Kobe Bryant humbled that his jersey remains the NBA's most popular
There may be varied opinions on whether Lakers guard Kobe Bryant's overall effectiveness has deteriorated because of age and injuries. But Bryant's performance in the Lakers' dominating 111-87 Game 5 victory Tuesday over the Oklahoma City Thunder shows his strong ability to leave a firm imprint in any role.
There also may be varied opinions on who's the league's best player, but it's indisputable Bryant still remains No. 1 when it comes to jersey sales. For the second consecutive season, Bryant's No. 24 jersey tops the NBA's list of most popular jerseys, according to the NBA, based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and at NBAStore.com. Additionally, the Lakers remain the top-selling franchise in team merchandise for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.
Bryant pulled a very traditional acceptance speech, saying "It's obviously a great honor because you have a lot of people out there supporting you and pulling for you." But Lakers forward Pau Gasol, whose jersey is ranked No. 14 overall, had an interesting take, observing how Bryant's popularity extends beyond the United States with Mamba holding the top-selling jersey in Europe and China. Gasol promptly corrected a reporter who suggested that his jersey is more popular than Bryant's in his native Spain. "I don't think so," said Gasol, who believes he's ranked third in jersey sales behind Bryant and Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. "That's a sign of how great Kobe is, how popular he is and how well he does on the floor."
-- Mark Medina
Follow the L.A. Times Lakers blog on Twitter. E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com
looks like BB fans in Spain r much smarter than the Gasol's fans on this blog
or maybe Gasol's fans don't have the budget to support their idol?
anyway, how about Baby Bynum. anyone wearing his jersey? we know that LakerTom DOES NOT. he has only an old Laker cap. from the Chamberlain era.
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 03:43 PM
- based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and at NBAStore.com, Kobe's jersey remains #1 in the WORLD.
- based on sales at the ESPN offices and anyone else working for satan Stern, Lebron's jersey alone has outsold the jerseys of all the NBA players combined.
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | April 28, 2010 at 04:00 PM
ouchhhh,
you wrote: how about Baby Bynum. anyone wearing his jersey? we know that LakerTom DOES NOT. he has only an old Laker cap. from the Chamberlain era.
my response:
Oh this is so untrue. LakerTom has the hat, all the jersey's, the fleece & he
uses the shoes for book ends. Have faith in LakerTom & his Bynum love.
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 04:22 PM
Becareful LAKERTRUTH, you might get a 35,000 dollar fine... lol
Posted by: Rafa | April 28, 2010 at 04:23 PM
MAMBA24,
Please put me on the 2 bandwagons:
THANK YOU EDWIN GUECO FOR THE JUST WIN PETITION WORK – BANDWAGON
Edwin, thanks for all your hard work on the Just Win bandwagon!! Lakers must have got the message!!!
WE RIDE OR DIE WITH FISH - BANDWAGON
*
I don't want to be a hypocrite as I've blasted Fish when has wasn't playing so hot - but it's true, I don't believe we would be better off with Farmar or Brown starting. If PJ chooses to start him then that's good enough for me!! We go with Fish until the end!!!
Mamba24,
Thanks for all you do too!! I have seen you and bloggers like Jon K stay positive about the Lakers even when they weren't playing with fire in their belly. Props to fans like you!! !
Posted by: Kobe81pts | April 28, 2010 at 04:25 PM
LAKER TRUTH
i will humbly make a correction: LBJ's Jersey is the ONLY one for sale. that's the way one eliminates the competition
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 04:27 PM
hobbit
sorry. i'm not very good at following stats and even less the inventory of wardrobe items.
but does he have the flags on his car? not in Mill Valley. it won't work with the local patriotism.
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 04:30 PM
Ouchhhhhhhhh,
Big Baby Davis only cries tears of joy!!!!!
Posted by: RED`S LOVE CHILD
well, in that case will leave the tears of sorrow for U
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 04:35 PM
Lakers at the Free-throw line this year vs. Boston...68%
Lakers at the Free-throw line this year vs. rest of the NBA....77%
Celtics` Free-throw defense remains the best in the league!
