The Black Mamba Snake Resin Figure by Tracy Tubera

To celebrate Kobe Bryant’s birthday, artist Tracy Tubera is releasing his amazing KB24 tribute – The Black Mamba Snake – as a full size resin figure!!! And of course it’s dropping on Kobe Bryant Day a.k.a. 8/24. The Blot absolutely loves this figure’s design and it looks super sleek in glossy black. Tracy and I are both diehard Lakers fans and you can really feel the excitement in this piece.

The Black Mamba Snake resin figure by Tracy Tubera stands 10” tall and goes on sale at 8:24am PT today, Tuesday, August 24th, at TracyTubera.com for $250.

“Return of the Dragons” Bruce Lee Print by Tracy Tubera

Tracy Tubera celebrates the lives of two legends – Kobe Bryant and Bruce Lee – with this rad “Return of the Dragons” print! As TT explained, “I wanted to celebrate two pairs of Kobe V Protro’s that are rumored to drop. One being probably my favorite Kobe colorway ever. The OG Kobe V Bruce Lees aka the Game of Death colorway.” The flip side of this image is based on the rumored alternate colorway based on Bruce Lee’s Gung Fu / Shaolin Monk outfit in Enter the Dragon.

“I wanted to create a print that celebrates both colorways while incorporating the teaching of Bruce and the principles of Jeet Kune Do. Since no halve/ side is greater than the other, you can choose which direction you want to display the print.” – Tracy Tubera

“Return of the Dragons” by Tracy Tubera is a 13”x15” signed, numbered and hand embossed print on archival 310 gsm watercolor paper. Limited to 50 pieces, this rad Bruce Lee x Nike Kobe V Protro sneakers print can be purchased at ttdoodles.bigcartel.com for $45.

Los Angeles Lakers “Legend of Kobe Bryant” Screen Print by Stolitron x Phenom Gallery

Phenom Gallery continues to its fantastic line of officially licensed NBA screen prints with a very special Los Angeles Lakers poster celebrating the career of Kobe Bryant. The Blot is a huge Lakers fan so you know I’m pretty excited about this one! The “Legend of Kobe Bryant” by celebrated pop-culture artist Stolitron captures the Black Mamba’s career with the LA Lakers recognizing his achievements and iconic personality.

“Legend of Kobe Bryant” by Stolitron is an 18”x24” signed and numbered Los Angeles Lakers 5 color screen print. Limited to just 300 pieces, collectors can purchase this new NBA poster exclusively at the Phenom Gallery online store for $60.

SDCC 16 Exclusive “Rookie” Kobe Bryant Pop! Vinyl Figure by Bait x Funko

Bait is teaming up with Funko to release this epic San Diego Comic-Con 2016 Exclusive Kobe Bryant Pop! vinyl figure featuring a purple Lakers jersey from Kobe’s rookie season!!! What better way to commemorate Kobe Bryant’s iconic 20 year career with the Los Angeles Lakers than with a SDCC exclusive Pop! based on his very first season in the purple and gold!?! The Blot loves these old school jerseys, and in my mind the Black Mamba always wears 8.

The San Diego Comic-Con 2016 Exclusive “Rookie” Kobe Bryant Pop! Vinyl Figure can be purchased at the Bait SDCC booth #4845 for just $20.

Kobe Bryant “Black Mamba Big Kid” LA Lakers T-Shirt by Johnny Cupcakes

Yesterday was sadly the last day of Johnny Cupcakes Los Angeles! To celebrate 8 wonderful years in LA, Johnny Cupcakes released a killer batch of JCLA exclusive pop culture inspired tees! That included this epic “Black Mamba” Big Kid design, which features Johnny Cupcakes mascot Big Kid dressed up as Kobe Bryant in an old school looking LA Lakers uniform. It’s hard to believe Johnny Cupcakes LA closed just a few days after Kobe’s retirement. Two LA icons shutting it down at the same time…it’s truly the end of an era! This awesome design is limited to just 100 pieces, and I assume it sold out yesterday at the JCLA farewell party.

