‘Kobe, Kobe, Kobe’: All-Star Game crowd pays tribute to fallen star
A jam-packed United Center fell silent for eight seconds before Sunday’s 69th NBA All-Star game as some 21,000 fans joined hands to pay their respects to the late Kobe Bryant, the global sports icon who dominated professional basketball for two decades.The silence was broken by a string of thunderous “Kobe, Kobe, Kobe,” chants that rocked the stadium as they honored Bryant, who wore the No. 8 and No. 24 during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers that was highlighted by five National Basketball Association championships.The stirring pre-game tribute began with Lakers great Magic Johnson rousing the crowd and paying homage to Bryant, who was killed along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other victims in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26. “We will never see another basketball player quite like Kobe,” Johnson said, noting his work with the Los Angeles community along with the love he had for his family. “This is a tough time for the whole NBA family.”Johnson also paid tribute to former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his 30-year tenure. Stern died on Jan. 1.Before tip-off, the singer and actor Jennifer Hudson, who is a Chicago native, sang with a montage of photos of Bryant and his daughter in the background.The game was a culmination of a weekend filled with tributes to the former Los Angeles Lakers star who was an 18-time All-Star and won the All-Star game’s MVP award four times.On Friday, Bryant, who is fourth all-time in league scoring, was named a finalist to the Basketball Hall of Fame. On Saturday, the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, announced that the league’s All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award has been permanently named for Bryant.Bryant made his NBA All-Star Game debut in 1998 at age 19 – the youngest player to ever play in an All-Star Game. His 18 All-Star selections are the second-most in NBA history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at 19.Players in Sunday’s All-Star game wore No. 2 and No. 24 on their jerseys to honor Kobe and Gianna Bryant, while the game’s format paid homage to Bryant. The team with the most points after three quarters needed to score 24 points to win, while the trailing team would need to score 24 plus the number of points it was down.Topics :
As the result of a recent study that found one in seven Americans are dependent on food stamps, the Graduate Student Government has started the Food Stamp Challenge, a monthlong initiative part of Trojans Unite Against Hunger, a USC-led campaign to stop hunger in the United States.Dean of Social Work Marilyn Flynn and the Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni are among more than sixty participants who have opted to take the challenge for one to four days. Participants are limited to spending only $4 per day.“It’s pretty rough,” said Blas Villalobos, a graduate student studying social work. “You actually have to take a look at what you’re eating when you get hungry. Unfortunately, two or three days of this doesn’t really compare to what some people go through on a daily basis.”Of the more than 45 million people who use food stamps, 47 percent are children, according to the Department of Agriculture.“It’s so easy for us to walk into a store and say, ‘That’s the kind of bread and peanut butter I want, because it’s better for me,’” said Sarah Young, a graduate student studying social work. “For so many people, though, that’s just not an option.”Jason Lipeles, a coordinator of the Food Stamp Challenge, said that one of the toughest parts about living on food stamps is getting adequate nutrition.“When I went shopping for the challenge, I noticed that because I was looking for cheap produce, it tended to be low quality,” Lipeles said. “There definitely wasn’t any organic produce.”D’Andre Holland, GSG director of community service and special events, said she hopes the initiative will foster awareness and promote action among USC students.“We still have a long way to go as far as poverty is concerned,” Holland said. “If we can throw food away every 10 to 20 minutes, why are so many people still hungry?”Kevin Anderson, GSG vice president-elect, said GSG is planning other social awareness campaigns this semester.
Submitted to Sumner Newscow – Wellington High School students enrolled in a Cowley County Community College course this fall are encouraged to attend student orientation to be held Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Wellington High School Auditorium. Topics to be covered include; expectations of college, student code of conduct policies, concurrent enrollment policies/procedures and costs. Parents are welcome to attend.Follow us on Twitter. Close Forgot password? Please put in your email: Send me my password! Close message Login This blog post All blog posts Subscribe to this blog post’s comments through… RSS Feed Subscribe via email Subscribe Subscribe to this blog’s comments through… RSS Feed Subscribe via email Subscribe Follow the discussion Comments Logging you in… Close Login to IntenseDebate Or create an account Username or Email: Password: Forgot login? Cancel Login Close WordPress.com Username or Email: Password: Lost your password? Cancel Login Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout Logged in as Admin Options Disable comments for this page Save Settings You are about to flag this comment as being inappropriate. Please explain why you are flagging this comment in the text box below and submit your report. The blog admin will be notified. Thank you for your input. There are no comments posted yet. Be the first one! Post a new comment Enter text right here! Comment as a Guest, or login: Login to IntenseDebate Login to WordPress.com Login to Twitter Go back Tweet this comment Connected as (Logout) Email (optional) Not displayed publicly. Name Email Website (optional) Displayed next to your comments. Not displayed publicly. If you have a website, link to it here. Posting anonymously. Tweet this comment Submit Comment Subscribe to None Replies All new comments Comments by IntenseDebate Enter text right here! Reply as a Guest, or login: Login to IntenseDebate Login to WordPress.com Login to Twitter Go back Tweet this comment Connected as (Logout) Email (optional) Not displayed publicly. Name Email Website (optional) Displayed next to your comments. Not displayed publicly. If you have a website, link to it here. Posting anonymously. Tweet this comment Cancel Submit Comment Subscribe to None Replies All new comments