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Post by Chicago on Jun 18, 2007 21:51:44 GMT -5
Tough to imagine how Bryant would help Bulls By Mike McGraw mmcgraw@dailyherald.com Posted Monday, June 18, 2007 The Kobe Bryant saga reached new levels of ridiculousness last week when someone claimed to have a video of Bryant standing outside a Southern California shopping mall bashing the Lakers organization. Rumor has it that Bryant mentions playing for the Bulls next season, but so far the alleged video has remained under wraps. A brief, profane sneak preview is available on YouTube. However, there is a Website, www.thekobevideo.com, which promises to reveal details soon on how to watch the video on a pay-per-view basis. Or you can do more constructive things with your life. A source within the Bulls organization said there has been no talk so far about trading for the high-scoring Los Angeles Lakers star. The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Bryant met with Lakers owner Jerry Buss recently in Spain and reiterated his desire to be traded. His preferred destinations are said to be Chicago, New York and Phoenix. Bryant also added a message on his personal Web site Sunday, implying that he wants to be traded. “When you love something as much as I love the Lakers its hard to even imagine thinking about being elsewhere. But, the ONE THING I will never sacrifice when it comes to basketball is WINNING,” Bryant wrote. “The more I thought about the future, the more I became convinced that the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future.” Of course, most stories that forecast Bryant playing for the Bulls go on to suggest the Bulls could send Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and the No. 9 pick to the Lakers. The Bulls would not seriously consider such a lopsided deal. Since trading Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers are 121-125 over three seasons, so acquiring Bryant is certainly not a ticket to the NBA title. The Bulls already have a glaring need for more height on their front line. It’s hard to imagine how the team would improve by trading several key pieces for Bryant and ignoring the interior issues. At the same time, the Lakers figure to be in no hurry to move their indecisive star, who went on the radio after his initial trade demand to say he still loves the Purple and Gold and doesn’t want to play anywhere else. www.dailyherald.com/sports/story.asp?id=323757
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Post by Chicago on Jun 19, 2007 1:00:15 GMT -5
Amateur Video Is Latest in Bryant DramaBy HOWARD BECK Published: June 19, 2007 Kobe Bryant has not appeared on radio or television in three weeks. He is not even in the United States. But in the lull between a less-than-compelling N.B.A. finals and an intriguing draft, Bryant is again commandeering headlines, and the league’s attention, without saying a word. First came a report that Bryant had publicly restated his trade request. Then came word of an amateur video in which Bryant profanely expressed his frustration with the Los Angeles Lakers. The report proved to be inaccurate. The video, which could become public by the end of the week, could be damaging. Bryant issued a public trade request May 30, in a series of radio interviews. That same day, he amplified his feelings in a posting on his Web site, KB24.com, writing that “the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future.” That message was reposted Sunday, under a heading “June 17,” creating the impression that it was a new item. Bryant’s recycled comments became an Associated Press article, which made it instant national news. The item ran yesterday in The New York Times and was a top headline on ESPN.com. It was unclear if Bryant’s comments were reposted to ratchet up pressure on the Lakers. Bryant is traveling in Europe with his family. Messages left with the Web site’s operators and Bryant’s agent, Rob Pelinka, were not returned. By yesterday afternoon, the error had been discovered, and the story quickly changed. ESPN.com removed the article from its Web site. And KB24.com removed the statement. In its place were quotes, said to be from Bryant’s fans, expressing support for his trade request. The next words heard from Bryant will also be several weeks old, and to many of his devoted admirers, perhaps shocking. An amateur video, said to have been taken in late May, shows Bryant viciously criticizing the team’s management and the franchise’s best young prospect, the 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum. The men who shot the video have been peddling it to news media outlets for the last two weeks. A spokesman for the group said they intended to release the video by the end of the week, provided that it raises enough money through Web donations. The men have remained anonymous — for fear of retribution from Lakers fans, they said — and identify themselves only as “The Kobe Video Guys.” The footage appears to be legitimate, based on a shorter video posted on YouTube.com. The video’s owners played the entire 24-second clip for hoopsworld.com, which posted an article about it yesterday. The author, Eric Pincus, is a Los Angeles-based writer who has spent considerable time around the Lakers and Bryant. The video, Pincus writes, “leaves no doubt that it is in fact Bryant.” The video’s owners played the clip over the telephone for a Times reporter. The voice is clearly