FanHouse MagicJohnson

LOS ANGELES -- No doubt, LeBron James gets it. He already owned the brain and the brawn for solo greatness, but he now has the ability to spread his killer instinct to folks in his locker room. The same goes for Chauncey Billups, the primary reason why the Denver Nuggets have dribbled this far into an NBA postseason for the first time since the start of the second Reagan Administration.

Kobe Bryant?

Not so much.

Actually, it's been not at all, at least compared to James, Billups and others in league history. With every playoff game that the Kobe Lakers fail to display the passion of a champion, you have to question Bryant's ability to inspire. That's why nobody inside Staples Center Tuesday night had a clue about whether the Lakers would open the Western Conference Finals against Denver as that wimpy bunch that struggled against the inferior and injured Houston Rockets or as a replica of their lordly forefathers, ranging from Jerry West to Magic Johnson to Shaquille O'Neal.

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If a rivalry between LeBron James' Cavaliers and Kobe Bryant's Lakers doesn't come to pass, it's not going to be because the two have formed an off-court relationship in recent years.

It will be because one of those teams -- and likely one of those players -- faltered on the way to the NBA Finals. And not just faltered this year, but next year and the year after that and so on.

There's no doubt the NBA fraternity of players has gotten more close-knit over the years, and nobody likes the excessive glad-handing and embracing before games. But so what if James and Bryant are friends?

The more you think about it, the more you start realizing the table is set.

We're on the verge of something really big here. Something a little different and a lot better than just your run-of-the-mill playoffs with a nice matchup for the NBA Finals.

What we have is the possibility of a classic NBA rivalry beginning: A rivalry not unlike the one between Larry Bird and the Celtics and Magic Johnson and the Lakers from 25 years ago.

Isiah Thomas once cornered me in a hallway and issued a warning, mob-boss-like. "If you squeeze me again, you'll be sorry," he said. I'm not certain what warranted the threat -- and it's nice to know I haven't awakened to a horse's head in my bed -- but it was a classic snapshot of what King Isiah was like when he ruled the world, when he was a two-time NBA champion, when he was the best little man who ever played the game.

Now, years later, he is humbled, deleting the mountains of scandalous cache in his personal hard drive and rebooting himself amid the smallest of templates. He is escaping New York, where his dreadful tenure as boss and coach of the Knicks was exacerbated by a sexual-harassment case against him, and attempting to salvage his career and life at Florida International University, where a basketball team that hasn't had a winning season in 10 years played to average crowds of 693 fans last season.

'HouseCast is FanHouse's audio podcast. Watch out. You might just get what you're after.

"Burning Down the 'House," the most popular podcast on FanHouse, storms the court in its return to the airwaves this week as Ryan Wilson and Will Brinson chat with special guest Seth Davis -- CBS analyst and SI.com writer, as well as author of the new book "When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed College Basketball" -- to talk about Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson, "bloggable stories" and the Cameron Crazies. Additionally, Brett Pollakoff swings by to discuss the state of the NBA, the MVP race, and Shaq on Twitter. We also talk to Michael David Smith for a quick take on whether or not Jay Cutler is "a little b*tch." So, ease your chair back, stop working and indulge.

Hit the jump to listen to the audio or download specific segments, or right-click here to download the full MP3.

Everyone knows that Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom grew up idolizing Magic Johnson. Although he hasn't had the same success as Magic, it's obvious that Odom patterned a lot of his game after him. Like Magic, Odom is a point guard in a power forward's body who is at his best when he is aggressively pushing the ball on a fast break.

Playing with Kobe Bryant has forced Odom to become more of a traditional power forward, but luckily, Odom had another childhood hero to help him prepare for the physicality of the power forward position. Here's Jannis Carr of the O.C. Register with the scoop:

Odom said his favorite [wrestler] is "Ric Flair," a retired professional wrestler known for his platinum blonde locks, in-ring antics and use of the catchphrase, "Woooooo!" Odom said he cried as a boy when he discovered the action wasn't real.

One of his most cherished birthday gifts was one of Flair's trademark full-length robes, replete with rhinestones, sequins and colorful feathers along the neckline.

The Lakers should spice things up a bit and let Odom rock that robe for his warm up outfit before games. Or maybe they can let him cut a promo like this.

As well, now that I know Ric Flair was one of Odom's childhood heroes, I understand this random act of violence on Ray Allen last season. Allen is just lucky Odom didn't put the figure four leg lock on him and make him tap out.

FanHouse was recently fortunate enough to get some one-on-one time with NBA legend Magic Johnson. Magic was promoting his new book, "32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business", so when he came through New York, I got the chance to sit down with him in a back room at the NBA Store in midtown Manhattan.

But before jumping into the interview, I should set the stage by saying that the bulk of our conversation was about Magic Johnson the businessman, not Magic Johnson the sports legend. And trust me when I say that that's a good thing. Everyone already knows Magic as an athlete and a sports announcer. There's just not much new information to glean there. But boardroom Magic is another matter entirely. I was surprised at how outspoken and passionate Magic was when talking about things like the state of our faltering economy, and what his thoughts are on government bailouts for struggling corporations. In short, it's easy to see why Magic has been able to drum up nearly a billion dollars in investments for his various enterprises.

Oh, and another highlight to the interview was Magic talking about his support for Barack Obama and whether he's been in talks with the president-elect about a position on his staff. That's probably worth checking out too. Enjoy.

Randy Kim: What was more difficult for you, finding success in the business world or finding success as an athlete?
Magic Johnson: Definitely in the business world, finding success there, because in sports, the ball's in your hand and you're going to make something happen. You can control the tempo and the flow of a game. In business, you can do everything right and you still may not get the deal. It was hard to sell retailers and people on the fact that I wanted to invest in urban America.

ESPN is all about making the big splash. And what's bigger than inking Earvin "Magic" Johnson to a broadcasting contract, just mere days after he blasted a pair of radio hosts for accusing him of faking AIDS?(Aside: Really, radio show people? Really?)

Answer: Not much. So it makes sense that the WWL announced today that they will employ Magic throughout the season in various roles as an NBA analyst. However, the coverage he'll provide is somewhat curious as the press release seems to indicate that he will only be working on Christmas Day and during the postseason.

"Magic has always been one of the most accomplished people in every field he has endeavored. He was an incomparable player and has become one of the best NBA analysts in the business. His unique insights, perspective and personality will be the perfect complement to Stuart (Scott), Mike (Wilbon) and Jon (Barry)," said [NORBY!] Williamson.

"I am thrilled to be a part of the ESPN family. I look forward to working with a great team and covering all the big NBA events," said Johnson. "Christmas Day can't come soon enough for me."

See what I mean? The season doesn't exactly start then. Which makes me wonder why ESPN bothered locking him up to a deal if they're only going to give him coverage twice a year.

Radio talk show hosts are often accused of saying outrageous things, and often by people who didn't even hear them say the supposedly outrageous thing in the first place. But when speaking about a famous athlete who was forced to retire after contracting HIV, and saying that they think he "faked AIDS," I think we can all agree that's going a bit too far.

Such is the case with Minneapolis radio hosts Chris Baker and Langdon Perry, who attempted to make this joke at Magic Johnson's expense. Listen for yourself to their ridiculously insensitive comments, then we'll reconvene.



"He's the only cured AIDS guy ever." Nice. Predictably, Magic himself was not amused. His response to these clowns, after the jump.