Lakers Road Trip Stories

ATLANTA (Sunday-Tuesday)

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
The for-sure highlight of the trip, one that this chronicler has been eagerly awaiting, fails to materialize. Luke Walton had it all planned out, too.

While signing autographs outside the team hotel in Indianapolis, Walton was looking at a kid's album of Lakers basketball cards and spotted what could best be described as a Glamour Shots portrait of Vujacic. On this 2005 card made by some obscure company, Vujacic is wearing a tank top and sunglasses, holding a basketball in a muscle pose over his biceps and clearly trying to go Hollywood. There's even a gold chain hanging out.

Then the kid said, "You know, I have an extra copy of the card " And did that ever make Walton's day.

What could be more fulfilling for a pro athlete than signing an autograph to make a kid smile? Scoring an embarrassing old card of a teammate that you can use to cause even more embarrassment, of course.

Alas, Walton's plan to print out color copies of the card for distribution to everyone who shows up at the Lakers' Super Bowl viewing party is foiled when the copies don't get made. (Walton still intends to distribute copies of the card at a later date.)

Without Walton's prank, the day fizzles. The hotel TV set up for the Lakers isn't that great, so most of the guys don't stay - though Bryant, Vujacic and Smush Parker stick together there for the whole second half.

The prank wouldn't have come close to topping one from two years ago. That caper, brilliantly devised and executed by Vlade Divac against Tony Bobbitt and spanning several weeks, came with the Lakers out of the playoff picture late in the season, so it was especially useful entertainment. It went like this:

Bobbitt goes ga-ga upon seeing actress Lucy Liu at a game. Divac writes one of his cell numbers down, approaches Bobbitt and tells him that he's so well connected and such a great wingman that he got Lucy's number for Bobbitt - and man, is she interested. Bobbitt exchanges text messages with "Lucy" (really, Vlade) for days, with Divac gleefully sharing Bobbitt's poetic words with the team behind Bobbitt's back.

It goes so far as Divac arranging a first date at a restaurant with hidden cameras for the Lakers to watch and record Bobbitt waiting and pining for Lucy. Bobbitt spots a cameraman at one point is the jig up? No, because Bobbitt assumes it's just the paparazzi!

</div>



DETROIT (Wednesday-Thursday)

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The pilot of the flight from Atlanta announces before we land that that it is 4 degrees in Detroit.

And yet, the Motor City is having a huge festival downtown called the "Winter Blast." It is held outside. It is held outside!

Contrast that with Oklahoma City, where the Lakers were last month. A forecasted snowstorm caused the local "Snowflake Gala" - classic name for a small-town event, isn't it? - to be postponed. (The Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association soldiered on and still held its annual convention. Those guys should move to Detroit.)
</div>

TORONTO (Friday)

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's Day 12 of the trip, and Lakers equipment manager Rudy Garciduenas is so tired he is curled up in the corner of the locker room before the game like a napping dog. Playing 40 minutes of basketball is nothing compared to making sure every sock is where it should be every day on the road.

Exactly one week ago, Garciduenas had been fresh enough to joke with Jackson-described "space cadet" Vladimir Radmanovic before the game in Indiana. Radmanovic asked for his headband, and Garciduenas shot back: "What, to keep your brain from falling out?"

After this game, Garciduenas is back in that same corner, curled up again - rising only to give the Toronto locker-room attendants their tip. Asked how he's doing, he offers three spot-on words: "Ready. To. Go."

Bryant says after the loss: "We've just got to go get a win on Sunday?" It's to the point where no one knows what the days are.
</div>

CLEVELAND (Saturday-Sunday)

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Upon reaching the last stop, spirits rise. Before the game, Bynum and Maurice Evans are arguing over their most recent Madden football video game and appealing to Lamar Odom as judge of right or wrong. The issue is straight out of the classic guy-movie "Swingers:"

Evans paused the game to go eat his room-service meal. Bynum proceeded to un-pause the game - then used Evans' controller to kick off to himself and return the kick all the way for a touchdown.

The whole debate isn't too serious, however. Evans was already winning, 46-0, at the time.

After this last game and his last postgame interviews are finally over, Bryant exhales and says: "Oh, boy."

But Bryant's day isn't done. As was the case in the previous seven cities, Bryant has to transform into politician on his way out of a visiting arena because people approach him before he can take any step. Such is the life of a superstar.

It's pretty bad on this day. After Cavaliers guard Eric Snow brings his kids up to meet Bryant, Cavaliers forward Donyell Marshall comes up with his family. But there's something special about this situation that makes Bryant laugh through the weariness.

One of Marshall's daughters is wearing a Bryant jersey.

</div>

Link

Not a very successful road trip, but at least the players had some fun

 

Haha, Doneyll's daugther was wearing Kobe's jersey.

Great read man, thanks very much. I laughed very much while reading them.
Our chemistry rocks dude. ;D (off the court chemistry).

 

<div class="quote_poster">Flow Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Haha, Doneyll's daugther was wearing Kobe's jersey.

Great read man, thanks very much. I laughed very much while reading them.
Our chemistry rocks dude. ;D (off the court chemistry).</div>

Yeah, how cool this is to read really brings a smile on my face.

Bynum tried to cheat when he was losing 46-0.