J-Speaks: An "Unforgettable" Singer Passes On

She was the daughter of legendary jazz pianist Nathaniel “Nat” King Cole, who went on to have major success in music and television. She followed in her father’s footsteps and became a legend in her own right with her remarkable voice and turned that into music that touched the genres of Souls, R&B, pop, soft rock, jazz to name a few. While she also became famous for dealing with some of the pitfalls of fame that lead her to eventually having a transplant, she found the strength to strive on and it made her stronger and an even better on stage. Unfortunately that great voice that contained a fighting spirit unlike any other was silenced just before the start of 2016.

Eight-time Grammy Award Winner, two-time NAACP Image Award Winner and three time American Music Award Winner Natalie Cole passed away on Dec. 31, 2015 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA from congestive heart failure. She was 65 years old. She is survived by her 38-year-old son Robert Adam “Robbie” Yancy from her first marriage to songwriter, producer Marvin Yancy, who was also a former member of the 1970s R&B group “The Independents.” She is also survived by her sisters Casey and Timolin Cole.

“Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived, with dignity, strength and honor,” the Cole family said in a statement on Jan. 1.

“Natalie Cole will remain unforgettable in our hearts forever and so it will be for any whose lives were touched by her music.”

No funeral arrangements have be reported yet.

In tribute to the legendary entertainer, who also found success in television, the marque at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY was lit up with “In honor of the Unforgettable Natalie Cole 1950-2015.”

The legendary singer and entertainer Tony Bennett via Instagram said of having the chance to perform alongside Cole, “It was an honor to have sung with her.”

The Rev. Jessie Jackson via twitter said, “#Natalie Cole, sister beloved & of substance and sound. May her sole rest in peace. #Inseparable.”

Another legend Smokey Robinson said to Nischelle Turner on this past Friday’s edition of “Entertainment Tonight” that a big part of Cole’s legacy was that she was “real.”

“She was good people and one of our greatest musical icons ever. She’s going to live on and on and on and on because she made great music and people who knew her loved her.”

Natalie Cole path to greatness began as a pre-teen, or as it is referred to today a “tween,” from her father, who was an established star in the music world by the time she was born on Feb. 6, 1950. Nat Cole died of cancer when she was in high school on Feb. 15, 1965. She called the legacy that her father left both a blessing and a curse.

“Trying to step into those footsteps is literally impossible and people will expect so much of you,” Natalie said to now WABC 7 NY Entertainment Reporter and movie critic Sandy Kenyon back in 1990.

Cole hit her stride in the middle of the 1970s as a Rhythm & Blues (R&B) artist with hit songs “This Will Be,” “Inseparable,” and “Our Love.”

In 1977, Cole became the first female artist to have two platinum albums Unpredictable and Thankful in one year.

That success allowed Cole to star on her own television special, which attracted celebrities like the legendary singing group “Earth, Wind and Fire” and she also appeared on the television special, “Sinatra and Friends. In 1978, Cole released her first live album titled Natalie Live! In 1979, Cole received the highest celebrity honor in being awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and released two albums I Love You So and We’re the Best of Friends, a Peabo Bryson duet. Both albums went gold in the U.S.

Her best-selling album Unforgettable…with Love, which was released in 1991 on Elektra Records had Cole singing songs her father recorded almost 20 years after she initially refused to cover Nat Cole’s songs during a live concert.

Natalie did produce vocal arrangements to those songs, which included a piano accompaniment by her uncle Ike Cole. That was followed by the release of an interactive duet between Cole and her dad on the title song, “Unforgettable,” which reached the No. 14 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as No. 10 on the R&B chart, going gold.

Seven million copies of the album were sold in the U.S. alone and won several Grammys in 1992, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance for the top song.

Cole said to Kenyon back in 1990 about her dad, “To be remembered long after your gone is one of the greatest things that can happen to a human being.”

Over the years of her great success in music and television that continued in the 1990s and 2000s, below the surface Cole had some major personal demons that she was contending with.

In her autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder that came out in 2000, Cole described her battle with drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.

She was arrested for heroin possession in Toronto, ON in 1975. There was one incident where she refused to evacuate from a burning building and another instance where he son Robert when he was very young almost drowned in the family swimming pool while his mother was binging on drugs. 

It was that moment that led Cole to get help and she did a stint in rehab in 1983.

Those moments would come back to Cole in 2008 when she announced that she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, a liver disease that is spread through contact with infected blood.

After four months of getting treatment for the disease, Cole went through kidney failure, which required dialysis three times a week for nine months and was in need of a new kidney.

After an appearance on the Larry King Show, Cole was contacted by the organ procurement agency One Legacy in May 2009. The kidney donation was facilitated by a family which requested that if a match was possible, their donor’s kidney be designated for Cole.

In the seven years that have followed, Cole has continued to perform on stage as well as the small screen.

In September of 2010, Cole performed with Andrea Bocelli for his album My Christmas in concert at the then Kodak Theatre, now the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.

On July 22, 2012, Cole was a guest judge on Season 4 of the Logo’s reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race, where the bottom two competitors lip-synced to her award-winning song “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) to decide who would stay and who would go.

On Father’s Day 2013, Cole was in Tina Sinatra’s Father’s Day Special on Sirius Radio alongside Deana Martin, Monica Mancini and Daisy Torme, who all reminisced about their famous dads.

Two memorable moments performances that Cole had in recent memory were her performance at the Apollo in 2014 and when she serenated entertainment host/reporter pioneer Mary Hart of “Entertainment Tonight” on her last episode on May 20, 2011 with her famed song “Unforgettable.”

