TORRANCE TRIBUNE December 10, 2015 Page 5 Up and Adam NEW YEAR’S EVE 2015 PARTY Party Favors, Music, Food Champagne Toast, Free Coffee Live Band “Public Works” 9pm-1am And Bowling December 31st 8pm - 1am Adults: $35.00 | No Bowling Guest: $5.00 Children Over 6: $25.00 Children Under 6: FREE MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY! Palos Verdes Bowl 26600 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, CA 90505 (310) 326-5120 Bye-Bye Bryant each our vibrant city’s residents and business leaders by advertising in the Torrance Tribune! Contact Charlene Nishimura at charlenenishimura1@gmail.com or (213) 709-8590. By Adam Serrao As recent days and even years have gone by in the National Basketball Association, it becomes hard to believe that the last time the Los Angeles Lakers won a championship was in 2010. Recently, the purple and gold that has forever been so glorious across NBA lore has now become almost a laughing stock of the league. The type of talent that it takes to accomplish the feat of winning an NBA title cannot be understated. The Lakers had that talent just five years ago. Now, they’re one of the worst teams in the entire league. With one planned declaration, however, Kobe Bryant came to the rescue in only the way that he could. By announcing his retirement from the game of basketball last Sunday, Bryant singlehandedly took the criticism and condemnation placed upon the Lakers and immediately turned everyone’s feelings into those of appreciation. “This season is all I have left to give,” Bryant wrote in an article/poem that he published on The Players Tribune website last Sunday. In the first person story that Bryant wrote explaining his decision to finally retire from the game that he loves so dearly, he described that the sport “gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream/And I’ll always love you for it.” That Laker dream became reality when his 20-year career spent exclusively in Los Angeles turned out to feature championship trophies. Three from 2000-2002. Another two in ‘09 and ‘10. Before you knew it, the young superstar who was shooting air-balls in his first playoff series ever against the Utah Jazz became one of the best players to ever play the game before our very eyes. “My heart can take the pounding,” Bryant continued. “My mind can take the grind but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.” If there’s one thing that we all know about Bryant, it’s that he’s one of the most stubborn, determined, and passionate players to ever set foot on the hardwood. If it were up to him, he’d be carried away from the game on a stretcher. For him to admit that his body has had enough must have taken a lot. As Kobe’s gotten older, his body has gotten the best of him and a game that is meant for youngsters just isn’t as slow anymore to a man who has logged over 55,000 combined minutes of NBA game action. “I’ve known for a while,” Bryant said of his decision to retire. “A decision like this, you can’t make that decision based on outside circumstances. It has to be an internal decision, and finally I’ve decided to accept that I can’t actually do this anymore, and I’m OK with that.” That acceptance certainly didn’t come easily. After tearing his Achilles tendon, fracturing his knee and tearing his right rotator cuff, Bryant finally began to slow down and realize that perhaps his body was telling him something. “[The injuries] gave me perspective,” he explained. “I knew that the game wasn’t going to be there forever. I knew that, but I wasn’t expecting it. It made me understand the finality of things and to appreciate them.” There certainly hasn’t been much to appreciate over the last two seasons for anyone associated with the Lakers. After consistently finishing towards the top of the Western Conference standings and in playoff R contention in previous years, the Lakers have been among the worst teams in the league recently and have put up records that are the worst in franchise history. Last season, for example the Lakers began the year losing 10 of their first 16 games and finishing with a franchise worst record of 21-61. It certainly couldn’t get worse - until this year, that is. The Lakers opened this season as losers of 14 of their first 16 games, including a loss to the woeful Philadelphia 76ers who make it a point to be the worst team in the league every year. The team is on pace to shatter its franchise worst record of last year and Bryant is on pace to easily put up the worst statistical year of his career. Currently, Bryant’s field goal percentage and three-point percentage rank dead last among qualified players. His real plus-minus, according to ESPN, ranks him in the bottom 20 of the league that has about 400 total players. Kobe has gone from being the best player in the league to one of the worst. That’s precisely why the timing of his retirement announcement was so brilliant. By saying that he was giving the game up for good, Bryant singlehandedly took all of the attention and negative press off of the horrendous Lakers season and immediately turned the ill sentiments being sent the teams way into those of admiration and appreciation. No longer are people concerned with just how horrific the Lakers are doing this year. No longer are people talking about how awful Kobe has become. Now, it’s all approval and gratitude as the final games of the legends career are played out and he goes on his retirement parade across the NBA. The Lakers could finish the season as the worst team in the league. They could set records for being downright awful and bad. Now, no one will care. This year has quickly become about Kobe Bryant and what he has done for the Lakers and the game of basketball as a whole. Everyone will have their own opinion of Bryant. Some will be positive and some will unwaveringly be negative, steeped in microscopic judgment of every wrong step that the player has taken living his life in the public eye for the last 20 years of his career; a judgment that none of us would certainly wish to be placed upon ourselves by others. For once, however, let’s forget about the