ESPY Award touching dreams

Kobe Bryant is one of the nominated stars for the ESPY awards. But the happier person with that is Jason McElwain. He learned that he was nominated as well for an ESPY award while surfing the internet.

The emotion just came out. "I was really excited when I saw my name there on the screen," said McElwain, the Greece Athena High School student manager with autism who captivated the nation after scoring 20 points in just over four minutes in his only varsity basketball match. "To be in the same category as my idol, Kobe Bryant, is another dream come true."

As we said, McElwain, also known as J-Mac, received a nomination in the "Best Moment'' category, which also features Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star who scored 81 points in an NBA match last season; the George Mason men's basketball squad that made a magical run to the 2006 Final Four; and Dakoda Dowd, a 13-year-old golfer who fulfilled her cancer-stricken mother's dream by playing in an LPGA championship.

"I'm aware that I've got some tough competition," J-Mac said. "I've already told my whole family and friends to vote."

It's important to know that the ESPYs, an Academy Awards-style show for sports, will be taped at Hollywood's Kodak Theater July 12 and televised on ESPN at 9 p.m. July 16. The event will be hosted by seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

Kobe was on Radio Show

Bryant recently gave an interview in the popular radio show "Best Damn Sports Show Period" to speak about basketball and some of the most important moments of the last season. He mentioned his 81-point game and many other issues.

In one important quotes of the night, the popular basketball player admited he was unhappy with Phil Jackson as his coach, but they went over it to win the title.

About his top scoring record game, Kobe admits his past record was when he was 6 years old. At that time, he once scored 63. The 81 points, however, shocked the NBA world and he doesn't see anybody breaking the record in a very long time.

Kobe Bryant's father as Los Angeles Sparks's coach

Not only Kobe Bryant makes the news in his family. His father Joe Bryant is now Los Angeles Sparks coach.

It's important to remember that Bryant was an assistant for the WNBA team last season before taking over from the fired Henry Bibby with five games left. The Sparks went 4-1 under him, finished at .500 and made the playoffs.

Now, an entire season stretches out before "Jellybean". He got that nickname by shaking off defenders with a shimmy of his shoulders during eight years in the NBA.

"I keep the players nice and loose. I don't like to be a hollerer and a screamer," Bryant explains. "I like to think of myself not as a coach, but as a teacher. I tell them to enjoy the game and have fun. Things could be gone before you know it".

Lakers and Kobe let us down

With a great power, the Phoenix Suns completed an amazing comeback with victory in game seven to seal a series victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA play-offs.

In fact, the Suns had trailed the Lakers 3-1 in the series but a thumping 121-90 win on Saturday wrapped up a 4-3 triumph.

It was shocking to see that Kobe Bryant scored 23 first-half points for the Lakers but then surprisingly deferred to his team-mates.

"Did he score in the second half?" Lakers coach Phil Jackson asked reporters after the match.

What's more, former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley accused Kobe Bryant of trying to make his team-mates look bad.

"He was being selfish," Barkley said about Bryant. "He wanted to prove (to his team-mates) 'you guys can't do anything without me'. He doesn't want to take any blame."

However, Bryant had his opinion: "If we were going to get back in this type of game we had to have everybody contributing.

"In the first half I started to pick it up offensively only to keep us in the hunt.

"If we were going to get back into the match in the second half everybody has to get into a rhythm and that didn't happen."

Teams go for Game 7 after Suns victory

Tim Thomas managed to score the three most important points of the game for the Suns. In fact, those points forced overtime and Phoenix went on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 126-118. Now they must go for Game 7 in their NBA Western Conference quarter-final.

Even though Kobe Bryant had a great scoring night with 50 points, he missed a potential series-clinching shot as time expired in regulation. He also counted all but one of the Lakers' 13 points in OT.

After this result, game 7 goes Saturday at Phoenix.

It's good to mention that the Lakers have taken all 27 series they led 3-1, and head coach Phil Jackson is 44-0 all-time in series he led 3-1.

Steve Nash also had a good performance scoring 32 points and doled 13 assists in a splendid effort for the Suns.

Thomas, whose clutch trey with 6.3 seconds tied it at 105-105, finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Leandro Barbosa, replacing the suspended Raja Bell, tallied 22 points and guarded Bryant throughout.

"The pressure is on both franchises," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni. "We feel good about ourselves but they will be ready and we are going to be be ready. It should be a great match."

Kobe Bryant, who averaged 42.5 points facing the Suns in the regular season, had some words: "We're going into a hostile environment. We look forward to it. Let's get it on."

The reasons of Lakers' victory

Los Angeles Lakers got a 99-93 victory against Phoenix Suns, but there was a time in the game where their 17-point lead got shredded and their nerves were almost frayed. Thanks again to Kobe Bryant and a great team effort, the Lakers ultimately ran away from the Suns to even their best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Reports say that Bryant was very questioned after an unusually quiet Game 1, and he answered marking 29 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and made 12 of 24 shots. Lamar Odom provided another strong effort, scoring 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting.

It's important to mention that game 3 is tonight at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Sun guard Steve Nash was more error-prone than usual, totaling 29 points and nine assists but also six turnovers. We must say though, that Shawn Marion had 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Tim Thomas, who had 22 points in Game 1, was limited to 11.

"I thought defensively it was our night," Lakers coach Phil Jackson stated. ''I thought that was the best thing."

But it was also Bryant. In Game 1, he scored 22 points on 7-for-21 shooting and was labeled passive, in a politically correct way, by pretty much everybody who mattered on the Suns.

He enhanced his power in Game 2, fighting through double teams, again finding open teammates and, this time, performing open shots.

"I felt much more comfortable," Bryant said about the second game. "I feel like we did a much better job. Everybody contributed . . . We moved the ball, we played perfect defensively as a team, we played great offensively as a team."

Suns against Lakers in the playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers are back into the playoffs. And the first team on their road to the title is the powerful Phoenix Suns. Los Angeles trust in the best scorer of this season: Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers crushed the Hornets, 115-95, on Wednesday night at Staples Center. That gave the Lakers the seventh seed in the West, which brings the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs' first round. That best-of-7 series begins at 12:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday in Phoenix.

Despite the 45-37 Lakers are the losingest team Phil Jackson has ever coached, he looked ahead to the possibility of advancing past 54-28 Phoenix and advancing again past Denver or the Clippers in Round 2.

On Wednesday, the Bryant team secured home-court advantage over Denver in a possible playoff matchup for the right to reach the West finals. If the Lakers met the Clippers in Round 2, obviously all the matches would be at home.

"That bracket is probably the best bracket to advance," Jackson admitted.

Previewing the Lakers-Suns series, Hornets coach Byron Scott claims: "If the Lakers play their style of basketball and their tempo - and when you have No. 8 (Kobe Bryant) out there, you can win any series - they definitely have big chance."

The Lakers must get a victory over the Hornets to avoid dropping to the eighth seed and drawing defending NBA champion San Antonio in the first round. The Lakers got it easily after Kwame Brown scored 10 of their first 22 points and then Bryant took over, living up to the "81" that Nike inscribed on the insole of his sneakers.

Kobe Bryant expressed himself: "It feels good to be mentioned among the elite players who have ever played the game,". Indeed, his final scoring average was 35.4 points, eighth-highest in league history.

It's important to notice that Jackson said he'd likely bring the team back from Phoenix after playing Sunday to practice at home Monday and Tuesday just before Game 2 on Wednesday night in Phoenix.