Below is an excerpt from the new memoir from Hall of Famer Michael Cooper, COOP: The Making of a Showtime Lakers Legend. The text is taken from Chapter 7, in which Cooper talks about iconic coach Pat Riley taking over the Lakers in 1981. It was a seminal moment in both team and NBA history.
Read MoreToday, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway is known for many things. He was one of the best point guards in the 1990s. His Miami Heat teams clashed year after year with the New York Knicks. Hardaway was a brash trash talker and his “Killer Crossover” dribble was one of the most well-known moves in the league. All of these topics and more are highlighted in Hardaway’s new memoir, Killer Crossover: My Life from the Chicago Streets to Basketball Royalty.
Read MoreMichael Cooper knew pressure. The NBA’s 1987 Defensive Player of the Year had won five rings with the 1980s Showtime Lakers, blocking shots alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and finishing “Coop-a-loop” passes from Magic Johnson for dunks. But in 2000, things were different. He wasn’t in the game, he was coaching it from the sidelines for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. And despite Cooper being named coach of the year, the Sparks fell short in the playoffs to the Houston Comets.
Read MoreThe WNBA playoffs begin this weekend. It’s the latest in a string of glitzy moments for the league, which recently has seen the rise of Indiana’s Caitlin Clark and her rivalry with Chicago’s Angel Reese, along with skyrocketing revenue and the news of expansion into new markets. But as a bright future unfolds, we wanted to dive into the past to remember seven hoopers who helped make this all possible.
Read MoreDean Johnson wonders if he’ll ever be a bartender again. For 11 years, he worked in the neighborhood Seattle watering hole, Al’s Tavern, serving drinks at the cash-only spot, slinging drinks over long shifts. It’s the kind of job that makes you a local staple, a servant of the people. You get to know husbands and wives, friends and colleagues. But while patrons would come and go through Al’s door, and as Dean stood dutifully behind the bar, something else was going on. Some customers knew, but it was also something of a secret amongst them. Johnson was a world-class songwriter.
Read MoreToday (July 18), the Long Beach, California-born band Sublime has released their latest single, “Ensenada.” But while day-one fans of the ska punk band know it as a project fronted by vocalist Bradley Nowell, the group today is actually fronted by the late Bradley’s 30-year-old son, Jakob Nowell.
Read MoreWhen Masai Ujiri, the former head decision-maker for the NBA champion Toronto Raptors, thinks back on his childhood, the word “freedom” comes quickly to mind. Ujiri, who was born in England but grew up in Zaria, Nigeria, says he was able to live more freely back then than compared to even his own children and their peers today. They could walk where they wanted, play basketball during their downtime, and go to a friend’s house and play ping-pong. Today, a child’s life seems much more claustrophobic.
Read MoreGavin Rossdale, the frontman for the British-born rock band Bush, says he’s been “obsessed” with loneliness his whole life. If you saw his handsome face on MTV in the 1990s, you might be hard pressed to think he would ever be lonely. That it was even humanly possible. But if you listened to his songs, you would’ve heard what Rossdale means. Think of their signature track, “Glycerine.” On it, he sings: I’m never alone, I’m alone all the time. It’s also something he notices in other people (cue: Paul McCartney’s violins).
Read MoreIn 2012, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released their hit single, “Same Love”. The track was a major force in the debate for marriage equality and expressed sentiments of acceptance, tolerance and, of course, love. But the track would not nearly have had the impact it did had it not been for the inclusion of singer Mary Lambert.
Read MoreIt’s the dream of every kid who picks up a baseball bat. The score is tied, 1-1. It’s the bottom of the ninth inning. With one swing, you have the chance to make history. That’s the situation Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh found himself in on 30 September 2022. His manager called him up to bat with the game on the line. If his team won, they’d end a 20-year playoff drought. So, what did Raleigh do? He smacked a full-count, pinch-hit, walk-off dinger deep to right field. Cue: the victory music.
Read MorePeter Buck, the former lead guitarist for the iconic rock band R.E.M., is one of the most prolific and collaborative artists you can ever meet. Over a handful of decades making music, he’s worked in seemingly countless projects. But his latest offering is a new supergroup with Barrett Martin, Duke Garwood, Alain Johannes, and Lisette Garcia called Drink the Sea.
Read MoreOn Friday (May 30), the Madison, Wisconsin-born rock band Garbage will release their newest LP, Let All That We Imagine Be The Light. The music on the record is a testament to seeing the world with new eyes. Eyes that want to see more.
Read MoreTwo-time NBA All-Star Reggie Theus remembers the 1981 playoffs. In a “big time” opening round series, his Chicago Bulls faced the New York Knicks. The first game tipped off in one of the world’s most famous arenas, Madison Square Garden, and it included stars such as Artis Gilmore, Bill Cartwright and Michael Ray Richardson. The Bulls won game one and went on to win the series, playing Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in the next round. Theus scored 37 points in the clincher against New York, an overtime victory in the Windy City. But it was a thrill he never quite felt again.
Read MoreNatalie Bergman is numinous. The spiritual-minded artist writes songs that seem to have been around for decades, perhaps even hundreds of years. And yet they are brand new. With a blend of gospel, doo-wop, rock, and soul, Bergman offers an authentic bent on music that is timeless.
Read MoreWow. That’s the only word that can be used to describe what happened Monday night in the National Basketball Association.
To start the night, the Dallas Mavericks, after trading away generational superstar Luka Dončić, won the 2025 draft lottery, giving them the right to take Duke standout Cooper Flagg. Then, just two hours later, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum injured himself so badly that it’s likely he’s out for a long time. Things happen quickly in the NBA.
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