Kobe Bryant “KB20” Prints by Tracy Tubera

Yesterday was Mamba Day, which marked Kobe Bryant’s very last day as a professional basketball player in the NBA. It was a shockingly amazing final game for the Black Mamba who went for 60 points in a LA Lakers win against the Utah Jazz. What better way to send Kobe off than as a winner! To commemorate Kobe’s retirement after an illustrious 20 year career, Tracy Tubera has released this killer “KB20” print.

As Tubera explains, “This is my print honoring the many accomplishments of my b-ball hero. A career where he played hero and the villain. You either loved him or hated him, but you still had to respect the game! Thanks for all the memories KB. The game will never be the same without you.”

“KB” by Tracy Tubera is a 13”x19” Kobe Bryant signed, numbered and hand embossed print on archival watercolor paper. The White Edition and Gold Edition are both limited to just 24 prints and are currently available for purchase at the Tracy Tubera online store for $50 each.

LA Lakers “Big Kid Kobe” Bryant T-Shirt by Johnny Cupcakes

As you know, The Blot’s a huge fan of both the Los Angeles Lakers and the indie clothing brand Johnny Cupcakes. So last week when JC dropped a new Big Kid Baller tee featuring their adorable mascot dressed as the Lakers captain, Kobe Bryant, The Blot had to have it! Sadly this fantastic design is being sold exclusively at the Johnny Cupcakes LA retail location, which recently celebrated its 7th anniversary. Rumor has it that after 1 week in release there are only S sizes left at JC LA. So if you wear a small head down to the Johnny Cupcakes LA store and pick one up for $29.

Kobe Bryant 18" Vinyl Figure by CoolRain

PickYourShoes.com is teaming up with MINDstyle to release the first ever 18" NBA All Star vinyl figure by CoolRain! The PYS Exclusive Kobe Bryant Home Yellow Lakers Jersey Edition 18" vinyl figure has a limited edition run size of 300 pieces, includes an individually numbered collector’s card and comes packaged a special carrying case. This is the first large scale vinyl figure from MINDstyle’s new NBA All Star collection, and The Blot is pretty sure we’ll be seeing more of these very soon. In fact, MINDstyle is already hinting that we’ll be seeing 18” versions Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard relatively soon. Collectors can pick up one of these massive Kobe figures from the PickYourShoes.com online store for $299.99.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive CoolRain x MINDstyle NBA Playoffs Mini Figure Box Set

The Blot hasn’t covered these new blind boxed NBA mini figures by CoolRain because I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them. Produced by MINDstyle, these NBA figures look like Michael Lau rip-offs without the creativity. What’s worse is most of them don’t even resemble the real life players they are based on and at least one of them has already changed teams! Although I can’t lie, picking up one of the Kobe Bryant figures has definitely crossed my mind a few times. But that’s got more to do with my blind Lakers devotion than my fondness for the toy.

To me, this San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive NBA Playoffs Box Set is a total cash grab. It is being marketed as a way to commemorate the dramatic 2011 NBA playoffs with a set that includes 5 of today's hottest superstars (Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudemire). Except if they really wanted to commemorate the 2011 NBA Playoffs you’d think they would have included Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, who was also in Series 1.

But what really annoys me about this set is that four of the five figures are just commons from MINDstyle’s NBA Mini Figure Series 1. The only new/rare figure is the “EXCLUSIVE” NBA MVP Derrick Rose in his home white Bulls jersey. That’s it…so for $100 you’re paying for the white jersey Derrick Rose and the Comic-Con exclusive box set packaging. As you all know The Blot’s all about SDCC exclusives, but at least make it worth collectors’ money and time. Or just say the White Bulls Jersey Derrick Rose is limited to 300 pieces and retails for $100. That’s really what collectors are paying for right?

For those of you heading to San Diego in a few weeks, you can pick up this NBA Playoffs box set from Action Figure Xpress at their SDCC booth #3345.

Los Angeles Lakers Win the 2010 NBA Championship For Back to Back Titles

Wow, as a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Lakers The Blot can honestly say I’m as excited for this NBA Championship, the franchise’s sixteenth, as I was the first time I watched the Lakers win one in the ‘80s. It’s definitely a feeling that never gets old, and this one was especially sweet considering the team’s collapse against the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals.


