The Laker Soap Opera continues...

[UZI Suicide 0]

Gotta love the Lakers. The drama will never die

 

 

 

 

Both Bryant and Karl Malone — speaking through his agent, Dwight Manley — confirmed Saturday night that they had a major falling out involving Bryant's wife, Vanessa, two weeks before the Bryant radio interview that had supposedly ticked off Malone so much.

Before Saturday night's game with the Clippers, Bryant listened as I relayed the story that's going around town, and when I finished, he said, that's true.

On Nov. 23, the night the Lakers played the Bucks at Staples Center, Vanessa was talking on the phone to Malone's wife, Kaye. Kaye gave Vanessa her husband's cellphone number, and Vanessa called Malone, who was sitting at courtside, and invited Malone's child to join her.

Malone, wearing cowboy boots and a hat, eventually took the child to Vanessa.

Malone hugged Vanessa, and then Vanessa asked — as Manley recounts this part of the story — "Hey, cowboy, what are you hunting?"

"She said it twice," Manley said, "and Karl answered the second time, 'I'm hunting for little Mexican girls.' "

After the game Vanessa told Bryant that Malone had come on to her, and said several inappropriate things. She also told Bryant that she had called Malone's wife and asked Kaye to get her husband away from her.

 

Bryant called Malone on his cellphone after the game, and Bryant laid into Malone. Bryant said Malone didn't have much to say in return and didn't deny anything.

 

What's a husband supposed to do when your wife tells you something like that? Bryant wanted to know as we talked.

 

Bryant said he was uncomfortable discussing the incident and he would have preferred to keep it quiet, but the New York Post reported this week that Malone was seen giving Vanessa a big hug, and then "somehow Malone managed to cross Vanessa" and got on her "frosty side."[/b]

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-simers...eadlines-sports

[MrRant 0]

OMG. Malone likes underage Mexicans~!

 

 

Close the borders~!

[Guest LooneyTune]

^^ Is Kobe Bryant the new biggest crybaby on earth, or just the biggest idiot?

[Precious Roy 0]

LOLOMGWTF!

 

It sounds like Malone was joking around, he was probably drinking, and psycho trophy wife lost it. Oh well, it can't be easy being married to the biggest dick in Los Angeles county.

[alfdogg 0]

I can't really blame Kobe for being upset. I wouldn't want a 260-pound black guy hitting on my wife (much less one who make millions of dollars). Though, it's pretty obvious from reading this that Kobe's wife was flirting with him first, and when it was returned in kind, she's suddenly the damsel in distress. That happened to me a lot in school.

[Art Sandusky 0]

That's the funniest thing I've read in a while.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

This is amazing. It's something new every day. When does Malone return to the court? is he still under contract with the Lakers? If he is; Im sure Kobe will ship him off as well. I still think Malone will take a bench spot with Minnesota or Miami to have a more realistic shot at the ring.

[Brett Favre 0]

This wouldn't happen with Shaq here. Shaq don't use cellphones.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

and nobody is going to fuck with Shaq's wife.

 

Kobe? even the popcorn guy made a move at Vanessa.

[The Czech Republic 0]

'I'm hunting for little Mexican girls.' "

So Karl Malone works for the INS?

 

But seriously, Kobe, you cheated on your wife so that makes this okay.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I was going to post this earlier, but I couldn't find the article I had read on my cellphone. I figure this would be the appropriate thread for it.

 

So, now in the latest edition of FUCK KARL MALONE:

 

Get over yourself, Karl

By Ric Bucher

ESPN the Magazine

 

Forests of paper, miles of videotape and months of audio recording have been devoted to singing Karl Malone's praises. Oh, he took a few hits for not closing the deal on a title in Utah, especially with Michael Jordan literally plucking the ball, and thereby the trophy, from his grasp in '98. Some opposing players also have suggested he plays dirty, a justifiable allegation with all the knees and elbows he's laid on them over the years.

 

Other than that, though, it's been one long, 19-season lovefest.

 

And still it's not enough.

