Photo By TJ Sullivan

A few photos of the crowd that gathered Thursday afternoon outside UCLA Medical Center after news of Michael Jackson's death was reported.

-- TJ Sullivan

Photo By TJ Sullivan

-- TJ Sullivan

USC has officially hired Kevin O'Neill as its men's basketball head coach in somewhat of a surprising move.

All of the smart money had the Trojans hiring Reggie Theus, until he reportedly pulled out yesterday after USC had supposedly reached out to Pitt's Jamie Dixon a second time. The LA Times wrote there were concerns about Theus' game coaching skills, which seemed to come out of left field. There had to have been something else to that. USC has also reportedly been turned down by Jeff Van Gundy and UNLV's Lon Kruger. Like I had written before, USC was not going to be able to hire an employed college head coach, and reaching out to Van Gundy was more of a prayer.

Kevin O'Neill comes to USC with a long coaching resume, that isn't necessarily distinguished. He's very well respected in coaching circles, and is widely recognized as an excellent defensive tactician. He's also known for being a coach who pushes his players hard and has his teams play very physical.

I've always personally liked O'Neill, and he seemed like a great coach when he recruited William Gates in the movie Hoop Dreams. But I'd feel better about this hire if O'Neill had a better track record of success. At Marquette, O'Neill did reasonably well, rebuilding a down program into an NCAA Tournament squad. But then he bolted for Tennessee, where in three years, he did no better than one NIT appearance.

Still, I kept hearing how highly regarded O'Neill was, and in an unusual move, he left Tennessee for Northwestern, which is one of the toughest programs to coach at in the country. The school obviously has tough academic standards and has never seriously competed in the Big Ten. O'Neill failed to turn the tide, and in three years at Northwestern he did no better than one NIT appearance.

O'Neill seemed to recognize that it was a bad situation for him, and he left to be an assistant coach with the Knicks, and later the Pistons in the NBA. He then surprisingly was hired to be the head coach for the Toronto Raptors, where he had a really lousy squad in playoff contention at 25-25. But they finished 8-24 the rest of the way, and O'Neill was fired after just one season.

O'Neill went back to the NBA assistant coaching circuit in Indiana, before returning to college as an assistant under his old friend Lute Olson at Arizona. O'Neill had worked with Olson in the late-80s, and many believed he was being designated as Olson's successor. Then Olson took an "indefinite leave of absence" about two weeks before the start of the 2007-08 season, and O'Neill was thrust into the head coaching spotlight for an unknown length of time. It turned out to be the whole season.

O'Neill was a poor fit at Arizona because his tough physical defensive coaching style was the exact opposite of Olson's running fast break game which he had used for years. Still, O'Neill won praise for taking over a difficult situation and managed to sneak Arizona into the NCAA Tournament after playing through a tough schedule. Many wondered if O'Neill would become the full-time coach, until Olson announced he wanted to come back and O'Neill was left out in the cold. Once again, O'Neill returned to the NBA assistant coaching circuit, where he seemed destined to remain for his career. That was until USC called this week.

While O'Neill hasn't had an enormous amount of success, there is something to be said for experience. At USC, he will probably have to deal with sanctions, and tempered expectations for a while. I'm assuming his contract will give him enough time to turn the program around through potential sanctions.

Still, while he's a great defensive tactician, this hire seems awkward at best. O'Neill is a decent recruiter, but it remains to be seen how many area recruits will want to play his style. He also has a history of leaving jobs quickly, so we'll see how long he wants to stick it out at USC if the going gets tough with sanctions.

As USC's 4th or 5th choice, there are some who might compare him to Pete Carroll. But then again, there's also a reason why O'Neill wasn't at the top of their list. It remains to be seen if this will work.

We will discuss O'Neill, as well as preview the NBA Draft, on my KSCR.org radio show (1560 AM downtown) from 12 to 2 PM today. At 1:30, we'll speak with Adam Rose of the LA Times, specifically about O'Neill.