It’s hard to believe the Lakers have now been to the Finals three straight years and are coming off back-to-back championships. Before Derek Fisher’s return and Pau Gasol’s arrival in 2008, the team was in a freefall and Kobe’s departure was all but certain. Now the years with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown are just a distant memory!


There are a number of reasons this championship is especially sweet, and at the top of that list is because it came against the Lakers’ hated rivals, the Celtics, and was the perfect revenge for 2008’s loss. On top of that, Kobe now has 5 titles (and 2 NBA Finals MVP awards), on par with Magic Johnson, and Phil Jackson has won 11 titles, widening his record over the Celtics Red Auerbach (who has 9 titles to his credit). Another amazing statistic is that Jackson is the only NBA coach to ever win multiple titles in a row four different times! He had two different three-peats with the Bulls, a three-peat with the Lakers and now back-to-back championships again with the Lakers. That’s just incredible, isn’t it?


Another interesting turn of events from last night’s victory is that Kobe now has more NBA titles than Shaquille O’Neal (5 to 4). When asked what winning another NBA titale means to him individually, Kobe responded “Just got one more than Shaq. You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don't forget anything." I may be a Shaq guy, but that’s still pretty funny (and true).


I could go on and on about Pau’s amazing performance throughout the playoffs (he probably should have won the Finals MVP award this year), Ron Artest’s amazing in game 7 or DFish’s continued clutch shooting…but I won’t, because you already know how great they were! Instead I’ll just make an impassioned plea to Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss to please, please, please resign Phi Jackson. Pay the man his money so the Lakers can you win you a second three-peat. As we all know, Phil likes to do things in 3s.

Michael Jordan x Upper Deck x OBEY Giant BULLS Print by Shepard Fairey

Tomorrow is the 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony and it’s going to be a big one! Not only are “The Admiral” David Robinson, John Stockton, Coach Jerry Sloan and Coach C. Vivian Stringer being inducted, but so is Number 23, Michael Jordan. To commemorate the induction of arguably the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers into the Basketball HOF, Upper Deck is re-teaming with OBEY Giant artist Shepard Fairey to release a series of Michael Jordan screen prints.


This is actually the second time Fairey has collaborated on a series of prints with Upper Deck. The first series of prints featured LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and were entitled KOBE, MVP and GOLD. Right now not much is known about this first print in the upcoming Michael Jordan x Upper Deck x OBEY Giant Hall of Fame tribute series, including price or release date. What The Blot does know is that it is entitled "BULLS" and will measure 26”x36” and should be dropping sometime soon.

If I had to guess, I’d say there will be two editions of each print released similar to the UD x OG Kobe prints, a dual signed print autographed by both MJ and Shep and a single signed print autographed only by Shepard. Knowing how much Upper Deck authenticated Michael Jordan signed memorabilia runs for, I feel pretty confident in saying the dual signed prints will cost a pretty penny.

Los Angeles Lakers - 2009 NBA Champions

After two months of playoff basketball Phil, Kobe and the rest of the LA Lakers finally did it! After some very hard fought series the Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champs. Let me tell you, no one is happier about that than The Blot (except for maybe Aly because now she doesn’t have to watch another basketball game for a very long time).


Sadly, Game 5 of the NBA Finals was the only game The Blot didn’t get to watch all playoffs. Our flight home from Tahoe was delayed and then it took an additional 30 minutes for our luggage to hit the baggage claim once we finally made it back to Houston. When we landed it was halftime and the Lakers were up by 10¸but by the time we were in our car heading home there was only 4:30 left in the fourth quarter and the Lakers were up by like 11-15 points. Listening to the end of the game wasn’t all bad since Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown and Dr. Jack Ramsay are some of the best basketball commentators in the industry.

Thankfully Aly and I got home just in time to see the Lakers celebrating the franchise’s 15th World Championship and Kobe accept the NBA Finals MVP award. It feels like these playoffs went on forever, but it was well worth it to see the Purple & Gold finally back on top of the NBA for their fourth title this decade. It’s hard to believe the Lakers have now been in the NBA Finals 6 times since 2000. I might also add that it has truly been amazing to see this team mature over the past three years. From barely making the playoffs to surprising everyone last year with their unexpected run to the 2008 Finals to this year’s championship, it has been a very exciting ride indeed.


