Well, they're both Spanish, for one. And that's all I've got. But for whatever reason, they make L.A.'s unlikeliest couple since O.J. and Nicole Carter and Lee Shaq and Kobe Khloe and Lamar.

When Gasol was traded from Memphis, Domingo pushed the L.A. Opera company to reach out to the big man and make him feel welcome. Now Domingo regularly attends Laker games, and Gasol goes to the opera (even when Domingo isn't performing).

I admire him a lot for his devotion and the passion that he dedicates," Gasol said of Domingo, adding that the tenor has put a positive face on Spain and is now doing the same for Los Angeles.

Domingo, for his part, suggested a parallel between his and Gasol's chosen vocations.

"A team like the Lakers, all the team plays hard, because they know they are the best, at this moment, they are the champions, no?" he said. "The same comparison is that when you are in an important position within the world of music, well, all the world hopes for the best. That is to say, the people don't come if they are not content. It's the same level. When you have the responsibility, at this height, you have to work very hard to give it."

I'm still waiting for the Times' story on Ron Artest's friendship with the late Wesley Willis.

The Lakers' Pau Gasol Gets An Opera Assist From Placido Domingo [LA Times]

•Think it was an odd year? In 2009, baseball saw 8 players hit for the cycle, three steals of home, a no-hitter, a perfect game, and an unassisted triple play. Perhaps the most mathematically improbable feat of all: Mark McGwire is back in baseball.

•The defending champion Lakers opened their season in "we played the Clippers" form, getting outshot and outrebounded but still winning. Kobe takes the early league lead in shots taken, a lead he is sure to never relinquish.

•Shaq had 10 and 10, for literally the most ineffectual double-double possible, as the Cavs fell to Boston on opening night. Rasheed Wallace didn't earn a technical, and Kevin Garnett's knee didn't explode, so all in all a good night for them.

•Speaking of the Celtics, Glen Davis will be out a couple months after breaking his thumb in a fight with a childhood friend. He'll be suspended, forfeiting a good chunk of his $3,000,000 salary. Hell, for less than half of what he stands to miss, I'll be his friend and not break his finger.

•Jimmy Rollins went on Leno and predicted Phillies in five. It was easily the funniest thing said on Leno's show since it premiered.

•Titans owner Bud Adams wants Vince Young to take over as starter. Bud Adams is 86, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he just doesn't remember how VY played when he was starting.

•Finally, in honor of A.J. Burnett's and Shane Victorino's postgame tradition of pieing teammates, a video from the archives; Soupy Sales nailing Bob Costas (go to the 1:00 mark).

This morning, Jorge Sedano had on his show one Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite BunnyRanch, the most well-known of Nevada's legal brothels. Hof, as I assume whoremongers are wont to do, eagerly spilled the beans on some of his more famous customers.

SportsByBrooks has the transcript:

Sedano: You said the owner of the Lakers has been there? Jerry Buss?

Hof: Yeah. Every year, the son, Johnny, and I have a joint birthday party every year. Every year. And we bring in a thousand of our closest friends and, uh, it's really a party. It's a great, great party. Next year, we'll get you and your lady out there.

Let's get this straight. Jerry Buss throws his son a birthday party at a brothel. Every year. And we wonder where Kobe Bryant/Ron Artest/Lamar Odom form their ideas about women.

And Johnny Buss once owned the LA Sparks, so I'm sure this news would have thrilled WNBA fans.

Lakers Jerry Buss Visits Bunny Ranch ‘Every Year' [SbB]

Blogger Kyle Slavin of the site "The Second Coming" wrote a very long (and pretty condescending) post last week explaining to Artest what it means to be a Laker and how his wild child antics will not fly with the L.A. fan base. Oh, he recognizes the talent, but if the Lakers don't repeat as NBA Champions it's pretty much going to be all Ron's fault.

Let me be absolutely clear: you absolutely cannot mess this season up. You fail here, and you will never redeem your career again. You ruin this good thing we have going in LA, and the rest of your basketball days will be tarnished by it. In LA, we fans run deep. We know our basketball, we know our history, and we have more than a passing interest in the Lake Show. We will be here longer than you. We have more influence than you. Win us over, and you will be a Hall of Famer. Lose our faith, and you will never see this level of love again.

See, people in Houston and Indianapolis might be willing to put up with technical fouls and fights, but not the good, respectful citizens of Los Angeles. So all Ron has to do is make zero mistakes, make every L.A. fan love him, and also teach Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic how to play basketball. Boom ... he's a Hall of Famer! Simple.

After a few people linked to Slavin's letter he figured he should give Artest a heads up, so he emailed him the link with an introduction. It's safe to say that Ron Ron was not amused.

No law when it comes to me.
I let you type critics write and I just keep it hood.
That will never change.
I am not kissing no ones ass because I'm in LA. Suck a cock.

