick the Magic, when you know deep down the Lakers will pull it out? Don’t make me remove your Senior privileges Patty.

Ha. During the Western Conference Finals, I kept asking myself who the Lakers would rather face in the Finals – Cavs or Magic. I think both teams present problems, particularly with a LeBron or DHoward on their side. But my answer was always “the Magic,” because that would give the Lakers home court, which I feel is the difference in this series. As long as the Lakers take care of business in the first two home games, I think Kobe will get his first title without Shaq along with that first Finals MVP. If the Lakers drop one of those first two, however, the series might not come back to L.A. So Games 1 & 2 are the key.

Prediction: Magic in 5 Lakers in 6.

UPDATE: Guess Barack agrees with me and BG. Excuse me, BG and I. Obama takes the Lakers in six games.

Seven foot freaking seven! No wonder the Lakers lost.

What the hell?
Ryantific and I just got done watching tonight’s Lakers-Rockets game and are trying to figure out how Los Angeles lost to Houston – a team the Lakers spanked during the regular season. Here are some of the reasons we came up with:

• How many beers did we drink?
• Was it the Swine Flu?
• Was it the economy tanking?
• Was it the state of the newspaper business?
• Was Joey Crawford officiating?

I guess it was just good ol’ fashioned basketball played by the Rockets, a solid basketball team from center on down to the point guard position. They’re not a deeper team. They’re not a better team. But they are a bigger team, at least with their starting five.

There’s no doubt they present some matchup problems for the Lakers, who were all but forced to ditch their fun-n-gun brand of basketball for a slow, half-court game that obviously benefits the Rockets.
Watching just a quarter of Monday’s game it became obvious Yao Ming is too big for Pau Gasol, and if Bynum’s not playing up to speed, the Lakers are in trouble.

Lamar Odom is the X Factor, but he and Gasol played like they played in the NBA Finals last season and appear to be playing hide-and-seek again.
Kobe did his thing, but was only effective from the perimeter (not exactly a stellar 14 of 31) thanks to some hard-nosed defense from Shane Battier and Ron Artest – who also scored 21 points and had 7 ASSISTS and just might have outplayed Kobe in Game 1.
And it’s pretty clear who won the point guard battle tonight – tiny Aaron Brooks, all 6 foot, 160 pounds (that’s what they list him at anyways) of him, had 19 points against the defending Western Conference champs.

So there goes home court, and there goes an easy sweep into the next round for the Lakers. Looks like this will be a series after all. Well, hopefully it’ll be a series. But if Odom, Gasol, Bynum and Co. don’t start playing, maybe it won’t be one.

On a positive note, Phil Jackson ripped Craig Sager‘s hideous Butterfinger-colored suit tonight between quarters. B-R-U-T-A-L.

And Artest’s hair was hideous. I’m about to write another worst haircuts in the league story again.

Sorry y’all. I’ve been MIA. My life has been in a little slump lately and eerily mirrors that of the Lakers. Let’s take a closer look.

• Got a job – At one point I was a member of the working class before that damn recession bit us in the butt. I was making good money and reading WCBias on company time. The Lakers also had a job: to go through the L and establish themselves as the favorites for the NBA crown. A 50-13 record is impressive. Unfortunately there are three other teams on the East Coast with similar records. Still it was good times for the Lakers, healthy, working, and fat.

• Got laid off – So eventually all things must come to an end, and my employment was one of them. So I had to sit around and try to find a job in the worst economic crisis in a billion years. But I kept my head up and I Googled for jobs every second of my life. Andrew Bynum also got laid off, by his knee. With a torn MCL on the opposite knee than the one injured last year, Bynum is out for 2-3months. But even with Bynum out the Lakers also kept their head up, winning 10 out of their first 11 games. Lamar Odom was a big piece of that. He was rebounding and scoring at a very high pitch. Things seemed to be all right.

