Kobe Bryant brilliance, Super Bowl showreels and Six Nations memories
1) Kobe Bryant’s death shocked the sporting world. A highlights package here can barely do his talents justice but here’s a sample. We start with a young Bryant excelling for Lower Merion High School in their triumphant 1996 season, and a quick montage of his top 10 high school plays can be enjoyed here. Next stop was the Charlotte Hornets, where he didn’t play, but would repeatedly shine before his long, gilded career with the LA Lakers took off. In 2000 he bossed game four of the NBA finals after Shaquille O’Neal had been fouled out. Here’s his duel with Allen Iversen the following year as the
Lakers saw off the Philadelphia 76ers to retain their crown. Kobe and Shaq were in full flow again a year later as the Lakers made it three titles in a row. His 81-point performance against the Raptors in 2006 merits many viewings. And here he is wowing a global audience at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His garlanded career extended beyond the court of course, with his short film, Dear Basketball, winning an Academy Award in 2018.
2) It’s the 49ers v the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday. San Francisco lead the head-to-head 7-6 and have five Super Bowls to Kansas City’s one. But what a trip that one was, back in 1970, thanks to a take, spin and dash from Otis Taylor – lent even more gravitas by Martin Sheen’s narration. It more than made up for their defeat in Super Bowl I, where they were seen off by Green Bay.
The 49ers fended off the Bengals for their first championship in 1982, going 20-0 up and almost being reeled in, before securing a Joe Montana-inspired 26-21 victory – which owed no small part to Dan Bunz’s stunningly timed “Stop”. Super Bowl XIX saw Montana face off against another golden arm of the 80s – Miami’s Dan Marino. Once again the 49ers came out on top, as they did in 1989, 1990 and then their first of the post-Montana era in 1995, with former understudy Steve Young stepping into the breach to supply a stunning six touchdown passes.
They wouldn’t get another chance on the big stage until 2013, the “Har