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in celebration of the lakers going to the finals
in a classic nba match-up against the celtics (and paul pierce!)
and a follow-up to my kobe bryant blog day entry below,
just wanted to share nba.com's ultimate kobe bryant page:
enjoy peeps!
finals start june 5, be there!!! i will be! | | |
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did i call it or did i call it 3 years ago that chris paul was gonna be huge? yeah, everyone was like WHO? when i picked him up in fantasy but i just knew it. and now, 3 years later he's in one of the tightest races for mvp. haha, i love it and i love CP3.
SLAM online - the MVPs MVP
funny article on a writer's dream about kobe, lebron and chris paul choppin' it up and deciding among them who should be mvp. i haven't been able to stop laughin' since i finished reading it that i had to post it. hehee.
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part I
how i don't lose my mind at work:
kobe bryant blog day
i read all 24 posts, watched all the videos and looked at all photos. haha, i know, i know. shush. provided much entertainment and such. just me, my headphones and kobe. :D
<3 your resident die-hard laker fan
note to self: find picture of baby me watching a laker game in my baby booties!
part II
not that i expect you to read this story but more for me to remember...to believe. did that sound geigh? yeah a bit but oh well.
Preparation the Key to Kobe's Success by John Celestand
Nov. 10, 2005
Inthe fall of 1996, my roommate at Villanova, Howard Brown, and I shareda laugh. A skinny bald-headed high school kid, who was a star at theschool around the corner, sat in our locker room and told us heprobably wouldn't come to Villanova. The "cocky" kid told us he wouldprobably just skip college altogether. Instead, he would just gostraight to the NBA.
We laughed that night back in ourdormitory. We took turns asking each other, "Who does this kid think heis? What is he smoking?" We even tuned in the television to laugh atthe kid as he gave a lackluster performance in the McDonald'sAll-American game later that winter.
That kid was Kobe Bryant and now I wonder what the hell were we laughing at.
Maybewe were laughing at the fact he would play his high school playoffgames in our gym and sell it out -- when sometimes we couldn't. Maybewe were laughing at the fact he would show up on our campus at theparties we threw -- and some people thought he was the host.
Onething is for sure: Kobe Bryant believed he was Superman. He believed hecould accomplish anything. This is the basic belief of many successfulprofessional athletes. The great ones, however, seem to have a deeperand profound belief in themselves. A belief that can propel them tohigher elevations that other surrounding believers never reach.
Iwould join the "kid" on the Lakers in 1999 when I was drafted as theNo. 30 overall pick by the organization. I had followed Kobe ontelevision for three years prior to joining the team. But TV could notillustrate how Kobe made himself. Only viewing him in person, rightthere in the practice facility in El Segundo, could a person get anaccurate gauge. There was a reason for his greatness. There was areason for his cockiness. Kobe prepared, he worked, he prepared and heworked again.
The first time I began to understand why he wasthe best was in the pre-season. In a game against the Wizards, Kobebroke the wrist on his shooting hand. He was always the first person topractice every day, arriving at least an hour and a half early. Thiswould infuriate me because I wanted to be the first person to practice,just as I had always been at Villanova and Piscataway High in NewJersey. To add insult to injury, I lived only 10 minutes from thepractice facility -- while Kobe was at least 35 minutes away.
Iam ashamed to say that I was excited the day after his injury because Iknew that there was no way that No. 8 (as former Laker point guardTyronn Lue called him) would be the first to practice, if he would evenbe there at all.
As I walked through the training room, I becamestricken with fear when I heard a ball bouncing. No, no, it couldn'tbe! Yes it could. Kobe was already in a full sweat with a cast on hisright arm and dribbling and shooting with his left.
As the nextcouple of days of practice passed, I would glance over as Phil Jacksonwas talking and see Kobe on the side going full speed and pulling upwith his left. He was a conducting an all-out practice with himself.Lakers trainer Gary Viti, had to come in and tell Kobe to take a rest.But when Viti left, Kobe was at it again.
One day I was shooting on a side basket -- on the court that Kobe had made his own practice spot. He challenged me.
