Lakers Ronny Turiaf open heart surgery

[Reality]

I thought this was a typo or a prank like The Onion when I 1st saw the headlines.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2113689

May or may not end his career.

Poor guy.

I thought he had potential for sure.  A good pickup in R2 for the Lakers.

[Guest_Randy]

I was just getting ready to post on this when I saw you had already done it.

Several things:
1)  It's VERY fortunate they caught this because he could have died if they hadn't.
2)  It is quite possible for him to return to the NBA depending on what they need to do but I just hope the surgery is successful and he can lead a productive life.
3)  Props to Buss for stepping up and providing for his medical bills.  Obviously, his contract is waived but it does my heart good to see the owner treating him properly (the Lakers will continue to hold his rights).

This is quite sad -- I thought Turiaf was going to really help the Lakers this year at the PF position -- can't help but wondering how long they have known about this -- did this factor into the decision to trade for Kwame?  Bottom line is that we are talking about basketball -- not nearly as significant as anyone's life.  

I wish Turiaf well!

[Derek Bodner]

God I hate some people in sports.  This deserves a serious investigation:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/n...-home-headlines

Turiaf, who grew up on the Caribbean island of Martinique and played high school basketball in Paris, had tests done several years ago in France that showed an abnormality of the heart, but was cleared to play. Tests done last month at the NBA's pre-draft camp in Chicago also presented an abnormality, but he was cleared there as well.

"Naturally, we wish that they would have seen it the way our doctors found it," Laker spokesman John Black said Thursday. "It would have made a difference, but we don't want to point fingers. We feel fortunate that it was found when it was. It probably saved the kid's life.