“Natalie being there for my last day meant the world to me and was one of the highlights of my career and that was Natalie,” Hart, who 29-year run with “ET” ended on the aforementioned day said when she appeared on this past Friday’s show. “Big hearted. Kind. Classy and magnificent voice.”

A few days before her passing, Cole’s aforementioned sisters Casey and Timolin were able to spend this past Christmas Eve together at the hospital and it meant the world to her and to them. The sister also knew that this would be their last one together.

“When we came to the hospital and spent Christmas Eve with her it was a Godsend. It was her favorite time of the year,” Timolin to “ET’s” Kevin Frazier.

Casey told Frazier that when Natalie was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, she kept it a secret from a lot of people for a very long time. Casey said that she kept her diagnosis a secret to protect her family and close friends.

“I don’t think she wanted people to start feeling sorry for her. I think that she really, really thought and prayed that she would overcome this,” Casey Cole told Frazier this past Friday.

The Cole family is keeping Natalie’s spirit alive through the Nat King Cole Generation Hope, Inc. which was started Casey and Timolin, who are twins, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Florida whose mission is to provide music education to children with the greatest need and fewest resources.

She sold 30 million records worldwide. She became one of the greatest voices in the music industry. She made a place for herself and along the way thanks to technology, was able to perform with the sounds of her father in the background. She had to battle her way through drug abuse and the health scares that resulted from that later in life and emerged from that better. Natalie Maria Cole was more than just a singer, actress and entertainer. She was a mother, daughter, sister, wife and friend, who earned the respect of fans through her hard work, dedication and fight to be great and to persevere, which she told Hart six years ago.

“I’m a survivor. I’ don’t know where I really got it from, but I just don’t believe in giving up until the fat lady sings and the fat lady hasn’t sung yet,” Cole said back in 2008.

Information and quotes are courtesy of 1/1/16 4 p.m. edition of WABC 7’s “Eyewitness News First at 4” with Liz Cho, David Navarro and Lee Goldberg; 1/1/16 5 p.m. edition of WABC 7’s “Eyewitness News at 5” with Diana Williams, Sade Baderinwa and Lee Goldberg; 1/4/16 7:30 p.m. edition of “Entertainment Tonight” with Nancy O’Dell, Kevin Fraizer and Mary Hart, report from Nischelle Turner; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Cole; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_King_Cole; http://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Mary_Hart; www.natkingcolegenhope.org/our-background.php,

J-Speaks: "Big Blue" Says Goodbye to their Super Bowl Winning Head Coach After 12 Years

In the 91-year history of the New York Football Giants, four men have brought a NFL championship(s)/Super Bowl(s) to the “Big Apple.” Earl Potteiger (1927), Hall of Famer, Steve Owen, the winningest by number and win percentage in team history (1934 & 1938), Hall of Famer Bill Parcells and the man that was on his staff as the wide receivers coach in 1990 and who brought the last two Vince Lombardi Trophies the Giants won five and nine years ago. He also is the second winningest coach in terms of number of victories and win percentage. Unfortunately after not making the playoffs the last four seasons, including having four consecutive losing seasons, both the soon to be Hall of Fame head coach and the organization decided to part ways.

Head coach Tom Coughlin after 12 seasons with the Giants, where he won 102 games, going 102-90 parted ways on Monday after another disappointing season where they finished 6-10 for the second straight season and missing out on the playoffs for a fourth year in succession.

Coughlin went 11-8 in the postseason, which includes two Super Bowl victories in 2007 (Super Bowl XLII) and 2011 (Super Bowl XLVI) defeating the New England Patriots and future Hall of Famers in quarterback Tom Brady and his former colleague with the Giants back in the late 1980s in head coach Bill Belichick.

“I think it has been evident these last 12 years here how much pride I take in representing this franchise,” Coughlin, who also led the Giants to three NFC East titles said in a statement yesterday.

“I am grateful and proud that we were able to deliver two more Lombardi trophies to the display case in our lobby during that time.”

There are a lot of occasions when a head coach gets fired on the Monday after the conclusion of a regular season, which is called “Black Monday” in the NFL that it is a sad occasion and that the organization as a whole moves on. This is different for a number of reasons.

For starters, the Giants are have always been one of the flagship and most well run franchises in the National Football League and the head coach their leader on the sidelines in Coughlin has been the greatest representative of that and more, which the Giants’ brass expressed in a statement on Monday.

“In addition to delivering two Super Bowl titles, Tom represented us with class and dignity, and restored the pride to our entire organization,” President and CEO of the Giants John Mara said.

This was a very hard decision when you look at the optics of it for Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch.

For starters, this season came down to the Giants inability to close games in the final moments and last Sunday’s 35-30 loss versus the division rival Philadelphia Eagles (7-9) was a great example of that.

The Giants played very well on offense rushing for 208 yards, compiling 502 yards total; going 7 for 15 on third down and committing just one turnover. Unfortunately, the could not stop the Eagles who compiled 435 total yards; were 10 for 13 on third down; converted all three of their chances in the red zone for touchdowns and were burned by former Giant defensive back Walter Thurmond III scored on an 83-yard interception return in the third quarter for the Eagles.

It is those kinds of moments, particularly like they had in the first two weeks at the Dallas Cowboys (4-12), a 27-26 loss in Game 1 of the season on Sept. 13^th, 2015; versus the Atlanta Falcons (8-8), a 24-20 loss in Week 2; versus the Patriots (12-4), a 27-26 loss in Week 10; versus the hometown rival New York Jets (10-6) 23-20 overtime setback in Week 13 and versus the Carolina Panthers (15-1), a 38-35 loss in Week 15 why the Giants season ended like it did and left the players to wonder what could have been and to having to say farewell to a coach they love playing for and learned a lot from.