From that canary in the coal mine, JournalismJobs.com.

It's been a long ride, but the Lakers finally notched up their 15th NBA Title, thanks to a somewhat anticlimactic win over the Orlando Magic in Game 5.

This title is really all about one person, and that's Kobe Bryant. The win officially places Bryant in the pantheon of NBA greats, and he probably qualifies as one of the 10 greatest of all time. I have been utterly stunned by some of the criticism that Bryant has been receiving, even as recently as this week. Not only did he average over 30 points a game in these finals, but he averaged over 7 assists.

Last year, Kobe finally learned how to involve his teammates and how to elevate an entire team's game. The team had the No. 1 seed in the West last year, even before the Pau Gasol trade, but adding Gasol gave the Lakers the major piece they needed to become a championship team. Gasol deserves a ton of credit for this title thanks to his consistent play, and he really is an unheralded superstar. But also Trevor Ariza should get plenty of praise for often serving as the crucial No. 3 option on nights that Lamar Odom wasn't playing well, and of course Derek Fisher for his big shots in Game 4 and his steady veteran leadership.

But overall, it was Bryant who finally proved he could win a title a without Shaq, who will be most associated with this title. And that is well deserved. He can do things on the floor that no one else can in the game today. He creates offense, both with shots and passing that are seemingly impossible. He's one of the five best one-on-one defenders in the NBA. And he plays with a level of passion, tenacity, and heart that one can't help but admire. (BTW... please check out this Twitter post from Shaq.)

Also, Phil Jackson now has 10 NBA Titles, the most ever. In my opinion he is the best coach in NBA history. I can see the argument for saying Red Auerbach is better, but Phil Jackson has coached in an era with obscene player egos, impatient management, a probing media, a salary cap, and 30 NBA teams. Some critics claim that Phil only won because he had some of the best players of all-time. But no coach, including Red Auerbach, can win a title without truly great players. While Red Auerbach had Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, and others, Phil Jackson installed his system and coached up Michael Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe. Jordan and Kobe never won without Phil, and Shaq never played better under any other coach. Phil Jackson brings the best out of his stars, and he manages a team and the psyche of a team over the course of an NBA season better than anyone in the sport. He may infuriate fans when it looks like he's just sitting, but coaching goes far beyond what you just see on TV. It extends into practice and includes the institution of a philosophy that all of your players can buy into.

Credit should also go to Mitch Kupchak, a GM who has received his fair share of criticism over the years. He drafted Andre Bynum who's tough physical presence helped the Lakers at times in these playoffs. He also brought in Gasol and Ariza via trade, and effectively built this entire championship roster. But most importantly, when Kobe Bryant was publicly asking for a trade 2 years ago, Kupchak held firm, refusing to accept anything less than equal value for his superstar (which didn't exist), and it wound up being the right move.

And let's also praise Jerry Buss, who is without question, the best owner in the history of Los Angeles sports.

Whenever a team wins the title, people always like to look ahead a year. So we'll do that ever so a bit here. Both Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza are free agents, and the Lakers need to do all they can to bring both back. The reason for bringing back Ariza are obvious. I don't know how much Odom will demand, and how much less he'll accept to stay, but he still has superstar talent, and he shows it off just enough to make the Lakers a special team.

If Ariza and Odom come back next year, and if Andrew Bynum can stay healthy, then I really believe the Lakers should be the odds-on favorites to repeat as champions. The teams around them in the West are by and large getting worse or holding steady. I don't see Denver improving, as Chauncey Billups ages, as JR Smith is a free agent, and I don't believe Nene can stay healthy for two consecutive seasons. Houston will always be pesky, but they lack the scoring threat to keep pace with a team like the Lakers. Utah and New Orleans both took inexplicable steps back this year, while San Antonio's age is really showing.

