Worst Sports Writer?

[Jason Tate]

Dan Wetzel (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ApkPsEwkMROIrS0Zw5l43.q8v LYF?slug=dw-kobe012206&prov=yhoo&type=lgns) makes a case for it.

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points on Sunday – enough to rank second all time to Wilt Chamberlain's immortal 100-point game in 1962 and knock the NFL off the front burner of sports conversations – and yet people still will criticize him.
Count on it. They'll say he should have passed more (he had just two assists). They'll say he just did it for the spotlight. They'll point to his 18 misses, not his 28 makes.
They'll go on and on. Only in basketball could a guy score 81 points, make history, send every ticket holder home with a story of a lifetime, cause cell phones across America to ring with "Are you watching this?" calls, generally create amazement and wonder – and still get criticized
But watch it happen.
Kobe Bryant kicked ass Sunday, and if you can't understand that, then you need to try. This wasn't about Bryant being a ball hog or a bad teammate. Quite the contrary. The Los Angeles Lakers were getting pounded by the Toronto Raptors (down 16 at one point) until Kobe looked at his bad teammates and decided to try to win the game – which the Lakers did, 122-104.
"It just happened," Bryant said afterward. "For me, it was all about the W. I thought we were lethargic. I wanted to ride the wave and demoralize our opponent."
And people want to criticize that?
You know, even if a few of those points were unnecessary – and because the game was in doubt until late in the fourth quarter, not many of them were – who cares? Really, what is wrong with trying to make history? Don't the Raptors get paid, too?
If a baseball player hits a home run in his first three at-bats, does anyone blame him for swinging for the fences his next time up? Does anyone complain when a manager doesn't even think to take a tiring pitcher out of a no-hitter, even if it is the best move for the team to win?
When Peyton Manning is trying to set a single-season touchdown record and calls for pass plays on first-and-goal from the 1, does anyone care?
Of course not, you expect it. You demand it, even.
So why in basketball does it matter? Is it because the players are mostly black? Is it because they are prone to preening?
Is it because in basketball you have to play both offense and defense on every single possession you are in the game, and as a result your weaknesses are up for double exposure? Is it because Kobe Bryant can be rather unlikable – be it the Shaquille O'Neal thing, or the Eagle, Colo., thing, or so many other things?
Is it because there remains this "Hoosiers"-inspired purity to the game, even if coach Norman Dale would have wanted Jimmy Chitwood to keep shooting?
Maybe it is all of that above. I don't know.
I do know that back in the 1960s and '70s it wasn't like this. The gunner was celebrated. Pete Maravich, David Thompson, even Larry Bird (in the 1980s) all admittedly were selfish on some nights. It was fun. It was part of the show.
Now, no one even tries to put up big numbers. Prior to Sunday, of the top 25 highest-scoring, non-overtime games in NBA history, only one occurred after 1978 – the 1994 season finale when David Robinson scored 71 to make the case for MVP.
Why have we sucked the fun right out of the game?
Kobe Bryant scored 66.4 percent of his team's points. Wilt, in scoring 100 in his Philadelphia Warriors' 169-147 victory, managed just 59.2 percent. So maybe Kobe's performance was better, especially since he didn't enjoy Wilt's advantage of being 7-foot-1 and 275 pounds in an era of no one else being even close.
By the way, that Warriors score also should end all the other predictable talk about how nobody plays defense in the NBA anymore. Who was playing defense on Wilt's night?
NBA players play defense. They play a ton of defense. One of the great fallacies of basketball is the idea that college guys play harder defense than the pros. Apparently, the sight of a slow guard slapping the floor in a show of "intensity" has clouded reality.
If you think the Raptors wanted Bryant to hang 81 on them, you didn't see the game. They just couldn't stop him. They tried everything, every defender.
Kobe was that on. He was that great. It was that much fun.
Yet there will be critics who claim that 81 points in a game isn't sports, that it isn't basketball.
But if you think sending chills down fans' spines isn't sports, then you need to lighten up – and tune in Friday to see if Kobe can hang 101 on Golden State.