Kobe now has his fourth championship and first without Shaquille O’neal, while Head Coach Phil Jackson now has his 10th NBA Championship, giving him more professional championships than any coach in the NBA or in the four major professional sports leagues of North America. Hopefully winning ten NBA titles will not be Jackson’s final act as the Lakers’ head coach and he’ll be back to steward the Lakers to a 16th NBA title.


With the roster as it is currently constituted there is no reason the Lakers can’t win it all again next year, giving Kobe and Derek Fisher their fifth championship and Jackson his eleventh. But to do that team owner Jerry Buss will need to open up his check book and resign Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza. I guess this summer will be a busy one for Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupcheck. Here’s hoping for back-to-back world championships!

The 2009 NBA Finals - Lakers vs. Magic

The Blot’s been waiting for the start of the 2009 NBA Finals for what feels like forever now. While I’ve hated the long hiatus, it’s probably been a really good thing for my beloved Lakers since they were looking extremely worn out after playing every other day for two weeks. I am happy that the Finals are not the Kobe v. Lebron dream match-up that the NBA, Nike and Vitamin Water were all hoping it would be.


While I loved Nike’s Kobe and Lebron puppet commercials, let’s be honest, for all of Lebron James’ accolades he is no Kobe Bryant. I hate how everyone and their mother compares Lebron to Michael. If anything he should be compared to A.I. Like Iverson, Lebron scores a ton, won an MVP award and got his team to the finals...once. But in the end he just can’t win the big one. But enough about Prince James…


With Cleveland’s loss to Orlando, the Lakers now have home court advantage. While that is a huge advantage for LAL, I’d almost rather be playing the Cavs because the Lakers match-up so much better against them than the Magic. That isn’t to say I’m worried about Dwight Howard and co., but they are harder to defend with their two highly talented swingmen, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. Plus, Orlando swept the Lakers in the only two games they played against each other this year.

But I’m not worried because the Lakers have the greatest coach in NBA history, the zen-master Phil Jackson. I could go on and on making arguments for why Los Angeles should dominate this series, but if it were that easy to predict they wouldn’t need to play the games. So I'll just leave it at that and we’ll see what happens in just a few short hours.

The 2009 NBA Finals start tonight, Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 9/8c on ABC.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Final One Sheet Movie Poster

The Blot is currently boycotting the internet after that pitiful display Kobe and the Lakers put on last night here in Houston. I can’t believe I actually thought this team was talented enough to win the NBA Championship! How they ended up with the top record in the Western Conference is anyone’s guess. While I sulk here in my office check out the final theatrical one sheet movie poster for this summer’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.


I’m not as geeked up about this Transformers sequel as a lot of fans are, but I am looking forward to seeing the movie version of some of my favorite G1 Transformers. I probably won’t recognize them, but I hear Arcee and the combiner Devastator will be making their fist live action appearance in the film. Of course Arcee is red and not pink, and would it really have been too hard to make Devastator and the Constructicons green and purple like they are supposed to be!?!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premieres in theaters nationwide on June 24, 2009.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Win The 2009 NBA All Star Game MVP Award

Never in a million years did The Blot expect the 2009 NBA All Star Game to end the way it did last night. I was particularly excited for this year’s exhibition game because it would be the first time Shaq and Kobe have played together on the same team since O’Neal’s departure from the LA Lakers almost five years ago.


As many of you know Shaq is my all time favorite player and the Lakers are my all time favorite team, so it was pretty awesome for The Blot to watch Shaq and Kobe playing happily together under the tutelage of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson again, if only for one night. I honestly didn’t expect Shaq to play significant minutes in what could be his final All Star Game appearance, but when he came out during player introductions and did that sick dance with The Jabbawockeez, a hip-hop dance group, I knew he had one last great performance in him. And boy did he!


After the West went down 20-10 early in the game, Shaq and Kobe helped spark their team to a 19-0 run, which unknowingly put the West up for the remainder of the night. O’Neal finished the game with more points (17) than minutes played (11) and put on an amazing show that was capped with a pass between Dwight Howards legs to Chris Paul, who then passed the ball back to a cutting Shaq who finished the play with an emphatic dunk. Shaq’s output was also a new All Star Game record for most points scored in under 15 minutes of play. Kobe on the other hand finished with a game high 27 points to lead the Western Conference All Stars in a commanding victory over the Eastern Conference 146-119.

