Chick Hearn, R.I.P.

If you grew up in Los Angeles, as I did, you just lost a close friend. Chick Hearn, the play-by-play announcer of the Lakers, died yesterday. He broadcast 3,338 consecutive games, from 1965 until last year, and invented phrases that define today’s game—air ball, slam dunk, finger roll, garbage time. He was the voice of the Lakers and of Los Angeles, and in lots of homes, kids heard him speak more than their fathers. It’s no fun when childhood legends pass away.