Posted by: RED`S LOVE CHILD | April 28, 2010 at 04:36 PM
Fisher haters: take these couple of days off to REPENT. If the Lakers brought in another starting point guard, say Shaun Livingston, Fish would have no problem tutoring him and coming off of the bench. Then, all of a sudden, Fish would go from weak link to one of the most clutch bench players in the league.
Fish is one of the greatest Lakers of all time, period. If the Lakers ever retire a non-Hall of Famer it should be Fish.
No matter how this season ends up there are going to be some changes in the offseason. Let's hope that one of them is a new starting guard so Fish can assume more of a Brian Shaw/Ron Harper-type of role and get the love that he deserves.
Posted by: East Nyboer | April 28, 2010 at 04:38 PM
East Ny-
Won't work. Fish wants to start next year.
Posted by: troy | April 28, 2010 at 04:41 PM
I can't figure Kobe out. Is he hurt, or not. Is he in a slump, or not. Will he pass more, or not. Is he getting older and worn out, or not.
To hell with it, I'm not doubting this guy anymore.
Posted by: troy | April 28, 2010 at 04:44 PM
looks like BB fans in Spain r much smarter than the Gasol's fans on this blog
or maybe Gasol's fans don't have the budget to support their idol?
anyway, how about Baby Bynum. anyone wearing his jersey? we know that LakerTom DOES NOT. he has only an old Laker cap. from the Chamberlain era.
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 03:43 PM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the Lakers played at the United Center, I wore #16 Gasol jersey. 95% of the Lakers jerseys were Kobe's #8 and #24. I saw a couple of other Gasol and #17 . I did not see the name though. It could be a Rick Fox jersey?
Posted by: mti312 | April 28, 2010 at 04:44 PM
unlike my brethren, I have no rooting interest in the Cavs-Celts game (or the whomever the Magic play in the ECF). I'll enjoy the fake toughness, smack-talking, the dancing and immaturity, and the scowls that make up the eastern conference playoffs.
Posted by: #4 | April 28, 2010 at 04:52 PM
ouchhhhh,
re: the flags on his car. Nope. He won't roll like that. Too many people
would have laughed at him during December. If he can't take the honest
questions with the anonymity of the blog, how do you think he would
have done with real people questioning Bynum to his face?
No chance to duck out. No chance to hide. Just ... "Dude, you boy is a slacker!
What's up with that?"
Abject humilation leading to rage, temper tantrums and shopping sprees.
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 04:57 PM
Dear Lakers brothers, don't be heretic. You can't cheer for bos. You can finish thinking like the trolls who appears only when his team looks good.
I offer you your only alternative in this case: Cheer for Cleveland to lose. In the end, is the same, but not risking your soul.
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: MrNano | April 28, 2010 at 04:57 PM
For what it's worth, I actually hope that Bynum plays well during the playoffs.
Furthermore, I hope that he has learned to hustle for the rest of his career &
life.
I'm just not jumpin' on the bandwagon after 1 game against a team w/o
a decent center.
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 04:58 PM
Abject humilation leading to rage, temper tantrums and shopping sprees.
Posted by: hobbitmage
shopping sprees?
more #17 for/in the closet?
or just a closeted #17?
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 05:02 PM
Lets hope the bi-polar lakers don't slip back into their dysfunctional mode come game 6.
Posted by: troy | April 28, 2010 at 05:05 PM
For what it's worth, I actually hope that Bynum plays well during the playoffs.
Furthermore, I hope that he has learned to hustle for the rest of his career &
life.
I'm just not jumpin' on the bandwagon after 1 game against a team w/o
a decent center.
----------------------------------------------
u said that the right way. like many other on this blog i TOTALLY share those hopes. it is for his own interest and especially the team.
funny some weeks ago Bynum had a good game and in fairness i guess i was the first one to point it out. (of course, because i blog mostly overnight). immediately LakerTom gave me props and extended the peace pipe.
not so fast. :-)
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 05:10 PM
more #17 for/in the closet?
or just a closeted #17?
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 05:02 PM
What exactly are you trying to say here, and are you saying it about Bynum, or LakerTom?
