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Kobe Bryant led the L.A. Lakers to their first NBA title without Shaquille O’Neal this past summer, and the Lakers are favored to ruin Shaq and LeBron’s holiday when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit Staples Center on Christmas Day. Tip off is at 5 p.m. on ABC.
With just a couple weeks into the NBA season, the Lakers hold a league-best 23-4 record with Bryant, the NBA Finals MVP, averaging 29.3 points — second to Denver Nugget forward Carmelo Anthony’s league-best 30.3 points per game.

All eyes are going to be on the matchup between Kobe and LeBron James, the NBA MVP last season.
LeBron is averaging 28.8 points, third-best in the league, for the Cavs, who the Orlando Magic beat in the Eastern Conference Finals last summer to play the Lakers for the NBA championship.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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Kobe Bryant can opt out of the final year of his contract this summer and go help LeBron James and his former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal to win Cleveland’s first NBA title.
But it’s very unlikely. Kobe is coming off an NBA Finals MVP performance and wouldn’t stoop to being a supporting player for league MVP King James. Plus, Kobe enjoys running the Lake Show too much.


However, two years ago, it was a different story.
Kobe hoped to be traded over to the L.A. Clippers or the Chicago Bulls in May 2007 because he was unhappy with the direction the Lakers were headed after a first-round playoff exit for the second consecutive season. Three years earlier, the Lakers’ front office traded Shaq to Miami and he went on to win his first NBA championship without Kobe.

Kobe felt duped after signing a new contract with the understanding that L.A.’s management would bring in marquee players to immediately put the Lakers back in contention for an NBA title, their first since Kobe and Shaq paired up for a three-peat from 2000-2002.
But when Kobe found out that the Lakers were actually rebuilding, he went to the national airwaves and expressed his desire to be traded on two national radio shows unless former GM Jerry West returned and the roster was upgraded to put the team in title contention.
It’s a good thing for Kobe the Lakers ignored his trade demands. The Lakers finally assembled a championship roster to win the franchise’s 15th NBA title this past season. And with the NBA Finals’ MVP trophy in his possession, Kobe is finally content to stay in L.A., where he was all smiles riding atop a tour bus with his wife, two daughters and teammates in a parade through downtown to celebrate the Lakers’ NBA title.


Actually, when Kobe was asking to be traded two years ago to avoid the team’s rebuilding, he remained optimistic that L.A. would come through with roster upgrades and he expressed a desire to stay in L.A. while voicing his desire to leave to win a championship.
And now that he’s led the Lakers to a coveted NBA championship and his team is likely to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals for a third consecutive year, it appears that Kobe will finish his career in L.A., unless the team becomes disloyal when his talent wanes and trades him after all.

By Teneshia LaFaye

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Michael Jackson loved his legions of fans and never hesitated to say “I love you more” in response to fans shouting, “We love you, Michael.”

He basked in the atmosphere when his fans showed up in masses to welcome him to New York’s Time Square during his visit to MTV’s Total Request Live show in 2001, and he jumped atop an SUV and briefly danced for the crowd who showered him with support outside the courtroom for his second child molestation trial in 2004.
So the King of Pop would be displeased to know that an estimated 250,000-750,000 fans who will descend on Los Angeles on Tuesday for his public memorial will be restricted from getting anywhere near the Staples Center unless they win a random raffle for one of 17,500 wristbands to enter the area and the next-door Nokia Theater.


Entry for raffle tickets on www.staplescenter.com ends on Saturday at 6 p.m. Pacific. The pop star’s public memorial is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday and most fans won’t even see it.

Always a crowd-pleaser, Michael would have been heartbroken if he had been performing inside the Staples Center and was told that 90% of his fans were kept outside and restricted from coming anywhere near the building. MJ would probably take the concert to the streets, and we’ve seen what a showman he was when his feet hit the streets. Think “Billie Jean”, “Thriller”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, The Wiz’s “Ease on Down the Road” and those crazy final minutes of his “Black or White” video.