Bryant’s, speaking in a high, agitated tone. “It’s not the camera Kobe,” said a spokesman for the amateur videographers, who, like his friends, wanted to remain anonymous. He said the footage was shot in a shopping center parking lot in Newport Coast, Calif., where Bryant lives. The spokesman said his friends, all in their early 20s, were chatting with Bryant when one of them decided to take a photograph and some video for posterity, but that they did not believe that Bryant was aware that they were filming. The Lakers passed on a chance to obtain the Nets’ Jason Kidd in February because they would not part with Bynum. “Are you kidding me?” Bryant says in the video. He goes on to say, with a number of profanities mixed in, that the Lakers should “ship out” Bynum. “We’re talking about Jason Kidd,” Bryant says. He also speaks in a derisive tone about General Manager Mitch Kupchak before the video abruptly ends. The video’s owners claim that a Lakers fan offered to buy the video to keep it private but that they declined. Instead, they intend to charge $1.99 through their Web site. “I personally think we’re going to make more money this way,” the spokesman said. “I think people want to see it.” The Lakers are aware of the video but are declining to comment, said John Black, the team’s vice president for public relations. Black confirmed that Bryant met with Jerry Buss, the team owner, in Spain last Friday. The substance of that conversation “will remain between the two of them,” Black said, but circumstances apparently have not changed. ESPN.com quoted Pelinka over the weekend as saying that Bryant stood by his trade request. The Lakers are standing by Buss’s previous statement that he will not trade Bryant. www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/sports/basketball/19bryant.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=basketball&adxnnlx=1182226515-xSDZfNatPKyYZUs36zjhSw&oref=slogin
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Post by Washington on Jun 19, 2007 11:34:20 GMT -5
The video’s owners claim that a Lakers fan offered to buy the video to keep it private but that they declined. Instead, they intend to charge $1.99 through their Web site.
Dumbasses. Shit is gonna be on YOUTUBE fast.
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Post by Washington on Jun 19, 2007 11:35:05 GMT -5
I bet ESPN/TMZ/Hoopsworld are all happy that all they hafta pay is $2 to get a story.
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Post by Chicago on Jun 19, 2007 14:31:25 GMT -5
Bryant Could Sue the 'Kobe Video Guys,' but He Won'tPosted Jun 19th 2007 12:02PM by Miss Gossip Filed under: Lakers, Western, NBA Gossip, Los Angeles, Featured Stories You've seen the official "trailer" and read the interview by FanHouse's own Brett Edwards, so now let's squash this "Kobe video" nonsense for good. As the old saying goes, you can fool some of the people some of the time ... but you can't fool Miss Gossip. I agree with the instinct of my fellow FanHousers -- there is little new in this video other than a few naughty words. But here is your proof that there is nothing truly damaging in the video: Kobe could easily have a lawyer kill this thing (there's a ball and hoop out back ... see you in court, suckas!), but he's choosing not to even bother. For the record, a lawyer could pursue any of the following three arguments. 1. If the goal of the "Kobe Video Guys" is to get Kobe's camp to pay them hush money (which they told Brett is untrue), then that would be kind of a legal no-no. I'll give you a hint as to which one, it starts with an "e" and ends with "xtortion." 2. If the goal is to sell the video to a media outlet, then Kobe could possibly sue for money damages or an injunction preventing the release of the video. As a celebrity he has a legal right in his own publicity image -- he can't stop you from showing his image on the news, but he may be able to stop you from profiting from his image without his permission. The KVG guys told Brett that Bryant didn't know he was being filmed -- which sure sounds like he did not grant his permission for them to disseminate the video for profit. Alert the fish, these guys are on thin ice! 3. Finally, if the goal is to sell the video for $1.99 per copy (the current plan according to the KVG website), then everything from #2 above applies. Additionally, you have the super-legal argument that these KVG guys are just plain dumb. Why would thousands of people pay for the video when five minutes after its release they could probably see it for free on the FanHouse (courtesy of one of our master video capturers)? And hey, KVG Crew, don't go trying to sue me for tortious interference with your business -- because that's not going to work when your "business" is some kind of pseudo-extortionist pirate operation. Bottom line: Bryant has a solid case, but the video is so worthless that he won't even fork over $300 to get his lawyer to spend half an hour drafting a cease-and-desist letter. (Either that, or Kobe is keeping the lawyers at bay because the video is actually part of his master plan for world domination brainchilded by his new agent Gilbert Arenas. If not, then I'll buy TheHype's theory that this is all a major PR stunt for a certain upcoming movie.) sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/06/19/bryant-could-sue-the-kobe-video-guys-but-he-wont/1#c5520947
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Post by Chicago on Jun 19, 2007 14:36:27 GMT -5
