Lamar Odom is saying goodbye to the Los Angeles Lakers and hello to the Dallas Mavericks now that he’s been traded, and Kobe Bryant ‘s not happy about it. What makes the situation worse, is that Lamar was traded for a draft pick. Not a good look at all, since he was previously supposed to be traded for NBA superstar Chris Paul. Lamar has been silent since all of the trade rumors about him have begun circulating heavily. Take a look at Kobe’s comments about his friend and teammate Lamar leaving the Lakers in the video below. RELATED POSTS: Lamar Odom In Tears Over Failed Trade [AUDIO] Are The Lakers Going After Dwight Howard And Chris Paul? [VIDEO]
This is the last guy we expected to be down with something like this. In an interview with the L.A. Times, NBA Players Association head Billy Hunter says that NBA players have been prepared for the financial hardships of a lockout for several years now. For those that may not be as prepared there has been talk of a player-sponsored revenue pool to help make sure that lower-tier pay-scale ballers still maintain without their game checks. What role will NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James play as this moves forward? They’ve been deeply involved in the meetings we’ve had. I know Kobe is intimately involved in interfacing with colleagues and sharing in a pool of revenue to help the others get through this. Kobe has volunteered to do that in the event others need, he and others are prepared to loan money if necessary.’ Helluva a gesture considering that Kobe has a history of throwing his teammates under the bus (side-eyes Shaq ). Source
Magic Johnson doesn’t appreciate this year’s Lakers squad tarnishing his legacy. And he made it clear recently who he thought was responsible for the team’s less than stellar performance. But even though he specifically called out Lamar Odom and Ron Artest for “not being hungry enough,” he sees other player flaws as well. The Lakers are publicly expressing optimism about coming back from an 0-3 deficit in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks. But don’t count Magic Johnsonas one of them. The Lakers great argued as an ESPN NBA analyst Saturday that the Lakers, and owner Jerry Buss, will need to make serious changes to their veteran-heavy roster during the off-season. Johnson’s most pointed suggestion involved the Lakers’ trading for Dwight Howard, even if it means giving up Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol or Lamar Odom. “Dr. Buss has a lot of work to do,” said Johnson. “He’s probably going to have to blow this team up after the season if the Lakers lose this series because you have to come back with some fresh faces. You have to pick between the two big men with which one you keep and then you trade the other one.” Johnson didn’t aim his criticism solely at the Lakers’ front line, arguing that everybody outside of Kobe Bryant should be considered trade bait in what will be an uncertain off-season. “The Lakers have two problems,” said Johnson. “They’re too slow and they have no athletes. This is an athletic league now. When you think about all the teams that are in the playoffs right now, they all can run fast and jump high. “Sometimes you can be together too long,” he continued. “This group has been probably together too long. Too bad the O.G. is really just blowing hot air: he sold his minority ownership in the Lakers so we doubt any of these young boys still getting NBA checks are losing sleep over Magic’s opinion. Still: it’s Magic Johnson, and we are talking about the Lakers. Who else’s word could matter more in this situation? Source
Kobe Bryant was fined a whopping $100,000 for calling NBA ref Bennie Adams a f*****g f****t the other night, a penalty he plans to appeal. While trying to get the fine reduced is standard protocol, the L.A. Lakers star says the utterance was NOT standard for him, nor should it be. The NBA great called the president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, and apologized for using the gay slur last night. Kobe Bryant Curses at Ref Joe Solmonese said this after speaking with Bryant: “I applaud Kobe for his swift apology. We had a very sincere conversation in which he expressed his heartfelt regret for the hurt his words caused.” “He told me that it’s never OK to degrade or tease, and he understands how his words could give the impression that this is appropriate. At the end of a difficult day, I applaud Kobe for coming forward and taking responsibility for his actions.” Kobe also told ESPN that his concern is that for those who look up to him “not to take what was said as a message of hate or a license to degrade, or to embarrass or tease, because that’s something I don’t wanna see have happen.”
