In Jerry West’s opinion, Kobe Bryant is playing his best
Who’s to argue with Jerry West? …
West tells FoxSports Radio that Kobe Bryant is playing “the best basketball I have ever seen him play.” …
Bryant already has cemented his place among the NBA’s all-time elite, but vanquishing Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics would of course greatly augment his legacy. …
In a USA Today poll asking if another championship would put Bryant on the same level as Michael Jordan, only 5% of respondents agreed with “Kobe is already better than Jordan,” while 42% said “Kobe is great, Jordan is greatest” and 27% said, “Kobe is not even in the top three all time.” …
“To heck with Brian Cushing,” reader Ralph Brax of Lancaster writes, “how about a revote on the MVP of the NBA?” …
LeBron James might not like the results. …
ESPN’s Stuart Scott introduces his colleague, “Hall of Famer and five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson,” as if viewers might confuse the ex-Laker with some other Magic Johnson. …
Including Woodland Hills El Camino Real High’s victory over San Pedro in Saturday’s City Section championship game, the last four games at Dodger Stadium ended with a walk-off passed ball, a walk-off balk, a walk-off home run and, courtesy of Garret Anderson on Wednesday, a walk-off single. …
A game-winning home run should not be called a walk-off home run unless the batter hitting it — Kendry Morales of the Angels, let’s say — is actually capable of walking off afterward. …
Donald Sterling’s Clippers own the second-worst all-time winning percentage among major U.S. pro sports franchises, according to research by Forbes magazine. …
Only the Memphis Grizzlies lose more consistently. …
The 94th Indy 500 on Sunday, won by Dario Franchitti, earned the race’s lowest TV rating since it began airing live in 1986. …
With Simon Gagne and the Flyers playing for the NHL title, Philadelphia teams in the last decade have appeared in the Stanley Cup finals, NBA Finals, World Series and Super Bowl. …
No other city can make that claim. …
Unbeaten junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman, set to defend his title Saturday against former champion Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium, is an aspiring rabbi. …
Noting that Diego Maradona promised to run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires if Argentina wins the World Cup, Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald writes, “If coaches are going to start running naked, it’s just as well Stan Van Gundy didn’t get an NBA title.” …
The U.S. is a 55-1 shot to win the World Cup, according to odds posted at YouWager.com, while Landon Donovan is a 90-1 shot to emerge as the event’s leading goal scorer. …
Tiger Woods, four shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major pro championships, could play in 47 more majors before turning 46, Nicklaus’ age when he won his last major title. …
Pacific 10 Conference doormat Washington State was the only team from a BCS conference that failed to land a spot in Sporting News’ ranking of college football’s top 100 teams. …
Lou Gehrig hit four home runs on this date, June 3, in 1932 and, in a less expansive ballpark, might have hit five. …
In his final at-bat at spacious Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Gehrig lofted a ball 465 feet to dead center field, only to have it flagged down by Al Simmons near the wall. …
No matter what else he does, Robin Soderling of Sweden can tell his grandkids that, in consecutive years, he stopped Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the French Open. …
Friends of Mitch Chortkoff are pulling for the longtime Lakers beat writer, who is expected to watch the NBA Finals from a rehab facility in West Los Angeles after his ongoing battle with diabetes recently took another turn for the worse. …
Christy Mathewson’s primary catcher during the second half of his Hall of Fame career was John “Chief” Meyers, a Dartmouth-educated Cahuilla Indian from Riverside. …
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants pitcher Barry Zito was enjoying a drink at an upscale bar last week when a long-haired young man in scruffy attire approached and a restaurant staffer interceded, telling the suspected interloper, “I’m sorry, please don’t bother Mr. Zito. No autographs tonight.” …
Tim Lincecum must have been floored.
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