Lakers Charge Right Past Rockets, 106-90

“Whoooo!” actress Dyan Cannon said on her way out of the Great Western Forum. “It’s like we’ve got a whole new club.”

Here’s where it gets difficult. Did she mean that the Lakers look different with the addition of Dennis Rodman?

Or did she mean that there’s a new place to hang out, the hippest spot with A-list clientele?

Because that’s what the Forum became during the Laker-Rocket game Sunday, when the star level went off the charts.

Here’s how exclusive this club is: Tiger Woods couldn’t get past the velvet ropes. He called Charles Barkley for tickets Sunday morning, but by then it was too late. Sorry, Tiger.

Randy Moss, Lisa Leslie and that old funkster, Rick James, got in.

And so did Michael Jordan.

Now that Jordan doesn’t have regularly scheduled appearances in the spotlight, every time he shows up somewhere it becomes a happening.

He made it to the Forum on Sunday, walking out from beneath the stands next to Magic Johnson, then heading down the sidelines to take a seat next to Jack Nicholson.

For Jordan and Johnson, it was the first time they’ve been together on the Forum court since Feb. 2, 1996, the second game of Johnson’s comeback.

And for the hoops trinity of Jordan, new Houston Rocket Scottie Pippen and new Laker Dennis Rodman, it marked the first time they were all in the same arena since they won their third consecutive NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls in Utah’s Delta Center last June.

“They should have gave us our rings tonight,” Pippen said.

Because it’s doubtful you’ll ever see that group assembled in Chicago again, at least not as long as the current management group is in place. This type of harmonic convergence is something that could only happen at Club Forum, here in L.A., sudden capital of the sports world without passing the usual prerequisite of winning.

What do Chicago reporters do these winter days? Come to the Forum.

There were reporters from both major Chicago newspapers and one television station, here to cover a game that had nothing to do with Chicago and yet everything to do with Chicago.

If you want to talk to Jordan, come to California. His most recent public appearance, you might recall, was at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic golf event in Rancho Mirage.

Why did Jordan choose the Forum to take in his first post-retirement game? Well, his buddy Barkley said it was to check up on him.

But there’s also a feeling here that Jordan wanted to check out the Forum one last time before the Lakers move on to the Staples Center. This was where he won his first Olympic gold medal in 1984, and where he won his first NBA championship in 1991.

When his face appeared on the giant screen on the scoreboard in the second quarter, the fans went nuts.

Nicholson, an old pro at this courtside celebrity business, gave a big Joker grin and pointed at Jordan. Jordan’s new at this. He looked down, looked away, then finally stood up and acknowledged the crowd. They gave him a standing ovation. “I just never had a chance to say goodbye to a lot of the fans on the road, all the people who came out to support us,” Jordan said. “It was a very fortunate thing that I was able to come to a game here. I think the Laker fans all know that we’ve had our battles over the years, and they gave me a tribute. I appreciate that. That’s a great compliment to have.”

The act of Jordan standing up drew the largest cheer of the first half--louder even than the result when Kobe Bryant flew through the lane and threw down a serious dunk.

There was a longer buzz following Jordan’s wave than Bryant’s dunk too.

Laker games have become secondary, merely an excuse to stargaze and check out Rodman’s newest hair color and Laker antics.

At halftime, Nicholson disappeared into a tunnel at one end of the Forum, while Jordan took off the other way. Guess you could say one flew East, one flew West, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest.

And speaking of crazies, things went well again on the Worm Watch as Rodman showed up close to on time and hauled down 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Pippen, who would know, said it’s still far to early to call Rodman’s marriage to the Lakers a success.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what Dennis brings to this team,” Pippen said. “They’re going to enjoy and like him for the first few weeks, but as things start to fall apart, you’re going to be able to tell, really, where they are as a team.

“They’re not always going to get on a string and start winning games. There’s always something bad in an NBA season, let’s see how they face some adversity.”

Barkley seemed almost insulted by the notion that the addition of Rodman makes the Lakers championship contenders.

Barkley picked up a $5,000 fine from the NBA for cussing out some fans during his last visit here, and Laker lovers won’t like hearing what he had to say this time around.

“NBC thinks because they show the Lakers every weekend they’re a championship team,” Barkley said. “And y’all think because y’all tell Kobe he’s Jordanesque he’s going to be the next Michael Jordan. They’re not and he’s not. And I’m sick of hearing it. I’m sick of NBC showing the Lakers every week, talking about how good they are.”

Barkley was probably just grumpy because he had to miss a couple of weeks because of a knee injury.

Sit back and enjoy the show, Chuck, just like your buddy M.J. Although try to be less of a distraction.

“I didn’t want to take away from the game,” Jordan said in earnest. “The game is important.”

We could use such a reminder.