With just a few seconds left in Game 7 of the National Basketball Association final, scheduled for completion later that afternoon, word leaked that Los Angeles Lakers Coach Pat Riley would have Kobe Bryant take a four-point shot in an attempt to break his team's tie with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Rock heard this report as he stood near the Central Arkansas Transit bus station on Capital Avenue, a block and a half east of the Democrat Building, and knew it meant a lot of work ahead. To start, he did not think the NBA had changed the rules to allow four-point shots. He wondered how Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson would respond. Did it mean Arkansas would have to guard Bryant no matter where he was on the court?
He knew he would need to talk to Riley before the game restarted but thought it would be nearly impossible to get his phone number on this sort of short notice. Perhaps someone in the sports department could tell him how to get to the Lakers's practice court.
Among a multitude of issues, it occurred to Rock that he had not seen a single play of the game even though he was assigned to cover it. This was clearly one of the most significant athletic events ever staged in Arkansas, and Rock had forgotten about it. He began to panic, and to make matters worse suddenly realized he didn't know where the game was being played.
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