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Wednesday December 20, 2017

Lakers retire Kobe’s 2 jersey numbersFLANKED by a row of basketball Hall of Famers, Kobe Bryant smiled widely and watched as two drapes were slowly lowered Monday night at Staples Center, revealing the No. 8 jersey he wore for the fi rst 10 years of his career, and the No. 24 he donned for the second decade.

The Lakers retired Bryant’s jerseys in a halftime ceremony that ensured for one more night a Lakers game would be the cross-section of Los Angeles glitz and glam. Jack Nicholson was back in his courtside seat, and basketball legends from Shaquille O’Neal and Jerry West to Allen Iverson and Bill Russell were on hand to honor Bryant, who won fi ve championships in 20 seasons with the Lakers.

“We knew this day was going to come and here we are,” Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said from center court. “I also know you well enough that the jerseys hanging up there were not your motivation. But this is our tra-dition, this is our ceremony, but really what we’re celebrating tonight is the journey that you took us on for those 20 years.”

Bryant became the 10th Laker to have his jersey retired, but the fi rst player in major professional sports to have two numbers retired by the same organization.

When he was welcomed at halftime of the Lakers’ game against the Golden State War-riors, Bryant beat his fi st against his chest and pressed his palms together in a signal of gratitude toward the crowd.

Bryant addressed the crowd and said the retirement of his jerseys had less to do with him

Former Lakers player Kobe Bryant (C) and family pose for a photo during a halftime ceremony to retire both the jersey numbers he wore during his 20 seasons with the team Monday night at Staples Center. SD-Agencies

and more to do with the legacy of the players who came before him and his impact on the cur-rent and future Lakers.

Along with Bryant’s 33,643 points, the fi ve-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star selection also leads the Lakers in games played (1,346), 3-pointers (1,827), steals (1,944) and free throws (8,378). Bryant is the third-leading scorer in league history.

He also was the fi rst player to

spend at least 20 seasons with one franchise, and he is widely beloved in Southern California, where he still lives with his family.

The Lakers typically only retire the numbers of players enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Bryant isn’t eligible until 2021, but the Lakers decided not to wait for that formality — and for Kobe, they doubled up the honor.

Bryant switched jersey num-

bers halfway through his career, neatly dividing the eras of his 20 years with the Lakers. The No. 8 Bryant won three NBA titles, and the No. 24 Bryant won two more before retiring in 2016 with a stunning 60-point per-formance in his farewell game against Utah.

Bryant even scored almost the same number of points in No. 8 (16,777) as he did in No. 24 (16,866).

(SD-Agencies)

JAVIER MASCHERANO is leav-ing Barcelona to seek a fortune in the Chinese Super League (CSL).

The former Liverpool mid-fi elder, who turned into a defender at the Nou Camp, will quit the Catalan giant for a switch to the lucrative CSL with club Hebei Fortune.

The former Anfi eld enforcer has had a successful spell at the Nou Camp, where he has won the Champions League twice and La Liga four times.

According to Fernando Czyz on Twitter: “Javier Mascherano is a new player of China’s Hebei Fortune.

“There was an agreement with Barcelona and his buyer and the Argentinian... leaves behind one of the best clubs in the world.”

Barca is reportedly in the market for a replacement and is looking at Palmeiras midfi elder Yerry Mina for about £10.5 mil-lion (US$12.34 million).

Former Tottenham midfi elder Paulinho has also come into the Nou Camp and impressed Ernesto Valverde.

In other areas of the pitch, Barca is said to be in the market for Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann and Liv-erpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho.

Now coaching Manchester City to new heights, it was initially Pep Guardiola who dropped Mascherano into defense after Carles Puyol picked up an injury during the 2010/11 season.

That allowed Guardiola to play Mascherano alongside Gerard Pique and Barca went on to win another Champions League.

Mascherano, now 33, fi rst arrived in England after the 2006 World Cup, when he and Carlos Tevez were signed by West Ham.

But the deal quickly proved controversial as it was proven the pair were owned by a third party — something that is banned in English football.

The incident became infamous with Sheffi eld United fans, after the Blades was relegated fol-lowing Tevez’s winner against Manchester United on the last day of the 2006-07 season.

He then moved to Liverpool under Rafa Benitez, where the Reds almost won the Premier League title in 2009, before later switching to Barcelona.

(SD-Agencies)

Mascheranoto join China club: report

Javier Mascherano

LIONEL MESSI is happy to have received Marca’s award for the best player in La Liga in 2016-17 and wants to show everyone why he deserved it by leading Barce-lona to victory at Real Madrid on Saturday.

The Argentina captain attended the awards gala Monday afternoon at the Con-temporary Art Museum in Barcelona, where he was given a fi fth career Alfredo Di Stefano Award after scoring 37 goals and providing nine assists during the 2016-17 La Liga season.

His Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo, last year’s recipient, has won the award four times but fi nished with a career-low 25 La Liga goals last season.

“I want to thank my team-mates and I share this special award with them,” Messi said during the ceremony. “My main aim is not to win individual awards but rather trophies with my team and we hope we can compete for La Liga.”

He also took home the Pichichi award for fi nishing as top scorer in La Liga.

Barcelona fi nished runner-up to Madrid last season but is top of the current standings, 11 points clear of its rival, who has a game in hand.

Messi, who is La Liga’s leading scorer this season with 14 goals, said he is looking forward to the Clasico on Saturday at the San-tiago Bernabeu.

For the second straight season, Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak was honored with the Zamora trophy as the top goalkeeper.

The Slovenia international conceded 21 goals in 29 games to help Atletico fi nish third last season.

Celta Vigo winger Iago Aspas received the Zarra award for the top Spanish scorer in La Liga with 19 goals.

The Spanish international, who is hoping to compete next year at the World Cup, joked: “My next challenge is to steal the Pichichi from Leo Messi.”

Marca also recognized Barce-lona midfi elder Andres Iniesta as the most valuable player for the Spain national team last season. (SD-Agencies)

Messi accepts Marca’s award for best player in La Liga

KEVIN DE BRUYNE is close to agreeing to a new contract with Manchester City, according to multiple reports.

The Belgium playmaker still has more than three years to run on his present deal but City is set to reward him for his outstand-ing form and secure his services for even longer.

The deal, which could be for up to another six years, would guarantee De Bruyne a signifi -cant rise on his current terms, reported to be around £115,000 (US$135,000) per week plus bonuses.

City would not consider selling De Bruyne, even if it received a bid in excess of £100 million, but the new arrangement would serve as an extra hands-off warning to the continent’s big-gest clubs.

De Bruyne, who failed to make an impact at Chelsea earlier in his career, joined City in a £54 million move from Wolfsburg in 2015. His superb performances this season have helped City open up an 11-point lead at the top of the Premier League and reach the last 16 of the Champi-ons League. (SD-Agencies)

Man City’s De Bruyne close to new long-time deal

Kevin De Bruyne in a match in this undated fi le photo. SD-Agencies