[sundaysetsashes]

hahaha race always pops up huh

[Jason Tate]

This one's worse.

Marc Stein

Is 81 enough?
Eighty-One, people.
I'd say so. I'd say all those pre-Christmas wails about Kobe Bryant ripping us off by hanging 62 points on the Dallas Mavericks in three quarters and then sitting out the fourth can suddenly be recalled with a chuckle.
Turns out Kobe's Dec. 20 detonation was not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for No. 8 to make a run at 80-something points. No one was cheated after all.
THE COMPLETE KOBE
Lakers 122, Raptors 104
Jan. 22, 2006
• Daily Dime: Kobe's 81
• Game recap
• Box score
• Shot chart
• Play by play
• PER: Kobe leaps LeBron

Maybe Kobe and his pal Phil Jackson, when they reached that joint decision to stop abusing the Mavs because the Lakers were up by 34, knew they wouldn't have to wait long for another chance at it during an up-for-grabs game.
Why not? You can believe anything on a night like this.
Kobe's chance dutifully materialized almost exactly a month later, on a Sunday that was supposed to belong to gridiron football. You know. The table-setter for Super Bowl Extra Large and all that.
Sorry, NFL.
Sunday will be remembered as the best NBA day in a long, long time. There was a nationally televised buzzer beater in Minnesota from Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala to cap a 19-point comeback in the afternoon ... and then Seattle's Ray Allen beat Phoenix with a way-out buzzer bomb at the horn of overtime No. 2 in a 152-149 throwback thriller ... and then simply the greatest individual performance ever recorded: Bryant's 81 points in a 122-104 come-from-behind victory over the Toronto Raptors.
You'll recall that, sadly, there's no footage of Wilt Chamberlain rumbling for 100 points in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962. Which makes it tough to commission an in-depth analysis comparing Wilt's feat (scoring 100 of his team's 169 points that day) to Kobe's (81 of 122). But I'll gladly settle for the forthcoming flood of Kobe replays, in which you'll see him haul the Lakers back from a 71-53 deficit against a Raps team that kept the game sufficiently close in the final quarter to keep Kobe out there shooting.
Against a Toronto team that somehow held him to 11 points when the teams met in early December -- historic footage now -- Bryant wound up with 55 points after halftime. Fifty-five. For a little perspective, please note that matches the best scoring game in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career. That's the same Abdul-Jabbar who, before becoming a Lakers assistant coach, was merely the NBA's all-time scoring leader.
Top 2 Scoring Games in NBA History
Wilt Kobe
Date 3/2/62 1/22/06
Points 100 81
FG-FGA 36-63 28-46
FT-FTA 28-32 18-20
2nd half 59 55
Asssts 2 2
Don't forget, furthermore, that no less an authority than Michael Jordan has been known to say that a perimeter player has it way tougher when it comes to making a legitimate run at Wilt's record. Factor in the ball-handling responsibilities and the energy required to play defense all over the floor and you can understand MJ's theory. This might also help back it up: Jordan himself topped out at 69 points as his one-night best and needed overtime to get there.
No offense to the late, great Chamberlain, but he was in a better position to dominate a box score with the size and strength advantage he possessed, especially in Wilt's era. Some of you will inevitably counter with the claim that Kobe had the benefit of a 3-point line, but don't exaggerate. Having the long-ball option added only seven points to Bryant's total.
With a mere 74, he'd still have registered the richest single-game scoring output in NBA history by anyone not named Wilt.
With 81, so soon after so many opined that he had blown his chance to ever scrape that stratosphere, Bryant has reminded us what we all should know by now about him.
Whatever you think about the game's foremost love-him-or-loathe-him face, and the ongoing debate about how much he shoots, you always have to be ready for What's Next with No. 8.
Chances are it'll be something to dissect for days and days.
Chances are, on the thinnest and neediest team in Jackson's ring-filled history, it won't be the last time Kobe has the forum to fling 40-something shots at history.