Legal Issues of Unauthorized Kobe Bryant VideoLast week, a website named "The Official Kobe Video Website" appeared. It is offering the sale of an unflattering video of Kobe Bryant, purportedly taken in late May outside a shopping center in Newport Coast, California, in which Bryant has an impromptu conversation with a small group of fans. During his conversation, Bryant disparages his employer, as well as a number of his teammates. He saves his most vitriolic remarks for Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' highly touted 19-year-old center. Bryant insists that Lakers should "f---ing ship his ass out." As reported by Howard Beck in today's New York Times, the men responsible for the video--a few guys in their early 20s who are unwilling to identify themselves--do not believe that Bryant was aware of the video being taken. Those same men contend that someone offered to buy it from them for $100,000 in order to keep it private, but they refused, and instead intend to make it available to anyone willing to spend $1.99 to watch it, provided they receive 50,000 orders. It's unclear how many orders they have thus far received. It's also unclear if the video is all that entertaining, since other than a consistent flow of swears and some unvarnished remarks about teammates, Bryant has offered similar, albeit less explicit, commentary on his blog. Still, as ESPN's Henry Abbott writes today, the video strikes many as a distasteful attempt at "gotcha" journalism. Could Bryant successfully sue the Kobe video guys? "Miss Gossip" over at AOL Fan House is a student at Stanford Law School, and she addresses that issue in a post today. Here is an excerpt: If the goal is to sell the video to a media outlet, then Kobe could sue for money damages or an injunction preventing the release of the video. As a celebrity he has a legal right in his own publicity image -- he can't stop you from showing his image on the news, but he can stop you from profiting from his image without his permission. The KVG guys told [AOL Fan House's] Brett that Bryant didn't know he was being filmed -- which sure sounds like he did not grant his permission for them to disseminate the video for profit. Additionally, you have the super-legal argument that these KVG guys are just plain dumb. Why would thousands of people pay for the video when five minutes after its release they could probably see it for free on the FanHouse? Miss Gossip is alluding to the right of publicity, which is the use of the plaintiff's name or likeness, without consent, for the defendant's commercial advantage. As Rick recently examined in regards to Drew Brees' efforts to avoid being in his mom's congressional campaign, the right of publicity protects against commercial loss caused by appropriation of an individual's name or likeness for commercial exploitation. There right varies in strength by state, but it would be an avenue that Bryant could consider, in the highly unlikely event that he sought legal recourse. A key question would be whether the video is providing a newsworthy purpose (see Rick and Howard's debates on that subject) and whether Bryant's celebrity status diminishes his legal right to privacy. Also, some states, like Illinois, have passed High Tech Peeping Tom laws, whereby is it illegal to record or transmit live video images of a person without his or her permission--but the catch is the person must be in a "private location" and Bryant was not. sports-law.blogspot.com/2007/06/legal-issues-of-unauthorized-kobe.html
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Post by Chicago on Jun 19, 2007 14:39:25 GMT -5
Another Strain on the Kobe Bryant/Laker Marriage June 19, 2007 10:35 AM And this time, there's videotape. Howard Beck reports in The New York Times: Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld has also seen the whole thing. The people who shot the video have a website where you can see a few teaser seconds of footage (which are also on YouTube). I'm inclined not to link though. He has already requested a trade -- we already kind of knew he was fed up, right? This is how fed up people talk. I don't need to see how that exact sausage was made. More importantly, the selling of this video strikes me as some kind of relationship apocalypse. This is why many celebrities are paranoid, reclusive weirdos who think people are out to get them. Kobe Bryant apparently thinks he's talking privately -- venting perhaps, as we all do sometimes -- and one of the people he has decided to trust sneakily records it and then shops it around and around and around to the highest bidder? Don't we just have to take a moment to point out that is a terrible thing to do? Yes, Bryant should have been more careful. Yes, ideally he'd not undermine his teammates in public no matter what. But surely the most egregious behavior here is on the part of those guys selling the video. I'm not going to give them my money. myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-25-72/Another-Strain-on-the-Kobe-Bryant-Laker-Marriage.html
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Post by Denver on Jun 19, 2007 18:20:18 GMT -5
I bet ESPN/TMZ/Hoopsworld are all happy that all they hafta pay is $2 to get a story. lmao yea exactly man. They should have charged at least $500 for the video. Sure the casual fan won't buy it, but all the news companies will, and so will the rich people. That's plenty of money.
