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Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Kobe does his part for N.O.at clinic-
He says, 'Whenever I have an opportunity to help out, I'm here'
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
By John Reid
A group of children took their spots with their parents behind a fence at Taylor Park in Central City on Tuesday. Many came with basketballs, footballs and a pen.
After a short wait, suddenly their eyes got wide before joyous yells erupted. Still, one 8-year-old boy asked his mom, "Is that really him," when Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant approached to sign the boy's shirt.
With NBA training camps set to begin next week, Bryant spent one of his final days of vacation in New Orleans, taking part in the Best Damn Sports Clinic held at the park and hosted by Fox Sports Network. Bryant said he did not hesitate when the network offered an invitation to work the camp and help children most affected by Hurricane Katrina last year.
"It's important for them to realize that they are not along in this fight," Bryant said. "Whenever I have an opportunity to help out, I'm here."
One hundred and fifty kids, ages 6 to 16, participated. While Bryant showed some of the campers the proper technique to defend a shooter, New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister was putting another group though some football drills that involved pass catching.
Although Bryant signed the most autographs, McAllister still got the loudest cheers. On Monday night, McAllister led the 3-0 Saints with 81 yards on 19 attempts in their 23-3 victory against the Atlanta Falcons at the Superdome.
The camp involved putting the children through fun-oriented drills in basketball, baseball and football. Some of the guests that helped with the drills included players from the New Orleans Zephyrs. USA softball star Jennie Finch, along with former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete and former NBA player John Salley, and Best Damn Sports show stars Chris Rose and Leeann Tweeden.
Mayor Ray Nagin spoke to the camp participants before the drills started.
"This was awesome for the kids," McAllister said. "It was a chance for them to see that we care about them, and it was great to be out here."
The camp was a kickoff event for the Best Damn Sports Show, which is conducting its show from New Orleans for the rest of this week.
Coming to New Orleans was the idea of George Greenberg, the executive vice president programming and production for FSN.
Greenberg's son attends Tulane and was forced to evacuate to Houston before Katrina struck.
"I thought we could bring the show here to call attention to a rebirth and bring a statement visually to New Orleans," Greenberg said. "Every day and every minute, we shouldn't forget what the people here went through during Katrina."
Teddy Roosevelt:
--- Quote from: Juronimo on September 26, 2006, 12:58:02 PM ---Any news on Lamar Odom since his horrible tragedy?
--- End quote ---
Lakers' Odom still mourning sudden death of infant son
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Lamar Odom, carrying a bible and without his usual smile, spoke somberly Thursday regarding the sudden death of his 6½-month-old son three months ago, saying he needed to be strong for his other children.
"I feel a little lost at times. God is keeping me strong," Odom told reporters Thursday at the Los Angeles Lakers' training camp in his first public comments since Jayden Odom suffocated in his crib and died June 28.
"Sometimes, I need to be by myself, whether it's a week or two weeks," he said. "My family has been understanding. There was a time when I thought basketball wasn't going to be able to heal the wound."
Odom and Liza Morales, his longtime companion, have an 8-year-old daughter, Destiny, and a 5-year-old son, L.J.
"She's in the third grade -- she reads on a fifth-grade level. She understands," Odom said of his daughter regarding Jayden's death. "[L.J.] understands, too. I don't think he gets it like his sister gets it."
Odom said his son was healthy at the time of his death, and autopsy reports weren't conclusive.
"I've experienced it before -- my mother, my grandmother," he said. "What keeps me strong is he died on the same day as my grandmother."
Odom was in New York for a funeral at the time of his son's death.
"It is a tough time for my family, of course," he said. "You can't take it back. Coming home [to the Los Angeles area], I feel a little better.
"It will take some time. I haven't had much time to mourn -- I've kept so busy. My family is back in New York, I have a lot of support there. I kind of needed it."
The 26-year-old Odom averaged 14.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists for the Lakers last season -- his second with the team. He played four seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers after they made him the fourth overall selection in the 1999 draft, and one with the Miami Heat.
After his son died, the versatile 6-foot-10 forward withdrew from the U.S. National Team that won a bronze medal in the world championship this summer. He also was a member of the U.S. Olympic team that won a bronze two years ago.
Odom said he kept busy this summer with "a lot of things."
"Most of them had nothing to do with basketball," he said. "At the time, basketball just wasn't enough. Of course, basketball is my No. 1 focus."
Odom said he signed a record deal and started a T-shirt line this summer.
"Those are two of the things that kept me going, kept me focused, kept me positive," he said.
When asked if the passage of time had had made things easier, Odom paused before shaking his head, his eyes reddening.
"I don't think nothing could prepare you," he said. "You just have to accept it -- it's God's work."
Odom brightened when asked about the support he's received.
