Interesting rumblings in Laker-Land.

(1) Kobe's soulder surgery was a success, and he's expected to be ready to play at the beginning of the season. It'll be interesting to see if he takes the risks he's taken in previous years, or if he becomes more of a team player.

(2) Shaq has hired a personal trainer. It would be great if Shaq showed up in shape at the beginning of next year -- if that happens, start counting the additional rings.

(3) The Lakers have upgraded their announcing team considerably, compared to last year (and will no longer do simulcasts.)

I thought last years radio dudes were OK, and it'll be sad not hearing as much of Stu Lance. But I also remember thinking, another 40 years of listening to these guys and I'll either have to shoot myself or become a Celtic fan.

But the local reporting is about to become waaayy more entertaining. It'll be Mychal Thompson doing color/analysis and Joel Myers doing the play by play.

Mychal Thompson was hilarious when he was on the '87 and '88 championship Laker teams, as well as during his whole time in the NBA. Jerry West (too high strung) actually told him to stop cracking so many jokes to the the press during the '87 season. And if you've heard him lately, he's still hilarious, and pretty knowledgable.

Joel Myers is highly competent and entertaining, too. He is quitting his job with the San Antonio Spurs to join a superior franchise.

shaq has hired a personal trainer. imagine that-he pays someone to scream at him and make him get out of bed to go to work. think of all those guys making the nba minimum that somehow find the motivation to work out without the help of a paid trainer.

Spurs 4 Nets 2. Relatively easy series for San Antonio. Without the game two debacle, it would have been a total blowout.

In one of the most defensive oriented series in recent memory, leave it to the resident NBA moron to regurgitate Rosen while going into detail about Princeton offenses. LOL. Poor guy.

Spurs should only get better in the offseason ... Shaq will be another year past his prime, Lakers have no money and Duncan's the best player in the NBA. Who San Antonio picks up in the offseason is the only drama left until October or so.

-Superman-

Yeah,

What the hell is a matter with that guy?

Low IQ, inferiority complex, low self esteem ... fuck it, I don't have time to list all his faults.

Oops ... I should be quiet before he sicks his uber nerd buddy Byron on me ... ha ha.

-Superman-

He also has no taste in women.

Bwahahaha...

Ooops, sorry to disturb your wet dream.

The fact that you posted on this Club Hombre thread IMMEDIATELY after the series ended is a glowing testament to your dedication to professional sports, to this site, and to the sacred connection between you, your computer and the internet community.

So, sorry for my belated reply. I didn't mean to abandon you or take the spotlight away. I did in fact enjoy the weekend and the game with my family and friends. Unfortunately, that prevented me from giving your heartfelt venting the urgency it deserved, despite the fact that this thread has been weighing on you so much.

I should congratulate you on your stellar predictions and analyses, as always.

(The Spurs were definitely the top team this year. I ranked them at number 2 this year. Once they beat the Lakers team that I ranked number 1, it was pretty clear they'd win the championship, albeit not without a fight from the Nets.)

Other teams, like the Kings and 76ers simply completed another painful, forgettable season.

Anyway, good luck with your rapid driving and your pursuit of that Darwin Award.

You have the Spurs ranked #1? Are you sure about that? Absolutely, positively? Good job! You're definitely smarter than you seem.

-Superman-

You are supposed to whine about the Sacramento Queens being the "real" champions, just like you did last year. Vintage Superdud tirades were the best!

Sad.

"I don't hate the man, I just pity the fool."

-Superman-

Pathetic.

Good luck with the roid rage I mean road rage.

Yes! I love the projection. Go back and read your own posts in this thread ... you have got to be the angriest guy on the board since TMoney.

Life isn't that bad doggie. You don't know anything about sports. So what? Who cares? Relax. Accept your place. Serenity now.

-Superman-

Today's question on the 'I'm OK, You're OK' section of the board: Is Lebron as good as the hype?

How can he be as good as the hype? It will be hard to live up to it, no matter how good he becomes. He's been called the 2nd coming since the 8th grade. To equal the amount of hype and press he's received, he'll basically have to be what MJ was ... not likely.