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Post by Chicago on Jun 20, 2007 2:40:29 GMT -5
Playing the video game Underground Kobe film ain't all it's cracked up to be I had to see it for myself. For no other reason than curiosity's sake and, to be honest, an all-too-tempting meeting location near Diddy Riese, the legendary cookie store in Westwood, Calif. I'm here to see the infamous "Kobe Video," which has taken the world by storm it seems. The 24-second video clip was shot in late May, a few days before Kobe Bryant went public with his trade demands on national radio. It catches Bryant criticizing Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak for not pulling off a mid-season trade that would have sent Andrew Bynum to the New Jersey Nets for Jason Kidd. "It's been crazy," says Ron, who introduces himself as a representative of "The Kobe Video Guys," a couple of college-aged guys who talk to Bryant in the video but wish to remain anonymous in fear of the backlash they might get from Lakers fans. "Everyone wants to see it." I meet Ron, who appears to be just out of college himself, wearing a backpack and nervously looking around, inside of a nearby bookstore. "Let's go upstairs," he says, being followed by two well-built dudes who he jokingly (I think) calls his bodyguards. "I don't want anyone else watching." He then pulls out a laptop from his backpack and places the computer in front of me and hands over a set of headphones. "Are you ready?" he asks after I put the headphones on. "Here it is." The video, which was taken on a digital camera by a friend who was taking pictures of Bryant talking to the two inquisitive fans, begins with Bryant, standing in front of the Newport Coast Shopping Center and wearing a red shirt and sunglasses. He is talking about the trade that the Lakers reportedly turned down last season that would have brought Kidd to the Lakers for Bynum. "Andrew Bynum? What the f---?" Bryant says in disgust. "Are you kidding me? Andrew Bynum? F---ing ship his ass out. Are you kidding me? We're talking about Jason Kidd. But they didn't even want to do that. Now we're here in this f---ed up position." The tandem then asked Bryant what he thought about Bynum's potential. Bryant smiled and started to shake his head as if he was about to go on another tirade. "You know what man? Let me tell you something. Mitch Kupchak had the nerve to ask me..." At this point the 24-second video clip ends abruptly and we are left to wonder what Bryant says next. "The Kobe Video Guys" say that Bryant went on to say, "How good do you think Andrew Bynum is going to be in 10 years? Are you f---ing kidding me? I'm trying to win this s--- now." A week later the duo again ran into Bryant in Newport Beach, after he had made his trade demands public, and pulled out a cell phone and recorded one of them telling Bryant, "Please tell us you're staying." Bryant responded by saying, "Get a Bulls uniform fellas." As I walked out of the bookstore after watching and listening to the combined 30 seconds of footage, I had the same response most probably had after watching Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton and their far more tantalizing forays into voyeurism. "That's it?" "The Kobe Video Guys" claim they chatted up Bryant for about 15 minutes and he talked about his desire to play with Ron Artest and how he could keep him in check if he were in Los Angeles. He also hoped the Lakers could make a deal for Jermaine O'Neal in the off-season, which made it seem like he wanted to remain with the Lakers at the time, but we are only left to imagine what that must have sounded like as he stood in the parking lot in front of the Sharky's Mexican Grill. While the "Kobe Video Guys" say they feel the public has a right to see the video, only time will tell when and if that will actually happen. After unsuccessfully peddling the clip to different media organizations, including ESPN and Basketball News, the group set up a website, thekobevideo.com, where they plan on showing it for a $1.99 fee. As is usually the case with these fly-by-night endeavors, however, there is a catch. They claim to have turned down a private party's offer of $100,000 to buy the rights to the video so that it can be destroyed. They say the private party is not connected with Bryant or the Lakers (although they did unsuccessfully contact the team to gauge their interest) but is just a big fan with deep pockets who doesn't want to see Bryant's image with the Lakers tarnished. It seems a little late in the game for that, but never-the-less, the group claims they turned down the sure-fire money and decided to set up the web site in the hopes of recouping the six-figure offer the hard way by making it public. In a perfect example of wanting to have their cake and eating it too, they will not show the video to their customers until they reach the designated threshold of 50,000 orders to recoup the $100,000 private party offer they turned down. If the threshold is not met, they say they will refund all their orders and sell it to the private party, who sounds just dumb enough to buy it again despite the contents of the footage already being public. Who knows if Bryant will be traded or if anyone outside of this "private party" will be able to buy the appropriately-timed video clip? The only thing that was certain to me as I braved the rush-hour traffic on the 405 freeway back home was that the famous $1.25 ice cream cookie sandwiches from Diddy Riese were still the best value in town, "Kobe Video" included. sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/arash_markazi/06/19/kobe/index.html
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Post by Washington on Jun 28, 2007 12:15:11 GMT -5
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Post by Cleveland on Jun 29, 2007 0:56:45 GMT -5
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Post by Denver on Jun 29, 2007 13:09:44 GMT -5
That sucked.
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