acknowledgements

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It's morning again in America. Today more men and women will mutter bitter excuses than ever before in our country's history. With basketball shorts at about half the record highs of 1980, nearly 30 teams today will buy new kobe-stoppers, more than at any time in the past four years. This afternoon 3.8 million men and women will be celebrating, and, with the number of credible contenders at less than half of what it was just four weeks ago, they can look forward with confidence to the future. It's morning again in America, and under the leadership of Phil Jackson, this team, our team -- indeed, America's Team -- is prouder and stronger and better. Why would the trophy ever want to return to where it was less than one short year ago?

on behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers organization, the city of Los Angeles and greater L.A. metropolitan area and the hon. Antonio Villaraigosa, carne asada, alex in sf in association with big loud mountain ape productions let me say thanks to each and everyone of you for your unique contributions to the 08-09 dynasty inaugural edition Laker championship

Bill should've worn ten rings on his fingers as he gave the trophy to Kobe. cHEESY

being a laker fan is the easiest thing in the world. they never know the agony of being a real fan but they sure do love to gloat

The Lakers got Kobe and Gasol and just hope the others guys show up....No one else on yalls team even made a difference in that series, the rockets would have won if Yao would not have went out....Could the Lakers have put up a fight without Kobe or Gasol....Dont think so

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sometimes he dreams...

san antonio spurs 2010 champs
no one can stop duncan,manu,and parker
and when matt bonner comes back next year he will be one of the leagues top centers
and hes already developing better
and he has a good post up game
and will improve to be the new twin towers
(Duncan,Bonner)

I love the game of basketball, but for all you nuts who think the L. A. Fakers earned a serious title this year are crazy and for those who say they will repeat are smokin something, A healthy Boston Celtics from the east its a wrap and If King James gets some help, or if Orlando can grab good power forward to help in the paint, this Laker redemption plan is not going to happen, most of the folks out there cant even name the starting 5. Denver, Houston and Portland have my vote any day against a team that just got handed the NBA title. It made me and any one who really loves the game sick. Go someone other than the Lakers.I love the game of basketball, but for all you nuts who think the L. A. Fakers earned a serious title this year are crazy and for those who say they will repeat are smokin something, A healthy Boston Celtics from the east its a wrap and If King James gets some help, or if Orlando can grab good power forward to help in the paint, this Laker redemption plan is not going to happen, most of the folks out there cant even name the starting 5. Denver, Houston and Portland have my vote any day against a team that just got handed the NBA title. It made me and any one who really loves the game sick. Go someone other than the Lakers.

This is to Travis, 1st comment. Bro you're an idiot, obviously the Lakers played well enough to win the Championship, for all you HATERS out there, you guys can suck on my 15th trophy.
Sincerely,
Dr. Buss.
up yours.

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LA won it fair and square, but I have to believe Houston fans must be feeling pretty badly about now, though.

Portland wasn't quite ready for prime time, but seems to be quickly getting there. Denver was too undisciplined. LA was the top of the west.

Orlando had the Cavs by the scrotum and earned the right to lose it in 5. Two of those five were OT, so they did better than it seemed at the time.

Can we acknowledge that Dan Shaughnessey is the worst

These Lakers fans are living in la-la land
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | June 16, 2009

LOS ANGELES - Be glad you are not here. The atmosphere is thick and I'm not talking about smog.

No.

It's the rare air around the Los Angeles Lakers. And it would make you choke.

This sounds like homerism, I know, but folks out here are delusional. Sure, they deserve happiness in the wake of the Lakers winning the NBA championship in Orlando Sunday, but it's way over the top. There's talk about Kobe as equal to Michael. Some think Phil Jackson is better than Red Auerbach. And they actually believe they are an NBA dynasty.
There's more. All restaurants in LA have been ordered to serve Kobe beef. Los Angeles high school geometry classes are teaching Jackson's triangle offense. Pau Gasol is recording a duet with Enrique Iglesias. The word "great" is being thrown around like "awesome" and "dude."

Nobody talks about how a year ago the Celtics humiliated the soft-shell Lakers in six games. This is LA and 12 months ago might as well be the Dolph Schayes era.

