Kobe Bryant and his parents Joe and Pam had a rocky relationship for years leading up to the former NBA star’s death, but it sounds like Bryant expressed a desire to put that to rest not long before he died.
Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, delivered a speech on Kobe’s behalf when Kobe was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday night. During the speech, Vanessa said Kobe told her a week before he died that he wanted his mother and father to attend the enshrinement. She thanked Joe and Pam for “bringing one of the most amazing human beings into this world.” Vanessa also thanked Kobe’s entire family and said his sister Sharia has “gone above and beyond.”
Here’s the video:
Joe and Pam did not attend the ceremony, however. Anansa Sims, who is Matt Barnes’ ex-wife and close friends with Kobe’s sister Shaya, claims to know why. Sims shared a tribute to Kobe on her Instagram page that was attributed to Shaya, whose Instagram is private. Sims said she was told by Shaya that Joe and Pam did not attend the Hall of Fame ceremony because they were not personally invited and were “totally disrespected at the memorial.”
“His parents didn’t just choose not to go to the HOF. His parents were totally disrespected at the memorial. They weren’t personally invited to the HOF,” Sims wrote on Instagram, according to a screenshot captured by The Neighborhood Talk.
Sims also said Joe and Pam wished they had known Kobe expressed a desire for them to attend because they would have gone.
Some of Kobe’s issues with his parents stemmed from his decision to marry Vanessa at such a young age. He reconciled with his parents after the birth of his first daughter, Natalia, but the three went through a public fight in 2013 over some memorabilia.
Lakers legend Jerry West said Kobe’s parents were “traumatized and devastated” over their son’s death. It’s a shame they were unable to work out their differences.
H/T Bro Bible
Tim Hardaway Jr. may be his continuing the family legacy this offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported on Tuesday that the Miami Heat are a team to keep an eye to sign Hardaway Jr. The Dallas Mavericks swingman will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Miami is certainly a notable potential landing spot for Hardaway Jr. After all, his father, Tim Hardaway Sr., was one of the greats in Heat franchise history. A three-time All-NBA selection with Miami, the elder Hardaway is one of just five Heat players to have his jersey retired by the team.
An explosive scoring talent in his own right as well, Hardaway Jr. could fit a need for the Heat with Duncan Robinson’s impending restricted free agency and the uncertainty over the situation of unrestricted free agent Victor Oladipo. Still, Miami may opt to use their cap space elsewhere.
The Boston Celtics have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season, and some have wondered if they would consider bringing in a new head coach if they fail to make a respectable playoff run. One reporter says there is no way that is going to happen.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was asked on “Get Up!” Tuesday about the rumblings that Celtics coach Brad Stevens could be on the hot seat. He said Stevens is “going to be back” with Boston next season.
“This is a coach who has been to the Conference Finals three out of four years. They’re going to certainly continue with Brad Stevens,” Wojnarowski said. “They’ve had a talent drain in Boston over the last few years. They’ve got to improve their talent and they need a healthy Kemba Walker. … They’re gonna chalk this season up as a disappointment. I do think you’ll see some roster movement this offseason, but I don’t think you’re gonna see any changes in their leadership.”
The Celtics earned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and will host the No. 8 seed Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. If they win, they secure a spot in the playoffs. If they lose, they would still have a chance to get in by beating the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge recently offered high praise for Stevens when asked about the team’s struggles this year. If Stevens really did turn down this massive offer from a top college program, it’s a safe bet that the Celtics have assured him his job is safe.
Joe Burrow said earlier this offseason that he expects to be fully recovered from his knee injury in time for the start of the 2021 season, and his doctor agrees.
Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who operated on Burrow’s knee in Los Angeles in December, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday that he expects the quarterback to be “all systems go” for the Bengals’ regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 12.
“He’s on track for full go for start of the season,” ElAttrache said. “He’s doing all the work. He’s worked his tail off and been an amazingly mature participant in his recovery. He’s focused and great to work with.”
That is consistent with everything we have heard this offseason, but it certainly holds more weight coming from the doctor who performed surgery on Burrow. ElAttrache added that Burrow’s knee has been “performing perfectly” given the circumstances.
Burrow suffered a torn ACL on Nov. 22 against Washington. He underwent surgery on Dec. 2. Doctors have recommended that he not take part in any contact drills for nine months, so it seems likely that he will sit out the preseason.
The Bengals aren’t going to rush Burrow. He’s the future of their franchise, and they care a lot more about his long-term health than winning games at the start of the 2021 season. That said, they have already shared encouraging updates about his rehab. You can understand why they are so optimistic after hearing what ElAttrache had to say.
We are still nearly four months away from the start of the 2021 NFL season, but Jalen Ramsey is already going at it with fans of his Week 1 opponent.
The Los Angeles Rams will host the Chicago Bears in Week 1. When the two teams last met, the game was nationally televised on ESPN. That allowed the entire country to see Ramsey get torched by Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney on a double move. Fortunately for the All-Pro cornerback, Nick Foles badly overthrew Mooney.
While the play worked out fine for the Rams, fans have never let Ramsey live it down. Someone even hacked Mooney’s Wikipedia page and wrote that the receiver is Ramsey’s father.
It didn’t stop there. Fans then noticed that if you do a Google search for “Jalen Ramsey’s father,” the first name that pops up is Darnell Mooney.
Ramsey, who never backs down from trash talk, was not about to sit quietly. He wrote on Instagram Tuesday that he can’t wait until Week 1 so he can shut Bears fans up about their No. 2 receiver.
