Forum finale

Took a good, long look around the Forum before Friday's Lakers-Golden State Warriors exhibition. Plenty had changed in the 10 years since I last set foot in the building. The scoreboard is gone. So are the championship banners and the retired numbers. The press room was as cramped and uncomfortable as I remember it. The bathrooms were just as gross. Went up to the Forum Club and had a look around. Nothing had changed. Same photos of Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky were on the walls. Walked along the hallway where the Lakers' and Kings' offices used to be located. Saw the photo of Mick Fleetwood banging on the drums was still hanging in the same place. That warmed my heart. Still, it was a bittersweet return. Sad to say, but the Forum simply is no match for Staples Center.