Coke plus that is.

He didn't throw a towel in her face.. he picked up a towel that was probably underneath another towel.. and the one on top flew into her face accidentally.. he didn't throw a towel.. he just picked up a towel very fast that threw another towel into her face..

HI LAKER NATION!!!

All this so-called media type saying LeBron is making his team mates better than Kobe does, I have this to say..Take a player that played with LeBron and Kobe who also ended being traded and see who made the player better..

Lebron..Carlos Boozer ( Utah) still playing great.
Larry Hughes & Drew Gooden (chicago) still playing important mins

Kobe..Brian Cook (orlando) playing very limited minutes
Kwame Brown (memphis) DNP-Coach
Smush Parker (Heat ) dont even know where is now.

I REST MY CASE!!!!!!

Ron Lo

GO LAKERS!!!

OK, Jon K

GO LAKERS

Meanwhile:

24 better work on his towel toss.
People that sit in those seats have flesh eating lawyers.

*________________________________________*
KOBE BRYANT NO MVP NO PEACE BANDWAGON
*_________________________________________*
(1) NIK KANNAN - OWNER AND DRIVER__(16) DREW PAU KOBE
(2) MAMBA24_______________________(17) LARRY
(3) VIOLATER_______________________(18) CBUCK
(4) OUTSIDERGUA___________________(19) EAST COAST JESSIE
(5) LAKERTRUTH - RIDING SHOTGUN___(20) WHITEMAMBA24
(6) ALEXINH017_____________________.(21) BLACKMAMBA24
(7) DREREK_________________________(22) TSIRY
(8) SHAQFAN________________________(23) CHUCK.L.OHNIO
(9) JANAYA__________________________(24) TIM-4-SHOW
(10) JON K___________________________(25) JUST-ANOTHER-MAMBAFAN
(11) IVI8KRS_________________________(26) SBPIMP
(12) JOE DUBB_______________________(27) PSYCHED LAKER GIRL
(13) FEARLESS WHACK JOB___________(28) JEFF
(14) TSPHERE_______________________(29) JESTER GURU
(15) ANDO

I hope some team personnel pointed that little incident to Kobe so he can go ahead and sign the towel and apologize to the poor lady. No harm, no foul. Or, maybe he did already. We will never know because the camera only caught a tiny snippet of the whole scenario (if there ever was one in the first place).

Godspeed, Jon K. Clear things out, the blog will be here when you return.

From the previous thread:

GOOD MORNING LAKERS BLOG! (Even though it's past noon.)

AK/BK, congrats on another milestone! Nice to know the Lakers blog will finally be traveling with the team. Now, THAT'S a bandwagon!

AK, be sure to bring your ear plugs 'coz those cowbells sound nasty!

Hey, Mamba24, you sure do know how to liven up this blog! If, by any chance you have a minute, can you add me to the roll call and all the bandwagons in this blog! Thanks!

It might be a tough matchup tonight. The team must bring out their toughness. The guys need to get out of their slump. Looking forward to seeing some changes.

Man, the Suns sure are harping... this and that. Where's the four or five days now, Shaq? All that talk equals nothing! The littlest violin is now playing for the Suns.

Love it!

GO LAKERS!!!

Dwyer is a tool

Let the man have his Lebron moment and let's move on.

Too bad he didnt pick it up with his right hand. Then we could have all blamed the bum pinkie. But it was clearly an accident. That lady should be happy, she's famous now. :D

Mamba! Thank u for the shoutout back on the roll call, also add me to the no mvp no peace b-wagon. Keep up the good work!

GO LAKERS!

The Kelly Dwyer response is fascinating to me.

The only more response more passioned and vehement than a defense of Kobe's superiority vs Lebron is the defnese of Michael Jordan's superiorty vs Kobe.

Man, those MJ legacy defenders make Kobe Lovers look like ice bergs.

I think PJ said it best when he said that Kobe had better basketball skills than even Mike, but Mike had bigger hands. Same goes for Lebron. It's just not fair to be that big and that fast, but as far as basketball skills go, Lebron is light years behind Kobe. But that says a lot about Lebron's freakish athletic abilities that they can almost make up the gap between his skills and Kobe's.

