New York, New York

Since I posted last I have done many things so I'll try to remember them all. Saturday morning Mario made breakfast then we went and picked out a Christmas tree with his family. It was their first real tree so they were excited. After the tree was set up Mario and I got ready to go into the city (manhattan). Before we headed in we stopped by and visited some of Marios friends, a couple of which decided to join us. We took the Queensboro Bridge into manhattan a ride which only takes about 15 min from Marios house. As we rode across the bridge Manhattan rose up in front of me. It was an amazing view. Wanting only to enjoy my first real look at the city i refrained from taking any pictures (that doesnt happen very often). The size, amount of lights, beauty of the buildings and the realization that millions of people lived there was not overwhelming but realized. I was surprised at how different most of the buildings were from each other. I was expecting the same office buildings over and over. We drove down Park Avenue, where My friend Casey was staying and then a few blocks later it was daytime again. Although it was about 1 AM we had driven into Times Square. The streets were full of people and there were thousands of lights, televisions and billboards. A very cool place. After driving around manhattan for a while we went to visit one of his friends in Grenwich village. On the way there we drove past ground zero. I was amazed at how large the holes were, and that they had not built anything in their place. Instantly made me think of where I was on 9/11. His friend had a nice apartment and we stayed there for a while before heading out to check out some of the NY nightlife. That morning Mario dropped me off at Caseys and her mom sent us out to a little deli to pick up some breakfast supplies. Her grandparents own a beautiful apartment on Park Ave that is full of beautiful painting, antique furniture and elegant styling. It even has a doorman! We made breakfast of bagels and waffles and bacon then set out for the game early so we could sight-see on the way. From Park ave we went down Madison ave, Broadway and many other famous sights. I saw Rockafeller plaza, the Giant christmas tree, all the TV studios, where today show does its walk around, radio city building along with countless stores and other landmarks. After about a 30 minute walk we arrived at Madison square Garden and worked our way through the crowd to our seats. Although on a higher level the arena isn't that big so we had an excellent view. After talking with Caseys mom Casey and I decided to go see if we could get a close look. First let me tell you that Ive been a laker fan since I was about 12 and mostly a Kobe fan. I've wanted to go to a Laker game so badly for many years. I've always worried that Kobe would be injured or out of his prime before I got a chance to see him. So this was big for me. The Lakers only play in NY once a year so I definitely lucked out. Thanks to Caseys mom, who got me tickets to the game as a Christmas present. We made it down to the court while they were warming up and saw many open seats. We sat in some that were about 5 or six CHAIRS up from the court. We were so close it was chairs not the rows of seats. Seeing them in person was really cool and I had my camera out pretty much the whole game. The knicks were getting beat pretty bad the whole game and I got to join in the gameday ritual of chanting "fire Isaiah" (I did it for you, Jon). Kobe played great. In person alot more than on TV you could see that he controlled the game whenever he was in. He did whatever he wanted and was incredibly fast and in control. At halftime they introduced the celebrities that were at the game. Rosie Perez, Q-tip, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Rev Al Sharpton and one of the characters from the Sopranos were all there. We happened to be sitting only a few feet away from the court than they were! During the game it was fun to see Spike lee and Kobe trash talking and joking around. Towards the end Phil Jackson (the lakers coach) put in his subs and the Knicks crawled back to within one. Kobe came back in and calmly hit shot after shot. The Garden came alive during the Knicks rally, which was fun to hear. The lakers came out victorious and Kobe finished with 39 points 11 rebounds and 8 assists. It was a great experience. After the game Caseys mom took us out for lunch before Mario picked me up. When Mario picked me up he had his 12 year old brother Gianni with him. We headed off to meet up with a girl from our school in Italy that lives in the East village. We met her family and then went walking around the village looking for somewhere to order food for everyone. East village was very cool and we also walked through part of the NYU campus. The feeling I got walking around in NY is very similar to the way it felt to walk around Rome. They both have a energy that you can feel. Theres something electric about both cities that makes them exciting to be in. We finally settled on Thai food and headed back. After spending some time at her apartment Mario Gianni and I set off. Mario drove me around and showed me SOHO, tribecca and other neighborhoods. Since we were going to be busy with Christmas the next couple of days I wanted to hangout with Case some more before she left so we picked her up. We decided to do a cool NY type thing so we went to the brooklyn Bridge, parked and walked to the middle. The view was amazing. Manhattan with its breathtaking skyline on one side, Queens and Long Island on the other. To the right you could see the statue of liberty. The moon looked full and it had just rained so the air was nice and fresh. Amazing view. After enjoying that for a while we went to look at the seaport which also had a great view. We decided to show Casey Marios neighborhood so we took her to Astoria, Queens. Because it was sunday at about 1 there wasnt as much going on as usual but we found a nice cafe to get something to eat in. We hung out for a while before heading back to Manhattan to drop Casey off. I was pretty tired and kept falling asleep in the car. I woke up right when we pulled up to Marios house. It was a great couple days getting to know a little bit of the city. Thank you mom! The ticket here was an amazing christmas present! Im having an amazing time and I still have almost 3 weeks to go.

LAL (17-10) 31 24 20 20 95
NYK (8-19) 21 16 24 29 90
Final
12:00 PM ET, December 23, 2007
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY
Kobe is youngest to score 20,000 points as Lakers win

· Complete Schedule: Los Angeles | New York
NEW YORK (AP) -- From the jawing with Spike Lee and Chris Rock to the postgame news conference with his daughters on his lap, Kobe Bryant enjoyed every minute of his return to Madison Square Garden.

Youngest to 20,000

Kobe Bryant eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain in NBA history as the youngest player to 20,000 points Sunday.

Player Years-Days
Kobe Bryant 29-122
Wilt Chamberlain 29-134
Michael Jordan 29-326
Oscar Robertson 30-97
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30-34230 players are in the 20,000-Point Club: 18 are in the Basketball Hall of Fame; 10 are not yet eligible. Only eligible players not in Hall: Tom Chambers, Adrian Dantley.
Making history made it even better.
Bryant scored 39 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the New York Knicks 95-90 Sunday.
Bryant added 11 rebounds and eight assists in his first game at the Garden in nearly two years. His 3-pointer in the opening minute of the third quarter allowed him to reach the milestone at 29 years, 122 days.
"I always like playing here, period," Bryant said. "Last year I didn't have an opportunity to play and I was upset about it. This is my favorite arena to play in so I'm just happy and relieved that I was able to play tonight."
Before Bryant only Wilt Chamberlain (29 years, 134 days) and Michael Jordan (29, 326) had gotten there before turning 30.
Bryant's last basket came in the final minute after the Knicks had trimmed a 25-point deficit to one. The victory capped a 3-1 road trip for the Lakers, who headed home to host Phoenix on Tuesday.
Jamal Crawford scored 31 points for the Knicks, who were again without Stephon Marbury and have lost two straight and eight of 10. David Lee had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Nate Robinson scored 16 points.
After the Knicks fell too far behind to make a comeback likely for the second time in three days, coach Isiah Thomas said there would be lineup changes when the Knicks play their next game, against Orlando on Wednesday.

Like great players before him, Kobe Bryant has starred in the NBA's most famous arena. The Lakers star has shined in his recent appearances at Madision Square Garden, including Sunday's 39-point effort.

Game notes
Bryant became the 31st player with 20,000 points.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271223018