Doctor: Hearn's career likely over

LOS ANGELES - Longtime Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn has probably called his last game, his neurologist said Saturday after performing surgery for brain hemorrhaging. <br> <br> ``If he has a full recovery in terms of his motor functions he will very likely have speech difficulty, so I will foresee that he will have a difficulty to be announcing,&#39;&#39; the neurologist, Dr. Asher Taban, told reporters outside Northridge Hospital Medical Center. <br> <br> Asked if the 85-year-old Hearn had called his last game, Dr. Taban said, ``unfortunately it&#39;s probable.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Stu Lantz, Hearn&#39;s longtime broadcast partner, was at the hospital. <br> <br> ``He&#39;s like a father to me,&#39;&#39; Lantz said. ``I mean, the guy is one of the most remarkable men that I&#39;ve ever known. .... He needs all the prayers right now.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Hearn was taken to the hospital from his San Fernando Home around 8 p.m. Friday after neighbors saw him fall in his backyard and called 911. <br> <br> When he arrived at the hospital doctors found a hemorrhage inside his cranium, on top of the brain, Taban said. <br> <br> He underwent surgery and when the operation was completed around 2 a.m. Hearn&#39;s condition appeared more stable. <br> <br> But around 9 a.m. Saturday his neurological condition began to deteriorate and another blood clot was found, this one inside the brain, Taban said. <br> <br> ``This created a major brain shift, which is usually not compatible with survival,&#39;&#39; the doctor said. <br> <br> Hearn underwent a second operation, which was completed around 3:30 p.m., shortly before Taban spoke to reporters. <br> <br> Apparently, the second hemorrhaging was brought on by blood thinners that Hearn had been taking since undergoing heart surgery last year. <br> <br> Taban said the pressure on the brain is under control but will be monitored. He was asked about Hearn&#39;s prognosis. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s not good,&#39;&#39; he said, shaking his head. ``I do have a major concern because of his age and because of the thinning of his blood.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> It wasn&#39;t clear what caused Hearn to fall, but doctors did not believe he suffered a stroke, according to Bob Steiner, a spokesman for Lakers owner Jerry Buss. <br> <br> The voice of the Lakers since the team moved to Los Angeles four decades ago, Hearn is credited with adding such signature phrases as ``slam dunk&#39;&#39; and ``air ball&#39;&#39; to the NBA lexicon. <br> <br> He called a record 3,338 consecutive Lakers games over 36 years, but saw his streak end last season when he had to undergo heart surgery to repair a blocked aortic valve. The broadcaster suffered a further setback when he fell during rehabilitation and broke a hip. <br> <br> Still, Hearn was able to return to the Lakers in time to broadcast the team&#39;s run through the playoffs to its third consecutive NBA championship. <br> <br> Hearn and his wife, Marge, are expecting to celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary on Aug. 13, Steiner said. Hearn&#39;s wife and a granddaughter were at his side Saturday, and Steiner said Marge was ``doing amazingly well, all things considered.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``They&#39;re concerned but they&#39;re supporting each other,&#39;&#39; said Rev. Monsignor Carl Bell, pastor of St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church in Encino, whom Marge Hearn called to the hospital to pray with the family. <br> <br> Lakers players and fans wished Hearn well. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s really unfortunate to hear bad news, especially with Chick because he&#39;s so spirited about being a part of the Lakers family and people don&#39;t identify the Lakers without Chick,&#39;&#39; Lakers guard Derek Fisher told KCAL-TV. <br> <br> The only play-by-play announcer the Lakers have had since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season, Hearn peppers his rapid-fire delivery with such colorful terms as ``no harm, no foul,&#39;&#39; ``the mustard&#39;s off the hot dog,&#39;&#39; ``ticky-tack foul,&#39;&#39; and ``faked him into the popcorn machine.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> During his 42 seasons with the Lakers, his unique ``words-eye view&#39;&#39; has provided the soundtrack for nine NBA championships - one with Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain in the 1970s, five with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980s, and the last three with Shaquille O&#39;Neal and Kobe Bryant. <br> <br> Whenever he believes a Lakers victory is imminent, he is known to say, ``You can put this one in the refrigerator. The door&#39;s closed, the light&#39;s out, the eggs are cooling, the butter&#39;s getting hard and the Jell-O is jiggling.&#39;&#39;