Kobe’s World Tour
KB24 hosts a talk show and gives 10 lessons for a guard.
Even though he wasn’t able to play for Team USA after undergoing knee surgery earlier in the summer, Kobe Bryant is currently on a trip through Asia, where they’ve got his schedule jammed with appearances.
Let’s check in on him, shall we?
(And since I can’t write anything about Kobe without being accused of trying to smear him, this is all just straight reporting…)
• On Monday in Tokyo, Kobe ran a basketball camp for 170 kids at an outdoor park. He told the kids he does not have a favorite move. “I try practicing all of them,” he said.
• Tuesday, Kobe visited Disneyland Hong Kong, where he hosted a group of kids and joined them in a “day of Disney fun.”
• Thursday in Taiwan, Kobe delivered his “message and philosophy” to young people.
• In Seoul, South Korea, Kobe “hosted a talk show” today with Korean-American “heartthrob” Daniel Henney (left). Kobe was expected to talk about his life and career.
• Speaking to the media yesterday, Kobe said that Team USA will improve with time. “Years playing together will jell us as a unit,” said Bryant, “(but) if there is no chemistry, it’s going to be tough to beat all those talented teams.”
• Kobe is scheduled to run a clinic for young basketball players today, with his keynote speech entitled “10 Lessons For A Guard.”
• Finally, last night Kobe attended a Nike-related party in Hong Kong. Linkstigator Garry was in the house and he noted the debut of “Kobe’s latest sneaker collaboration with graf artist Stash (the shoe and letterman jacket package is selling for HKD 8,024/USD 1,024 — but that’s another story) here in Hong Kong.” Garry also says Kobe explained the genesis of his new number 24 — 24 minutes in a half, 24 hours a day he’s working at his game.
36 Responses to “Kobe’s World Tour”
Sep.7 at 11:44 am
Myung says:
you may have put “heartthrob” in quotes, but that dude is mad popular in my motherland, lang. he’s half white-half korean…the ladies dig him. you put a bad picture like that of him up here…and put “heartthrob” in quotation marks… you’re a hater, lang. haha.
Sep.7 at 12:38 pm
Max Airington says:
“Message and philosophy”? What IS with all those quotations? Is it some kind of secret hater code?
I knew you couldnt help yourself. Hater.
Sep.7 at 12:38 pm
J.E. Skeets says:
Video: Kobe in Korea in 1998
Sep.7 at 12:40 pm
WeS says:
Lang, you just may be a hater. I know, I come from a whole city of em. But Kobe smears himself most times. I mean, I still believe his reasoning for the jersey change is “23+1.” Just look at the picture above with him hanging his hand in the air. Or, just ask Raja Bell. “Raja Bell…?!”
Sep.7 at 1:10 pm
Allen says:
Lang, you try, but the hate still comes out your pores. Haha.
Sep.7 at 1:31 pm
Nadav says:
Yo,
Why doesn’t anyone hate on Scott Burrell for wearing #24 on the Bulls? (Yeah, I just mentoined “Scott Burrell”)
Sep.7 at 1:58 pm
nic says:
a perfectly normal day, and then, out of the blue, i run into a scott burrell reference. for shame, nadav. but mostly THANK YOU.
Sep.7 at 2:51 pm
Max Airington says:
Seriously though, I do wonder whether that time would have been better spent at least travelling with team USA. His insight could have really helped our younger players.
Sep.7 at 3:02 pm
Kene says:
…lol…lang tried, but he just couldn’t help himself. I can almost see the sneer on his face as he was putting those quotation marks around the words “message and philosophy”. What IS Kobe’s philosophy anyway?…’don’t pass, unless it makes you look good’??
Sep.7 at 3:22 pm
albie1kenobi says:
you just can’t win, Lang, there are haters, and there are hater-haters. “scott burrell…? who’s scott burrell? I don’t know this kid.” hahaha. this thread is either oozing haterade or sarcasm. and I can’t decide which it is.
Sep.7 at 3:39 pm
Shiz says:
Scottie Burrell was alright. And he’s no “kid”. Dude’s old. Like Ron Harper old…well maybe not THAT old, but he’s up there. Part of that whole Kendall Gill-as-a-bull fiasco. He was a pretty decent guard!! But he was a Horri-bull not an Incredi-bull so…there you go… My question is: isn’t “hater-hater” a double negative? It does sound funny as hell though.
Sep.7 at 3:58 pm
albie1kenobi says:
what i mean by hater-haters is people who hate haters. and scott burrell was not bad, I remember watching him on the last Bulls champ and he had some nice run. me and my friends used to have a running joke about him or his name when we balled, though it’s been almost 10 years and I forgot what it was about. I was simply trying to point out how ridiculous it sounded when KB8 talked about raja bell. i’m about to get flamed for that comment.
Sep.7 at 4:06 pm
jay broder says:
thanks lang–you da man. figured maybe he would drop some hints on this zoom k II. heard they are really going to push the envelope on this one..i am not crazy about the zoom k I and i love kob. probably should have been with the team but it could also have been a distraction as well. he is going to lose either way..needles to say glad nike is starting to put him out there..no give him a better shoe!!!!!
