The Return

"Good luck couldn't be bought see...plenty of fights had to be fought..."

Big Boi - Return of the "G"

Friday night was a homecoming for a few people in New York City, including me...

Return of the Boom Bap

As you can see from the photo above I was just a face in a crowd, however there is more than meets the eye. Allow me to break it down...

Last February, Kobe scored a Madison Square Garden individual record 61-points...therefore there was a buzz in the crisp cold Gotham city air...it was labeled as must see TV. I always cover the Lakers whenever they play in my neck of the woods, so I headed north to my other hometown.

Bryant has a few nagging injuries, most importantly a broken index finger on his dominant hand, so I had a hunch that he wouldn't out do his performance from a season ago...nevertheless I hadn't seen him since the Finals in June so I was made the trek up I-95.

I interned with the New York Knickerbockers once upon a time, and if being in NYC isn't enough to bring back childhood memories, then my arrival at the World's Most Famous Arena surely reminded me that if you can make it there...you can make it anywhere.

I sat court side and talked about the last 10 years with Allan Houston, then I played catch up with a few people within the Knicks organization, and last but not least I entered the locker room, where I was greeted by Lamar Odom (Queens native)...after our brief moment, I glanced at the throng of reporters around Ron Artest also from Queens, and I thought a few things over. The first thing I did was think how small the visitor's locker room is at MSG...I like it, because its dripping with nostalgia. It's as Kobe once described..."this [MSG] is the last one...the one that holds all the memories..."

After figuring it would be best to catch the rest of the team on the court...I decided to join the other 2-dozen writers in the hallway to speak with Phil Jackson.

This was a welcome home trip for Jackson also, as he won 2 championships with the storied franchise. It was really good to hear the love he had for his old team and teammates. Phil has put his heart into the game, and for that he was been rewarded with 10 titles, and a wealth of stories the world over.

The game was competitive until the Lake Show decided to put it away with a scoring serge from Bryant in the 3rd quarter, as they cruised to a 115-105 victory. Kobe finished with 27-points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal.

What a difference a year makes...yet for everyone in purple and gold the only thing that mattered was the win.

Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images