July 5, 2000
Page B2
<îhv ÿUufUani* ffibseruer
® Metro/Sports
W hen he was
21, it was a
very good year
AssuciAJXiiTiiESs
F or 21-year-old Kobe Bryant, it’s
b een a very good year.
T he charism atic youngster became
a m ultim illionaire, a pro basketball
team ow ner, a repeat N BA All-
Star, and he m ade the subtle but
significant leap from sports star to
superstar status w ith his suprem e
confidence and floating, flashy
m oves on the basketball court.
H is celebrity status has perhaps
tripled in the past year, Bryant
adm its. H e do esn ’t seem to mind
that he has, in four years, gone
from being a carefree high school
kid in A rdm ore, Pa., to being one o f
the m ost recognized individuals in
America.
“ It com es w ith the territory,” he
sa id d u rin g a visit to D o d g er
S ta d iu m to th r o w o u t th e
cerem onial first pitch. “ I enjoy it.
A b so lu tely .”
P e rh a p s th e m o st s ig n ific a n t
events o f his 21st y ear w ill be the
ring he got and the one h e ’s about
to get.
L ess than tw o w eeks ago, the
youngest Los A ngeles Lakers w ho
m ade his pro debut w hen he w as
18, earned an N BA cham pionship
ring, som ething m any N BA greats
g o a n e n tir e c a r e e r w ith o u t
savoring.
W hile Lakers team m ate Shaquille
O ’N eal clearly w as the league
M V P, a strong case could be m ade
for B ryant as the second M V P
during the postseason, w hen he
flourished.
I f B ryant had n ot taken charge in
the fourth quarter o f G am e 7 o fth e
W e s te r n C o n f e r e n c e f in a ls ,
leading the Lakers back from a 15-
point deficit against Portland, they
w ould not have had the chance to
w in the league title.
T hen there was Game 4 ofthe N BA
Finals, w hen Bryant, on crutches
w ith an ankle sprain tw o days
earlier, scored 28 points against
Indiana, including going 4-for-4 in
overtim e and m aking the deciding
basket w ith 5.9 seconds rem aining
after O ’N eal fouled out w ith 2:33
left.
I f there w as any doubt, B ryant’s
perform ance in that 120-118 win
for a com m anding 3-1 series lead
p ro v ed that he w as grow n up as an
N B A player. W hen O ’Neal fouled
out, “ K obe w inked at m e and said,
‘D o n ’t w orry about it. I got it,’ “
S haquille said.
C oach Phil Jackson, who had seen
M ichael Jordan take similar control
o f gam es so m any times in Chicago,
said: “K obe sm elled it at the end o f
the gam e — and lifted us.”
T he day before that game, Bryant
displayed his sparkling sense o f
hum or w hen, asked if there w as
anything that could keep him from
p lay in g against the Pacers, he
darted his eyes around, grinned
an d said, “A ny snipers in the
room ?”
E arlier in the playoffs, Bryant also
put the Lakers m com m and against
P hoenix, sinking an off-balance,
fal laway jum per with a de fender all
ov er him w ith 2.6 seconds left, for
the difference in a 97-95 w in and a
2-0 series lead.
A ll that was a very different Bryant
from previous seasons, w hen he
seem ed to throw up airballs with
im portant gam es on the line.
T hen there ’ s the other ring he plans
to slip on, a w edding band. Last
m onth, B ryant becam e engaged to
V anessa Laine, an 18-year-oldhigh
sc h o o l s tu d e n t in H u n tin g to n
Beach, Calif.
H e said no w edding date w as set,
but that it w ould be this sum m er
and that he and his bride m ight
honeym oon in Italy, w here he grew
up w hile his father Joe was playing
in a pro league. K obe, w ho signed
a six-year contract extension worth
alm ost $71 million with the Lakers
last year, bought a half-interest in
Blazers hope to re-sign Grant
A ssociated Press
T he Portland T rail Blazers said they
will “w ork very hard” to re-sign Brian
G rant, but his agent said Friday that
the team ’s crow ded roster might force
the forw ard to look elsew here.
A gent M ark B artelstein notified the
team F riday that G rant intends to
becom e a free agent, giving up a
guaranteed $40 m illion over the next
four years. G rant exercised an “o u t”
clause in the contract he signed in
1997, which was topay him $56 million
over seven years.
B artelstein said G rant w ould like to
re-sign w ith the B lazers, but that it
m ight not be the best option for the
te a m a n d G r a n t, e s p e c ia lly
c o n s id e rin g R a sh e e d W a lla c e ’s
em ergence at p o w er forw ard this
season.
“N obody should read into this that
Brian doesn’tw anttorem ainaB lazer,”
B artelstein said. “ I t ’s sim ply an
opportunity to take a look at the
landscape. He loves it in Portland, he
loves his teamm ates, and he thinks
th e y w e re c lo s e to w in n in g a
cham pionship this year.
