I would've written this back on Sunday directly after the Lakers won Game 5, but Marc was having a little Laker viewing party over at his place so I headed there afterwards. Then I wasted the rest of my night talking to Papa John's customers and convertible-driving cold people (but with their heaters on). I watched the game in the comfort in my own home – I wanted to watch it with fans that really cared, like Shaq.

But wow, how about that parade!

I was looking at LA traffic via Google Maps at around 9 Thursday morning and I was shocked by how much red was on the freeway. I have literally never seen so much jammed traffic on these freeways, and they were all heading towards downtown. From Anaheim, Hawthorne, Santa Monica, Sun Valley, and El Monte: all the roads were packed. They weren't all parade goers of course, but the Laker fans completely overloaded the freeways and created quite a nightmare for drivers, I'm sure. It was awesome.

I didn't go anywhere today. I was glued to the set. Originally, I had planned to go to work, but as soon as I turned the TV on and saw just how many people were crowding around Fig and how many people were flooding into the LA Coliseum, I couldn't turn the TV off. It was as if it were January all over again and Obama had just become President: that's how much of an event this was on Los Angeles television.

And if you watched the coverage of this parade, you'd probably have had your jaw open as far as mine. Not only was the nearly 94,000 maximum seated Coliseum full, but tens of thousands other Laker fans crowded the streets, most of whom probably have never been to a Laker game – that's why this parade meant so much to the city, and it made it more worthwhile since the city didn't dish out a single penny.

Fortunately, those small riots that broke out on Sunday after the Lakers won the Championship did not take place Thursday during the parade. While there were a few minor incidents (with more than a couple hundred thousand people walking on the streets of Downtown, it can't be perfect!), the parade was an overall success, especially considering that it was planned on such short notice (though, they could've been planning it for a week prior to the actual win, haha).

You had to see some of the places that these fans climbed onto to see the parade go by. I saw one guy on Fig / Washington on a street light, a whole bunch of people on bus stops, and another crowd of people on top of pumps of the Chevron station at what looked liked Fig / Expo. Hell, even the construction workers of that new USC housing building stopped to watch the parade go by!

It was an amazing sight, watching how many people showed up. The rally at the Coliseum was pretty good too, even though I still don't understand why after talking to Phil, Joel and Stu talked to Luke. Fisher was probably the best, totally amped up the crowd. And how about what they were standing on, the Lakers floor! That was too awesome. I can only imagine what the atmosphere must have been like at the Coliseum today... maybe Imadul can tell us – he went to the parade, but I'm not sure where he got to. I'm going next year, that's for sure. And I won't have to worry about traffic either since I'll be living off Fig!

I think I heard John Ireland saying on his ESPN Radio show that there were more fans lining up on Fig in the past, but duh, most of them were in the Coliseum this year! Overall, I think the parade was a gigantic success.

This is where this post takes a fun little twist. After the parade, Kobe went to Universal City to... that's right, go on The Tonight Show, which means my two favorite things in the world (Conan and Lakers) became one. It's the first time the two have met. Kobe was fantastic on the show (watch a stream below, I'll have it for download later today), so laid back and relaxed. I've seen him on talk shows before (Kimmel a couple times), but this is the first time with Conan (a Boston native, but Kobe forgave him). It was such a great segment (Conan decorated the set for Kobe!), so I'm bringing you not only the interview, but everything Kobe / Laker related that led up to the interview, it's a two-parter. And just in case you were wondering, no, Kobe isn't the first guest on The Tonight Show that I'm putting on the site, I also have Larry David from last night, but you'll have to wait until later for that download too.

So watch the interview: Kobe talks about the Finals, winning the championship, Phil, and even gives Conan a Los Angeles welcoming gift! Great stuff. Afterwards, William Shatner was on (he was originally supposed to be the first guest and McLovin' was supposed to be the second guest, but I guess they canceled McLovin' and pushed Kirk aside for Kobe) and he was really hilarious, but I won't show you that one! That's all I have, folks. I didn't get to really write about how thrilled I am that our Lakers are the champions once again, but that's what I would've wrote about on Sunday. Let's hope no key guys leave this offseason and that the Lakers repeat next year. And just because the Laker season is over, it doesn't mean you'll hear less from me, oh no. I have something planned for the next two weeks at least (other than that video of my Laker Playoff beard growing nearly two months), so stay tuned! Take care everyone. see u.