If anybody had the oppurtunity to run down MJ..

it was probably Kobe. Now I'm not so shure, I definately think this scandal is going to affect Kobe on and off the court. It has been documented that throughout MJ's career the media had his back for the most part. Certain things were not printed about MJ because he was loved by both fans and the media. It looks like Kobe doesn't have this protection that MJ did. Do you guys agree that Kobe's quest to be the best player ever will fall short Is Lebron the next hopeful if he stays clean?

lebron james is king of basketball!

hey jason kidd, WHY POST WHEN YOU DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think that kobe's quest to be the a great player won't fall short but i'm not too sure about being the best.......
this whole thing is probably going to die down in a year.

Kobe is mentally tough. Even though this is a hard time for Kobe and his family, I think that if he's cleared of all charges, it won't affect him long term. Of course, if he's convicted it will have an impact on his career, since he could be facing at least four years in prison.

Even though I don't really like Bron (melo all the way), I need to admit that if he takes the Cavs to Playoffs, stay clean, get pretty good stats at the same time being a leader/rolemodel and keep the fans...he has a shot of topping MJ...although I think he'd be a better "Magic" than "JordaN."

Apart from Bron...I don't know anyone else being able to have MJ's game...as much as I think Kobe is good...he has to prove that he's as good as MJ...this case isn't gonna stop him unless he get put in jail...he'll have to win a championship as a leader...i.e. no shaq or at least Shaq has the "second" role (right now Shaq is the MVP for the Lakers) and yeah- he needs to become more of a consistent team player- sometimes he shares the ball and all the rest of the time he HOGS!

So, I reakon Kobe used to be the "next" MJ but now it's Bron...and iof both fail- DON'T WORRY CAUSE...THERE WILL BE THE "NEXT" MJ FOR NEXT SEASON....whoever that may be!!

There will never be another MJ*. Remember, MJ was supposed to be the next Dr J but he established his own mark of excellene and his own identity. Superstars have a way of shaking "next" labels and creating their own identity.

* Obviously, there will be another player who has the initials MJ. There may even be another player called Michael Jordan, such as the guy who was in the Celtics' training camp a few years back. That's not the point I was trying to make.

Sorry Andrew...but I can't really explain wat the "next MJ" really means...but u prbably know anyways....u know- a player who will be great and all.

I guess there is one every year!

Oh, I know what you mean. I'm just saying Kobe will establish himself as Kobe Bryant, just as Michael Jordan established himself as Michael Jordan. The great players always shed their "next" labels eventually.

lebron james is king of basketball!

your posts have no meaning
Lebron James is the king of Highschool basketball probably, but until we see him play some OFFICIAL NBA games, then your post is irrelevent.

lebron james is king of basketball!

your posts have no meaning
Lebron James is the king of Highschool basketball probably, but until we see him play some OFFICIAL NBA games, then your post is irrelevent.

jason kidd, please stop posting one-line messages. They're getting annoying.

as you guys have said, kobe will never become the next MJ, he already is the first Kobe, and with all thehype around LeBron, i personally don't think he's all that he's cracked up to be. don't get me wrong i do think he will become a very good player but not one of those great players.(MJ Magic, Bird, etc.) kobe's future has to do with if either he wins or lose the trial(but not lets get in to that) if he wins he will do something amazing this year that will make every one forget this thing that is going on, if he loses than, u know

It has been documented that throughout MJ's career the media had his back for the most part. Certain things were not printed about MJ because he was loved by both fans and the media. It looks like Kobe doesn't have this protection that MJ did.

Now, that's a wrong statement. MJ didn't have any protection, nobody does, even the President is attacked by the media. The media attacks anyone who is an attraction for news, no matter if he was loved or whatever you want to call it. You didn't saw all the MJ's scandals related to betting and related to his teammates comments, plus almost getting divorced?. Someone already complained or supposed that some editor maybe would make a book about Kobe's cause he did the same with MJ, making part of his privacy public. The media doesn't respect anything for being loved by anyone, they just want news and they do anything to get it.