“He definitely has not failed. I feel that we as players, we failed him,” quarterback, Eli Manning, whose started his career at the same time as Coughlin became the head coach said on Monday to the media.

“We had a good run, could have been better obviously, but I appreciate everything he has done for me.”

Defensive tackle Barry Cofield, who missed his second stint with the Giants because of injury said in his first go around with the Giants, he did not understand what it meant to be a pro playing for Coughlin, but this season he finally got what the 69-year-old coach was trying to get across to him about what it takes to be great in this sport.

“If you can look at him and he can have that type of passion and that type of dedication to the game, you feel guilty if you’re not bringing that type of energy and you’re half his age,” Cofield said on Monday.

Two players who really had to take the lessons and coaching of Coughlin to heart this season are defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who missed most of this season because of a hand injury sustained in a fireworks accident prior to training camp and star wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. who had moments to forget against the Panthers and cornerback Josh Norman three weeks ago that got him suspended for the Week 16 49-17 loss at the NFC North Division champion Minnesota Vikings.

“He’s a great coach. He’s determined. Motivator. Father figure,” Pierre-Paul said on Monday.

“I love Coach Coughlin and he’s always going to be my coach,” Beckham, Jr. said on Monday.

One good thing, if anything that came out of this is that Coughlin, who if he does not coach again will one day by enshrined at the Pro Football Hall of Fame got a chance to have his family at the game on Sunday, which included 11 grandchildren. The fans got a chance to show how much he meant to him.

One fan in the stands at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ had a sign that said, “Thank you Tom for making my childhood awesome. TC=MVC.”

There are a lot of assistant coaches, coordinators and position coaches in the NFL that never get a chance to be a head coach. Tom Coughlin got a chance to be head coach of the at the college level at Syracuse and Boston University, a position coach with the Eagles, Green Bay Packers and eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, nearly taking them to the Super Bowl back in 1996 and then becoming the head coach of the aforementioned Giants for 12 years and leading them to two Super Bowl wins.

After three straight losing seasons and now playoff appearances since winning their last Super Bowl in 2011, something had to give and that is what many Giants fans at the Candlewyck Diner in New Jersey expressed to WABC’s Anthony Johnson on Monday.

“I think he was a great coach, but sometimes you need change. Sometimes you need to change to boost morale,” Giants fan Anthony Cirillo said to Johnson on Monday.

Another Giants fan, Tony DeVincenzo felt it was time for a change because the fans of the team deserve a winner.

“The fans don’t want to go for this,” DeVincenzo said.

Emanuel Logothetis said that the Giants need a new head coach that will “spark some winning ways in the future.”

Whoever the next coach is for “Big Blue,” they will have a lot of things in their favor. A two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback in Manning, who threw for career-highs of 4,436 yards and 35 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions. A hungry fan base that wants another Super Bowl and an organization that believes in excellence.

One thing though that the Giants must do beside bring in a new leader for the sidelines, the defense must get fixed if they have any hope of getting back to the playoffs, let alone win another Lombardi trophy. That fall on General Manager Jerry Reese, who in his time as the GM has missed the mark in drafting and signing players.  

With that being said, the next head coach will have big shoes to fill. That next man will be replacing a man that other than Owen, who went 153-100-17 (.602 win percentage) in 23 seasons with the Giants from 1931-1953, to win over 100 games as Coughlin won 102 and had the second best winning percentage in Giants history with a .531. Parcells went 77-49-1 in eight seasons (.610); former Giants head coach went 58-53-1 (.522) in seven seasons and Giants coaching lifer Allie Sherman went 57-51-4 (.527) in eight seasons.

Information, quotations and statistics are courtesy of 1/4/16 5 p.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News” with Diana Williams, Sade Baderinwa and Lee Goldberg, report from sports anchor Rob Powers; 1/4/16 6 p.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News” wit Bill Ritter, Liz Cho, Rob Powers and Lee Goldberg, report from Laura Behnke and Anthony Johnson; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_York_Giants_head_coaches; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Coughlin; www.epsn.go.com/nfl/teams/schedule/statistics/_/name/nyg/new-york-giants; www.candlewyckdiner.com; 1/4/16 Newsday article "Sad way to leave if that's farewell" by Tom Rock.

J-Speaks: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly In NBA In December 2015

The month of December is the time in which St. Nick is looking down above us and decides who has been naughty; whose been nice and whose been an absolute scrooge. In the nice category, a.k.a. the good, last season Eastern Conference runner up has gotten back on track after an up and down beginning, while in the Western Conference a team that was on the outside of the playoff picture last spring is sitting real pretty thanks to great health of their dynamic duo. Also a future Hall of Famer and past champion moved up another notch on the NBA’s all-time scoring list passing a three-time title winner. In the naughty category, a.k.a. a team that just two years ago was on the way up, but their Sun has not been rising lately and after good beginning, things have not been buzzing for Carolina’s team. The scrooge of December, a.k.a. the games on Christmas Day. Here is the holiday edition of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of December in the NBA.

The Good

Striking Thunder

With a new leader on the sideline and the return of 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player rejoining his All-Star running mate, the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-11) had slow start out of the gates.

The month of December, two-time NCAA champion head coach at University of Florida Billy Donovan and the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant (26.6 ppg-3^rd NBA, 7.4 rpg, 4.6 apg, 51.7 FG%, 41.1 3-Pt.%) and Russell Westbrook (25.3 ppg-5^th NBA, 6.7 rpg, 9.5 apg-3^rd NBA, 2.5 spg-Leads NBA), who were named Western Conference co-players for December 2015 got it going in December going 13-3, which included a six-game winning streak from Dec. 6, 2015 to Dec. 16, 2015 and a three-game winning streak to close out 2015.

