An Entry Guide to Goldstein and Gasol

Goldstein and Gasol is an exploration of Lakers fandom, L.A. history, and the 2019-2020 Lakers. Inspired by Julie & Julia, Goldstein and Gasol is a collection of 82 recipes from the 1985 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers Are Cookin’ Family Cookbook along with 82 essays about the wide range of Showtime-era Angelenos who contributed to this book. 

Stars like Magic and Kareem. Celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Gilda Radner. Coaches, trainers, and owners. Governors and mayors. Businessmen, receptionists, sportswriters, and, of course, Chick Hearn. These were the disparate people brought together by the Lakers Ladies, the leaders of the team’s charitable arm, to help write a book that now serves as a snapshot of a team at the peak of its success and a city on the brink of social upheaval.

Don’t know where to start? First, read the introductory post. Then check out all 82 posts below -- plus bonus blogs dedicated to special events like Kobe Bryant’s death and the NBA’s Covid-19 hiatus -- categorized by each person who submitted that game’s recipe.

SHOWTIME LAKERS

Magic Johnson - Sweet Potato Pie: I wrote about Magic Johnson and the joy of quitting a job you hate.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - A Great Paella: An examination of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s lifelong obsession with jazz and the role it played in softening his unfairly earned public perception after his 3,000 record jazz collection burned down in a house fire.

Kurt Rambis - Italian Chopped Salad: After his 14 year NBA career came to an end, Showtime Lakers fan favorite Kurt Rambis became a Lakers assistant coach with a goal of one day coaching his old team. With the support of GM Jerry West and another key ally in future owner Jeanie Buss, his wife’s best friend, it looked like an inevitability. But then Jeanie’s boyfriend, Phil Jackson, entered the picture.

James Worthy - Pan Fried Fish: I explore one of the biggest What Ifs in NBA history: What if the Lakers, after losing in the 1986 Western Conference Finals, panicked and traded away Big Game James Worthy to the Dallas Mavericks? 

Mitch Kupchuk - Polish Sausage with Cabbage: A piece on future Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, the namesake of this blog. As a child, Pau decided to devote his life to medicine after seeing Magic Johnson’s HIV press conference. But as he grew into his 7 foot frame, the Spanaird took a different path, one that will end up with his jersey hanging up in the Staples Centers rafters next to Magic’s.

Byron Scott - Omelette a la Scott: The Showtime Lakers shooting guard was a scoring machine but as its head coach from 2014 - 2016, he presided over the two worst seasons in franchise history. But did he deserve the ire of fans and the media? Or did he accept the job knowing he was to be a highly paid tank commander who would be fired early?

Larry Spriggs - My Very Own Brownies: The time Larry Spriggs (allegedly) started a nightclub fight that left one man dead and two NBA players in danger of spending years in a Turkish prison.

Bob McAdoo - McAdoodle Doo: Sharpshooter Bob McAdoo, the 1975 NBA MVP, paved the way for modern big men like Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Attentekoupo. But when the Lakers signed him in 1982, he was blackballed from the league. What happened and why were the Lakers able to pick up an integral part of their 1982 and 1985 championship teams off the scrap heap?

Chuck Nevitt - Grandpa’s Pound Cake: At 7’5”, Chuck Nevitt was EASILY the tallest person to suit up for the purple and gold, a list that includes Shaq, Wilt, and Kareem. In this piece, I look into three of the lesser known big fellas who topped out over 7 feet. One is now an IT analyst, one trains harness race horses, and the other is an active commentator in the LinkedIn community. Really big, really weird.

Ronnie Lester - Sauteed Scallops: In 2011, NBA owners locked out their players in an attempt to get a bigger share of the revenue pie. Hundreds of people lost their jobs. One was former Showtime Laker Ronnie Lester who spent the previous 24 years as the Lakers’ assistant GM.

Jamaal Wilkes - Curry Baked Chicken: A review of the 1975 Jamaal Wilkes drama Cornbread, Earl, and Me, a film about the racist inequities in the criminal justice system.

Michael Cooper - Green Chile Burritos: A piece about Showtime Laker and L.A. native, Michael Cooper, the defensive standout who’s arguably the best Laker who hasn’t had his jersey retired.

Mike McGee - Rolleden: Mike McGee was nicknamed “Points A Minute” by Chick Hearn for his scoring ability off the bench. But his one-sided game frustrated GM Jerry West, who tried to trade him from the moment Jerry Buss overruled him and selected McGee over future All-Star Larry Nance, father of future Laker Larry Nance, Jr.