“Brian is healthy and he thinks he can
be a great asset to this team, but there
are a lot o f forwards on the team. B rian
is an A ll-Star caliber guy, and m aybe
there’s a scenario that would w ork for
him and the team, w hether it’s through
a sign-and-trade or som ething like
that. C ertainly, the Blazers are a very
viable option.”
G rant m issed 19 gam es because o f
knee an d foot injuries, losing his
starting pow er forwardjob to W allace,
w ho w en t on to m ake the W estern
C onference A ll-Star team for the first
time.
G rant’s num bers declined sharply,
from 11.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in
1999 to 7.3 and 5.5 this season. Against
th e L os A n g ele s L ak e rs in the
W estern C onference finals, G rant’s
role dim inished even further because
he co uldn’t stay out o f foul trouble
guarding S h aq u illeO ’Neal.
A lthough the injuries n oticeably
decreased his running and jum ping
abilities, oth er team s should show
interest in the 6 -foot-9, 260-pound
rebounder. T he Lakers, pushed to a
G am e 7 by the Blazers before beating
Indiana for the N BA title, w ould love
to have G rant take the place o f A.C.
G re e n , w h o w a s w a iv e d o n
W ednesday.
G rant w ould alm ost certainly have to
take a big pay cut to jo in the Lakers,
but he w ould be a starter again and
get to play for the team favored to win
the title.
The Blazers, w ary o f losing G rant to
their Pacific D ivision rivals, hope to
quickly w ork out a deal w hen teams
begin negotiating w ith free agents
Saturday.
“W e w ant Brian back and will work to
re-sign him ,” B lazers president and
general m anager Bob W hitsitt said.
“He has been an im portant piece o f
the puzzle, and w e will work very hard
to keep him in Portland.”
G rant was scheduled to m ake about
$8.5 m illion next season. A sa veteran
w ith six years o f N BA experience,
G rant is eligible to m ake $9 m illion in
the firstyearofacontract. The Blazers
could offer him a m axim um o f $86
m illion over seven years.
The question on everyones mind is,
Will Brian Grant resign with
Portland, after opting out o f his
contract on Thursday?
STOP!
GET HELP!
COUNSELING!
SAVE ¿MONEY!
BUY A HOME OR INVEST!
Oregon • Washington • Africa
A-ZhlSIKA Realty Inc.
5 0 3 -2 8 1 -9 9 0 0
■F*'
317 NE Killingsworth St.
Portland. Oregon
W
3 Chicken Strips
Regular Side,
Biscuit ^ ^ 1 9
3 6 0 -6 9 0 -0 2 8 1
4225 NE St. James Rd.
Vancouver, Washington
k J
George Hendrix, Broker
-------------
We Represent Buyers
BASEBALL
9 /1 0 BASEBALL
STARTS
firs t game 7 /6 @ 4:00pm.
MAJOR BASEBALL
First game 7/1 5 @ 900am
JU N IO R BASEBALL
First game 7/12 @ 4:00pm
SENIO R BASEBALL
First game 7 /1 5 @ 4.00pm
7 /6
ST. HELENS. OREGON
7/15
RIVERSIDE LL
7/10
7/14
SOFTBALL
9 /1 0 SOFTBALL
firs t game 7 /8 @ 9-00am
MAJOR SOFTBALL
First game 7 /9 @ 9:00am
J U N IO R SOFTBALL
First game 7 /8 @ 12:00pm
SENIO R SOFTBALL
First game 7/12 @ 6:00pm
tawcrrx
OS
m ix e d
BUSY KIDS. PIER PARK*
BUSY KIDS, PIER PARK*
*HOSTED BY IN TER STA TE, KENTON AND PORTSMOUTH LL
7 /8
LAKESIDE LL
7 /9
LAKESIDE LL
7 /8
LAKESIDE LL
CHICKEH
UG.SIDES’ 7 BISCUITS
P ik m I coupon when ordwnnp One totipon pet rottonw pwr »ijd
VoU where prohibited Not mild with ony other oh«
Good at pwtKipohnp Popeyes* only C 2000
Enterpriser, her.
v**"’***'
Offer expires July 31,2000
1
1
l(£NNEDYSCflOQ|
1*
McMenamins
C
SPECIAL JAZZ TRIBUTE TO
MILES DAVIS, CHARLES M IN G U S
7/12
LAKESIDE LL
A Tisket A Tasket
The place for cards, gifts and baskets
Fresh Flowers
Balloons
Candles
Journals
Cards
Candies
1305 NE Fremont
Portland, Or. 97212
Feorunng Famous Cajun Flavor
284-7344
tisketgifts@yahoo.com
and T H E L O N IU S M O N K
0
T h u rsd ay, J u ly 13 • 7pm
No Cover • All Ages
Kennedy School Gymnasium
An Educational Musical Performance
by Bryan Dickerson and Friends '
57 56 \ l 5 3 rd • P o rtla n d , O re g o n
(5 0 5 ) 2 4 9 -5 V 8 5 • w h h . h h in c ii.iin in s .t oin
(
I