GRANTLAND CHANNEL
NBA Countdown: Kobe Bryant and Michael Wilbon
By Grantland Channel atKobe Bryant candidly talks to Michael Wilbon about facing off with LeBron James, the hardships of this season, and his post-retirement plans.
Kobe Bryant candidly talks to Michael Wilbon about facing off with LeBron James, the hardships of this season, and his post-retirement plans.
Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons discuss the formation of the Fab Five, when Jalen met Chris Webber as a 12-year-old, and how their relationship became strained over the years.
Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons express their excitement about the opportunity to join Magic Johnson and Michael Wilbon on ESPN’s NBA Countdown, and praise the work of Charles Barkley and their other TNT counterparts.
On Sunday afternoon, Michael Vick acted like a human being. Given the reaction that move got, I highly doubt we’ll ever see him act like one again.
After losing to the New York Giants, in a game in which Vick injured his right (non-throwing) hand and took multiple shots to the head, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback finally went on the offensive, and questioned whether he was getting the same protection afforded to other quarterbacks around the league.
This is what he said: "I just think more precautions should be taken when I'm inside the pocket. If you look at all the replays, I'm on the ground every time and it's unfortunate for myself and it's unfortunate for my team and I'll be lying if I said I wasn't, if I were to sit here and say I wasn't frustrated right now because of that."
You knew this was coming: my annual fantasy football preview with ESPN.com's Matthew Berry. I can't believe we were able to land him as a guest — he keeps such a low profile this time of year. Anyway, we broke down crucial questions like, "Should Mike Vick be the first overall pick?", "When should you take Chris Johnson?", "Can you be in three leagues without neglecting one of them?", "Are there particularly good Vegas odds for a 2011 passing/rushing/receiving yards leader?", and "Is there a special fantasy football league just for ESPN employees who say 'Ohbytheway' too much?" We also broke down the best QBs, RBs and WRs, argued about a few sleepers/stayaways and basically tried to hit as many names and topics as humanly possible in 70 minutes. And as always, I played up a couple of guys whom I have no intention of actually drafting just because I know people from my three leagues will listen to this podcast.
You know what's great about the ESPN The Magazine exposé on the Toronto Blue Jays’ stealing signs? It can be debated in a million different ways.