LAKER LADIES

Linda Rambis - Fettuccine in Cream Sauce: I wrote about Linda Rambis, the wife of Showtime Laker great Kurt Rambis and best friend of Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, and why she is nicknamed the “shadow owner” of the Lakers.

Angela Worthy - Pecan Pie: How Angela Worthy, ex-wife of James Worthy, reinvented herself as a family therapist following her husband’s public infidelity and created the concept of “Powerful Mate Syndrome.”

Valerie Wilkes - Johnny Cakes: A look at John Costello, the late actor best known for his role as Johnny Cakes on season 6A of The Sopranos.

COACHES

Pat Riley #1 - Riley’s Roll: A feature on Showtime Lakers head coach Pat Riley’s iconic slicked back hair-do and its evolution from his feathered playing days to his current polar bear white incarnation as the Miami Heat’s president.

Pat Riley #2 - Star of the Sea Salad: A look at the fashionable Showtime Lakers coach’s GQ wardrobe, how it influenced the way NBA coaches dressed, and how players have started expanding on Riley’s sartorial style 15 years after the NBA instituted its racist dress code.

Bill Bertka (assistant coach) - Stuffed Peppers: A piece on longtime Lakers assistant coach/scout/consultant (1971 - present) Bill Bertka, whose videotaped practices revolutionized scouting.

Dave Wohl (assistant coach) - Shrimp Bisque: A deep dive into current Lakers head coach Frank Vogel’s six assistant coaches: Jason Kidd, Lionel Hollins, Phil Handy, Mike Penberthy, Miles Simon, and Quinton Crawford.

MEDICAL STAFF

Gary Vitti (head trainer) - Logie Trail Salmon: When the World Champion Lakers Are Cookin’ Championship Cookbook was released in 1985, Gary Vitti was a rookie trainer in a league where locker rooms were stocked with Cokes and Coors. When he retired 31 years later, the pioneering nutritionist, fitness guru, extra bench coach, and the man whom players called at 3am when their child was sick had ushered in a new era of athletic recovery.

Jack Curran (former trainer) - Hot Crab Dip: The current Lakers head trainer holds a degree in kinesiology and a master’s degree in sports health care. But in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, the Lakers put a former truck driver with no medical background in charge of the players’ health regiment. Like most team trainers in this era, Curran also served as the team’s traveling secretary. Naturally, Curran left the Lakers in 1984 after he was poached… by the FBI.

Dr. Robert Kerlan (chief team physician) - Peaches Brulee: Bored with treating businessmen and housewives, Dr. Robert Kerlan sought a job with the new-in-town Dodgers in 1958. Expected by the team to treat fainting fans, he and partner Dr. Frank Jobe instead revolutionized sports medicine.

Dr. Steve Lombardo (team physician) - Rice Crispy Cheese Basketball Crisps: A piece about my grandpa, Dr. Howard Goldstein, former team doctor to the UCLA Men’s Basketball team and an on-call Dodger Stadium doctor.

Larry Paben (team dentist) - Honeymoon Salad: A short feature on Dr. Larry Paben, team dentist for the Lakers and Kings for several decades.

RETIRED PLAYERS

Tommy Hawkins - Veal Scaloppine: After longtime Dodgers GM Al Campanis got fired following a racist Nightline interview, the Dodgers hired a new VP of communications. That man was Tommy Hawkins, a beloved local sports broadcaster, former Laker, poet, college professor, union leader, and jazz DJ who helped integrate Notre Dame men’s basketball as a college student. 

Swen Nater - Nater’s Taters: The bizarre story of 6’11” Duchman Swen Nater, who was abandoned as a child, only to then be kidnapped from his orphanage by American TV producers who reunited him with his mother on the 1950s TV show This is Your Life.

Elgin Baylor - Sweet Potato Pie: The sad, desperate relationship between disgraced Clippers owner Donald Sterling and Lakers Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor⁣.

Wilt Chamberlain - Shrimp Curry: A look at Wilt Chamberlain’s lone season with the Harlem Globetrotters, a financially lucrative campaign he undertook to subvert the crooked tandem of the NCAA and a pre-free agency NBA.

Gail Goodrich - Broccoli and Cheese Casserole: L.A. native and Hall of Fame Laker Gail Goodrich’s biggest contribution to the Lakers came as a member of the Utah Jazz. In 1976, Goodrich signed with the Jazz as a free agent. Then the anti-labor NBA forced them to give up several draft picks to the Lakers, one of which was used to select Magic Johnson in 1979.

