I called Joe Maloof a few minutes ago to see how he was feeling, and he immediately picked up his cell phone. That's always a good sign. He also was breathing hard, so for a few minutes there, I wondered what the heck he was doing.
As it turns out, he was working with the physical therapist who has been helping him recover from double-knee replacement surgery. Of greater significance, Joe confirmed that he did in fact have a stroke last week. "Just a mild one, a mild one," the Kings co-owner informed me. "I'm fine. I just have to get back to working out consistently, which I wasn't doing because of my knees. But I'm so much better now. I'm coming back to Sac in a few days, and I'll be around. I'm feeling so good now I can hardly believe it."
And, of course, he was in a great mood because the Kings beat the Lakers on Tuesday night. "I loved the way we played," he gushed. "We passed the ball, we defended. The youngsters played a lot. That might have been the most important regular-season win since we bought the team, given the circumstances (Reggie Theus' status, slumping attendance and fan interest, the economy, etc.). I am really happy for Reggie. Maybe we can get on a roll. We're not out of it yet."
With that, he went back to pumping iron, or whatever one does in physical therapy.
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