A big reason for the surge by the Thunder that has them third in the West standings behind the Spurs (30-6) at No. 2 and the West leading defending champion Golden State Warriors (32-2) has been better effort at the defensive end.

Last month, the Thunder only allowed the opposition to hit the century mark just four time, but the last three came in succession to close out the month. The Thunder did come through those three straight contest with victories at Chesapeake Energy Arena versus the Denver Nuggets (12-23) 122-112 on Dec. 27, 2015; versus Milwaukee Bucks (14-22) 131-123 Dec. 29, 2015 and versus on New Year’s 2015 Eve versus Phoenix Suns (12-25).

On Dec. 8, 2015 the Thunder trounced the Memphis Grizzlies (19-17) in their gym 125-88.

Durant lead the way with 32 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals going 11 for 14 from the field, including 4 for 5 from three-point range. Westbrook had 13 points, 16 assists, and five boards going 5 for 7 from the field.

Starting forward Serge Ibaka had 17 points on 8 for 15 shooting. D.J. Augustin had 13 points off the bench. Guard Dion Waiters had 12 points off the pine and starting shooting guard Andre Roberson had 10 points.

The Thunder shot 56 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range (13 for 26); out-rebounded the Grizzlies 46-33; out-scored them 56-46 in the paint; had 23 fast break points; recorded 11 steals and scored 24 points off 16 Grizzlies turnovers; registered 31 assists and held the Grizzlies to 40.7 percent shooting.

The Thunder really showed how capable they are on both ends of the court in two matchups last month against the struggling Los Angeles Lakers (8-27).

The chewed them up and spit them out on Dec. 19, 2015 with a 118-78 victory, their largest margin of victory so far this season.

Durant had 22 points and eight boards on 7 for 13 shooting in just 30 minutes and Westbrook had 13 points, 11 assists on 5 for 11 from the field in just 22 minutes.

The supporting cast was great as backup center Enes Kanter had 19 points on 8 for 13 shooting and 14 rebounds. Ibaka had 12 points and seven rebounds. Waiters had 11 points and six boards. Morrow and starting center Steven Adams had 10 points each.

The Thunder shot 54.8 percent from the floor and held the Lakers to just 34.9 percent shooting. They out-rebounded the Lakers 56-32; had 28 assists to the Lakers 14 and outscored them 50-26 in the paint.

Even with the change of venue to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, the result was still the same. The Thunder took the Lakers to the cleaners in their gym 120-85 on Dec. 23, 2015 thanks to a 35-15 third quarter.

Westbrook lead the way with 23 points eight boards, eight assists and two steals, going 10 for 19 from the field. Durant had 21 points, seven boards, five assists and three blocks going 7 for 9 from the floor.

The supporting cast was great again as Ibaka had 17 points, seven boards and two blocks. Kanter had another double-double off bench against the Lakers with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks and Roberson had 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and four blocks.

The Thunder shot 53.7 percent from the floor and held the Lakers to 36 percent shooting. They out-rebounded the Lakers 61-35, including 19-12 on the offensive glass. The Thunder had 23 assists to the Lakers 19; blocked 13 shots; outscored the Lakers 27-7 in fast break points and 76-32 in the paint.

Along with a commitment to playing consistent defense, the Thunder high level of play is a result of having consistent balance at the offensive end where the supporting cast of Ibaka (13.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg-3rd NBA), Kanter (11.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg), Anthony Morrow, Augustin and Waiters (9.5 ppg) are contributing in the scoring column. It shows that Durant and Westbrook can make the players around them better, making them an even more dangerous team.

If the Thunder have plans on contending in the West and for a title this season, they cannot have what happened on Christmas Day, when they lost versus the Chicago Bulls (20-12) 105-96.

Durant and Westbrook scored well with 29 and 26 points respectably, but while Durant shot a solid 11 for 21 from the floor, Westbrook was just 9 for 23 and both respectably shot just 1 for 6 and 1 for 7 from three-point range.

Kanter was the only other Thunder player in double-figures with 14 points along with 13 boards.

The Thunder shot just 38.5 percent from the field, including 6 for 24 from three-point range. They were out-rebounded 53-48, allowing the Bulls to get 16 offensive boards; had just 20 assists and were outscored 56-48 in the paint.

The Thunder have shown they can have balance on offense and can play lockdown defense. They must do it consistently if they want to be in the same sentence as the Warriors and Spurs as title contenders and Durant and Westbrook have to lead the way.

Soaring Hawks

Last season was the best in the history of the Atlanta Hawks (21-14) and they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, but were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers (23-9). Coming into this season, the question was last season a flash in the pan or are they a serious contender.

In the early stages of this season, the defending Southeast champions were like the stock market, one point they were up winning seven of their first eight games and the next they were down losing 11 of their next 18 contest.

After a tough 100-88 loss versus the Miami Heat (21-13) that dropped their record to 14-12, the Hawks rattled off six straight wins from Dec. 16, 2015 to Dec. 26, 2015.

The front end of the streak was a 127-106 win versus the Philadelphia 76ers (4-33), where the Hawks shot a season high 61.5 percent from the field, including going 10 for 21 from three-point range. They had 32 assists; recorded 11 steals and scored 30 points off 24 Sixers’ miscues; outscored the Sixers 58-42 in the paint and blocked seven shots.

Five Hawks scored in double figures led by forward Paul Millsap with 21 points hitting 6 for 7 from three-point range. Starting lead guard Jeff Teague had 18 points. Center Al Horford had 17 points and so did Teague’s understudy Dennis Schroder, who also had seven assists off the bench. Backup center Tiago Splitter had 10 points.