 

Proving that the Lakers are like "Law & Order" -- the names change, the drama remains -- Malone has replaced Shaquille O'Neal in the role of the Big Sensitive. Kobe Bryant is once more the protagonist, this time for suggesting Malone's indecision about whether to play -- and where -- is unfair to the Lakers players he might displace. Bryant also said his "intuition" tells him Malone isn't coming back after undergoing knee surgery last summer.

 

Karl somehow took all that to mean Kobe didn't want him back. How, I'm not sure, but his response, via his agent, Dwight Manley, was: That's it, I really wanted to come back and play for the Lakers but now I can't because Kobe doesn't want me.

 

What?

 

Now, I've known Karl for a while. We've had our share of private one-on-one conversations over the years. He's even taken me for a spin in a monster truck outside of Vegas and grinned like a madman after gunning it up a dirt ramp and catching air. I didn't scream, nor did I lose control of any bodily functions, but he got me and he knew it. I respect that he's made the absolute most out of his God-given talents, that he has a variety of interests outside of basketball.

 

But none of that leaves me any less perplexed at his need -- no, make that demand -- to be appreciated to the fullest.

 

This is certainly nothing new. Malone has routinely taken great offense to slights, real and imagined. Remember when he made it known that his hotel or transportation at the '97 All-Star Game were beneath him? Remember how he lost his taste for All-Star Games altogether when Kobe then waved off his pick?

 

Malone and Jazz owner Larry Miller routinely jousted, the dispute always being that Miller was taking Malone for granted. It was either an insulting contract offer or ignoring his trade demands or disrespecting him with a skit last January in the Delta Center that insinuated Malone missed being in Utah.

 

I chalked all that up to being in a small market and the lid coach Jerry Sloan keeps on individualism of any kind. Malone's transformation when he reached L.A. seemed to confirm that notion. He not only took an $18 million pay cut to join the Lakers, he accepted $1.5 million while Gary Payton took the bigger available free-agent slice of $4.9 million. His thin-skinned reaction to questions deemed critical disappeared. He subjugated his game without complaint, so much so that Kobe felt compelled to remind him he was the league's second all-time leading scorer. He openly talked about his and the team's struggles. He talked about how incredibly blessed he felt simply to be playing. He sounded sincere -- and secure.

 

He doesn't sound like that anymore. He sounds like someone who feels he's being overlooked again, which is extraordinary -- and a little sad -- coming from an 11-time All-NBA selection, two-time league MVP, 14-time All Star and member of the league's 50 Greatest Ever Team.

 

Truth is, Kobe's comments were exactly right. Malone is being unfair to the other Lakers by not making his intentions known. They are a young team coming together. It would help them to know if a player of Malone's caliber will be joining them. In fact, it's easy to hear Malone in his team-leader days saying the same about someone holding the Jazz hostage.

 

Besides, what's left to ponder? Manley says his client has recovered 100 percent from surgery and is ready to go. Who puts himself through the kind of rehab required to play again, at 41, and then opts to retire anyway?

 

Every indication from Malone, meanwhile, is that he doesn't want to move his family or play for another team. If he wanted the best shot at a championship, he would've signed up with San Antonio months ago. If he wanted to be a big fish in a smaller pond, he would've gone to Minnesota. If he wanted to play last year's role, he could've gone to Miami.

 

So why not simply end all the goofy intrigue? (And if it weren't still a mystery to everyone, including the Lakers, Kobe never would've felt compelled to say what he did.)

 

This comes off as another ruse to squeeze every last bit of courtship and love from all concerned. Malone even reopened the door that Manley slammed shut, essentially saying he wouldn't use such "strong words" about not returning. Which means for the right amount of additional love he'll go ahead and do what he planned all along.

 

No matter what Malone does, his official accomplishments as a player won't be diminished. His place among the 50 Greatest is secure. He'll have a plaque in the Hall of Fame. But in the unwritten annals, in the minds of those who keep their own scorecards on what players were, this latest little outburst assures that his thumbnail sketch will include: Great Player. Manly Man. Drama Queen.

