Tyson, meet Kobe. Kobe, meet Tyson.
August 11, 2008 | 10:17
am
I've had a chance to cover a few ESPY Award shows working for ESPN, and one of the more entertaining aspects of the event always came in watching the interaction between already famous athletes and entertainers who may not know each other. Often, you'll see a lot of star-struck looks among those usually doing the star striking. The Olympics are a similar laboratory, and judging by the reaction sprinting champ and track icon Tyson Gay had meeting Kobe Bryant, you get similar results.
It just goes to show, as Us Magazine might say, that star athletes are just like us.
BK
I just love what Kobe brings to the Summer Games. I doubt I'd even be watching if it wasn't for him !
Posted by: LALAKERLOVER | August 11, 2008 at 10:42 AM
It just goes to show you that superstar athletes are just regular fans/people themselves. I've never been the type of guy who gets star struck around celebs but I have a feeling this week that may change. Lebron James is supposed to be coming to my job here in Harlem, NY and I must admit I am pretty hyped about that. We've had a bunch of former and current NBA legends come (Allen Houston, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ear the pearl, Majic Johnson, Ben Wallace, etc)
GO TEAM USA!
Posted by: Blaze1Bx | August 11, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Blaze1Bx STARSTRUCK? NEVER! How you been brother. I was at a lost for words when
I met MJ for the first time. Of course I'd be at a loss for words if I met Coby Karl. LOL!
LALAKERLOVER, you and me both
Posted by: MAMBA24 | August 11, 2008 at 11:30 AM
To quote the immortal muse, Neil Peart...
"All the world’s indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another’s audience
Outside the gilded cage"
GO USA!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Ben Olson just broke his foot.
It's going to be a long season for us Bruins fans.
GO UCLA!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 11:36 AM
If this is the reaction kobee is getting, imagine how incredible it would be if Paul Pierce or Steve Gnash were there?
BTW, did you notice how Marc Gasol got the start vs. Greece and Pau came off the bench? I think the spaniards have seen the light with Pau - better as a bench playa, as evidenced by his finals and euro title performances.
Posted by: BUTLER | August 11, 2008 at 11:42 AM
Goooooooood morning Laker Blog!
What's the haps people? Great weekend for everyone, I hope, Team USA beatdown on the Chinese nationals and the ladies showed us what FUNdamentals are. Those gals can shoot. I've been a fan of the WNBA ffrom it's inception because
A: There is absolutely NO reason that men should have their own leagues and women should only have college.
B: The WNBA has players with better overall skills and I think they are more competitive than most of their male counterparts (don't believe me? Would you rather have Lisa Leslie on your team or lazy, good for nothing T-Mac? Give me Lisa Leslie anyday of the week).
C: They'll be dunking more as time goes on, it took men years to make basketball look fun and exciting, women did it in one.
D: The Sparks used to play in the Forum, the only other time I've been there since the Lakers moved was to see a Phish show. I love the Forum.
E: I loved A League of Their Own.
OK, that last one was a little off the mark, but seriuosly, the old 'they can't dunk, duhhhh, guys can dunk, duhhhh' is wearing WAY thin.
I think it would be sweet if during the All Star game, they had a women vs men exhibition game, they could use the ladies ball and the men's rules. Peop[le will disagree, but I think the ladies would make it very competitive.
Don't think they'd have a chance?
I'll bet you'd a thought that Team USA would never lose the Gold with NBA ballers hoopin' it up against international competition. If the refs were to call the game the way the rules are written, I think the ladies would be right there.
We'll never know, because I'll bet the men would never agree to play 'em.
But on to the topic to which this Blog is dedicated:
The Lakers. OK, let's assume that the starting line up will be this:
Derek Fisher
Kobe Bryant
Lamar Odom
Pau Gasol
Andrew Bynum
Let's say that Chris Mihm will end up being the first big man off the bench with Vlad Rad coming in a close second if there's foul trouble. Does it feel like we've gotten very light at the 4 and 5? Do we still have Mbenga on the team? Could we sign Lisa Leslie?
Kidding on that last one.
