You can feast on both parts and still have puh-lenty of room for tomorrow's turkey!  Doesn't get any better than that!

Part I: As Thanksgiving looms, BK and I count our Laker-centric blessings: That Pau Gasol is back, looking good, and creating a positive ripple effect throughout the roster. That Kobe Bryant is still getting it done to the point where he's a legit "Lakers G.O.A.T." candidate with 5-7 years worth of chapters theoretically left to write. And that our employment means watching considerably more purple and gold than red, white and blue. From a totally neutral standpoint, as guest Geoff LaTullipe recently shared in a very funny article, the Laker experience is way better, unless you're just a glutton for underdog punishment. 

Part II: An extended sit down with director Spike Lee, in L.A. to promote Tuesday's DVD release of "Kobe: Doin' Work."  The first Oscar nominated guest in our poddy's history, so that's pretty exciting.  Lee gave us a boatload of time (nearly forty minutes), allowing us to cover a wide range of subjects:

Kobe, whose game is clearly admired by Lee, but his game intelligence perhaps even more.  The New York Knicks, past and, gulp, present.  Hip hop's presence in the NBA.  "He Got Game," and why Lee decided to cast Ray Allen as the lead.  "Do The Right Thing," now twenty years old and still relevant.  Discussing that film was a particular treat for me, as it allowed the opportunity to ask a continually burning question I've had about the riot scene.  Whether you're a fan of Lee's filmography or not, we're confident you'll find it an interesting conversation.

Oddly enough, we also discussed Allen Iverson, who Lee was disappointed went unsigned by the Knicks. BK and I disagreed, but we all concurred that if a brief stay in Memphis was indeed Iverson's last stop, it's an awful way for a storied career to end. Lee remained confident AI will play again, but that was before his retirement announcement.

(Also, for those who didn't hear/see either on the first go round, here's yesterday's Lunch with a Legend interview with Lee. GREAT story about the origin of the Reggie Miller-Spike feud.)

AK

Photo: Spike Lee.  Credit: Fred Prouser / Reuters

Because it wouldn't be Thursday without the newest edition of your favorite bit of Lakers related ear candy (if it's not, keep it to yourself)...

Part I: Hamstring Week! at Lakers Blog continues. We kick around Pau Gasol's comments from Wednesday's practice about his injured right hamstring, get in depth on hammy injuries with sports injury expert Will Carroll of Baseball and Basketball Prospectus (and editor of The Carroll Guide to Sports Injuries), and discuss AK's alternate theory of Pau's recovery timetable.

For just the interview with Carroll, click here.

Part II: We start with a breakdown of Kobe Bryant's domination in the post. From there, it's on to league-wide issues. LeBron James says he's done talking about his impending free agency, but given how much LeBron has enjoyed stringing the media along ahead of The Great Summer of 2010, we don't think he can stick to it. After all, last night against the Magic he was wearing shoes with a tribute to the Yankees on 'em. With that in mind, we provide a few other passive-aggressive ways in which LBJ could hint at his future home. Finally, we lament the short (shelf) life of Earl Smith III, and reveal my secret bowling moniker.

BK

Ears receive the gift of manna from the heavens, because a new 710 ESPN.com Lakers PodKast has entered the Internet.  And like them gum hawking twins, BK and I double our listener's pleasure with two installments of our voices.  At no extra charge, I might add.  Because we're givers. 

Part I

        -The Lakers arrive in L.A. after back-to-back OT roadie wins over Oklahoma City and Houston.  Only bummer? Andrew Bynum's strained elbow, which will force him to miss tomorrow's game against Memphis.  Hopefully, it's not an extended absence, if for no other reason than he and Pau Gasol need time together on the floor ASAP.

        -Well, one more reason, too.  The sooner Drew and Pau are the starting 4/5 duo, the sooner Lamar Odom can rejoin the second unit, which desperately misses his presence.  Sixth man LO also likely means the quick end of a five man guard rotation, which PJ hinted wouldn't run much longer either way.  We speculate who's most likely to find himself aced out. 

        -Who'da thunk it, but Sasha Vujacic may be half of the highest profile romance involving an NBA player.  Does dating Maria Sharapova top Khlamar?  And more importantly, is this a "Domino!" heard 'round the the Lakers locker room?

PART II

       - BK and I talk with Slam Magazine/Slamonline.com's Lang Whitaker about who got the better end of the Artest-Ariza "swap," shoot down the ludricous "LeBron to the Lakers" scenario that's all the rage these days, and discuss the media's delicate covering of Delonte West's issues (detailed in wonderful form by Cleveland Scene's '64 And Counting blog)

        -Move over, Antoine Walker, there's a new irresponsible spending sheriff in town.  Once chief among my acting heroes, Nicolas Cage not only makes mostly crap movies these days, but spends his "crap movie" checks on ludicrous nonsense he neither needs nor apparently can afford.  Like, say, a pair of islands.  Or a pet octopus.  Although if he knows a guy who sells shrunken heads in bulk, that might have saved him a few bucks.

AK

The regular season, it is nigh.  Oh, happy, special day!!! The kind of day where the K Brothers provide not not one, but TWO Podkasts to get you through the weekend!  Could we be any more generous to our corner of the blogosphere?  I doubt it. 

PodKast, Part I

• With the preseason in the books, BK and I summarize what we thus far likee (Ron Artest's slow but steady immersion into the Laker O, Andrew Bynum's hot start, backup guard play) and no likee (the injury bug). 
• We rap with ESPN The Magazine's Chris Palmer about the teams posing the biggest challenge to  the Lakers in their quest for a third straight Western Conference title: The Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers.  
• Stephon Marbury is warring via Twitter with ESPN.  We try to figure out where we specifically fit into the battle.  
• In light of LBJ's desire to dunk on W, BK and I pick presidents and historical figures we'd posterize if equipped with a vert beyond eight inches.  For reasons I don't even remotely understand, a truly random, regrettable victim popped into my head.  I'm very ashamed.

Podkast, Part II

• What would a preseason wrap be without a separate PodKast previewing what lies ahead this season for the Lakers?  Incomplete, I tells ya!  IN-COM-PLETE!!!  Wanna know our thoughts on breakthrough players, burning issues and the Lakers' chance at a repeat?  Damn skippy you do.

AK

The season has officially begun.  You're damn right that inspired us to yap.  Clicking here and bear auditory witness to the following talking points...

• The NBA's swine flu preventative measure, first reported by the Boston Herald: A kibosh on all  pre-game hand shakes.  The approach felt kinda screwy to us- and as BDL's J.E. Skeets reports, the league has denied the story- but I think you'll still get a laugh from us goofing on it. 
• Our impressions of Media Day, widely reported to be a "circus."  In both our minds (particularly mine), these reports were... well... exaggerated.  Honestly, I not only didn't find the scene chaotic, I actually thought it was more subdued than in years past.  In particular, compared to the 2007-2008 Media Day, when Kobe Bryant's Radio Tour led folks to wonder if he'd show.  And upon finally emerging, Mamba looked less than jazzed to be there.  That, my friends, was a circus. Tuesday?  More an event people wanted to be a circus.
• Is Lamar Odom's marriage to Khloe Kardashian really a "distraction" threat?  At the very least, the nuptials managed to coincide with the one offseason LO really got into shape, so maybe this wasn't such a bad thing.  
• Thoughts on Andrew Bynum's knee brace and Sasha Vujacic's hair. 
• We answer the ol' Twitter mail bag, tackling questions about the point guard pecking order and replacement referees.  Derek Fisher recently addressed the issue as well. 
• DeShawn Stevenson's new ink.  When neither an Abe Lincoln throat tat nor a backwards Pittsburgh Pirates "P" on your cheek represents the weirdest tat the Wizards guard got during the offseason, safe to say, eyebrows will be raised.  Move over, Kenyon Martin's lips. There's a new sheriff in town!

AK

AK may be traipsing about on his honeymoon, but that doesn't mean there's no ear candy this week. It takes more than that to stop the 710 ESPN.com Lakers PodKast, that's for sure. Locusts? Car trouble? A Little House marathon on the Hallmark Channel? Those could do the trick, but not AK leaving town. A few of the highlights as I fly (semi) solo:

• Via Eric Pincus at Hoopsworld, Jordan Farmar will change his uniform number from 5 to 1, the same number he wore at Taft High in LA. But is it a good idea for a Lakers PG coming off a bad season to don the same digit as William Henry Parker?
• Allen Iverson says God has delivered him to Memphis. Is that a punishment for AI, the Grizzlies, or the fine citizens of southwestern Tennessee? Can it be all three?
• Fried butter.
• Could the NBA lockout their refs? What does that do for conspiracy theorists?
• All that, plus a brief discussion of Pau Gasol and a conversation about old school Lakers teams with Kurt Helin of Forum Blue and Gold.

BK

 Hot off the presses and ready to enrich your lives!  This week, the discussion includes:

• How my impending marriage this weekend made this the final podcast without a ring circling my finger.  Beyond the commitment being made in my personal life, that also means an end to the debauchery typically going down on my half of the studio as we record.  You folks had no idea of the Dionysian glory taking place while a married BK looked on from his side (commonly known as "Squaresville").  Oh, if these walls could talk!!!
  
  I also made it quite clear that if any Laker news breaks during my honeymoon and the blog's lagging, blame BK, because I ain't touching the thing while I'm gone.  I want to soak up every minute of this vakay, and more importantly, I don't want to come back to L.A. a newly divorced newlywed.
  

We're baaaaaaaaaack.  Like Manny, sans the PED's.  Because we're so damn good, we don't need them.  And so damn poor, we can't afford them. 

In this week's audio masterpiece, BK and I have a discussion with ESPN True Hoop's Henry Abbott about the media coverage of Michael Beasley's situation (which Henry and I have both written about recently) and the revamped Western Conference.  Plus, talk about Sasha Vujacic getting cut from the Slovenian National team, Allen Iverson potentially joining the Grizzlies, whether The Answer can handle sharing the limelight with Hamed Haddadi, and future ratings juggernaut that is the NBDL Expansion draft.  Move over Hawkeye and Hot Lips.  There's a new sheriff in town!

Enjoy.

AK

Photo: Memphis Grizzlies star Hamed Haddadi.  Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Image

Some new sounds to compliment the new sights.

In our latest opus, BK and I express hope that Kobe Bryant can enjoy a more dignified career twilight than Brett Favre, help Stephon Marbury let "the cat out of the bag," and shoot down Shaq's idea of an L.A. return.  Plus, a salute to fringe psychedelic rock!!!

AK

We couldn't make it into the studio last Thursday to lay down some pod tracks, and I think it goes without  saying that y'all experienced the most painful of voids in your lives.  Well, fear not, because you won't be experiencing consecutive weeks of hell, because the latest 710 ESPN podkast is hot off the presses!!! 

Throw on a pair of headphones, lean back and allow yourself the privilege of being supremely entertained as BK and I discuss the end of L.O.C.O., Kurt Rambis possibly coaching the Timberwolves and the ridiculous riders Kobe Bryant could get thrown into his impending contract extension, should 24 choose to really exercise his juice. 

Two words: Shucked M&M's.