<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> SACRAMENTO—Less than two weeks ago, Manila went gaga over Kobe Bryant.</p> The city limped along with a double whammy of bad basketball news—the San Miguel-Philippine team’s demise in the Fiba Asia tournament and the crisis of morality in the PBA leadership.</p> And then came Kobe.</p> To paraphrase the late Selma Desmond on the old NBC TV show “Night Court,” every basketball fan in town seemed to have sighed:</p> “I laughed. I cried. He (Kobe) became part of me.”</p> Kobe first hit town as an emerging cage star nine years or so ago. He returned a megastar—a veteran who knows something about entering a basketball stage.</p> It’s all about the build-up.</p> Not that he needs a media drum roll in a basketball bastion like our fair city.</p> But who else would Nike pick to tout a $150 pair of shoes to more fortunate Filipinos and their affluent Asian neighbors than the superstar with the moves, coquettish as needed.</p> The delayed face time with reporters (leave ‘em hanging, they’ll wait), the scripted interaction with young basketball players are meant to pique interest for expensive sneakers—by a player who has already proven his aptitude using the media, from television to the Internet.</p> The guy can pretty much control his own message when he so desires, and when no probing salvos are fired at him.</p> The barnstorming tour of a region that would show up to thrill not to grill the megastar is Kobe’s momentary Camelot. It is an extension of his dream Las Vegas performance with Team USA that snagged a slot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.</p> Because when he decides to show up with the Los Angeles Lakers this fall, he will belong in owner Jerry Buss’ doghouse.</p> Or worst in the city pound.</p> Bryant tore up his relationship with teammates and LA land a few months back by demanding a trade and crying over a lack of support to win a title. Because of his rebellious ways, he is said to be a feared presence in the Lakers’ locker room.</p> There is even talk swirling around LA’s media that Bryant, if he plays for the Lakers this season, would be traded afterward rather than be allowed to opt out of his contract next season.</p> Thus, beneath the mask of cordiality you saw in a Makati hotel ballroom last week is a storm brewing in Kobe’s mind.</p> And remember Bryant’s comment about surrounding himself with the whole Team USA, (granting he was billionaire Bill Gates) and owned the Lakers?</p> It was a subtle dig at his present employers and teammates that escaped scrutiny from the assembled hordes.</p> “I laughed. I cried. He (Kobe) became part of me.”</div></p> Source: Inquirer.net</p> </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian)</div><div class='quotemain'>^ Kobe is a selfish bastard jerk who never gives back to the community. He only cares about himself</div> </p>
