Sports Views

Good look at the early stats of Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird versus the up-and-coming Dwayne Wade:

Obviously, these numbers don’t mean everything. There’s plenty of flaws, like that all differences are weighted equally, or that blocks is as important as effective field goal percentage. But the fascinating thing is that there is no way that you can say Wade’s season doesn’t compare to the 23 year-old seasons of Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird. And that’s just the regular season, not including any of Wade’s post-season heroics.

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Read more from this blogger: Dwyane vs. Kobe . . . and Larry!

Someone needs to get in there and shake up the Lakers, but I don't know whether Phil Jackson would want the job now.

So it seems that Phil Jackson may return to the Lakers as a coach next year.� At the very least, it's a possiblity.� Now I hear many of you going off on tirades about how Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson just can't get along (mainly because of Kobe) and that it would never work.� Well just stop.� You know it's silly, and I know it's silly, so just stop.

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Read more from this blogger: Photos

Sports stories do have a way of turning to mythical proportions even faster than political stories.

Ridiculous. Albom’s mistake should have been corrected with a short letter from the editor, end of story. But instead, he was forced to write two entire columns defending himself and his reputation, which up until now was sterling. Albom knows all too well that once an opinion takes hold in the sports world, it becomes gospel: Barry Bonds and Randy Moss are jackasses. The Boston Red Sox are just the scrappiest, most lovable lil’ ballclub ever. Kobe Bryant is the Next MJ—no, wait, he’s Evil Incarnate.

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Read more from this blogger: The Albominable Snowball

It's like the Lakers and the Clippers traded places or something.

The Lakers played without Kobe Bryant, who missed the game because his wife, Vanessa, is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, a potentially dangerous condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterine wall.

Very interesting.

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Read more from this blogger: Lakers Crawling to the End of the Season

I totally agree. Jackson has the track record to make this work. I just don't think he'll pull it off this time.

Not only has Jackson established himself as one of the most successful coaches in professional sports, but he has done so with stars. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant are undoubtedly headed to the Hall of Fame one day. And some are prematurely preparing a bust in Springfield for LeBron James. Nevertheless, the young superstar offers Jackson a gold mine of opportunities. New Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert must know this, and its one reason why the Cavaliers have been regarded as the perfect opportunity for Jackson almost immediately following Silas’ termination. Jackson’s name has been linked to openings in Minnesota, Portland, Los Angeles, New York, and even Dallas. Jackson spent his playing days in New York, winning a ring with the 1973 Knicks. The desire to return there as a coach and break Auerbach’s record as a Knickerbocker would, indeed, be a storybook ending for one of sports’ most successful coaches. With the Lakers, he obviously has a compelling history, leading the franchise back to glory and its status as the NBA’s flagship franchise. However, a return to Hollywood would defy all logic if what has been documented in the past is true. In Jackson’s latest book, entitled The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul in which he archives the 2003-04 Laker season, the coach is anything but enthusiastic of Laker superstar Kobe Bryant. Jackson, who had been known to become fed up with Bryant’s antics, writes in his book, “I do know that there were many occasions this year when I felt like there was a psychological war going on between us. Amazingly, we came to a truce, even to a higher level of trust. Ultimately, though, I don’t believe we developed enough trust between us to win a championship.” In addition to his ambiguous views on Bryant, Jackson was, according to an October edition of the Los Angeles Times, seeking help from a hired therapist to help cope with the struggles caused by Bryant.

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Read more from this blogger: With Phil Jackson, Cavs Can “Kill Two Birds With One Stone”

Sometimes, I see the funniest things online. I thought I'd pass this on. Sorry for filing it under Kobe's august archive.

I work with this guy named Mike. Tall skinny dude who is a reformed alcoholic but sells liquor during the day to liquor stores. Well, he was at the opening day game when they opened the new stadium however many years ago and still drank at the time. Early in the game he went into the bathroom and slammed a pint of vodka, which, when combined with all the other drinking he had been doing that day meant he was fairly lit. So him and his buddies are walking around the stadium and he sees this kid in his teens wearing an all kobe bryant jersey, like head to toe. So he starts yelling out “KOBE BRYANT SUCKS”. Nothing. Kid doesn’t turn around or anything. Parents with kids are grabbing their kids and covering their ears. (forgive my sports ignorance on the following…) “(KOBE BRYANT’S TEAM) SUUUUUCKS” “(THAT TEAM)’S COACH SUUUUUUCKS” “(THAT TEAM)’S ANNOUNCER SUUUUUCKS” and he’s going on and on and everytime people are looking at him with more and more frightened looks wondering why some drunk guy is going on seemingly random rants.

Read the whole thing.

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Read more from this blogger: Kobe Bryant Sucks!