Blake Griffin and Kevin Love were teasing Kobe Bryant in the West locker room during halftime of Sunday's NBA All-Star Game. Looking at the box score, Love couldn't help but notice he only had two rebounds, Griffin had four while Bryant grabbed six.
"In the locker room, Kevin says, 'You got six rebounds,' and I said, 'Yeah, I got more than you,'" Bryant said. "He said that was probably the first and last time."
Bryant then decided to have fun with the two first-time All-Stars; finishing with a game-high 14 rebounds to go with his game-high 37 points to be named the game's MVP.
"After that, I just started stealing rebounds left and right," Bryant said. "Every time I got one I started pointing at them. They were upset after a free throw it bounced right to me. I'm like, 'That's whacked, man, you have to go get the ball.'"
Griffin smiled as he recalled his game-long repartee with Bryant whose rebound total was more than that of Griffin and Love's combined (9).
"Kevin and I were teasing him about it," Griffin said. "That's supposed to be us getting 14 rebounds."
If it looked like Bryant was trying to upstage the youngest players in the game, it was all in good fun. If anything, Bryant looked more excited than ever before to pass the league's torch and the keys to the city on to Griffin.
Griffin won Saturday night's Slam Dunk Contest by jumping over a car while a choir sung in the background. It was the highlight of a whirlwind NBA All-Star Weekend for the Clippers' rookie, who became the first player to be involved in three events in three days. He was easily the most popular player of the weekend; eliciting chants of, "We want Blake!" late in the Rookie Challenge and All-Star Game and the loudest ovation Staples Center has heard this year for his car-jumping dunk.
Bryant, who is normally defensive when it comes to the notion that he is past his prime, for the first time sounded like an old veteran ready to retire the thrown to the upstart rookie in town.
"I've been there, you know what I mean? I had my time," Bryant said. "It's not about that for me at this point in my career. I've been there. It's very important for the game to continue to have the young stars emerge. It's great for the league to get behind Blake and what he's doing. It's important for me to step aside. I've had that."
Griffin, who finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 14 minutes, seemed more content to take a back seat than grab any kind of baton in his first NBA All-Star Game. There was a certain charm to the simplicity of Griffin's game on Sunday. On a stage where every player seemed to be attempting the kind of highlight play Griffin has performed routinely this season, Griffin played a game without of any bells and whistles. He instead was one of the few players on the court even attempting a high screen and roll, boxing out, setting picks and looking to pass before shooting.
"Before the game I said I was going to let [Bryant] do his thing," Griffin said. "He just went out there and took over. It was fun. It was fun to watch a player get off like that and really get his shots. He was just feeling it."
If Griffin hadn't already hijacked nightly sports telecasts with his highlight dunk of the night this season, this weekend might have been considered Griffin's coming out party, but no one in and around Staples Center needed an introduction to him. In fact, the most talked about event heading into the weekend was the Slam Dunk Contest.
The 26-year-old event was watched by a record television audience of 8.1 million total viewers, a 49% increase over last year and a 23% increase from 2009, which set the old record for the dunk contest. Viewership peaked at 10.4 million for Griffin's winning shot.
Griffin had high expectations for himself heading into this season but no one, not even Griffin himself, could have expected the season he has had and notoriety he has attained in a city ruled by Bryant and the Lakers.
"I wanted to be an All-Star by my second season and it's kind of like my second year I guess," Griffin said. "At the beginning of the year I was wondering where I was going to fit in on our team and all that. I got the opportunity and thankfully my teammates and the coaches have been great about helping me. It's kind of just come all at once to be honest."
Griffin, who missed last season with a broken left knee cap, and Bryant, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the off season, actually got to know each other over the summer while they rehabbed in the same facility.
"I love Blake, man," Bryant said. "We were doing therapy at the same place, so were sitting next to each other most of the time and got a chance to kind of talk when nobody was around and I got a chance to know him before all this happened. I'm just very happy for him."
It was during those conversations on the training tables and while watching Griffin from afar this season that Bryant began to realize the future of the league and Los Angeles would be in good hands when he finally decides to retire. It isn't a subject the 32-year-old Bryant has spent much time reflecting on in the past but was surprisingly candid about following the game.