Good column on the Kobe vs LeBron debate:

http://tinyurl.com/2f4eos

An excerpt:
"Take, for instance, Bryant's most impressive play in his 52-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks in the Lakers' 108-104 overtime win last Sunday. It was an offensive rebound on a missed Lamar Odom free throw with six seconds left in regulation, which assured the Lakers of getting into the extra period. Bryant saw Odom's release, judged where the ball would come off the rim and maneuvered around Brandon Bass to secure the rebound. It was a play that would go unnoticed most of the time, but a play perhaps only the best player in the league could make at that moment. No task is too small in Bryant's mind if it might even remotely contribute to winning."

Celtics and Spurs, contenders for NBA Finals have both quietly added pieces to make them more playoff ready!

Spurs - Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudemire
Celtics - PJ Brown and Sam Cassell

The Celtics and Spurs core are all back healthy.

Spurs - Duncan, Ginobili, Parker
Celtics - Garnett, Pierce, Allen

Lakers on the other hand are still nursing injuries to Bynum and Ariza, have been quiet since adding Gasol choosing only to sign DJ Mbenga..

Pretty much Lakers are relying on Farmar, Sasha and Turiaf to be playoff ready. Young talent with no proven playoff performance.

Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom has not advance to 2nd round to say they are playoff battle tested.

That leaves Bryant, Fisher and Phil Jackson to get this crew up and running like an oiled machine, to not breakdown in pressure situations.

I will feel much better if BYNUM and Ariza are 100% healthy going into the 2nd rd of the playoffs.

I see the Lakers, Spurs, Jazz and Hornets as the top 4 to advance having their respective Coaches (Phil, Pops, Jerry and Byron) been in the NBA FInals twice. It is the Coaching sttff that prepares the team to battle and find ways to win in a 7 game series.

Dallas- Avery - once only In the NBA FInals, last year collapsed in the 1st round.
Suns- D'Antoni never in the NBA finals.
Rockets- Adelman never in the NBA finals.
Nuggets-Karl once in the NBA fInals too long ago.
Warriors- Nelson never in the NBA Finals.

But after the Coaches, the Superstars and role players make their impact. This is where the Spurs and Jazz has more experience in the WEST Finals than the current Lakers combined.

Kobe needs rest. Kobe can not continue to play 40+ minutes going into the end of the regular season. Kobe will have to start preserving himself for the playoffs and maybe more true for Fisher.

But with a short line up, due to injuries (Vlad, Bynum, Ariza, Mihm), Coby Karl, DJ Mbenga and a 14 man roster. That's 7 bodies you can't use. (15-7) = 8 total line up ready to play..

Make that 7 1/2 with Kobe's pinky. Can you really rely on Walton and Odom being healthy? These two guys are prone to injury, being their bodies are made up of soft tissue paper as Phil Jackson once said.

No sgin of Bynum, Ariza and Mihm being 100% healthy.

I think the Lakers need to sign another player now. With a very thin roster and 22 games more to go, are the Lakers waiting who might get injured bfore using their 15 man roster.

Jon K,

I wouldn't stress it too much. There is an enjoyable season here and in the past 2 weeks we have had 2 regular season games that have drawn the attention, hype, and play of a playoff game. This is a great time to be a lakers fan and just enjoy it.

It could be worse. You know, like beating UT and then losing to Arkansas. Vandy, what else can do you wrong?

TaosHum,

Kobe hasn't won the LAST 3 YEARS, due to off-court history...

I would almost be fooled by Dwyer's "article" if not for the fact that the only time he mentions DEFENSE is when he totally glosses over it:

[James'] defense isn't on par with Kobe's, but it's not far off, and it's still pretty damn good.

That's all he says about it. Meanwhile, most of the pundits seem to argue that Kobe vs. Lebron offensively is a wash, so how else do you compare them? Team record (which Kobe will dominate anyway) and defense. The only way to really argue for this year's flavor of the month (James) is to use a purely statistical comparison and somehow argue that 2 more points, 2 more rebounds, 2 more assists, and 2% higher from the field "clearly" puts LBJ on top. Dwyer might not realize that he's being biased, but this is not an objective comparison.

Lakers Legacy,

Ebay!!!

I would be more inclined to allow Kelly Dwyer a pass on his opinion if he wasn't a hypocrite.

He says Kobe deserved the MVP in 2006, except HE BACKED LEBRON THAT YEAR TOO!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/kelly_dwyer/04/24/champs.chumps/

So I mean, c'mon, how can you believe anything he says? He doesn't even agree with himself.