Please. Do they actually think they would have won this year if Kevin Garnett had been healthy?
Anybody remember that the final score of Game 6 last year was 131-92? Or that Paul Pierce copped the Finals MVP trophy, totally outplaying the ever-joyless Bryant?

It makes me long for Garnett's return to full strength and a possible Celtic-Laker rematch in 2010. If the Lakers win that one, we'll give them their props. Meanwhile, this is a little like when the Larry Bird Celtics beat the Houston Rockets in 1981 and 1986 respectively, to win NBA championships. Those titles were nice, but not as special as 1984 when Bird, Parish, and McHale beat Magic, Kareem, and Worthy.

We can all be glad that Red didn't live to see Jackson move to the top of the championship coaching list with this 10th title. Red was never particularly gracious about Big Phil (or anything else, for that matter). It started out as an anti-Knick thing, then got serious when Jackson started racking up the titles with the Bulls and the Lakers. Red always held that Jackson "picked his spots."

While it is true that it's harder to win an NBA championship today than it was in 1966 (more tiers of playoffs, more scouting, salary cap, etc.), need we remind you that Red hung up his whistle after winning eight straight championships and nine in 10 years? And he was only 48 years old.

Back in the days when a juiced Jose Canseco was hitting 40 homers and stealing 40 bases, Mickey Mantle said, "Hell, If I'd known 40-40 was going to be a big deal, I'd have done it every year!"

It's the same with Red and this magical figure of 10 championships as an NBA coach. Had Red known that smarty-pants Jackson (Phil wore a yellow cap with roman numeral X after Sunday's win) was going to jump from Michael and Scottie to Shaq and Kobe, and hang around the bench to the age of 64, Red no doubt would have stayed on the bench and collected a couple more titles.
It's not just Red getting dissed out here. Patriot fans - a group more protective than kindergarten parents of an only child - will be dismayed to read that estimable LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke Monday declared that Jerry Buss "becomes the best sports owner of the 21st century."

Ouch. Plaschke correctly noted that LA has won four NBA championships since 2000. The Patriots, you might recall, have three Vince Lombardi trophies this decade and came ridiculously close (anybody remember that one?) to a fourth one in Glendale, Ariz., in February of 2008.

I am happy to report that there's one voice of reason in the 310 area code. Under the headline "Idolatry of the Lakers is ludicrous," Times columnist T.J. Simers (Manny's BFF) wrote, "a victory doesn't suddenly make unlikable athletes likable . . . The Lakers are champions, but they did little to cozy up to the folks of LA beyond being good . . . It has always been about them. Kobe and Phil . . . Kobe and Phil's personal quests now for individual greatness . . . "

Wow. Guess T.J. won't get a float in today's parade.

The parade starts at Staples Center at 11 a.m. and proceeds 2 miles to the LA Coliseum.

Very nice. But we all know that if the route went through Causeway Street things might have been different. See you next year.

just saw this!

<3 tremendoid and all the peeps on ILH!

How do you guys read articles by Plaschke, Simers, O'Shaughnessey, et al? Even getting through a quarter of that Simmons thing was a slog.

My Boston loving friend forwarded it to me. What he intended on proving, I have no idea.

wow that o'shaugnessy article almost makes me like LA

i can deal with plaschke, not a great writer or laker lover but i find him getting fed up with the same stuff i get fed up with as a laker fan, and i'd rather read that than put up with fatuous homers like adande. simers is a little bitch though, i mean i admire his trolling instincts but keeping it up for this long is just sad.

I think you may be the only person other than the boss of my boss who've I ever heard say anything remotely positive about Plaschke.

well it's not like i 'read' him lol, la times is something i go to for old time's sake more than anything.

I think Adande is the greatest. I don't care if he's a homer.

Meanwhile, Plaschke makes blood come out of my pores.

in association with big loud mountain ape productions

Cheers, dude.

I had the BEST time walking through the Cleveland airport yesterday. Four day beard, tired as hell from Bonnaroo, but wearing a bright yellow Lakers shirt, and grinning at every "Take that shirt off" or "Yeah, we'll see next year". So much fun.

Hey, I'll start wearing Lakers yellow if I'm forced to read more Shaughnessy.