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Voice of the Lakers - Chick Hearn Born Francis Dayle Hearn, Chick has become the best sportscaster in the whole world. He has won many awards for his great sports announcing. He started his career in the 50�s when he was the local sportscaster for Bradley University. Then, in 1961, he began his legendary career as the voice of the Los Angeles Lakers. He has a record streak of most games announced, his last game missed being November 21, 1965.  He has announced more than 3000 Lakers games in a row, and he announced his 3000th game on January 19, 1998. He knows all about the Lakers and also about other people from the rest of the league. Chick Hearn provides Lakers fans with wonderful play-by-play that can be seen without even watching the television. No wonder he was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. He has been announcing with his partner, Stu Lantz, for twelve years. Some other broadcasts that he's done include USC football and basketball, NCAA and NFL football, UNLV basketball, PGA golf, the first Ali-Frazier fight, the Rose Bowl, and NBC's Triplecast coverage of the 1992 gold medal U.S. Olympic Basketball Dream Team in Barcelona. In his many years, Chick has invented many phrases to describe different events in basketball games. Here are his famous Chick-isms in alphabetical order.... � Air ball The shot attempt hits nothing. � Attacking 47 feet (of this 94x50 hunk of wood) The front-court, the offensive zone. � Blooooows the layup! Misses an easy layup, usually open. � Boo birds Fans who boo their own team. � (Call it with) Braille A very easy call for an official to make. � Building a House When a player tosses up a series of "bricks" during a game. � Bunny hop (in the pea patch) Traveling (in the lane). � Can't throw a pea in the ocean This team is shooting horribly. � Caught with his hand in the cookie jar Reaching in, got called for a foul. � Chicken Stew Chick and Stu � Coop-a-loop An alley-oop to Michael Cooper. � Cosmetic Call Also called a Makeup call, a questionable call by the referee to even out a previous questionable call that went the other way. � (Got em') covered like a rug on your floor Really close, tight defense. � (It'll) Count if it goes... it goes! A player is fouled in the act of shooting... and makes the shot. � Defense on vacation Very bad defense, as if they weren't even there. � Didn't draw iron A shot which misses the rim, but hits the backboard. � Dime Store Score 10 to 5. � Don Nelson Shot The shot hits the heel of the rim, bounces straight up and then goes in. Don Nelson beat the Lakers in 1969 at the end of game 7 this way. � Dribble Drive Drive to the basket while dribbling. � Faked the floperoo The defender tries to draw the charge, usually one that the refs don�t call. � Finger roll A shot where the ball rolls off the shooter's fingers. � Fly-swatted A shot blocked with a lot of force and authority. � Football Score A score that is in multiples of seven (21-14). � Four Point Switch One team misses a shot, then the other team makes the shot at the other end of the court. � Frozen rope A flat shot. � Garbage play A player picks up a loose ball that luckily is close by and has an easy shot. � Garbage time The remainder of the game, after it's in the refrigerator. � Give & go Give the ball to a team-mate & cut straight to the basket. � (The) good lord and four disciples couldn't beat the Lakers tonight. The Lakers are playing unbelievably well. � (Cazzie's) goin' to the bank again! For Cazzie Russell, who had a great bank-shot. � Hands it off like a T-formation quarterback One player hands the ball to the other. � Hanging out to dry When someone fakes a defender out of his shoes. Not quite as severe as in the popcorn machine. � (In & out,) Heart-brrrreak! A shot that appears to go in, but rattles off the rim and comes back out. � He's human after all. When a player is on a streak and finally misses. � He's not a happy camper. A bad call was made and a player got upset. � He shot that from way out yonder. A really long 3-point shot attempt. � He thought he made it and so did I. When someone shoots a good looking shot, but it misses. � High School Hideout A player who is cherry picking. � Hippity-hop dribble Dribbling the ball, while running with a hip-hop step. � (The mustard's off the) Hot-dog A player attempts an unnecessarily showy, flashy play which ends up in a turnover or is otherwise unsuccessful. � If that goes in, I'm walking home. The opponent shoots a shot that is a prayer, on a streak, or some amazing shot, usually when they�re on the road. � Kamakaze steal When a player tries to hard to intercept a pass, and gets burned. � Leaping leana A leaping shot in the lane, falling toward the basket. � Lots of referees in the building , only 3 getting paid The fans in the crowd are booing a call, like they are the refs. � Matador defense Poor defense in which the lane opens up for a driving player like a matador pulling his cape out of the way of a charging bull. � (Like a) Motorcycle in a motordrome (velodrome) When the ball spins around the rim several times before going in or rimming out. � Nailed to the floor A player drives past a defender who does not move at all. � Nervous time When the game's in the pressure cooker. � 94x50 hunk of wood The dimensions of a basketball court. � No harm, no foul (no blood, no