Jabbar

The demise of the Lakers can be easily explained by a simple mathematical equation: Thompson plus Divac does not equal Abdul-Jabbar. LYLE J. RICKERT Visalia

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has expanded his reach beyond the basketball court, writing pop-culture essays on his blog at the Huffington Post . The six-time NBA champion takes on reality television in a thoughtful, critical analysis of the genre. "Those who refuse to watch, based on some misguided cultural snobbery, aren't just missing great entertainment, they are overlooking the best social insight into the American psyche since Huck Finn and Jim explored the soul of America on a raft of lost innocence," writes Abdul-Jabbar.

One of the mantras of the BCS apologists is, "We must save the bowl system." Well if UCLA should upset USC, the Bruins will end up 10-1, having beaten the country's No. 1 team and ending the Trojans' 33-game winning streak, and their reward will be ... the Sun Bowl. This is a system that cries for destruction. RICHARD TURNER Fontana I thought J.A. Adande's "33" article [Nov. 29] was interesting. If you have ever heard the urban legend behind the Rolling Rock "33" [supposedly representing 1933, the year Prohibition was repealed]

Over the weekend, Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led a processional on a one-mile walk outside of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Abdul-Jabbar's Final Four Dome Dribble Fueled by Powerade was part of his campaign to encourage fun, healthy and active lifestyles. The 65-year-old six-time NBA champion is also participating as a contestant on "Splash," a diving competition show on ABC. Abdul-Jabbar recently told Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that he's aspiring to "show everybody that at my age you can live a healthy lifestyle and learn new things.

The Houston Rockets have had worse duds than their 134-111 blowout loss to the Lakers Friday night, their second loss in five nights to Los Angeles. This is a team, after all, that earlier this season had the worst home-court loss in National Basketball Assn. history, a 56-point bath against the Seattle SuperSonics. And Rocket forward Ralph Sampson, who scored four points and took just four shots Friday night, has had worse games. Last year in Portland, he scored two points.

Enough of the Kobe Bryant-Michael Jordan comparisons, Shaquille O'Neal said in the aftermath of the Lakers' 103-94 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. "They are two different cars going down the 405 [freeway]," O'Neal said. "One is a 2002 [Mercedes] Benz, the other a 1991 Benz. They are both excellent cars and they both get great mileage, but they are different years. "Now I'd like to see a 26-year-old Kobe go against a 26-year-old Michael, but you can't go back in time.

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant will be out six to nine months because of a torn left Achilles' tendon, according to doctors. Of course, Bryant is 34 and has spent 17 years in the NBA. He may never be the same player again. Which is why the idea of waiving Bryant under the NBA's one-time "amnesty" provision has been tossed around -- although not among anyone in the Lakers organization, General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. Bryant is one of four players on the roster whom the Lakers would be allowed to cut without paying luxury taxes on his salary. If the Lakers waived Bryant, they would still have to pay his $30.5 salary for next season but would save up to $80 million in luxury taxes.

The shooting death of a young man pursuing his goals in the entertainment industry sparked an angry call against violence at a Tuesday night vigil. Robert Demond Guillory, 25, a personal assistant for an ABC sitcom and former Dorsey High School athlete, was killed Saturday near Stocker Street and Crenshaw Boulevard. Guillory, who was driving alone, was waiting to make a left turn when he was shot by a gunman who accused him of being a rival gang member, police said. He died later at a hospital.

Chris Paul had just finished an amazing performance. In Game 2 of the Clippers first-round playoff series against Memphis, the point guard made a four-foot buzzer-beating bank shot with one-tenth of a second remaining in the game to give his team a 93-91 win.  In the locker room afterward, Paul's teammates apparently wanted to ensure that his 3-year-old son follows in his footsteps. Grant Hill, a seven-time All-Star, gave Paul's son, Little Chris, a dunking lesson. Hill stuck out his arms and pretended to be a hoop.

Former Lakers center and champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar opened up in his blog at HuffingtonPost.com , sharing a number of personal regrets. In an entry entitled, "10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Turning Pro," Abdul-Jabbar compares dating as a youth to "Darth Vader approaching a bunny. " The logistics of dating were naturally complicated for Abdul-Jabbar at 7-foot-2. "I wish I'd been able to ignore the physical differences as I can now and just sit down, preferably on a shorter chair than them, and just talk to them about movies and books and history -- anything but basketball," he blogged.