As expected, Slavin's response was measured and dignified.

No, no, Ron! I was saying that I really want you to do well, dude! WTF, don't tell me to suck a cock! I wanna ROOT FOR YOU. I want you to SUCCEED, and I want you to WIN US A CHAMPIONSHIP! All these things are good for you! I don't want you to kiss anyone's ass! You're a LAKER now. Act like one!

Jesus, did you read the article?

What the hell man!

-kyle

There's more to the story—mostly commenters arguing about who is the bigger jerk here—but the epilogue is that Slavin eventually apologized and Ron has likely forgotten about it already, because his mind is on other important things like Twitter. The thing about the internet allowing athletes to engage their fans and fans being able to engage the athletes is that you can also engage your critics. I don't see how that's a bad thing, aside from all time that gets wasted answering emails. I guess this whole worldwide interconnectedness stuff is pretty awesome until you actually have to deal with people.

Reactions to The Open Letter [The Second Coming]
Ron Artest Will Respond to Your E-Mail, Which May or May Not Be a Good Thing [FanHouse]
Ron Artest: Good Basketball Player, Mediocre Man of Letters [TrueHoop]
Check your mail, Ron Ron [Los Angeles Times]

Kobe said that after the Lakers lost game six of the '08 NBA Finals in Boston by 39 points, he was alone in the shower, just fuming. He heard somebody walk in and assumed it was one of his teammates, or maybe a staff member. Instead, he looked up, and it was Ron Artest (to this day, Kobe has no idea how Artest got into the locker room).

"I want to come help you," Artest said. "If I can, I'm going to find a way to come to LA and give you the help you need to win a title."

It's always been my experience that any job interview that ends with your future employer needing to put on a towel, is not one that leads to a healthy work environment. At that point, being "hoodalized" is the least of your problems.

Ireland: Artest Told Kobe He Was Coming To L.A. [CBS 2]
Signing Ron Artest is a smart move by Lakers [Los Angeles Times]

But wait! Maybe Mark Madsen is not weeping. No, in fact he's reminiscing about that joyful day in 2001 when he stole America's heart with his clumsy clompity-clomping on stage during Shaq's victory rap. To Dana Belevedere, no less, who asked Madsen if he had any idea of how much he was embarrassing himself on stage:

"No...In fact, the only thought that went through my head was to tone it down and not be too flamboyant."

Success?

*****

Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Big brown beavers, activate.

PHOTO: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Yes, that's a puppet hand with four rings on it. (Nice catch by the boys at Waiting For Next Year on this one.) This is like the guy who wears a Metallica t-shirt while attending a Metallica concert, only Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are the type of guys who wear a Metallica t-shirt while attending a Metallica concert when they are actually in Metallica.

And great anti-prediction by TMZ. Did you really think LBJ could out-ego the master?

Eat It TMZ: Kobe Rocks His Own T-Shirt [Waiting For Next Year]
LeBron James — Most Valuable Loser [TMZ]

It took two days for the L.A. City Council to decide that yes, indeed, the Lakers will get a parade to celebrate their NBA Championship. (You mean it didn't already happen?) But only after they managed to round up enough private donors to reimburse the city for its cost. You know, since the the whole state of California is essentially a bankrupt suburban hellscape. Hmmm, I thought the Terminator guy who made Red Sonja was taking care of all that.

Rich people ... is there anything they can't do?

Anyway, head on down to the Staples Center tomorrow morning at 11 and watch Adam Morrison do a little dance. Suggested donation: $11 billion dollars. (Hey, it's for teachers.)

L.A. City Council to vote on Lakers' parade [Los Angeles Times]
Donors Fund Lakers Parade as Unions Say City Can't Afford Cost [Bloomberg]
Pittsburgh honors Penguins; 375,000 pack Downtown to cheer Stanley Cup champs [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
My Kid's Teacher is Being Laid Off [Mom Logic]

Ok, no one believes he's completely devoid of talent, but did he maybe get a boost from having three of the greatest players ever come under his wing? NBA coaches in this era seem to be praised mostly for their ability to not get in the way of their players—and he does seem to be the best at not being the way. But do his ten titles over two decades compare to the absolutely dominance of Red Auerbach and his Celtics. (He did have Bill Russell for Pete's sake.) Let's ask someone who would really know ... Red Auerbach's son!

"Not to take away from Phil, but it's a different record," said Randy Auerbach, who lives in Los Angeles. "You're talking about a record with one team in which he won the first one and then won in eight consecutive years. Phil did it with two different teams and it wasn't consistently. It's about quantity. If that's his case, good for him.

"But it has to be broken down. It's a different record. How do you compare eight in a row, nine in 10 years?"

Good point, Randy! Now, let's ask some people who aren't completely in the tank for their old man.

