Here’s video of Kobe Bryant playing one-on-one in the Philippines (one L, two Ps) at one of his basketball camps, which is weird, because I always remembered basketball camp as a place where you played basketball, instead of watching someone else do it.
But anyway, Bryant pulls a kid out of the stands for a game of one-on-one, and this might be the greatest defense Kobe’s ever played in his life. You get a little perspective for how internationally renown NBA stars can be, whereas we just routinely dump on them without hesitation or restraint. But enjoying a neverending parade of sports icons is part of being American. Well, that and taking it for granted. via, via.
“Who’s better? Kobe or Lebron?” Well, let’s see…I think we’ve established that Kobe is the better penetrator, but LeBron seems to have less talent around him. No, I don’t mean his teammates. I mean some of the lovely ladies at this Playboy Mansion party. Seriously, if you owned the Playboy Mansion, you’d have to install a BatCave, right? And then floor underneath the stripper pole in the living room would give way and I’d slide down to the Batmobile for a night of fighting crime. Or rival pimps. Whatever. via.
Kobe Bryant’s 40 points and facetious attempts at teammate camaraderie was enough to push the Los Angeles Lakers past the Orlando Magic last night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 100-75. The Lakers exploded with 31 points in the second quarter, one fewer than the Magic scored in all of the second half. Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard barely reached double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Highlights of the game after the jump.
The Magic, who punched their ticket to the Finals with solid perimeter play and Howard’s offensive productivity, received neither last night. As a team, the Magic only shot 30 percent from the field, and my limited basketball knowledge tells me that that kinda blows. Howard was a head-scratching 1-for-6 shooting, which is good if you’re playing Russian Roulette, and bad in nearly every other circumstance.
We had something special lined up for today, but we’re having some technical issues with it (without giving away what it is) and we’ll roll it out tomorrow. Fortunately, reader Eric F. came through with this contribution that really, truly has me at a loss. Incredibly done, Eric.
The Stanley Cup Final resumes tonight, and the NBA Finals start up this evening as well. Kobe will be wearing a Lakers uni for that tip, I’d imagine. Lil Wayne wrote a song about Kobe, or a track about him, or whatever they’re calling those things now. And then there’s this video from The Rap Up, featuring a woman that looks mighty similar to Kobe’s accuser in Colorado. You’ll want to listen to the lyrics on this one, kids.
This image is a spoof of one of the new potential covers for NBA 2K10; this and others have been put up for vote so that YOU THE ARDENT, ASTUTE GAMER can select the cover that appears on the game to be released October 31st. Voting starts here tomorrow and runs through June 15th.
The appearance of Kobe Bryant in a Knicks jersey would have been impressive before all this “LeBron James to the Knicks” talk hadn’t started early in the basketball year–it’s obviously fun in video games to swap star players or even create yourself (some people think it’s bush league to create yourself in a game; that’s why I always a Mexicanized incarnation of myself. You’d be impressed with the season Jorge Zambala’s having in MLB 2K9). That said, enough with the damn Knicks jerseys already. They might have the resources to sign whoever they want–but they aren’t! And the Knicks…SUCK. They haven’t earned the right to be the de facto free agent stop that everyone’s pimping them out to be. Is anybody photo-shopping Anquan Boldin into a Lions jersey? Hell, no.
Somebody needs to photoshop Kobe into a Phoenix Mercury jersey. Because that would be hilarious. And somewhat appropriate. Because he’s a girl, see.
So if one of the more renown directors of your day (Spike Lee, specifically) wanted to create a documentary about you, you’d probably be flattered by the gesture, be accommodating in every way, and trust in his vision of telling your story. But then, you’re not Kobe Bryant.
Lee had worked for months to get permission from Bryant, the Lakers team, coach Phil Jackson, the NBA and ESPN, which will air the day-in-the-life documentary on May 16. The director had already flown to Los Angeles, where 30 cameras were in place for the April 13, 2008, Lakers game against the San Antonio Spurs.
But suddenly Bryant said he wouldn’t cooperate unless he was granted creative control, sources said. Lee tried several times to call Bryant, who wouldn’t accept his calls. So Lee, at the suggestion of ESPN broadcaster Stephen A. Smith, drove to Bryant’s house in a gated community, where Bryant refused to see him, sources said.
“It went so far that Lee had a last-minute plan to substitute Spurs star Tim Duncan for Kobe and make the whole documentary about Duncan,” said our source.
Granted, Spike Lee’s work is about as subtle as a blow job in a bus station, but what’s the benefit of putting one of your biggest supporters through that ordeal? Furthermore, a documentary about Tim Duncan?! Ugh, no thanks. I’ll be over here watching the last half hour of Million Dollar Baby on a loop, instead.
|NY Post|
