This is a Must Read - Dave McMenamin

Hi, it's me, the artist formerly known as Gils Keloids.

This was linked in Truehoop, and you absolutely must read it if you are a fan of the Lakers.

ESPN Los Angeles writer Dave McMenamin (formerly on NBA.com) kept a running diary during the Lakers 8 game road trip.

He really gives you a view of the team and the fans that you don't normally see, complete with stories that the beat writers don't always publish for you to read.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/columns/story?id=4881630

This story line was my favorite, and there are a bunch more, but you have to read them to find out!

JAN. 20, 2010 10 p.m. Pacific time: Continental Gate 34 - Los Angeles International Airport

I'm waiting to catch my red-eye flight to Cleveland and thumbing through Chris Ballard's profile of Kevin Durant in Sports Illustrated, his latest must-read for any true hoophead, when I hear whispering beside me.

"Are you from Cleveland?" a man in a yellow shirt finally asks me.

What is this, a heckler? I know I don't fit the typical Los Angeles profile -- my jeans aren't skinny, teeth aren't bleached and sunglasses don't occupy 60 percent of my face -- but I don't think my look is screaming middle America either.

"Nope," I say, burying my eyes back in Ballard.

"Are you from Los Angeles?" he continues.

"Nope," I say, hoping to end the conversation, this time looking up long enough to see that the man has his daughter with him and she's wearing a Lakers sweatshirt.

"I'm from Philadelphia, but I live in L.A."

"It's just that I see that you're reading about basketball ..."

Ah, I see where this is going. We have a nice chat about the Lakers and Moris Shemian, 42, and his daughter Nicky, 15, explain how they are making the trip from their home in Beverly Hills to Cleveland just for the game. Moris says he wants to show me something and hands me what seems to be a book in a clear plastic bag.

I open the bag and see that it's a calendar dedicated to Kobe Bryant, all done by Nicky on her computer. She really did a smashup job with it. The photos for every month coincide with something that happened in Bryant's career (naturally, January has a shot of his 81-point game against the Raptors and August is him in his Team USA jersey).

Certain dates on the calendar are marked off with the events of All-Star Weekend, Lakers players' birthdays and even Bryant's kids' birthdays. One of the pages is dedicated to Bryant's high school days and there is an old Lower Merion I.D. photo of Kobe where he can't be more than 14 years old that I've never seen before.

It's impressive.

6:58 p.m. Eastern time - Tunnel leading to the court: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

"Dave! Dave!"

I hear it. But it doesn't register. That can't be for me. Who do I know in Cleveland?

"Dave! Dave!"

I turn to my right and look up in the stands by the railing. It's Moris and Nicky. They tell me they met Bryant at the team hotel as the players boarded the bus to head to The Q for shootaround earlier that afternoon. Nicky got to give him the calendar she made for him. They are both beaming.

The Lakers go on to lose to the Cavs 93-86 a couple hours later. But, I'm pretty sure Moris and Nicky still think the trip was worth it.