"Cele, let's shoot," he said. "Wanna play H-O-R-S-E?"
Ilaughed at him. I was actually insulted that he would challenge me, apro, to a game of horse with his left hand. After he insisted, Ifigured I would just whip him and prove to him that he wasn't Superman.He couldn't do everything.
He made shot after shot after shot. Iwas beginning to feel more pressure as I got each letter. First H, thenO, then R, then S. I couldn't let this man beat me with a brokenshooting hand. My gosh, he was shooting threes with his left. I finallymade a deep three and the stars aligned and Kobe missed. I had escapedthe most embarrassing moment of my basketball life. When he missed hewas infuriated.
"Come on Cele, let's play again," Kobe insisted
Hereally thought he could win and he almost did. He really thought he wasSuperman. He really thought I would put myself in another situation tolose all of my dignity. I laughed at him again
"Maybe later," I replied.
WhenKobe's wrist healed and he came back during the regular season, heagain proved to me that he believed he could do anything. During hisfirst game back, Kobe drove left and pulled up for a jumper. It was anairball. He shot it with his left. The result didn't matter. The facthe attempted the shot astounded me. In an NBA game in front ofthousands, the man shot a left-handed jumper. He believed it would goin. He really believed.
Today, five years later, nothing I seefrom or about No. 8 surprises me. It didn't surprise me that he thoughthe could win without Shaquille O'Neal. It didn't surprise me that hedidn't succeed. It won't surprise if he comes back and succeeds thisyear. It didn't surprise me that he could go to Colorado, sit in court,fly to Denver and drop game-winning shot all on the same day. Itdoesn't surprise me that Kobe is averaging 36.5 points per game. Itwon't surprise me if he leads the league in scoring.
I called myold roommate, Howard Brown, long distance over in Spain where he isplaying professionally. We talked about life, we talked about oldtimes. We talked about Kobe leading the league in scoring.
We both agreed Kobe's game is no joke and we ain't laughing no more.
part III
how all this began even before i found the nba blog:
hardwood paroxysm
the work that went into kobe bryant blog day
and though i am one day late, all THAT was my ENTIRE DAY at work today. too bad i still have 30 minutes left. hmm, maybe i'll look at more kobe photos :X haha...on top of all that kobe is (as my homeboy mike says) "one good looking dood."
THE END :)
k, last two notes:
+ can't wait for the wizards game, gilbert arenas is suppose to be back by then!
+ don't worry, i still have love for paul piece <3
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DROOL...
too bad my macbook pro is still brand spankin' new
that i don't even have any files saved on it :X
if only i had someone to buy this for me
next month on my birthday! haha!
13.3" glossy screen
intel core 2 duo | 1.8 GHz | 80GB hard drive* | 2 GB RAM
*optional 64GB solid-state drive
only 3 pounds!
with integrated 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
with same performance 5-hour wireless productivity
.76" closed 
.16" open
flip down door for earphones, USB and micro DVI
mag safe cord and port
however a few things it doesn't have
but answers by being made for the wireless world:
optical drive | resolved by remote disc to use a nearby computer
or external SuperDrive for $299 and tim capsule backup for $299
additional USB ports | there's only 1 (uh on a regular basis i use at least 2-3) what is it gonna cost you?
1.6 GHz - $1799 and 1.8 GHz with super-state drive - $3098
not including the external hard drive and backup :T more information: www.apple.com/macbookair
photos from www.apple.com | | |
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dc trip to visit homie / short recap // 101907-102307
union station
as many times as ive been, never got this shot til now
cityscape from the front seat :X
airforce memorial
pretty foliage at the national arboretum
one of my fav pics of the trip
driving through the national arboretum // look what i found, the sun! :X
<3 dad&brother // another fav
being fobby tourists, haha!
view shot
national capitol columns
national capitol columns // another fav
waiting for mom to catch up :X
peek-a-boo!
mucho koi // BIG koi!
another fav, they're so cute! // <3mom&dad
family photos w/ the old bonsai tree // 1795
the end // ta-ta for now!
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