The Week in Sports

Now Bar Owners Are Mad at The Lakers, Too

It’s so sad to say, but basically everyone hates The Lakers right now after their lazy loss and aggressively stupid behavior in the NBA playoffs last week. We even think Magic Johnson might be mulling whether or not he should become a Celtics fan. But just when the team can’t afford to lose any more fans, The L.A. Times reports one economist’s estimate that L.A. stands to lose $70 million in revenues that a purple and gold rally would have brought to the city. So, who’s really pissed about that news?

People who own sports bars, that’s who. Close to the Staples Center court, Trader Vic’s in Downtown was looking a little bare on Tuesday night, whereas a typical game night leads to two-hour waits for tables. Owner John Valencia says, “It’s pretty devastating for business…We’re event-driven, and when you have a Laker game on standby and it doesn’t happen, it’s very difficult to backfill.” Meanwhile, a security guard at L.A. Live! declares the whole infernal development is looking pretty dead.

The complaints aren’t just limited to Downtown, either. The owner of Burbank’s Champs Sports Pub claims, “I’d say we’re probably losing about $20,000 easily.” The article states that owners around town have had to diminish food orders, cut hours, and re-stage their events marketing following the recent blow-out.

The owner of Varsity on Wilshire is equally devastated from a projected $60,000 loss, telling The Times, “We have a big Laker base, and with them being eliminated like this, it cuts down our business by I would say probably 80% during those games…Now, who knows what’s going to happen.”

And this is all because the stupid Lakers didn’t try harder to three-peat! Jerks. Okay, we know that sounds pretty spoiled, complaining that our big money team was too loaded down with gold bars and silver ducats to hustle a little harder. After all, you win some and you lose some, right? Only in this case, the “lose some” part is $70 million dollars to our economically embattled city. So sorry Kobe, diamond engagement rings aren’t enough for this apology. We figure it’s going to take roughly four years of your annual salary to make this loss up to L.A. We’re waiting…

Lakers’ loss cuts merchant sales to a dribble [LAT]

Now Bar Owners Are Mad at The Lakers, Too