"Like I've said, I've had my time," Bryant said. "It's his time now and it's these young players, the [Kevin] Durants and so forth, time to step forward and carry the league. I'm on my way out. It's important for them to carry the league."
Blake Griffin and Kevin Love were teasing Kobe Bryant in the West locker room during halftime of Sunday's NBA All-Star Game. Looking at the box score, Love couldn't help but notice he only had two rebounds, Griffin had four while Bryant grabbed six.
"In the locker room, Kevin says, 'You got six rebounds,' and I said, 'Yeah, I got more than you,'" Bryant said. "He said that was probably the first and last time."
Bryant then decided to have fun with the two first-time All-Stars; finishing with a game-high 14 rebounds to go with his game-high 37 points to be named the game's MVP.
"After that, I just started stealing rebounds left and right," Bryant said. "Every time I got one I started pointing at them. They were upset after a free throw it bounced right to me. I'm like, 'That's whacked, man, you have to go get the ball.'"
Griffin smiled as he recalled his game-long repartee with Bryant whose rebound total was more than that of Griffin and Love's combined (9).
"Kevin and I were teasing him about it," Griffin said. "That's supposed to be us getting 14 rebounds."
If it looked like Bryant was trying to upstage the youngest players in the game, it was all in good fun. If anything, Bryant looked more excited than ever before to pass the league's torch and the keys to the city on to Griffin.
Griffin won Saturday night's Slam Dunk Contest by jumping over a car while a choir sung in the background. It was the highlight of a whirlwind NBA All-Star Weekend for the Clippers' rookie, who became the first player to be involved in three events in three days. He was easily the most popular player of the weekend; eliciting chants of, "We want Blake!" late in the Rookie Challenge and All-Star Game and the loudest ovation Staples Center has heard this year for his car-jumping dunk.
Bryant, who is normally defensive when it comes to the notion that he is past his prime, for the first time sounded like an old veteran ready to retire the thrown to the upstart rookie in town.
"I've been there, you know what I mean? I had my time," Bryant said. "It's not about that for me at this point in my career. I've been there. It's very important for the game to continue to have the young stars emerge. It's great for the league to get behind Blake and what he's doing. It's important for me to step aside. I've had that."
Griffin, who finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 14 minutes, seemed more content to take a back seat than grab any kind of baton in his first NBA All-Star Game. There was a certain charm to the simplicity of Griffin's game on Sunday. On a stage where every player seemed to be attempting the kind of highlight play Griffin has performed routinely this season, Griffin played a game without of any bells and whistles. He instead was one of the few players on the court even attempting a high screen and roll, boxing out, setting picks and looking to pass before shooting.
"Before the game I said I was going to let [Bryant] do his thing," Griffin said. "He just went out there and took over. It was fun. It was fun to watch a player get off like that and really get his shots. He was just feeling it."
If Griffin hadn't already hijacked nightly sports telecasts with his highlight dunk of the night this season, this weekend might have been considered Griffin's coming out party, but no one in and around Staples Center needed an introduction to him. In fact, the most talked about event heading into the weekend was the Slam Dunk Contest.
The 26-year-old event was watched by a record television audience of 8.1 million total viewers, a 49% increase over last year and a 23% increase from 2009, which set the old record for the dunk contest. Viewership peaked at 10.4 million for Griffin's winning shot.
Griffin had high expectations for himself heading into this season but no one, not even Griffin himself, could have expected the season he has had and notoriety he has attained in a city ruled by Bryant and the Lakers.
"I wanted to be an All-Star by my second season and it's kind of like my second year I guess," Griffin said. "At the beginning of the year I was wondering where I was going to fit in on our team and all that. I got the opportunity and thankfully my teammates and the coaches have been great about helping me. It's kind of just come all at once to be honest."
Griffin, who missed last season with a broken left knee cap, and Bryant, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the off season, actually got to know each other over the summer while they rehabbed in the same facility.
"I love Blake, man," Bryant said. "We were doing therapy at the same place, so were sitting next to each other most of the time and got a chance to kind of talk when nobody was around and I got a chance to know him before all this happened. I'm just very happy for him."
It was during those conversations on the training tables and while watching Griffin from afar this season that Bryant began to realize the future of the league and Los Angeles would be in good hands when he finally decides to retire. It isn't a subject the 32-year-old Bryant has spent much time reflecting on in the past but was surprisingly candid about following the game.