-Superman-

Hard to say, but I think he has a shot. He seems to have done lots of things right, and he seems coachable. If Garnett and Kobe made it, among others, then maybe so can LeBron.

I'm struck by just how young he is. He was at one of the Lakers playoffs games I attended. When he walked by, he was followed by a group of maybe 10 teenaged guys huddling around him. Kids that young can have remarkably developed talents.

The dude's fucking HUGE. Reminds me of Elton Brand as a freshman body-wise, and he probably SHOULD play POINT. Freakish potential, como Magic. His fancy passes in the McDonald's game were scary good. In years gone by the Lakers would have schemed and scammed and rigged loterias to acquire guys like this. Where have you gone Jerry West? Uh, expansion hell? Never mind...

Carmelo needs a new goddamned hairdo. Try a Ben Wallace thing. ANYTHING!

Who's the Euro dude that's gonna go second? Isn't that too frickin' high for a Euro dude? I mean he has GOT to be Nowitzki Jr. to justify that. Sabonis Jr. or Radja Jr. or Ilgauskas Jr. just ain't gonna cut it.

Of course he's probably better than pinche Dunleavy Jr., so I should probably shut up.

And to scare even more people in middle America: Uwe Blab Jr...

What's with ESPN interviewing all the welfare moms after their meal tickets get picked in the draft? Interviewing the REAL winners of the 'lottery'?

They're interviewing the trailer-trash geeky white dads too... Hard-hitting journalism.

This will probably go about as far as the Allen Iverson deal last year.

It is all about money and money will solve the problem.

I agree with Ben, for Kobe to have been in the game for over 7 years, and I know a lot of girls that think he is a goodlooking guy that would give him some pussy for free, its hard to believe he would need to take some pussy.

I rememeber some years back some girl said, that Micheal I. from the Dallas cowboys rape her but it turn out to be some nasty ass whores trying to get him to write a check $$, the world was ready to put him behind bars in put him in jail for life, but later the police found out it was just some dirty ass stripper trying to get some $$$ out of him.

Kobe have a nice looking young wife baby and he been around the world and he could have fuck any girl in the world he wanted to WHY would he need to take some pussy???

This is why sometimes its better to do a James Worthy and just call up a escort if you want your dick suck or some pussy, but don't do a Eugene Robinson right before the SuperBowl he went out thinking he was going to pick up some cheap nasty crack head hooker to get his dick suck BUT HE FOUND OUT ITS WAS A UNDERCOVER COP !!!!

KidCisco

...so Kobe Bryant was arrested for alleged sexual misconduct. Sure they're just allegations, but it's still Kobe Bryant for God's sake. Go Lakers.

GO LAKER'S it looks like SHOWTIME IS BACK!!!! I am just waiting for July 16,2003 hopefully know one back out for more $$$$.

KidCisco

Didn't Kobe start nailing his girlfriend/wife when she was still in high school? This girl is 19 but still, a little on the edge. Here's an update:

EAGLE, Colo. (AP) -- A cab driver says he picked up Kobe Bryant and three bodyguards at a Colorado hospital less than a day after the NBA superstar was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a mountain resort.

Vail Taxi driver Terry O'Brien, 38, also told The Orange County Register that Bryant was flanked by sheriff's deputies at the emergency room of Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs early July 2.

O'Brien was not at work early Wednesday, and a telephone listing in his name was disconnected.

Sheriff's officials have not said anything about a hospital visit by Bryant.

Spokeswoman Kim Andree refused to discuss the newspaper report or confirm whether sheriff's deputies accompanied Bryant to a hospital and then let him leave.

"We didn't handle this case any differently than any other case," she said. She said the department uses hospitals in Glenwood Springs and Vail for tests in sexual assault investigations.

Prosecutors are expected to decide by the end of the week whether to charge Bryant with attacking the 19-year-old woman. His attorney, Pamela Mackey, says he is innocent and expects to be exonerated.

An arrest warrant claims Bryant assaulted the woman June 30 at a hotel. Officials at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in nearby Edwards have said Bryant was a guest June 30-July 2, and his attorney says Bryant was in Colorado for knee surgery at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail.

