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Kobe Bryant Dies in Helicopter Crash


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4 hours ago, sc49erfan15 said:

 

This is exactly where I'm at.

 

I wasn't a huge Kobe fan, nor was I a huge Kobe hater. I never met the man, I never saw him play basketball in person. But the idea that Kobe Bryant is no longer alive seems like a weird alternate reality that nobody was prepared for or ever even considered.

 

Is this what it felt like when Roberto Clemente died? That's the only sports figure I can think of that compares to his magnitude of both superstardom and very premature death.

 

That's the only one I could think of as a comparison. 

 

I was kind of in a fog last night. My wife was too. We were walking the dog when her brother texted us and neither one of us is a basketball fan, but Kobe was just such a presence that everybody knows. Like, how could Kobe Bryant be dead? He's been around for as long as I've cared about sports. He was going to be around sports for another 40/45/50 years. 

 

Plus his daughter and the others on board too. It's an incredible loss. 

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2 hours ago, sc49erfan15 said:

Is this what it felt like when Roberto Clemente died? 

 

In Pittsburgh? Probably. In the rest of the country? Clemente's death simply couldn't reach this level of coverage. He died at a time when if you lived in an AL city, you only got to see him play in the All-Star Game. To fans in AL markets, Roberto Clemente was a name you knew from box scores or magazines and that was about it. Media consisted of newspapers, radio, and three TV networks back then. There was no ESPN, social media, etc. His death wasn't covered like deaths are covered today. It made the news, but there wasn't a place to do long tributes or have long discussions. For any real in-depth coverage, we had to wait for magazines like SI, Sporting News, or Baseball Digest. Don't get me wrong, the death of Roberto Clemente was a big deal, but it was nothing like this. He was certainly very well known nationally, but he wasn't a part of the national sports landscape in the same way Kobe is today.

 

For those that don't know, Clemente died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve in 1972. He on his way to deliver aid to victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. Also, he got his 3000th hit in his last regular season AB. 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, jmac11281 said:

Different circumstances, I know, but it really dredged up every feeling of sadness and confusion I have had in these past 2 years. It is just ironic that it took a death of a basketball player that I could never ever root for to really bring up all of those feelings again. 

 

It is a long winded post but in short, life is strange.

Same here... I was crying all day not necessarily because of Kobe but because his sudden death opened all the wounds from losing two family members in the last year and a half that I thought I had come to terms with. And then finding out that his 13 year old daughter also died just sent me over the edge. 

 

51 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

To me this evokes sad memories of the death of Thurman Munson, my favourite player when I was a kid.  Kobe's tragic loss is similar in its suddenness, in the sense of a young life being snuffed out so cruelly, and in that Thurm, like Kobe, was killed while trying to do something for his beloved family.  (Munson was practicing takeoffs and landings in a private jet that he had bought in order to be able to get to his Ohio home more often during the season.) 

But of course the difference is that Munson, while the leader of those Yankee championship teams and probably its most important player, was not a celebrity on the scale that Bryant was (and would not have wanted to be).  Still, to Yankee fans, and, to some extent, to New York in general, his death was a big shock.

Mike Breen also made that connection to Munson on the Knicks broadcast last night and referenced Bill Gallo's cartoon from the day after his death.

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39 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

In Pittsburgh? Probably. In the rest of the country? Clemente's death simply couldn't reach this level of coverage. He died at a time when if you lived in an AL city, you only got to see him play in the All-Star Game. To fans in AL markets, Roberto Clemente was a name you knew from box scores or magazines and that was about it. Media consisted of newspapers, radio, and three TV networks back then. There was no ESPN, social media, etc. His death wasn't covered like deaths are covered today. It made the news, but there wasn't a place to do long tributes or have long discussions. For any real in-depth coverage, we had to wait for magazines like SI, Sporting News, or Baseball Digest. Don't get me wrong, the death of Roberto Clemente was a big deal, but it was nothing like this. He was certainly very well known nationally, but he wasn't a part of the national sports landscape in the same way Kobe is today.

 

For those that don't know, Clemente died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve in 1972. He on his way to deliver aid to victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. Also, his last hit as a Major Leaguer was his 3000th. 

 

 

Clemente's 3,000th hit was in his last regular season game, the Buccos won the East that season but lost to the Reds in the NLCS so his last hit was in Game 5. The Reds won that series thanks to a Bob Moose wild pitch in the bottom of the 9th.

 

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RIP Kobe Bryant: Mavs to Retire Number, Fans Demand a Logo Change and More Tributes

January 27, 2020 - 16:06 PM

The sports world was dealt a shocking loss yesterday as we learned basketball legend Kobe Bryant, along with his thirteen-year-old daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in California. Bryant was just 41 years old and only […]

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Changing the NBA logo seems like a pretty strong over-reaction.  Not to sound too cold, but that seems to be trends in society now, if we don't do EVERYTHING, then it means NOTHING.

 

A patch for the remainder of the season would be fitting, for all teams.  Maybe something at the All-Star Game... instead of East-West or Team LeBron, Team Giannis, maybe Team 8 and Team 24.  Maybe Team Kobe and Team Gigi?

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24 minutes ago, ltp74 said:

Clemente's 3,000th hit was in his last regular season game, the Buccos won the East that season but lost to the Reds in the NLCS so his last hit was in Game 5. The Reds won that series thanks to a Bob Moose wild pitch in the bottom of the 9th.

 

Technically, he got his 3000th hit in his last regular season AB. That being said, on the list of players with 3000 hits, Clemente is listed as having exactly 3000. Postseason hits aren't included on that list. His career stats list him at 3000 hits. If you include the postseason, he has 3034. So we're both right...or wrong. 😎 Anyway, I edited my post accordingly. 

