New LAMAR ODOM Interview...Dealing with death and using basketball as a crutch.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Dealing with death
Lakers' Odom uses hoops to overcome loss of son

Lamar Odom has to take a break. He tries to fight it, taking deep breathes and swallowing hard, but the pain is still there. As he talks about the sudden death of his seven-month-old son Jayden this summer, he must compose himself and wipe away the tears streaming down from his eyes.

"It hasn't gotten any easier," he says. "I feel a little lost sometimes."

Odom discovered that he had lost his son in the middle of the night while he was in New York, attending the funeral of his aunt, which fell on the same day (June 28) that he had lost his grandmother two years earlier.

As Odom held his lifeless son in his arms at the hospital, cradling him and talking to him, hoping and praying the little boy would somehow come back to life, the only thing that gave him some semblance of strength was the date on the calendar.

"That's what kept me strong," Odom says. "He died on the same day that my grandmother died. It's one of those things where it's just out of your hands. You know, you just have to accept that it's God's work."

Following his son's death, Odom stayed away from basketball and even away from friends and family at times. "I spent a lot of time alone thinking," he says. "I kind of needed it."

Odom returned to the court last week as the Lakers opened up their training camp. After not touching a basketball for nearly three months, he is beginning to feel that his return is just what he needs right now.

"It's funny because I think it's going to make me a better basketball player as far as the mental approach to the game," he says. "I take my time right now more than ever in everything I do. I'm just looking forward to getting back out there and being among my teammates every day and whipping myself back into shape so by [Oct. 31, the season opener against Phoenix], I can give this team everything I got."

Odom had many other things to say about his difficult summer, his relationship with Kobe Bryant and his near-death experience in New York during a recent one-on-one interview.

SI.com: How has basketball helped you get through what was easily the worst summer of your life? Has it helped you at all to step back onto the court?

Odom: To this day it seems surreal that I was holding my son in a room for two or three hours with him being lifeless, but I'm getting better. Basketball is a salvation for me; I guess it works as a sanctuary. The last two weeks have given me strength. But I'll be completely honest with you like I was with P.J.: I didn't even want to look at a ball at the time. It was the furthest thing from my mind at the time. But I understand what a blessing it is to be able to do something that I love in front of 20,000 people and take care of my family forever. So I'm willing to uphold that responsibility no matter what.

SI.com: Was there ever a time when you thought you wouldn't be able to play again?

Odom: I told some of my friends that this could be the day where I called it a career at 26. Believe it or not. It would have been real easy. I was raised by my grandmother after my mother passed away when I was 12 years old, right when you need your mother the most. I was raised by her mother and as soon as I signed my contract with the Miami Heat, she passed away. I came home for my mother and sister's funeral and my son passes away. I would have had no problem leaving, but it took guys like Robbie Davis, my trainer, to keep me going. I found myself and got a little closer to God and talked to him a little bit more.

SI.com: You also started a religious apparel line after having a near-death experience on the streets of New York this summer. What happened there?

Odom: I came up with this idea after I went through a real violent incident back at home. I was robbed a week after my son passed. It's so crazy. When you think of rap and hip-hop, you think of young black men. When this kid robbed me, he shot a gun at me, and let's just say it was too close. I have my own AAU team in New York and L.A., and I have a great foundation. When this happened to me, I said, "Wow, we are so far from God as a people and as a community." Somebody has to do something about this. Maybe if I give them something they can identify with a little bit more than the usually description of Jesus, which is far away from us. It just so happens that I'm reading Revelations, and they give a description of Christ, and I'm saying maybe if these kids can identify with him, it will bring them a little closer and it's not just about him being black. That's one of the questions I would love to ask Mel Gibson. I've seen his movie and it was beautiful, but in the Good Book they said he looked different with his look and walk and he was a carpenter and the description of his hair and dark skin tone. It really uncovers a lot about American history, the difference between white and black. I just want to give them something to identify with and think about and hopefully make a difference.

SI.com: How much do you think you've grown as a man and as a player this summer?

