NBA Fines Kobe Bryant $100K for Gay Slur

Celtics beaten 83-79 as Lakers claim 16th title

(AP) - The Los Angeles Lakers have won their 16th NBA championship, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting while winning his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02. More»

Once-dominant fashion has gone by the wayside

(NEWSER) - In case you hadn't noticed, hightop sneakers are on death's door. You can thank big stars like Steve Nash, who's worn low-tops all his life, and Kobe Bryant, whose switch to low-tops last year prompted four of his Lakers teammates to follow suit. Of course, they're not alone. Eighty percent of NBA players wore hightops in the late '80s, but these days, that number's shrunk to just 8%, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Cops vow to jail miscreants as coliseum fills

(NEWSER) - An estimated 150,000 clogged streets in downtown Los Angeles today as the NBA-champion Lakers took a victory lap around downtown, the Times reports. Some 80,000 more jammed the Coliseum for a rally at parade’s end. Police, hoping to avoid the looting and chaos that followed Sunday’s clinching victory over the Orlando Magic, turned out in force. More»

LA never trails against defending champs in 30-point victory

(NEWSER) - No comeback required for the Lakers on Friday, as they scored the final nine points of the first half and never looked back in a 101-71 thrashing of defending champion San Antonio, reports AP. Kobe Bryant scored 22 points and Lamar Odom added 20 points and 12 rebounds as LA held serve at home, taking a 2-0 Western Conference finals series lead. More»

(NEWSER) - So much for Kobe Bryant's sore lower back. Bryant scored 26 points, his teammates kept Utah at bay down the stretch, and Los Angeles Lakers extended the stunning home success by NBA teams in the second round of the playoffs, beating the Jazz 111-104 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. More»