[The Czech Republic 0]

He lost me when he said Kobe was once again the protagonist.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Too bad the man also speaks a great deal of truth in that, as well as the rest of the article.

[The Czech Republic 0]

What about Kobe repeatedly saying "my team"? "I was speaking for my team. I was defending my players." He wasn't saying they were his teammates, he was saying they were his players. That was a jackass thing to say.

[The Czech Republic 0]

and also, Ric Bucher, isn't that the dopey white guy that everyone on Fastbreak rips on?

[Brett Favre 0]

Yeah. He's the only one that brings the goods too.

[Guest Vitamin X]

What about Kobe repeatedly saying "my team"? "I was speaking for my team. I was defending my players." He wasn't saying they were his teammates, he was saying they were his players. That was a jackass thing to say.

So if you say "my team", you couldn't possibly be saying "the team I play on" as opposed to "I own this team"?

 

And Kobe's the widely-acknowledged leader on the team. He takes responsibility in a leadership role. I don't think there's anything jackassed about that.

[Art Sandusky 0]

"I'm hunting for little Mexican girls."

 

God, I'm still rolling from that.

[The Czech Republic 0]

And Kobe's the widely-acknowledged leader on the team.

I'll say, since he's recruiting his coaches and all.

 

God. Packer and Laker flags. Stick the Yankees and Red Wings in there so I can really loathe you.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I actually like the Avalanche and Dodgers/Marlins when it comes to those sports, which I don't really follow but am happy when they do well.

[Brett Favre 0]

I could understand the "My Team" but "My Players"?

[Guest Vitamin X]

That's probably like saying "my boys" or something. Ghetto-athlete speak or something.

 

But I think Kobe's ego is villified a lot more than it should be. I wonder why noone said the same thing about MJ, who was without a doubt the most incredible ballhog I'd ever seen play. It may have worked for the Bulls, but still he never got villified for his ego. Same thing about Shaq, although his ego seems to have diminished playing in Miami.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

But I think Kobe's ego is villified a lot more than it should be. I wonder why noone said the same thing about MJ

uh, besides everyone?

[The Czech Republic 0]

I could understand the "My Team" but "My Players"?

Exactly. Any of them can claim that it's their team, but only Rudy Tomjanovich can say "my players."

[Guest Vitamin X]

But I think Kobe's ego is villified a lot more than it should be. I wonder why noone said the same thing about MJ

uh, besides everyone?

I certainly don't remember, and I don't believe he was villified nearly as much as Kobe is.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

I could understand the "My Team" but "My Players"?

To me the one that really bugged me was the one when he said

 

"The players are giving ME 110%"

 

Uh..Last time I checked Rudy T is the coach of the Lakers not Kobe

 

Seriously if I was his team mate I would have punched him by now

[Sass 0]

When I first read this story, what popped into my head was "Karl's joking, wow" and shook my head. Karl's response and response time to Vanessa's question(s) told me that he was messing around with her. Shoot, I thought it sounded like Vanessa was hitting on Karl. His answer was just too absurd to sound like it was meant to seriously hit on Vanessa.

 

This girl is the definition of a psycho hose beast.

 

Kobe and 'nessa are made for one another. The only thing larger than Kobe's wallet and Vanessa's tits are their insecurities.

[Sass 0]

Lamar Odom is probably going to start blazing the endo again just to forget about how much of a punkass Kobe is in the off-season. Kobe's such a spoiled brat. He's the best player in the game but he's an utterly despicable aloof douchebag when he's not playing b-ball.

 

Rudy T has my condolences. He's probably going to end up with ulcers by the time his contract ends with the team.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

and oh by the way, here are my thoughts on the whole thing.

 

all 3 of these people are dopes. Therefore I hope this ends horribly. I think the best case scenario is a Mexican standoff.

[nogoodnick 0]

Vanessas just a money grubbing bitch anyways. If Karl bought her and $8 mil ring I'm sure he could've got some.