The city of Los Angeles could have done better than a random raffle that will only satisfy 10% of Michael’s adoring fans who spent money that’s hard too come by in this global recession to travel to the memorial. Sure, the city is struggling with a half-billion dollar debt of its own, but it raised nearly half the cost for a $2 million downtown parade to celebrate the Lakers’ 15th NBA championship.
It’s not everyday that an iconic pop star dies, so why not parade Michael Jackson’s body through the city in a horse-drawn carriage with presidential protection, of course? The city would make the investment back 100 times over from patronage of L.A. area hotels, restaurants and other businesses by the quarter-million to 750,000 fans coming from all across the world.
If the city doesn’t want to put up any money to avoid the outcry of soon-to-be, laid-off government workers, it should consider asking L.A.-based AEG Worldwide to fund the parade. AEG, the world’s largest sports owner/promoter and the world’s second largest concert promoter, backed Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” comeback tour and stands to make at least $100 million from packaging the 100 hours of footage from the pop star’s rehearsals at the Staples Center, including his final practice in the wee morning hours before going home and dying of cardiac arrest.
AEG already threw $30 million into preparation for Michael’s comeback and paid $150,000 monthly to Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician present the entire time when the pop star died at his home. Dr. Murray’s outrageous salary, which comes out to nearly $2 million annually, to monitor the singer is enough to pay for a real public memorial to Michael Jackson.
There’s got to be a better way to honor the King of Pop than this half-baked ticket raffle for a hardly public memorial.

By Teneshia LaFaye

Buy a limited edition I Was There, King of Pop Commemorative Journal featuring many of these stories to remember the positive side of Michael Jackson’s life. The journal went on sale at the pop icon’s public memorial in L.A., and a limited supply is left over. Don’t let this moment pass you by. Get the journal while supplies last as a keepsake for MJ’s passing with spaces for your personal experience and pictures.

To receive your copy, please send $8 per copy in cash or money order to King of Pop Journal, 3832-10 Baymeadows Rd., Suite 205, Jacksonville, FL 32217 and make sure your name and address is on the envelope.

Or you can buy now for $7.35:

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In spite of winning his fourth NBA title with the Lakers on Sunday, Kobe Bryant still needs two more to equal Michael Jordan’s six with the Chicago Bulls.
But Kobe is just like Mike in buying power. Bryant, Jordan and Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen are tied for No. 2 behind the world’s No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods on Forbes’ list of the world’s Best Paid Male Athletes. See the list here

Woods, who was on hand in Orlando’s Amway Arena to watch Bryant win his fourth NBA championship, earned $110 million last year. Bryant, Jordan and Raikkonen each made $45 million.

Bryant, who grew up in Philadelphia rooting for Jordan and the Bills, has a chance to match his idol on the court if the Lakers manage to three-peat as they did from 2000-2002.

The Lakers’ championship run also is contigent upon their front office bringing back record-setting coach Phil Jackson, who has six titles with Jordan and four with Kobe, and Bryant’s supporting cast of Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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As I wrote a couple weeks ago, electrifying singers Chris Brown and Rihanna keep moving in the same direction.
The former couple sat courtside behind the basket near the Lakers’ bench during L.A.’s 99-91 OT victory Thursday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Orlando Magic’s Amway Arena.
Brown and Rihanna arrived separately before tipoff and did not sit by each other although they both had seats behind the basket on L.A.’s side of the court.


Rapper Lil’ Wayne, reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend New Orleans tailback Reggie Bush also sat in the section.
Brown, a Magic fan, has attended several of Orlando’s playoff games. He was spotted at Amway Arena last month with singer Usher, actor Chris Tucker and rapper Bow Wow during the Magic’s Eastern Conference Final home games against Cleveland. Brown, 20, has been in Orlando recording a new album, Graffiti.
Rihanna, 21, also is working on a new album, and she and her ex are also working on separate movie projects.
Rihanna, who has a home in L.A., flew into Orlando just in time for the game. The Barbadian pop star has been spotted in New York during the past few weeks partying with The Black Eyed Peas and suspected new beau Canadian actor/rapper Aubrey “Drake” Griffin. She was photographed leaving New York’s JFK International Airport earlier Thursday, obviously to fly to Orlando to see her Lakers play that night.

Rihanna and Chris will cross paths again later this month when they appear in an L.A. courtroom to resume Brown’s preliminary hearing on two felony charges for allegedly beating, biting and choking Rihanna the night before the Grammy Awards in L.A. in February. If convicted, Brown could be sentenced to probation or nearly five years in prison.
While at former Magic center Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando home last month, Brown recorded a home video declaring, “I’m not a monster.”