Posted by: Mark G | April 28, 2010 at 05:20 PM
I wonder if perhaps ouchhhhhh and hobbitmage could find another blog to post on? While I used to appreciate the posts from hobbitmage, the obsession with LakerTom and the constant need to attack Gasol and Bynum have become rather tiresome, to say the least.
Barring that, I wonder if Mr. Medina could re-format the blog to put poster names on top of the comment? Or, better yet, implement a block feature? That way posters could continue to personally harass others, but some of us could turn that off.
Posted by: teamn | April 28, 2010 at 05:26 PM
@Mr Nano, that's a good one. I will root for the Cavs to lose then.
Posted by: Jeanette | April 28, 2010 at 05:43 PM
teamn,
Did you by chance see LakerTom's comment to me today?
I have been leaving him alone, but of course he couldn't return the favor.
As I said before, I'll say again. To those who are kind to me, I return the
favor. Speak to your boy LakerTom.
re: Gasol. What did I say negative about Gasol today? For that matter,
before LakerTom's post ... What did I say negative about Bynum?
For what it's worth, instead of me going to another blog ... You could go find
another blog. I happen to like this blog. I happen to like some of the
very interesting conversations I've gotten into. I've learned quite a lot about
basketball on this blog. I think that generally, I'm cordial to folk.
reference my post to Staples24 this am.
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 05:44 PM
Hope the Celtics win?
No way will I route for a Celtic team to win a conference final.
I don't want them to even get a chance to win another title.
I do wish for them to take the Cavs or Magic 7 games and then lose by 1 point in game 7 so they can re-live that all summer long.
Beside, I would get much more joy watching Kobe and friends shut down LBJ and Shaq.
The drama-Kobe vs Shaq, Kobe vs LBJ, who will get the 5th ring.
Wouldn't you love to see Kobe get that ring and not Shaq, not LBJ?
I salivate just thinking about it.
Gotta be Lakers-Cavs in the final.
And the TV revs, maybe new highest rated watched ever.
To beat the Cavs and Shaq and LBJ would be the crowning achievement of Kobes career!
Let's hope he gets the opportunity.
Posted by: Art - FL Lakers Fan | April 28, 2010 at 05:46 PM
Troy,
you wrote:
I can't figure Kobe out. Is he hurt, or not. Is he in a slump, or not. Will he pass more, or not. Is he getting older and worn out, or not.
To hell with it, I'm not doubting this guy anymore.
my response: I think I can help you out with this.
your 1st Q: Is he hurt or not?
A. It doesn't matter. He is the Lakers Samurai. He'll give us all he can. His
lethal weapon is his mind.
your 2nd Q: Will he pass more, or not?
A. It depends on what his teammates are doing. If they're open, hustling &
making shots, then he'll pass. If they are slacking, or can't buy a shot in
Vegas, then he won't.
your 3rd Q: Is he getting older and worn out, or not.
A. It doesn't matter. He is possibly the best to ever play the game. He is God's
gift to us. A little with God's blessing is worth more than a lot without it.
As long as he's playing I'm pulling for him. As long as he's a Laker we have a
chance to win it all! Can you honestly ask for anything more? [ This isn't
Vegas & we're not Boston, Cleveland or David Stern. Fixing games doesn't
count. ]
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 05:51 PM
Troy,
In Kobe we trust.
Go Kobe!
Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 05:52 PM
teamn
is that CornerJ?
i feel the same way. so i do not have to read LakerTom's blabbers about Bynum that goes on for months. except December. and some other many boring posts that r repeating ad nauseum the same myopic opinions about BB. and Kobe and the Lakers. especially when people r watching "every" game and they have the same dusty opinion.
or LakerTom calling people fair-weather fans
or JUSTA calling people newbies as welcoming them on the blog.
or Rick Friedman calling everyone a NO FAN if they don't support Farmar.
or phred asking MM to censor posts based on "quality" when most of his r spams and not related to BB
do you want me to continue the list of self-entitlement and hypocrisy that permeates from the so called "PATRIARCHS" of the blog?
cali's grammar police
i'm sure you like Jon K's:
WHAT DO WE PLAY FOR? RINGS
LAKERS TODAY TOMORROW TILL THE NEXT WIN
GO LAKERS"
after each one liner.
in the meantime i suggest you get a different mouse. i have a round ball and has a great and fast scrolling wheel. does the work.
i hope the posters above enlighten your daily experience. or you don't see the hypocrisy and policing between the lines. does not looks like. you r one of them
the "anonymous" teamn. have some guts. same like Gasol. maybe MM shopuld check your IP CornerJ? last time you had your name with the same request. but now there is a TEAM behind it. need some TOUCHES?
