Chick Hearn is honored with a Staples statue

By Mike Bresnahan

April 20, 2010 12 AM PT

The rain ended just in time, perhaps knowing it could never stop Chick Hearn in his days as a Lakers broadcaster, so why cause an issue at the unveiling of his bronze statue Tuesday outside Staples Center.

The man who once called 3,338 consecutive Lakers games — getting there every time despite rain, snow or otherwise — is shown sitting at a table while wearing a headset, looking like he’s midsentence while calling a game. A chair next to him remains open, allowing fans to take photographs in it.

Hearn’s widow, Marge, was the first to sit in the chair after the 45-minute ceremony in front of a crowd of about 500. She kissed her right hand and then placed it gently on the cheek of her husband’s statue.

“This is as good as it gets, to have this in your life,” she said. “Fabulous day. Just fabulous.”

Byron Scott and James Worthy spoke during the ceremony, emceed by Lakers TV color commentator Stu Lantz and attended by numerous Lakers luminaries and personnel including Kurt Rambis, Bill Sharman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Norm Nixon, Rick Fox, Mitch Kupchak, Jeanie Buss and former Lakers TV producer Susan Stratton.

“We miss him terribly,” Scott said. “Chick could make you feel the game. He had that type of ability. He was the greatest that ever did it and the best to ever do it.”

Hearn joins Magic Johnson, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya as the statues in front of Staples Center. Hearn’s statue weighs 5,000 pounds and was created by Omri Amrany.

“No matter what neighborhood you came from … Chick created that harmony, that family,” Worthy said. “It all started with the voice of Chick Hearn. He was a special, special man. He lives with us every day.”

Hearn was the Lakers’ play-by-play announcer from 1961 to 2002.

No award, but new ‘do

Ron Artest is still mad.

He played the early part of this season at about 280 pounds after adding muscle during the off-season and, in a direct correlation in his mind, finished a distant sixth in the voting for NBA defensive player of the year.

“I probably would have been higher if I had been lighter for the whole season,” Artest said. “Next year, I’m definitely going to come in lighter. I always wanted to play at 280 [pounds], and it just didn’t work for me defensively. I lost 20 pounds during the season, which is pretty much unheard of, and I came back to almost my prime defensively.”

Orlando center Dwight Howard won the award for the second consecutive season, finishing with 576 voting points, followed by Atlanta forward Josh Smith (136 points). Artest totaled 29 points, receiving seven second-place votes and eight third-place votes.

Kobe Bryant finished 12th with nine points, receiving one second-place vote and six third-place votes. The award was selected by 122 media members throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Artest won the award once, in 2004.

“I had my chance to have two or three of them,” he said. “One year, I got suspended, and I probably would have gotten it that year. Another year, I got in a lot of trouble and Ben Wallace got it.”

Artest arrived Tuesday with a new look, the off-orange dye job in his hair replaced by purple and gold asymmetrical waves, and accompanied by a gold-dyed soul patch. There are no letters or characters in his hair.

Artest said there was “no meaning” in his new look.

“Usually I always tell him what to do, but I just told him to go ahead and do it, and he did what he had to do,” Artest said of his barber.

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