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Kobe Bryant: Life and Times of a Basketball Great

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The candle, unceremoniously burnt out for legendary American basketball player, Kobe Bean Bryant, when on Sunday, January 26, 2020, his private helicopter crashed at Calabasas, California, United States of America, killing him and eight other occupants.

A legendary American professional basketball player, Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S, and spent his career, spanning two decades with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA),winning five championships (2000–02 and 2009–10) in the bargain.

Kobe’s love for basketball was hereditary as his father, Joe Bryant, better known as Jelly Bean, was a professional basketball player who spent eight seasons in the NBA and eight more playing in Italy, where Kobe schooled.

When his family returned to the United States, the young Bryant played basketball at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where he received several national Player of the Year awards and broke the southeastern Pennsylvania scoring record set by Wilt Chamberlain with 2,883 points. Bryant opted to forgo college and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft when he graduated from high school. The Charlotte Hornets chose him with the 13th pick of the 1996 draft. He was traded to the Lakers shortly thereafter and became the second youngest NBA player in history when the 1996–97 season opened. He quickly proved his merit with the Lakers and was selected for the NBA All-Star Game in just his second season, becoming the youngest All-Star.

He was forced to share the role of the Lakers’ star player with his popular and talented teammate Shaquille O’Neal. The two had an uneasy relationship, but they found success under the leadership of Phil Jackson, who became coach of the Lakers in 1999. Kobe, a shooting guard, and O’Neal, a centre, meshed into a remarkably effective combination, and, by the time he was 23, the Lakers had won three consecutive NBA championships.

After winning their third title in 2002, Bryant and the Lakers encountered difficulties. In the 2003 playoffs the Lakers were defeated in the second round. Several months later Bryant was accused of raping a young woman in Colorado. He maintained his innocence, and all charges were eventually dropped when the woman refused to testify after a monthslong campaign of harassment by fans of Bryant and some members of the media. (Bryant later apologized, admitting that he realized his accuser did not believe their sexual encounter was consensual, and a civil suit was settled in 2005.) The incident greatly tarnished his image. Led by Bryant, the Lakers returned to the finals in 2004, but they were upset by the Detroit Pistons. O’Neal subsequently was traded, and Bryant emerged as the team’s sole leader.

Bryant led the league in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, and in 2008 he was named the league’s MVP for the first time in his career. He won his fourth NBA title in 2009, and he was named the finals MVP after averaging a stellar 32.4 points per game in the series. He led the Lakers to their third straight Western Conference championship in 2009–10, and he was once more named NBA finals MVP after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series. The Lakers won division titles in each of the following seasons but were eliminated in the second round of each postseason. He retired following the last regular-season game of the 2015–16 season.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, he was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball teams at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games. In 2015 Bryant wrote the poem “Dear Basketball,” and two years later it served as the basis for a short film of the same name, which he also narrated. The work won an Academy Award for best animated short film. In 2018 Bryant published the book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, in which he described his approach to basketball; the title reflected a nickname he bestowed upon himself during his playing days, “The Black Mamba.” On January 26, 2020, Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter were among a group traveling to a girls basketball game in a helicopter when it crashed, killing all nine people aboard.

Kobe Bryant would be remembered by not only the basketball world, but all lovers of sports and achievement. He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Venessa Laine Bryant, and three children as one of his daughters, Gianna, perished with him in the ill-fated helicopter flight.

Adieu!

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UCL Quarter Final: Arsenal Draw Bayern, Madrid to Play Man City

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Arsenal have been drawn against FC Bayern Munich while Real Madrid will face defending champions Man City in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

The draws are as follows:

Q4: Paris Saint Germain vs FC Barcelona

Q3: Real Madrid vs Manchester City

Q2: Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

Q1: Arsenal vs Bayern Munich

Here’s the

Winners of Q2 vs Winners of Q4

Winners of Q1 vs Winners of Q3

The eight teams that get past the round of 16 will compete in the draw, with all eight teams likely to face each other as there is no seeding for the draw.