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 05:58 PM
So THAT was the key to the whole enchilada, Kobe on Westbrook? Now that I got to think about it, it makes PERFECT sense. The Thunder depends 80% on the big three of Durant, Westbrook and Green.
Since Durant is being guarded by Mr. NBA Second-Team All-Defensive Ron Artest, even when he has a good game it is not likely he's going to go nuclear on Ron Ron. Mostly he'll have to work hard and shoot a lot just to get anywhere close to his average. That's one down.
As for Green, the least of the three, he is being guarded by Gasol. No defensive specialist here but Gasol is long enough and athletic enough to also limit Green's effectiveness.
So that leaves Westbrook and since he's a PG he's not just a scorer for the team but also its quarterback. It is logical thus, that if he was being guarded by the WEAKEST link of the Lakers he would have had a field day running circles around Fish to score AND to set up his teammates as well.
The question is why did it take this long to think of the obvious solution: to sic Mr. NBA First-Team All-Defensive onto Westbrook to collar him and put him under control? Now that with Thunder's big 3 under control, the rest was fairly easy.
I would have liked to give credit to Phil for this brilliant strategy but I doubt he deserved it. More likely it was Kobe who said "Enough is enough" and he volunteered for the job, maybe more like insisted for the job.
Which really, really, really ENFORCE just how "sucky" Fish was. Fish was downright toxic and killing his team with his failure to guard Westbrook.
OK, to be fair Fish did play a decent game last night. That is, if we now consider a low standard of 6pts on 3-for-6 shooting and 4 TOs as decent.
Just imagine next year how good LAL can be with the same starting lineup but with Steve Blake or Kirk Hinrich at PG!
Now let's see if the Lakers can summon the killer instinct to keep playing with the same defensive intensity to close out OKC in game 6.
Let's hope the team realizes that the more time they have to rest before the next serie the better off they'll be, especially for Kobe.
PS: Did I say how sucky Fish was? Anybody remember the two TOs resulting from Fish trying to make entry pass into Bynum in the low post. Both passes were HORRIBLE! Sorry to say it but there is just no NBA PG who is a worse passer than Fish. And that is beside Fish having his pocket picked by Westbrook not once but twice!
Posted by: Psycorp | April 28, 2010 at 06:02 PM
On a completely non-basketball related topic ...
Has anyone bought Avatar (the movie) yet? I'm jonesing for it.
I did go see Kick-A* yesterday. I kinda liked Nicolas Cage as the father.
It was inspirational ................
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 06:14 PM
Just imagine next year how good LAL can be with the same starting lineup but with Steve Blake or Kirk Hinrich at PG!
Posted by: Psycorp | April 28, 2010 at 06:02 PM
=============
Sounds good, but what would the Lakers need to offer to realistically make the other team interested in that trade.
Posted by: Art - FL Lakers Fan | April 28, 2010 at 06:15 PM
teamn
by the way! any comment about BB?
or just administrative stuff. maybe LA Times can hire u as an intern so u can move the blog faster and even censor some bloggers.
i forgot. none of the bloggers u DONT LIKE ever broke the LA Times rules, did they?
maybe this blog is not for you. you should move to a more peaceful place and pace.
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 06:17 PM
Art -FL Lakers Fan,
you wrote: Sounds good, but what would the Lakers need to offer to realistically make the other team interested in that trade.
my response: That's a great question. Hopefully we win it all this year.
Hopefully, we can find a reasonable pg who just wants to win and isn't
going to demand a ton of cash.
*I* would play pg for a championship team for 1.5 million dollars.
