Vanessa Bryant announces 'celebration of life' for Kobe and Gianna

LOS ANGELES, United States - Vanessa Bryant announced plans for a public celebration of life for her late husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna in a touching Instagram post on Friday.

"#2, #24 #20 years as a Laker," the bereaved wife and mother wrote in the post, confirming that a memorial service would be held at Staples Center arena at 10:00 am (1800 GMT) this Monday.

Gianna Bryant wore No. 2 for her school basketball team and Kobe Bryant wore No. 24 in the later stages of his iconic 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kobe Bryant, 41, and 13-year-old Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in the rugged hills west of Los Angeles on January 26.

The event will fall on a day between two Lakers home games, but the rival Los Angeles Clippers will host the Memphis Grizzlies in an NBA game at the arena in downtown Los Angeles that night.

Lee Zeidman, president of Staples Center, told the Los Angeles Times that getting the court ready for the game won't be a problem.

"Staples Center has hosted over 220 doubleheaders in its 20-year history," Zeidman said. "While this is going to be a very emotional day for the Bryant family, the Los Angeles Lakers, the city of Los Angeles, as well as for the men and women who work at Staples Center, we are very confident we will be ready for 6 p.m. doors opening for the Clippers-Memphis game following the ceremony."

Staples Center, also the home of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and venue for concerts and events such as the recent Grammy Awards, has hosted memorials for recording artists Michael Jackson and Nipsey Hussle.

The Lakers themselves paid emotional tribute to Bryant there in their first game after the club legend's death, when they hosted the Portland Trail Blazers.

Gianna's teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, Alyssa's parents John and Keri Altobelli, Payton's mother Sarah Chester, basketball coach Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan also died in the crash, which remains under investigation.

A memorial service was scheduled for Monday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim for the Altobelli family. John Altobelli, 56, was a longtime coach of the Orange Coast College baseball team.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Kobe Bryant memorial planned at Lakers' home arena -report

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, killed with eight others in a helicopter crash last month, will be honored at a public memorial service planned for Feb. 24 at the Staples Center, the team's home arena and scene of many of his greatest basketball triumphs, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The newspaper, citing 2 unnamed sources familiar with the event, said the date for the ceremony was selected in consultation with Bryant's widow, Vanessa, the Lakers organization and the Staples Center.

There was no immediate comment from the Lakers or Mayor Eric Garcetti's office in response to inquiries from Reuters about the report.

Planning for the event is under way, according to the Times, but there were no details of what the memorial might entail.

The Times cited one source as saying the event would not include a procession, and would be over in time to allow a previously scheduled NBA game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies to go forward as planned.

The memorial will fall between 2 Lakers home games, one against the Boston Celtics and another against the New Orleans Pelicans, the newspaper said.

Otherwise, the Times said, no information was immediately available about the precise timing of the event or tickets, but it said seating is expected to be limited.

The arena's seating capacity is normally about 20,000.

The memorial service follows a series of Bryant tributes since he perished with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and 7 other people aboard a helicopter that slammed into a hillside in foggy weather near Los Angeles on Jan. 26.

Bryant, who was 41, retired from the National Basketball Association in 2016. The 18-time all star was on his way to a youth sports academy for a girls basketball tournament his daughter was scheduled to play in at the time.

The death of the 5-time NBA champion, one of the world's most admired sports figures, unleashed an outpouring of grief and tributes from fans, fellow athletes and politicians around the globe.

Tens of thousands of fans flooded the grounds around the Staples Center last week ahead of the Lakers' first game since Bryant's death. Many others have made pilgrimages to the suburb of Calabasas, about 64 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles, to view the crash site from a distance.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

DeChambeau leads by one, Woods in the hunt at Memorial

DUBLIN -- Bryson DeChambeau birdied four of his last six holes to surge to a one-shot lead on Saturday going into the final round of the US PGA Tour's Memorial tournament.

DeChambeau, 24 signed for a bogey-free 66 to move to 14-under 202 as the Californian looks to secure a second PGA Tour victory after capturing last year’s John Deere Classic.

Red-hot Chilean sensation Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Cantlay and Kyle Stanley were a stroke back on 203. Overnight co-leaders Niemann and Stanley both carded 70 while Cantlay's 66 included two eagles, one of them a hole-in-one at the par-three eighth.

A further six players were within five shots of DeChambeau's lead -- including 14-time major champion Tiger Woods.

Woods briefly grabbed a share of the lead before stumbling with two bogeys in his last three holes.

South Korea's An Byeong-hun was alone in fifth after a 69 for 204 and England's Justin Rose carded a 69 for 206.

Woods posted a 68 to head a group on 207 that also included Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (71).

DeChambeau, ranked 38th in the world, kick-started his push to the top of the board with birdies at the fifth and seventh holes. He posted back-to-back birdie "threes" at 13 and 14 and picked up a stroke at 16 before landing his 145-yard approach at the last five feet from the pin en route to a birdie.

"I just want to birdie every hole," he said. "That's all we're trying to do out there.

"No matter if you're one back or tied for the lead every hole is an opportunity to make a birdie and that's just what I'm going to try and do every single day."

DeChambeau said his brilliant putting display was his best since he captured the 2015 US Amateur title.

"I would say I'm putting the best I have in my life," he said.

- Woods 'played beautifully' -

Niemann, 19, highlighted his round with a 50-foot eagle putt at the par-five seventh.

He is contesting just a fifth US PGA Tour event since turning pro straight after the Masters in April, and the Santiago-born teenager said he will draw on his amateur successes as he tries to win on Sunday, when the field will tee off early from the first and 10th tee as organizers try to beat expected inclement weather.

"It's a strong field on the leader-board and I think everybody's going to go out there and try to make the most birdies possible," Niemann said. "So I think that I have to go low tomorrow to have a chance."

Woods rolled in a 14-foot eagle putt at the par-five fifth and was five-under for the day through nine.

The five-time Memorial winner missed a short birdie on 14 but gained a share of the lead at 11-under with a birdie at 15.

Three-putt bogeys at 16 and 18 quelled his momentum and Woods was left to wonder what could have been.

"I shot 68 today but, again, that's probably the highest score I could have possibly shot today," he said. "I played really, really well. I played beautifully, actually, had total control of what I was doing out there and just didn't finish it off."

source: news.abs-cbn.com