Like Magic's Bird...

Kobe's LeBron will only make him better.

Magic has said many times that it was the perpetual threat of Larry Bird that kept him working hard...

Well, Kobe is the lord of working hard and improving...

He's already thrown TWO Magic baby hooks... Kobe adds stuff to his repertoire IN SEASON. Just think what he'll do from end of June to August...

He'll have a six week vacation in Sept (finger surgery) but the guy is likely to come back 20% better than he was this season... strictly because people think LeBron is better than him.

It's sort of hard to be the best to ever play the game if people don't even think you're the best out there today.

It's an insult to the entire history of the NBA to even include Lebron in any discussions of MVP. Never in the history of the League has an MVP award ever been given to any player whose team just finishes with the 10th or 11th best record of the regular season. At this point, Cleveland is 10th in the standings, and might even be overtaken by Toronto or Portland. Never! Check history!
It will be a travesty if Lebron even gets any votes!
Its the same as the last 2 years when Lakers finished 8th in the WC (I don't remember where in total League record) and he didn't get MVP mainly because of that record (I mean Kobe).

Yet another interesting article on Kobe vs Lebron:

Kobe, LeBron in their own league -- with Bryant ahead

The game is two-on-two. It's Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in their prime against Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Here is how the contest might unfold:

Kobe starts out on Bird and LeBron takes Magic. Magic is used to overpowering everyone he plays, but at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, LeBron is just as big and strong. Bird is clever with the basketball and his step-back jumper is un-blockable, but Kobe is in a class with Michael Jordan and Bruce Bowen when it comes to guarding people on the perimeter.

He doesn't let Bird breathe and doesn't give him the space to get off his shot. He is so quick that Bird can't set him up for any backdoors. Magic has to make the outside shot for his team to have a chance, but since he shoots a flat-footed jumper, the quicker James isn't going for any fakes and can keep a hand in his face. With James and Bryant being just as effective above the rim as below it, where Bird and Magic excel, they have a great advantage.

But you can't downplay pride, smarts and competitive nature, and because of that, Bird and Magic stay in the game. They actually run plays.

It comes down to one possession. The game is to 15, one point a basket and you have to win by two. It's 14-13 in favor of LeBron and Kobe and they have the ball.

LeBron checks it at the top of the key with Kobe on the left wing. The idea is that Kobe will get the ball on the move, keeping Bird off balance, and will then be able to take him off the dribble before Magic can drop off and help.

That's exactly what happens and ...

This is just imaginary, so no one will ever know what really would happen, but Bryant, who along with James is in one of the most interesting two-man MVP battles in a long time, thinks he knows.

"You've got to understand we've watched Larry and Magic their whole careers," a playful Bryant said after playing with James for two weeks last summer on Team USA in the FIBA Americas tournament. "We've emulated them and so we know what they like to do. Everything they did, we tried to do in the driveway. It would be fun. I think a lot of people would want to watch it, but we would definitely win."

James nodded his head in agreement.

Bird and Magic have yet to weigh in with their opinions.

The point, however, is that not since the days of Bird and Magic has the NBA been blessed with two players who have everyone talking about who is the best player in the league as much as Bryant and James have people debating the issue.

Leaving statistics out of it, and just looking at impact, Bryant and James are nearly unrivaled this season, and as different as they are in style of play, they are both expected to do the exact same thing every night -- figure out what their team needs and provide it.

James can be overpowering. Bryant is efficient. Both are spectacular. Bryant's Los Angles Lakers are better than James' Cleveland Cavaliers, but that shouldn't be held against either one. You have to play with the hand you're dealt.

You can argue all day long who is the best player in the NBA today, but when you stop getting overly excited by dunks, threes and no-look passes and remember the game is played at both ends of the floor, the discussion starts and stops at Bryant. He has the same mind-set on defense that he has on offense, playing the entire game with a "no one can stop me and I can stop anyone" mentality.

In comparing players, we often feel we have to find fault in one of them to boost the other, but in this case, we don't have to. Kobe is the best player in the NBA, not because James, who is second best, has any glaring weaknesses, but because Bryant is just that good at every facet of the game.

