Orange County Register

Maybe somebody tweaked David Cook’s knee in Game 1. Maybe the newly crowned American Idol’s voice (like Lamar Odom’s game) just simply disappeared on him. Whatever the reason, Cook butchered the National Anthem before Game 3 Tuesday night. He sounded as if he had just run six miles and, simultaneously, had a jawbreaker lodged in his throat.

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It’s too bad he couldn’t have gone out there with his electric guitar, changed up the anthem’s melody, thrown a few rock-voice riffs in there and “made it his own.” It’s too bad for Cookie, because you know David Archuleta would not have been the least bit pitchy if he would have been invited to sing at Staples Center. Check out Little David’s magic in this clip from the Lakers-Jazz series.

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No word on whether Archuleta’s father is working behind the scenes to get his son to sing the anthem before Game 5.

It’s also too bad for Jeffrey Osborne. Remember the 1980s superstar who sang “On the Wings of Love”?

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Lakers fans know Osborne as the lucky charm who often sang the anthem during the Showtime era at the Fabulous Forum. Reportedly, the Lakers had a 55-game winning streak when Osborne sang the Anthem during the ’80s.

Osborne appeared on the radio Wednesday night, telling the “Petros & Money Show” that Lakers owner Jerry Buss had asked him to sing the anthem before Game 3. But ABC, the network broadcasting the Finals, chose David Cook instead. Osborne now knows how Archuleta feels.

So now we have to wait for the outcome of Game 4 to see if Osborne can pull off the old magic.

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