A C Green

A.C. Green has received contract proposals from several teams, including "a number of offers" from the Phoenix Suns, according to his agent, Marc Fleisher. However, Fleisher said he doesn't expect Green to make a decision soon. "A number of teams that are interested in him currently do not have salary slots big enough and would have to make some moves in order to clear slots," Fleisher said. "We do have patience, if that's what it takes. Most likely, it's not going to happen tomorrow.

Three NBA championship rings were reportedly stolen from former Laker A.C. Green's home in Palos Verdes Estates. The rings, which are estimated to be worth $25,000 each, were allegedly stolen by day laborers Green hired to move some belongings into storage, police told the Daily Breeze.  The rings are encrusted with diamonds and have his name and former jersey number written on them, the newspaper said. "To him, [they are] priceless," Palos Verdes Estates police Sgt. Steve Barber told the paper.

After 24 years of going by his initials, A.C. Green is making a name for himself. They know what to call the Laker forward around the National Basketball Assn. now. They call him one of the best young players there is. He came into the game without a name, the same way he came into the world. His father, A.C. Green Sr., was proud to pass down his handle to his baby boy after the child's birth in Portland, Ore., even though the initials themselves, like Harry S.

The other night, in a backyard aglow with wine and holiday lights, one conversation went a full 10 minutes without any mention of Tiger Woods, a U.S. cocktail party record. When Tiger's name finally came up -- and it always does -- you never heard so much tsk-tsking by husbands in your life. How disappointing this whole Tiger mess is, they all agreed, mostly because their wives were standing right there. After two weeks, the only thing that is really apparent is that Tiger Woods, probably the best athlete of the era, found a game he couldn't master.

What do you have when the hardest-working man in Showtime kicks it up another notch? A.C. Green. A Laker left over from a happier time, a Laker almost by accident, Green soldiers on in the post-Magic Johnson era, not merely as before but better. Coming off the bench, he leads the team in rebounding and his scoring average, 13.5, is the best of his career. "A.C.'s been terrific," Coach Mike Dunleavy says. "He's done some things he's never done in the past.

The Lakers are attempting to remain competitive for the upcoming season, and want forward A.C. Green to be part of it, a club spokesman said Friday. Green's agent, Marc Fleisher, told The Times on Thursday that he did not think the Lakers were aggressive in pursuing Green, an unrestricted free agent. "We definitely want A.C. back," said John Black, public relations director. "Obviously, the guy means a lot to the organization. Everybody loves him."

There was a less-than-subtle transition at power forward on the Lakers on Wednesday, when A.C. Green and Mark Madsen saw their careers pass in the night. Though the Lakers made it clear that it was not nearly as simple as replacing Green with Madsen--Green could be asked back and Madsen will have to earn hard minutes as a rookie--waiving Green, who started all 105 regular-season and playoff games in 1999-2000, hours before using their No.

Eight years as a Laker, seven minutes in another uniform. That's how long it took A.C. Green to go from Forum favorite to villain. Given a mixed greeting before the game, Green proceeded to engage former teammate James Worthy in several first-quarter shoving matches, and the crowd began chanting a two-word suggestion to Green that A.C., the born-again Christian who used to ask teammates not to curse, would have found improper. "Just playing a game," Green said.

Six years after he left, A.C. Green, the last active member of the Lakers' "Showtime" glory days, on Wednesday also became a big part of the team's present, re-jiggered frontline. Green, a little frazzled by the swift negotiations and deal-making after the Lakers acquired him in a sign-and-trade deal with the Dallas Mavericks, still immediately understood the significance of his return. "I'm the last one," Green said, referring to the Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar era.

Free-agent forward David Greenwood, who played at UCLA in the 1970s and most recently was not re-signed by the Denver Nuggets, passed a physical examination commissioned by the Lakers Friday and may sign with the club before training camp opens next week in Honolulu. Jerry West, the Lakers' general manager, confirmed that Greenwood, 32, passed the physical, but the team still is considering other options in its search to fill retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's roster spot.

A.C. Green was chosen the best power forward in L.A. Lakers history by readers of the website, with 5,372 responding. Next, online readers vote for the best small forward in L.A. Lakers history. Will it be Worthy or Baylor? Will anyone else even get a vote? Vote now at latimes.com/sports. Who is the best power forward in L.A. Lakers history? *--* A.C. Green 29.3% *--* *--* Bob McAdoo 18.7% *--* *--* Kurt Rambis 12.8% *--* *--* Robert Horry 12.6% *--* *--* Happy Hairston 8.

A.C. Greene, 78, Texas historian and columnist whose books include "Taking Heart" about receiving the transplanted heart of a 31-year-old woman in 1988, died Friday at his home in Salado, Texas, of unspecified causes. Born Alvin Carl Greene Jr. in Abilene, he adopted his first two initials for what became a familiar byline in the Dallas Morning News. He wrote its column Texas Sketches for 19 years.

If no one minds, A.C. Green is going to keep counting. The streak will end this week, when the NBA will have gone on without him after 1,192 consecutive games, a league record, and almost 15 years. Green, who turned 38 this month, would prefer to continue, but he understands. See, there's a curious thing about a streak that ran from Nov. 19, 1986 to April 17, 2001 and the man who pounded its beat. The games became secondary.

His record consecutive-games streak a day away from ending, former Laker A.C. Green signed a one-year contract Tuesday with the Miami Heat. Green had intended to attend tonight's ring ceremony at Staples Center. Instead, he was reunited with Coach Pat Riley, who promised the streak, which stands at 1,110 games, "will be taken care of." Though he missed all of training camp, Green will be in uniform tonight when the Heat opens its season against Orlando.

There was a less-than-subtle transition at power forward on the Lakers on Wednesday, when A.C. Green and Mark Madsen saw their careers pass in the night. Though the Lakers made it clear that it was not nearly as simple as replacing Green with Madsen--Green could be asked back and Madsen will have to earn hard minutes as a rookie--waiving Green, who started all 105 regular-season and playoff games in 1999-2000, hours before using their No.

Old A.C. Green. Sitting like a dean. Watching the Lakers go far. Along came a bear, and sat on his hair. And everyone said, Dude, that's bizarre. * This is the story about the little green bear that sometimes sits atop the head of the Lakers' big power forward. Don't laugh. This is serious. He is an important figure. He represents an important ethic. He is about strength, endurance, respect. We're talking, of course, about the bear.

When the Lakers made Oregon State forward A.C. Green their No. 1 draft choice last month, the 23rd pick overall, they hoped to have him signed, sealed and delivered by Wednesday. They had to settle for one of the three.

How many generations of younger, bigger, more powerful power forwards has A.C. Green outlasted? How many careers has he seen wasted on the training table, or in street clothes, or in nightclubs, as he kept playing and playing and playing? How could a lanky, 36-year-old, deeply religious man survive 1,042 consecutive games in the NBA, break all the Iron Man records, and still have legs lively enough to make even 21-year-old Kobe Bryant shake his head?

A.C. Green played his 1,041st consecutive game and produced his second consecutive wrestling-match victory over Karl Malone on Wednesday. Big, blue-collar numbers, either way you look at it. One feat tied a professional basketball record, the other helped propel the Lakers to a bruising 90-82 victory over the Utah Jazz before a sellout of 18,997 at Staples Center.