Even if Mooney doesn’t catch a pass in Week 1, that one play is going to follow Ramsey for the rest of his life. There’s no way Bears fans are going to let him forget it. Plus, he’s far more likely to be tasked with covering Allen Robinson than Mooney.
Ramsey is known for getting into it with opponents and even carried that off the field on one occasion. He’s the type of player fans love to troll, and Bears fans are taking full advantage.
Lincoln Riley helped turn Baker Mayfield into a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma, but apparently coaching the quarterback to slide was no easy task. Riley found a hilarious way to point that out recently.
Riley tweeted a funny video on Sunday that showed a young boy messing with his baseball coach by walking toward home plate in slow motion after the coach told him to run fast. Riley said that is just how he felt trying to teach Mayfield to slide when Baker first got to Oklahoma.
Mayfield isn’t exactly denying it. He acknowledged to Riley that anything the QB did “had to be my own idea.”
Like many athletic college quarterbacks, Mayfield had a tendency to put his body on the line while trying to extend plays. Coaches would rather see that than a player being lazy or timid, but quarterbacks need to protect their health. It took Riley a while to drill that into Mayfield’s head.
Riley and Mayfield have always had a great relationship. The coach reminded us of that with the awesome tweet he sent after Mayfield’s NFL debut. That doesn’t mean Mayfield never frustrated him, and sliding seems like it may have been a sore subject at one point.
Browns fans! It’s Baker’s team in Cleveland. This Cleveland Bakers shirt is a perfect gift for you or a friend. You can buy it here.
Dennis Schroder was once a big fan of Kyrie Irving, and you would know that if you took a look at the Los Angeles Lakers point guard’s massive shoe collection. Schroder has dozen of pairs of Irving’s signature shoes, but he is now looking to unload them.
Schroder gave fans a tour of his shoe collection in a YouTube video this week. He held up one of his Irving sneakers at one point and said he has 30 to 40 pairs. However, Schroder says he refuses to wear them anymore after what took place between him and the Brooklyn Nets star last month.
Schroder spoke in his native German language in the video, but there was a translation in the subtitles.
“Kyrie Irving … I have a lot of his shoes,” Schroder said. “Unfortunately I can’t wear them no more. It’s not possible after what happened in the game. I cannot do it. Not going to wear it again.”
So what will he do with all the sneakers? Schroder plans to donate them and said anyone who knows a good place to send them should contact him.
Schroder and Irving were both ejected from a game last month for what was believed to be the first time in each of their careers. The ejections came after they began arguing over foul calls and got face-to-face with each other. Irving refused to speak about the incident with reporters, but he later implied on Twitter that he became upset after Schroder used the N-word. You can see the video of the incident here.
The Nets and Lakers are the favorites to win their respective conferences, so the Schroder-Irving storyline would certainly be one to watch if that happens.
The New York Knicks finally became relevant again this season in their first year under Tom Thibodeau, and they are hoping to use that to their advantage this summer.
As the Knicks prepare to face the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says their front office is dreaming of landing a star player this offseason. Wojnarowski said on “The Woj Pod” this week that the Knicks have plenty of assets to offer in a trade and are on “disgruntled star alert.”
“I think they’re on disgruntled star alert,” Woj said. “They have draft picks. They’ve got picks coming still from Dallas. They’ve got their own. They’ve got some young players who showed growth with Tom Thibodeau — that might be appealing to people. It depends what level of star becomes available and (whether) you want to cash your chips in if they do. But I think they’re in the conversation now, or have the potential to be in the conversation, as an option for a player who might want out somewhere.”
Wojnarowski said he can’t see any obvious star players that might want a change of scenery at the moment, but “history tells us someone will emerge.”
The Knicks finished 41-31 this season after missing the playoffs the last seven. They’ve gone after almost every big-name free agent in recent years, but they always come up empty. We know they have their eye on some of the top free agents heading into this summer, though a trade may be their best chance to finally land a marquee star.
It seems like New York has already caught the attention of at least one of the NBA’s best young stars. Landing a top free agent or star player via trade would go a long way toward keeping the Knicks on the map.
H/T Bleacher Report
New York Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar left Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves after he was hit in the face by a pitch, and it sounds like the injuries he suffered are as bad as they looked.
The Mets announced on Tuesday that Pillar suffered multiple nasal fractures. He is scheduled to meet with a facial specialist in Atlanta to determine what the next steps should be.
Pillar was batting in the top of the 7th inning with his team leading the Braves 1-0. Reliever Jacob Webb was trying to throw a pitch high but missed badly inside and hit Pillar in the face.
Pillar went down immediately and blood came spouting out of his nose. You can see the video here, but beware that it is quite graphic.
Webb and many other players were visibly shaken following the incident. Pillar was fortunately able to walk off the field under his own power, but there was so much blood around the batter’s box that the game was paused so the grounds crew could clean it up.
Pillar is in his first season with the Mets and struggling somewhat at the plate, batting .247 with a .661 OPS. We hope he has a speedy recovery, but it sounds like he could be out a while.
Solomon Hill faced a lot of backlash two months ago for the role he played in LeBron James suffering an ankle injury. Los Angeles Lakers players made it clear they were unhappy about the play, and LeBron shares that frustration.
LeBron suffered his sprained ankle when Hill collided with him while diving for a loose ball. James spoke about the injury this week and said he was playing some of the best basketball of his career prior to it. The way he described the play made it obvious he is still bitter about it.
There didn’t appear to be any intent on Hill’s part, but Lakers players were upset. You can see the video of the play here.
You could maybe make the argument that Hill was being reckless, but it seemed like the Atlanta Hawks forward was just scrambling for a loose ball. The injury has been the most significant one of LeBron’s career, though he recently dismissed concerns about.