If Shaquille O'Neal needed a nickname on his first day as a Laker, it could have been the Big Worrywart. As dominant as he was, the best big man in the NBA recognized he represented just a fraction of the Lakers centers who had come before him. George Mikan won six titles while becoming Mr. Basketball. Wilt Chamberlain won two titles (one as a Laker) and scored 100 points in a game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six titles (five as a Laker) and was the league's all-time leading scorer.

Former Lakers center and champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar opened up in his blog at HuffingtonPost.com , sharing a number of personal regrets. In an entry entitled, "10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Turning Pro," Abdul-Jabbar compares dating as a youth to "Darth Vader approaching a bunny. " The logistics of dating were naturally complicated for Abdul-Jabbar at 7-foot-2. "I wish I'd been able to ignore the physical differences as I can now and just sit down, preferably on a shorter chair than them, and just talk to them about movies and books and history -- anything but basketball," he blogged.

  This is anything but a slam-dunk. Heck, it's not even a sky hook. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants to be the next UCLA basketball coach. The former Bruins star, appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Tuesday night, said, “I would certainly be interested in being the coach of the team. It would be great to have the opportunity to restore the program to what it was. Not necessarily in terms of winning, but having the guys get their degrees and learn about the game of basketball.” Abdul-Jabbar has a better chance of riding the winner in the Kentucky Derby.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar visited "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Tuesday night to talk about his participation on ABC's "Splash. " While he admitted he has no chance to actually win the reality-show diving competition, the 65-year-old former Lakers center said he's doing it to "show everybody that at my age you can live a healthy lifestyle and learn new things. " Abdul-Jabbar did manage to break a toe, climbing out of the pool after a dive. In Part 2, he talks about Magic Johnson and their different demeanors.

UCLA has said it is looking for a basketball coach to enhance its winning culture. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says he's the man. Abdul-Jabbar, certainly in the conversation about the greatest basketball players of all time, said Wednesday that he wants to be considered for the Bruins job, replacing recently fired Ben Howland. The winning part of his resume is beyond question. As a 7-foot-2 center for the John Wooden Bruins in 1967-69, Abdul-Jabbar was the star on a team that was 88-2 and won three NCAA titles.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made his debut on the new ABC show "Splash. " Abdul-Jabbar joins Louis Anderson, Drake Bell, Kendra Wilkinson, Rory Bushfield, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Ndamukong Suh, Katherine Webb, Brandi Chastain and Nicole Eggert in an eight-week competitive-diving competition . With his first dive, Abdul-Jabbar survived the first week of the competition with a score of 7.25. A brief snippet of Abdul-Jabbar's flop-flip in the "Splash" premiere can be found on YouTube . The Milwaukee Bucks also released a clip of an Abdul-Jabbar practice dive.

Their stories are eerily similar, even if there is a gap of 37 years between them. Each was the NBA's dominant center and each demanded to be traded. Both stars ended up with the Lakers and their deals sent shock waves across the league. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 28 when he was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to the Lakers in 1975 as part of a six-player deal, while Dwight Howard, 26, arrived Friday as part of a four-team, 12-player trade that also sent Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Silver Charm, who just missed winning the 1997 Triple Crown and finished second last month in the Breeders' Cup Classic, will open his 1999 schedule Jan. 30 in the $500,000 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla. Robert Umphrey, Gulfstream's director of racing, said he received a commitment Christmas week from trainer Bob Baffert to run Silver Charm in the nationally televised race. "Naturally, we're thrilled to have him," Umphrey said.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has dabbled as a pop-culture critic, recently giving his thoughts on the HBO series " Girls . " Now Abdul-Jabbar is giving his take on the Quentin Tarantino film "Django Unchained. " "For me, 'Django Unchained' is like this season's Lakers: filled with talent and potential, but never coming together in a cohesive manner," Abdul-Jabbar wrote in a blog post on Esquire.com . Abdul-Jabbar argues that the Tarantino film did not deserve its Academy Award nominations for best picture or for best original screenplay, saying the picture is fundamentally a good "B film," lacking the depth of  an "A film.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Katherine Webb were hanging out poolside the other day, you know, just waiting for their turns on the high dive. Naturally, the Lakers legend was wearing a Darth Vader mask and ... Huh? You mean there's something unusual about the NBA's all-time leading scorer dressed like a "Star Wars" character spending time at the pool with a beauty queen/Sports Illustrated swimsuit model/"Inside Edition" Super Bowl correspondent/girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron?