The Brave Little Soldier returneth

Bless their hearts. The Lakers are still down by 11 and the commentators are talking about how tough this Laker team is and how they can come back. Yes, as long as Kobe isn't on the floor!!!
 
Aye, I'm still here. Just slightly preoccupied with macadocious' insistence that I recognize his Twitter guys as members of the media.
 
I confess - I'm enjoying this Laker game way too much, and it's due in more than small part to the frenetic commentary.
 
Two minutes left in the game, lakers down by 10. You know what that means: Kobe is in range as soon as he crosses the half court line
 
OH NOES! The great Kobe Bryant is driven to the floor by the incredible force of someone trying to block his shot.

Apparently, Kobe must have had some discussions with D. Fisher during his rehab.
 
Regarding the upcoming post-game KobeTalk: "It'll be interesting to hear his assessment of how he played, and how he feels ..."

I can't make this stuff up.
 
"We hope he stays healthy the rest of the year, and that the mamba takes the Lakers to great heights."

Well, if tonight was any indication, the mamba just bit the Lakers.
 
Regarding the upcoming post-game KobeTalk: "It'll be interesting to hear his assessment of how he played, and how he feels ..."

I can't make this stuff up.

I understand your dislike for the Lakers and Kobe. However as a fan of the sport I have to admit that I am glad to see him back on the court and I hope he gets back to the level he was playing at. However much of an *** he is, he's done a lot in terms of spreading the popularity of the sport in the world and is also without a doubt one of the greatest to play the game. IMO it's never a nice thing to see an all-time great deteriorate in his play, let alone have his career somewhat cut short by an injury.

To his credit you can see that the man has a ton of basketball IQ. Forced a number of passes and at the wrong speeds too, but his vision and understanding of where guys are and where they are going to be far surpasses that of any of our players.

But yes, by all means take pleasure in watching the Lakers lose while he adjusts back to the game :D And once he's back to playing at a high level you can bet I'll be alongside you rooting against them!
 
This might not end well, like when other greats hang on. A great hanging on past his prime playing an unathletic, inefficient game while keeping the team treadmilling and the youth from developing (although still selling the tickets and merchandise). Hopefully this isn't the case, I want Kobe to succeed
 
I understand your dislike for the Lakers and Kobe. However as a fan of the sport I have to admit that I am glad to see him back on the court and I hope he gets back to the level he was playing at. However much of an *** he is, he's done a lot in terms of spreading the popularity of the sport in the world and is also without a doubt one of the greatest to play the game. IMO it's never a nice thing to see an all-time great deteriorate in his play, let alone have his career somewhat cut short by an injury.

To his credit you can see that the man has a ton of basketball IQ. Forced a number of passes and at the wrong speeds too, but his vision and understanding of where guys are and where they are going to be far surpasses that of any of our players.

But yes, by all means take pleasure in watching the Lakers lose while he adjusts back to the game :D And once he's back to playing at a high level you can bet I'll be alongside you rooting against them!

I think you're missing the point. The NBA is two things -- it's sports competition and it's an entertainment business. As to sports competition, when you have an outstanding opponent, you acknowledge that they're good and try to beat them. If you can beat them, it's a significant accomplishment. The entertainment business has stars and bit players. The Kings, as a small market franchise, have always been the bit players. The Washington Generals if you will. The entertainment business angle is the reason for superstar calls, and the reason why the Kings have gotten screwed many time over the years. That's why the fawning media coverage about the return of the brave little soldier so richly deserves to be mocked.
 
I understand your dislike for the Lakers and Kobe. However as a fan of the sport I have to admit that I am glad to see him back on the court and I hope he gets back to the level he was playing at. However much of an *** he is, he's done a lot in terms of spreading the popularity of the sport in the world and is also without a doubt one of the greatest to play the game. IMO it's never a nice thing to see an all-time great deteriorate in his play, let alone have his career somewhat cut short by an injury.

To his credit you can see that the man has a ton of basketball IQ. Forced a number of passes and at the wrong speeds too, but his vision and understanding of where guys are and where they are going to be far surpasses that of any of our players.

But yes, by all means take pleasure in watching the Lakers lose while he adjusts back to the game :D And once he's back to playing at a high level you can bet I'll be alongside you rooting against them!

I mean you no offense, but no...you really don't understand. There's no way you could and I don't expect you to. Please don't give me the "fan of the sport" speech. I've watched and loved the NBA since 1965.
 
I think you're missing the point. The NBA is two things -- it's sports competition and it's an entertainment business. As to sports competition, when you have an outstanding opponent, you acknowledge that they're good and try to beat them. If you can beat them, it's a significant accomplishment. The entertainment business has stars and bit players. The Kings, as a small market franchise, have always been the bit players. The Washington Generals if you will. The entertainment business angle is the reason for superstar calls, and the reason why the Kings have gotten screwed many time over the years. That's why the fawning media coverage about the return of the brave little soldier so richly deserves to be mocked.

Oh I have no problem with mocking the media coverage. I'm just saying that at the end of the day, I want to see him get back to playing at the level he was. And in that sense I am interested in silly things like how he feels, and looking forward to his first "big" game and things like that.

VF - You have watched the NBA much longer than I've even been around and you know the sport better than I do, and I have no intention of even suggesting that you don't love the sport. Still, Kobe Bryant specifically as a player represents very different things for you and for me. He was the guy that people my age tried to copy growing up. The NBA isn't that popular overall here in Singapore, and a vast number of the fans we have are Laker fans simply because they grew up watching Kobe and all we got were Laker games once a week on ESPN. I watched him and tried to follow his moves long before I'd developed any sense of supporting a specific team.

So yes, I am somewhat interested in how my childhood idol of sorts returns to the court, as cheesy as it is. And that's just my opinion, my feelings having come from my particular background. I don't expect any sane Kings fan to feel the same :)
 
mac -- I appreciate hearing your point of view on this. I commend you because, having learned to love NBA basketball from watching Lakers games, you found a better team to follow.
 
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