Grind City Culture

LOS ANGELES -- Vanessa Bryant offered a poignant portrait of her NBA superstar husband and their daughter Monday at a sold-out memorial service for the two, who were among nine people killed last month in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles. Speaking at times through tears, Vanessa praised Kobe's devotion -- calling him "the MVP of girl dads" -- as she addressed thousands of fans gathered at Staples Center to remember Bryant and 13-year-old Gianna. "God knew they couldn't be on this Earth without each other," she said. "He had to bring them home to have them together. Babe, you take care of our Gigi." The service took place at the downtown arena where Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 17 seasons of his two-decade NBA career. The ceremony began with Beyonce performing her songs "XO" and "Halo" with dozens dozens of backup musicians. After Jimmy Kimmel welcomed the crowd, Vanessa Bryant remembered ...

t's official. No one else will ever wear No. 3 for the Miami Heat again, as Dwyane Wade's jersey was raised to the rafters of American Airlines Arena during halftime of the matchup between the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Wade became the sixth player in Heat history to have his jersey retired, joining Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway, Michael Jordan (the Heat retired Jordan's number out of respect even though he never played for the franchise), Shaquille O'Neal, and Alonzo Mourning. After his jersey was raised to the rafters, Wade gave a speech; one that he ended by quoting late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. "Kobe said the most important thing is to try to inspire others so they can be great in whatever they try to do," Wade said. "I hope I inspired you." Wade played 14 seasons with the Heat after they selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 Draft. He is the team's all-time leader in several major categorie...

There’s only one person who could get NBA legend Bill Russell to put aside the intense rivalry between his Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, and that person is Kobe Bryant. Ahead of the matchup between the Celtics and Lakers on Sunday afternoon, Russell was seen entering the Staples Center wearing something that would normally be unthinkable: a Lakers jersey. Russell honored Bryant, who died in a late January helicopter crash with his daughter and seven others, by wearing his jersey to the game. It was the first time the rival teams have met since Bryant’s death.

LAS VEGAS — The man who calls himself the “Gypsy King” became the king of boxing Saturday in a stellar performance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Pay little mind to the three heavyweight title belts that IBF-WBA-WBO champion Anthony Joshua added to his trophy case in December when he outpointed an out-of-shape Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia . On Saturday, Fury showed Joshua, Deontay Wilder and every other fighter and fight fan in the world how it is done. Joshua was timid, cautious and uninspired in his one-sided decision over a weight-addled Ruiz . Fury was bold, courageous and strong in going right after the man regarded by some as the biggest puncher in heavyweight history and chopping him down in seven one-sided rounds. Fury knocked Wilder down with a sizzling right hand in the third and a crunching left to the body in the fifth, and had him staggering and wobbling around the ring for much of their heavily hyped fight for the WBC and lineal heavyweight championships...

Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke was gunned down and killed in a home in the Hollywood Hills. Pop Smoke, whose legal name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, was a rising star in the music industry with his second mixtape Meet the Woo , V.2. landing at No. 7 on this week's Billboard Top 200 list. He was 20. When contacted by Yahoo Entertainment Wednesday, the LAPD would not identify the victim but confirmed officers responded to an incident in the 2000 block of Hercules Drive at 4:29 a.m. Unknown suspects entered the property and masked gunmen shot the victim before fleeing the scene. The victim was transported to a Los Angeles hospital where he was pronounced dead. Republic Records, the rapper's label, confirmed he was killed saying in a statement Wednesday. Police were alerted to the incident after someone called from the East Coast saying intruders entered their friend's home, LAPD Capt. Steve Lurie told the Los Angeles Times . The caller said that at least one...

The San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

1. Trapped 2. Know Yo Worth 3. H.O.E. (Heaven On Earth) 4. More Ready Than Ever 5. Like That f. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & Ty Dolla $ign 6. Put a Date On It f. Lil Baby 7. They Ain’t Want Me To Know 8. Pose f. Megan Thee Stallion & Lil Uzi Vert 9. Weekend f. Moneybagg Yo 10. Dopechella f. Rick Ross 11. Battle 12. Bounce That 13. Big Homie 14. Untrapped f. Estelle 15. Pose (Bonus) f. Lil Uzi Vert Yo Gotti has finally given the streets what they have been asking for with his new, highly-anticipated release, ‘Untrapped’. The tenth major release from the seasoned rapper featured the likes of Lil Uzi Vert , Ty Dolla $ign , Lil Baby , and more. Gotti takes an aggressive stance against political correctness, stating on Instagram: F*ck being politically correct! F*ck who gets offended! I’ve done sh*t that I ain’t proud of that I can’t take back. I fell out wit n*ggas I love but if I see them it’s still up there. I lost n*ggas c...