In the East, Orlando should get better if Dwight Howard can develop more offensive moves in the post. And if Jameer Nelson plays a whole season at 100%, they can be dangerous. But until I see someone on their team who can create offense beyond spot-up jump shots, then I'm not sure if they can sustain their style of play against elite teams. If Boston has a healthy Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, then they should have as good of a chance of any East team to go to the Finals. But they are also an aging team, one that is slowing down and is more susceptible to injuries. Cleveland showed in the playoffs in that they do not have a strong enough team around Lebron James to win a title. I'm not sure if bringing in Shaq is the answer, but that would sure be fun. It wouldn't surprise me if Cleveland gets to the Finals, but they don't have the depth to beat the Lakers unless they add some significant pieces.

In the meantime, the Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champions, and clearly the Team of the Decade. And it's a win that we all should celebrate and savor.

Jo Ann Callis is having a busy year. Her photographs and paintings are on display at the Getty until August 9, making her one of the select few living artists the museum has featured. She also has a concurrent show at the Craig Krull Gallery.

Her art was widely exhibited through the 1970s and '80s, but until recently she thought her moment had come and gone. Now her place in the history of photography is recognized more than ever.

With all this demand for her art and her time, Callis took the semester off at the California Institute of the Arts, where she has been a photography instructor since 1975. The Getty show has brought her plenty of fresh opportunities to inspire students around Los Angeles.

Callis began teaching purely out of financial need. She was 36 when she was hired at Cal Arts in 1975, newly divorced with two children and still one year from earning her M.F.A at UCLA. She had begun studying art at Ohio State University. At UCLA she studied photography with her mentor and role model, Robert Heinecken. He encouraged her to make her images rather than find them. This allowed her, as she says, to "go inside my head and express that interior part of myself."

According to the Getty, Callis is a "pioneering photographer who established a reputation in the 1980's as one of the first artists to construct sets and create situations specifically for the purpose of being photographed." Her anxieties and struggles with domestic life provided a deep well from which she has drawn her subject matter. Her mostly color images, created in her studio with models, props, and fabric are really all about her -- "my insecurities, my revenge, my disappointment," she told the Los Angeles Times in March.

"Callis's work has a Hitchcock-like bent," says Judith Keller, curator of the Getty show. "She has a tendency to create a scene subtly loaded with the attractive as well as the troubling."

The transition from artist to teacher was "the hardest thing in my life," Callis said in an interview at her Culver City home. "I had only learned to use a camera three years before. I was absolutely petrified and Cal Arts was such a different kind of school." She drew heavily on Heinecken's influence for support, and found her own teaching style. "I try to be positive, find good things in everyone's work and take it from there and encourage them to work from that point of strength."

"What I try to do is help them [her students] understand how you get ideas, how to work on them, and how one thing can lead to another. Then you can critique your own work so you can understand where it is you need to go."

Callis primarily teaches freshmen and has great affection for her young students. Freshman year is "such a difficult age. There's a lot of freedom at Cal Arts. It's a fishbowl. I remember that time for me which was very scary, but exciting too."

The Getty show has brought invitations for Callis to teach in other ways. In recent weeks she participated in the Getty's "Community Photoworks," a program that connects Los Angeles-area teenagers with artists and their work. The students then produce their own art and present it in an exhibition. This year, a U.S. History class from Los Angeles High School was chosen to discuss Callis's photographs in class, then meet with her at the Getty. As they walked through the show, their teacher, Felicia Perez, detected a major learning moment.

"Initially the students saw Jo Ann's work and with its timelessness they assumed she was a much younger person. When we arrived at the museum, we walked up to a very humble, unassuming woman in red glasses who looked just like any other person one might meet on the street," said Perez. The students saw a woman barely as tall as her photographs. They were impressed that her images were "on display in one of the most influential and important museums in the country. My students learned that to be an artist is actually much simpler and more attainable than maybe they had initially thought."

They were asked to address the idea of tension in their images, a recurring theme in Callis's own work. They had high praise for her inspirational powers. Eleventh-grader Pedro Mateo said, "she helped me to look at things in a more abstract way. I definitely got from her: do what you love." Tatiana Melendez said, "I realized that if she could photograph desserts (referring to Callis's 1993 series, "Forbidden Pleasures") then anything is open."