But we do seem to be lacking big bodies. I suppose that with foul trouble, it'd be easier to slide Gasol to the 5 or Lamar to the 4 and put in Ariza/Walton/Radmonavich depending on matchups. It just seems that we'll be using multiple players in multiple positions, again, and that seemed to weaken us in the playoffs. Mihm doesn't have much of an outside touch, so i don't see him playing the 4. If you think about it, we have 3 centers (Bynum, Mihm, and Mbenga [?]) with 1 power forward, Gasol, and Odom as the Laker version of Chone Figgins (dude plays everywhere and doesn't say a word, just gets on base and plays great defense).
Are there any big men that I am missing? I know we play Vlad Rad at the 4, but it's always been a bad idea in my opinion. The guy plays down low like he's about to throw a party with tea and crumpets. Pinky out.
Are there any more decent bangers out there? Are we going to have watch Tractor take up an extra bench seat or two? Will we bring Wang Zhizhi back to the US?
I ask because if any of our big guys go down it will leave our rotation vulnerable to foul trouble and injuries. If, for instance, Gasol's back goes out and Lamar hurts his shoulder...who will rebound for us. Or, if Bynum hurts his knee and we have Chris Mihm at center and Mbenga backing him up, our centers will never be double teamed and the paint will be clogged with extra help defenders.
Maybe I'm finding disaster in places where none exists, but sports are so unpredictable, I just don't want to see a promising season go down the tubes because we don't have an adequate back up.
Thoughts?
Posted by: Jamie Sweet | August 11, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Jamie Sweet:Could we sign Lisa Leslie?
I don't know about Lisa Leslie, but I'd go along with
Candace Parker.
Posted by: Mamba24 | August 11, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Jamie Sweet,
You're delusional. You take a sort of okay premise and overextend it.
It's true that women often play more fundamentally sound basketball. They do tend to do better in 3 point competitions.
However, if women shot in a league with men, they'd get most of their shots blocked because they lack lift when they shoot compared to men. Because of the superior athleticism and greater size of men, women simply can't compete.
Gee, T-mac or Lisa Leslie? T-mac forever, including as the center in a league with women. He would dominate.
Now, there are rare women who are like 5 standard deviations above the mean in ability that can hang with men. It's extremely rare.
If you really want an in your face demonstration of men versus women, watch the following:
Track and field.
Cycling.
Weight lifting.
Pay attention to the numbers.
I'm not a sexist. I love my squishier, more sensual human counterparts. But, I'm a realist in that I know there's no way that women can compete with men on a purely physical level. That's on a strong average (as in Marion Jones was probably stronger than me, but that's a case of extremes--me not working out much lately and Marion Jones being a physically unique person that trains nonstop, maybe even without the juice). Basketball has enough athletic components that women simply have no chance.
Posted by: Benjamin | August 11, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Cool exchange.
Thanks BK.
Posted by: Brandon Hoffman | August 11, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Benjamin
I don't know, man, I'm not sexist either, but it seems like women are closing the gap. I'm not saying that women would dominate the men, I'm saying it would be competitive.
In truth, I probably did go a wee bit overboard. But it would be fun to watch, say, NBA rookie team vs WNBA rookie team and see who comes out on top and by what margin. Just sayin'.
Posted by: Jamie Sweet | August 11, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I love the word 'squishier', by the way.
I also like moist, but some people get the heeby jeebies when you use moist in a sentence.
Give it a try, you'll see.
Posted by: Jamie Sweet | August 11, 2008 at 12:21 PM
@ Jamie Sweet
Good analysis and concerns are justified entirely, we don't seem to have a good backup bigman. Neither Ronny nor Kwame however would have been adequate substitutes, Ronny got beat up way too much when he played Center and don't even bring Kwame Brown who is no Charles Oakley.
Radman at the 4 gives the 3 point shooting that the bench lacked especially in the playoffs and the finals. Vlad can take the role Cook gave us back 2005-2006 and have a big man who can shoot from the perimeter and he is a bit better defender than Cookie was. Having him there will force teams to look for him and not always try to lock up Sasha and his perimeter shooting.
Luke can also play the 4 but he should no way be put in there unless in extreme circumstances.
Look for the Lakers to add veteran power forward in training camp who can give some rebounding and scoring and can at least play 15 min and who won't complain because he isn't in the regular rotation. (P.S. Don't even think about Slava)
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | August 11, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Did Kwame Brown take us to the finals?
