Video: LeBron James hits game-winning shot against Nets
November 28, 2015Browns aren’t giving up on Johnny Manziel (Video)
November 30, 2015Kobe Bryant is calling it a career. Much like Steve Nash before him, Bryant announced his impending retirement in a wonderfully penned poem over at Player’s Tribune, an essay that would in turn crash the site for upwards of 45 minutes. (One would think Derek Jeter could use some of that Yankees cash to buy some boost-ready server space, but what do I know?)
When I think of Kobe Bryant, I immediately think of how little I was able to see him play. I attended most Lakers games when they were in Cleveland, but even then, the last few contests were littered with injuries.
I think of how 10:30 start times and the reliance on nationally televised contests kept me from being able to watch what was 15 of Kobe’s first 20 years in the league. The ability to stream with League Pass and NBATV picking up the occasional game here and there helped in more recent years, but this was far from Peak Kobe.
I think of the January, 2010 contest between Bryant’s Lakers and LeBron’s Cavs, the Cavs ultimately coming out on top as James rapped an Eminem verse during a break in play as the Quicken Loans Arena crowd roared behind him. James dropped 37. Kobe dropped 31. It was one of the more magical games of that 2009-10 season, and should have been a foreshadowing of that year’s NBA Finals.
I think of how he was one of the more captivating interview scrums I’ve ever been a part of. When the Lakers were in town right before the All-Star break a few seasons back, Bryant’s team was reeling. It was February of 2011, which was effectively rock bottom for the Cavs, but it was the Lakers—two-time defending NBA champions, the team that the Cavs would have played that last June had things gone according to plan—who were on a downward spiral. Both teams were heading into the All-Star break, the Cavs enduring one of the worst seasons in the history of the NBA while the Lakers had lost their last two games. Bryant used words like “pissed off” when describing how he felt in the middle of February, putting his teammates on notice for what was an otherwise inexplicable stretch of play. The Lakers beat the Cavs by 55 earlier in the season, but lost by five on this night. Bryant would not discuss the game afterwards, leaving the arena as confetti fell from the Quicken Loans Arena rafters.
But mostly, I’ll think of the fact that the last seven NBA Finals have featured either LeBron James of Kobe Bryant, yet none of them featured them both. Sure, James came on to the scene after Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had their run. And sure, Bryant’s career was already on the downswing once James went to Miami. But the 80s had Bird and Magic. The 90s had Jordan and Drexler and Miller and Barkley and Malone and Stockton. They also even had Ewing and Olajuwon. This generation has had LeBron. They’ve had Kobe. But will have never seen them square off in a seven-game series.
Kobe will be celebrated. Arguably one of the top five players to ever play the game, he should be celebrated. But as a fan, tucked away in Cleveland, Ohio, I can’t help but feel as if I took the the last 20 years for granted. The kid was special. The adult, even more so.
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All sorts of Cyber Monday deals for the Cleveland fan closest to you. Twenty percent off at the Browns team shop get you this Terrance West jersey for just $48. What’s that? Ben Tate’s more your speed? Well here you go! If you want a Connor Shaw jersey, it’s going to cost you a bit more—$80 for that bad boy, but still eligible for the discount.
The Indians step their game up by giving you 25 percent off if you buy two items. No snark here: This Francisco Lindor jersey might be the best gift any Cleveland fan can get this holiday season. Love this kid.
The Cavs finish things off with free shipping on all items and 50 percent off other items. When you first click on their jerseys page, you get a smattering of Joe Harris, Jared Cunningham and Sasha Kaun. Click on the top sellers, however, and you’re immediately taken to the page from which your Cavs fans will be shopping. The top seller, at least according to Cavs dot com? The LeBron James sleeved swingman jersey.
I know that fans think players look a bit weird in these bad boys, but I have little doubt that these will not be a huge seller come Christmas time given the ability for kids to wear them to school without having to do that whole t-shirt underneath thing that we were all forced to do as children. (I will say that, however, that my blue Penny Hardaway jersey looked killer.)
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Embrace debate—somewhere else. Here’s this week’s edition of #ActualSportswriting:
“Terror at the Stadium” by Wright Thompson (ESPN The Magazine): “This is the first time terrorists have attacked the gates of a stadium during a game. Amazing as that sounds, it’s true. All these years, it’s been a worst-case scenario. Stadiums are soft, rich targets. A minor league baseball game seats as many American casualties as the entire Normandy invasion, and a small basketball arena holds all the Marines killed on Iwo Jima. The biggest football stadiums hold two Gettysburgs.”1
“After a decade apart, Antonio Brown and T.Y. Hilton share an unlikely bond” by Mina Kimes (ESPN The Magazine): “During the summer of Hilton’s rookie year in 2012, the Colts flew to Pittsburgh for a preseason game, and Hilton and Brown met on a football field for the first time in over a decade. Brown was coming off a breakout 69-catch season and had just signed a $42.5 million extension. It felt like they were kids again.”2
“Roger Angell’s Not Going Anywhere” by Sam Schube (GQ): “Angell has been winning once in a while for—well, for a while. He’s been writing his couple-times-a-year baseball stories for the New Yorker since that first one in ’62, and if you do anything a few times a year for fifty years, it adds up.”3
“Johnny Manziel’s partying, lack of professionalism jeopardize his career” by Dan Wetzel (Yahoo Sports): “Mike Pettine wore the look of someone tired of being played the fool. Tired that his shot at being an NFL head coach had been cursed by the decision to gamble on Johnny Manziel when Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr were on the board. Tired of the endless circus of Johnny Drama – the unprepared games, the offseason rehab, the social media pictures of Johnny drinking on an inflatable swan, of Johnny drawing bubbles on a bottle, of Johnny being Johnny.”4
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That’s all for this week, you guys. Be good out there. Oh yeah: Go Browns?
- A story about the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, written on deadline, through the narrative arc of one Manuel Dias. It cannot be easy to write about such pain. For this to pub just one week after Eli Saslow’s story is a gift to those who appreciate quality work. [↩]
- More great work from Mina who has straight killed in since joining The Mag. Browns fans can appreciate this one as Brown terrorizes Cleveland twice a year and Hilton was a guy the Browns liked in 2012 but was taken just a few spots before they landed Travis Benjamin. [↩]
- You can file this under Writers Writing About Writers, but this is my weekly column and I’ll link to anything Angell-related as often as possible. [↩]
- A little gift for those of you willing to stick with this post this far. You’re welcome. [↩]
25 Comments
1. “A minor league baseball game seats as many American casualties as the entire Normandy invasion, and a small basketball arena holds all the Marines killed on Iwo Jima. The biggest football stadiums hold two Gettysburgs.”
Awk-ward. I might be a little too sensitive here, but illustrating a point about the sizes of stadiums by comparing them to the number of dead soldiers, sailors, and marines during battle kind of diminishes the latter, although certainly unintentionally. I’m not “offended,” just a little disappointed. There are better ways to make the same point.
2. As for Kobe, why wait until the end of the year? Does he need a farewell tour? He should do everyone a favor — especially himself — and hang it up now. Things aren’t going to get any better.
3. Finally, the Browns want $80 for a Connor Shaw jersey? With that stupid “AL” mark on the stripes? They’re insane. But then, we already knew that.
I find it interesting only because it has seemed all too easy in my lifetime to read about hundreds or thousands of dead people at the hands of war or disaster, and you really do lose any kind of true perspective. I don’t begrudge you your reading of it, but I had a completely opposite reaction where it actually put a more tangible feeling to such horror.
I thought Shaw made the roster AFTER the “AL” had been removed from the jersey.
Yep, the shirt is recycled to boot. Probably used to say FRYE on the back.
Yeah, I’m with Craig on this one. I think we can tend to be a little to ignorant or naïve as to how much of a target stadiums are—and the potential tragedy involved with them. Same for cruise ships, etc. But it’s a sport-based magazine so the corollary, while chilling, is apropos. I don’t think Wright is comparing civilians enjoying an event to soldiers as much as a way to truly paint the potential damage that could happen in a very short amount of time.
This is a great point.
Yeah, okay, I see your point too. And it’s a good one.
Now I see that the comparison isn’t as frivolous as I originally perceived it to be.
I didn’t like young Kobe much. I didn’t like adult Kobe much either, although I couldn’t deny how great he was. I have really enjoyed old Kobe though. He almost always says something interesting and thought-provoking when he speaks. He is definitely a guy who has seen it all in the NBA, and his POV is unique because of that.
Since LBJ kind of speaks that way already, it’ll be interesting to see what kinds of things he says at the end of his career.
If it said WYNN, I’d be all over it.
That’s right. I think his point is that terrorists could, if they had the means, inflict the equivalent damage of an Iwo Jima/Gettysburg, etc., by destroying a sports stadium. It’s even more chilling when you consider that they are all (or mostly) civilians, and not soldiers/sailors/marines who are at least on the battleground where casualties are anticipated. Thankfully, outside of having an effective air force or nuclear warhead, such damage is not likely – and let’s all hope we stay vigilant enough to make sure these people never get those things.
20% off LoL if it was 200% off I wouldn’t buy anything from Cleveland Browns.
I want “Cleveland” removed from the current jerseys ASAP! #Goodnight
Kobe was great but he was also surrounded by a helluva lot of talent. Kudos to the Lakers. I was never a fan of his on or off the court.
No “The Walking Dead” mid-season finale discussions? Without spoiling it I was disappointed.
As depicted in the major motion picture The Rock
😉
Seriously though, agree on all counts here.
Just add “For The” ahead of the last name!
Well, according to the comics, the arrival of Negan means the end of a major character fairly soon.
I wasn’t convinced until the 2008-2010 run. It was Kobe, Pau (who’s damn good but not out of this world amazing) and a bunch of dudes. Sure you got 1 good year of Bynum in there. Ariza isn’t bad. And Odom’s a good glue guy. But really, that team was mostly Kobe. I had to suck it up and admit that he was pretty good.
Oh I wasn’t discrediting Kobe by any means after all he is the third all-time scorer in NBA history. I was simply saying he was on a lot of talented teams including the one you mentioned. Odom was a beast btw more then just glue. It’s a shame how his life has ended up.
The arrival of The Saviors was probably the best part of the episode and it didn’t happen until the end credits. If the show follows the comics the Internet will implode when that favorite character gets whacked for real.
What’s annoying about the Kobe news is the media ball washing of the guy, the erasing of history. Maybe you can compartmentalize things… or maybe it’s my hang up, but I can’t look past his rape to marvel in the guy’s athletic ability. Objectively, he was indeed a top 50 player of all time, but I can’t celebrate him any more than I can celebrate OJ Simpson.
Rumor is, that it might end up somebody else.
That wouldn’t surprise me at all.
Kobe is owed a lot of money for the remainder of the year. I can’t imagine him not wanting to collect it. Entire action movies have revolved around people trying to get their hands on $20M.
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