Two days later, Callis led a group of older adults from Santa Monica College's Emeritus program through the Getty show. Her candor and sense of humor were a hit. "They loved her because she spoke to them specifically and very directly," said teacher Cheryl Walker.

Of the evolution of her teaching style, Callis says, "I don't think it's very different. I'm a little more at ease with it now, and I know more than when I first started. I have a lot more experience at looking, evaluating, showing my own work, producing work over many years, and all the problems that go with that. I'm just more comfortable about being honest instead of trying to fit into what I perceive I should be."

Callis recently had her own learning moment when, in the midst of her leave, she returned to Cal Arts for a show by graduate students. Having some distance from the routine of teaching gave her new perspective. She was reminded of how much is going on at the school at all hours of the day and night. "There really is so much energy there. It's quite stimulating. It made me think, I can still see why I do this." Her students, wherever she finds them, would be wise to take full advantage of the fact that she still is teaching.

Photo of Jo Ann Callis by Judy Graeme / LA Observed
"Performance, 1985" by Jo Ann Callis, courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum

--The Lakers have a 2-1 series lead over the Orlando Magic, and they look like the better team through three games. I know many Laker fans are disappointed with last night's 108-104 loss, but it was impressive the Lakers even had a chance to win despite Orlando having the best shooting game in NBA history, and the lousy play of Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.

I'm also not nearly as concerned about Kobe Bryant as some other people. Bryant did look fatigued toward the end of last night's game, but he was left in for too many minutes. The only other time Kobe has looked fatigued in the playoffs came after Game 4 in Denver, and he got himself together well enough for the Lakers to win Games 5 and 6 by good margins. This Finals series probably means more to Kobe Bryant than anyone else in the world, and I'm sure he is going to find every last ounce of energy inside of him to bring a championship to Los Angeles.

The Magic could still win another game just with their shooting, but their style of play is not sustainable against the Lakers.

--No, the Dodgers aren't getting enough credit for having the best record in baseball. With tonight's game still being played, the Dodgers are 19-12 without Manny Ramirez, and they've earned that record with a difficult schedule. Their pitching hasn't really let them down, and the team has continued to hit just well enough, although it would be nice if they hit more home runs.

Joe Torre deserves a ton of credit for keeping this clubhouse together and focused. One of the reasons why I liked the Torre hiring 2 years ago had to do with his ability to communicate his players. He is excellent at maintaining a relaxed locker room, one that could have unraveled with this Manny Ramirez controversy.

In the meantime, Manny's comments that he didn't kill or rape anybody are ridiculous, and only continue to make him appear guilty.

--In other Dodger news, the team drafted pitcher Aaron Miller of Baylor with its first pick yesterday, the No. 36 pick overall. The Dodgers did not have a first round pick due to compensation for the signing of Orlando Hudson.

Is there anything more ridiculous in baseball than the draft pick compensation system? Orlando Hudson played 107 games last year for the Arizona Diamondbacks, broke his wrist, and was forced to sign an incentive-laden one-year deal, yet he costs the Dodgers a first round draft pick. In the meantime, the Dodgers lose their Game 1 playoff pitcher in Derek Lowe to the Atlanta Braves, and only receive a sandwich pick because the Braves were bad enough last year.

The draft pick compensation system doesn't work anymore and should be eliminated. It supposedly used to help small market teams who would lose free agents that they could not afford to sign. But in reality, it usually winds up helping big market teams that become revolving doors for veteran players, gifting them with unneeded compensatory picks. Dodger fans may not remember the short tenure of Julio Lugo, but their "inability" to re-sign him let to the team receiving a first-round draft pick in 2007.

Furthermore, teams that are able to keep all of their free agents are punished because the number of sandwich compensatory picks often is so high that a second round pick effectively becomes a third round pick.