"Like I've said, I've had my time," Bryant said. "It's his time now and it's these young players, the [Kevin] Durants and so forth, time to step forward and carry the league. I'm on my way out. It's important for them to carry the league."
He's half of that, and then some.
The Auburn quarterback closed out a brilliant, controversial season with a Heisman Trophy, a national championship and his index finger aloft.
He is No. 1. And after a 22-19 victory over Oregon before a record crowd at the University of Phoenix Stadium, only one questioned remained:
Was this the end of his college career?
Newton wouldn't say after the game, but if so, the Cardinals had better do their homework. Newton showed off his dizzying array of skills, from his rugged athleticism to great poise in the pocket. His bowl statistics weren't as flashy as Stanford's Andrew Luck, but he beat a team that Luck could not.
Newton is 1-0 in Glendale, and if he declares for the NFL draft, he would be tantalizingly close to the Cardinals, who own the No. 5 overall pick.
Imagine how good he'd look in red, returning to the scene of Monday's triumph.
"I'm a prime example of how a guy can turn something that was bad into something that was very great," Newton said.
The game was quirky, featuring a fake punt, three 2-point plays, two goal-line stands and some of the funkier footwear on the planet. The real heroes were Auburn's defense and running back Michael Dyer, who powered his team on the game-winning drive.
Yet everything about Auburn revolves around its star quarterback, the one who fumbled with five minutes remaining.
After Oregon capitalized on the turnover, a delicious scenario emerged: If Newton possessed rare star quality, he would lead his team to a game-winning score. It sounds overly simplistic, but transcendent quarterbacks always find a way to get it done under stifling pressure, in the really big moments.
The Tigers scored without much resistance. It was all Dyer, but the total conviction oozing from Auburn's offense stemmed from the presence of Newton, who orchestrated at 24-point comeback at Alabama earlier in the season. And moments after Monday's game ended, it was announced that Newton would fly from Arizona to a seat on Jay Leno's couch today.
"In my career as a head coach, he's the best player I've seen," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said.
Granted, the low-scoring affair didn't live up to the hype. Three interceptions in the first 10 minutes muted the excitement. A scoreless first quarter - just the sixth time that has happened in 49 previous quarters of BCS title-game football - had many bracing for disappointment.
There was a feeling this game would be another showcase moment for the SEC, which has produced the past five national champions. On the street, you could feel the difference between the respective fan bases. Auburn fans seemed stoic, hardened by battle. By contrast, many Oregon fans were blowing kazoos that made quacking sounds.
But as the game progressed, it was clear that Oregon belonged on the same field with the unbeaten Tigers. And the full-page ad that ran in The Republic on Monday offered great insight into how Oregon has become an elite football program.
The ad showed LaMichael James walking up a tunnel in a high-tech uniform. It reads: "Yesterday's Fast is Today's Slow." The inference is that players at Oregon have access to innovative apparel that can't be found at other universities. That's a powerful recruiting tool.
Still, there is no substitute for a really good quarterback, and that was Auburn's biggest advantage entering the game.
Newton had some shaky moments. He threw into double coverage, resulting in a bad interception. He short-armed a throw on fourth down near the goal line, failing to connect with a wide-open receiver in the end zone. He overshot a receiver streaking down the middle of the field.
But he accounted for nearly 350 yards of total offense and managed the game extremely well. As the first half evolved, the reigning Heisman winner took command with his arms and his legs. His sensational touchdown pass to Emory Blake, son of former Cardinals quarterback Jeff Blake, gave the Tigers a 16-11 lead at intermission.
Yet both teams left the field to standing ovations.
Auburn's fans were comfortable with the scoreboard and the pedigree of their team. Oregon fans knew their team's penchant for second-half domination. Somehow, everyone in attendance knew that the best was still to come.
He's half of that, and then some.
The Auburn quarterback closed out a brilliant, controversial season with a Heisman Trophy, a national championship and his index finger aloft.
He is No. 1. And after a 22-19 victory over Oregon before a record crowd at the University of Phoenix Stadium, only one questioned remained:
Was this the end of his college career?