According to the cabbie's account, Bryant was accompanied by three members of his entourage and was in the presence of sheriff's deputies when he arrived at the hospital about 2:30 a.m. on July 2.

Bryant pulled a towel over his head before ducking down into the back seat of the cab, O'Brien said. He said he dropped the Los Angeles Lakers' guard and two members of the entourage at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood, then gave the third bodyguard a ride to the spa, 40 miles away.

The man "cleared out" Bryant's belongings, O'Brien said. When the trip ended at 5 a.m. the fare of $372 was paid by bodyguard Michael Ortiz, the cabbie said.

"The whole thing was pretty weird and pretty fishy," O'Brien told the Register. "Bryant was laying in the back seat with a towel over his head trying not to be seen while three men were taking care of all the details."

On Tuesday, Hoy said the alleged victim is on a family vacation but is expected to return this week. He said he was concerned about the pressure on the woman and frustrated that there was more attention on Bryant.

"To me, the sad part is if this hadn't been who it involved, this wouldn't even be a blip on anyone's radar screen," he said. "Personally, I think they're focusing on our suspect rather than on the victim."

He also said investigators have sent unspecified evidence to the state Bureau of Investigation for analysis, but refused to discuss other details of the case. A bureau official would say only that the work has begun.

Dogster, I think they might have a chance this year.

Kobe charged...

Go Lakers!!!

I'll be the last guy to speculate about Kobe's guilt or innocence without seeing the D.A.'s evidence, but that doesn't prevent me from speculating whether the Lakers were more of a threat with Shaq, Kobe, Moe, Larry & Curly, than they may be with Shaq, the ancient Mailman, 35 year old primadonna Payton, Moe & Larry. My first impression is that the potential loss of Kobe foils the plan.

Btw, I'm not a qualified NBA talent scout and I am a certified Laker Hater, but somehow I think that Luke Walton is going to be a very valuable addition to the Lakers in time, and an absolute steal at that late position in the draft.

Luke Walton will have excellent mentors in LA with Malone and Payton, which just adds to the excellent mentoring he received from his father and at Arizona. He is an excellent passer in the paint and can shoot 3's consistently....completely catered for the triangle offense. Not to mention that he is a great kid. Met him several times while I was playing volleyball on Cohasset street in South Mission. Bill donated millions of dollars to ensure high quality volleyball in South Mission Beach. Sat with Bill during Portland's heydey with Drexler and Porter between volleyball games and eventually played some volleyball with Bill and he is quite good for a guy with little mobility. Luke was a little kid at the time and looked a lot like his father...still does. Now if Dave Twardzik, Larry Steele, Lionel Hollins, and Maurice Lucas could have their sons(if they have any) play for the Blazers, I would be one happy dude. I also hate the Lakers but I don't want anything to happen to Kobe...he is a great kid and hope he comes out of this unscathed.

Ok, so I'll be the first to speculate on Kobe's guilt or innocence.

THIS LITTLE FUCK'N WHORE IS FULL OF SHIT!!!

She works as a desk clerk, so how and why did she end up in Kobe's room? I bet because she wanted to fuck a celebrity is pretty high on that list, only to be followed by "I was going to my car after work and accidentally went up the elevator and took another wrong turn into Kobe's room".

Remember if you ever become a high profile person "No" means no, and "Yes" means no in the morning.


BTW, even if they find Kobe guilty I highly doubt that he'll serve any time based on the fact that he has no criminal background.


GO LAKERS!!!

He is effectively being charged with forcible rape - a major major major felony that I strongly suspect carries mandatory prison time in Colorado no matter who the perpetrator is. Aside from that, a conviction for rape with or without jail time, has got to result in a lifetime ban or something close to that in the NBA. Kobe's career is over if he can't beat this rap or at least get it reduced to a lesser offense.

But what about my original speculation...are the Lakers a better team with the three superstars who may be forseeably left standing when the dust settles, or with the two they used to have? I'll go with their history over their forseeable future.