• Can’t find a job, depressed – So now its been 3 months since I was employed. I had a beard down to my waist and don’t shower (can’t afford water). I am still looking for a job but it bums you out when there is nothing in your field offered. The Lakers are missing Bynum. They are in a slump. They got blown out by the young Blazers and their only wins lately were against sub-500 teams. Lamar has dropped off (again) and the second unit isn’t jelling the way that they did at the beginning of the season. The ball isn’t moving the way it was earlier this season. The play is basically pass the ball to Kobe, clear out, watch him shoot, if he misses Gasol will clean it up. The defense is even worse. Rotations are poor and there is little interior defense. Although a bright spot could be DJ “Congo” Mbenga. The “Congo” is never going to be an all star in this league but right now he is bringing the energy that left with Turiaf last year. Lakers have 3 more games in the next 5 days. All on the road.

• Time to regroup – I’ve decided that if I can’t find a job opportunity, I’ll make my own. I’ve shaved the beard and showered (borrowed the hose from the Editor while he was gone). Built an office at the house and started to get organized. Funny it almost feels like a real job. I’m not getting paid but at least I get to blog on WCbias on company time. It’s time for the Lakers to regroup. Phil will need to build an office in each one of their lockers so they can get focused. This has turned into a more important road trip because of their slump. Plus Lamar has been suspended for one game for leaving the bench during the Lakers scuffle with Portland (honestly that was not a flagrant by Ariza, but Lamar leaving the bench and being suspended was the right call by the NBA office.)

Time for the Lakers to get organized offensively and defensively. No more sitting around, not showering, feeling sorry for yourselves and growing beards (ok, Gasol has a pass on that one.)

Most links are from mainstream media outlets, which I feel we should continue to support in these brutal times, even though I recently bailed on my newspaper gig. But I’ll get plenty of blog links in there, too.

The thought is to treat this a lot like the lists by WC crews at TheWizofOdds and BallDon’tLie, which do something similar with college football and NBA headlines.

We’ll try to do this on a regular basis, depending on the new gig and how the surf looks in the morning, obviously. Today’s stormy as hell, so you get a full top 10. Thank Mother Nature for that one.

A look at the top 10 sports stories on the West Coast this morning, as determined by WCBias editor, BSlim, a former newspaper hack turned tech hack:

• Repeat defeat for the Bruins, Daily News: Tempe has frozen over. ‘Devils sweep UCLA, which goes frigid in the final minutes.
• Nudity, beer won’t be tolerated at Bay to Breakers, LA Times Outposts blog: No nudity, and no beer? This is more than a sorry attempt to drawing traffic.: If you’ve never been to the Bay to Breakers, it’s hilarious. The wife and I witnessed part of the race last year.: lots of embarrassing folks running ’round the streets of SF. Kind of like when Barry Zito takes the hill.
• Bargain tickets a tough find for SoCal fans, LA Times: A piece that was obviously lifted from BG’s take on a recent trip to Staples.
• Tyson to write a book, Moondogsports: Tyson knows how to write? Apparently he knows how to read. From the text: “Me and my cell-mate would read to each other at night. One night I would read out loud to him, the next night he would read out loud to me.” So that’s what they’re calling it these days.
• Cuts Like A Knife, SF Chron: Yeah, you know that ankle surgery Darren McFadden had? He also had shoulder surgery. The paper says everyone’s surprise. I say nothing that happens to the Raiders is a surprise any more.
• Italy or L.A., where will Beckham go? ESPN.com: As if anyone on the West Coast or in “The States” cares, EastSidePN.
• Tiger should start his comeback in L.A., Daily News: For our two golf fans out there, this one’s for you. And to clarify, I said golf sucks “without Tiger.” It’s a lot less sucky with him. I’m sucky at golf either way, hence the suckiness.
• Shaq on Shaq, Kobe, D-Wade, SportingNews: The All-Star Game is coming to Shaq’s hood in Arizona, and he’s got plenty to say. Best player he’s ever played with? “Most ferocious was Kobe. Fiercest, most competitive, it was Kobe. D-Wade is second after that.”
• Lakers podcast, first-half review, Kamenetzky Bros: More on the All Star Game, the Shaq-Kobe-PJ reunion and the trade deadline.
• Elgin Baylor tells of racist atmosphere, LA Times: Sad story, especially when you consider it’s 2009, and we just elected a black president.