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CALLING SIGNALS |
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 KOBE TOWERS OVER EVERYTHING! |
Bryant's scoring spree
ranks him with immortals
By BUCKY FOX
of TheColumnists.com
What can you say
about Kobe Bryant’s 81 points in one game?
This: EIGHTY-ONE POINTS!
Clear enough?
You could do a numerology breakdown on that total: 8, as in Kobe’s
jersey number; 1, as in his standing among all players in the
NBA.
You could look at it in historical awe, since only Wilt Chamberlain’s
100 points in 1962 stands taller.
Or you could look at it practically. Kobe is simply the L.A.
Lakers’ only reliable offensive option. Who else is there?
Lamar Odom and his scary decisions? Kwame Brown and his lost
look? Stop it. The rest of the roster would be lucky to land
spots on the Charlotte Bobcats.
So there was Kobe lifting off and launching, and the Lakers needed
all 81. They bounced from way back to beat the frigid Toronto
Rapters 122-104.
You know what else stood out? Kobe’s defense. Even toward
the end, with L.A. a lock, he waved everywhere for steals. This
is no T-Mac, he of the all-O, no-D dimension. Kobe goes all out
all over the court. Just an amazing athlete, maybe the best on
the planet.
Certainly his 81-point feat on Jan. 22 will be tough to top in
the next 11 months. It could be that Kobe’s night will rank
No. 1 for 2006. Maybe for the decade.
Then again, another Hollywood spectacle drew serious raves.
Only three weeks before Kobe’s hit, on Jan. 4, Vince Young
ran rampant in the Rose Bowl.
Just when we thought Reggie Bush’s Heisman heist had him and his USC Trojans claiming the national title and the first pick in the NFL draft, in rode Young of Texas.
Rushing: 200 yards. Passing: 267. Touchdowns: three. Winning score: Young with an eight-yard dash with 19 seconds left. Upset winner: Texas, 41-38 over USC. National champions: Young and the Longhorns.
And did we mention that Young stopped Southern Cal’s 34-game winning streak?
So Young. And Kobe. Two stars lighting
up Los Angeles in January 2006.
What about the last four decades, the color TV era? Here are
seven other one-day acts that were worth taping:
Joe Frazier over Muhammad Ali in 1971. Joe smoked the Greatest
in 15 rounds on March 8 at Madison Square Garden. Ali declared
during the hype that no sports event would top this battle of
unbeatens. Could be, but Frazier sure topped him.
Joe Namath’s passing storm against Johnny Unitas on Sept. 24, 1972. Four seasons after they dueled in the Super Bowl, Broadway Joe’s Jets won again, this time 44-34 in Baltimore. He amassed 496 yards and six touchdowns. Johnny U countered with 376 yards in this twilight game for both stars.
Bill Walton’s 44 points in the 1973 NCAA title game. Bill’s basketball barrage came in the first Monday night final in history--on March 26 in St. Louis. And the big redhead shot the daylights out of Memphis State. He clicked on 21 of 22 shots in UCLA’s 87-66 triumph.
Johnny Miller’s 63 at the U.S. Open in 1973. This was golf at its greatest. Miller’s score on June 17 at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania was the lowest round ever shot in the game’s top tournament. And it came in the final round to clinch his first major.
Franz Klammer’s wicked downhill ride to the gold medal in the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics. The day was Feb. 5. He skied like only this Austrian could--poles flailing, legs kicking--and supposedly he was sober.
Reggie Jackson’s three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.
Every headline after the Yankees beat the Dodgers 8-4 on Oct.
18 screamed: Reg-gie! Reg-gie! Reg-gie!
John McEnroe’s mauling of Jimmy Connors in the 1984 Wimbledon final.
Here were two of the greatest tennis players of all time. Yet
when Mac was through on this day--July 8--Connors the crotch
grabber no doubt wanted to do something else to protect his manhood.
Score: 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
©2006 by Bucky Fox. This column first posted Jan. 30, 2006.
You can visit Bucky Fox's website at www.BuckyFox.com
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