Did Kwame Brown take us out of the first round?
I repeat...
Did Kwame Brown take us to the finals?
Did Kwame Brown help us lose by 30 something points in a first round playoff series? YES!
Did Kwame Brown help us blow a 3-1 series lead in a first round playoff series? Check.
What happened once we traded Kwame Brown?
I would take "Soft" Gasol any day if it meant us having a chance to win the finals. We had no chance without him. People like Mike T don't get it.. Sure Gasol has weaknesses. Every player does. But the fact remains is he clicked with the offense and with Kobe and the duo took us further than we imagined.
Again, who cares if Gasol got pushed out of the lane by Boston. WE MADE THE FINALS AND WE HAD A CHANCE TO WIN! We just need someone who can push back but we certainly don't need Kwame and we certainly don't need to "replace" Gasol.
Posted by: zen | August 11, 2008 at 12:27 PM
>>>If this is the reaction kobee is getting, imagine how
>>>incredible it would be if Paul Pierce or Steve Gnash
>>>were there?
Yeah. Just imagine.
If Paul Pierce were there, he'd insist on taking every shot
and team USA would finish 6th, like the last time he led the
team.
And if Steve Nash were there, he'd be playing for Canada.
And either one of them could probably walk through the
crowds unrecognized.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | August 11, 2008 at 12:48 PM
Jamie Sweet,
>>>I also like moist, but some people get the heeby jeebies
>>>when you use moist in a sentence.
Try using "sabrosa" instead. Then people won't know you're
saying "moist" (actually, it's more like "juicy")
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | August 11, 2008 at 12:50 PM
zen,
Though I argued that the Lakers should go after Kwame Brown as a defensive-minded ROLE PLAYER/BACKUP, let's face reality head-on...
God once again proved that he's a Lakers fan by bringing Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Kwame Brown.
Pau Gasol will play an essential role in the development of the next great Lakers Dynasty and, God willing, he (along with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher) will someday have his jersey hanging from the rafters at Staples Center.
Go Pau!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Hey Guys and Gals, what do you think of the delayed coverage of NBC with Bob Costas grappling with all kinds of drama and concern for Darfur with his interview with Pres. Bush? During the interview, they even put there below the screen "live interview" when we are the last one to see here in the West Coast, at least way ahead of Aloha country of Michael H. TV coverage? Have you also noticed Bob Costas penchant for drama whether in gymnastics by cultivating stories out of injuries or in swimming, they search for intrigues, the history and convert it into reality TV via the Olympics? Well, it's good for ratings, salivate tear jerk scenes and endorse patriotism but we're still savoring the remaining beef out of a delayed telecast. lol! It is just a matter of time when these networks will follow suit the newspapers, they become ancient to instant news at the dawn of the age of internet/digital satellite/halography/cellweb combined into one.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | August 11, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Jamie Sweet, women's basketball is unwatchable, period. You could put a gun to my head and I'd still refuse to put it on.
If they want us to watch women's basketball, they should get a lineup of:
Kim Smith
Kate Beckinsale
Zhang Ziyi
Megan Fox
Julianne Hough
all wearing purple and gold teddies. Then, I don't care who the other team is, whether the rules are being followed and CERTAINLY whether or not they can slam the ball... Some women's sports, like volleyball or gymnastics, the level of activity is at the highest level of the sport, whether it's a male or female. Clearly, women's basketball is not nearly at the level of the men so... why would I want to watch an inferior product with no hotties?
Does not compute...
Posted by: Good King Mihminus, KEEPER of the Sacred Achilles, PROTECTOR of the Open Rim | August 11, 2008 at 01:01 PM
Blaze1Bx,
What a cool job you must have to for nba legends to visit on a regular basis. Where do you work??...and are they hiring??
Posted by: HoustonLaker | August 11, 2008 at 01:01 PM
Good King Mihminus,
I must concur. Women's basketball is unwatchable. I'm not sure why.
Women's gymnastics, volleyball, soccer? All watchable.
Women's basketball? Unwatchable.