Math isn't a prerequisite for being a sports-writer. How does one score 7 points from the 3 point line? Hahaha.. especially when going 7/13 from behind the arc.

[sundaysetsashes]

hahahahaha

[sundaysetsashes]

tate, i know this is way off topic, but what are the pre-requisites for having ur name in bold and having a bigger avatar?

[mat1419]

tate, i know this is way off topic, but what are the pre-requisites for having ur name in bold and having a bigger avatar?
feats of astonishing strength.

[sundaysetsashes]

fair enough.

[Johnny_G]

That's quality shit right there.

[Dirty Ernie]

i have the privilege of reading stephen a. in philly and he is fairly obnoxious

[sundaysetsashes]

i have the privilege of reading stephen a. in philly and he is fairly obnoxious

speaking of him, whenever i read the inquirer and read his stories i read them and in my head say it how he would say it on t v and its pretty funny sometimes.

[Johnny_G]

i have the privilege of reading stephen a. in philly and he is fairly obnoxious

He's actually a disgrace. I used to find him somewhat amusing, but when every single thing in basketball has to be a matter of race... it gets pretty annoying pretty fast.

[selftitled85]

i like most of the writers for espn. page 2 is awesome and even though i despise boston...bill simmons is great.

[sundaysetsashes]

bill simmons is prob the most entertainig writer for page2. the guy is a genious

[justinevans]

Everyone forgets that Bryant still raped a girl. Where is the race factor in that? There isn't one because it was a man raping a woman.

oh yeah, stephen a. smith sucks, but I mean he has ALL the inside connections.

Next on his show, a recording of talking with God.

[preppyak]

http://www.raiderroundball.com/1203/lunardi-front.jpg
Hi, I'm Joe Lunardi, I make terrible NCAA brackets for a living. After this year, when it's tough to pick teams because two major conferences suck, I will probably be out of a job

But, I do want to give him credit for having 4 MVC teams in, along with a decent number of mid-major teams. Now if only he could get the seedings right.

[mikeford]

no contest... Jay fuckin Mariotti.

that dude SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS


close second, skip bayless... i mean, you all saw that seahawks column

[Goodbye Forever]

Math isn't a prerequisite for being a sports-writer. How does one score 7 points from the 3 point line? Hahaha.. especially when going 7/13 from behind the arc.

If you take away the three point line, those shots are worth two points each. Therefor, he'd have seven fewer points without the line.

[LeftWideOpen]

skip bayless is #1 ...no doubt.
wojciehowski (sp) from espn.com is a close 2nd.
jay marriotti wins the bronze.

[Jason Tate]

If you take away the three point line, those shots are worth two points each. Therefor, he'd have seven fewer points without the line.
I guess that makes sense, except that without the 3, you're probably not shooting from out there. Without the three (in my eyes) he's 21 points shy, that's got Kobe at 60 points - that's only 10 more then what Wilt AVERAGED during his season. If they're two's (and he is shooting out there) - that's 74; not nearly as impressive (and not #2) on the all-time list.

Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs NY ** 100 36-28 3/2/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs LA (3OT) 78 31-16 12/8/61
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs Chi 73 29-15 1/13/62
Wilt Chamberlain, SF at NY 73 29-15 11/16/62
David Thompson, Den at Det 73 28-17 4/9/78
Wilt Chamberlain, SF at LA 72 29-14 11/3/62
Elgin Baylor, LA at NY 71 28-15 11/15/60
David Robinson, SA at LA Clip 71 26-18 4/24/94
Wilt Chamberlain, SF at Syr 70 27-16 3/10/63
Michael Jordan, Chi at Cle (OT) 69 23-21 3/28/90
Wilt Chamberlain, Phi at Chi 68 30- 8 12/16/67
Pete Maravich, NO vs NYK 68 26-16 2/25/77
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs NY 67 27-13 3/9/61
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila at StL 67 26-15 2/17/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs NY 67 25-17 2/25/62
Wilt Chamberlain, SF vs LA 67 28-11 1/11/63
Wilt Chamberlain, LA vs Pho 66 29- 8 2/9/69
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila at Cin 65 24-17 2/13/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila at StL 65 25-15 2/27/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs LA 65 28- 9 2/7/66