50 Cent has been known to be a trouble maker in the music industry and it may be easier to pick his top ten beefs, but it is just as easy to pick 50 Cent’s top 10 songs. After dealing with industry politics and the politics of the streets, 50 Cent found himself along side Eminem dominating the rap game. Check out my top 10 50 Cent songs below. WBW: Top 9 Music Videos Of The 2000s “In Da Club” – They say any song that’s simple and catchy and it doesn’t get any simpler than: “Go Shorty, it’s your birthday we gone party like its your birthday.” After releasing several hot mixtapes on the streets, I think this track may have certified 50 Cent as a legit maker. Dr. Dre’s beat had such a perfect bounce that folks that it was meant for Detox. “What Up Gangsta” – The follow up track after the intro on Get Rich Or Die Trying was the perfect aggressive track to start the album off. The beat dropped with such force that you knew he meant business from the jump. What makes this one of 50′s best is that he basically laid it down that he wanted problems. Hate him or love him you would not ignore him! “Many Men” (Wish Death) – The song told the story of how and why people hate on another individual working hard to get to the top. This worked so well because 50 Cent was an underdog, but ironically he is the one now looking to end careers. “I Get Money” – During the battle with Kanye West on who would sell the most records, this was the track that put life into the Curtis album. The shocker was getting Diddy and Jay-z on the remix, one of 50 Cents many great ideas, along with sampling the classic Audio Two’s “Top Billing.” There was also some controversy about the beat being extremely similar to Cassidy’s 2005 hit “I’m A Hustler.” “Candy Shop “- Featuring Olivia (who was once the first lady of G-Unit) has to be 50 Cent’s most commercial song to date. When I say commercial, I mean the sound had to be the most pop 50 Cent has ever gone. The chart topper helped 50 Cent sell over 1 million albums during its first week release of ”The Massacre.” “Window Shopper” – off the “Get Rich or Die Tryin” soundtrack is where 50 Cent got to do what he does best; stuntin on em and taunting people. “How 2 Rob” – featuring D-Dot aka The Mad Rapper was what got 50 Cent noticed in the public and industry. I think any song about how to rob actual rappers and r&b singers would get attention, but 50 Cent caused a frenzy with this one by naming names of real people. A few people even made response records. “21 Questions” is one of 50 Cent’s best ballads. As soon as that Barry White guitar lick kicks in you know where things are headed. Yes, his first album was probably his best but this was a big reason why. “Ayo Technology ” featuring Justin Timberlake also helped keep the album “Curtis” alive after releasing several singles that did not grab the attention of the people. “Wangsta”- The second single off the 8 Mile soundtrack coining the term “Wangsta” as someone who does a lot of fronting, who isn’t what they claim to be. The hood began using this term for a while and some people possibly still do. Word was this term was created to describe his rival Ja Rule. RELATED POSTS: Hip-Hop’s 10 Best Voices (The Remix) Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs Top 10 Jay-Z Songs Top 10 Chris Brown Songs
Kobe Bryant ‘s The Black Mamba mini-movie/advertisement for Nike was a surprisingly fun watch , directed by Robert Rodriguez. Like any movie ever shot, there are plenty of moments that did not make the film. Here are a few featuring the cast of Kobe, Kanye West , Bruce Willis, and Danny Trejo. Check out the outtakes below! Spotted @ WoooHa.com RELATED: Kobe Bryant’s “Black Mamba” Film Is Kinda Awesome [VIDEO] RELATED: Kobe Drops 37, Grabs MVP Of NBA All Star Game
This also means the Lakeshow didn’t beat the Heat once this whole season. The Lakers could have finally wished their fans a Merry Christmas, along with a belated apology for their behavior back in December. Instead, they gift-wrapped a game Thursday and handed it to the Miami Heat. The Lakers’ messy last two minutes led to Miami’s 94-88 victory and ended two streaks at once — the Lakers’ eight-game surge and the Heat’s five-game skid. There was no getting even for a humiliating loss to Miami on Christmas Day after Kobe Bryant committed two late turnovers and missed two long three-point attempts, one from 28 feet at AmericanAirlines Arena. Bryant wasn’t the only one at fault. Ron Artest missed an open layup attempt with 1:04 left. Merry March, Miami. Or as Andrew Bynum said in his own way, “We tricked it, for sure. We definitely had an opportunity to win this game and we gave it away.” Their game Saturday in Dallas is more important to the Lakers, but this one was taken plenty seriously. Bryant warned teammates the previous day not to stay out late in always-rocking South Beach and to make sure the game was the focus of their trip to Miami. He had 24 points on a poor shooting night (eight for 21) and was still angry about it 30 minutes after the game. So he returned to the court and shot a slew of three-pointers and mid-range jumpers as three Heat ball boys fetched rebounds and fed him passes. His Lakers T-shirt was wet with sweat by the time he finished. He played almost 40 minutes in the game and stayed on the court for more than an hour afterward. “It’s my job,” Bryant said. “This is what you’re supposed to do if you’re not feeling comfortable with something and you feel like you can tweak some things.” The game ended feebly for a team that had been playing so robustly, beating Portland, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Atlanta on the road since the All-Star break. Bryant started it by coughing the ball up to Dwyane Wade, who fed LeBron James for a dunk and 90-88 lead with 1:27 to play. Then Artest missed his easy shot. Then Bryant lost the ball out of bounds while going up for a shot down low. Then he lofted an off-balance, 28-foot, three-point attempt. By the time the misfires were added up, the Lakers had lost, though Coach Phil Jackson took the blame. As everyone knows, he rarely calls timeouts and often still has one or two in his pocket for end-of-game situations. This time, he called his last one with 46 seconds to play and the Lakers down by four. “I really took responsibility for screwing up the end of the game,” he said. “I had no timeouts…” As for Artest? “I should have made the layup, but they grabbed my arm, I got hit in my head, and then, well, goaltending too possibly, right?” Artest said. “But that’s an excuse, man. I should have made the layup.” The Lakers initially thought the Heat took the rebound with the ball still in the cylinder but stepped back from their thinking after conferring with their video coordinator. The Heat couldn’t be happier, ending a five-game losing streak that tugged on the franchise and its celebrated trio of All-Stars. “This was a very big game and we had everything riding on it,” said Heat forward Chris Bosh, who complained about his touches earlier this week and had 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting Thursday. You know who’s really happy? The owner of Whiskey Tango in Hollywood, FL, who promised to pay $25 of everyone’s bar tab every time the team lost. So far, it has cost John Todora $85K. Source
Filed under: Basketball Wives Suzie Ketcham – one of the stars of VH1’s “ Basketball Wives ” – won’t be returning for a third season … because TMZ has learned, she just couldn’t handle life in the spotlight. According to a source close… Read more
Filed under: Kobe Bryant , TMZ Sports Kobe Bryant ‘s hands and feet are worth millions of dollars — so it’s only right he pampers them every now and again. Kobe hit up a nail salon in Newport Beach, CA for a little mani-pedi action last Monday — the day after his Lakers lost a tough game… Read more