By Teneshia LaFaye
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LeBron James didn’t come through to deliver a No. 23 vs. No. 24 matchup in the NBA Finals, but Kobe Bryant continues to do his part and has the Lakers up 2-0 on the Orlando Magic, the team that outplayed and dethroned James and the Cleveland Cavs to win the Eastern Conference.
Bryant scored 29 points and made a fade-away jumper over Hedo Turkoglu for the Lakers’ go-ahead lead in a 101-96 overtime victory on Sunday to follow up on his 40-point Jordan-esque performance in a 25-point rout of the Magic in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Highlights from NBA Finals Game 2:

The best-of-seven championship series moves from Disney Land to Disney World when L.A. travels to Orlando for Games 3, 4 and 5, if necessary.
If Bryant delivers the Lakers’ 15th NBA title, he would likely be the NBA Finals MVP, which coupled with his fourth NBA championship ring, carries a lot more weight than James’ regular-season NBA MVP trophy. It also would be Bryant’s first NBA title without the help of Shaquille O’Neal.

Here’s Nike’s puppet commercial of Kobe holding his three rings over LeBron’s head:

Former Lakers general manager Jerry West may want to retract his earlier claim that LeBron is greater than Kobe when it’s Bryant who is leading his team on the game’s biggest stage for the second year in a row and a chance at another ring while James waits ‘til next season to try again for his first ring.

Here’s video of Kobe’s and LeBron’s opinion of each other:

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
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The Orlando Magic are making their first NBA Finals appearance since the year before their original Man of Steel Shaquille O’Neal left to win three NBA championships with the Lakers.
Shaq, now with the Phoenix Suns, never sold his house in Orlando, and he has said he wants to own the Magic someday.
But, the Magic’s former No. 1 draft pick also has allegiance to the Lakers, who Orlando visits Thursday to tip off the best-of-seven NBA Finals. Despite his public feud with Kobe Bryant, Shaq said earlier this year that he wants to retire his No. 34 in L.A.’s Staples Center, where he earned three NBA Finals MVP awards during the Lakers’ NBA championship triple-peat from 2000-2002.
So is Shaq pulling for the Magic to win their first NBA title or former ally and nemesis Bryant to win his fourth with the Lakers?
Well, Shaq, who already has four rings for winning another NBA title with Miami in 2006, wrote on his twitter page Wednesday afternoon:
“That’s right. I am saying it today and today only. I want Kobe Bryant to get number 4. Spread da word.”
This was in response to someone asking Shaq if he meant he was pulling for the Lakers when he wrote “I’m a go wit the lake show” on Twitter on Sunday night, a day after the Magic defeated LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavs in Game 6 for Orlando’s first Eastern Conference title since Shaq, Penny, Nick, Dennis and Brian won the title for the city in 1995.
Could Shaq be pulling for L.A. because the Magic’s new Superman and 2004 No. 1 draft pick Dwight Howard has replaced him as Orlando’s biggest star aside from Mickey Mouse?
Or it could be because it would be cheaper for Shaq to buy a Magic team that’s never won an NBA championship than one who has won the big one?
Regardless of the reason, Shaq has put it on the record that he is pulling for the Lakers to beat the Magic.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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The Orlando Magic will open the NBA Finals on Thursday with back-to-back games in Los Angeles to continue their improbable championship run after losing NBA All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson to season-ending right shoulder surgery in February.
Rafer Alston was acquired in a last-minute trade to assume Nelson’s point guard duties, and Orlando’s offense came alive to take down the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics and then Cleveland and NBA MVP LeBron James in the playoffs.
Now, the Magic are in their first NBA Finals since 1995, and it has been a team effort with Alston seamlessly getting the ball to Howard right under the basket, and Howard tossing the ball out to the Magic’s plentiful long-range shooting threats: Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus.
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy is considering inserting Nelson back into the lineup after a fast recovery from surgery although the point guard isn’t yet back to All-Star form. On Tuesday, Nelson ran with the Magic’s second team in the first full day of team practice and participated in every drill. He hasn’t played a game in four months.
With Nelson at the point, the Magic has the NBA’s best record in January and went 2-0 against the Lakers in the regular season. In the two victories against L.A., Nelson led the way averaging 27.5 points after a third quarter outburst in their first matchup and a 15-point fourth quarter output in the second meeting.
Alston hasn’t been as productive as a scorer, averaging only 12.7 points in the Magic’s’ 18 playoff games. But he’s almost flawlessly run Orlando’s well-oiled offense with only 1.8 turnovers per game.
Obviously, the lineup of Alston, Howard, Turkoglu, Lewis and Lee has worked because the Magic is in its first NBA Finals since 1995.
So why fix what isn’t broken by bringing back Nelson, who isn’t fully recovered and has been out of action for four months?
Van Gundy said he will decide on game day. The Lakers aren’t taking any chances and are preparing for Nelson to be in the Magic’s lineup.
But if Nelson doesn’t return, Alston is more than capable of running the Magic’s explosive show.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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Chris Brown is obviously not worried about his preliminary hearing Thursday for his two felony charges in the alleged assault of his former pop star girlfriend Rihanna.
In the last few days leading up to the hearing, he’s been caught singing, b-balling and youTubing.
Between breaks recording his new album Graffiti in Orlando with a single due out this summer, Brown has been spotted courtside during two of the Magic’s Eastern Conference Final games against Cleveland. He sat with Usher, Chris Tucker and Dwyane Wade to witness Orlando’s 99-89 victory on Sunday, and then Tuesday, he sat with his rapper best friend Bow Wow for the Magic’s 116-114 OT win to take a 3-1 series lead over LeBron James’ Cavs.
Brown also has been videotaped playing 2-on-2 pickup ball with Bow Wow, Tucker and Shaq on the indoor court at the former Magic, Lakers and Heat center’s Orlando home.
And Brown posted a YouTube video announcing his new album, his love for his real fans and he declared, “I’m not a monster.” Bow Wow chimed in “Believe that.”

