Taylor Hawkins Sports EditorOver the past couple of days, a friend of mine and I have debated over who is, or will be, better between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
He contests that Bryant will more than likely always be regarded as the better player, despite final championship totals, because he did not have to leave his team and join up with other superstars to win titles. I was flabbergasted and began to wonder if this was a common thought process regarding the two.
Bryant will go down as one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history once his storied career comes to a close. That much is certain. He has five NBA championships to his name, two NBA Finals MVPs, four All-Star Game MVPs, one regular season MVP, two Olympic gold medals, he is the Lakers’ all time leader in points, and was the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 points.
In his relatively short pro career, James has already won an NBA Championship for which he was named MVP and four regular season MVP titles to go along with many other amazing statistical claims. James has a long ways to go to get to Bryant’s level, but to say that he can’t do it because he changed teams is absurd. He changed teams because the Cleveland Cavaliers gave him little choice.
In James’ time in Cleveland, the Cavaliers could not get enough key players to win a championship. No player can win it by himself, not even Michael Jordan. People always try to make the asinine statement that Jordan won his six titles virtually alone, which was absolutely not the case.
They tend to forget that Scottie Pippen was ranked as one of the top 50 players in NBA history and Dennis Rodman, before his experimentation as a U.S. ambassador, was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. If the Bulls had not made certain that Jordan had help, there is not telling if he would have stayed in Chicago.
Let’s not forget Bryant.
“Kobe never would have left L.A. to try and win a championship somewhere else,” my friend said with confidence. “He would have stayed until they won one.”
Of course he wouldn’t have left. The Lakers will break the bank to get the players they need to compete for championships. Kobe had Shaq in his prime, who won the Finals’ MVP for their three titles together. For his next run, the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, a top three big man during that period.
The Cavaliers gave James Mo Williams, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, an old Ben Wallace, and an even older Shaquille O’Neil. Is there any question as to why James could not win with that group?
I’m not the biggest LeBron James fan. In fact, he is in my top ten least liked players. He is far too big and athletic to flop like he does, even though he claims that he doesn’t know how to flop. He tries to rely on the outside shot too often at times when it is obvious that he can get to the goal at will.
But I will give credit where it is due. The Miami Heat is his team, not Dwayne Wade’s and not Chris Bosh’s. He is unquestionably the best player in the world right now. He is in a class by himself.
He may go back to Cleveland one day to win that elusive title for his home state; however, he does not owe them that. If James had become seriously injured and his career would have been in jeopardy, would the Cavaliers have kept him on the payroll as a sign of loyalty?
Not a chance. The NBA is a business and must be treated that way not only by the teams, but by the players also.
Blame James for a lot of things, but don’t diminish his accomplishments because he changed teams to win a title. Winning is the nature of the game and he did whatever it took to do that. You can’t blame him for wanting his title. He did what he deemed necessary to take his career to the next level, and that is something that we all do at one point or another.
James has not quite reached the career status of Bryant yet, but at his current pace, it would be hard to imagine him not getting there. Judge them by their play on the court, and their play on the court alone.

Manchester Academy senior pitcher Will Stonestreet has been selected to play in the MAIS All-Star game on Friday, May 24. Mavericks head coach A.J. Downs was also selected to coach in the All-Star game.By TAYLOR HAWKINS
Sports Editor

On Friday May 24, Manchester Academy’s Will Stonestreet will end his high school baseball career by playing in the MAIS All Star Game. He will be playing for the North squad.
The senior ended his final season at Manchester with a 5-1 record and a 2.25 ERA. He also produced a .335 batting average and a .975 fielding percentage.
MA head baseball coach A.J. Downs was not surprised at Stonestreet’s selection.
“Will has been a player for us since the seventh grade,” Downs said. “He has really turned not only into a great pitcher but a great all around player. He is a bulldog on the mound that will give you every opportunity to win.”
Stonestreet feels honored to have the opportunity that most do not receive.
“It feels great,” Stonestreet said. “It's something. Not everybody can say they had the chance to do this, and I'm just thankful that I get to be one of the select few who get this opportunity.”
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Sarah Bailey WoodsThe Yazoo Herald

Sarah Bailey Woods, a junior at The Veritas School in Ridgeland won the silver medal in the  6A 110 meter girls hurdles at the 2013 State Track Meet that took place at Jackson Prep.
Veritas won the State Title for 6A for the sixth straight year.
She is the daughter of Chris and Valerie Hutchinson of Madison and the granddaughter of John and Sarah Deal of Yazoo City.

The Sports Report Jason PattersonI remember it just like it was yesterday.
The crowd was on their feet. The pretty girl up front was cheering me on as if I was her hero.
The pressure was all on me.
All I have to do is make this kick and I will have accomplished an athletic feat that has never been done before. But if I blow it, my biggest fans will be terribly disappointed. This was one of those rare chances to achieve greatness.
As soon as my foot connected with the ball, I knew that it was going the distance...
Actually it was yesterday.
The pretty girl up front was my baby daughter Elsie. The rest of the audience consisted of my five-year-old son James, who was standing by his sister’s side, and my wife Jamie, who was watching from the kitchen window with a look of concern.
I couldn’t hear what Jamie was saying, but I could read her lips:
“You’re going to hurt yourself Jason. You’re not a kid anymore.”
It was just as well that the window muffled the sound because such warnings always fall on deaf ears.
The crowd was calling for it. What kind of man would I be if I let the fear of a pulled muscle or some other trivial injury stop me from attempting to go where no man has gone before?
We were tossing the football around in the yard earlier when James asked me how high I could kick it. My demonstrations greatly impressed him, and even little Elsie was suddenly interested.
But eventually the ultimate challenge was issued.
“Daddy can you kick it over the house?”
“Of course I can son.”
“If you did that, you would be the master!”
I have strived to achieve many goals in my life, but none more important than being the “master.”
As I took a couple of warm up kicks into the air, I assessed the situation.
Our house is very tall. It’s one of those older homes with 10-foot ceilings and a steep roof. It also rests on a conventional foundation, which adds a few more feet to the height. The front porch would add to the distance, but if I got the ball over the peak of the roof gravity would be on my side.
With total concentration I dropped the ball and it connected perfectly with my foot. As it sailed over the peak of the roof I raised my arms in celebration while pretending not to notice Jamie rolling her eyes through the kitchen window.
We sprinted around the side of the house to confirm that the kick was indeed successful. I scooped Elsie up into my arms so that she could keep up. I knew she wouldn’t want to miss this.
At first we couldn’t find the ball.
Doubts began to creep in. What if it got stuck in the gutter on the front of the house? Our hopes would be shattered. My children would have to cope with the fact that their father was a failure.
I was mentally preparing myself for that grim possibility when I heard my son scream, “It went all the way down the hill!”
The ball didn’t just clear the house. It rolled all the way down the large hill in our front yard. As far as James was concerned that’s how far I kicked it.
I didn’t bother to correct him. I was too busy savoring the moment of being a champion. James rushed inside with the ball to tell his mother what he had just witnessed. I could hear him calling me “the master.”
If only it could be possible to achieve such glorious victories on a regular basis...
But I didn’t get to rest on my laurels for long.
The next morning as we were leaving for kindergarten James looked up at a giant oak tree in the yard and asked if I could kick the football over the tree.
“Of course I can son, but not right now. Daddy’s gonna have to stretch for that one.”