GO USA!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | August 11, 2008 at 01:17 PM
you know, this whole thing:
"The Lakers are considering moving Bryant to small forward and making frontcourt player Lamar Odom a guard."
implies Odom will have a jumpshot come training camp so you would assUme??? Odom has been working on his jumpshot this summer? I mean, we all know he's going to get his mandatory offensive charging call at least once a game so he'll need a jumpshot to keep defenders honest.
Also, Kobe likes to meet stars of other sports, Beckham, Ronaldo, football players, etc. I wonder who would be in awe of who if he met an actress with a big ego, like say Angelina Jolie? Just a fun thought...
Posted by: Good King Mihminus, KEEPER of the Sacred Achilles, PROTECTOR of the Open Rim | August 11, 2008 at 01:26 PM
"If this is the reaction kobee is getting, imagine how incredible it would be if Paul Pierce or Steve Gnash were there?"
haaaaaa haaaaa haaaaa ROTFLMAO....haaaaaa.... I can't... I can't stop...haaaaa LOL....haaaaaa...he said...he said....haaaaa..... LMAO! Woooooo!
You made my day!
Keep them coming!
Posted by: Why? | August 11, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Jon K.
Kwa-mey Brown isn't even good as a backup big man (unless its a 3rd string which I admit should have been his role when he was first drafted so he could have learned better). His only defense is just being in the way and having muscles to match any big man who is very close to the post. He is bad at pick and roll defense, bad on one on one face up defense, and like Stephen A. Smith says "even though he's mobile doesn't really know of what he is doing". And he has no passion of defending which is what a DEFENSIVE minded player needs be like.
Some examples of Defensive quality big men:
Bill Russell
David Robinson
Karl Malone
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Wilt Chamberlain
Ben Wallace (in his prime)
Tim Duncan
Kwa-may Brown is not even a 1/3 of their defensive quality.
Look at the video where Steve Nash just blows by him and all he does is try to spank Nash's behind. That was in the game where he blew a wide open dunk and had 7 turnovers.
LOL!
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | August 11, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Jamie Sweet,
Ever since Candace Parker, I've watched a few WNBA games. I've also played a few pickup games against a couple players from the Sacramento Monarchs a few years back. These woman play defense like Bruce Bowen on speed. They grab, push, pull, and generally think it's ok to foul, since most of the guys playing seemed hesitant to call fouls against the women.
My feeling is any good high school team should easily beat a WNBA team.
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | August 11, 2008 at 01:31 PM
The best Olympic events to watch....Ladies,Beach volleyball,beach volleyball,beach volleyball,beach volleyball,beach volleyball,beach volleyball,beach volleyball,........How long do we have to wait for a wordrobe malfunction.................................Did i mention beach volleyball?
Posted by: Thirty2 | August 11, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Blaze1Bx,
What a cool job you must have to for nba legends to visit on a regular basis. Where do you work??...and are they hiring??
Posted by: HoustonLaker | August 11, 2008 at 02:00 PM
Man, dudes on this blog handin' it to the ladies.
Women's basketball unwatchable?
Gun to your head?
Whoa, bruthas, it don't have to be Clockwork Orange style watching, just, y'know, flip to ESPN 2 or something.
I am of a different opinion than most of y'all. After going to see the Sparks win the WNBA chamionship a couple of times, I was hooked.
BTW LAKER TRUTH, if you didn't call the foul on the court, don't whine about it after the fact. Anyhoo, a pick up games a pick up game. I'm talking on THE court.
Superior athletes I agree, but when Karl Malone couldn't jump or run anymore, he still found a way to make an impact. I don't know if Larry Bird could ever jump, but he was obviously a super star. I'm just saying that they have mad skillz and I'm tired of the lame 'they don't dunk' explanation, which I'm happy to see noone used here today. Good ball movement and smarts beat super athletes every time.
Again, I'm not saying the women would dominate, I'm saying it would be competitive.
Besides, if all the mega talents start signing $50 million/ year contracts to play in Poland, then we might see a co-ed NBA just to keep the revenues up.
Posted by: Jamie Sweet | August 11, 2008 at 02:12 PM
LTLF,
Sabrosa does not mean juicy or moist, it means tasty.
Jugoso/a means juicy. Húmedo/a is the spanish word that translates to Moist depending on the context. Húmedo also means Humid. Sorry I'm anal about spanish.
