Some leftover NBA links I wanted to pass along, before going to bed:



This is the greatest Kobe t-shirt ever. I'd totally buy it if I were a Mamba fan. Even a hater like me can't lie, this is really sweet. Well done! *claps*

(Which reminds me: Letran had this big-ass rivalry against San Sebastian in the NCAA when I was in grade school, so I grew absolutely hating Baste. But the San Sebastian crowd had the greatest fight song ever, which put Letran's or any other team's fight song to shame. If you know the Baste fight song, you'd totally agree.)

True Hoop had a crazy idea last weekend about Kobe becoming Lakers playing coach... and Quinito shamelessly stole it for his column yesterday.

Onion Sports strikes again with this hilarious piece: Nation Desperately Seeks Sportswriters' Opinions On Kobe Bryant.

Speaking of Kobe's greatness, Basketbawful introduces us to the Phil Jackson face.

Here's a cool email exchange between freshly-minted NBA Luke Walton and his father, the legendary Bill Walton, on NBA.com. It was sweet and touching and made me wonder how Bill reacted when Luke told his father he was gay.

(Ok, that wasn't right. I apologize. But still. Loved the trash-talk between the two though.)

It made me realize how much the whole world had been missing the crazy, inane awesomeness of Bill Walton, who had been sidelined for most of the season with a bad back. After the jump, listen to Bill Walton at his lunatic best.

Today has been awfully busy, but here's some stuff I wanted to link to:

- I'm kicking myself for not including this in my report about the Purefoods-RoS knockout, but here's the funniest tweet about Ryan Gregorio's coaching: "natatawa ako sa mga Ryan Gregorio resign movement sa PEX. Ilang threads na ba yun? tatabla na sya sa mga hayden kho threads sa buhay pinoy."

As the saying goes, when people are comparing your coach to Hayden Kho, it can't be good.

- Of course, Ryan is back in the media making excuses for his team, and here are the Bulletin and Malaya eating up his BS.

- But James Ty III (in Pinoy Exchange) and Malou Aquino (in a blind item in Abante) are both teasing that Gregorio's a goner. Don't tease me, you know how easy I am!

- Bill Simmons has an absolute must-read about Kobe and the Lakers' championship run.

- The Magic may have lost, in the Finals, but Rashard Lewis might be the real champion after all is said and done. Rihanna is reportedly crushing hard on the Orlando sharpshooter.

Tomorrow, I'll try to post something about Andy Jao brouhaha you've all been nagging me about, and a preview of the PBA semis, which should be exciting.

I've done my fair share of hatin' on this site, but it was an awesome victory for Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, and the Los Angeles Lakers--your 2009 NBA Champions!

(Now can we retire the scowl, please?)

The best reaction/congratulatory message for Kobe came from erstwhile nemesis Shaquille O'Neal, who had been using Twitter to send the champs some love. He had this for Kobe: "Congratualtions kobe, u deserve it. You played great . Enjoy it my man enjoy it. And I know what yur sayin rt now 'Shaq how my ass taste'."

(The note about Kobe's derriere is a reference to Shaq's freestyle diss on Mamba after the Lakers lost to Boston in the Finals last year.)

But my favorite Shaq message was this one for Pau Gasol, which made me laugh out loud: "Congrats in spanish pau gasol, muchas gracias pappacito."

Muchas gracias pappacito? Hahahahaha.

Kobe Bryant applying some kryptonite to Superman's nuts.

Game 5 won't be until tomorrow, and whether you're rooting for Kobe to win his first ring without Shaq or praying for a miraculous Magic comeback, one thing's certain: Stan Van Gundy's sweaty performance in the post-game press conference would be every bit as compelling as the actual game.

Speaking of press conferences, the Blowtorch has a handy guide on how to look like your favorite NBA personalities during their media sessions. This is genius. I need to find a way to rip this off.

While we're on the subject of bad outfits, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's legendary jacket reappears, and the Lakers legend tells us of its origins.

Basketbawful, as always, has a report on the worst of Game 4, starring the Pau Gasol-Mickael Pietrus catfight and the Magic chokejob.

If you're wondering why Dwight Howard's team choked monumentally in the game, then let me point you to his mentor: Mr. Patrick Ewing! This is an Onion report, and as with the best Onion stories, this one cuts to the truth very closely.

Magic backup center Marcin Gortat is too fast and too furious. Did you know that he can dunk from the free throw line? Unfortunately, video evidence on the Internet proves that the Polish Hammer is no Dr. J.

Oh, and the NBA has been all over the late night shows, with the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets playing the Newlywed Game (or as we Pinoys know it, It's a Date) on Jimmy Kimmel, and then getting Dwyane Wade to punk a fan. Steve Nash, meanwhile, made this hilarious report for David Letterman on game 3 of the Finals, showing off the comedic chops we've come to know and love:



After the jump, some older Nash funnies, including one with Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen aka Borat/Bruno), as he proves his mettle as the two-time MP3.

No wonder the Orlando Magic lost. It's bad enough that they've been using Nick Anderson to fire up their crowd--think Dwight Howard muffing clutch free throws is a coincidence?--but during halftime of Game 4, Hulk Hogan came out to mug to the crowd, while wearing Hayden Kho's red bandana: