Sports Poets Society

https://vault.si.com/vault/1974/04/22/it-was-death-in-the-afternoon BUT NOT FOR THE BULLS OF CHICAGO. AFTER YEARS OF TRYING TO GET PAST THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS, THEY FINALLY MADE IT, LED BY A MOST UNLIKELY HERO WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN WEARING ANOTHER TEAM'S UNIFORM SI STAFF TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT An unlikely hero was acclaimed last Saturday afternoon in Chicago . Until his stunning play against Piston Center Bob Lanier in the seventh game of the playoffs, a 96-94 victory that clinched the NBA Western Conference semifinals for the Bulls , the high point of Clifford Ray's career had come when he was identified as the only man in America who looks like Anthony Quinn, Bill Cosby and a buffalo all rolled into one. Outrebounding Lanier and outscoring him for most of the deciding game did not change Ray's appearance at all, but it certainly altered his image. Suddenly he seemed to be a rebounder more like Wilt Chamberlain than Zorba, a defender more like Bill Russe...

Kobe Bryant (left) talked to his father, Mr. Bryant,  as they watched a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., in 2009. JAE c. HONG/ASSOCIATED PRESS/FILE  17 Jul 2024 - The Boston Globe ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA — Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the father of the late Basketball hall of famer Kobe Bryant, has died, his alma mater announced Tuesday. Mr. Bryant, who spent eight seasons in the NBA with three different franchises, was 69 . The Philadelphia Inquirer , citing La Salle coach fran Dunphy, reported that Mr. Bryant recently had a massive stroke. “We are saddened to announce the passing of La Salle basketball great Joe Bryant,” the school said in a news release. “Joe played for the Explorers from 1973-75 and was a member of our coaching staff from 199396. he was a beloved member of the Explorer family and will be dearly missed.” Kobe Bryant, his daughter gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in January 2020 in Calabasas, Calif., as the group was making its way to a ...

Jae C. Hong / AP Kobe Bryant (left) and his father, Joe, at a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., in 2009.  Their relationship later became strained. JOE “JELLYBEAN” BRYANT, FATHER OF KOBE, HAS DIED AT AGE 69 17 Jul 2024 - Philadelphia Daily News BY MIKE SIELSKI - msielski@inquirer.com  The lasting and most tragic scene from Joe Bryant’s life materialized a month after the death of his son, Kobe. Hundreds of people had filed into the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 25, 2020, for the memorial service for Kobe and his daughter Gianna. Joe, his wife, Pam, and their daughters, Sharia and Shaya, sat near the front of the arena, but none of the ceremony’s speakers had mentioned them or Wynnewood or Lower Merion High School or much of anything about Kobe’s early life. It was as if Joe and Pam were not there. Then, once the service ended, Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer and Jeremy Treatman, an adviser and confidant to Kobe , rushed through the crowd down to Joe and Pam, old friend...