A judge and jury will decide whether Brown is a “monster.” But Brown’s not worried about it. He will continue to hang loose in Orlando while his lawyer appears in court Thursday and tries to get the case thrown out.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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This has got to be the most exciting NBA playoffs in more than a decade.
But the action isn’t restricted to the court. Apparently, the sideline has its own sideshow, and I don’t just mean celebrity sightings of Jack Nicholson, Justin Timberlake, Will Ferrell, Denzel Washington, Terri Hatcher, Tom Cruise and Mrs. Terminator Maria Shriver.
The players’ mates and moms are creating excitement.
The girlfriend of Denver forward Carmelo Anthony was ejected from Game 4 of the Nuggets’ semifinal game at Dallas early this month after punching a fan in the face. Former MTV veejay Alani “LaLa” Vazquez, who has been engaged to Anthony since January 2005, recently said she “was defending herself” and child because the “fans were out of control”. She revealed that beer-guzzling Mavericks fans were shouting obscenities and racial slurs in reference to her 2-year-old out-of-wedlock son with Anthony. She sent their son, Kiyan Carmelo, home before getting into the brawl. Ironically, she is helping teach etiquette to rowdy, raunchy reality TV women on VH-1’s Charm School with Ricki Lake.
And in Game 4 of a Boston-Cleveland semifinal last season, LeBron James’ mom jumped out of her seat under the basket and into the face of Paul Pierce after a hard foul on her son. Pierce’s teammate Kevin Garnett held back Gloria James, and LeBron told his mom to “sit your (butt) down.”
With James’ and Anthony’s teams in the playoffs, you may see more sideline action. Maybe Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, who has been said to have a nasty attitude and lays in wait to smooch her husband during and after the game, will spar with Nuggets fan when the Lakers venture to Denver for Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Finals. In Game 2, Kobe’s wife and Carmelo’s fiancée locked arms and strolled behind Bryant as he walked to the locker room with the Lakers’ 55-54 halftime lead.
James, Bryant and Anthony are the Top 3 scorers remaining in the NBA playoffs. But while you’re enjoying their electrifying moves, make sure to keep a third eye on the sidelines.
The NBA has a sideline policy that suspends players for a game without pay or a fine up to $35,000 if they aren’t near their team’s bench during an altercation. The league probably should make a rule for disruptive family members.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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