But I agree with you on why Pierce wasn't asked back on to team USA. Paul Pierce and "his" Celtics where fighting it out with the cellar dwellers for the worst record in the league. With out KG and Ray Allen, PP and the Celtics would still be jobbing to everyone else in the East. They where a step above being the Washington Generals (and even they got lucky and beat the Globtrotters a couple of times). Pierce on the Boston squad was the equivalent of Glenn Rice being on the Lakers during their championship run.
Posted by: The Infamous El Guapo | August 11, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Don't tell me Pau willingly participated in this
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/10/olympics2008.olympicsbasketball
Posted by: hariyahu | August 11, 2008 at 02:27 PM
Haha, don't know why but I thought it was another "Tyson," Mike Tyson lol.
All I could think about was...get away Kobe! Protect your ears!
OK seriously though. It's kind of humbling as a Laker fan to know that in our team, we have THE superstar of the world. The world celebrates this guy. He is revered in China! He is admired by olympics all over the world (there was this shot of players in the ceremony walking to him to take pictures!) and yet here we tear him down everytime we can (see: La Times writers)
Things that make you go hmmn.
Posted by: Faith | August 11, 2008 at 02:43 PM
I'm not sure exactly what, but this article says something about Kobe's ability to play through his pinky injury
http://www.newscientist.com/article/
dn14509-basketball-pros-read-
pinkies-to-call-shots.html?DCMP
=ILC-hmts&nsref=news8_head_dn14509
Posted by: J.D. Hastings | August 11, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Ahhh -- If Piere or Nash were there ....
http://tinyurl.com/6bb4gm
Posted by: HmrHed | August 11, 2008 at 03:21 PM
Women's basketball is so not unwatchable.
Exhibit A: Candace Parker...whom many say is Kobe-esque. Just watch. You'll see it too.
Exhibit B: They WIN. You can argue the women's pool is much weaker than the men's pool. But didn't the dream team once play against and dominate against weaker teams back in the day? It's happening right now with the women's.
Exhibit C: Teamwork at its finest. You don't see players purposely hogging the ball and trying to make something...you also usually don't see players who think they're bigger than their hype (well except for Lauren Jackson of Australia...booooo!).
Yes, it's true, sometimes it can get unwatchable with some clanks...but don't we see that in the men's game too? haha, jk.
Go WOMEN'S team usa! Go USA!
Posted by: Faith | August 11, 2008 at 03:36 PM
yeah, but "Faith"... I take it you are a woman? Well... I'm telling you, dudes have about as much interest in women's basketball as most women have in a nice, violent action thriller.
How about Fight Club? Dudes LOVE Fight Club. We'll watch anything with hot chicks and good violence. There is a movie called Pathfinder playing on cable right now. I never even heard of this movie. I was watching some it, the story was HORRIBLE and yet... I watched the whole thing... THAT'S what a dude does. If it had been about a dancer or some rapper or... some horrible "relationship" movie... I would have flipped channels to something else but Karl Urban was putting a beatdown on some bad guys every few minutes so I was entertained.
Women's basketball? God... I MIGHT even watch the local news before I watched women's basketball...
Posted by: Good King Mihminus, KEEPER of the Sacred Achilles, PROTECTOR of the Open Rim | August 11, 2008 at 04:22 PM
King Mihminus -
"I'm telling you, dudes have about as much interest in women's basketball as most women have in a nice, violent action thriller."
If you come to Lubbock, TX, you'll find plenty of both.
Hope you're having a great day!
Posted by: Caliphilosopher | August 11, 2008 at 05:30 PM
"MAMBA24"
Good Looks on the shout out bro! I've missed your insightful comments and humor. As you see I havent been on the blog for a minute now but I'm slowly creeping back.
"HoustonLaker"
Working with the great Dr. Harold P Freeman in Harlem has enabled me to have these chance meetings with all these great legends. The latest has been Lance Armstrong. He along with my colleague Dr. Freeman are working together towards Cancer research and science. So you can see why I am hyped about Lebron coming with the NBA Cares Program soon.
GO USA!
Posted by: Blaze1Bx | August 11, 2008 at 06:10 PM
You got violence in the previous LA vs. Detroit WNBA game. What more do you want? lol.
Posted by: Faith | August 11, 2008 at 07:32 PM