The last time Kobe Bryant visited Memphis he had a chance to overtake Jerry West as the Los Angeles Lakers all time leading scorer. Being the prolific scorer he is, he did and while he rightfully won his place in history, his team lost the game.

Last night, after sitting out for 18 games with a sore ankle and broken index finger (Chris Webber says it’s broken in two places), he needed 34 points to move ahead of Reggie Miller on the NBAs all time scoring list and into 13th place.

Instead, he settled for 32 and another game winning field goal.

“Every time it just feels like the first time,” Bryant said after the game. “It truly does. It’s a great feeling. It’s always brand new.”

It was the fifth time this year Kobe trumped an opposing squad in the final minutes of a game. Bryant scored the last nine points, none more important than the final bucket with put them ahead for good 99-98 with 4.3 seconds to go.

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Los Angeles Lakers forward, Ron Artest, and his sister, Latoya Holmes-Ivey, are at the center of a welfare fraud case in Indiana.

Holmes-Ivey was able to qualify for rent assistance after claiming to have no source of income. While she is the primary resident of the home, if it is found that Artest willingly gave her money and knew that she was lying in order to receive assistance, he could face charges of welfare fraud and theft.

The home that Holmes-Ivey shares with her three children was raided after an anonymous complaint that the woman was receiving unreported money from her brother, at the same time she was receiving rent assistance from the government. If found guilty, she could have to repay at least $34,000.

This certainly wouldn’t be the first time that Ron Artest has been in trouble, either on or off the court. Between being the center of a massive brawl during a Pacers-Pistons game in 2004 and being arrested in 2007 for domestic violence, Artest isn’t a stranger to controversy.

Lamar Odom may appear to have an emptiness during post game interviews, but that doesn’t mean he’s slow for one cotton pickin’ minute. (How in the hell could someone with a basketball IQ as high as his be anyway?)

Turns out LO is more than the candy poppin’ milk dud you thought the was. Moreover, according to a member of his camp, he “has a set of balls” and they were not referencing the netted bag of Spaldings that rests on the floor of his personal rec room.

No. While the last Kardashian sister to nab a millionaire took aim at his new $33 million contract -picking out furniture, sports cars and sauna types – Odom was doing a little calculating of his own.

Now, weeks after the ‘happy’ couple were secretly married, it turns out there was no legal structure to cement their lavish affair.

Yeah, that’s right. It just looked good. They said “I do,” but really ‘didn’t’ after all…

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Jordan Towers Films and Bay Area rapper Mistah Fab caught up with the newest Los Angeles Laker Ron Artest. The controversial forward admitted to being just that, suggesting that his and Kobe’s egos will mesh like the perfect peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Enjoy!

The terms of his deal have yet to be finalized, but it is official as of last night. Ron Artest is a Los Angeles Laker. Out with the new and in with the old, the Lakers lost Trevor Ariza to the Houston Rockets and gained a wily veteran in Artest.

At 24 years old, the athletic swingman was key in the Lakers Western Conference Finals run and the 2008-2009 Finals, helping the franchise capture its 15th title in 30 attempts.

Artest’s arrival assures the Lakers of another post presence, three point threat and playmaker. Perhaps more than anything, it will add more toughness to a squad that was often referred to as ’soft’ this past year.

Lakers’ fans were understandably upset at losing Ariza, who grew with the team in the past two seasons, but the team was unwilling to pay him more than the mid level exception of $5.6 million per year.

Artest, whose salary was close to $8 million last year in Houston, accepted the ‘exception,’ emphasizing he’d made enough money during his tenure in the League and is more interested in winning a championship than making a few more million a year.

Artest will be a Laker for the next three years.