One of the big reasons the Hawks were the toast of the NBA a season ago is that they played a brand of basketball that placed an emphasis on the team, which third-year head coach Mike Budenholzer adopted from his time with Spurs that made them champions on five occasions.

They a solid shooting team from the field and three-point range. They played solid defense and they had an uncanny ability to find the open man and getting great shots on offense.

While they are in the middle of the pack in terms of defense giving up 100.4 points per contest, ranking just 15^th in the NBA, they are 3^rd in the NBA in assists per contest at 25.1 and 10^th in scoring per contest at 101.9.

They played much better defense in defeating the New York Knicks (16-19) at Phillips Arena the day after Christmas 117-98, as the Hawks held the Knicks to 35 points in the second half. The Hawks outscored the Knicks 27-12 in the third quarter after surrendering 32 and 31 points in the first and second periods.

Millsap was great again with 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Horford had 19 points, six boards, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. Mike Scott had 18 points off the bench on 7 for 8 shooting. Teague had 17 points and Schroder had 10 points, six assists and two steals.

The Hawks had 33 assists; recorded 13 steals and scored 26 points off 23 Knicks turnovers; outscored the Knicks 62-32 in the paint, 18-5 in fast break points and registered 33 assists.

When you take a closer look at this season’s version of Hawks compared to a season ago, they are different.

At small forward, they had DeMarre Carroll, who gave them perimeter shooting and defense on the perimeter. He along with his magnificent talents are now with the reigning Atlantic Division champion Toronto Raptors (21-15), who he signed with as a free agent. The starter at the three spot this season is Kent Bazemore (12.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 46.9 FG%, 42.4 3-Pt.%), who has been solid on both ends and the return of Thabo Sefolosha has given the Hawks another wing player who can guard people.

Going forward for the Hawks to reach the heights they were a season ago, they need sharp shooter Kyle Korver (9.5 ppg, 42.5 FG%, 36.3 3-Pt.%) to regain the touch he had a season ago, where he shot 48.7 from the floor and 49.2 percent from three-point range, the second highest of his 12-year career. They also need Splitter, who the Hawks acquired over the summer from the Spurs to be a presence on the glass for a team that was dominated by the Cavs last spring.

The anchors for the Hawks in Millsap (18.3 ppg-Leads team, 8.9 rpg-Leads team, 1.9 spg-Leads team), Horford (15.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg), Teague (15.5 ppg, 5.8 apg), Korver, Scott, Schroder (10.5 ppg) and Sefolosha (7.2 ppg) are as good as any eight-man unit. Are they better than the Cavs, Bulls, Miami Heat and Raptors? That remains to be seen.

Nowitzki Passes Shaq

In his 17-year career, future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki went from a rookie that many projected to be a bust to an MVP, a NBA champion, one of the best players in Dallas Mavericks’ history and one of the greatest foreign players to ever play in the NBA. On Dec. 23, 2015, he achieved another milestone.

With 22 points on the aforementioned night at the Brooklyn Nets, Nowitzki passed future Hall of Famer and current NBATV/NBA on TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal into 6^th place on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring List and helped lead the Mavs (19-15) to a 119-118 overtime win. Nowitzki has scored to date 28,685 in his career with the Mavericks, who are now 2-0 in overtime this season and now are 5-3 on the back end of back-to-backs.

Nowitzki (17.2 ppg-Leads team, 6.7 rpg, 45.9 FG%,  38.8 3-Pt.%) after the game to NBATV’s Matt Winer, Dennis Scott and Greg Anthony that this accomplishment was not something that was on his mind at that moment, but it was on trying to help the Mavs get a victory after falling at the Raptors (21-14) 103-99 one night before.

“You try to focus on the game,” Nowitzki said. “What’s going on out there? Focus on the next possession. On the next basket and that’s how I approach these games.”

To understand the amazing ability of how Nowitzki has been able to score the plethora of points he has in his career, he has 1,627 three-pointers in his career, hitting 38.3 percent from distance; made 10,101 shots overall from the field at a rate of 47.5 percent and hit 6,956 free throws at a 87.9 percent clip.

In the case of the man he passed into fifth place in O’Neal, one of the most dominant inside scorers in NBA history, he made 11,330 field goals, at a 58.2 percent clip; made just one three-point field goal in his career in 22 chances and shot just 52.7 percent from the free throw line (5,935 of 11,252).

Nowitzki’s greatness can be traced back to the hard work he puts in during the season and in the off-season and that has made him who he is today, one of the greatest to ever play the game in the NBA and overseas.

The Bad

Dark Days in Phoenix

Two years ago, the Phoenix Suns under new head coach Jeff Hornacek won 48 games and seemed like a team on the rise in the West. They have fallen fast since then and it has only gotten worse.

The Suns (12-25) began Dec. 2015 with four straight defeats from Dec. 1 to Dec. 6. In the middle of the month, they had an okay stretch winner four of their next seven games, but after a 104-88 win versus the New Orleans Pelicans (11-22) on Dec. 18, 2015 the Suns have lost nine games in succession and the three of the last four have been by 20 points or more.

If that was not the icing on the cake for the Suns issues, they lost their starting point guard Eric Bledsoe (20.4 ppg-Leads team, 6.1 apg-Leads team, 2.0 spg-Leads team, 45.3 FG%, 37.2 3-Pt.%) for the remainder of this season after sustaining a torn meniscus in his left knee back on Dec. 26, 2015 in the Suns 111-104 loss versus the Sixers. He had surgery last week and will be out the remainder of the season.