Of course the Lakers are not better off. Old superstars at the end of their careers often bring hope, but rarely bring titles. Even if Kirby Bryant plays, LA is not a lock to win the title. If Puckett, errr, Bryant does not play, that simply means more minutes for Malone and Payton, which is a bad thing.

Bryant's attorney's say the trial will begin in 4-6 months ... right in the middle of the season. That should be a nice interruption ... I'm personally hoping for a June start date.

I think Bryant is innocent ... I rarely believe chicks in situations like this, but this particular one was an apparent wack job ... numerous reports of her emotional instability, the recent death of one of her friends, a very recent breakup with her boyfriend, friends describing her as a "celeb chaser", and 911 calls on other matters as recently as June. Of course that's all rumor ... plus Bryant's attorney's look like they'll eat that DA for lunch. I thought he looked scared shitless when he was announcing the charges.

Kobe loves the wife he just cheated on with all his heart! Free Kobe!

-Superman-
http://freekobe.com

(Message edited by Superman on July 18, 2003)

Of course Kirby is innocent. He's blind as a bat. What can he do, chase her around with his cane?

This is why you should go ahead and pay a escort (whore) a few $$$ and not have to worry about a bunch of bullshit, I know many (vip's,ceo,and NBA,NFL) players and most of them from time to time hire whore's (10's) that fuck VIP's for a living that knows how to keep their mouth shut, there are many playboy bunnies that fuck pro (NBA,NFL) guys all the time that have wives and all, you NEVER here about any of them running their mouth.

I am a big LAKER'S fan I hope everything work out for him and I hope he didn't take the pussy its very hard for me to think Kobe needs to take any pussy I know many girls that line up to see Kobe and hoping to meet him at hotel's and airports.

I have seen KOBE in the past turn down (10's) before he was marry I am waiting to see this 19 years old chick she must be one hell of a looking for him to loose his mind like that.

But when you dealing with a young ass 19 year old girl that is a (non-pro) you are asking for trouble, a lot of time when fucking a young girl 19 and up you taking a chance that later she could change her mind and then your ass have to pay some lawyer a lot of $$$$$ to get your ass out of all kind of shit.

I would never fuck a 18-19 years old girl in the USA or overseas for one thing she could lie about her age.

KidCisco

What confuses me is Kobe can get free pussy any hour of the day. And he looks like an emprisoned man to a beautiful wife.

Its not the pussy that you can get that you really like. Sometimes its the pussy you can't get that you work harder to try to get. Sometime people work tooo hard to get it.

Long-suffering Laker-haters are gonna suffer even more this year.

Kobe has gotta be innocent. The charges are just too nutty. Kobe ain't exactly Mike Tyson.

Colorado is a great place, but they will have fits trying to provide a fair trial in Whiteyville. Jury selection will be tough. Denver is about the only place in the state that isn't lilly white.

There's no doubt that the Lakers have made a killing in the personnel department in the off-season. Kupchak gets kudos for a job well done. That's not a surprise--he was de facto GM long, long before Jerry West left the Lakers. The Laker acquisitions are great in terms of talent but also public relations. The Lakers have just become America's Team...

The concept of Karl Malone being a Laker makes me want to throw up, but at those prices, who can complain? With superstars Shaq and Kobe, he's going to be in "young knuckehead" hell, so it should be amusing.

I'm curious to see what the roster looks like at the beginning of the season, after cuts, trades, etc. And, it'll be interesting to see what these guys look like around Christmas time. We won't really have a sense of how to answer Erip's question until we see how this team blends together.

With all that talent, Phil can bench anyone who doesn't get on board. He hasn't been able to do that with Kobe in the past.

There are lots of guys that have been marry to beautiful ladies or go out with beautiful ladies that have seen whores or cheated:

David J.(baseball player)= Harrie Barry she said he cheated all the time when they were marry.

Eugene Robinson= out trying to buy pussy from a hooker the night before the Superbowl if you haven't seen his wife she a (10).

The English actor that was caught getting a blowjob in his BMW in Hollywood by a cheap whore he was dating this English actress I think her name is Eliabeth Hurry(sp) and she is a looker?

