Congratulations to Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers for advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2004.  The Lakers defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, 100-92, to close out the series 4-1.  They will face either the Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons in the Finals. 

Kobe had another magnificent game, scoring 39 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.  He helped the Lakers rally from 17 points down in the first half and made some key baskets in the 4th quarter to give the Lakers the lead for good. 

The Lakers are now 12-3 in the playoffs, including 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven’t lost in two months.  They have won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last 24 postseason games at home.

Whether they face the Celtics or Pistons, the Lakers will have to continue to prove they can win on the road, as well as defend their home court.  The Lakers have won at least one road game in each of their first three series.  The Eastern Conference representative will have home court advantage in the NBA Finals. 

Here is the tentative NBA Finals schedule:
6/05/2008 9:00 PM - NBA Finals, ABC
6/08/2008 9:00 PM - NBA Finals, ABC
6/10/2008 9:00 PM - NBA Finals, ABC
6/12/2008 9:00 PM - NBA Finals, ABC
6/15/2008 9:00 PM - NBA Finals, ABC
6/17/2008 9:00 PM - NBA Finals, ABC
6/19/2008 9:00 PM - NBA Finals, ABC

Photo above courtesy of AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

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The much anticipated release of the Nike Hyperdunk Kobe PE Promo Editions finally occured, in quickstrike fashion of course.  Both House of Hoops (Harlem, NY) and KB24.com (Kobe’s official web site) each received 24 pairs of Hyperdunk Kobe PE Promo Editions - 12 away colors and 12 home colors.  Each pair comes in a special glass case and is limited to “1/24.”

House of Hoops released its Hyperdunks on Friday, May 23rd, where all 24 pairs were sold out immediately.  KB24.com released its Hyperdunks the day after, May 24th, and sold out within minutes.  Retail price on these limited editions are $250.  The release date for the GR Hyperdunks is some time in July.  Retail price for the GR version is said to be between $110-$125. 

Stay tuned for more info on these special Hyperdunk Kobe PE Promo Editions. 

Photo above courtesy of eBay member ID “tekavolver712″

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In another viral marketing campaign to promote the soon-to-be-released Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoe, Kobe jumps over an above-the-ground swimming pool filled with live snakes to dunk a basketball.  If you remember not too long ago, Kobe jumped over a speeding Aston Martin in a Nike spot that had the media and fans buzzing for days.  This video is no different.  With the help of some cast and crew members from the hit TV show “Jackass,” Kobe jumps from beyond the three-point line over a pool of snakes to dunk a basketball two-handed…all this while wearing funky neon colored Hyperdunks.

These viral marketing spots by Nike to hype up the Hyperdunks are genius.  Having Kobe be the primary spokesman for them are even more genius. 

If you haven’t seen the video yet, click here to check it out. 

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FootLocker is offering 30% OFF this Memorial Day weekend at participating locations.  Present the above certificate at the time of purchase to receive 30% OFF.  Some restrictions may apply. 

Offer good between 5/23/08 to 5/26/08. 

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What a win for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals!  After a dismal 2 and a half quarters against the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night, where the Lakers trailed by as many as 20 points, Kobe and company came to play towards the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.  At one point, the Lakers scored 14 straight points in a span of 3:05 to only trail by 6.  Heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers were only down 7 as Kobe went to work.  He scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half, including a game-winning 10-foot jumper with 23.9 seconds left.  The Lakers defended the Spurs’ final three-point attempt and secured the rebound, where Sasha Vujacic was fouled and converted both free-throws.  The Lakers won the game 89-85, and now lead the series 1-0. 

To be honest, I didn’t expect the Lakers to be able to pull this one out, especially after being down 20.  Kobe’s passive first-half was not a concern as we all knew he would go to work when he chose to.  What was disappointing were the plays of Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom.  Both had great series’ versus the Utah Jazz but were pretty non-existent in Game 1 against the Spurs.  Lets hope both players shake off their rust and come ready to play on Friday in Game 2.  Other players who struggled were Ronny Turiaf and Luke Walton.  On the other hand, Vladimir Radmanovic, Jordan Farmar, and Sasha Vujacic all played well.  They combined for a total of 28 of the Lakers’ 89 points. 

Nonetheless, an impressive come-from-behind win by a young Lakers team. 

Checkout the highlights here. 

Game 2 is Friday at 6:00PM PST on TNT. 

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After eliminating the Utah Jazz last Friday night in the Conference Semifinals, the Los Angeles Lakers now know who they will be facing in the Western Conference Finals - the defending world champs, San Antonio Spurs.  The Spurs defeated the New Orleans Hornets last night in Game 7 of their series, 91-82, to advance to the Conference Finals.