In addition to eliminating draft pick compensation, MLB should allow teams to trade draft picks. Doing so would allow small market teams to receive an extra pick or two in a trade, in the event that they need to deal high-salaried player. Today, teams often consider keeping the player, knowing they have to weigh a trade offer against a compensatory pick.

In the meantime, I have no idea if Aaron Miller will become any good. But Logan White has as good of a track record as any scouting director, so I trust his judgment.

In a somewhat surprising move, Tim Floyd resigned as the head coach of USC basketball yesterday amid allegations involving his recruitment of O.J. Mayo. The move by Floyd seems to indicate that USC basketball will be hit by some sort of sanctions when an NCAA investigation is complete, and Floyd's resignation may actually help USC by preventing them from having an even worse penalty. USC may have asked Floyd to resign.

The USC basketball program had really been rapidly spiraling downhill from the moment the season ended. In a postseason banquet Floyd lectured his players about staying in school, claiming they could be a national title contender if they stuck together. The very next day, Floyd was on a plane to Tucson to consider the Arizona job. About a week later, DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson, and Daniel Hackett declared for the NBA Draft. DeRozan's move was expected, since he will be a lottery pick and he wants to pay his sick mother's medical bills -- even though DeRozan would quite obviously benefit from another year in school. Gibson's decision was disappointing, but not wholly unexpected either. Most think he'll go in the second round. Hackett's decision was a shock, particularly since he has no realistic NBA hopes and will probably wind up playing in Italy. He also left the Trojans dangerously thin at point guard, as backup Donte Smith said he intended to transfer.

Not long thereafter, USC lost top recruit Solomon Hill to of all schools, Arizona. They had to back off of another top recruit in Renardo Sydney because the hot water they were in with the Mayo investigation, and couldn't afford to take another player who could get them in trouble. As concerns about sanctions grew, recruit Noel Johnson asked out of his letter of intent, and other recruits such as Lamont Jones were considering doing the same.

Then Marcus Johnson, another player with no realistic NBA aspirations, announced his decision to go pro, and Floyd showed his frustration by saying: "Kansas has two players who would have been NBA lottery picks, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, and they are returning to school. Good for them. Our guys get an offer from Islamabad and they're gone."

The USC program saw considerable success under Floyd. Anyone who has lived in LA for a substantial period of time knows how bad USC basketball has been. Other than 2 amazing years with Harold Miner, and one surprising Sam Clancy-led Elite 8 appearance, USC hoops has done nothing of note. Going to a USC basketball game at the Sports Arena used to feel like going to medieval dungeon.

The Trojans have now made the NCAA Tournament in 3 consecutive seasons -- every season it has played in the Galen Center -- which is a school record. Floyd recruited big-time talent to come to USC as well. OJ Mayo dramatically changed the perception of USC basketball in the hoops community, and led the Trojans to get other big names like DeRozan, Davon Jefferson, and for a moment, Sydney and Hill. It also helped that Mayo told numerous recruits that Floyd was a great coach.

Yet despite the success, many USC fans would tell you that Floyd's teams underachieved. Reaching the Sweet 16 in 2007 was a nice surprise, but losing in the first round and only getting a 6-seed in 2008 with Mayo and Jefferson was a tremendous disappointment. This year's team needed a remarkable late-season run and Pac-10 Tournament title just to get into the NCAA Tournament. Had USC played to its potential earlier in the season, they might have gotten a higher seed, and would not have faced a team as good as eventual national runner-up Michigan State in the second round. In the meantime, attendance continued to fall at the Galen Center this season.

Under normal circumstances, the USC job would be very appealing to most college head coaches. But these are not normal circumstances. The potential of USC receiving sanctions will shrink the applicant pool. Furthermore, it's unlikely that any established college head coach would leave their job in the middle of the summer, when they would have difficulty assembling a quality staff and leave their current programs in chaos. Pitt's Jamie Dixon may like the idea of coming back to LA, but not right now. Similarly, Mark Few at Gonzaga, Randy Bennett at St. Mary's, and Craig Robinson at Oregon State all feel like longshots.