Charlie Sheen = spent up to $50,000 on Heidi F. whores at least that what court papers said.

Jerry Rice= caught in a asian massage parlor by police he was trying to buy pussy he said, he went to the wrong clinic by mistake and he has a good looking wife.

James Worthy= called a escort service to send over two girls the cops took him in and booked him right before a play off game.

Eddie Murphy= out picking up a trans (he-she) saying he was just trying to see if it needed a ride home (yeah right!) and everyone knows his wife is a (10) she is a fox.

J-LO= One of the finest asses around talk about how Puffy (P.Diddy) used to cheat on her all the time (she needs to think how she cheated on some of her boyfriends and husbands as well) damn I would love to fuck that big ass.

Pam Anderson= says that all of her husbands and boyfriends all have cheated on her for time to time.

The list go on and on like Ny12 said, no matter how good looking the guy wife is theres something inside that makes a guy wants to fuck something else.

This is why if you are going to do dirt do it out of the USA or with someone you really really trust, and don't have so many guys around you that will run their mouth later when you get back to the USA, I know a few guys that been to Rio and other places with guys ONLY to come back and the guys that they taught was their buddy have shown pictures /video's and talk all about their whore mongering trips.

Now girls don't want to kiss or fuck them or hang out with the guys thinking they have caught something overseas from one of their trips.

KidCisco

Kupchak gets no credit except for finally realizing that the time had come to acquire a supporting cast. His superstar acquisitions are nothing more than emanations off of the work that West did in acquiring Shaq, Kobe and Phil along with the natural attraction of "Hollywood" to big headed primadonnas like Malone and Payton. These acquisitions were served to L.A. on a silver platter and Kupchak stirs his office coffee with a silver spoon.

Erip is correct. A monkey could have done those deals....

I think there is no way Kobe can be found guilty. I'd bet money on it.

Damn broad wasn't serving drinks. Probably saw a big pay check. Maybe she didn't say "Yes, please fuck me." But she should know how to scream etc if she really didn't want it.

I've had hotel receptionist come up to my room after work and had a good bang. Had I been (remotely) as rich and famous as Kobe I might have had a lawsuit up my ass too.

Don't bet either way. We don't know that she didn't scream and wasn't heard by witnesses in the hall or another room...with their accounts on file with the D.A. and they standing ready to testify at trial. The D.A. has made it clear that the case won't be tried as a "he said/she said" contest...there is other evidence. The speculation on his guilt or innocence is absolutely pointless until the state's evidence is revealed.

Yes, it's somewhat galling to hear SoCal sports radio hail Kupchak as GM of the year. He brought in 2 career losers who simply did not want to go out like Barkley or Ewing. Anybody can hook their sled to Shaq or Duncan and ride their way to a title ... all the more reason to appreciate Jason Kidd saying he wants to finish what he started and staying with New Jersey.

Lost in the Kobe hoopla was the fact that Payton had the assault charges against him upgraded ... with all the criminal acivity swirling around the Lakers, Kupchak must be trying to get the rest of those old LA Raider fans on board. Maybe the Lakers should move back to Inglewood ...

This trial should be a very interesting public deconstruction of Kobe Bryant ... I've never bought the perception of Kobe as Mr. Wonderful. Sure, he has a great smile and says all the right things in interviews, but the fact that he does not associate with his teammates has always struck me as very, very odd. He's always been a selfish player, leading me to believe he's a selfish person as well.

What dark secrets will emerge? Will any other groupies Kobe fucked and then blew off come out of the woodwork seeking their 15 minutes? Certainly Ms. Faber will get the worst of the mudslinging, but we should find out some interesting tidbits about Mr. Kobe as well.

Laker haters should enjoy the spectacle ...

-Superman-

Erip, you ignorant slut.

A well-kept secret in Laker-land is the fact that Kupchak was doing Jerry West's job for many years before West actually left.

West stopped coming to work regularly in the mid '90s (and Buss didn't pay him much). In the mid to late '90s, West the figurehead remained influential in hiring and keeping Dull Harris, and other mistakes. Phil Jackson was not West's choice, as Phil rendered West and his style of running a team obsolete.