Both the Lakers and Spurs have dominated the past 10 years in the NBA, combining for a total of 7 of the last 10 championships.  The Lakers won three straight from 2000-2002 while the Spurs won four, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, but never consecutively.  Now they face off against one another for a shot at either the Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.  Game 1 tips off Wednesday night in Los Angeles at 6:00PM (see complete schedule below). 

During the regular season, the Lakers and Spurs split their season series, 2-2, each team winning on their respective home courts.  However, during the last week of the regular season, the new-look Lakers won the final matchup between the two teams by 21 points. 

Complete Series Schedule:
Gm. 1:Wed., May 21: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 2:Fri., May 23: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 3:Sun., May 25: at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 4:Tue., May 27: at San Antonio, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 5*:Thu., May 29: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 6*:Sat., May 31: at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Gm. 7*:Mon., June 2: at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT)

* if necessary

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After watching several Lakers-Jazz games this season, where Jazz fans crossed the line in showing their displeasure for Derek Fisher (a former Jazz player), I immediately lost respect for these people from Utah.  They are not only rude and immature, but extremely classless as well.  They’re definitely right up there with Philadelphia fans.  Alex Kennedy of The Bleacher Report recently wrote a nice column titled “Utah Jazz: The Most Disgusting Fans in the NBA” where he provides a number of occasions where Jazz fans crossed the line in taunting players from opposing teams.  One fan points out:

“Being an avid baseball fan, I’ve seen syringes being thrown on the field. Being an avid Lakers fan, I’ve seen signs made about Kobe being a rapist. That’s fine, but when you bring up something that Fisher had no control over and make a joke out of it, it’s disgusting. The Utah Jazz organization needs to come out and release an official apology to the family of Derek Fisher.”

The same fan goes on to say:

“It would bring ultimate satisfaction to close this series up in Utah and shove it up the crowd’s ass, I’ve got respect for the Jazz players, but the crowd has absolutely no respect from me.  I would give almost anything to end this series in Game 6 with a purple-and-gold ass-whopping.”

The Lakers, indeed, did “shove it up the crowd’s ass” and closed out the series in Utah in “ass-whopping” fashion.  They tried to do all they could to get in the heads of players and referees but to no avail.  Checkout this video of fans chanting “Ref you suck!” just before the half ended, where Deron Williams fouled Derek Fisher shooting a three-pointer…Fish made all three free-throws to shut the crowd up and head into halftime up 19! 

Utah Jazz fans, YOU suck!

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The Utah Jazz’s season has ended and Jerry Sloan, Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and company have all gone fishing.  Thanks to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, of course.  The Lakers defeated the Jazz in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals 108-105, becoming only the second team in Round 2 to win a game on the road.  The Lakers are now 8-2 in this year’s Playoffs and now advance to the Western Conference Finals for this first time since 2004, where they will face either the New Orleans Hornets or San Antonio Spurs. 

Checkout highlights from Game 6 here. 

Photo above courtesy of Jsahmad of KB24.com

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Just received an email from Nike containing the above 25% OFF coupon.  As part of Nike’s Memorial Day Sale, consumers receive 25% OFF their entire purchase of $125 or more, online or in-stores.  Some restrictions may apply. 

TO USE ONLINE: Simply enter code MEMDAYEM2 at checkout.

TO USE IN-STORES: Print the above coupon and bring it with you when you shop at Niketown, NikeWomen or NikeStore, or NikeFactoryStore. 

Offer expires May 26, 2008. 

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So after watching this week’s Doctor Wax Battle Show, where a Trilogy Hockey master set builder, named Dave, determined that a card he needed for his set (Mario Lemieux Auto Patch /5) was never packed out but rather given out as a redemption replacement, I thought it’d be a good idea to revisit why there are two Kobe Bryant 2004-05 UD Exquisite Auto Patch 1/1s on the market. 

This first became an issue when Upper Deck held a Private Signing with Kobe on December 19, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio.  Among the many trading cards and memorabilia Upper Deck had Kobe sign, they also had him sign this:

The only problem was there was already one on the market, making it two Kobe Bryant 04-05 UD Exquisite Auto Patch 1/1s in existence - one with a regular Kobe autograph and one with a full Kobe autograph.  Everything else is identical for the exception of the patches (both 3-colored).  But how could this be? 

I took this question directly to Upper Deck Basketball’s Product Managers while they were accepting collector questions via Beckett Message Board under the ID “udbasketball” and here is their response:

“Not sure why that happened — i double checked the checklist and he should only have 1. are you sure it was the exact same card — same card #, everything?”

I replied informing them it was the exact same card but with different signatures and patches, and even offered to provide scans but I never heard from them again, appropriately.  If the Basketball Product Managers aren’t able to explain why there are two of these cards in existence, I truly question what exactly it is they are doing over at Upper Deck HQ. 

If anyone out there can shed some light into this matter, please contact me and I will have this post updated. 

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