Jabbar

The routine is well-established. The media mob, armed with cameras, tripods, tape recorders and, yes, even some old-fashioned notepads, gathers in a small room leading to the Lakers' practice court at the team's El Segundo training facility. Like bulls in a pen waiting to charge, they are poised for the moment when John Black, the team's public relations director, swings open the door and turns them loose.

In 1968 I was a 20-year-old college junior whose basketball success had made me famous. I'd been honored as most outstanding player in the NCAA tournament, named the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn. player of the year, and played the "game of the century" against the Houston Cougars at the Astrodome. So it wasn't surprising that I was invited to try out for the Olympic basketball team to represent the U.S. in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Our image of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, although a good one, is outdated. We still have him frozen in mid-skyhook, his No. 33 as memorable as the grace of his shooting motion. The current image should be of a still-shy man, now 60 years old, hunched over a computer keyboard, pulling words from a mind that has long played second fiddle to a 7-foot-2 body and a pro basketball career that will never be replicated. The leading scorer in the history of the National Basketball Assn.

HAD his ambition to become a professional basketball player not panned out, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says, he would have been a history teacher instead. His passion for African American history in particular inspired his latest book, "On the Shoulders of Giants," borrowing from the Isaac Newton quote crediting those who inspired him.

One thing about the Red Hot Chili Peppers' hometown concerts -- wherever they may be, there's usually a story. At a 2005 benefit performance at the Greek Theatre, the band's bassist Flea took a moment to reminisce about sneaking into shows and graduating from high school at the outdoor venue. And on Thursday at the Forum, he recalled his mother bringing him to see then Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar play basketball at the Inglewood arena.

A Buena Park man jailed for two years because of his alleged ties to terrorism was ordered freed Thursday by a federal judge in Los Angeles who rejected the government's argument that he was a national security threat. The order came two years to the day after Abdel Jabbar Hamdan was arrested and incarcerated in the immigration detention facility at Terminal Island. The Palestinian father of six U.S.

Given some time off from his employer -- the Lakers -- to see his alma mater play in the Final Four, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar liked what he saw Saturday at the RCA Dome. "They look real good," he said of UCLA at halftime of the Bruins' 59-45 victory over Louisiana State. "Coach [Ben] Howland has done a tremendous job getting them to play how he wants them to play, within his system.

In a game against the Phoenix Suns, Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored the first -- and only -- three-pointer of his National Basketball Assn. career. The long-awaited achievement came four days after Abdul-Jabbar scored his 36,000th point. The Hall of Fame center, six-time NBA Most Valuable Player and master of the skyhook scored a league record 38,387 points in 20 seasons before retiring in 1989.

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]

They are separated by 40 years in age, 20 years of NBA experience and more than 38,000 points. But Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Andrew Bynum have, nevertheless, found common ground on the hardwood. For 58-year-old Abdul-Jabbar, a long-held desire to be a head coach in the NBA may hang on his ability to succeed as an assistant coach with the Lakers, specializing in working with the team's big men. Specifically Bynum.