Lynn Shackelford - Chinese Chicken Salad: Over his 42 years, Chick Hearn didn’t have sidekicks so much as he had silent Yes Men. I did a deep dive into all six of his color commentators: From legendary broadcaster Al Michaels to future coach Pat Riley to former Laker Stu Lantz, Chick’s final sidekick who wasn’t afraid to speak out and who formed the lasting partnership known as Chick n’ Stu.

Happy Hairston - Winter Greek Salad: Happy Hairston, a member of the 1972 championship team, earned his nickname. Only it wasn’t for his own jovial demeanor. It was for the joy he brought to countless underprivileged Angeleno children through his Happy Hairston Youth Foundation.⁣

Rudy LaRusso - Crab Bisque: A piece on former Laker Jordan Farmar and the history of Jews in the NBA.

FRONT OFFICE

Jerry Buss (owner) - 7 Layer Dip: The late Lakers owner was many things. A dedicated playboy, a devoted if imperfect father, a real estate mogul worth $600 million, and a literal rocket scientist. He was also a semi-pro poker player who loved to play cards at working class South Bay casinos. Plus, a few words from me about the then-day old death of Kobe Bryant.

Claire Rothman (president and GM, The Forum) - Strawberries Romanoff: An interview with Claire Rothman, the trailblazing woman who ran The Forum from 1975-1995 and who introduced future Lakers owner Jerry Buss to then-owner Jack Kent Cooke.

Gene Tormohlen (scout) - Julie's Candy Dills: In 1989, the Lakers needed to replace the retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a young center in the NBA Draft. Owner Jerry Buss overruled longtime scout Gene Tormohlen and the entire scouting department to select a chain-smoking, zero-English-speaking, military-service-looming Serbian from Yugoslavia who had never been seen in person by any Lakers personnel: Vlade Divac.

Bob Steiner (PR director, California Sports) - Rich Chocolate Cake: A piece exploring how Jerry Buss used the purchase of minor league tennis, hockey, and soccer teams to get closer to his estranged children and teach them the family business. Following his death in 2013, these lessons were put into action when his oldest daughter Jeanie successfully fended off a legal coup from her two brothers and banished them not only from the family business, but the family itself.

Janice Wise (PR assistant) - Fruit Cobbler: I explored the NBA’s resumption within the Orlando Bubble in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases and the George Floyd protest movement.

Lou Baumeister (president, California Sports) - Meltaways: When Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, Kings, and The Forum, he brought with him two of his trusted business partners/friends that he’d known since their days as chemists. One of them was the late Lou Baumeister, a man with no sports experience who suddenly found himself running the day-to-day financial operations of the Lakers and The Forum. I spoke with his son Tony, now in his 40s, about what it was like to literally grow up in the Showtime Lakers family.

Bill Sharman (president) - Amaretto Cheese Platter: As a Hall of Fame player for the Boston Celtics in ‘50s and ‘60s, Sharman played a big role in making sure the Lakers were synonymous with losing. But after he was named head coach of the Lakers in 1971, Sharman immediately turned around the franchise. Not only did he win a title in his first year but he later built the Showtime Lakers as the team’s GM. 

Josh Rosenfeld (PR director) - Peanut Butter and Bacon on Toast: A piece on Showtime Lakers PR director Josh Rosenfeld, a man whose job was to make sure the players and the organization always looked good. 

Rosemary Garmong (assistant to Jerry Buss) - Fruit Salad: I wrote about Rosemary Garmong, personal assistant to Lakers owners Jack Kent Cooke and Jerry Buss, and the difference between typical Hollywood assistants and the more financially lucrative career assistant.

Mary Lou Liebich (coach’s administrative assistant) - Baked Chicken Reuben: A brief look at the time Pat Riley’s assistant tried to book a mid-season trip to The Bahamas.

Jerry West (GM) #1 - Sangria: The Hall of Fame Lakers player and executive hates that his silhouette is the NBA logo. I came up with several new options to replace him.

Jerry West #2 - Spicy Eggnog: I rank Jerry West’s best moves as a GM and executive for the Lakers, Grizzlies, Warriors, and Clippers. Highlights include threatening to quit if the Warriors swapped Klay Thompson for Kevin Love and the summer he traded for a high school graduate out of Philadelphia named Kobe Bryant.