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 07:09 PM
Hobbit,
And i would play pg for The los Angeles Lakers for peanuts XD
Posted by: MrNano | April 28, 2010 at 07:34 PM
ouchhhhhhhhh and hobbitmage are blowing up the blog tonight!
I find both of your posts highly entertaining. Just thought that you might like to know that. I don't know if I've ever responded directly to either of your posts, but I read them every time I post here.
Hope you two are having a good day!
BTW - do either of you two live chat? I can't remember if I've see you on there, but then again, my memory might be fading because I'm reading WAY too many crappy rough drafts from the undergrads...
Posted by: Caliphilosopher | April 28, 2010 at 07:39 PM
I do not want root for the c's but i wanna see the face on lebrick's face when he looses to those old geezers. priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: ookboy24 | April 28, 2010 at 07:39 PM
Kobe is popular in Asia because he has invested time over there whose basketball population in China, Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, Japan is bigger than the USA. I'm just guessing but most of those tshirts sold there are not NBA quality, most are produced in sweat shops. If you count those shirts, Kobe will be 10x the number sold at NY online store.
If Kobe will change his b'ball style from a scorer to an assist leader like what happened last night, he would even more popular than today. Asians are fond of drama, they love the underdog, glamor and the worker. As an injured player and still playing at a top lever, he is adored as a hero next to MJ i.e. if Lakers go all the way to the Finals under present predicament.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 28, 2010 at 07:41 PM
Thanks for the props Kobe81 pts but as I said this morning, it is all our efforts in coming up with that petition. I don't know how Jenny Buss and Stu Lantz reacted when it appeared on their inbox. I don't know also whether MM delivered our petition to the asst. coaches as planned. Please give credit to Rick F and Justa who were responsible in coming up with that idea too. Mamba and I just kept the heat up. Well, it worked and did not just got win but more of sunshine and a renewed hope. Will it work in Game #6? perhaps, we need another type of campaign like getting rid of those ghosts at Rivlin Hotel where Lakers are staying. haha! We will see again the Thunder fans all in white uniform, the look like rabbits watching basketball. lol!
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 28, 2010 at 07:55 PM
"the "anonymous" teamn. have some guts. same like Gasol. maybe MM shopuld check your IP CornerJ? last time you had your name with the same request. but now there is a TEAM behind it. need some TOUCHES?
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 28, 2010 at 05:58 PM "
Dear ouchhhhhhhhh...may I call you ouchhhhhhhhh? First, may I say that I greatly admire the fact you would have the courage to use a non-anonymous name like....ummmm..."ouchhhhhhhhh," unlike that cowardly poser who hides behind such a nondescript nom-de-blog like "teamn." Personally, if I ever felt I needed a more clever secret personna than my own "CornerJ," I would prefer something like "ouch" to suggest I was really like you...but not so obsessively repetitive (nor apparently as paranoid).
Second, I am shocked (shocked!) that you jumped to the conclusion that I was including YOU in my request to MM to ban posters who were obnoxiously repetitive, attacked other posters gratuitously, made little if any sense, had a predilection for bizarre misspellings, occasionally sounded deranged, and otherwise seemed to post for the sole purpose of ticking off other posters ? What on EARTH drove you to surmise that I was including you in that request?
Posted by: CornerJ | April 28, 2010 at 08:16 PM
Cali,
"my memory might be fading because I'm reading WAY too many crappy rough drafts from the undergrads..."
~~I'm one of the guilty parties, I don't have time to edit so just fill in the missing phrase/word/letter and the correct tenses. To me as long as we communicate in the blogosphere, that's good enough. Many Laker fans that I know could not even compose their thoughts so they don't have the courage to join the blog. If you also count the readers, I believe there are more readers than posters especially Laker fans in Europe and Asia. Culturally, they are frustrated when they try to write and speak English especially in France and Eastern Europe.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 28, 2010 at 08:18 PM
Edwin, another campaign?
In my country we have a (soccer) custom for important games. Is called "banderazo", were the die hard fans go to the practice of the team with flags, banners, team t-shirts and many other things to cheer for the team and tell them, they are with them.
I don't know if that can be done over there, but is a possibility.
