Lakers’ Walton, Perkins help youngsters in Brazil

While the Lakers gear up for October and their upcoming season, with the recent signings of point guards Derek Fisher and Coby Karl, many of the team’s players were in Brazil July 31-Aug. 3 helping youngsters make their basketball dreams come true.

As part of the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) program, founded in 2001 by the NBA, the International Basketball Federation and the Brazilian Basketball Federation, Lakers Forward Luke Walton and former NBA legend Sam Perkins joined more than 30 other NBA coaches and team members in Sao Paulo, Brazil, according to the Lakers’ official Web site. The professional athletes act as mentors for 50 youth, ages 19 and younger. This year’s four-day camp provided guidance for the teens – who were selected from more than 17 countries and territories across Latin America and the Caribbean – regarding basketball and life in general.

Since 2001, BWB has helped more than 1,000 young athletes from more than 100 countries strengthen their basketball skills with simultaneous participation in motivational and life-skills seminars that promote education, leadership, character development and healthy living. HIV and AIDS education is a major component of the seminars and a large emphasis is placed on embracing diversity.

Now back in LA, the team continues to gear up for what’s next. Want to get involved? Check out Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on August 6, 2007 - Post a comment

Lakers TV Schedule Out Today

The Los Angeles Lakers once again have a schedule which will give them maximum exposure. The 2008 NBA schedule was announced yesterday, so Lakers fans now have a chance to check out what games are going to be the best to see live, and which ones are the best to see on TV. All told, the Lakers have 33 games which will be nationally televised next season. Comparatively, the Los Angeles Clippers will only have 12 nationally televised games.

Some of the most noteworthy games on the schedule include a Christmas day match up with the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers playing on Christmas day has become a sort of unofficial tradition in the NBA. The other Christmas day games will feature the Miami Heat playing Cleveland, and the Portland Trail Blazers meeting up wit the Seattle SuperSonics. The later will be the first official time that Greg Oden and Kevin Durant play each other in an NBA game. The Lakers have clearly remained one of the most popular and marketable teams in the NBA, as evidenced by the way the TV schedule has been arranged.

If you would prefer to see the Lakers play in person, then you can check out StubHub.com for some Los Angeles Lakers tickets.

Permalink - Posted in General on August 3, 2007 - Post a comment

Slate on the Summer League

If you are a Los Angeles Lakers fan and you read Slate online, then you probably enjoyed one of the latest articles by David Roth. This one is all about the NBA Summer League, which the Lakers played in Las Vegas. There are also Summer League venues in Orlando and Salt Lake. The article talks about the contradictory nature of the Summer League- how it is at once awful to watch for the traditional basketball critic, but also awfully awesome in that it will give you a view at a very intense, very talented pickup game. There are way more turnovers than necessary, nobody plays defense, and there are ten one-man teams on the floor at any given time. Of course, it’s also a great blend of soon-to-be NBA stars, street ballers with rapper nicknames and former college studs with cult followings. They’re great to watch but hard to look at, if you catch my drift.

Lakers fans will be glad to hear that Coby Karl, the newest winner of a short-term Lakers contract, was mentioned in the article as one of the weird players you will see at a Summer League game. The Lakers’ coaches and advisers must have noticed something in of a diamond in the rough in George Karl’s son, and want to see if he can keep it up in an actual Lakers practice.

Summer League is fun, but if you want the real-deal, you will need to get Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on August 2, 2007 - Post a comment

Lakers With Too Many Points

Suddenly the Lakers’ guard problems have completely flipped. Last year the Lakes had practically no options when it came to playing a decent point guard, and now they have an actual competition for who will be the starter. The Lakers recently signed Derek Fisher, who Lakers fans should know full well can do a decent job. They also got a tall point in Javaris Crittenton in the draft. And now the Lakers have added Coby Karl, a 6-4 point guard who went undrafted. Coby, the some of famous coach George Karl, played for the Lakers in their summer camp and impressed general manager Mitch Kupchack enough to earn a short contract with the team. Karl is 24 years old and averaged over 14 points and 4 assists per game while playing at Boise State his senior year. He has been struggling in a battle with thyroid cancer, but apparently is not letting that slow him down now.

So who will you see when you get Los Angeles Lakers tickets to a game next season? Well, you might just see a bunch of different players in the one spot, because currently the Lakers have eight guards.  You can get those tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on August 1, 2007 - Post a comment


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