Jerry West #3 - Stuffed Potato Skins: In “honor” of Jerry West receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Trump, I made my best guesses about which Dodgers from their 2017-2018 pennant winning teams voted for Trump.

Jerry West #4 - World’s Best Strawberry Cheesecake: I ranked all six of Jerry West’s losses to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals on the HEARTBREAK scale.

Jerry West #5 - Sweet Apple Saute: I wrote about the fractured relationship between Jerry and his mother Cecile, two people whose lives were irreparably broken by the death of the family’s favorite son, David, in the Korean War.

Jerry West #6 - Old Fashioned Lemonade: A piece examining Jerry West’s lifelong battle with clinical depression.

BROADCASTING

Chick Hearn (announcer) - Mustard Chicken Breasts:  I wrote about the late Chick Hearn, the iconic Lakers play-by-play announcer from 1960-2002, and how he compared to Vin Scully, the other beloved L.A. broadcast legend.

Susan Stratton (director) - Carrot Cake: For Lakers fans of a certain age, their memories are tinged with the UHF waves of a KCAL 9 broadcast. And from 1977 until 2002, the director behind those telecasts was Susan Stratton.

Keith Erickson (color commentator) - Adrienne’s Tacos: I look at the L.A. Times’ decision to print hateful letters responding to a story about the drug overdose death of Keith Erickson’s daughter and how it served as a repulsive presage to modern internet comments culture.

Monty Bancroft (radio engineer) - Broiled Salmon with Dill: A look at my brief high school obsession with local sports talk radio. A piece starring names known mainly to 50-something Angeleno men, like Matt “Money” Smith, Petros Papadakis, the Loose Cannons, and Vic “The Brick” Jacobs.

Ed Henry (KABC anchorman) -  Ed’s Porkchop 7: A photographic journey about ABC 7 weatherman/icon Dallas Raines.

POLITICIANS

Governor George Deukmejian - Armenian Salad: A piece about Governor George Deukmejian (1983 - 1991), a politician who was as disastrous for California as Ronald Reagan, yet one who has been mostly forgotten by Californians.

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley - Mrs. Tom Bradley’s Chili: A piece about the decades-long rivalry between Mayor Tom Bradley and LAPD Chief Daryl Gates and how it reached its boiling point in 1992.

Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent - Ginger Cookies: A look into Inglewood’s past and present. From its beginnings as a hub for California’s KKK and its rise as a city for middle class black and brown Angelenos to its championship days as the home of the Lakers and its economic blight following their departure to Staples Center to its present day as a casualty of SoFi Stadium-expedited gentrification.

State Controller Ken Cory - Apple Nut Cake: A self-described “basketball bum,” State Controller Ken Cory was a fixture in California Democratic politics for over two decades. But after a surprise declination in 1986 to run for a fourth term, Cory set in motion the events that would lead to Arnold Schwarzenegger being elected governor 20 years later.

CELEBRITIES

Henry Winkler - Becky’s Baked Beans: A piece on the rapid gentrification occurring in Thai Town centered on the former Steve Allen Theater and Henry Winkler’s tenuous connection to it.

Bob Colbert - Beef Brisket: I examined the inverse careers of Jack Nicholson, a character actor who forced Hollywood to accept him as a leading man, and Lamar Odom, a high school phenom touted as the next Magic Johnson who found his greatest on-court success as the key bench player for two championship Lakers teams.

Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner - A Wilder Marinade of Fish: The brief but iconic comedy partnership and marriage between Laker fans Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner.

Jack Nicholson - Soft Scrambled Eggs: A look at four celebrity Lakers fans who aren’t the typical celebrity fans showcased on ABC/ESPN broadcasts.

Frank Robinson - Chicken and Walnuts: A piece on Hall of Fame baseball player and longtime Lakers season ticket holder Frank Robinson. In 1975, Robinson became MLB’s first black manager, a groundbreaking position not unlike Jackie Robinson three decades earlier, but one that he fought to achieve on his own terms, not those set by a white executive

Steven Jackson - “Meranges”: A look at former L.A. Gear CEO Steven Jackson, owner of eight courtside seats who built a replica of the Staples Center court in his mansion, and the time the Lakers chose his sweaty, entitled son’s side in an altercation with Lakers guard Steve Blake.