Posted by: MrNano | April 28, 2010 at 08:22 PM
Two Kobe moments that stood out last night:
1) Russell Westbrook throwing a perfect pass to Derek Fisher after seeing Kobe's shadow on a fast break.
2) Kobe showing Durant he can't shut him down with a up-under-step-through-layin
Kobe found some serious mojo in this game and put the stink-eye on Westbrook.
Posted by: Tom Daniels | April 28, 2010 at 08:25 PM
Mr. Nano,
Well, we also have Laker flags on car, car plates, stickers and so forth, they usually appear after the 2nd round. Laker fans in LA are laid-back when it comes to show their fandom. They come in late and leave early in order to get to the freeway heading home. I heard the OK had a parade when they made the playoffs because it is their first year to be in the playoffs. One time, I heard the Lakers were giving autographs in one a dealer store, the line is about 5 blocks to get the signature of Luke, Shannon, Adam and Josh. Also Mr. Nano, soccer fans are more passionate than basketball fans, you can sense this from the blog how we react when we lose a game against an 8th seed. They get all traded in one evening plus a million curses during conversation among fans. That is the typical LA fans love the winner but have low tolerance on the loser like the Clippers. lol!
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 28, 2010 at 08:38 PM
Send this to everyone you know:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjXQCT47EAc&feature=related
Lebron being an entitled jerk.
Posted by: Tom | April 28, 2010 at 08:53 PM
Lebronze* James
Typo above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjXQCT47EAc&feature=related
Posted by: Tom | April 28, 2010 at 08:53 PM
My English is not perfect as well inspite of having great English teachers since grade school. I may mispell words sometimes but I blame my I-phone for that, it is really hard to edit when you have a very small screen to navigate and I am not a spring chicken anymore so my vision is not 20/20. Besides, engineers are known as not great spellers :-) yeah I am making excuses here.
Re: Kobe's jersey. I have 3 of them. #8, #24 and all-star jersey. They were gifts to me. Kobe has been to Manila 3 times I think. The very first time, I was still in Manila and saw him at the mall. He was promoting Adidas and Sprite at that time. He was still very young then. Remember his Sprite commercial with the tagline "2 points is 2 points". That explains his popularity there and his jersey is the most sought after "pasalubong" from friends and families who live in US or Canada.
Posted by: Jeanette | April 28, 2010 at 09:00 PM
Edwin, for the way you describe it, it sounds a lot like soccer too!! lol.
Posted by: MrNano | April 28, 2010 at 09:07 PM
M2,
It's now been 24 hours since Tuesday night's live game chat melt down. My morning screen probably didn't sit well with the powers that be at the LAT, but so be it.
You were a victim of circumstances, and you were left hanging out to dry because nobody in charge had a plan. Nobody in charge took the necessary measures to address the problem after the previous occurrences. But let's move on.
Since the LAT long ago decided that the live game chat was worth providing, what steps have been taken to assure a reliable product will be served to your customers? What procedures have been put in place so that Plan B or Plan C can be implemented smoothly, if need be? What are they, so we know what to look for?
At game time, it was easy for us to gravitate to the pregame thread and start blogging. But by the end of halftime there were so many unnecessary threads popping up left and right, it was impossible. You've advised management that their posting strategy is - in my words - insane. Are they incapable of seeing the error of their ways?
Your brief morning comment was appreciated, but it's not unreasonable to think that something more complete might be forthcoming. Inquiring minds want to know.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | April 28, 2010 at 09:48 PM
Rick - Sorry to disappoint. I called the sports editor Mike James this morning and briefed him on what happened last night. He said he would be in a meeting later today with Tony Pierce and others, but I have yet to hear back. I will follow up tomorrow.
MM
Posted by: Mark Medina | April 28, 2010 at 09:53 PM
M2,
Thank you for the prompt and courteous reply.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | April 28, 2010 at 10:13 PM
Jeanette, you're really a die hard Laker fan to blog at this hour from Toronto. Don't worry with your English, engineers make money nowadays while English teachers are on unemployed.
