Kobe Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to take their 15th NBA championship title. The Takeaway Sports Blogger Ibrahim Abdul-Matin says Kobe has escaped Shaq’s shadow and predicts whether the Magic will be contenders again next year.

?There can only be one,? reads the tagline of the NBA’s 2008 playoff marketing campaign, splitting the faces of top players to emphasize that no one gets a participation award. Yet, the Los Angeles Lakers Game 5, 103-98 victory over the Boston Celtics, featured a different kind of split ? the split personality of Kobe Bryant.”
-Maggie Haskins

The U.S. men’s basketball opener vs. China on Sunday will be one of the most-watched Olympic events, and the players on both teams are under pressure to do well during the Games, as The World’s Matthew Bell reports.