What’s really amazing about last night was how friendly Kobe and Shaq were to each other before and during the game. Shaq even went so far as to call Bryant the hands down best player in the league. Shaq seems to be making a concerted effort to finally let go of the animosity between he and Bryant, and is making some really crazy overtones about a possible return to the Lakers to finish out his career once his contract with the Phoenix Suns expires. This is music to The Blot’s ears, but whether or not Lakers owner Jerry Buss or Bryant would ever let this happen is another question entirely.


As co-MVPs, Kobe and Shaq have now each won the award three times. This ties them with Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson for the second most All Star MVP Awards received behind Bob Pettit’s four.

Showtime Returns to Houston, Texas

The Blot has been waiting for this day for a long time now. Last night (January 13th) Aly took me to the Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball game as part of her present to me for our two year anniversary. As is typical whenever I go to the Toyota Center to watch a Houston Rockets game, I was wearing my brightest Lakers yellow. What’s annoying is that the Lakers only come in town twice a year and no matter which game I choose to go to they seem to lose.

Of course many of you probably remember the last Lakers game The Blot attended, it became known as the final win in the Rockets’ 22 game winning streak and The Blot never heard the end of it from the Rockets fans in attendance as Aly and I tried to escape from the stadium. Last night’s game was definitely not as rowdy as last year’s, but the outcome looked to be the same. The first half of the game was just ugly, and even though Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest sat out last night’s game due to injury the Lakers just could not put together a run. In fact they were losing or tied with the Rockets for most of the game. Thankfully with 4 minutes left Kobe finally took over and with 27 seconds left the Mamba sank a 3 pointer to seal the victory.


The most exciting part of the evening had to be when Dikembe Mutombo entered the game with 8 minutes left in the first half. The crowd erupted, giving a standing ovation to the 17 year veteran. Last night marked the first time the 42 year old (currently the oldest player in the Association) had played this season since deciding against retirement and signing on with the club on December 30th. The other highlight of the game had to be the play of 3rd year guard Von Wafer. This young guy played lights out, scoring 23 points against one of the premiere teams in the league. If the Rockets can keep their role players playing consistantly at such a high level they still have a shot even without T-Mac at being an elite team in the Western Conference this season.

Upper Deck Kobe Bryant GOLD Lithograph by Shepard Fairey (OBEY Giant)

A little over two weeks ago Kobe Bryant added the missing piece to an already amazing resume, winning an Olympic gold medal for the United States of America in Men’s Basketball at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The reigning NBA MVP from the Los Angeles Lakers is already a three-time NBA Champion, ten-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA All-Star MVP and he can now proudly add gold medalist to his list of sterling credentials. To commemorate this gold medal winning achievement, Upper Deck is adding a third limited edition lithograph to its series of Kobe Bryant Lithographs by Shepard Fairey.


The newest lithograph, entitled GOLD, comes in two autographed editions and can be purchased framed or unframed. The Kobe Bryant and Shepard Fairey Dual Autographed GOLD Lithograph is limited to just 100 pieces and sells for $1,299.99. The Dual autographed litho also comes with Kobe’s added inscription of “USA GOLD '08.” The Shepard Fairey Autographed GOLD Lithograph is also limited to 100 pieces and sells online for $349.99. Both lithographs can be found at the Upper Deck Online Store and are available to ship on October 17, 2008.


As much as I love this Kobe Bryant/OBEY Giant collaboration, the prices of the two lithographs are a little too high for The Blot. Neverthelss, if you think you might want one or both of these highly sought after collectibles act now, because both should sell out rather quickly. Both editions of UD’s first two Kobe/Fairey lithographs, KOBE and MVP, are already practically sold-out.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James USA Basketball Edition Upper Deck All-Star Vinyl Figures

To commemorate the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Upper Deck is producing two limited edition Team USA figures: a LeBron James USA Basketball Edition All-Star Vinyl Figure and a Kobe Bryant USA Basketball Edition All-Star Vinyl Figure. Both figures are wearing the exact same Nike uniforms Team USA is wearing in Beijing, and even has the special graphic featured on the backs of the Team USA Nike jerseys. (link) This is a great way to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, but only if we win the Men's Basketball gold.