I wrote on May 18, "As much as I liked Jerry West, I thought he was somewhat overrated as a GM. He gets waaaay too much credit for the Lakers' successes."

That is almost as true for the '80s team as it is for the current dynasty.

Kupchak and West collaborated in drafting Kobe, a gutsy move at the time (So West gets some credit for that one)

Buss, and his stash of cash, were the reasons that Shaq and later Phil Jackson were brought to the Lakers, with not much consideration of West's sporadic input.

West and Buss were pretty much on the outs during the late '90s. Kupchak was the highly competent de facto manager behind the figurehead manager, and everybody on the inside knew it.

Kupchak didn't change the personel too much last year because (a) Buss didn't want to spend the $$ and (b) Phil didn't want to change the championship personel significantly. So even if MC wanted to make changes, his hands were tied.

With respect to Malone and Payton, it is not usual for players of such high stature to take such extreme pay cuts. It took some significant dealing to get them here.

The draft picks look great -- time will tell if Kupchak and his talent scouts were on target. But adding a Walton to the Lakers earns them plenty.

Some of the speculation so far is that there was a big enough disturbance in Kobe's room that guests in neighboring rooms complained to the front desk, and that the victim was very distraught immediately upon leaving Kobe's room ...

Man, if I were Kobe I'd have just thrown her a couple of million or had my boys vanish her.

I enjoyed watching Kobe's legal team in the press conference yesterday ... they proclaimed they would not try the case in the media, all the while repeatedly sowing the seeds for their inevitible attack of the Sheriff. They also repeatedly said the evidence did not justify the charges. I don't think they'd even have access to all the DA's evidence at this point, would they? Either way, they are supposed to be good, so it'll be fun to watch. Hopefully Johnnie Cochran will be brought in as an advisor right around the time Kobe does his tearful Barbara Walters interview.

-Superman-

Kobe's trial will be interesting for several reasons.
Question: Should the Kobe Defense Dream Team seek a change of venue (to Denver, if you can point to the location that you consider "fair")?
Answer: IMHO it would be attorney incompetence to just acquiesce to this rich, lilly-white small community in Eagle County, CO to impanel a jury to decide Kobe's fate.
You have to attempt to get some soul brothers/sisters on that jury. Make the prosecution prove the case to ALL 12 jurors that includes some blacks (who could potentially "hold out" and create a hung jury). A 1-11 hung jury is still a victory for the defense.
Question: Will Kobe testify?
Answer: Depends whether Kobe's testimony is necessary. If the alleged victim puts on a credible testimonial presentation (an academy award winning acting job?), Kobe may have no choice but to testify.
So far, the victim has not sold her story to the pay-for-news tabloids or done anything else to undermine her case. Not good for Kobe. This gal seems to be very well coached.
Prediction: I believe in the tabloid press. Hell, the traditional press won't even release the victim's name (you know, some high ethical standard in journalism crap). The tabloids will reveal everything including the victim's background, the layout of the hotel on the night of the incident, reveal the police investigation, etc. I predict that the tabloids will "out" this gal if she is faking it and the whole country will have an opinion in 2-3 weeks as the tabloids "out" insiders in the police dept, the key hotel employees, people the victim socializes with, ex-lovers of both sides, etc as everybody seeks their 15 minutes of fame.
Agree?

High ethical standard in journalism crap sucks! Katelyn Faber.

Free Kobe!!

-Superman-

Superman is correct, Lakers haters are GREATLY enjoying the spectacle! I got all warm and tingly and goosebumply last week, when I heard Kobe "The Rapist" Bryant was being charged with a class 3 felony!

Why would someone in Kobe's position rape a girl? Because he is bored with consensual sex, and was outraged that a woman would turn him down.

Did you see that big pussy crying after losing the NBA tournament? He is a psychological wreck; a big spoiled momma's boy who is about to finally learn some hard knocks.

Kobe is going DOWN!!!!

Kobe has re-defined the meaning of "shooting" guard!