Chamberlain still makes Bryant look like a chump - no matter what these revisionists want to say Kobe did (to boost their own ratings) - his performance was NOT the best ever. Incredible? Yes. Worthy of making me watch the NBA again? Not a chance.

[Bozan]

I read so fast that I understand "Worst winter sports" ...

Worst Sports Writer?

:'(

So bad.

[justinevans]

I guess that makes sense, except that without the 3, you're probably not shooting from out there. Without the three (in my eyes) he's 21 points shy, that's got Kobe at 60 points - that's only 10 more then what Wilt AVERAGED during his season. If they're two's (and he is shooting out there) - that's 74; not nearly as impressive (and not #2) on the all-time list.

Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs NY ** 100 36-28 3/2/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs LA (3OT) 78 31-16 12/8/61
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs Chi 73 29-15 1/13/62
Wilt Chamberlain, SF at NY 73 29-15 11/16/62
David Thompson, Den at Det 73 28-17 4/9/78
Wilt Chamberlain, SF at LA 72 29-14 11/3/62
Elgin Baylor, LA at NY 71 28-15 11/15/60
David Robinson, SA at LA Clip 71 26-18 4/24/94
Wilt Chamberlain, SF at Syr 70 27-16 3/10/63
Michael Jordan, Chi at Cle (OT) 69 23-21 3/28/90
Wilt Chamberlain, Phi at Chi 68 30- 8 12/16/67
Pete Maravich, NO vs NYK 68 26-16 2/25/77
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs NY 67 27-13 3/9/61
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila at StL 67 26-15 2/17/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs NY 67 25-17 2/25/62
Wilt Chamberlain, SF vs LA 67 28-11 1/11/63
Wilt Chamberlain, LA vs Pho 66 29- 8 2/9/69
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila at Cin 65 24-17 2/13/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila at StL 65 25-15 2/27/62
Wilt Chamberlain, Phila vs LA 65 28- 9 2/7/66

Chamberlain still makes Bryant look like a chump - no matter what these revisionists want to say Kobe did (to boost their own ratings) - his performance was NOT the best ever. Incredible? Yes. Worthy of making me watch the NBA again? Not a chance.

The funniest thing I read was in Sports Illustrated when they asked AI about Kobe winning the scoring title...AI laughed and said, well he'd be good for him to win it one time.

Wilt led the league in assists in 67'

[TJ Wells]

This one's worse.

Marc Stein

Is 81 enough?
Eighty-One, people.
I'd say so. I'd say all those pre-Christmas wails about Kobe Bryant ripping us off by hanging 62 points on the Dallas Mavericks in three quarters and then sitting out the fourth can suddenly be recalled with a chuckle.
Turns out Kobe's Dec. 20 detonation was not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for No. 8 to make a run at 80-something points. No one was cheated after all.
THE COMPLETE KOBE
Lakers 122, Raptors 104
Jan. 22, 2006
• Daily Dime: Kobe's 81
• Game recap
• Box score
• Shot chart
• Play by play
• PER: Kobe leaps LeBron

