Because of his pal Phil, his future couldn't be brighter

SO I'M talking to my good pal, Phil Jackson. Great guy. A Hall of Famer, you know, but still just good old Phil to me, and really just a great guy.

Anyway, we're talking before the Lakers game, just yucking it up as we do, and I don't know how it came up, but it turns out Phil goes way back with Sam Zell, the billionaire who just became my new boss at The Times.

Small world. Phil, Sam and I. The way I look at it -- any friend of Phil's has to be a friend of mine.

"I'm thinking of inviting him to a Laker game," Phil said. Maybe Sammy and I can sit together.

Now I know some people have already been critical of Sam, and I'll be happy to give him their names when Phil, Jeanie, the wife and I join the new boss for a barbecue this summer at his home in Malibu.

I prefer giving people a chance before being critical, as you know, which explains why I was quoted in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday morning saying of my new boss, "I've only seen pictures of him [and] I think he's a handsome man."

Phil, meanwhile, said he goes way back with Sam to his Chicago days with the Bulls, living in the same vicinity as Sam and sharing a mutual interest in motorcycles. They had a two-hour dinner in Paris, and Phil said the story about Zell buying a stack of Playboys when younger and selling them for profit to classmates "is a true story."

Phil was also invited to speak to a group of about 60 of Sam's prized executives, giving Phil the chance to ask them about Sam's approach to business.

"He lets people do what they do best," Phil said, which I thought was the perfect opening to ask my good pal a little favor.

"Do you think you could put in a good word for me with Sam?"

Phil smiled. "I'll tell him you have a broadcasting career ahead of you."

With friends like my good pal, Phil

IT DOESN'T get any more exciting than this these days with the Lakers in Staples Center: the battle for sixth place. Just feel the tension.

The Lakers' magic number to keep the Nuggets behind them was 8 before the start of the game, 7 to keep the Clippers from catching them, and forget about fifth place. A win over Denver and then again over the Clippers tonight and the Lakers would all but cinch the sixth spot and a playoff assignment beginning in San Antonio.

How's that for progress -- the Lakers and Clippers swapping sixth- and seventh-place finishes from a year ago? Makes you feel good today, doesn't it -- being a Lakers' fan.