Take, for instance, Bryant's most impressive play in his 52-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks in the Lakers' 108-104 overtime win last Sunday. It was an offensive rebound on a missed Lamar Odom free throw with six seconds left in regulation, which assured the Lakers of getting into the extra period. Bryant saw Odom's release, judged where the ball would come off the rim and maneuvered around Brandon Bass to secure the rebound. It was a play that would go unnoticed most of the time, but a play perhaps only the best player in the league could make at that moment. No task is too small in Bryant's mind if it might even remotely contribute to winning.

Bryant, however, will be the first to tell you that in this fickle world, as Julian Sands said to Kim Raver on a recent episode of Lipstick Jungle, "It doesn't take much for a halo to turn into a noose." But Bryant is showing critics and doubters this season that his drive to win may be unparalleled. This may be the season in which he won't have to hear, "Kobe might be the best player, but ..."

Bryant is motivated by different standards than most. He won't say it, but he doesn't want to be recognized just as the best player in the league. He wants to be known as the greatest player ever. More important, he understands what that means and has done whatever necessary to keep himself on that path.

Two-on-two games are just for fun. What Kobe Bryant is doing on the court is for real.

David DuPree covered the NBA for nine seasons for the Washington Post and 23 seasons for USA Today. His column will appear weekly at SI.com.

Hi BK,

You never answered by question about why there are no Sports links on this blog page like all the other Sports pages on the L.A times website. Every other sports page shows "Lakers", "Clippers" links for easy navigation..

Mamba24 -
What up? Still diggin' the ENTHUSIASM!!!
You are the Earvin "Magic" Johnson of this blog!
You make everybody better and enjoy doing it!
Thanks!

Kobe is hands down the MVP. Has been for years.
Put Kobe in Dirk's place and there is no way he would have let the Mav's lose that championship.
Replace him with Nash and the Sun's win 3 straight.
Put him on the Cav's and they are right there with the Pistons and Celtics. For the past 3 years, we had to watch Kobe carry a team night in and night out.
LeBron, Nash and Dirk had alot of talent with them.

Kobe does the little things to help his team win. When you do alot of little things, they add up to big things.
Nash and Dirk won it in the past b/c David Stern wants the NBA to go global.

Enjoy tonight's game!

DrewPauKobe,

"Somebody in the playoffs last year threw a towel behind themselves in anger and it bounced off the wall and hit someone in the face...anyone remember this? It was hilarious and got replayed over and over on TV. "

it was Rasheed Wallace

REPOST

Mamba24

Please add me to roll call.

thx

Posted by: JustaLakerFan | March 03, 2008 at 10:57 PM

Quoth Dwyer: "I like attention like Isiah Thomas likes pass-first point guards."

Cute line!

Also, completely disingenuous.

Look, writers need readers. His piece was meant to inflame (and thereby gain readership) and it did its job perfectly.

To bolster his cred that he doesn't care about attention, he also uses the example that he has been none too swift in getting his picture taken for the Yahoo!!!! site. Dwyer may not have his face shown on the Yahoo!!!! site for any number of reasons. He may be hideously ugly, or he may just be too lazy to pick a camera up. He may not know how to use one. Now that he has a lot of Lakers fan-atics all in a tizzy, there's another good reason to hide.

But back to the point of courting readership. An example (conjecture, but tell me I'm wrong, guys): I'm guessing the surrounding hype with the Lakers winning plus the general quality of the community here has attracted many new readers to this blog. Plus, with all the refreshing we all do, I'm guessing this blog is one of the leading sources of hits on the Times Website right now. The result of all this. combined with their great work in moderating it all? AK/BK just got travel passes!

Nice. Them's the benefits of readership.

Look, if Kelly wrote uninteresting or uncontroversial pieces, nobody would read his column and he wouldn't have a job. Period. For him to pretend otherwise is a transparent falsehood.

So that bugs me. Almost as much as his argument for LeBron (a subject that is completely subjective no matter how you slice it).

I will give him this. Having been called publically to task once or twice for expressing an opinion in a written forum -- in a humorous context, no less -- I know it doesn't feel good. Hate doesn't ever feel good, even if you used the power of your voice to incite it against yourself -- consciously or not.

Maybe he truly is so naive that he believes he would be taken seriously as an informed voice and then everybody would just fall in line with his point of view. I seriously doubt it, though.

Hey, Kelly, don't be so defensive! Thou dost protest too much.

Speaking of, welcome back Jon K!