My remembrances

When the Bucks and 76res were playing I told a friend I couldn't cheer for either Philly or the Lakers. I well remember back in the days of Russell how the Philly fans threw things on the floor and were the meanest fans I'd seen at that time. Mean to the opposition, naturally. I used to laugh that they called Philadelphia "The City of Brotherly Love" because you certainly wouldn't have known it from the Philadelphia basketball fans.

Having said that, now there's a choice between cheering for one of the two teams that have been, in basketball, our "arch enemies" in the past. So I'm delighted to see the "water bug" called Iverson sock it to the Lakers, because everyone said it would be a sweep, and most of us are heartily sick of the Lakers hogging NBC's coverage of pro basketball, which should try to feature every team in the NBA for all the fans, not just for L.A. At the very least, the Lakers will not have gone through the playoffs without a loss. That's a big deal to me - but I also have never seen anyone playing the pro game quite like Iverson. Don't sell him short - nobody can keep up with him. I don't know if the Lakers will prevail - can only hope they won't - but they might lose more than the one game - nothing this young man accomplishes can surprise me any more. If I ever wore a hat, it would be off to him. I admire his spunk, his guts, his grit, and his attitude. "It ain't over until it's over".