I have a story here about languages. In 'o1, we visited the parents of the french teens we hosted in US, their parents live in Lyon. They don't speak English and we don't speak French so we were exchanging signs and open mutual dictionaries for translations. The whole morning, we toured the city exchanging smiles of oui' and merci' from us while they kept saying yes & no. At lunchtime, luckily their other daughter joined uswho speak fluent English. Finally, we learned what they were describing about the roman amphitheater and Fourviere Basilica. In return, they finally understood what we were saying about the gift we gave them. We all laughed at ourselves. It is not in the language but it is in the heart that makes people understand each other.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 28, 2010 at 10:22 PM
Caliphilosopher,
you wrote: I find both of your posts highly entertaining. Just thought that you might like to know that. I don't know if I've ever responded directly to either of your posts, but I read them every time I post here.
Hope you two are having a good day!
BTW - do either of you two live chat? I can't remember if I've see you on there, but then again, my memory might be fading because I'm reading WAY too many crappy rough drafts from the undergrads...
my response: In reverse order. I had just started the live chatting during
games when we started having to login to chat. I don't do social networking,
so ... busted. *sigh* It was actually pretty cool to chat real time.
If I recall you do philosophy/logic. I seem to recall a few posts about an
esoteric form of math/stats....
re: my posts. [ oucchhhh, can speak for himself. :) ]
I'm glad you like them. This has actually been a fascinating place to
"converse" for a couple of years. It is a nice pick me up after reading
teamn's comments.
re: a good day. In general, it was ok. I've got some coding to do. I took a
first attempt at rabbit stew. A little too thin, but it's a start.
Finished a leisure book. Listening/watching an Ella Fitzgerald special.
Dreaming of Cali, Colombia.
But let's get back to the important things! Do you think that the "switch"
was finally flipped yesterday? I was talking with my Dad. We both think
that yesterday was the best we've seen the Lakers play all year.
Posted by: hobbitmage | April 28, 2010 at 10:26 PM
i absolutely agree with edwin. fans here in asia are mostly lakers fans. and believe me, we are more passionate than some other fans in the US. we watch lakers games even if it's 3am, 4am or 5am here. im not really fond of the jerseys since it's too big for me to wear unless it's the original jersey worn by the player. but i got 2 kobe shirts, the MVP shirt in 2008 and the Russell award shirt in 2009. i asked a friend from the US in 2008 to buy me the shirt and another 1 in 2009. i cant purchase anything in the NBA store online, maybe because it's the geographical distance in shipping the products and it's too frustrating. cant buy those championship shirts and some other amazing lakers items due to the fact that the nba store online rejects our transaction. nevertheless, it never stops us in supporting our beloved lakers team. one more thing, Kobe is beloved here in the Philippines. and im so lucky to have a chance together with thousands of Pinoys who saw him here last year when he was promoting his line of sneakers exclusively for Asians. and lastly, we asians, dont care what a player is doing outside the court, what we care about is how he plays the game.
Posted by: maeve | April 28, 2010 at 11:30 PM
Kobe is the most populare and will remain cos outside USA they are not trying to play him down to boost someone else for mere marketing purposes.
The achieving and constant marvelin of Kobe's career doesn't get dusted by dynamic of changing cards that rule majorly USA media, that's why no matter what, a kid wants to get his jersey more than anyone else.
Even in this year of constant physical struggle (I laugh when LeBronze whine about a touched elbow like he tries to play through oh!!! so much pain, whne Kobe is playing with at least THREE major injuries combined all season, and you never hear him whine in front of camera...) Kobe is managing to be a central point for the team.
His mere will of battling himself out to adjust his game in a fashionable way to be useful for the team is admirable.
Maybe not always an accomplished mission, but I dare anyone to make even a third out of what he has done this year with just HALF of what he had to suffer and adjust to.
Kobe's jersey is worldwide better selling cos the guy stands way above all of hs supposed (hyped) competitors.
He's the complete package.
But in USA is fancy to trash him down because only that way they can hope somebody else can become the greatest.
Sorry, ain't gonna happen.
Kobe's talent stay above and by far the supposed great talent around.
Yesterday on Sky Sport 2 (our bball cable channel) after the rerun of Game 5 they were broadcasting the epic game of 2000 against Indiana Pacers.
Yep.