"It's been amazing. The everyday person in the street has reached out and felt me a little bit," he said. "The Lakers, the organization, has been great, stood by me. They really understood how hard I was going to be hit like this.
"It's funny -- I think this is going to make me a better basketball player as far as my mental approach to the game. I look forward to being back out there with my teammates, get in shape so on the 31st [of October] I can give it all I've got."
Odom spoke for 10 minutes before doing a couple of one-on-one television interviews.
The Lakers open training camp Tuesday, and open the regular season Oct. 31 against Phoenix -- the team that eliminated them from the playoffs in the first round last spring.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
--- Quote from: Malik Ted - Sophomore of the Year on September 28, 2006, 10:47:50 PM ---
"It's funny -- I think this is going to make me a better basketball player as far as my mental approach to the game. I look forward to being back out there with my teammates, get in shape so on the 31st [of October] I can give it all I've got."
--- End quote ---
:raisetheroof:
Here's the link:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/09/28/bc.bkn.lakers.odom.ap/index.html?section=si_nba
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Odom Speaks on Death of Son and Being Mugged.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
September 29, 2006
Lamar Odom sat down, placed his Bible on a table and, with damp eyes, told the story of his summer.
His infant son died while sleeping in a crib, a loss that has tugged at him since it happened in June.
The autopsy report labeled it an "unremarkable" death, a seven-month-old's life snatched by sudden infant death syndrome, the latest in a line of losses traceable through Odom's years.
Odom was in New York for the funeral of an aunt when Jayden Odom died.
Odom used to remember June 28 as the date of his grandmother's death. His son died the same day, a few years later, at Odom's home in Atlantic Beach, N.Y. Attempts to revive him at a nearby hospital were unsuccessful.
"He was gone already," Odom said Thursday. "I thought they were close to getting him to breathe again. That wasn't the case. I stayed with him for hours and hours after that, just holding him, talking to him."
Odom and his longtime girlfriend, Liza Morales, have two other children, Destiny, 8, and Lamar Jr., 5.
"I have to be strong for them," the Lakers forward said. "I feel a little lost sometimes, but God right now is keeping me strong."
Odom remained in New York most of the summer, trying to cope, when he experienced a loss of another kind. While walking at night near a family member's home in Queens, he was mugged at gunpoint by a teenager who fired a warning shot, then took Odom's watch and cash, a combined total of under $5,000.
"When this kid put a gun to me and held it to my face and, first he shot it, then pointed it at me, I thought he was going to harm me," Odom said. "I was thinking, 'Help me brace for this bullet.' I'd never been in this kind of situation before. When that happened, I said, I've got to get a little closer to the biggest icon in the world. It ain't Michael Jordan. It ain't Bob Marley, Che Guevara, even John Lennon. It's Jesus. Nobody's got more followers."
His son's death, coupled with what Odom described as the near-death experience of his own, pushed him away from basketball, his longtime comfort zone.
He has since tried to stay busy, painfully active, starting a record label called "Rich Soil" and unveiling a religious apparel line.
"Where I'm from, we're really not unified," said Odom, who was born in Queens. "I'm looking for something to bring these young people together. It's like nobody's happy for each other. It's hard times, the economy's down. Drugs in the inner-city neighborhoods are running rampant, really taking over, destroying communities, destroying lives."
Odom's life has been filled with misfortune.
His mother, Cathy, died when he was 12 of colon cancer. He honors her by writing her name on every new pair of basketball shoes he wears. He wears jersey No. 7 because it was the lucky number of his late grandmother, Mildred Mercer, who became his role model after his mother's death.
He recently had a tattoo artist inscribe the image of his son on his chest, just above his heart. His mother's image is on his back.
Basketball has been an afterthought for Odom this summer, although he acknowledged an eagerness to return to it. The Lakers begin training camp Tuesday in El Segundo.
"There was a time where I didn't think basketball was going to be able to heal this wound, but as I come back home — L.A.'s my home — and get around my guys, get around my coaches, stuff like that, I feel a little better," Odom said. "It'll take me some time because I haven't taken the time just to, I guess, mourn. I've kept myself so busy. I almost was probably too strong."
The second-best player on the Lakers, Odom started slowly last season and acknowledged having difficulty with the intricacies of the triangle offense, but over the last two months of the regular season averaged 16.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 55.1%.
"I think it's going to make me a better basketball player as far as the mental approach to the game," Odom said of his summer. "I take my time right now, more than ever, at everything I do. I feel a maturity now. I'm not going to growl at the referees. My walk and my talk is a lot different than the last time you saw me."
Teddy Roosevelt:
It's fucked up that he lost his son the same day of his grandmothers death (June 28). And that his mom died when he was 12. I read an interview of Lamar Odom in ESPN magainze just after he was traded to the LA Lakers. The dude has had a tough life.
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