Walter Matthau - Kasha and Pork Goulash: Denzel Washington is one of the many regular celebrity fans spotted at Lakers games. But when he was a rising star whose wallet got fat enough to purchase season tickets, he got his pair from The Odd Couple themselves: Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

Tom and Claire Callaway - Guacamole Santa Fe: A piece on Tom Callaway, ‘80s actor turned successful interior designer, and my own self-examination of why I continue to work in Hollywood despite knowing how brutal it is as an industry.

SPORTSWRITERS

Thomas Bonk - Quiche Sombrero: An interview with Thomas Bonk, who worked the Showtime Lakers beat for the Los Angeles Times.

Frank Brady - Marinated Chicken Strips: 11 games into the 1979-1980 season, new Lakers coach Jack McKinney’s decision to start Magic Johnson at guard paid off, as the rookie fit perfectly with McKinney’s fast-paced offense. But before that 12th game, a near fatal bike accident cost McKinney his job -- a position he only got because of an unsolved murder -- and his place in NBA history.

Scott Ostler - Scott Ostler Omelette: An interview with Scott Ostler, former sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the short-lived but influential daily sports paper The National.

Mitch Chortkoff - Chicken and Broccoli: Mitch Chortkoff, who covered the Lakers from 1960 to his death in 2018, was the dean of the Lakers press corp. I let his former colleagues due to the eulogizing for him with a collection of tweets, Facebook posts, and new quotes given to me by sportswriters like J.A. Adande and Thomas Bonk.

Mike Ventre - Pasta with Artichokes: An interview with Mike Ventre, who covered the Showtime Lakers are a member of the Daily News.

Eileen Miller - Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake: I explore my career jump from producer’s assistant to researcher and how I missed out on a dream job revolving around the Showtime Lakers.

FANS

Eulene Rowell - Cool Jello: An interview with Julie Powell, the writer of Julie & Julia, the book and movie that inspired Goldstein and Gasol.

Howard and Ruth Hirsch - Mexican Party Dip Platter: I interviewed Geo Valle, bassist in the Laker Band for over 30 years, about what it was like to play a concert for 18,000 people from the Showtime days to the Kobe and Gasol era.

Sam Nassi - Anka's Coffee Cake: The story of Ann Meyers, the only woman to ever participate in an NBA training camp, and whether Sam Nassi, the Indiana Pacers owner who invited her, was a huckster or a genuine ally.

Kay Miller - Tropical Crab Louie: I wrote about the Rotblatt-Amrany family -- Omri, Julie, and their son Isatar -- who have designed and sculpted all of the massive bronze statues of Laker greats outside of Staples Center.

Susan and Joe Bua - Potato Pancakes: I cook a recipe by Jerry West’s sister-in-law and dive deep into my complicated relationship with Judaism.

Jo Skibby - Pecan Tassies: A feature on the mop boys and girls of the NBA, also known as team attendants. Akin to production assistants on Hollywood sets, these young basketball fans mop up sweat, handle towels, mix Gatorade, and do every low-on-the-totem-pole job you can think of inside a basketball arena.

Junji Tanaka - Crab Rolls: A piece on Ralph Lazo, the Mexican-Irish high school student from L.A. who protested the American government’s imprisonment of its own citizens by voluntarily living in the Manzanar Relocation Center with his Japanese-American friends.

Ruth and Marty Danzig - Bourbon Chicken: A piece about one of my favorite houses in the tony neighborhood of Los Feliz: An abandoned craftsman owned by Danzig that the rock legend has been trying to sell for years.

Arthur Lyons - Beef Stroganoff: A piece on Palm Springs native Arthur Lyons, a writer who brought the L.A. noir aesthetic to his hometown via a series of books and his eponymous film festival.

NON COOKBOOK POSTS

Quarter Season Review: 20 games into the season, the 2019-2020 Lakers proved the preseason naysayers (including me) wrong by going 17-3. I wrote about what went right for the team and what really went right for them.

Kobe Bryant (1972 - 2020): I tried to make sense of the most shocking moment in NBA history by collecting 20+ years of my Kobe memories as an Angeleno and Lakers fan

All Star Break Review: The Lakers were the West’s best team at the All Star Break but I didn’t really care. I wrote about the day Kobe died, the surreal week that followed, that emotional first game back featuring LeBron’s incredible from-the-heart speech, and my conflicted feelings about Kobe’s legacy.

The Goldstein and Gasol Coronavirus Hiatus Update!: One month after Rudy Gobert’s positive Covid-19 test essentially shut down the United States of America, I gave an update on my quarantine and my plans for the future of Goldstein and Gasol.