rayjayjohnson
07-27-2012, 05:14 PM
Kobe's found a new white girl
He must have been asked the same question eight times.
Each time, however, the illuminating reply was delivered with a smile.
So, Kobe — a five-time NBA championship winner and two-time NBA Finals MVP — what other sports do you want to see during your London Olympics sojourn?
''The last Olympics (in Beijing) I went to swimming, volleyball, some of the major sports,'' Bryant said, reeling off his highlights.
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''This time around I want to do some of the major sports, but I also want to see some of the ones that don't get the recognition.
''I want to go see a little bit of archery, weightlifting, wrestling. I definitely want to check out some gymnastics, the diving, it's a long list.
''That's definitely my wish list. Whether or not I can pull it off remains to be seen.''
Bryant was one of the star attractions at US Basketball's official pre-Olympics media session in a packed main media conference room on the eve of the Games.
The turn-out was extraordinary. When journalists were invited to approach the star-studden line-up on stage for individual questions, the crush was reminiscent of a Tokyo subway.
Along with LeBron James, finally the holder of an NBA ring, the LA Lakers star was the main target of the hundreds of journalists on show. The questions kept coming. And each time the answer was polite, despite the repetition.
When asked if there was another athlete he specifically wanted to watch at these Games, Bryant paused, then offered: ''Yeah, Victoria Pendleton actually.
''She's the sprinter, cyclist, five-time world champion. This is her last Olympics. I would love to go see her and try and get her sixth. That would be pretty cool."
Bryant even had to fend the curly questions. Should you get paid for playing at the Olympics?
''There's some truth to that (but) we're all here because we enjoy playing. A lot of us probably share the same opinion. It's not like we're saying we're not going to play if you don't pay us. We play and we enjoy doing it. We do it because we want to,'' he said.
Professionals have been part of the Olympic basketball scene for 20 years since the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were part of the original Dream Team in Barcelona.
Four years ago the United States were seeking retribution after the shock of missing Athens gold in 2004.
So, what's the theme behind London 2012?
''That's your job to come up with a story for this team. You (the media) came up with the Redeem Team (in 2008) which is a pretty good team.''
''We don't have a name for this team yet."
With that, this reporter had had enough, and scrambled for safety out of the growing media pack.
Bryant was resolute. The questions just keep coming.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/off-the-field/a-press-conference-like-a-packed-tokyo-subway-luckily-kobe-has-no-beef-20120728-230wu.html#ixzz21rbsfnFo
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01551/SNN2103AN--_1551595a.jpg
He must have been asked the same question eight times.
Each time, however, the illuminating reply was delivered with a smile.
So, Kobe — a five-time NBA championship winner and two-time NBA Finals MVP — what other sports do you want to see during your London Olympics sojourn?
''The last Olympics (in Beijing) I went to swimming, volleyball, some of the major sports,'' Bryant said, reeling off his highlights.
Advertisement
''This time around I want to do some of the major sports, but I also want to see some of the ones that don't get the recognition.
''I want to go see a little bit of archery, weightlifting, wrestling. I definitely want to check out some gymnastics, the diving, it's a long list.
''That's definitely my wish list. Whether or not I can pull it off remains to be seen.''
Bryant was one of the star attractions at US Basketball's official pre-Olympics media session in a packed main media conference room on the eve of the Games.
The turn-out was extraordinary. When journalists were invited to approach the star-studden line-up on stage for individual questions, the crush was reminiscent of a Tokyo subway.
Along with LeBron James, finally the holder of an NBA ring, the LA Lakers star was the main target of the hundreds of journalists on show. The questions kept coming. And each time the answer was polite, despite the repetition.
When asked if there was another athlete he specifically wanted to watch at these Games, Bryant paused, then offered: ''Yeah, Victoria Pendleton actually.
''She's the sprinter, cyclist, five-time world champion. This is her last Olympics. I would love to go see her and try and get her sixth. That would be pretty cool."
Bryant even had to fend the curly questions. Should you get paid for playing at the Olympics?
''There's some truth to that (but) we're all here because we enjoy playing. A lot of us probably share the same opinion. It's not like we're saying we're not going to play if you don't pay us. We play and we enjoy doing it. We do it because we want to,'' he said.
Professionals have been part of the Olympic basketball scene for 20 years since the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were part of the original Dream Team in Barcelona.
Four years ago the United States were seeking retribution after the shock of missing Athens gold in 2004.
So, what's the theme behind London 2012?
''That's your job to come up with a story for this team. You (the media) came up with the Redeem Team (in 2008) which is a pretty good team.''
''We don't have a name for this team yet."
With that, this reporter had had enough, and scrambled for safety out of the growing media pack.
Bryant was resolute. The questions just keep coming.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/off-the-field/a-press-conference-like-a-packed-tokyo-subway-luckily-kobe-has-no-beef-20120728-230wu.html#ixzz21rbsfnFo
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01551/SNN2103AN--_1551595a.jpg