To add insult to injury, talented forward Markieff Morris (10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg), who has been a distraction ever since the team traded his twin brother Marcus this past off-season to the Detroit Pistons, he has been an issue on and off the court. In recent days, Morris was suspended for two games by the Suns after throwing a towel at coach Hornacek during a game. That incident cost the former Kansas Jayhawk $145,455.

It has gotten to the point that Suns’ owner Robert Sarver took his frustrations with one of the team’s building blocks to the press.

“My whole view of the millennial culture is that they have a tough time dealing with setbacks, and Markieff Morris is the perfect example,” Sarver said. “He had a setback with his brother in the off-season, and he can’t seem to recover from it.”

It is hard to believe that just two years ago, the Suns seemed to be a team with a bright future, no pun intended. Today, they seem to be sinking fast and there seems to be no life raft to rescue them anytime soon.

The only hope now for the Suns is that they can trade Morris before the trade deadline in February. The likes of forward T.J. Warren (11.4 ppg), center Alex Len (6.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg), guard Brandon Knight (19.6 ppg, 5.3 apg) and rookie guard Devin Booker (7.0 ppg, 48.9 3-Pt.%) can help make something of what is left of this season for themselves and for the team. Also, Sarver and GM have to decide if Hornacek is the man to lead this team going forward after the season.

One change the organization has made is they promoted former NBA guard Earl Watson and Nate Bjorkgren to assistant coaches to help Hornacek on the bench and showed the door to veteran assistants Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting.

Non-Stinging Hornets

After a disappointing season a year ago, the Charlotte Hornets went in a different direction this off-season to improve their team for this season.

The team added Jeremy Lin (11.9 ppg) to backup starting lead guard Kemba Walker (19.3 ppg-Leads team, 4.9 apg, 1.8 spg-Leads team). They acquired the likes of forward Nicolas Batum (16.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.2 apg, 37.0 3-Pt.%), center Spencer Hawes, guard Jeremy Lamb (11.3 ppg, 46.5 FG%) and they drafted center Frank Kaminsky III with the No. 9 overall pick out of Wisconsin in the June 2015 draft.

After a slow start, the Hornets gained traction in early December with four straight wins from Dec. 5, 2015 to Dec. 11, 2015. After two straight setbacks following those four consecutive wins, they garnered a 109-99 overtime win over the surging Raptors on Dec. 17 to bring their mark to 15-10.

After that victory, the Hornets lost four out of their next six games and currently are on a four-game losing streak.

Two big reasons why the Hornets are at the .500 mark currently is that they are struggling at the defensive end, where they rank just 14^th in the league at 100.4 points allowed.

They surrendered over 100 points during their current losing streak and on the six occasions they have allowed the opponent to hit the century mark in December 2015, they have gone 0-6.

When they held the Boston Celtics (19-15) under 100 points back on Dec. 12, 2015, they lost 98-93, thanks to being outscored 60-51 in the second half after allowing the C’s to score just 38 points in the first 24 minutes.

The other issue for the Hornets has been the play of their starting center Al Jefferson (12.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 48.2 FG%), whose has been playing below his career numbers of 16.9 points and nine rebounds per contest.

In the early part of last month, Jefferson, who is in the final year of a three-year $41 million contract received a five-game suspension by the league without pay for violating the NBA/NBPA (National Basketball Players Association’s) Anti-Drug program.

“I just feel so low right now for every little boy and every little girl who looks at me as somebody they look up to,” Jefferson, who has played in just 19 games so far this season said an hour before the Hornets contest versus the Heat back on Dec. 9, 2015. The Hornets won that contest 99-81.

“For me to make mistakes like this, it’s not cool. It’s not cool for them and it’s not cool for me. That kills me more than anything.” 

To make matters worse, the Hornets to scoring threat in the low-post will be on the mend for about six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a tear in the lateral meniscus in his right knee.

Without their low-post scorer and their do-it-all forward in Batum, who has been shelved the last two games because of a bad toe, the Hornets are in the need of spark and after losses versus the Thunder 109-90 this past Saturday night and at the defending champion Warriors 111-101 to start a four-game West Coast trip, they need it in a hurry.

The good news if there is any, two out of those three games are winnable at the Suns this Wednesday and at the Nuggets this Sunday.

The Ugly

A Bust on Christmas Day

Christmas Day is when the NBA takes center stage. This is where teams on the rise, last season’s NBA champion or contenders in the East and West play on this day. It’s a time for all those watching at home with family and friends to see the best be at their best, especially the stars. While Dec. 25, 2015 had its moments, it overall was a below par.

The first contest between the Pelicans at the Heat on ESPN and while the game was close and went into overtime, the Heat pulled the game out 94-88.

While All-Star Anthony Davis shined for the Hornets with 29 points, 15 rebounds and four steals and three blocks, he barely got any help from his teammates as Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon were the only other players in double-figures with 18 and 16 points respectably.

All-Star forward Chris Bosh led the Heat with 30 points and 10 boards. Fellow All-Star Dwyane Wade had 19 points, six boards and four assists.

The second contest between the Bulls at Thunder on ABC started great, but despite a final score of 105-96 in favor of the road team, the Bulls controlled the game from start to finish as Butler led the way with 23 points, six boards and four steals. Pau Gasol had 21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Derrick Rose had 19 points and Taj Gibson had 13 points and 10 boards.

Even though Durant and Westbrook had solid numbers, they did a poor job of getting their teammates involved in the offense and they were stagnant the entire game despite outscoring the Bulls 28-19 in the four quarter.

The back end of the double-dip on ABC featured last season’s matchup in The Finals between the Cavs at the defending champion Warriors.

The game had excitement, drama and gritty defense. The one it lacked was scoring and consistent offensive flow with neither team scored 30 points in any quarter and they each respectably were held to 31.6 percent and 41.0 percent shooting from the floor.

