KOBE IS BACK!!!

Putting on his work clothes and taking
off his snazzy vest & suit, our star
player resumed his spot with the team.
The Lakers went 5-2 in Bryant's absence.
He watched their games from the bench.
Granted, it was with a coach's eye for
what seemed right and what seemed wrong
as his teammates tried so hard to keep
our Lakers maintaining third place in
the Western Conference standings.
Having the Clippers nipping at our heels,
kept us on our toes with hard won plays.
Sitting out though was killing Kobe, no
matter how well the team performed. Well,
with San Antonio spurs, it did not pan
out favorably for us. Even with the Mamba
trying so hard to fill his role, we lost
the game. Score: 121-97. This loss meant
the second one lost to the Spurs within
a week. The Lakers simply found it too
hard to keep up and lost the game at AT&T
Center. Kobe scored 18 points on 7-for-12
shooting and seemed powerless against our
opponents onslaught. At this point we had
but 2 games left to play in regular season.
Sunday's game was a crunch game and it went
into double overtime to cinch it. Metta
World Peace managed yet again to squelch
his better place with our Lakers. It is
not known exactly what purpose he thought
he was making or even if he intended it,
but throwing his weight into a huge elbow
punch that floored Thunder forward James
Harden did not set well with any who did
witness it and he was ejected for his
blow to James Harden's head. Yes, seeing
the television replays of the incident,
made it really look pretty ugly indeed.
A 21-7 surge after trailing 84-70 with 7:10
left to play, tied the game 91-all.
It was a test of wills and we won the game
finally in double overtime. Score: 114-106.
This game was won with determination and
grit, having no Metta World Peace under the
basket nor Matt Barnes on the floor. Matt
is hobbled by an ankle injury and coach
Mike Brown had Ebanks come in + Jordan Hill.
Gratefully, James Harden did not suffer with
a concussion so we are all very pleased
with that question being answered. Playoffs
are just around the corner but first we
play in Sacramento on Thursday..having
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off.
Before ending this article, I will mention
the one I read concerning a former Laker,
Derek Fisher. He rejected a call from NBA
players' association executive committee
regarding the plea for him to resign as
president, instead urging the players to
seek a review of the union's finances.
Fisher stated he was "extremely disappointed
with the Executive Committee. Their demand
for my resignation and the need to protect
the NBA management and their own best
interests instead of protecting the players
we were elected to represent and serve,
is most unfortunate". Fisher led players
during the negotiations on a new collective
bargaining agreement. A rift between himself
and union executive director Billy Hunter
seemed to develop during the lock-out.
Now, the rift has apparantly peaked with the
executive committee's latest vote. We shall
keep a very close eye on this.
Babs Wells