Connect with us

Basketball

KOBE BRYANT REMEMBERED AT GRAMMY AWARDS HOURS AFTER HIS DEATH

blank

Published

on

Musicians and performers at the Grammy Awards paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on Sunday (Jan 26) at his former home arena, the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, hours after the NBA great was killed some 65km away in a helicopter crash.

Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people died on Sunday morning when the helicopter they were riding in went down in heavy fog and hilly terrain in suburban Calabasas, north-west of downtown Los Angeles.

“Tonight is for Kobe,” pop star Lizzo announced as she took the stage to open the Grammy Awards before performing exuberant versions of her hits Cuz I Love You and Truth Hurts to a standing ovation.

blank
Host US singer-songwriter Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men sing in memory of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant during the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan 26, 2020.PHOTO: AFP

“We are all feeling crazy sadness right now, because earlier today Los Angeles, America and the whole wide world lost a hero and we’re literally standing here, heartbroken, in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” the show’s host, Alicia Keys, said in remarks to open the show.

Keys then brought members of the Boyz II Men on stage to join them in an a capella version of their ballad It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye, dedicated to Bryant.

The show was being broadcast from the Staples Centre, home court for the Los Angeles Lakers, where Bryant starred for two decades as one of the National Basketball Association’s all-time greatest players.

Advertisement

“It’s a real tough day and we want to send our love to the families, the kids, the mothers,” performer DJ Khaled said backstage. “It’s hard to catch a vibe right now at this moment but we’re going to do it.”

Teen pop star Billie Eilish, a Los Angeles native nominated for six Grammy awards on the night, posted a photo of Bryant on her Instagram account, along with a video clip of the basketball star Bryant talking with Gianna.

Eilish, 18, captioned the video simply: “Uggghhhhhhhhh”.

Grammy nominee Camila Cabello also posted a photo of Bryant on Instagram and wrote that, despite not being a basketball fan, his documentary Muse got her through a painful time in her life.

“I watched every interview, I read every quote of his, and I wish that he knew how many times he saved me, how many times he helped me access a champion in myself that I couldn’t have seen on my own,” the singer wrote.

Advertisement

-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Basketball

Musa Kida moves from the basketball boardroom to NNPC Towers

blank

Published

on

blank

Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.

The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Continue Reading

Basketball

NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman

blank

Published

on

blank

The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

 Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.

The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.

” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I   have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.

” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.

Advertisement

” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.

” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.

The DG added that he does not doubt that  Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.

” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of  Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.

Advertisement

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Continue Reading

Basketball

FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers

blank

Published

on

blank

The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.

A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.

blank

Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.

FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.

Here is FIBA’s analysis: The return of the Tokyo Olympian has been a blessing for Abdulrahman Mohammed’s Nigeria.

Advertisement

For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.

The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.

Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.

blank

The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and  Nisre Zouzoua  (Cote d’Ivoire)

Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Most Viewed