Four-time MVP LeBron James led all scorers with 25 points to go along with nine boards, but shot just 10 for 26 from the field. Forward Kevin Love had 18 rebounds, but scored just 10 points going 5 for 16 shooting, including 0 for 5 from three-point territory.

All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who playing just his third game of the season because of surgery he had to repair the knee cap he injured in Game 1 of The Finals back in June 2015 had 13 points, but shot just 4 for 15 from the field in 26 minutes.

For the Warriors, forward Draymond Green led them with 22 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. The “Splash Brothers” of reigning MVP Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had 19 and 18 points respectably, but shot just 6 for 15 and 6 for 16 respectably from the field and a combined 2 for 8 from three-point range. Guard Shaun Livingston had 16 points off the bench going 8 for 9 from the floor.

In the interstate Texas matchup between the San Antonio Spurs (30-6) versus Houston Rockets (17-19) also was a defensive struggle that was courtesy of the home team as they held the Spurs to a season-low 84 points in winning 88-84.

The Rockets held the Spurs to just 40.9 percent from the field and to just 25 percent (5 for 20) from three-point range. 

All-Star James Harden led the Rockets with 20 points and nine assists, but shot just 7 for 21 from the field, including 2 for 6 from long distance. Terrence Jones had 14 points off the bench and Jason Terry had 12 points off the pine. Dwight Howard had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets who won despite shooting 43.2 percent from the floor.

The Spurs were paced by Kawhi Leonard who had 20 points and eight boards. LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and nine rebounds and perennial All-Star Tim Duncan had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The night cap of Christmas Day NBA action was the battle of Los Angeles between the Clippers (22-13) versus Lakers (8-27).

It was the Clippers who were the better of the two tenants of the Staples Center as they have been in the last seven times and made it eight with a 94-84 win.

The game was not that close as the Clippers took an 85-57 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Lakers outscored the Clippers 27-9 in the final stanza thanks to the play of the Laker reserves, but the Clippers held on to win.

We’ve had to do that before,” All-Star guard for the Clippers Chris Paul, who had 23 points and six assists said after the game. “But it’s not about the starters having to come back in. It’s about us as a team closing games out and we have to get better at that.”

J.J. Redick had 14 points. Jamal Crawford had 13 points for the Clippers and so did All-Star Blake Griffin, who also had 12 rebounds and seven assists. DeAndre Jordan had nine points and 14 rebounds.

Playing in his NBA record 16^th game and final game on Christmas Day, Lakers future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant had 12 points in 26 minutes. Bryant, who announced back on Nov. 29, 2015 that he will retire at season’s end, his 20^th in the league scored 395 points on Christmas Day, breaking the old record of 377 back in 2012 that was held by Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. He sat out the last two Christmas Day contest the Lakers played in because of injury

“I’m just very, very thankful to be able to play this many games on Christmas,” Bryant, whose team’s record is 6-10 on Christmas Day when he has played said after the game. “Growing up and watching the Bulls and Knicks and all those great games on Christmas Day, having been part of this for so many years has been cool.”

I have seen better games played on Christmas Day. While there were some exciting moments and the superstars did shine for the most part, the games were never in doubt and that is what really put a damper on this day. It lacked drama and offensive flow. Well there is always next year.

The one good thing that did come out of this, the world got a chance to see one of the best ever play on Christmas Day for the last time in five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, even if he is a shell of himself in terms of his skills.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of www.espn.go.com/nba/standings/statistics/teams/player/schedule/_/date/20151225; 12/14/15 1:30 a.m. edition of “NBA Tonight” on ESPN 2 with Cassidy Hubbarth and Bruce Bowen; espn.com piece from Jan. 4, 2016 “Suns’ Robert Sarver blames team’s woes on Markieff Morris, culture” from ESPN senior writer Marc Stein and “The Associated Press;” espn.com piece via “The Associated Press” on Dec. 9, 2015 “Hornets’ Al Jefferson gets 5-game ban for violating anti-drug program; espn.com piece via “The Associated Press” on Dec. 30, 2015, “Al Jefferson expected out 6 weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery;  12/24/15 6 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime” presented by KIA with Matt Winer, Dennis Scott and Greg Anthony.

J-Speaks: MJ Delivers a Message to The Black Mamba

From the early stages of his career to now, Kobe Bryant has been drawing comparisons to one of the greatest NBA players to ever play on the hardwood. He is the one player that has come close to matching the greatness of said player from winning championships to his consistent high level of play on the hardwood to how he lead through his actions, words, demeanor and focus and above all else how he wanted to cut the heart out of each opponent he faced in the regular season and especially the postseason. Two weeks ago when the Lakers visited that said players team that he now owns, Bryant received an amazing video message from the former North Carolina Tar Heel in his final appearance in Charlotte.

Before the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Sports Arena in Charlotte, NC two Monday nights ago, Bryant, who was drafted with the 13^th overall pick by the original Hornets back in June of 1996 and was then traded to the Lakers for then center Vlade Divac received congratulations from the great Michael Jordan himself on an “unbelievable career” via a video message on the arena scoreboard prior to tip-off.

“I just want to congratulate you on an unbelievable career. I think when I look back and the first time we played against each other, the competitive drive that I saw within your eyes even though the knowledge wasn’t quite there yet is very invigorating,” Jordan who did not attend the game said via the video message.

“I’ve always been like a big brother and you like a little brother. We communicate all the time. I just want to say congratulations. Your next step in your next career is going to be something that I’m pretty sure you’re going to have to figure out. From the competitive standpoint, I’m pretty sure you’re just like me. You’re gonna have to find other ways to utilize that competitive drive.”