Newton wouldn't say after the game, but if so, the Cardinals had better do their homework. Newton showed off his dizzying array of skills, from his rugged athleticism to great poise in the pocket. His bowl statistics weren't as flashy as Stanford's Andrew Luck, but he beat a team that Luck could not.
Newton is 1-0 in Glendale, and if he declares for the NFL draft, he would be tantalizingly close to the Cardinals, who own the No. 5 overall pick.
Imagine how good he'd look in red, returning to the scene of Monday's triumph.
"I'm a prime example of how a guy can turn something that was bad into something that was very great," Newton said.
The game was quirky, featuring a fake punt, three 2-point plays, two goal-line stands and some of the funkier footwear on the planet. The real heroes were Auburn's defense and running back Michael Dyer, who powered his team on the game-winning drive.
Yet everything about Auburn revolves around its star quarterback, the one who fumbled with five minutes remaining.
After Oregon capitalized on the turnover, a delicious scenario emerged: If Newton possessed rare star quality, he would lead his team to a game-winning score. It sounds overly simplistic, but transcendent quarterbacks always find a way to get it done under stifling pressure, in the really big moments.
The Tigers scored without much resistance. It was all Dyer, but the total conviction oozing from Auburn's offense stemmed from the presence of Newton, who orchestrated at 24-point comeback at Alabama earlier in the season. And moments after Monday's game ended, it was announced that Newton would fly from Arizona to a seat on Jay Leno's couch today.
"In my career as a head coach, he's the best player I've seen," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said.
Granted, the low-scoring affair didn't live up to the hype. Three interceptions in the first 10 minutes muted the excitement. A scoreless first quarter - just the sixth time that has happened in 49 previous quarters of BCS title-game football - had many bracing for disappointment.
There was a feeling this game would be another showcase moment for the SEC, which has produced the past five national champions. On the street, you could feel the difference between the respective fan bases. Auburn fans seemed stoic, hardened by battle. By contrast, many Oregon fans were blowing kazoos that made quacking sounds.
But as the game progressed, it was clear that Oregon belonged on the same field with the unbeaten Tigers. And the full-page ad that ran in The Republic on Monday offered great insight into how Oregon has become an elite football program.
The ad showed LaMichael James walking up a tunnel in a high-tech uniform. It reads: "Yesterday's Fast is Today's Slow." The inference is that players at Oregon have access to innovative apparel that can't be found at other universities. That's a powerful recruiting tool.
Still, there is no substitute for a really good quarterback, and that was Auburn's biggest advantage entering the game.
Newton had some shaky moments. He threw into double coverage, resulting in a bad interception. He short-armed a throw on fourth down near the goal line, failing to connect with a wide-open receiver in the end zone. He overshot a receiver streaking down the middle of the field.
But he accounted for nearly 350 yards of total offense and managed the game extremely well. As the first half evolved, the reigning Heisman winner took command with his arms and his legs. His sensational touchdown pass to Emory Blake, son of former Cardinals quarterback Jeff Blake, gave the Tigers a 16-11 lead at intermission.
Yet both teams left the field to standing ovations.
Auburn's fans were comfortable with the scoreboard and the pedigree of their team. Oregon fans knew their team's penchant for second-half domination. Somehow, everyone in attendance knew that the best was still to come.
Blake Edwards, the film director who brought old-school slapstick into the modern movie era with the “Pink Panther’’ series and who turned a tart novel about a Manhattan call girl into the elegant screen classic “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’’ died at 88 yesterday at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
The cause was complications of pneumonia; Mr. Edwards’s wife, actress Julie Andrews, and his children were at his side.
During four decades as a director, Mr. Edwards established a freewheeling filmography notable as much for the acrid cynicism underneath the laughs as for the laughs themselves. In effect, he gave the physical comedy of the silent era and the character-based humor of Hollywood forebears such as Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder a modern, neurotic spin. Late in life, especially, Mr. Edwards channeled his discontents with the film industry and his own life into hilarious cinema. His “S.O.B.’’ (1981) may be the most bitingly funny poison-pen letter to Hollywood ever made.