Teams from the same country and teams that played against each other in the competition’s group stage will be allowed to meet in the draw going forward. The host team will draw the first ball, while the visiting team will draw the second.

The semifinal and final routes will also be determined here, as has been the tradition since the 2018–2019 campaign. Thus, the eight qualified teams will be aware of the path required to get to the final.

The quarter-finals will be played on April 9 and 10 for the first leg, while the conclusions will come one week later, on the 16th and 17th of the same month.

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Anthony Joshua Secures Second Round Knockout Against Ngannou

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Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua halted Francis Ngannou’s nascent climb to crossover stardom Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, defeating the mixed martial arts star via second-round knockout.

Joshua (28-3, 25 knockouts) made quick work of Ngannou, ending the fight with a massive right overhand that knocked the Cameroonian out cold. Ngannou (0-2, 17-3 in MMA) was fighting in his second professional boxing match after claiming the UFC heavyweight crown in 2021.

“It is what it is,” Joshua said on the DAZN broadcast after the match. “When I saw the fight between Francis and Tyson Fury, I realized he could fight. And I wanted a piece of that. He’s an inspiration. He’s a great champion and this result doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities.”

Ngannou’s October bout against Fury, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, went decidedly different. The 37-year-old MMA star entered that match as a substantial underdog but dropped a stunned Fury with a left hook in the third round. After 10 frames, Fury escaped with a controversial split decision victory on the scorecards.

Ngannou had said boxing was his first love before he discovered MMA. But that showing in his professional boxing debut sparked excitement.

Ahead of Friday’s fight, Joshua said he would not underestimate Ngannou as some believed Fury had. His coach, Ben Davison, said Ngannou carried a “false sense of confidence” into the match.

He landed a powerful right jab to drop Ngannou late in the first round. Joshua connected with the right hand to drop him again in the second round. Seconds after Ngannou returned to his feet, Joshua delivered a crushing right overhand that flattened his opponent on the canvas. Ngannou was given oxygen by the ringside doctors and regained consciousness.

“I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing,” Joshua said of Ngannou. “He can do well. He’s fought two of the best.”

For Ngannou, a decisive defeat potentially bruises his chances of a rematch against Fury, who is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 for the undisputed heavyweight title. After leaving the UFC for the rival Professional Fighters League last year, Ngannou is scheduled to return to the cage to face Renan Ferreira in what will be his PFL debut and his first MMA bout since January 2022.
Usyk defeated Joshua in 2021 to capture his title belts, then repeated the feat in 2022 to retain them. Promoter Eddie Hearn has said the winner of Friday’s match will face the winner of the May 18 fight, opening the door for a potential blockbuster fight between Joshua and Fury, which Hearn has failed to secure in the past.

“My team will shape my future,” Joshua said. “I’m just here to fight. I will go back to my cage and lock myself away and I will come back when it’s time to fight.”

Source: WashingtonPost

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Eguavoen Takes Over Super Eagles As Paseiro Resigns

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Follwing the resignation of Jose Paseiro as Coach of the Super Eagles, former Nigerian coach and captain, Augustine Eguavoen, is reportedly set to be appointed as interim coach.

Nigeria’s national team job became vacant after February 29, 2024, when Peseiro’s contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officially expired.

The Portuguese tactician took over 18 months ago and led the Super Eagles to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) in the Ivory Coast.

He was, however, unable to end the country’s 10-year trophy drought as Nigeria lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast in the final.

Afrik Foot reports that Eguavoen is in line to be appointed as the interim coach of the Super Eagles.

The 58-year-old has prior experience in managing the national team, having acted as its technical director from 2020 to 2021.

He has also served as caretaker coach of the Super Eagles in two different spells – first in 2010 and again from 2021 to 2022.

During his second spell as caretaker boss, Eguavoen guided Nigeria to a round of 16 finish at AFCON 2021 but could not lead them to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup after the Super Eagles were beaten by rivals Ghana in the playoffs.

Though the Portuguese born tactician had an option to renew the contract, he chose to resign from the job.

afrik.foot.com

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