I believe that Kobe is closer than ever of becoming the next MJ, however like others said, he is getting his own fame, not to establish anywhere as the next someone else. This scandal is the one that makes me think he really is following MJ steps, after all MJ was not perfect to avoid scandals like those Kobe is having, at least if you remember well MJ, you should know that MJ had his distractions outside the court as well.

I don't think anyone wants to become the next Michael Jordan at all, all those players want their own stuff and don't want to be called the Michael Jordan from somewhere else or the next Michael, that goes to Drexler who once had the nickname, I believe he felt accomplished with people comparing him with MJ but I don't think he felt good about himself since he didn't want to be remembered like that but like he is remember now, Clyde Drexler.

irrelevent.

irrelevant

jason kidd, please stop posting one-line messages. They're getting annoying.

your post fit was on one line as well

If Kobe gets convicted, do you people think he'll get back in the NBA? I'm not going deeper into this, I'm curious to see what people think about this.

Dan, I believe last week Sports Illustrated had a comparison of Athletes who were in same position Kobe is, among all of them just one missed the entire season, of course they were not NBA players. But I'll check what were those cases related with.

Redbulls, here you have a quote:

The fact is, Bryant was viewed by the public and Madison Avenue as untouchably clean. Again, regardless of the case's outcome, he has admitted behavior (sex outside of his marriage) that will damage him; how much so remains to be seen. Michael Jordan got past infidelity, a gambling scandal and hitting the Mendoza line in Class AA, and he still sells like crazy. So this could be a nick or a gash, or it could be an amputation. Nobody knows yet. A smile still goes a long way.

If anybody had the oppurtunity to run down MJ..

What am I driving?

Bear's driving!

I don't think anyone wants to become the next Michael Jordan at all, all those players want their own stuff and don't want to be called the Michael Jordan from somewhere else or the next Michael, that goes to Drexler who once had the nickname, I believe he felt accomplished with people comparing him with MJ but I don't think he felt good about himself since he didn't want to be remembered like that but like he is remember now, Clyde Drexler.

Ummm...Drexler was already in the league when Michael was drafted...

Ummm...Drexler was already in the league when Michael was drafted...

And your point is?

Maybe you meant that there was no way for Drexler to be called the MJ of the West as everyone did in the early 90's, where were you during those years? , strange you take as a fact that nobody who came to the league 1 year before MJ, could be called the MJ of the west.

I don't think the fact that he came in the league before MJ, did avoid people calling him like that. Anyway, how comes you know he came to the league bfore MJ and don't know he was called the MJ of the West?, that was almost 10 years later, maybe you skipped those years,

If Kobe gets convicted, do you people think he'll get back in the NBA? I'm not going deeper into this, I'm curious to see what people think about this.

Interesting question, as he could be sentenced to at least four years in prison if found guilty of the most serious charge. Obviously he would miss a few seasons as a result.

I'm not sure if the NBA would be able to ban him from playing in the event he is convicted, but it would be interesting to see if they would market him as heavily upon his return.

Cornelius Bennett, LB, Falcons ---- (Sodomy) ----- Pleaded guilty to lesser charge.
Pleaded to misdemeanor sexual misconduct after May 1997 encounter with a woman in his Buffalo hotel room. Sentenced to 60 days in jail; Served 36 days in the off-season.

Brian Blades, WR, Seahawks ------ (Manslaughter) --- Acquitted.
Charged in July 1995 in the shooting death of his cousin. Convicted in June 96, but Florida judge threw out verdict three days later. Caught 77 passes for 1,001 yards in 1995.

Mark Fitzpatrick, G, Panthers ----- (Aggravated battery) --- Dismissed.
Agreed to participate in pretrial intervention program to dismiss charge brought by his pregnant wife, who claimed he hit, shoved and kicked her during an argument in July 1994.

Gerald Perry, OL, Broncos ------- (Sexual assault) ------ Dismissed.
Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual assault in attack on fiancee of a Denver teammate in November 1990. Sentenced to 180 days in jail; Served 65 days after the season.

Reggie Rogers, DE, Lions ------ (Negligent homicide) ---- Convicted.
While intoxicated, killed three teens in October 1988 car accident in Pontiac, Mich. On injured list for most of '88; Missed 1989 & 1990 seasons while serving 12½ months.

