The Lakers are back in the playoffs on the back of Kobe Bryant. According to the AP, Paris Hilton was at the game against the Suns today, wearing the Kobester’s “Number 8″ and drawing boos from the crowd. Over at the Lakers Ground fan website, drew4lakers had this comment:
When you get a close look at a lot of the Hollywood crew, they’re nothing special.
It’s all hype.
Every time they keep trying to sell me on why someone is so special, I just don’t get it.
It stood out to me a lot more when I was in Iraq looking at these celebrity mags – and so many of them just looked weird.
As for me looking at those celebrity mags — hey, we didn’t have much to choose from.
ìThe Lakers are back in the playoffs on the back of Kobe Bryant.î
The Lakers are also not going to win the championship because of Kobe Bryant. Only great teams earn the big trophy, not one man bands. Where is Shaq OíNeal? I remain convinced that Bryantís ego will not allow another superstar to exist on the same team. He must be the center of attention. This mindset virtually guarantees a quick exit in the playoffs.
Of course, this post was meant to be about Hollywood celebrities, but if you want to make it about Kobe, here’s another opinion.
Kobe Bryant is at least worth talking about. He is undeniably one of the greatest athletes of our era. What can one say about Paris Hilton? She is famous only for being famous.
David, you unfortunately suffer from a bad case of KDS (Kobe Derangement Syndrome). Where is Shaq O’Neal? Same place he’s been since *publically* demanding a trade after the Lakers didn’t offer him enough money: In Miami, deteriorating rapidly and eating up half of their salary cap room through 2010. Oh, but it’s Kobe who’s a selfish egomaniac who broke up the dynasty, right? It’s truly incredible that anyone is still hawking that narrative.
Are you still bullish on the Heat? Bettors aren’t.
Hey, folks, talk Kobe all you want. I live in the Detroit area. The local economy sucks, Paris Hilton is no where in sight, but at least we’ve got the Pistons. None of the Pistons players are considered to be among the ten best players in the league, but do you really wanna mess with their starting five?
Sorry Roger, Kobe’s just another celebrity. He is IMHO exactly what’s wrong with the pro game right now. Coach Wooden said he’d rather have a player who makes a team great than a great player.
Kobe won’t let the team play team ball; all you need to know is Phil asked him to pass the ball and he did only that (taking zero shots) tanking a game in Sacramento. Kobe’s ego is at least as large as any Hollywood type.
MVP should be Ben Wallace. His team-oriented defensive play helps the Pistons win. Kobe’s there to show off for Paris Hilton and the like.
Yeah Kobe is selfish. He ran off: Shaq, Malone, Fisher, Phil, basically everyone who might be a threat fame-wise. Kobe doesn’t play D. He won’t pass. He won’t allow his team-mates take shots in the closing minutes. Star players refuse trades to LA because Kobe is a black hole (ball comes in, never comes out). Kobe would rather get the scoring title than win a championship.
THAT attitude is exactly what’s wrong with the NBA and with Hollywood.
I think I owe an apology to “David Thomson.” The true sign of a KDS (or BDS) sufferer is when his writing is indistinguishable from parody. “Jim Rockford”? Now that’s a KDS sufferer. It’s amazing how similar the KDS-ers are to the BDS-ers. Jim’s rant is just like what you’d hear from the kooks at Kos, DU, etc -a spittle-soaked stream of warmed-over rumors, ad hominem attacks, and statements of “fact” that have no basis in reality. Just substitute Kobe for Bush.
My favorite part is when they repeatedly offer as “evidence” their own presuppositions of the subject’s internal thoughts. “Kobe’s ego is at least as large as any Hollywood type.” “Kobe’s there to show off for Paris Hilton and the like.” “He ran off … everyone who might be a threat fame-wise.” “Kobe would rather get the scoring title than win a championship.” Sound familiar? “Bush doesn’t care about black people.” “Bush only wants to help the rich.” “Bush is a white supremacist.” And on and on.
(oh, and if it was parody, nicely done, Jim.)
Basketball, Kobe who? I’d rather watch Paris Hilton anytime (even though she is a bit “unusual”)…
big phoenix suns fan here. that loss by the suns to the lakers last night actually benefitted both teams, because:
a) the suns would rather face your kobe lakers than sacramento.
b) the lakers have no chance vs. the spurs, but they think they can upset the amare- and kurt thomas-less smallball suns.
Westy:
You mean the Heat don’t have the option of foisting Shaq’s contract on the Knicks? Seems to be all the rage these days… On the other hand, up here the Sonics are demanding some ridiculous amount of public funding for improvements on their arena and threatening to move out if they don’t get them. People around here seem more than willing to pack the moving vans for them.
I recently read Mark Helprin’s A Soldier of the Great War, about an Italian in WWI. You come away with it realizing the fatuousness of the Vietnam era idea that our soldiers are having difficulty adjusting to normal society again – as if they should segue from war to mundane reality with no problem. A soldier who’s been in a war will never be like his civilian brothers again, it’s an experience like no other
Jim Rockford at April 16, 2006 09:53 PM: Kobe doesn’t play D.
Jim you are way off base there. Kobe is among the top 7-8 defenders in the league. Ask his opponents.