MDM

P19wednesDay | february 26, 2020

Michael Jordan speaks during The Celebration of Life for Kobe & Gianna Bryant at Staples Center on February 24. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Tearful Michael Jordan commemorates 'little brother' Kobe BryantLOS ANGELES, United States | AFP | -- A tearful Michael Jor-dan on Monday remembered his "little brother" Kobe Bry-ant at a star-filled memorial in Los Angeles for the basketball great and his daughter Gian-na, who died with seven oth-ers in a helicopter crash last month.

"When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died, and as I look in this arena, across the globe, a piece of you died," the NBA legend said with tears stream-ing down his face.

"I promise you, from this day forward, I will live with the memories and knowing that I had a little brother," Jordan, widely regarded as the great-est player in history, added.

"I tried to help in every way I could. Please rest in peace, little brother."

The public memorial -- dubbed "A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant" -- was held at Staples Center, the arena where Bryant wowed fans for 17 years, and known as "the house that Kobe built."

The 2/24 date carries spe-cial significance as it coincides with Bryant's jersey number -- "24" -- and Gianna's "2" jersey number.

Another basketball legend, Shaquille O'Neal, also spoke at the ceremony, drawing cheers as he recalled the three NBA titles that he and Bryant won together.

"Kobe and I have pushed one another to play some of the greatest basketball of all time and I am proud that no other team has accomplished the three-peat the Lakers have done since Shaq-and-the-Ko-be Lakers did it," O’Neal said.

He also spoke of their well-known feuding, saying that even though "we fought, ban-

tered or insulted each other with off-handed remarks," there was mutual respect be-tween the pair.

"Make no mistake," O'Neal said. "Folks thought we were on bad terms, (but) when the cameras were turned off, he and I would throw a wink at each other."

Beyonce, backed by a choir, opened the ceremony with one of Bryant's favorite songs "XO," from her 2013 album, followed by "Halo."

"I'm here because I love Kobe," said the 70-time Gram-my-nominated singer, who was dressed in a golden suit -- the color of the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant's team for two decades.'He was my everything'

Bryant's widow Vanessa paid a tearful tribute to her late 41-year-old husband and middle daughter, saying she could not fathom life without them and describing Bryant as "my everything."

"God knew they couldn't be on this earth without each other," Bryant said in her first public remarks since the Janu-ary 26 crash. "He had to bring them home together."

She spoke of her heart-break at not being able to watch Gianna -- who was 13 and one of four daughters the couple had -- grow up and missing important moments of her life.

"I won't be able to tell her how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day," she said through tears, receiving a standing ovation for the trib-ute. "I'll never get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle, have a father-daughter dance with her daddy."

A visibly shaken Jimmy Kimmel, who officiated at the

ceremony, said he saw Kobe and Gianna's faces and jersey numbers everywhere in Los Angeles and beyond.

"All we can do is to be grateful for the time we had with them," said the late night talk show host and comedian.

Among other celebrities attending the memorial were filmmaker Spike Lee -- who was close friends with Bryant and directed a documentary on his life -- and rapper Snoop Dogg, an avid Lakers fan.

Many of the fans lucky enough to nab one of the much sought-after 20,000 tickets for the memorial wore the gold and purple colors of the Lakers as they headed for the two-and-a-half hour cer-emony being held amid tight security.

"Kobe meant everything for this city, for this team and for me," said Karen Sanchez, 41, as she waited with friends to enter the arena. "I watched him play from the beginning."

Marcos Rojas, 23, another ticketholder, said Bryant's January 26 death near Los An-geles had been devastating to fans like him who worshipped the player.

"For me, it was like losing a friend," said Rojas, who wore a Lakers jersey with Kobe's num-ber.

"I always watched him playing with my friends," he told AFP. "I always picked Kobe to play in my video games. I couldn't leave home the day of his passing."

Those attending the me-morial were given a 24-page program with pictures of Bry-ant and his family as well as a pin and black T-shirt featur-ing images of Kobe and his daughter on the back. Jocelyne Zablit/Agence France-Presse

Coronavirus hits Italian sport hardMILAN, Italy | AFP | -- Sport in Italy is being heavily disrupt-ed by a surge in the number of new coronavirus cases but Napoli's Champions League match against Barcelona in the south of the country on Tuesday is not at risk.

Italy reported its fifth death from the virus on Mon-day and it has the most con-firmed cases in Europe.

A surge in infections at the weekend forced the post-ponement of four Serie A football matches in the north of the country where the out-break is concentrated in two regions.