Sep.7 at 4:25 pm
Elyse says:
Lang, I think it is ironic that you are almost put in “kobe’s shoes”, if you will… that no-win situation that is Kobe’s life. If you write about him, you can’t have a negative opinion about any aspect of him without being a “hater”. Even when you don’t write with a bias, everyone will seemingly tease one out. Conversely, If you don’t write about Kobe, well that right there is just more evidence of your “haterade”. Personally, I would rather be angry about your little quips than read straight up reporting…If I wanted an itinerary, I wouldn’t have come here to read. Oh well, I guess we just have to turn the finger on ourselves on this one, we got what we asked for…
Sep.7 at 4:50 pm
cool says:
Great “straight reporting” you did there buddy. Love the quotation marks around everything. Very professional *thumbs up*
Sep.7 at 4:54 pm
cool says:
Lang, I think it is ironic that you are almost put in “kobe’s shoes”, if you will… that no-win situation that is Kobe’s life. If you write about him, you can’t have a negative opinion about any aspect of him without being a “hater”. Even when you don’t write with a bias, everyone will seemingly tease one out. Conversely, If you don’t write about Kobe, well that right there is just more evidence of your “haterade”. Personally, I would rather be angry about your little quips than read straight up reporting…If I wanted an itinerary, I wouldn’t have come here to read. Oh well, I guess we just have to turn the finger on ourselves on this one, we got what we asked for… —————————————— Everytime I read the dude’s words, he mocks or makes a sarcastic remark (or puts ” ” for absolutely no reason) about Kobe. Straight up, he doesn’t like the dude because he doesn’t kiss Slam’s ass. Sorry, not everyone can be as cool as Marbury to you.
This peice wasn’t that bad for obvious reasons (cause he doesn’t wanna be flamed by Laker fans or Kobe fans in general) but one column of hiding his envy (what else could it be?) towards Kobe will not mask his reall attributes and feelings.
Sep.7 at 5:24 pm
Ralph says:
If you go to the link by clicking “message and philosophy” the quotes were put there by Chris Wang. Still, this clown is a hater. Kobe may not be what everyone expects but it’s lame he gets second guessed for kind acts.
Sep.7 at 5:25 pm
illydiva says:
I CTFU reading this shyt about Lang being a hater. It’s the same as with Beyonce, the war and whatever other foolishness people enjoy creating drama about. I’m not allowed to express a negative OPINION about any of those, lest I be labeled the dreaded Hater. Maybe Lang doesn’t like Kobe. SO! I don’t like Kobe (although he IS hot, physically and he’s one of the best in the league), and I enjoy reading a writer who shares my disgust; but I just don’t get that [disgust] when I read Lang’s stuff. *shrugging*
Sep.7 at 5:29 pm
joe_x says:
In case you guys are illiterate, Lang used the quotes (” “) because he was quoting something from the article he was linking to. Indeed, in this case the original articles had weird quotes in them, too. Now, Lang may still be a hater, but not because of these quotes, which some of you clowns completely misinterpreted.
Sep.7 at 5:59 pm
Shiz says:
Hey Illy…you wouldn’t happen to be from Philly now would you? I just ask because of your screen name? The city of Brothers wit Guns has never given much love to Kob’. But hey, dudes have thrown rocks through Dr. J’s home windows, so if the Good Doctor can get it, I guess Kob can too. And it is ironic how this “Lang hates Kob” thing has spun on its heel. Damn, Lang…either they’ll love you… *cut screen to Lang on his laptop*…or hate you… *cut screen to Lang on his sidekick*…for the exact same reason.
Sep.7 at 6:01 pm
albie1kenobi says:
how did kobe turned from golden boy to lightning rod for all kinds of love/hate? it’s almost like Darth Vader. I loved KB8 and Shaq when they won their first championship together. I remember having goosebums when kobe lopped that alley oop to shaq to finish off the blazers in that amazing come back win in western conference final in 2000. somewhere between that and the pistons 5 game sweep of the lakers, everything changed and i couldn’t stand them. i was rooting for pistons HARD (i also LOVED their defense, but that’s another story). i’ve stopped watching kobe during that time, but when kobe headlined the lakers, i watched his game here and there, and i realize that he has slowly become the best player in the nba. no matter what your opinion of his personality or his game is, this is almost not a debatable point. he has a complete game and he is miles ahead of the current crop of superstars (class of ‘03) in terms of basketball/game knowledge. the odd timing of MJ leaving as he enters the league made him the target of post-jordanism (i just made the word up), and his growth as a player on and off the field become weirdly skewed, because everyone keeps comparing him to MJ (including himself).
i still don’t really like how he plays the game sometimes (being super equipped with talent and knowledge do not equal using them well) and his personality on and off the court, but i really want to watch him play subjectively and just appreciate how amazing he is when he plays within the system. and people, stop hating on Lang, i mean, would you rather read someone’s honest opinion or some random souless BS from the world wide follower?
