R.I.P Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter and others passed away in a tragic helicopter crash yesterday. Today the Basketball Hall of Fame said he was joining them this year. I thought I would pay tribute to him on my blog.

According to ESPN Kobe Bryant is the fourth highest scoring player in NBA history with 33643 which ranks him ahead of Michael Jordan and below Lebron James.

Kobe was an 18 time All-Star. He was the MVP in four of those games.

He won five championships, was the Finals MVP twice, and the leagues MVP once.

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in one game...

Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest basketball players in history. Outside of the game he wrote a book, was active in the music business. He died to soon at the age of 41. The loss of his daughter is perhaps a bigger tragedy as she was just 13 and had her whole life ahead of her. The story is the same for the others in the helicopter.

Happy Birthday Michael Jordan

In 2010 I wrote an article about the reasons Michael Jordan could be considered the best NBA player of all time. You can read that article here. There are some in NBA history who can challenge Michael Jordan for that top spot. Kobe Bryant is putting up a career that would challenge MJ's and Lebron James could best him when his career is over.It would be a true statement to say Michael Jordan is the best player in my memorable lifetime so far. If he was the best or not could be argued but one thing that is certain is Michael Jordan is an all time great of the NBA.

Here is a collection of some of highlights:

If you like dunks this is for you:

To this NBA Hall of Fame, NBA great, and current owner I say happy 51st!

Stay tuned to this blog for a new post soon.

June Champions

A little late on getting this out here. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for winning the NBA Championship 4 games to 1 over the Orlando Magic. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson for his 10th NBA title as a coach. Some may knock him, that he won the titles by being surrounded by superstars. The Jordan Era Chicago Bulls, with Jordan and Pippen sure had their superstars. The Kobe-Shaq Lakers and now Kobe Lakers had at least one superstar. However, I give him credit to be in the right place at the right time. I give him credit for being able to manage superstars in a way to win championships, and his latest team had fewer superstars. Superstars help and anyone would admit it.

On the ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins gave their city their second championship of the year in major sports by winning the Stanley Cup 4 games to 3 over the Detroit Red Wings. Hats off to both teams. The Penguins are a very good hockey team, which I have blogged about a couple of times when they were playing the Capitals in the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings same to always have a winning team.

Now baseball takes center stage. The Major League trade deadline is July 31. The Atlanta Braves have made a trade already with the Pittsburgh Pirates for OF McLouth. The Braves have also made news by saying no thanks to Tom Glavine. More sellers and more buyers coming up.

Lakers-Magic NBA Finals

The Los Angeles Lakers are back in the NBA Finals this year they will meet the Orlando Magic. The TV ratings probably won't be as high as last years ratings with the Celtics and Lakers. However, with Boston and Los Angeles storied history it is quite understandable. The ratings probably won't be as high as if Cleveland had made the finals. The superstar pull of Lebron James, who is well on his way to becoming an NBA great.

However, the Los Angeles Lakers are coached by Phil Jackson, who coached the Bulls to glory with Michael Jackson, and some more titles with the Kobe-Shaq Lakers. These Lakers don't have Shaq, but they still have a very talented Kobe Bryant still. Pau Gasol may not be Shaq but 18.9 ppg and 9.6 rpg are not a bad compliment from the 7' center.

The Orlando Magic have a star in Dwight Howard who averages 20.6 ppg. The Magic also have balance scoring from Lewis, Turkoglu and Nelson. Viewers should turn into this series since the Magic did eliminate the Celtics and the Cavaliers. The Lakers have a storied history and the Magic are working on building there own history. It should be a fun series to watch. The NBA appears to be filling up with stars.(Stats from Fox Sports)