National Anthem @ Lakers Game

B'H it went well & it was a phenomenal game though their winning streak when we sing has been snapped.

I didn't get to meet Kobe or Phil Jackson. They don't even come out for the pre-game shootaround. Someone told me that Kobe is out there much earlier warming up.

One of the Ass't Coaches of the Grizzlies came up to me & said "I'm a member of the tribe also." His name is Barry Hecker. I had never heard of him but here's a link to his bio.

http://www.nba.com/coachfile/barry_hecker/index.html?nav=page

He said he's married to a "shiktze". He said he tried to get a rabbi to marry them but nobody would do it. His first wife was a shiktze also. His Mom grew up in Bensonhurst- 64th st & Bay Parkway, Anyway he's a real nice guy.

He called Henry Bibby over to shmooze & for a minute there we were standing on the court with our arms around each other. It was pretty cool.

Yossie this time I asked Henry why he stood off to the side when he shot foul shots.

One other cool story. While we were in the tunnel waiting to be brought out the Refs walked thru. Normally they have security & are stonefaced walking out. This time I told them "No special treatment for Kobe tonight". 2 of them stayed stoneface (white guys). The one black ref, Tony Brown, laughed & said something to me which I couldn't hear.

Then they had us standing at center court for a few minutes b/c they had a color guard & the refs are right there with us & he comes up to us & said "Oh you're singing. You'd better redeem yourself." Then we're joking around there on center court. They still had their jackets on, & David Julian asked him what's his number? The ref said, "You'll be able to tell me apart from the others" (b/c the other 2 were white). David didn't get the joke at first & I laughed with Tony & we shook hands & had some fun right out there on center court with both teams standing there, moments before they introduced us.

Then when we finished & we walked off Tony said, "You were great. You redeemed yourself".

Then during the game he did something I had never seen before. He called travelling on Kobe. He also made a few other calls for the Griz overulling the other guys. Ultimately it was a lousy technical foul called against the Griz coach at the end of the game by the the other ref that cost them the game.

Then for the game our seats (which we had to buy) were all the way on top. I could actually see the game better from up there then from the courtside seats under the basket we had last time. We were surrounded by a bunch of Kobe fans.

It was a great game, finished by Kobe hitting a 3 pointer with 4 seconds left. But the Griz were right there with them & shoulda won.