Odom: When you grow up as a man it helps you as a player.... When I went through what I went through this summer, basketball was the furthest thing from my mind. But just being here and running up and down the court with the guys, I've already seen how it's going to help me, whether it's dealing with officiating or dealing your teammates. It just so happens that we're a very young team, so I'm going to be called upon to be a leader.

SI.com: How does your leadership role on the team compare with Kobe's?

Odom: Me and Kobe always joke. He tells me, "I play bad cop, you're good cop." Kobe's very intense and he's good and sometimes he can't understand how somebody can drop the ball and miss a layup. He's going to ride you. For instance, one day we were in Washington and I got the play wrong and he got on me. He was right. We just have different ways of going about it, and those ways complement each other. We're brothers like that.

SI.com: There are a lot of people who still think you and Kobe can't play together, that you become less aggressive and less effective when you have to share the court with Kobe. What do you think about that?

Odom: Yeah, well, Lamar doesn't shoot the ball 20 times. That's Kobe's job to get 81. I'm a facilitator, a rebounder, playmaker. My greatest joy is the assists on the basketball court -- throwing that pass to get somebody that dunk. I don't mind doing the dirty work. I've known Kobe since I was 16, so we're going on 10 years together. I know what his game is about.

SI.com: So can you still be the player you know you can be with Kobe on the court playing his game?

Odom: Kobe's a real aggressive basketball player. There's no sugarcoating it. I can be aggressive in different ways. It's more than just shooting a ball. It's rebounding, being the toughest defender, getting into the lane so I can make those plays for everyone. So I can find my man [Vladimir] Radmanovic in the corner or get Kwame [Brown] a dunk. I try to do a little of everything.

SI.com: If you and Kobe finally click within the Phil's triangle, do you envision you two becoming the next Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen? Is that a comparison you're tired of hearing at this point?

Odom: Of course we could become the next [Jordan-Pippen]. It's a tremendous compliment when I hear that. Hopefully people give us the chance to play eight, nine years with each other like those guys did. It took those guys a while to get over the hump. Last year was our first battle together, and I doubt it will be our last. So hell no, I don't get tired of those comparisons. With the way Kobe plays, his fadeaways, his demeanor and the way he attacks the basket and scores 81 points, they're going to compare him to Michael Jordan. And he just so happens to play with a versatile basketball player known for his ball handling and passing skills, so they're going to make those comparisons. Kobe plays this game to be better than Jordan one day. I think people should respect that and not neglect that.

SI.com: Did you like the point forward position you played last season?

Odom: Yeah. I always tell my friends if I was 6-2 I'd still be in the NBA because I'd be a point guard. I love setting the tempo, that's where I get off. It just so happens that I'm 6-10 and my natural weight is 234 and I can still play at 244. I can be a hell of a power forward as well as the biggest small forward in the NBA. So I love having a coach like P.J. [Phil Jackson] who sees my strength is versatility and lets me be versatile instead of sticking me in one place and keeping me there.

SI.com: We've been talking about how good Lamar Odom could potentially be for a few years now. Have you reached your potential yet? Do you still see yourself as a work in progress?

Odom: I guess it depends on what you want. The NBA is such a funny game when you talk about reporters' and fans' outlook on things. I lead my team in rebounding and assists from a point forward position, and sometimes that might not be good enough for people. If I had averaged 20 points, once you get to that 20 mark, people would think I'm good. If I would average 24 points and three rebounds, people would say I had a good year but I wouldn't be helping the team. I'm not a selfish player. I'm going to do what my coach tells me to do and of course I'm going to push myself and play hard every night. You haven't seen the best; of course you haven't seen the best. In this game you're always going to get better. The upcoming year should always be better than your last year.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/arash_markazi/10/12/lamar.odom/

[Black_Smoke]

how exactly did his son die?

RIP

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

how exactly did his son die?

RIP

SIDS...

[Black_Smoke]

how exactly did his son die?

RIP

SIDS...

what?

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

how exactly did his son die?

RIP

SIDS...

what?

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_infant_death_syndrome

[Black_Smoke]

how exactly did his son die?

RIP

SIDS...

what?

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_infant_death_syndrome

damnn,RIP