Johnny Ruffin, P, Reds --- (Attempted sexual battery) --- Pleaded no contest.
Initially charged with rape after January 1994 incident in a Sarasota, Fla., motel. Sentenced, in part, to 500 hours of community service. Lost no playing time and finished 7-2.

Lamar Thomas, WR, Buccaneers --- (Aggravated battery) --- Pleaded no contest.
Cut by Tampa Bay a week after his arrest in July 1996; signed by Miami 10 days later. Sentenced to 18 months' probation and eight days in jail. Did not miss a game.

Those were the cases SI mentioned.

Seems if you're a professional athlete, all you'll ever get is a slap on the wrist.

Ummm...Drexler was already in the league when Michael was drafted...

And your point is?

Maybe you meant that there was no way for Drexler to be called the MJ of the West as everyone did in the early 90's, where were you during those years? , strange you take as a fact that nobody who came to the league 1 year before MJ, could be called the MJ of the west.

I don't think the fact that he came in the league before MJ, did avoid people calling him like that. Anyway, how comes you know he came to the league bfore MJ and don't know he was called the MJ of the West?, that was almost 10 years later, maybe you skipped those years,

It sounded like you were implying that Drexler was once labelled the Next MJ. Any reference to him as the West Coast Jordan ended when Jordan lit him up in the Finals so I don't think it was that tragic...

It sounded like you were implying that Drexler was once labelled the Next MJ.

The Next Michael statement goes to the people who think there will be a next Michael. the MJ from somewhere goes to Drexler who once had the nickname, I didn't think it was necessary to separate the sentences especifying which quote was referred to what player.

However, if you knew that Drexler was called the MJ from the West and you saw the statement related to it, it's strange you took the one which was not directed to him and ignored the correct one, .

Seems if you're a professional athlete, all you'll ever get is a slap on the wrist.

I'm sorry, I just retyped whatever SI published and notice that none of them were all-stars of the sport, so it wasn't cause they were well known. However, Mike Tyson went to Jail (I don't remember why), and they didn't mention him. I would copy those notes to the other thread but don't think it's necessary cause overthere the main subject is still about what the guys think that happened that nite. However, it would be good for others to see & compare, those who think that Kobe is going to expend the rest of his life in jail or that he will be over if found guilty.

Plus, I like to check everyone's position. Imagine yourself if it was MJ the one in the situation, I don't think you would be mad to listen or see that almost none of those athletes have been in jail for long (and I'm not saying you are mad). So let's be neutral in the trial, let's watch what the decision is and be happy with any result. I don't consider myself a Kobe fan, but for sure I wouldn't like to see a terrific player, like himself, going to jail... If it was MJ, I for sure wouldn't like to see him going to jail. If it was Duncan, I for sure wouldn't like to see him going to jail. The fact that I don't like a player, doesn't make me hate him so bad to wish him death or bad luck, that's what I think & believe.

Kobe is a superstar athlete, he will not receive special treatment!

He will if anything be pursued more than the average Joe Blow off the street. Because everyone knows about this incident, the District Attorney will keep a close eye on the matter, put a top level prosecutor on the case, assign a public relations team, add additional researchers and lawyers as needed and so on and so on.

If some 24 year old nobody did this, it would be some Branch 6 or whatever lawyer who is just standing there handling all the other cases going through that day.

This entire case will have it's own judge, court reporter, courtroom and so on. The fact is that Kobe will be treated differently in a not so favorable way from his point of view.

The last thing the District Attorney wants is to look incompetent in first year and maybe the biggest case media wise he will ever have.

Mike Tyson was convicted of raping an 18-year-old beauty pageant participant in an Indianapolis hotel room. He served 3 years of a 6-year sentence.

Kobe is mentally tough. Even though this is a hard time for Kobe and his family, I think that if he's cleared of all charges, it won't affect him long term. Of course, if he's convicted it will have an impact on his career, since he could be facing at least four years in prison.

Well this is the thing. Nike. Mickey D's. Sprite. All his endorsements. All his off-the-court $ is . He has a much better chance if he is NOT convicted. Also, he is not just mentally tough, yet mentally slow. He has a beautiful wife and a kid. Why in the hell would he do such a thing even if it was consentual? Oh well. Dumb people are just dumb.