Bank Shot, Best Shot

When it comes to putting the ball through the hoop, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is one of the best in the NBA today.

What separates him from the rest, though, is the way he makes circus shots easy and effortless; He makes the impossible possible and the difficult beautiful.

Kobe's Best Shot of the Game

When the game is on the line, Kobe Bryant shines.

That's what happened earlier tonight when once again the Black Mamba showed Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat how dangerous and venomous he is in the dying seconds of the game.

Kobe Bryant is simply the best end- game operator in the NBA today.

Oh What a Circus!

Kobe Bryant once again showed us why he is currently considered as the best basketball player in the planet in his game against Oklahoma wherein he stole the thunder from Kevin Durant & Co. when he mesmerized the LA crowd with his brand of Showtime basketball.

The Black Mamba has proven time and time again that he is well above the current crop of players in the NBA. His complete arsenal of high- flying wonders, dazzling moves and unbelievable shot making is worthy of Tinseltown's adulation.

As teammate Lamar Odom would attest-

“You see him do things just fooling around with all kinds of shots in practice that you won’t normally see."

But you expect the impossible, because he’s not scared to take any shot from anywhere on the court.

So that’s why that’s the result. It’s never a bad shot to him. That’s his mentality. He’s not afraid to shoot it. He understands touch, getting the ball up and staying focused. His concentration is incredible.”

Here are the highlights of the said game wherein they shellacked Oklahoma en route to a 101- 85 rout highlighted by an unbelievable behind the backboard shot reminiscent of the shot that the great Larry Bird made about two decades earlier.

Portrait of Artest as a Filipino

Ron Artest, the NBA Bad Boy more famous for his rap sheet (the infamous Palace brawl with the Pistons, remember?) than his rapping ability and now suiting up for the LA Lakers this season recently visited a Filipino family and guess what happened?

Not only did he liked the food and that old Filipino hospitality but also experienced the Filipino people's favorite past time- Karaoke.

And He did his time on the microphone with gusto, with a titanic effort of Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On.

Here's what he said of his experience from his old Twitter account, 96TruwarrierQB-

"the dinner with angelica and annmelissa and her family was good. the filipino food was unreal.:) tomorrow i will be choosing another fan!!"11:55 PM Aug 28th from web

"Go to thugraider37 to see Ron Artest singing Celine Dion but rapping it wit his Filipino family:)" 10:34 PM Aug 31st from web

And here's his tweet at his new Twitter account ThugRaider37-

"Should I let yall see me singing karaoke wit my Filipino family?"3:53 PM Aug 31st from TwitterFon




video credits: annamelissa

Looking Back: Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson is 50 years old and dang, I am old. He-he.

My friends and I grew up watching the Showtime LA Lakers in Bicol. We watched in amazement as Magic weaved his magic on the court with his dribbling skills, his shooting ability and his passing wizardry. That’s why I became a Laker fan because of Magic. And of course, you can add Kareem, Worthy and the rest of the boys.

I remember their epic championship battles with the Boston Celtics in the 80s even if they were on a much delayed basis. You see, we live in a remote town in Bicol and cable TV was unheard of back then. Also GMA and RPN, the two TV stations in the province, did not have the NBA on their regular programming.

Good thing, there were some enterprising people from Manila who visited the town twice a month to deliver the games and other films to the local video center who in turn rented the tapes to us for 10 pesos a pop.

Those were the days. And they were damn good old days.

PISTONS prove they are worthy of Title

The Detroit Pistons officially are the new king of the NBA.

They steamrolled and ran over the favored Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the 2004 NBA World Championship Series at the Palace of Auburn Hills. They brought the Larry O’Brien trophy back to the Motor City after 14 long years when Isaiah Thomas and his bad Boys won back-to- back titles in 1989 and 1990.

The road back to glory is not paved in gold and roses.

They took the road less traveled and persevered against the odds. The press wrote them off early as mere pretenders to the throne reserved only for the NBA’s royalty.

They were labeled as a crop of big-time chokers once and were pronounced just lucky to eke out a win over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Eastern Conference Championships.

Many said the series would be lopsided in favor of the mighty Lakers and the Pistons would be lucky to win even once against them.

Instead, the Pistons did not roll over and die in the series. Their engines and batteries did not conk out as most people predicted them to. They showed the world that they’re made of much sterner stuff than what many of their detractors believed.

The 100- 87 final score in Game 5 said it all and showed their dominance of the series that left the Lakers stunned and the people in awe.
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The News- Herald
A Heritage Newspaper Michigan, USA
C2004