The iconic Laker’s farewell appearance as a professional basketball player on Wednesday featured everything that was glorious (and maddening) about No24Eighty-one games ago – before all the airballs,the plain losses, and the leaked cell phone videos – I stood in the elevator of the Staples middle, or on my way down to the press room to prepare for the start of yet another NBA season. “Lord,just let me salvage through this night,” a security staffer said as we descended into the bowels of the arena. That sentiment applied just as much on the night of the final game of the year as the first. Kobe Bryant’s last hurrah as a professional basketball player featured everything that was glorious (and maddening) about No24, and plus countless sappy tribute videos. How much can one heart take before it bursts? How was I expected to salvage through the night without weeping openly? Of course,sentimentality seemed an odd choice for a player who rightly pointed out that he was loathed for most of his playing career. Related: Kobe Bryant scores 60 points in storybook farewell victory Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com