# Kobe Bryant: Reflections on a cold-blooded career (SI Cover Story: "The Last Alpha Dog")



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

> Oh, no, here comes another office-park all-star with a retreating hairline and a softening middle who wants to take his pants off in front of Kobe Bryant. It is the second to last day of summer, and Bryant is sitting on a stool at the bar inside the Haute Cakes Caffe in Newport Beach, Calif., waiting for order number 18: scrambled eggs, pancakes and a vanilla latte. He gazes out the window into the courtyard, morning fog starting to lift on his adopted Orange County hometown, when the middle-aged man in the corner of the restaurant waves a hand. Bryant knows what the silver stranger wants to say. Part of rehab from a ruptured Achilles tendon is a hundred run-ins with Baby Boomers who underwent similar procedures after fateful pickup games and racquetball matches. They are eager to reveal the flesh evidence, regardless of what layers they must lift, unbutton or discard. "Been 10 years," the man crows, pointing down at his own heel, "and it's never felt stronger."
> 
> Bryant does not look away, nor does he mention that he will have to cover Stephen Curry upon his return rather than Rob from marketing. He listens intently to all the tales of windsurfing expeditions and rock-climbing adventures gone awry thanks to body parts that suddenly went pop. "I love the stories," Bryant says. "It's like we're part of the same club. I call these guys my scar brothers." They blush in response, turning redder than a Clippers road jersey. But Bryant doesn't sidle up to the scar brothers out of sympathy. Even the toughest s.o.b. on hardwood can use the occasional reminder that everything is going to be O.K.
> 
> ...


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20131016/kobe-bryant-lakers-si-cover-story/#ixzz2htwkAOHZ

Supposed to be a good read - I haven't read it yet but I'll comment on it once I do.


----------



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

*Re: Kobe Bryant: Reflections on a cold-blooded career (SI Cover Story)*

Did anyone read this? GREAT read if you're a fan of Kobe. Few things I had never known about him before. Check it out - worth the read. Makes me more pumped up for his return, too.


----------