Sep.7 at 6:27 pm
Allen says:
I’m drinking the Langerade… that didn’t sound right.
Sep.7 at 6:57 pm
Nadav says:
No, seriously Lang, Stephon “is a good Point Guard”. No wonder he’s selling his shoes at such a low price…no one would buy ‘em. OH SNAP
Kobe is the man. Let’s stop hating.
Sep.7 at 7:30 pm
Matt Wens says:
if lang dont like a guy, he dont like him… dont like reading some knocks on kobe then go read espn.
Sep.7 at 7:30 pm
myung says:
Hey, yo, Lang…I got a close cousin whose birthday is tomorrow… and I remember you and him have the same birthdays…so happy early birthday, bro. Hope you get the day off.
When I wrote Lang is a hater, I wasn’t talking about Kobe. My comment was about Daniel Henney. Just wanted to clear that up. I don’t care if Lang does or doesn’t hate on Kobe. I’m not a big Kobe fan either, but whatever. All I know is, ever since these comments were enabled on Slamonline, Kobe is by far the most polarizng player in the league. And Boris would be #2.
Sep.7 at 7:59 pm
Hmmm says:
“dont like reading some knocks on kobe then go read espn.” That’s funny on so many levels. ESPN is worse dude. And Lang, I didn’t know it was your birthday tommorow. Although I am a critical ass to you in these comments, I hope you have a great birthday man
Sep.7 at 10:00 pm
Jane says:
Why can’t people just leave Kobe alone. He is growing up finally and admits he has made mistakes, just enjoy watching him play basketball. He has always done a lot of charity work, but no one writes about that. He has done almost 100 visits to childen through Make a Wish for about 10 years.
Sep.7 at 10:17 pm
Hype says:
If I hate hater-haters, do I essentially hate myself? Ahh, a paradox.. or not. But to end on a good note, I third the happy b-day thingy. Have a good one Lang!
Sep.7 at 11:26 pm
Nelson says:
How creepy are mickey and minnie in the background?
Sep.7 at 11:32 pm
Max Airington says:
Happy birthday Lang. One of these days(years…) I’ll get you a present. You do deserve something for entertaining us for all these years. I’m sure paychecks are nice, but money is so cold and impersonal. How about some cookies?
Sep.7 at 11:38 pm
Max Airington says:
….and Im sorry for starting the ‘whats with the quotations’ bandwagon, but I thought people-especially SLAM readers-would be more familiar with sarcasm. With all the typical Kobe talk that goes on in here when you post, Id be willing to bet my next paycheck that more than half the folks in here are also niketalk members…..
Sep.8 at 2:30 am
Vish from India says:
btw, lang did not quote all the links….just the ones linked on the original site..maybe it was copy paste…
i love KB24 (that is going to take a while to get used to on the keyboard) and I think Lang may have been hard on KB24 in the past, but lets cut him some slack here…this was quite unbiased…happy birthday Lang…have a great year ahead
Sep.8 at 3:00 am
Harlem World says:
I dont much care for the guy, but kobe is the best offensive player in the league. Probably the best playing both ways too (at least thats what they say…) lol
Sep.8 at 6:38 am
bryan....from LONDON says:
the point is..the more you continue to hate kobe, the better he becomes. he just gives it back to your face.he feeds of your hate.
Sep.8 at 9:17 am
illydiva says:
@SHIZ, yep Philly to the death…which has been slow and painful. Though we ain’t dead yet, we are certainly a long suffering lot. I can’t vouch for the actions of all my brethren–some can be cruel & unusual; but we have been stuck in “almost” hell for decades (even with good teams) due to the ineptitude of mgmt across all our pro teams. Not many cities can make that claim. @BRYAN, …except when he’s in a game 7 and decides to quit on his team.
Sep.8 at 2:22 pm
DimeDocta says:
I went to Myung-Dong this eve to peep Kobe talking with Henney. Seriously that guy looks like Julia Roberts. Kobe acted as suspected, not giving a fuck about what was being said and acting as Kobe usually does. It’s not like the questions being asked were important or held any significance, its just that he tried desperately to display a persona that he actually gave a fuck about his fans and had some type of deeper caring about people other than himself. I fully expected it, but I was more interested in the Korean peoples response to the saga that is Kobe. People were fully ecstatic that such a worldwide celebrity would grace their country. People were going bonkers, mainly men, often mistaking 5 foot korean men for Kobe. It was an awesome site to witness and hear. A couple “men” behind me kept screaming in tones similar to that of 13 year old girls for the dominant force that is Kobe. It was my first time seeing Kobe in the flesh and I was therefore trying to enjoy it, however certain “men” were screaming for Kobe to the point I wondered if sodomy was taking place. I couldn’t help but laugh as Kobe is a star no doubt, but would you ever scream like a girl for a basketball player? Me neither. Check the carnage. http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/FrameSet.aspx?s=ImagesSearchState%7c0%7c0%7c-1%7c28%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c1%7c%7c%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c2%7c%7ckobe+bryant+south+korea%7c2233391784121335%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0&p=2&tag=4