Down and Out in Beverly Hills: The Disruptive Influence of a Tweeting Mamba

We’ve all been there before, driving around town behind the wheel of our sedans, looking for our intended destination with a carful of passengers, when one of those passengers, the loud-mouth know-it-all in the back, begins shouting out directions.

“Take a right at the light!”

“No wait, you wanna keep straight here!”

“If you don’t hurry, we’re not going to get there in time.”

It’s all you can do to not turn around and tell that person to shut the hell up.

It’s your car, you know exactly where you’re going and you’ll be damned if anyone is going to tell you differently.

Mike DAntoni and KobeEnter Mike D’Antoni and Kobe Bryant.

Here’s a brief synopsis of this basketball season in Laker Land: D’Antoni was hired as head coach, much to the chagrin of one Zen Master and his followers.  The Lakers made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, primarily because of the way Bryant played throughout the season.  Kobe tore his Achilles one week before the post-season and is now cheering his team, not from the sidelines but from his lavish home in Beverly Hills.  Thanks to modern technology, and Coach D’Antoni’s now least-favorite website, Bryant is as vocal as he has ever been… 140 characters at a time.

As the Mamba sat home nursing his injury, he watched intently as his Lakers took on the San Antonio Spurs in Game One, letting his thumbs do the talking, offering sage words of advice all game long.  Twitter had become both his clipboard and his pom-poms.

The day before the game, Kobe informed his Twitter followers, all two million of them, that he would be Tweeting during the game as well as taking questions.

He then went on to Tweet 13 more times as the game progressed including invaluable tidbits like…

The Spurs ended up winning Game One, 91-79.  As you can imagine, D’Antoni wasn’t exactly pleased with his star player’s escapades.

Game Two is slated for Wednesday night but it is highly unlikely Bryant will let his thumbs do the talking again.  Or is it?  Even after Kobe realized his Tweets were a distraction and promised not to Tweet again, he came up with this …

Shakespeare’s currently rolling over in his grave.  Here’s a hint, Mamba.   If you’re Tweeting “To Tweet or not to Tweet,” then brother, you’re Tweeting.  Calling your Tweets “insight” is also as stretch.

Annoying, huh?  Just like a kid with a brand new toy or that backseat driver you want to pipe down.  I imagine D’Antoni won’t be sending the Bryant household a get well floral bouquet any time soon.  Maybe he’ll just Tweet it.

But then again, it wouldn’t be Los Angeles if there wasn’t drama and once again, the Mamba is the King of Drama Queens.  Even Brett Favre is sitting at his home in Mississippi somewhere saying “Damn, this guy like attention.”

There’s no denying Kobe is the greatest player of his generation.  He’s also the most polarizing.  Kobe lovers will defend him to the grave but in this instance, he was simply wrong.  He and his Tweets are not part of the solution; they are part of the problem.

The Lakers are going to lose to San Antonio regardless.  Kobe’s Tweets are simply pouring gasoline on the fire.  D’Antoni doesn’t need any help getting fired.  He’s been persona non grata ever since he landed in LAX.

I’m just saying there’s a better way to support one’s team, and one’s teammates, than from your mansion miles away, in front of your big screen with your galaxy note on your lap and your two thumbs a-blazin’.

But of course the Mamba’s never been a good teammate so why would we expect anything different.

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35 Replies to “Down and Out in Beverly Hills: The Disruptive Influence of a Tweeting Mamba”

  1. Pingback: Down and Out in Beverly Hills: The Disruptive Influence of a Tweeting Mamba - BallHyped Blog Network, NBA | BallHyped Sports Blogs

  2. ^one flaw with that analogy chump…

    d’antoni hasn’t driven in 4 years
    has never before driven a luxury vehicle
    has never gotten his previous vehicles to the desired destination

    while kobe essentially drove this vehicle by himself all last season

  3. Just in case you’re unsure how unsavory this Haslam business fiasco just happens to be and how it will prove to be embarrassing for the NFL . Check out the following Haslams try to halt fallout from FBI raid .

    There’s no $$$king common sense within the NFL hierarchy whatsoever ! How can they be so goddamn stupid ? They have a litany of lawyers in their NYC headquarters , so what the hell were they doing in terms of using due diligence in their background investigation of Jimmy Haslam ? I don’t give a flying $hit if his brother , Bill Haslam is the governor of Tennessee , as this wasn’t meant to be an @ss kissing contest in terms of the investigation !

    Tophatal …………

  4. “Two tweet or not to tweet” DURING THE GAME, not in general. It was pretty evident with context, so attacking him for that is a stretch. 😉

  5. If the Lakers had won that game, nobody would give a shit about this. Laker fans are going to dredge up anything they can to distract people from noticing that team is finished.