 

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Changing the logo does seem like a big jump, but I could see a lot of other teams following the Mavs in retiring his number. 

 

Sidebar, didn't know Jerry West didn't want people knowing he was the inspiration for the logo.

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16 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Somewhat reckless speculation before NTBS arrives on the scene, the chopper was losing both altitude and speed while circling over Glendale for some reason as FlightAware illustrates.

 

16 hours ago, tp49 said:

I noticed this too when I looked at the flightradar24 link you posted earlier.  Agreed let's see what NTSB finds out. 

O'Brien later corrected that the pilot needed Special VFR from BUR.

 

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2 hours ago, CS85 said:

And yet Jake "The Snake" Roberts, his body still mostly composed of Chick-Fil-A and crack, is somehow still alive by the grace of DDP Yoga. 


So is Scott Hall! Marty Jannetty, I’m not sure how he’s survived this long. Heck, Murderer Snuka making it to 73 and Dynamite Kid living past 50 were both near-miraculous. 
 

2 hours ago, infrared41 said:

 

In Pittsburgh? Probably. In the rest of the country? Clemente's death simply couldn't reach this level of coverage. He died at a time when if you lived in an AL city, you only got to see him play in the All-Star Game. To fans in AL markets, Roberto Clemente was a name you knew from box scores or magazines and that was about it. Media consisted of newspapers, radio, and three TV networks back then. There was no ESPN, social media, etc. His death wasn't covered like deaths are covered today. It made the news, but there wasn't a place to do long tributes or have long discussions. For any real in-depth coverage, we had to wait for magazines like SI, Sporting News, or Baseball Digest. Don't get me wrong, the death of Roberto Clemente was a big deal, but it was nothing like this. He was certainly very well known nationally, but he wasn't a part of the national sports landscape in the same way Kobe is today.


The only comparable examples I can think of are Ayrton Senna and Dale Earnhardt Sr., but the former was a national hero (in Brazil) and the latter was more of a regional superstar. They didn’t have the international fame of Kobe.

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21 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

The only comparable examples I can think of are Ayrton Senna and Dale Earnhardt Sr., but the former was a national hero (in Brazil) and the latter was more of a regional superstar. They didn’t have the international fame of Kobe.

 

Dale Earnhardt was much, much bigger than just a regional superstar. You're too young to remember just how popular the guy was. Dale Sr. was easily the biggest name in NASCAR. He had a ton of national TV spots, endorsements, etc. And he died while NASCAR was still peaking in popularity. NASCAR was huge from the mid 90's thru the early 2000's. Whether they were a NASCAR fan or not back then, everyone knew who Dale Earnhardt was. His death is probably the best 21st century comparison we have to Kobe Bryant. 

 

FWIW, I think you're selling Senna short too. I realize to non-fans racing seems like it's smaller than the NHL or MLS, but racing is still a big deal. Especially F1 internationally. NASCAR has seen better days, but it's still more popular than the NHL and MLS combined - by a bunch. 

 

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I don't really follow basketball, but I do know that Kobe Bryant was a huge influence for the league, as well as in popular culture. I definitely think that something like a logo change is a perfect idea. I mean with Jerry West not wanting to be the logo, this seems like a good time to honor a guy like Kobe in a big, yet appropriate way.

"And those who know Your Name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalms 9:10

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8 minutes ago, chcarlson23 said:

I don't really follow basketball, but I do know that Kobe Bryant was a huge influence for the league, as well as in popular culture. I definitely think that something like a logo change is a perfect idea. I mean with Jerry West not wanting to be the logo, this seems like a good time to honor a guy like Kobe in a big, yet appropriate way.

 

This is no knock on Kobe, but if the NBA is going to switch the logo from Jerry West, the only choice to replace him is Michael Jordan. As great as he was, Kobe was not MJ in terms of popularity and influence. 

 

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50 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

The only comparable examples I can think of are Ayrton Senna and Dale Earnhardt Sr., but the former was a national hero (in Brazil) and the latter was more of a regional superstar. They didn’t have the international fame of Kobe.

 

I'll just leave this here.

 

 

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18 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

Dale Earnhardt was much, much bigger than just a regional superstar. You're too young to remember just how popular the guy was. Dale Sr. was easily the biggest name in NASCAR. He had a ton of national TV spots, endorsements, etc. And he died while NASCAR was still peaking in popularity. NASCAR was huge from the mid 90's thru the early 2000's. Whether they were a NASCAR fan or not back then, everyone knew who Dale Earnhardt was. His death is probably the best 21st century comparison we have to Kobe Bryant. 

 

FWIW, I think you're selling Senna short too. I realize to non-fans racing seems like it's smaller than the NHL or MLS, but racing is still a big deal. Especially F1 internationally. NASCAR has seen better days, but it's still more popular than the NHL and MLS combined - by a bunch. 

Agreed, when you had my 60 year old grandma from Rhode Island knowing about dale Earnhardt’s death and morning him you know he was a big deal.

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25 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

This is no knock on Kobe, but if the NBA is going to switch the logo from Jerry West, the only choice to replace him is Michael Jordan. As great as he was, Kobe was not MJ in terms of popularity and influence. 

There's a reason professional sports halls of fame tend not to elect players until five years after retirement; to avoid knee-jerk reactions.  Unfortunately, the Mavericks have already done this...and are they going to go back?  Probably not, because that would be a "dishonor."

 

All the tributes we saw yesterday in the various arenas were great.  But I hope the league and the rest of the teams are careful before they etch more things in stone.  I don't want to see 8 and 24 retired leaguewide.  Otherwise you'll get people clamoring for 23.  And then older people for 33 (Bird) and 32 (Magic).  And really old-school guys for Oscar Robertson (1?), etc.  Let's take some time to mourn, breathe, and reflect before making permanent changes.

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

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