Making it to the Final Four is commonplace for Lakers

Lakers fans are spoiled. . . .

From Elgin Baylor and Jerry West to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Lakers have reached the NBA’s version of the Final Four a whopping 29 times in 49 seasons in Los Angeles. . . .

That’s a record even John Wooden would envy. . . .

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic are a longer shot to upset the Cleveland Cavaliers than Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets are of upsetting the Lakers, according to odds posted at Bodog.com. . . .

When Luis Scola had little impact on Game 7 after torching the Lakers in Game 6, Lakers radio analyst Mychal Thompson referred to the Houston Rockets forward as “Diet Scola.” . . .

If the Arizona Cardinals can reach the Super Bowl with Kurt Warner, why not the Minnesota Vikings with Brett Favre? . . .

While baseball is rolling back the starting times for World Series games, maybe it should go one step further, tip its cap to tradition and schedule late October day games. . . .

Don’t hold your breath. . . .

Banjo-hitting Juan Pierre has a chance to do something that no major leaguer has done in nearly 40 years: win a batting title without hitting a home run. . . .

The last to do it: Rod Carew of the Minnesota Twins in 1972. . . .

Pierre, starting while Manny Ramirez serves a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy, has hit one home run in two-plus seasons with the Dodgers. . . .

Speaking of Ramirez, why shouldn’t he be embarrassed and why shouldn’t his teammates expect an apology from him? . . .

Before anyone else compares Clayton Kershaw to Sandy Koufax, as Joe Torre did Sunday, maybe we should wait until he makes at least, say, his 30th major league start. . . .

That happens this week. . . .

John Lackey’s two-pitch season debut probably brought a smile to the face of former Dodgers right-hander Don Newcombe, who was with the Cincinnati Reds in 1960 when he was ejected from a game before making even a single pitch. . . .

Newcombe was tossed after arguing with home-plate umpire Dusty Boggess about the length of the pitcher’s shirt sleeves. . . .

While former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Roger Brown will be inducted this summer into the College Football Hall of Fame, reader Paul Berke of Los Angeles e-mails to note, “The most successful pigskin alum of Maryland Eastern Shore plays the sax: the Big Man, Clarence Clemons.” . . .

The Bruce Springsteen sidekick reportedly was once offered a tryout by the Cleveland Browns. . . .

Only John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl squared off in finals more often than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who Sunday in Madrid met for the 16th time with a title on the line. . . .

Federer is 5-11 in finals against his Spanish nemesis. . . .

McEnroe was 11-8 against Lendl. . . .

The Kings quietly returned to the Forum last month -- or at least defenseman Kyle Quincey and winger John Zeiler did, playing themselves in “Tooth Fairy,” a movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ashley Judd and Billy Crystal. . . .

The New York Yankees must keep an unlimited supply of whipped cream pies in their new clubhouse. . . .

“Kassim the Dream,” a critically acclaimed documentary that tells the story of Kassim Ouma’s rise from Ugandan child soldier to world champion boxer, is in its final days of a brief run at the Laemmle Town Center 5 in Encino. . . .

The top-ranked UC Irvine baseball team is 20-1 in Big West Conference play, especially noteworthy considering the conference annually ranks among the nation’s deepest. . . .

Asked and answered: The old man with the walker who stars with Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Julius Erving in a T-Mobile commercial is a Florida actor named Stan Cortel. . . .

Has David Beckham raised soccer’s profile in the U.S. yet? . . .

The late Wayman Tisdale won a gold medal playing alongside Michael Jordan at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. . . .

In an interview last year, the former NBA player and chart-topping jazz bassist said of the experience, “Bobby Knight was a raging maniac. He put us through pure hell. For most of that summer, I thought my name was . . . head.”

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