Covering the Lakers: Like a 'shot of espresso'

Reflecting fans' opinions about the Lakers, Sports reporter Mike Bresnahan's stories tend to be either loathed or loved.

Fans agree on one thing, though: Bresnahan's stories have to be read. His articles on the pro basketball team typically rank among the most viewed on latimes.com, no matter what other news breaks out, be it business, politics or sports. Covering the team keeps him busy...too busy, as he says. As Deputy Sports Editor Mike James puts it, "Basically, Mike starts working in September and doesn't have a day off until June."

And, as Bresnahan himself puts it, "It's pretty much guaranteed that many of my stories about the Lakers will be loved by half the readers and hated by the other half.  €œFans demand that the team wins the NBA championship every year and then get agitated when it doesn't happen."

Bresnahan follows the team through nearly 90 games that stretch from the preseason in September through April -- or late June, depending on how the team fares. Reader interest is year-round, so being the beat writer for Los Angeles' most popular pro team is, too: In 2007, Bresnahan wrote 343 stories about the Lakers.

The sports writer, who has covered the team for four years and been with The Times for 14 years, answers a few questions about the wit and wisdom of athletes he's reported on, and what it's like to have to file a story on a game only 15 minutes after it's ended.

Q. Can you give an idea of how players or coaches respond when you’ve written something they don’t like?

A. I’ve seen quite a few reactions in only five years of covering pro sports.

Sometimes players and coaches react passively, complaining to a team public-relations representative, who will then come to me with the grievance as a third party.

I prefer more direct problem-solving, to hear from the aggrieved persons themselves, although one experience I had while covering the L.A. Kings probably swung too far.

One of their former players — a big, burly forward — was angry after I wrote that he was probably going to be sent down to the Kings’ minor-league affiliate because he wasn’t scoring enough to balance out the ridiculous number of penalty minutes he was accruing.

He interrupted my interview with another player to ask me in a not-so-polite fashion why I wrote what I did. I stood up, looked him in the eye and calmly told him that all he needed to do to improve his situation was to start scoring. In fact, I told him that if he scored a goal in their game that night, I would write about it. (The Kings scored so little that season that almost every time it happened, I would describe the play and, of course, mention who got the goal.)

The player weighed my response for a second and stalked out of the locker room without another word.

The player I was interviewing before being interrupted, future Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille, was practically doubled over in laughter when I turned around to resume the interview.

The offended player did not score that night. He was sent down to the minor leagues a few days later.

Q. How many days of the year are you on the road — more than 41 road games a year, right?

I spent exactly 100 nights in hotels last year. It can be a grind, especially when the Lakers play road games on holidays, while my family and friends are back home in Los Angeles.

I sometimes get exhausted from the travel, and I’m not even playing the games, just watching and reporting on them.

Just the same, I enjoy my job about 98% of the time. Truly. There’s something new every day and there’s an unpredictability about covering the Lakers that keeps things fresh.

Q. For a typical game story, how long does it take to interview players and file a story?

A. Ahhh, game nights, the true definition of organized chaos.

Most games begin at 7:30 and end at about 10 p.m. Sometimes they go until 10:15 if there is overtime or a bad injury. My story is due at 10:30 p.m.

It can get ugly, especially with the need to (a) run into the locker room to get reaction from players and (b) attend Coach Phil Jackson’s post-game news conference in a nearby room.

Either way, it’s always a rush, the equivalent of a late-night shot of espresso. No wonder I never feel tired until after midnight on game nights.

Q. Who in the organization tells the best jokes or has the best sense of humor?

A. Coach Phil Jackson has a dry, biting sense of humor that gives him the ability to make interviews an entertaining experience. Beyond that, Alex McKechnie, a team athletic performance coordinator, has a wit and wisdom that amuse players, coaches and media members.

As for the players themselves, forwards Lamar Odom and Luke Walton are insightful and humorous…unless, of course, the Lakers lose badly. Then they’re merely insightful.

Comments

[D. Katz]

Mike Bresnahan has done a sensational job of balancing the hometown fans' insatiable desire for factual reporting as well as insightful analysis. Since he is closest to the action, his opinions, while not always shared by the readership, must be respected. Only 343 stories last year?? I can't wait to see what he produces during a Leap Year.

[Dr Len]

Mike is a class act. Doesn't look at the game with a negative approach. It always half full. If not totally full.
He communicates to high and low all the same.
Times is lucky to have him. Make him a full columnist.

[db]

of all the media coverage surrounding the lakers, bresnahan is the first one i read when finding out what's going on with the team. his articles are objective, on target and enjoyable to read. he makes sure to keep phil jackson's humorous (sometimes malapropistic) comments in context when some tend to interpret those innocuous statements as controversial in order to drum up a story.

keep it up mike.