That game where a very young Kobe (ring some bell, Kevin D?) managed to RULE the game in overtime, with Shaq out for fouls, and with the Pacers raging to take home the prize.
The commentators then were my two favourites (Buffa and Tranquillo) and you could see by miles what they were witnessing was something that doesn't happen that often on a court.
They were witnessing a SUPERIOR kind of player.
They are not using any of the world they had then for Kobe with Kevin D now (lacks maturity that Kobe already had at his same age, I am speaking BBall IQ, not the other kind of maturity in human behaviours he sadly hadn't yet, causing him LOTTA trouble, and probably the curse of being always chased by pres ever after any mistake), and they can't even use them with LeBronze now, because kid at 25 still a huge loser, with lots of grey areas in his game to be developed better.
Outside USA, critics take the beauty of Kobe's game and try to analyze his struggles in a FAIR way.
They don't need to push others up by trashing him down like it has to happen there (cough... marketing... cough cough... need of advertising rankings... STERN), and therefore kids outside USA have a way clearer view of Kobe as legend, and don't care about transitional troubles like the ones he has had this season.
Contrariwise: we get amazed the way he can still play THROUGHOUT those difficulties.
Last game Kobe annhilated Westbrook defensively.
And I had to agree with what Brooks said (wow... master of obviousness got my props...): all he did was even MORE than mere stats say (because it0s true: stats only tell a partial story): his craving and presence and commanding just scared the hell out of OKC.
That can't be measured in stats.
At a certain point, Westbrook had a passage of the ball that was insane, a fast drop out that seemed like he was choking on his legs and got disbalanced.
No: it wasn't that. It was Kobe coming at him terrifying him, causing the frenzy act.
That doesn't get into stats of Kobe.
But that was lots of Kobe's game last game.
This man has no comparisons yet around.
The world understands it.
USA probably can't, cos their eyes and ears are covered by the Stern's Blur and Slur and the chants that claim others have taken his seat gotta be overplayed like a Bieber's song in Twitterverse.
But that ain't reality.
That's marketing, and has a very little to do with great basketball.
Kobe... we got you babe.
Keep being yourself and all will be fine.
Posted by: ZairaAmaterasu | April 28, 2010 at 11:58 PM
Hey you guys ragging on Mike T because of "Kwame" stick it up your butt and pay attention to what the dude is saying.
STICK TO THE SUBJECT AT HAND !!
Can you do that?
1) show the man some respect
2) get your ass out of the past.
DO IT NOW. DO IT TODAY. You'll be glad you DID.
Posted by: kensey | April 29, 2010 at 12:24 AM
kensey,
Michael C. Teniente is a great blogger and a man of significant intelligence, he's just been brain shakingly irresponsible with the gifts he's been given.
It drives us all nuts.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: Jon K. | April 29, 2010 at 12:33 AM
Phil Jackson should be preparing his team for shaq vs kobe play-offs between Cleveland vs Laker's with return of MVP James and four time world champion Shaq. What could be match ups for finals? What's their motivation to defend title? Ask Mohamnhad Ali...world champions, undefeated, gold metalists, and hall of famers know the answers. Jackson will need all his men to help him win another title. Laker's have great cast of pro's that help with play-offs Majic Johnson, James Worthy, Karem Jabaree, Jerry West, Pat Riley, and others to advise, support, and motivation of team. Hollywood cast of all-star. Poor, Utah only has Karl Malone, James Stockton, and a few others. One mission one team one goal. Two years ago Laker's lost play-off finals to Boston, then had fire in eyes to avenge lost to Boston on Orlando. Who is the enemy? Is the enemy Laker's? Is enemy David Stern? Jerry Buss?
Prepare LA for return of Shaq for another title. Super Shaq will dance with victory with another MVP trophy. Can Kobe's Star Wars group defend their title? Are the Laker's Darth Vader or Force ? NBA Star Wars just got started.
Shaq must get by Wallace and Boston Celtics. Don't underestimate your opponent. They were all stars in college, high school, and pro's with ability to make big games. Force be with you Laker's.
Posted by: Donald Blaskovich | May 02, 2010 at 09:20 AM