Maybe Kobe and his pal Phil Jackson, when they reached that joint decision to stop abusing the Mavs because the Lakers were up by 34, knew they wouldn't have to wait long for another chance at it during an up-for-grabs game.
Why not? You can believe anything on a night like this.
Kobe's chance dutifully materialized almost exactly a month later, on a Sunday that was supposed to belong to gridiron football. You know. The table-setter for Super Bowl Extra Large and all that.
Sorry, NFL.
Sunday will be remembered as the best NBA day in a long, long time. There was a nationally televised buzzer beater in Minnesota from Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala to cap a 19-point comeback in the afternoon ... and then Seattle's Ray Allen beat Phoenix with a way-out buzzer bomb at the horn of overtime No. 2 in a 152-149 throwback thriller ... and then simply the greatest individual performance ever recorded: Bryant's 81 points in a 122-104 come-from-behind victory over the Toronto Raptors.
You'll recall that, sadly, there's no footage of Wilt Chamberlain rumbling for 100 points in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962. Which makes it tough to commission an in-depth analysis comparing Wilt's feat (scoring 100 of his team's 169 points that day) to Kobe's (81 of 122). But I'll gladly settle for the forthcoming flood of Kobe replays, in which you'll see him haul the Lakers back from a 71-53 deficit against a Raps team that kept the game sufficiently close in the final quarter to keep Kobe out there shooting.
Against a Toronto team that somehow held him to 11 points when the teams met in early December -- historic footage now -- Bryant wound up with 55 points after halftime. Fifty-five. For a little perspective, please note that matches the best scoring game in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career. That's the same Abdul-Jabbar who, before becoming a Lakers assistant coach, was merely the NBA's all-time scoring leader.
Top 2 Scoring Games in NBA History
Wilt Kobe
Date 3/2/62 1/22/06
Points 100 81
FG-FGA 36-63 28-46
FT-FTA 28-32 18-20
2nd half 59 55
Asssts 2 2
Don't forget, furthermore, that no less an authority than Michael Jordan has been known to say that a perimeter player has it way tougher when it comes to making a legitimate run at Wilt's record. Factor in the ball-handling responsibilities and the energy required to play defense all over the floor and you can understand MJ's theory. This might also help back it up: Jordan himself topped out at 69 points as his one-night best and needed overtime to get there.
No offense to the late, great Chamberlain, but he was in a better position to dominate a box score with the size and strength advantage he possessed, especially in Wilt's era. Some of you will inevitably counter with the claim that Kobe had the benefit of a 3-point line, but don't exaggerate. Having the long-ball option added only seven points to Bryant's total.
With a mere 74, he'd still have registered the richest single-game scoring output in NBA history by anyone not named Wilt.
With 81, so soon after so many opined that he had blown his chance to ever scrape that stratosphere, Bryant has reminded us what we all should know by now about him.
Whatever you think about the game's foremost love-him-or-loathe-him face, and the ongoing debate about how much he shoots, you always have to be ready for What's Next with No. 8.
Chances are it'll be something to dissect for days and days.
Chances are, on the thinnest and neediest team in Jackson's ring-filled history, it won't be the last time Kobe has the forum to fling 40-something shots at history.


Math isn't a prerequisite for being a sports-writer. How does one score 7 points from the 3 point line? Hahaha.. especially when going 7/13 from behind the arc.
It means for every shot he made behind the arc, he only got one extra point.

[TJ Wells]

no contest... Jay fuckin Mariotti.

that dude SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS


close second, skip bayless... i mean, you all saw that seahawks column
fuck you...you're just saying that cause we whupped your ass in the playoffs this year.

[mikeford]

fuck you...you're just saying that cause we whupped your ass in the playoffs this year.

uh no.

im saying that cuz jay mariotti sucks.

he doesnt even like any of the chicago teams, so what would the red sox losing have to do with it?

think before you type.

[TJ Wells]

Have you EVER watched Around The Horn? All he does is defend Chicago every show.

[LeftWideOpen]

Have you EVER watched Around The Horn? All he does is defend Chicago every show.

i remember him ripping the white sox relentlessly during their september slump. thats what turned me off of mariotti so much, besides his arrogance.