  6. heh, no. The greatest player of Kobe’s generation is Tim Duncan. And after that very arguably KG. Also, I’ll give Mamba a kudos for his play getting them into the playoffs. But I’ll give Kobe a diss for putting them in position to nearly miss them by trying to lead the league in scoring for the first half of the season and taking winning for granted cuz he had big name teammates. He’s partly responsible for both. Not even to mention that they making it in is even perhaps much more due to Dwight Howard finding his form/health. The Lakers are much more than Kobe Bryant.

  7. Irish…

    I disagree to some extent.

    D’Antoni’s Suns teams were cream of the crop. Sure, he could never find a way to get past San Antonio and in that respect, that team may have underachieved but losing to the eventual champion is no crime.

    And remember, if Amare Stoudemire doesn’t get suspended for coming off the bench to defend teammate Steve Nash after Robert Horry had picked him solidly into the sidelines, that one series might have had a different outcome.

    Yes, it’s Kobe’s team and yes, the NBA is a player’s league but D’Antoni’s still the coach, and essentially the one calling the shots. If he can’t handle coaching egos, and there are plenty of them on that team and in that town, then he shouldn’t have taken the job in the first place.

  8. 2.3 million Twitter followers for Kobe and counting, Al. I’m at 600, only slightly behind.

    I’m not sure why Cleveland just can’t get over the whole LeBron thing. I’ve been heartbroken before and wondered why the girl wouldn’t come back but eventually, I got over it and realized I was better off without her.

    The only problem is… Cleveland ain’t better without LeBron, he he. And there’s no other fish in the sea like him.

  9. Alberto, thanks for proving my point. There are some people, quite a few actually, Kobe fans, that will defend him to the end.

    Providing a distraction to one’s team while they’re fighting to advance in the playoffs is just bad form.

    I understand the guy’s torn up about not being on the floor but there are better ways to be there for one’s team and that’s not via Twitter.

  10. Dub…

    This has nothing to do with Lakers fans.

    It has a little to do with the media who have paid more attention to Kobe’s laptop than to any adjustments the Lakers need to make in Game Two.

    And it has a LOT to do with the fact that Kobe should have realized this would have become a distraction. I mean, ABC was reporting his Tweets during their coverage of the game.

    How many questions have D’Antoni and his players had to answer about Kobe compared to the actual series?

  11. Pest…

    I’ll give you Duncan and Kobe as 1 and 1a. Both points can be argued to no end with no resolve.

    and yes, the Lakers are more than just Kobe Bryant. Just not much more.

    Spurs win Game Two tonight as L.A. has no answer for either Parker or Ginobili.

  12. Chris

    Watch the fallout from the case if any of that money finds itself as part of the purchase of the Browns . Do you really think that Goodell wants that $hit on his hands after the season he’s just had ? You should be concerned because indirectly the Feds could come directly at the NFL , remember that .

    Roger Goodell is dumber than that sniveling as$ wipe Bud Selig and clearly almost as dumb as David Stern . Just because you have several billions in revenues , annually , it simply doesn’t mean that they’re still making money , which it is clear that Stern and some of these frigging lame a$s fans clearly know nothing about when it comes to the business side of the NBA . And that is the sort of perception that David Stern seeks to create .

    It’s funny the apathy of the fans and the mindless morons within the print and tv media when it comes to that particular side of the sport !

    I’m sorry but Mike Brown heading back to Cleveland is like a guy remarrying the same female he’d just divorced , merely because she allegedly brings back fond memories . I’ve gone back to ” bang one out ” with the ex for old time’s sake , but I ain’t going back to remarry her , that’s for sure !

    Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert and GM Chris Grant are damn fools and it’s clear that the franchise won’t be going anywhere anytime soon .

    Tophatal ……………

  13. OK. I was able to watch the last quarter of last nights Spurs/Lakers game at home where I could hear the announcers. I had been drinking for about 6 hours so I could have been mistaken but I could have sworn I heard them talking about how the Lakers looked good in both losses and should be positive about going back to Staples Center for game 3….. Was I that drunk or did the Lakers ever come close to winning the first two games? Maybe I just need to chalk it up to the LA bias…

  14. Al…

    I’m not sure I get the whole Mike Brown re-hire either. If they liked him so much, why’d they fire him in the first place?

    Re: the Bucs, they’re throwing a party for draft night but they don’t even have a first round pick anymore.

    I’m hoping they parade Revis around that party to ensure smiles… and that the hors d’ourves are good.