ambulance) A non-call by an official when significant contact has occurred. � No-look pass A pass made to another player without looking at him. � Not Phi-beta-kappa Not a smart play. � On him like a postage stamp Very close tight defense. � Picked his pocket A steal so quick the victim didn't even see it happen. � Picks the garbage (and put it in the trashcan) A player picks up a loose ball that luckily is close by and has an easy shot. � Popcorn machine When a player is faked out badly, he's put in the popcorn machine, which is so far off the court and out of the play. A defender jumps to block a faked shot, he gets faked so far out of the play, (the popcorn machine in the lobby) leaving the resulting shot wide open. A defender who is so faked out he's bouncing up and down trying to block the shot, like a kernel popping in a popcorn machine, � Pressure cooker A situation when the game is in the balance, a close game. � Sends it back air-mail special. A shot blocked with a great deal of intensity. � Sets...fires...gets!! An outside shot with plenty of time to set up. � (The Lakers') shooting leaves a lot to be desired. See can't throw a pea in the ocean. � Shot is straight as a string but didn't get it Kind of like a frozen rope that missed. � ...since Hector was a pup A very long time ago � (they couldn't beat) the Sisters of Mercy The Lakers are playing terribly. � Slaaaaaam Dunk!!! A dunk with authority � (The Lakers are) spending too much time refereeing. The players are complaining too much about calls that didn't go their way. � (He has) Spalding (or the Commissioner's name) tattooed on his forehead! somebody just received a serious, in your face, shot rejection. � (The Lakers are) standing! The players are standing around, irritating Chick greatly. (Rumor has it that Chick had to be positioned away from the players bench as this bothered the players and coaches). � Swing left, shoot right Picture Kareem's skyhook motion. � Tattoo Dribble Dribbling the ball in the same spot, as to tattoo the floor. � Telegraphs a pass The recipient of a "telegraphed" pass is so obvious, that the defender knows which way to reach to block it. It's as if a telegraph message was sent to the recipient in advance so that he would know that it was coming. The defender picks up on this and can then block the pass. � (The game's in the) Refrigerator (the doors are closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard, and the jello's jiggling) The game is out of reach. � Throws up a brick When a player tosses up a particularly errant shot. � Throws up a prayer ... (it's answered!!!) A wild shot that will need a miracle to score... (it goes in!!) � That'll get it done (could be a Stu'ism but they both use it) When a player's statistics as in FT% are acceptable. � They win the tip, that means they get the ball to start the fourth quarter! Chick always says this to start the game because whoever wins the tip gets possesion to start the 4th. The other team gets it to start the 2nd & 3rd. � This is your World Champion Lakers' basketball network! Chick's station ID when the Lakers were the world champs. � Ticky-tack A foul called when very little contact has been made. � Tightrope act Saving a ball from going out-of-bounds with delicate balance. � Took him to the third floor and left him at the mezzanine. The offensive player pump faked the defender,(who leaps to block the shot) and the player with the ball either goes up while the defender is coming down and/or draws the foul and hits the shot. The offensive player has embarrassed the defender who overplays for the block. Similar to the popcorn machine. � too much squeezin' the grape Refers to drunk fans, who had too much wine (or whatever). � Triple-double A player gets double figures in three statistical categories, usually points, rebounds, and assists. Also could be steals or blocked shots, but these are rarer. � Twenty-foot layup Jamaal Wilkes' shot from the base-line, as automatic as a layup. � The 24-second clock has been put to beddie-bye This occurs at the end of a quarter when the game clock has less time remaining on it than the 24-second clock; i.e. the only clock which is important on the current play is the game clock. � Using the rim as an ally A reverse lay-up using the rim as an obstacle against the defender. � (on his) Wallet Butt, rear end...etc. � Words-eye view Chick's description of their commentary. � (He's) Working on his Wrigleys He's chewing gum. � Windshield wiper Moving on a pivot foot just like... � You gotta know your horses when you go to the track Know your opponent. � Yo-yoing up and down Dribbling the ball, like it is a yo-yo on a string. Player Nicknames Not all of them were invented by Chick... � Big Game James James Worthy � Blue-collar Kurt Kurt Rambis � Buck Earvin "Magic" Johnson � Big Fella � Cap Kareem Abdul Jabbar � Clark Kent Kurt Rambis � The Eagle Kermit Washington � Fall Back Baby Dick Barnett � Garbage man Cedric Ceballos � "Happy" Hairston Harold Hairston � The Hawk Connie Hawkins � Mr. Clutch Jerry West � Nick the Quick, Nick at Night, Nicky V, Nick van Excellent, Nick van� Excitement, The Cat, Nicky the Kid Nick Van Exel � Pig Anthony Miller � Secretary of Defense Michael Cooper � Steady Eddie Eddie Jones � The Stilt Wilt Chamberlain � Stumpy Gail Goodrich � The Thief Sedale Threatt � Thief of Bagdad Eddie Jordan � Zeke from Cabin Creek Jerry West |