Mark Woods, The Guardian

This championship may be Jackson's finest hour. Pau Gasol is no Scottie Pippen or O'Neal. Even the late Auerbach could not dispute the role Jackson has had in reshaping the Lakers from the 34-win crew that stumbled through his gap year. Twelve months ago, the Boston Celtics demolished and demoralised their old rivals in the finals. Someone had to pick up the vanquished and dust them off. Two hip replacements mean that Jackson is no longer jumping up and down on the sidelines as he once did in Chicago. Yet quietly, in his own understated manner, he has done what he always did: prodding and cajoling when required, but otherwise letting his players utilise the talents within.

Charles Barkley

I don't know if he's the greatest coach of all time, but Phil Jackson is in the conversation. I mean, you win 10 championships — that's pretty impressive. But I don't think he's coming back. Phil's done. I just think he's had enough. He's definitely gone. That's just my opinion, though.

Brian McCormick, The Crossover Movement

For some reason, we expect our coaches to yell and scream. We want to see them coaching in order to believe that they have an impact on the team. When Phil Jackson sits calmly through a game and trusts his players to make the right play, somehow that diminishes his coaching ability or reputation. This public criticism permeates every level of basketball. New coaches watch the games and listen to a player pop-off about Jackson's non-coaching, and suddenly he adopts the opposite approach with his son's under-10 team, pacing the sidelines, yelling at players, calling plays every time down court, questioning officials, etc.

Larry Brown (no, not that one), Larry Brown Sports

But even if the 10 rings suggest something else, I'd still have a hard time saying that he's the greatest coach in the game when a guy like Gregg Popovich is around

Kevin Ding, Orange Country Register

He is a champion again, but he is an altogether different champion. "He has become a giver rather than just a guy who is a demanding leader. And that's been great for him and great to watch." It pushed Bryant forward even further in prioritizing his teammates' development.

(Sorry, that was written about Kobe Bryant, believe it or not.)

Harvey Araton, New York Times

True, Jackson inherited the ringless Michael Jordan in Chicago and later Shaquille O'Neal in Los Angeles. But as Jim Cleamons, a longtime Jackson assistant, said: "Every situation that Phil has coached in, the team hadn't won before he got there. That, too, is a fact."

I always believed that Jackson, with three titles at the time, certified his greatness that season [1993-94], when his Airness-less team might have gone to the finals had a referee, Hue Hollins, not made one of the worst bailout calls (for the Knicks' Hubert Davis, against Scottie Pippen) in the history of the sport.

T.J. Simers, LA Times

Phil obviously has a knack for working with headstrong, gifted athletes, and have you noticed the softening in Kobe's demeanor the last few games? It has been striking....

No question he's different now from where he was when this series started, history suggesting it's probably the Zen Master at work again — his calmness wearing off on others, and at the same time making it almost appear as if he's doing nothing. And no one does nothing better than Phil.

Jay Mariotti:

They're as different as Yoda and Danny DeVito, the Grateful Dead and Weird Al Yankovic, a complete.....

What? Oh, nevermind. Phil Jackson: He's a pretty good coach.

Any locals out in the Southland take part in the "celebration" last night? If you have your own photos/stories from the heart of darkness (or if you make it to the parade this week), send 'em in. You too, Pittsburgh. There's must be something left to burn there.

Walking downtown Los Angeles after the Lakers win the NBA championship [LA Times]
At least 25 arrested amid unrest after Lakers victory [LA Times]

Even the Magic fans watching this game with Orlando Sentinel cheat sheets knew it was over very, very early. Kobe, playing on Black Mamba "stun" setting, went 40/8/8. Look at that expression. That's Kobe's mindset right now. In or out, NBA fans.

PHOTO: Jeff Golden

****

Good morning. Welcome to Friday. Guest Editor intro post in 15 minutes. Now dance.

Of course, a Denver win would also keep Rick Reilly around, but life is full of trade-offs isn't. The truth of the matter is that while ABC, ESPN, David Stern, Nike, and anyone with a t-shirt press would love nothing more than a LeBron/Kobe final, lovers of schadenfreude everywhere would love to see them both relegated to their living rooms. As interesting as the world's two superstars squaring off in their prime might be, it would also be too predictable. And predictable equals boring.

Not like a WWE match with celebrity NBA owner impersonators getting beat up. That's the kind of stuff you can never see coming!

Game 5 is Game 7 [Denver Stiffs]
Photo Gallery Denver Nuggets [Photo via Denver Post]
Dahntay Jones relishes defensive role with Denver Nuggets [SI]
NBA - Examining this year's playoff anti-heroes [Fox]
Lakers' record doesn't matter tonight, confident Nuggets say [LA Times]
Denver's 'Birdman' phenomenon continues to take flight [Ball Don't Lie]