In his last appearance in Charlotte, Bryant, who will retire at the end of this season, his 20^th season in the NBA all with the Lakers scored 20 points, but shot just 5 for 20 from the field, including 3 for 12 from three-point range, 7 for 8 from the charity stripe with four rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes as the Hornets (17-16) defeated the Lakers (8-27) 108-98.

Jordan also said in his video message that he hoped that Bryant had a great game, but not too good of a game.

That played to form as Bryant did score as mentioned 20, but shot poorly and the Hornets played well enough to win the game led by guard Kemba Walker who scored 38 points going 14 for 25 from the field, hitting 3 for 6 from distance with six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals.

From the time the first played each other in 1996 when the Bulls were on top of the NBA mountain as they began their second three-peat title run, there has been a debate on whether Bryant would ever live up to the greatness of Jordan.

In many cases, he has and then some. Bryant has won five titles, one short of Jordan. In terms of All-Star appearances, it is close with Bryant having made the NBA mid-season classic 17 times and likely his 18^th one this February, while Jordan has played in 14. Bryant has been selected to the All-NBA First Team 11 times and Jordan 10 times.


In terms of career numbers they are close too with Jordan averaging 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his career, while Bryant has averaged 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists in his career.

In terms of difference between the two, there is plenty. Bryant, who could have been named Most Valuable Player (MVP) a few more times in his career garnered than the one he garnered back in 2008. Jordan won the award six times.

In terms of the best individual game each player had in their career, Jordan’s career-high game was 69 points at the Cleveland Cavaliers back on Mar. 28, 1990 and the Bulls won 117-113 in overtime. Jordan in that game went 23 for 37 from the field, including 2 for 6 from three-point range, 21 for 23 from the free throw line with a career-high 18 boards, six assists and four steals.

Bryant career-high point performance the second highest scoring game in NBA history back on Jan. 22, 2006 when he scored 81 points in leading the Lakers to a 122-104 win versus the Toronto Raptors. Bryant went 28 for 46 from the field, including 7 for 13 from three-point range, 18 for 20 from the free throw line with six rebounds, two assists and three steals in 41 minutes and 56 seconds of playing time. After scoring 14 and 12 points in the first and second quarters respectably, Bryant saved his best for the second half scoring 27 points in the third and 28 in the fourth for a 55 point second half.

The one thing in common with both performances is the fact that on this night both stars had to shine because the opposition was at the top of their offensive game on that night and defensively Jordan and Bryant’s teammates barely contributed in the scoring column.

On Jordan’s career-night, forward Horace Grant was the only other Bull in double-figures with 16 points.

On Bryant’s unforgettable evening, starting lead guard William “Smush” Parker and starting center Chris Mihm were the only other players in double-figures with 13 and 12 points respectably. Former Laker forward Lamar Odom on that particular evening did have 10 rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes and 53 seconds of playing time, but had just 8 points on 1 for 7 shooting.

There is one very important area that they both are similar to, that they had Phil Jackson as their coach and each player won titles with him on the bench.

Before Jackson, Bryant and Jordan in their careers were great players who can score and entertain with the best of them, but they would always come up short in the postseason.

When Jackson enter their careers, they not only won multiple titles, they were able to play the game at a more even scale where they found a way to still score, but make their teammates better from how they performed in practice to the game.  

One other similarity between these two is that they were able to reach fans on a global level.

Wherever you go across the globe you can talk to an Asian, African or any other race or people and you ask them about basketball, I am sure the names of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant come to mind in terms of some of the best to ever play on the hardwood.

With that being said Jordan and what the 1992 Dream Team did in the Olympics in Barcelona back then helped the NBA reach the masses it has and Bryant has taken that to another level.

“You’ve been a big help to the game of basketball. You’ve helped the NBA. You’ve helped promote it. I’m pretty sure you’ve got fans all over the world,” Jordan, who also won a Gold Medal as part of the 1984 USA Basketball team as a collegiate said on Monday night.

One other huge difference between Jordan and Bryant is how they were able to reach the point of winning titles.

Jordan for three straight seasons had his title dreams denied by the Detroit Pistons from 1988-90 in the playoffs, twice in the Eastern Conference Finals before they broke through in 1991 sweeping the back-to-back champion Pistons in four games and beating the Lakers of Earvin “Magic” Johnson in five games.

While the Utah Jazz led by Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone had defeated the Lakers in the 1997 West Semis and the 1998 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers did have that long of a road to get to the top which they did in 2000 in beating the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 Finals 4-2 and was the launching point of a three-peat.

The biggest edge that Jordan has over Bryant when it is all said and done is the fact that without MJ, we do not have the greatness of “The Black Mamba.”

Jordan’s career gave Bryant the blueprint of what it took to be great as well as the greatness of other players in that era like Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Johnson and as we can see Bryant was a great student and it has all paid off and he gained a fan in Jordan.

“I’m a big fan. I still love watching you play. I’m very very happy for you and what you’ve accomplished within the game,” Jordan said in the video tribute.

As this farewell tour continues for Kobe Bryant, he will receive accolades galore, handshakes photos, letters and everything in between from fans, coaches, former and current players. He will be praised and loved, for which he has earned. None of that will top though than what Michael Jordan, the player Bryant was most compared to and the one player who came very close to living up to that comparison did back two weeks ago today with his video message tribute.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200601220LAL.html; www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199003280CLE.html; 12/30/15 6 a.m. CNN Headline News’ “Morning Express” with Robin Meade, hosted on said date by Christie Paul, report from Andy Scholes; http://www.nba.com/games/20151228/LALCHA/gameinfo.html.