Rumors

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: I’ll start with the bland characterization. The characters are crude stick-figure representations that resemble real people the way Lego Hans Solo resembles Harrison Ford. Each character is reduced to a single bold trait as if the writers were afraid anything more complex would tax the viewers’ comprehension. Jerry Buss is Egomaniac Entrepreneur, Jerry West is Crazed Coach, Magic Johnson is Sexual Simpleton, I’m Pompous Prick. They are caricatures, not characters. Amusement park portraits that emphasize one physical feature to amplify your appearance—but never touching the essence. The result of using caricatures instead of fully developed characters is that the plot becomes frenetic melodrama, sensationalized invented moments to excite the senses but reveal nothing deeper. It’s as if he strung together a bunch of flashing colored lights and told us, “This is the spirit of Christmas.”

Substack

After learning that Glen "Big Baby" Davis said the Magic needed to have a "Jedi force" carry them for the rest of the season, Ryan Anderson agreed. He then tried to cast his coach and teammates as Star Wars characters. "Stan (Van Gundy) is definitely Yoda. Dwight (Howard) is Luke Skywalker," Anderson said. "I'll take Han Solo. I love Harrison Ford."

Orlando Sentinel

The Lakers star and five-time champion will become the first athlete to have his hand and foot imprinted at Grauman's Chinese Theater on Feb. 19, it was announced Thursday. "To be a part of such elite company is a tremendous honor. I'm proud to be the first athlete to be recognized," Bryant said in a statement. Bryant will join actors Marilyn Monroe, Brad Pitt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Harrison Ford and John Wayne on Hollywood Boulevard.

FanHouse.com