Sports Poets Society

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...

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4usG6IYzJA1saJ2lom6shM It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That) It must be jelly 'cause jam don't shake like that It must be jelly 'cause jam don't shake like that Oh, mama, you're so big and fat (...) Must be jelly 'cause it ain't like jam It ain't jam, I don't know what it am Sure looks like jelly to me    - Gleen Miller & His Orch. (vocal: The Modernaires) - 1942 Non dev'essere stato facile essere Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. Il papà di Kobe. Come non lo era stato essere figlio di Big Joe, il capostipite dalle grandi mani carnose, e la faccia rotonda che si apriva in quel sorriso contagioso trademark di famiglia. Da Pop Bryant, un omone di uno e novanta che, come tanti afroamericani, a inizio ventesimo secolo aveva lasciato il profondo sud e la Black Belt della Georgia per costruirsi un futuro a Philadelphia, Joe non aveva ereditato solo il torace possente e la corporatura massicc...

Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, right, has a laugh with his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant,  prior to participating in a pickup basketball game at Loyola Marymount on July 5, 2007.  Joe Bryant has died at 69.  (Branimir Kvartuc / Associated Press) https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2024-07-16/joe-bryant-dead-kobe Known as ‘Jellybean,’ player and later coach forged his own legacy in basketball circles. By Steve Henson Staff Writer July 16, 2024 Updated 12:32 PM PT Joe Bryant , a former NBA player and WNBA coach with a colorful nickname, has died at 69, four and a half years after his son, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant , granddaughter Gianna Bryant and seven other people died in a helicopter crash . Fran Dunphy, the coach at Joe Bryant’s alma mater La Salle, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday that Bryant recently suffered a debilitating stroke. A teammate at John Bartram High School in Philadelphia nicknamed Bryant “ Jellybean ” because he had a vast array of moves despite bein...

https://vault.si.com/vault/2012/05/14/where-does-greatness-come-from YOU MIGHT ASSUME THAT KOBE BRYANT INHERITED HIS TALENT FOR BASKETBALL AND HIS BURNING NEED TO DOMINATE FROM HIS FATHER, FORMER NBA AND ITALIAN LEAGUE PLAYER JOE (JELLYBEAN) BRYANT . BUT JOE AND KOBE ARE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT, AND WHILE THE SON GOT SOME GIFTS FROM HIS FATHER, HE GOT HIS FIRE FROM AN UNEXPECTED SOURCE CHRIS BALLARD TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT It is 1981, and Kobe Bryant is three years old. He runs to his room, grabs his Clippers jersey and yanks it over his head. Then he steps into a pair of shorts, grabs a mini-basketball and heads to the living room to watch the Clippers game on TV. When Joe Bryant steps onto the court, Kobe mimics his father's every move. When Joe shoots a jumper, Kobe fires one at his plastic Dr. J basket. When Joe uses his guile to get to the hoop, Kobe slides by imaginary defenders, faking out the couch and the lamp. Kobe takes a seat when Joe does, grabs a towel whe...