If Mr. Edwards specialized in comedy, he could also make stark dramas, like 1962’s “Days of Wine and Roses,’’ an uncompromising tale of alcoholism. The director had big hits — “Tiffany’s’’ (1961), “The Pink Panther’’ (1963), the midlife crisis comedy “10’’ (1979), the gender-bending farce “Victor/Victoria’’ (1982) — but he also presided over some of the more notorious bombs of his era, and he almost killed his wife’s career with their first two films together, “Darling Lili’’ (1970) and “The Tamarind Seed’’ (1974).
Mr. Edwards found success in radio, television, and even on stage, with the successful 1995 Broadway adaptation of “Victor/Victoria.’’ The movies, however, were where he made his mark. The “Panther’’ series, starring Peter Sellers’s bumbling Inspector Clouseau, became a personal franchise for the director, established with the first film and “A Shot in the Dark’’ in the early 1960s, arguably peaking with 1975’s “The Return of the Pink Panther’’ (“Do you ’ave a lee-sance for your minkey?’’).
Mr. Edwards also worked multiple times with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis; and the director’s relationship with composer Henry Mancini extended over three decades and resulted in 12 Oscar nominations for music and four wins, including for “Moon River’’ in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’’
The considerable pain in Mr. Edwards’s personal life took some time to surface in his films. Born William Blake Crump in Tulsa in 1922, he was abandoned by his father at an early age. His mother relocated to Los Angeles and married Jack McEdwards, a Hollywood assistant director. The young Blake escaped into movie theaters and the world of slapstick pioneers such as Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton.
Serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, he took a drunken dive into a shallow swimming pool and spent five months in an LA naval hospital with a broken neck. Even when he was in traction, comedy wasn’t far away: Mr. Edwards woke up one day to find Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the sitting president, at his bedside, asking in what battle he’d been wounded
Blake Edwards, the film director who brought old-school slapstick into the modern movie era with the “Pink Panther’’ series and who turned a tart novel about a Manhattan call girl into the elegant screen classic “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’’ died at 88 yesterday at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
The cause was complications of pneumonia; Mr. Edwards’s wife, actress Julie Andrews, and his children were at his side.
During four decades as a director, Mr. Edwards established a freewheeling filmography notable as much for the acrid cynicism underneath the laughs as for the laughs themselves. In effect, he gave the physical comedy of the silent era and the character-based humor of Hollywood forebears such as Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder a modern, neurotic spin. Late in life, especially, Mr. Edwards channeled his discontents with the film industry and his own life into hilarious cinema. His “S.O.B.’’ (1981) may be the most bitingly funny poison-pen letter to Hollywood ever made.
If Mr. Edwards specialized in comedy, he could also make stark dramas, like 1962’s “Days of Wine and Roses,’’ an uncompromising tale of alcoholism. The director had big hits — “Tiffany’s’’ (1961), “The Pink Panther’’ (1963), the midlife crisis comedy “10’’ (1979), the gender-bending farce “Victor/Victoria’’ (1982) — but he also presided over some of the more notorious bombs of his era, and he almost killed his wife’s career with their first two films together, “Darling Lili’’ (1970) and “The Tamarind Seed’’ (1974).
Mr. Edwards found success in radio, television, and even on stage, with the successful 1995 Broadway adaptation of “Victor/Victoria.’’ The movies, however, were where he made his mark. The “Panther’’ series, starring Peter Sellers’s bumbling Inspector Clouseau, became a personal franchise for the director, established with the first film and “A Shot in the Dark’’ in the early 1960s, arguably peaking with 1975’s “The Return of the Pink Panther’’ (“Do you ’ave a lee-sance for your minkey?’’).
Mr. Edwards also worked multiple times with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis; and the director’s relationship with composer Henry Mancini extended over three decades and resulted in 12 Oscar nominations for music and four wins, including for “Moon River’’ in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’’
The considerable pain in Mr. Edwards’s personal life took some time to surface in his films. Born William Blake Crump in Tulsa in 1922, he was abandoned by his father at an early age. His mother relocated to Los Angeles and married Jack McEdwards, a Hollywood assistant director. The young Blake escaped into movie theaters and the world of slapstick pioneers such as Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton.
Serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, he took a drunken dive into a shallow swimming pool and spent five months in an LA naval hospital with a broken neck. Even when he was in traction, comedy wasn’t far away: Mr. Edwards woke up one day to find Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the sitting president, at his bedside, asking in what battle he’d been wounded