negativity just as the media has recently done. For these last 60 games of the regular season, let’s all remember the young and spry Kobe Bryant who came into the league flying through the air with his afro. Let’s remember the Kobe that took the Lakers into the playoffs and won the team five championships. The player out of Lower Merion High school who came straight to the NBA at the age of 18 and was a 17-time All-Star, a two-time NBA scoring champ, an NBA Slam Dunk contest champion, an NBA MVP, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, scored 81 points in one game, became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history and is third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list behind only Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kobe Bryant is a legend. Appreciate him now for the final time while you still have the chance. – Asixlion@earthlink.net • High School Legs Are Alive By Adam Serrao As Christmas time approaches every year the athletes from around the local High School’s in Torrance get out their shorts, shin guards, and cleats and take to the field for what is sure to be an exciting year of soccer. This year, it is no different. While last year was an exciting season in its own right, no teams from boys soccer managed to make noise in the playoffs as both West High and South High lost in the first round. The girls featured a distinctly different story, however, as the Lady Warriors won their first championship in 33 years. This year has a whole new outlook and brings with it heightened expectations. Almost every team from around the city has a chance at the league championship this season as hopes for CIF playoff success are at an all-time high. Naturally any preview of the season to come should start with last year’s champions as they have certainly earned that right. The Lady Warriors (20-5-5, 8-1-1) of last year will be in for a challenge this year looking to replace star defender, Jenna Hernandez. The Warriors will return three key senior captains, however, in forward Emily Atkinson, forward Kaitlin Fregulia, and midfielder Sam Layman. Ex- West High player turned head coach, Jessica Murphy, will look to continue her early success at the helm and help the Warriors towards yet another championship, like the one she attained in her first year as head coach. “We’ve got a big target on our back,” Murphy said. “Just because they did it last year doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again. They’re going to have to put in even more work.” With an experienced team returning to the pitch and a talented defense led by Ruth Soto in front of the net, the Lady Warriors are ready for any challenge that this year has to bring. On the men’s side of things, West High (16-4-5, 10-0) will look to defend last year’s division championship with last year’s game-saving goalkeeper, Denver Silverlake. Silverlake is now a veteran on what is a young team that will be looking to avenge last year’s first round playoff loss to Lawndale. In order to do so they will need the help of first-team sophomore, Ryan Tamaki as well as key returners including Cole Prince and Brian Burrell, among others. Head coach Mike Shimizu knows that if the team won the Pioneer League last year, nothing should be out of reach this year with another year of experience in the books. The South High Spartans were in the thick of things in both the men’s and women’s divisions last season. To think, a 17-7-3 record while going 7-2-1 in league play was only good enough for a third place finish for the Lady Spartans last year. They finished behind both West and Torrance in the standings, but will surely be looking to overtake their rivals this season. After winning it all in 2013, South lost in the first round of the playoffs last year. Head coach Elizabeth Kitsios will be looking to do more damage this year with a senior-laden team that includes returning goalkeeper, Ashley Whittle and defensive standouts Sydney Baron and Tess Kossoff. On the boys side, head coach Chad Legerwey will be returning All-Pioneer League first-teamer’s William Hayward and David Paine to form a solid attack with returning seniors Robbie Roosen and John Strauch in an attempt to improve on the team’s third place finish from a year ago. Now that football season is done, Noa Harrison will join the squad to also try to make an immediate impact. While all eyes were on the West High girls team for winning the championship last year, the Lady Tartars (17-4-3,8-2) put together a nice season of their own. Their second place finish in the Pioneer League was good enough to get the team into the playoffs and all the way to the CIF quarterfinals before losing to Cypress. Head coach John Martin will return goalkeeper Isabel Rojas and defenders Karina Rodriguez and Mia Ramirez, but may have a hard time replacing midfielder Anika Rodriguez. The boys team, under head coach Ryan Burnett, finished in fourth place last year and out of playoff contention. The Tartars (11- 11-2, 4-6) will be looking to rebound despite losing Offensive Player of the Year, Marcos Ambriz, but will welcome goalkeeper Cesar Amezcua, midfielder Tony Gallardo and senior Bryan Mederos who will all join what has now become a very experienced club. The Tartars could make noise in the standings this year. One team that has not been making noise in the sport of soccer lately has been the North High Saxons. The Lady Saxons (11-11-1, 4-6) finished in fourth place last season and out of the playoff hunt while the North High (5-10- 4, 0-8-2) men’s team finished in last place in their league. Head coach Katrina Johnson will look to get her girls back in the playoff hunt this season against stiff competition with returning sophomore Nora Schumacher, who was dominant in her freshman year last season. The North High men’s soccer team hasn’t experienced a winning year since the 2011-’12 season. They’ll hope to get back on track this year and already have a nice win against Redondo Union to their names for added motivation. - Asixlion@earthlink.net •
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