  15. Chalk it up to L.A. bias, Fabes.

    And do us all a favor. Have your Spurs please… PLEASE… finish off the Lake show in four putting them out of their misery, and us too, for that will mean the sooner we get to stop talking about them.

  16. Chris

    Not only do I not understand the re-hire but it now puts the whole Cavs’ front office in a really embarrassing position . LBJ doesn’t become a free agent until 2016 , albeit he can opt out and become an unrestricted free agent in 2014 . However , why would he or anyone else for that matter seek to rejoin that franchise to begin with ?

    Great game last night between the Rays and Yankees at the Trop !

    The pitching match-up between Cobb and Pettite was tremendous .

    Revis will be paraded about alright , look at the money he’s being paid in comparison to his teammates ?

    Highest paid cornerbacks in the NFL


    Career earnings amongst active corner-backs

    Highest paid corner-backs in the NFL

    <a href="http://spotrac.com/career-earnings/nfl/ Career earnings of NFL players

    I think that the Lakers will be swept in this series against the Spurs . The Lakers are already a beaten team , mentally as well as physically !

    Tophatal ………….

  17. I hate those fuckers at Pilot. I’m still waiting for the $25 rebate from the CB radio I bought back in 1997.

  18. Re: Mike Brown to the Cavs… Dan Gilbert proves that there’s no correlation between wealth and brains. Didn’t he get the memo? Once the milk goes sour, it doesn’t EVER get fresh again. I suppose that to top this move, Jim Dolan will re-hire Isiah Thomas as a player/coach.

  19. Snake

    Dolan will hire Zeke to hassle the female employees of the Knicks to see if they can both get some “tail ” . I mean it cost the franchise over $2.5 million a civil settlement when Thomas sexually harassed a now former employee of the Knicks .

    Geno Smith ought to “man up ” and stop acting like bi#ch ! It was never ordained that he’d be taken #1 overall in the draft , much less be a top ten pick .

    Tophatal ………………

  20. Hey Chris , how’d you like to be Aaron Rodgers’ agent ? He’s just signed a six-year $120 million plus deal . First year he’s due receive $40 million as part of his signing bonus , with remainder of the contract payable over the remaining five years of the deal . Nice for Rodgers and his agent in terms of his commission , never mind what he makes in terms of the endorsement deals . ” I’m rich ” be-oooootch “ !

    Day two what are you most looking forward in terms of the draft as it relates to the Bucs ?

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ news

    Tophhatal ………..

  21. Al…

    Cleveland really needs to get over their LeBron envy. Unless D Wade opts for early retirement, I don’t see Bron Bron taking his talents out of South Beach.

    Cobb’s a great young talent, man. Right now he’s pitching the best of anyone else on the staff.

  22. Bleed…

    I know he’s your boy and all that but egos don’t come much bigger.

    You know that ESPN ad where Dwyane Wade is sitting in the studio editing his own highlights? Yeah, that’s the visual I got of Kobe directing that Nike ad.

  23. Al…

    You’re not surprised at what the Packers paid Rodgers, are you? After the deal that Flacco signed, you knew that was in the cards.

    If you’re a star QB in the league these days, you’re gonna make 20 mil a year, no questions asked.

    And I’m not overly surprised by the Blount move. Combine his history, his inability to get along with HNOC Schiano and the early success of the muscle hamster and the writing was on the wall.

    I’m looking forward to having Demps on the team though. Special teams, baby!

    This football season should be a good one. The Buccaneers just might sell some tickets.

  24. It’s silly, as I mentioned in my post where I linked to yours. I liked the fact that he was doing that… it was good for the fans, fun for the game. D’Antoni is just having trouble because the seat he is sitting on is as hot as the sun.

  25. I’m not so sure I agree with that, Kev.

    Look, he wasn’t an IN-GAME distraction but post-game, it was all anyone could talk about.

    Should D’Antoni have manned up, taken control of that team and somehow made a winner out of them, not getting embarrassed by San Antonio?

    No doubt.

    Kobe’s not the only one to blame for this season being a shit show. But I just feel that Kobe holding a forum with his two million Twitter followers while his team is getting its ass handed to them is not the best way to go about things.

  26. Excellent post SC.

    I would have tweeted this …but “M” doesn’t do tweets. Not a fan.
    M

  27. M…

    Twitter these days is just another form of social media these days where people find there news.

    Nothing wrong with that.

    In fact, the thing that I enjoy about Twitter, and I’m not on it a lot, is that someone is inevitably bound to say something stupid and once they do, it’s out there for good. No take backs.

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