[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 566 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 566
Congratulating the 2008-2009 National Basketball Association Champions,
the Los Angeles Lakers, on an outstanding and historic season.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 19, 2009
Ms. Waters (for herself, Mr. Baca, Mr. Becerra, Mr. Berman, Mr.
Bilbray, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mrs. Bono Mack, Ms. Corrine Brown of
Florida, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Campbell, Mrs. Capps, Mrs.
Christensen, Mr. Clay, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Costa, Mrs. Davis of
California, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Farr, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Filner, Mr. Gallegly,
Mr. Al Green of Texas, Ms. Harman, Mr. Issa, Ms. Kilpatrick of
Michigan, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Lewis of California, Ms. Zoe
Lofgren of California, Mr. Mack, Mr. McCarthy of California, Mr.
McKeon, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Gary G. Miller of
California, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Nunes, Mr. Payne, Mr. Radanovich, Ms.
Richardson, Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Royce, Ms. Linda T.
Sanchez of California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Schiff,
Mr. Sherman, Ms. Watson, Mr. Watt, and Mr. Waxman) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Congratulating the 2008-2009 National Basketball Association Champions,
the Los Angeles Lakers, on an outstanding and historic season.
Whereas the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful and respected
franchises in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA);
Whereas prior to the 2008-2009 season, the Lakers won 14 NBA championships, with
a cast of players that, over the years, have included NBA greats such as
Wilt Chamberlain, Erving ``Magic'' Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-
Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Cooper, Elgin Baylor, A.C. Green, and
other Lakers stars, whose accomplishments were captured courtside by
legendary Lakers sportscaster Francis Dayle ``Chick/Chicky Baby'' Hearn;
Whereas in the off-season, the Lakers' General Manager, Mitch Kupchak, with the
support of the team's owner, Jerry Buss, maintained the Lakers core of
Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, and Trevor Ariza;
Whereas the combination of Bryant, Odom, Fisher, Gasol, and Ariza, led the 2008-
2009 Lakers to a 65-17 regular season record and the number one spot in
the Western Conference playoffs;
Whereas Ariza first came to fame as a member of the 2002 and 2003 California
State Championship teams at Westchester High School in Los Angeles,
California;
Whereas the Lakers entered the NBA playoffs with home court advantage as a
result of the team's regular season performance and defeated the Utah
Jazz in 5 games;
Whereas the Lakers then faced the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference
semifinals, winning in 7 games, with Pau Gasol scoring 21 points in an
89-70 victory in the deciding game;
Whereas the Lakers squared off against the high-octane Denver Nuggets, clinching
the series in 6 games, thanks to the outstanding play of Pau Gasol and
Kobe Bryant;
Whereas the Lakers' matchup with the Orlando Magic in the NBA finals represented
a battle between a veteran team, the Lakers, and a young Magic team, led
by Dwight Howard;
Whereas the Lakers won the first 2 games of the finals in Los Angeles, including
a hard-fought Game 2, during which Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol combined
for 53 points, propelling the Lakers to a 101-96 victory;
Whereas although the Lakers lost Game 3 in Orlando by a score of 108-104, NBA
fans were treated to a 31-point performance by Lakers guard Kobe Bryant,
who played all but 8 minutes of the game;
Whereas the Lakers were able to defeat the Magic in Game 4 despite a 25-point
performance by Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu;
Whereas the Lakers won Game 5 against the Magic by a final score of 99-86,
clinching a historic championship, Kobe Bryant's first championship
without Shaquille O'Neal, Head Coach Phil Jackson's 10th title as a
coach, and the Lakers organization's 15th championship;
Whereas the Lakers recovered from a devastating loss in the 2008 NBA finals
against the Boston Celtics to win the 2009 NBA championship and achieve
historic championships for Head Coach Phil Jackson, and Kobe Bryant;
Whereas the Lakers' Kobe Bryant was presented with the Bill Russell NBA Finals
Most Valuable Player Award;
Whereas in addition to the contributions of superstars Bryant, Gasol, and Odom,
strong contributions by Ariza, Brown, Farmar, Ilunga-Mbenga, Bynum,
Fisher, Powell, Vujacic, and Walton returned the glory that has marked
much of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise history;
Whereas Lakers owner Jerry Buss, General Manager Mitch Kupchak, Head Coach Phil
Jackson, and the entire roster and coaching staff have joined previous
great Lakers teams in winning the NBA championship; and
Whereas the hustle, team defense, and overall unselfish play of the 2008-2009
Lakers are emblematic of the tradition that has been a hallmark of the
franchise for more than 63 years, and serves as a model for coaches and
players everywhere: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the 2008-2009 National Basketball Association (NBA)
World Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, are to be
congratulated for an outstanding and historic season; and
(2) the Lakers, in winning their 15th NBA World
Championship, capped a remarkable, unprecedented single-season
turnaround that captivated basketball fans across America and
around the world.
<all>