Suns bow out...

No last-minute heroics this time.

No second-team surge.

No buzzer-beater to send it to a Game 7 back in Los Angeles. No need for Kobe Bryant and Company to return to Staples Center...to all that Hollywood glitter...to the watchful eye of Jack Nicholson...and the 19,000-plus screaming Laker fans. Jack and his basketball buddies will have to find something else to do on Monday, thanks mainly to Bryant's 37 points last night at the US Airways Center as the LA Lakers ended the Phoenix Suns' hopes for an NBA title with a convincing 111-103 victory.

The Lakers take care of the Suns in six and could very easily, in my opinion, knock off the Boston Celtics in four and be crowned NBA champs as early as June 10. Phil Jackson must have the best job in the NBA. You get the feeling the man sits on the sidelines, grunts and groans a few times, watches Kobe pick apart opposing defenses, grabs his car keys and goes home. How do you coach a team like the Lakers? Being an old retired sports reporter, I know for a fact there's more to it than that. Just dealing with all those egos could turn a young man's hair grey, and Phil is certainly looking all of his 64 years.

Jackson turns 65 in September and thanks to Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, along with the rest of the Lakers, chances are he'll be able to find a comfortable spot on the beach this summer, away from all the glitter, and sit back and bask in the glory...and savor his 11th championship as a coach in the NBA.

As for Suns' coach Alvin Gentry, he's still got some work to do. At 55 years of age, Gentry is still a young man by NBA coaching standards and he'll be back on the sidelines next season for the Suns.

The question is: Just how many of the Suns' players will be back?