My guess is the USC will need to look at good head coaches who are currently unemployed. Mike Garrett has also shown a penchant for hiring coaches with pro experience, as we saw with Pete Carroll and Tim Floyd -- although neither was actually his first choice.

Two names that immediately come to mind are Reggie Theus and Eric Musselman. Theus did a fantastic job at New Mexico State, quickly turning a woeful Aggie program into an NCAA Tournament team. He then took the Sacramento Kings job, which was clearly the wrong situation for him, and he was fired after just over a year. Theus is an Inglewood native, and he's dabbled in acting. Musselman a bright and energetic coach who was the runner-up for coach-of-the-year with the Golden State Warriors. But Golden State was a near impossible job, as was Sacramento, where he also coached. Musselman has recently stated a desire to coach in college.

Billy Gillespie could be another candidate. He did wonders at UTEP, a program that was in disarray when he inherited it. He later had success at Texas A&M before going to Kentucky and getting fired after two seasons because that clearly wasn't the right situation for him. At USC, Gillespie could run a program his way, although I'm not sure if he has any recruiting ties out here.

The LA Times reported that Laker assistants Jim Cleamons and Brian Shaw could be interested. It's doubtful though that either would be seriously considered. Shaw has no head coaching experience or college coaching experience. Cleamons had forgettable stints as a head coach at Youngstown State and with the Dallas Mavericks, but he's on no one's radar.

Other names that come to mind include PJ Carlesimo, Lon Kruger, Dan Monson, Mike Davis, and USC is reportedly wooing Jeff Van Gundy.

USC basketball is not completely hopeless this year. A team with Dwight Lewis, Leonard Washington, Alex Stepheson, Marcus Simmons, Nikola Vucevic, and 'Lil Romeo has some holes, but can certainly win some games. They're certainly better than Indiana was this past season. But USC would still have to give any replacement to Tim Floyd a Tom Crean-like long-term contract. And they may need to appoint an assistant like Phil Johnson or Gib Arnold to run the program while they wait to sort out the NCAA violations.

As for Floyd, I'm sure he'll lay low for a little while. It wouldn't be surprising to see him become an NBA assistant, which is sort of like joining the Club Med of the coaching community. Most NBA assistant coaches make six-figure salaries, always manage to be employed, and face none of the stresses and scrutiny that hit the head coach. If USC is able to come out of this with a minor punishment, then it's possible that Floyd could get another college head coaching job, perhaps at a small southern school.

Do you already love the L.A. River, or maybe you still don't know where it is? Either way, you'll do well to check out Cornerstone Theater's Touch the Water: A River Play, which runs to June 21 (tickets here), and KCET's new online L.A. River extravaganza in their Departures series on L.A. communities.

Because Los Angeles, in truth, is a river city, and both of these capture amazingly well the central role of the river in L.A.'s past, but also the life of the river in L.A.'s communities today (human and nonhuman)--as well as how the revitalization of the river will help create the L.A. of the future.

And they're both fun, and broadly imaginative and smart, and quite moving. The Cornerstone play happens outside on a temporary stage on the river's banks (bring coats). You'll hear original songs and a live band, and you'll meet a river ghost, a sea turtle, an egret, a drunk guitarist, a grieving sister, a big-hearted biologist, and a Frenchman who is not what he seems.

On the KCET site, you can click your way down the river through graphics, video, and audio clips, to meet activists, politicians, riverside merchants and residents, engineers, scholars, artists, kayakers, kids, the swiftwater rescue team, maintenance workers, ecologists, egrets, carp, lizards, rabbits, and black-necked stilts.

The play runs Wednesdays to Sundays--and get your tickets now since that outdoor theater by the river is small. The KCET site runs, well, forever, but I'd try it out sooner if you can.

(And if you want an on-the-banks tour of the river, e-mail me for info from some of us who do them, or check the Friends of the L.A. River site.)