Where is Jack?

DETROIT — The rumor was movie actor Jack Nicholson flew into town to cheer for his favorite Los Angeles Lakers against the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

But has anybody really seen him in the flesh?

In Game 3, the talk was Nicholson hid in a tinted luxury suite somewhere in the Palace at Auburn Hills and watched the Lakers lose by 20 points, far from the madding crowd.

In the upscale yuppy town of Birmingham, a Detroit suburb where the Lakers are billeted at the plush Townsend Hotel, some fans swore they’d seen Nicholson. The two-time Oscar Best Actor awardee (for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest" in 1975 and "As Good as It Gets" in 1997) was rumored to have gotten a shave with a straight razor at a Birmingham barber shop the day of Game 3.

Newspapermen tracked the lead and interviewed barbers at the shop which Nicholson supposedly patronized. Barbers said Nicholson was never there.

A Townsend Hotel guest was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as confirming Nicholson is staying at the ritzy inn. The guest also said she saw actresses Renee Zellweger and Whoopi Goldberg at the hotel.

It was later found out that Nicholson couldn’t have been here for Game 3 last Thursday. He was on the West Coast that night, paying tribute to Meryl Streep for her lifetime achievement award by the American Film Institute.

Nicholson was nowhere around for Game 4 last Sunday (Monday morning, Manila), probably avoiding a cold reception from rowdy Pistons fans. In fact, rap-metal artist Bob (Kid Rock) Ritchie threatened to pull Nicholson’s sunshades off his face in case the actor showed up at the Palace.

Kid Rock, who grew up in a small Michigan rural town north of Detroit, sang "America the Beautiful" before Game 4. He is known for his hit singles "Bawitdaba" "Cowboy" and "American Bad Ass."

While fans looked for Nicholson, they got a big kick out of impersonator Craig Janos who makes a living like Willie Nepomuceno except he only does the "Something’s Got To Give" actor. He not only looks like Nicholson–with a receded hairline, no less–but also sounds like him.

Janos paid his own way to the Palace to watch Game 4 and hoped to meet Nicholson face to face. He never saw his shadow.

Janos said he once won a celebrity look-alike contest in Detroit and has been impersonating Nicholson the last 10 years. He was an extra in the movie "Hoffa" but never made it as a Nicholson double.

Pulling out a thick envelope from his inside coat pocket, he said he compiled a bunch of his photographs in his best Nicholson disguise to give to his idol. Too bad Nicholson never appeared.

During the game, the Palace giant screen overlooking the court showed Janos in his seat, drawing boos from fans who thought Nicholson was in the crowd. Janos, wearing dark glasses, raised his eyebrows in typical Nicholson fashion, smiled a wry smile and put on a Pistons cap to the delight of over 22,000 partisans. He wore a black shirt under a yellow sportscoat–something Nicholson would wear to a Lakers game.

Maybe, the Townsend Hotel guest mistook Janos for Nicholson.

*****

No home team has ever won the three middle games in the NBA Finals since the 2-3-2 format was instituted in 1984-85.

If the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 at the Palace on Tuesday (Wednesday morning, Manila), they’ll become the first home to sweep the middle three games in the title series.

In playoff history, there have been 154 duels where a team was up 3-1. Of the 154, 24 ended in seven games with 17 won by the team with the 3-1advantage. The teams that won despite trailing 1-3 were Boston over Philadelphia in 1968, the Lakers over Phoenix in 1970, Washington over San Antonio in 1979, Boston over Philadelphia in 1981, Houston over Phoenix in 1995, Miami over New York in 1997 and Detroit over Orlando in 2003. None of the seven comeback series were in the Finals.