The game between Torino and Parma in Turin was called off as well as the matches be-tween title-chasing Inter Mi-lan and Sampdoria, Atalanta and Sassuolo, and Hellas Ve-rona and Cagliari.

AC Milan also announced the postponement of their women's team's match against Fiorentina on Sunday.

The government an-nounced on Sunday that all sporting events in two north-ern regions would be suspend-ed, with Sports Minister Vin-cenzo Spadafora saying the government had "a duty to be prudent and responsible".

Napoli's last 16 Champions League match against Lionel Messi's Barcelona side will go

ahead on Tuesday as southern Italy is currently unaffected.

European football body UEFA said they were monitor-ing any change in that situa-tion.

"UEFA is following the situation closely and is in con-tact with the clubs and the au-thorities concerned," a spokes-man said.

A medical task force met at the Italian Football Federa-tion's headquarters in Rome on Monday to plot a way for-ward, but it seems likely that the high-profile Serie A clash between Juventus and Inter on Sunday will be played behind closed doors.

Inter's home Europa League match scheduled for Thursday against Bulgarian club Ludogorets could also be played in an empty stadium, according to reports.

A planned get-together of Italy's under-19 national football team, which was to feature the coach of the senior team, Roberto Mancini, was postponed on Monday.

In the latest develop-ment, two Pro 14 rugby union matches due to be played this weekend have been resched-uled. They are Zebre's clash with Welsh club Ospreys in Parma, and Irish side Ulster's visit to Treviso-based side Benetton.

That followed the post-ponement of the women's Six Nations rugby clash between Italy and Scotland, that had been scheduled to take place in Legnano, north of Milan, on Sunday.

"To ensure the safety of our players and spectators PRO14 Rugby fully supports the pre-ventative measures taken in Italy and will adhere to the di-rectives from the World Health Organization (WHO) and local authorities," a statement on the Pro 14 website said.

Other sports were also hit with the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) confirming that in line with government instructions, all events in the Lombardy and Veneto regions would be postponed.

"We agree and align with the government's provisions," said CONI president Giovanni Malago.

"I believe that at this mo-ment the world of sport should not go its own way. Health is the primary concern."

Eleven towns -- 10 in Lom-bardy and one in neighbouring Veneto -- are under lockdown, with some 50,000 residents prohibited from leaving. Re-gional authorities have or-dered gathering spots, such as bars, restaurants, cinemas and discos to close. Agence France-Presse

Messi 'greatest' ahead of Maradona, says Napoli boss GattusoNAPLES, Italy | AFP | -- Lionel Messi is the "greatest" footballer of all time, ahead of even Diego Maradona, Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso said on Monday ahead of his side's Champions League clash with Barcelona.

The 32-year-old Messi scored four goals at the week-end in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Eibar and has now been involved in more than 1,000 goals in his career, scoring 696 and assisting another 306.

Gattuso was quick to praise Messi, comparing the Barca star to Napoli legend Maradona.

"He's the greatest and an example for everyone," said Gattuso ahead of the sides' last-16 first leg on Tuesday.

"He never says anything inappropriate. He does things that only exist on the Playsta-tion, unthinkable things.

"But I saw him (Maradona)

on VHS, or DVD. I never saw him up close, at a stadium.

"I know the champion he was and I know I missed some-thing wonderful. I regret it. Today I see Messi doing things that Maradona was doing."

Napoli captain Lorenzo In-signe was not so keen to accept that Messi has reached greater heights than 1986 World Cup winner Maradona.

"Messi is the best in the world today," said Insigne. "But for us Neapolitans, Mara-dona is everything and I don't want to compare them. Mara-dona is sacred."

But Insigne and Gattuso agreed that their team has to be careful not to focus only on trying to stop Messi. "We have to be careful with their whole team, because it's not just Messi," said Gattuso.

Napoli are enjoying a re-cent upturn in form after a dreadful start to the Serie A

season which culminated in the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti following a 4-0 win over Genk that sent them into the Cham-pions League knockout stage.

Last season's Serie A run-ners-up have won six of their last seven games.

"Tomorrow (Tuesday), I want a Napoli side that are not afraid," added Gattuso.

"I want to see a team that knows how to battle... You need to stand up to Barcelona -- you can't worry.

"I want to see a lively team that plays with joy until the end. Can Napoli win the Champions League? Never say never."

It is the first time Napoli have reached the knockout rounds since a last-16 loss to Real Madrid in 2017, while Barcelona are bidding to make the quarter-finals for a 13th consecutive season. Agence France-Presse