The Redeem Team still has a few more games to win before they can bring the gold back to the United States. So far the U.S. Men’s Basketball team is 3-0 and on their way to doing just that. What I like best about these two figures is that they will never become outdated like many of the Upper Deck NBA All-Star Vinyl Figures already have. Players and teams move around so much that UD’s Shaquille O’Neal Heat figures and Kevin Durant Sonics figures are already inaccurate. Plus, who knows where LeBron will end up once his current contract expires. But LeBron and Kobe will forever be members of Team USA and will always have worn numbers 6 and 10 respectively for the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.


The Kobe Bryant and LeBron James USA Basketball Edition All-Star Vinyl Figures are both limited to just 500 figures and are on sale now at the Upper Deck online store for $74.99 each.

Upper Deck Kobe Bryant Lithograph by Shepard Fairey (OBEY Giant)

The Blot can’t believe this one never showed up on OBEYGiant.com, all of Fairey’s projects are typically featured there. I just happened to be checking out the Upper Deck online store to check out the latest All-Star Vinyl figure release and freaked out when I saw UD was releasing two ultra limited Kobe Bryant lithographs created exclusively for Upper Deck by Mr. OBEY Giant himself, Shepard Fairey.


Upper Deck commissioned Shepard to make these headshot lithographs to commemorate Kobe Bryant’s winning of the 2007-08 NBA MVP award. The two lithographs, entitled KOBE and MVP respectively, are 22'' wide x 28'' high and incorporate the Lakers team colors, purple and gold. Both lithographs are produced on French archival paper and come dual signed by both Kobe Bryant and Shepard Fairey with the MVP lithograph having the additional inscription “07-08 MVP” signed onto it by Bryant. Both lithographs come numbered and are guaranteed authentic by Upper Deck with UD’s official hologram affixed to it.


The only drawback to these amazing pieces is the price. With both the KOBE and MVP lithos limited to a run of just 50 pieces, the price is much higher than your typical OBEY Giant print. The MVP lithograph is $1,049.99 while the KOBE lithograph is $949.99. Both have the option to come framed for an additional $250. With only 100 of these Upper Deck Kobe Bryant Lithographs by Shepard Fairey in existence, demand will be high for these pieces by Kobe fans, Lakers fans and OBEY fans alike. So if you have the flow available, I would definitely not sleep on these stunning pieces of art. While they do not ship until 8/15/2008, both lithographs are available for purchase now.

Fairey also designed the logo for KB24.com, Kobe’s official website, which is a pretty cool Kobe Bryant Crest. Long time readers of The Blot Says… should know these lithographs combine two of my all time favorite things, the LA Lakers and OBEY. So you can understand why I am so excited to see Fairey’s interpretation of KB24. I don’t know how I’m going to get my hands on one of these awesome lithos, but have no fear, The Blot will figure out a way.

UPDATE: Upper Deck has updated their Upper Deck x Kobe x OBEY Giant store with two new options for those of us interested in a Kobe Bryant lithograph but not looking to spend $1,000 on it. You can now purchase either the KOBE or MVP lithographs signed only by Shepard Fairey for a much more reasonable price of $349.99. Both of the Shepard Fairey only signed lithographs have a limited run of 100.

2008 NBA Finals Game 1 - LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics Tonight

The Blot can’t wait for the NBA Finals to finally begin. It’s been way too long since both Conference Finals ended and I don’t think the Association could possibly hype up this series anymore than it already has. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are the league’s two most prestigious franchises and this is definitely the matchup David Stern and the league was desperately hoping for. Kobe, Gasol and Odom vs. Garnett, Pierce and Allen is a series for the ages…or at least for the past few years.


The game starts in just over an hour and I can’t focus on much else. Because of that and still trying to catch up from being out of town for a week, The Blot is having to postpone my Lost season finale recap until tomorrow. Sorry everyone! But, if you want to help out by cheering on my LA Lakers, you can tune into ABC at 9/8 central for Game 1of the 2008 NBA Finals.